Week 5

This was a very quiet week, which isn't really what missionaries want. On Tuesday we visited with two YSAs--both from Utah and both on the softball team at LSU-Alexandria.  Both were delightful as we visited (Elder Kerr's famous chocolate chip cookies always help) and both said they would love to attend a family home evening if we have it.  We tried to visit a couple more, but were unsuccessful.  We hope to start FHE for the YSAs in Alexandria soon.  There just isn't a lot of YSA activity here (yet).

Wednesday we took our district out to lunch for pizza and it was fun to associate with these fine missionaries.  It's a big district area--a set of sisters in Natchez, MS 1 3/4 hours away, a set of elders in Marksville (in our branch) about 40 minutes away, a set of elders about 15 minutes away in Pineville, and a set of sisters here in Alexandria.  They have their district council in Alexandria every Wednesday--we don't generally attend, but catch pieces occasionally.

Wednesday evening we visited the home study seminary class in Many (pronounced manny), about 20 miles west of Natchitoches.  That part of the state is very rural, and one of the most noticeable things was the students' responses to anything we asked--No, Ma'am, Yes, Ma'am, No, Sir, Yes, Sir, with a strong southern accent. We get that in other areas, but nowhere so much as there.  The first place the gospel was preached in Louisiana in the mid 1800's was Natchitoches and Many.  There is a family in Many that has been in the church for eight generations!

On Thursday we did a little MLS (Member/Leadership Support) by visiting a less active family in our branch.  We hadn't been able to get a response to text or call, so we just headed out (armed with the famous cookies).  They live in a little town called Mansura, about 45 minutes away. We did visit with the father on the porch, but he made it pretty clear they really aren't interested in more right now--however, he did give us the correct phone number, since the one we'd tried was wrong.  Sadly, a year ago they were working toward going to the temple, but something happened between then and now.

The sisters had a baptism on Saturday, and it was wonderful to attend.  The sweet African-American convert bore a tender testimony about how the Book of Mormon answered so many of her questions and opened her eyes to so much truth.  She said we could see that none of her family was there, but that didn't matter because we were her family now.  The whole service was lovely.

While we were waiting for the baptism to start, someone came up to me and said, "Dr. Nyland--what are you doing here?"  It was a former student (and her three children) whose husband is the psychologist at one of the prisons here.  They've just been in Alexandria two months--she's a counselor in Young Women and he's a counselor in the Elder's Quorum; doesn't take long to get very involved here!

I mentioned a couple of posts ago that the old building in the complex used to be the Masonic Orphanage.  Here are two plaques on the building:

Feel pretty special with National Historic Register building in our neighborhood 

We have P-day (preparation day) on Saturday, so do our grocery shopping then.  If I haven't mentioned it, we're in Cajun Country.  In Utah, if you want some Cajun seasoning you pull out the one bottle available in the McCormick spice section of the store.  Below are the choices available to you at just one store (Albertsons) in Alexandria--everything pictured is for Cajun or Creole cooking:

Slightly mind boggling!!