A Visit to Helen

It has been another very busy week in Georgia. The weather has been rainy, sunny,  and even quite mild at times. On Thursday it was only 28° and it was the thickest frost we had on the windshield in Stockbridge. Ever since we met Gerald and Ute, they have wanted to show us a little town near Gerald‘s house (it is up north).  It is called Helen. Because of their health issues it was plain to see that we were not going to be able to go to Helen with them. Gerald is still in the rehab center and will be there at least one more week. Even if they were to send him home in a week he would not be able to travel. Since we missed P-day two weeks ago and had a short limited one last week we decided to travel to Helen by ourselves. It was a unique German village in the mountains with lots of places to shop and German restaurants. It is a pretty little town that features German food and all kinds of German crafts. It is also a tourist trap. The weather turned out beautiful and grandma enjoyed shopping in the little shops and we had a very interesting German dinner.  Gramma got to shop for several hours which made her day and we also had an authentic German dinner. The meal was a little heavy for me. Here are some of the pictures that we took there:

Of all the stores I thought this was the most interesting. I didn't have the courage to buy any of it. It didn't sound very appetizing.

On Tuesday the weather was terrible and I had to take the car to have the brakes checked. They were fine, which surprised me with all the stop and go driving we do. It rained hard that day and most of the day on Wednesday. We had to ferry the Sisters to several places for appointments because they didn’t have a vehicle and it’s hard to bike in the rain. We made several visits to see Gerald at the rehab center and on Wednesday night we had our Bible class, which is really "Come Follow Me" study. We had a sister who is a member of the church but hasn't been to church since she was 10 years old, when her grandfather would take her. She had her four kids with her so while she listened to the lesson and met with grandma and the other Sisters there, I watched over the kids. They were really nice kids and she enjoyed the lesson very much and will be back next Wednesday. Below are the kids.

On Thursday we had zone conference in Conyers. We had some very good Instructions by the AP’s, President and Sister Clayton, and others that were there. Here is a picture of some of the missionaries. It is our last Zone conference so we both had to share our testimony with the missionaries.

The senior couple below in the center are Elder and Sister Potts. They return home a week before we do and it will be sad to see them go. They have the same assignment we’ve had in working with one of the wards, but in discussions with them it sounds like our ward is much more supportive than the one they’ve been working in.

Friday was a very busy morning. I got a call to meet the Bishop at the hospital to give a man a blessing who is going in for triple by-pass surgery. When we got to the Golden Crest nursing home none of the missionaries were there. The Sister’s called and said that they had a flat tire and were not going to make it.  I went and picked them up and took them to the nursing home so they could sing with grandma so I didn’t have to sing solos. I then drove back to their car while they were singing and changed the tire and got back to the nursing home in time to sing the last song with them. It was a busy morning. 

That afternoon while grandma was practicing her solo for sacrament meeting on Sunday,  I set up tables and chairs for a dinner after a Memorial service that was to be held Saturday morning. Grandma played the organ for the memorial service which started at 10 o’clock. It was for a 50-year-old man whose step-mother is a member of the Jonesboro ward. Everything went well and there was about 40 family members and ward members there.

Saturday evening we waited for over an hour for a table at a restaurant that Brother Hellesoe chose to take the missionaries out to eat. We were not going to go, but the Sisters didn’t have a ride unless we were able to take them. Our waitress whose name was Lily was happy to wait on us. She is receiving the missionary lessons from the Sisters in Conyers and was so sweet and kind making sure we were taken well care of.

In communicating with Bishop Jensen it was determined that we would report our mission on April 19th.  Mark your calendar‘s. We were not sure we could be home by March 22, ( his first suggestion.) The next Sunday is Fast Sunday and the Sunday after that is General conference. The next Sunday is the weekend of Kim and Reuben's wedding so that’s why we’re going to be speaking on the 19th.  Sunday afternoon I went with the Elder’s to three appointments and then Gramma and I met the Sisters at the rehab center to visit Gerald. He was doing much better. Friday Gramma talked to the nursing staff about getting his nausea medication to him at the right time and he said they had done a much better job. His son also visited him on Saturday and encouraged him to eat no matter what and both these things seemed to have had a positive impact on his health. As you can see we are never bored too much and can always find something positive to do. It was good to get some e-mails and Instagram from you. You can even text. The young Elders and Sisters have been really keeping us on our toes with text's. We love all of you and appreciate you support. We pray each day for your health and safety, both physically and spiritually. Do what is right and may God bless y"all. Love, Grandpa and Gramma Hammond.

Spring is in the Air

The weather here in Georgia can be a little schizophrenic. Monday night the low was 68, Thursday it was 38, and Saturday it was 31. It is usually nice, and one very rarely  knows if a jacket is needed, whereas at home you always have a jacket, hat and gloves in February. Monday (P-Day) as noted it started out warm, so later in the day we went for a walk in Lake Spivey Park. It is a very nice recreational area with nature trails, tennis courts, a swimming, water tubing area (closed for winter), and a number of beach volleyball courts. It is where they had the beach volleyball competition in the 1996 Olympics.

The trails are beautiful and Gramma wants to walk there again the first chance we get. That is the hard part. We have been very busy this week and with some days very rainy it would have been hard to walk there anyway. "Spring is in the Air", the trees are starting to bloom here in the middle of February.

Tuesday we had District Council at the Stockbridge church building. There was some good training and Gramma treated all the missionaries in the District to a Valentine present.

Gramma wasn't forgotten either.

Wednesday was transfers and we lost our missionary from New York and gained Elder Webb from Alpine, Utah. We also received a new Spanish Sister, Sister Smith. We love the excitement of transfer day and unfortunately that was our last one. We will be headed home the week before the next one.

Sister Smith is the one on the far right and we broke in her and Elder Webb with singing at the Golden Crest nursing home. We sang on Thursday morning because we were going with the Sisters to the Temple with a member of the Ward on Friday.

Thursday night was a special Conyers Stake Missionary meeting, so we and the Elders headed into the busy rush hour traffic towards Conyers. They serve pizza and treats before the meeting so those that attend don't have to miss dinner. It is well attended by the Elders and Sisters. The meeting was very good, Brother Ray Taylor from our ward told of his conversion to the Church and a member of the Stake Presidency showed us a original Book of Mormon (one of the first 5000 printed) and talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon.

Friday was a Temple day and we did some family sealings and then went through a session with "Trish" a sister in our ward. After the Temple the freeways were jammed. We decided to go back to the Busy Bee Cafe where we still had half our gift card that we received from Samantha's parents. It was Valentines day, so we were just going to get takeaway. Google maps led us all over the city of Atlanta (to avoid a traffic jam) and when we arrived there the line again went out the front door and it was a hour and a half to get a take out order. So we fought traffic back to Jonesboro and had a Valentines dinner at the "Lazy Crab". We have eaten at the "Juicy Crab", and the "Red Lobster" here and still haven't found one we really like. Gramma was just glad that her bib and plastic gloves protected her nice clothes she had worn to the Temple.

Saturday morning we picked up the Sisters at 8:45 and headed to a ward service project. The Bishop had ask all the missionaries to be there. The Kerr family were moving to Texas and the movers were coming on Tuesday to load a truck and all their stuff needed to be in boxes. They are an older couple with lots of health issues. They started packing with the help of the Ward a couple of months ago, but their 30 year old daughter that lived with them unexpectedly died. They are still in a bit of shock with the death and haven't done a lot except sit and try to deal with this tragic death. Time was short and they were not able to agree on what to keep or what to leave. Since they couldn't make a decision, we were to pack it all. Gramma and I boxed and wrapped a lot of pictures, vase, scrap-booking materials, and anything else we found that needed packed. I hope I don't see another tape packing gun again. At noon we were done. We took the Sisters home and went to our apartment and showered. The dust was terrible and until they opened a couple of windows we were not sure we could stay in the room.

Sunday was the usual busy day. We had to take the Sisters to church and both the Sisters and Elders home afterwards. Well the Elders home, the Sisters to a dinner appointment. We hope to get some Ward contacts this week and we also have a Zone Conference. It will be special because it will be our last Zone Conference before we get home. Saturday Gramma is going to play the organ for a funeral of a Grandson of a Ward member. Most of the people that will attend are members of other faiths. We went to see Gerald, but he was asleep. His roommate said he had been asleep most of the day so we didn't bother him.We later got hold of Uta and Gramma visited with her on the phone. He goes to the doctor tomorrow and we hope he gets some good news. We stay busy and are trying to help our new Bishop. He has five members of the Ward in the hospital with serious illnesses. As we get to the end of next week we should have a better idea of exactly when we will be headed home. We are too busy to worry about it yet and we are hoping when it comes the weather will be good. We have formed some great friendships here in Jonesboro and will miss these good people. We miss all of you and ask the Lord each day to bless you. Do what is right, be kind, and know that we love you. Grandpa and Gramma Hammond.

Be My Valentine

With Valentines Day coming this week, I decided to give Gramma her present a little early. A year ago she got her first smart phone, even though she protested giving up her flip phone.This year I upgraded her phone because many of the apps that the missionaries use here are not compatible with her old phone. She protested again, at least for a little while, but the apps are really helpful in doing
missionary work effectively. This week involved four or five trips to the hospital to help Uta not having to leave from home so early in the morning (she would have to ride with Matt, Gerald's son on his way to work, 6:00 a.m.) On Tuesday we picked her up at 11:00 a.m., but when Gramma opened the door the dogs got out so we had to wait until they were rounded up.  On Wednesday we had to wait to pick her up until 2:00 because of heavy (and I mean heavy) rains and Tornado warnings. We had three umbrellas and water running in the gutter like a small ditch. We just got started down the road and she had forgotten her glasses, so Gramma and I insisted on going back, because we understand how hard it is to function without reading glasses when you need them. When we got back she couldn't find her keys. so we searched her bags and I checked along the sidewalk. This was all happening in a rain much like the ones we use to get in Samoa. After we found them and she got her glasses and we were finally headed to the hospital we all had a good laugh about it. Gerald was doing much better and they moved him to a regular room on Friday. Soon he will be going to a rehab center.

Monday night we taught some baptismal lessons to Dash, a eight year old that was getting baptized on Saturday. The family had been invited to the Bishop's house and we taught her there with her family, Gramma from Hawaii, and dad who is not a member. Gramma did a great job of teaching her and preparing her for Saturday. We met again on Wednesday to find baptismal clothes for her, but there was no baptismal suit her size. Thursday we drove to the Stockbridge building to get one, but the Elders couldn't find a key to the closet, so we went on to Conyers building and again found a small selection for kids, so we took two that we thought might work and headed home. It was over a 60 mile trip in heavy traffic in the rain. When we were taking them over to Dash, the Bishop informed us that they had found a nice gown for her to use. It is the thought and effort that count. Mom and her family are Tongan, Dad is African American. Being Tongan the baptism was a good time to get together with family and eat. Dash sang a solo before her baptism and the Family sang "Love At Home", one verse all together accapella, and Dash sang one verse in Tongan.  It was very nice. They had a lot of food (very good food) and some of it was island food which we enjoyed. Many of the people there were not members of the church and the missionaries answered questions after the service.

Gramma does not like me taking pictures of her sometimes, here you can see she has threatened me with a plastic knife. She doesn't realize she can't take a bad picture, at least in my eyes. The chocolate cake is Gramma's.  Yesterday it actually snowed in Marietta, Gainsville, and Roswell, (cities outside Atlanta.  Some workers at a fire station built an eight foot snowman, and the T.V. anchors were deliriously giddy talking about such a weather phenomena. We started this morning with typical Georgia fog, and that was Stockbridge's version of winter. In the evening Brother Hellesoe insisted on taking the missionaries for their weekly meal. We were at the Olive Garden, so we gave him our gift card, and forced him to use it for part of the tab.  He always chooses quite expensive dining and not fast food joints. We ended up eating at 8:00 p.m. and two senior missionaries were stuffed after eating a Polynesian meal at noon.We delivered the elders back at their apartment and made no plans for a big Sunday dinner.  Left over chicken noodle soup would be sufficient. 

This coming week we will continue to be busy. We hope to get a P-Day this week. They are predicting 80% chance of rain for the next four days. Doesn't sound fun, but we will still get things done no matter what. We have District Council, the last one with Elder Scott from New York.  He is getting transferred and on Wednesday we will drive him and Elder Jensen to transfer meeting at the Whitewater Chapel. Friday we are going to the Temple for Valentines Day and do an endowment and some sealings. We will have the Sisters with us. They are going trough a session with a member of the Ward that is going through for the first time. As you can see we find plenty to do and there are a lot of people that need help. We have a man (Ronnie) that is coming to our bible class who is not a member, but loves to study the Book of Mormon. It has been great to have him there the past couple of weeks.  We are enjoying the work and want you to know that the Church is true. We love y'all and think and pray for you always. Love, Grandpa and Gramma Hammond.

Ground Hogs Day

It has been an interesting week here in Jonesboro. We started with our Tuesday District Council. We met in Griffins for the first time. It is about 50 minutes away on I-75. The chapel is about the same floor plan as Stockbridge building. We enjoy these opportunities to be trained with the Elders and Sisters.

Tuesday afternoon the Elders and Sister served and visited with the residents of the Golden Crest at their "Tea Party". The manager loves the way the residents are treated by these missionaries each week and how much the seniors love to hear them sing the gospel songs. She gave a special invitation to the missionaries to help.  Sister Hammond
 played background music as the party went along, but toward the end they asked the Elders and Sisters to sing. Which they did, and it was very much enjoyed.

Wednesday we continued to make contacts with people on the Ward list. We had a less active member show up to our Bible study class. He seemed to enjoy being there and is suppose to be there next week. The exciting news was that we received a call from Sister Arave. She and her husband are the couple that will be replacing us in Jonesboro. It is a small world. They are the parents of the young man who married Darvel and Marilyn Andersen's oldest daughter. They know Darvel and Marilyn well. They are from St. George, Utah and this is their first mission. She had some good questions about the area and the apartment. I gave her a link to this blog and she seemed to appreciate the information there. The Ward is so excited to know that they will continue to have a senior couple, and so are the Elders and Sisters. Thursday, we checked some more addresses and in the evening I picked up Brother Taylor from the ward and we went to give Gerald Hunter a Priesthood blessing. He was having surgery on Friday. Friday we all met at the Golden Crest to sing and the manager met us in the parking lot to let us know that they were having a memorial service for one of the residents in the room we usually sing in. We assured her it was no problem. After all we did get to sing on Tuesday. Later that afternoon after spending some time at the church organizing some new people to visit, we decided to eat at the Truett's (Chick-fil-a) restaurant near us in Stockbridge. There are a number of Truett's in the area. You can go into the fast food side or the restaurant side. We sent to the restaurant side. They had a train circling around us as we ate. (Grandpa Hammond always has me edit the blog and one comment on picture below. The sun was so bright I couldn't even open my eyes and I instructed him to delete the picture. See how well he listens!)

Saturday we visited Gerald Hunter and another Sister from the Ward at the hospital. Gerald's surgery was very complicated and during the night they had moved him to ICU, and during the move he fell. When we got there Uta and his son were there and very concerned. After our visit they took him back to surgery and removed his spleen. We returned Sunday night along with Sister Carrin the Relief Society President and he was still struggling. Uta was heading home and was going to get up at 5 a.m. to come back Monday morning, because she had to ride with Gerald's son on his way to work. We told her to sleep in and we would pick her up at 10 o'clock Monday morning. We picked her up this morning it was a "beautiful morning". We took a picture of their home in Lovejoy.

Gerald was still disoriented but was improving and things were looking up. Sunday was again a big day, our usual 8:00 to 1:30 with Gramma's extra assignments. The big surprise on Sunday was they called a new Bishop. We knew they were going to release Bishop Bourdeau, but we thought it would be closer to March. We will miss Bishop Bourdeau, but he will continue to serve on the Stake High Council. The new Bishop is Bishop Kirkland. He has been in 3 Bishoprics in the past and has recently been the Stake clerk. We fed dinner to the sister missionaries and then made the second visit to Gerald. Tonight we teach a eight year old at Bishop Kirkland's home, a joint family home evening. Not much of a P-Day today, but it is okay. Each day we get to do good things.
We love you all, pray for all of you each day and are thankful to have y'all as part of our family.
Be good and do what is right. Love, Grandpa and Gramma Hammond.