Week 45

The first Sunday we were in Marksville, the sight of a great big Adirondack chair at the back of the room was sort of surprising.  It soon became absolutely normal.  We sit on folding chairs, and one sister can't sit comfortably on them, so the last branch president had this made for her:

On Tuesday we got the rain we had expected with Tropical Storm Barry several weeks ago.  The heavens opened and just dumped rain off and on for hours.  Our electricity was out for about 90 minutes.  Kerby had a follow-up doctor's appointment, so we set out, practically needing to paddle all the way.  To our surprise, the electricity was out all over town (not to our surprise, many streets were completely flooded).  The power was out at the clinic, right next to the hospital, but came on after we'd been there about 30 minutes.

We got 4.3 inches of rain that day.  The year-to-date rain here is 41 inches (compared to 33 normally).  Also, when we go to the gym in the morning, the humidity is generally between 94% and 98%.  We'll probably dry up and blow away when we get back to our desert.

This picture is of the pond across the road from us.  Normally the drainage pipes are very evident.  Tuesday afternoon there were ducks swimming far above the usual level of the pond with pipes far under water.

Same spot; flood day, top--normal day, bottom

About two months ago, a prisoner from Central America joined our group at the prison.  He is absolutely the sweetest man, and we love him so much.  His English is not very good, but he tries to participate in the whole Come Follow Me discussion as well as he can.  When it's his turn to read aloud, he reads from his Spanish scriptures while we follow along in English, and he follows along in Spanish when others read.  This week Elder Kerr wanted to use quite a bit of a conference talk, and had the bright idea to use the translate function in Word.  It worked beautifully, and now communication is even easier. Just before the closing prayer, this man said, "This hour is my favorite part of the week."  Other prisoners have expressed similar sentiments either in private or in the group, and being at the prison has certainly been an unexpected blessing for us.

 Baptisms are always highlights, and we had a baptism yesterday.  Ryne has been part of the branch ever since we've been there and long before.  Finally everything came into place for him to be ready to join the Church.  His wife has been a member her whole life, and it's exciting to watch this family progress and grow.

Happy Day!