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.