Week 16

Wednesday was transfer day, and Sister Martin was transferred to Mississippi.  The sisters live with the Green family, and they invited all the missionaries in the district over on Tuesday for gumbo to say good-bye.  It was fun and delicious.

Good Gumbo at Green's

Both elders in Marksville were transferred, and we met our new elders today--Elder Jackson and Elder McNary.  Haven't met our new sister yet.

Thursday we held our first session of the Church's Addiction Recovery Program in Alexandria.  We had been asked before Christmas if we would be group leaders for that, and we've spent quite a lot of time working on the on-line training and talking to the supervisor in the area, a service missionary.  He's in Denham Springs, near Baton Rouge, and he and his wife lead a call-in program for pornography addiction.  They invited us to call in the week before we started so we could experience a meeting before beginning.  We were amazed and really touched at how spiritual that meeting was. The program is carefully thought out and constructed, and is based on Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Step Program.  It adds, however, the Atonement of Jesus Christ as the cornerstone of all recovery. 

We had only one man there last week, but felt it went well.  From that man, we got a little glimpse into the hellish hold addiction has on people, and we just ache for how hard it is to get out of its grasp.  We'll be going to the stake bishops' training meeting this week, and hope they'll recommend the program to more people in their wards who need it.

Some Random Observations 'Round and About in Louisiana:

• When we first came we saw CENLA quite often, but didn't know what it was.  (Best this, that, or the other in Cenla, or serving all Cenla, etc).  It means Central Louisiana, and is how this part of the state is referred to.  
• Our stake covers Cenla--from the Texas/LA border on the west to just over the Mississippi border in Natches on the east.  It's the narrowest part of the state, and Alexandria is right in the center of the state.
• Word use is always interesting--here are a few LA specialties
• Many people call their grandmothers Maw Maw
• I am referred to as Miss Nora in any professional or service setting ( doctor/dental office calls to remind Miss Nora of appointment, greeted as Miss Nora at hairdresser, doctor, etc)
• It's very common for either of us (and everybody else) to be called baby, honey, sweetheart by all kinds of people--at the store, in a restaurant, etc
• At the grocery store, you don't put your groceries in a cart, they go in the buggy
• We're not warned about speed bumps, they're speed humps

• Instead of counties, they are called Parishes.  There are 64 parishes in LA.  We live in  Rapides (pronounced Rapeeds) Parish, go to church in Avoyelles Parish, and visit seminary and institute classes in several other parishes.  Some have French names, some have Indian names, and some have English origins
• The sign as you enter each city doesn't say City Limit, it says Corp Limit
• We haven't figured out zoning laws yet.  Especially in the rural areas, you can find a lovely big home and the next home over is a trailer, then there might be a modest home followed by another trailer, next to a mini mansion.  They are on a lot of property, so they're not close together, but it's still interesting to see such a mix.
• There are not basements here due to the high water table.  Some homes are built on concrete slabs, but a lot of homes are elevated on cinder blocks, bricks, or some other material. All of the trailer homes are elevated like that, but it's surprising how many other homes are on risers rather than a pad.

• It's not spring yet, but don't tell that to the people with lush gardens

They were selling collard greens

• And we're starting to see daffodils on the side of the road and in front of houses

More January flowers