Week 73

Monday was our last Temple Prep class, and the parents of one of the sisters in the class wanted to make us a farewell meal.  So they fixed venison/chicken/sausage jambalya for the whole group and brought it to the church for us all to have before class.  Such fun and so good.

The Petches (the good cooks) are at the far end on the right

We planned to go to the early morning seminary class in Leesville on Tuesday, but got a text from the teacher on Monday night that she was sick.  Apparently half of the folks we know have come down with the gombu--missionaries and members alike have been catching and sharing horrible colds for the last couple of weeks.  Fortunately we've escaped the contagion.

After the prison on Wednesday we drove up to Natchitoches to visit both the seminary and institute classes.  We got to town early so we could go to Olivier Woodworks.  We've seen examples of their cypress furniture in a little gallery on Front Street, and I've become obsessed with the idea of having a cypress souvenir.  Cypress trees are so ubiquitous to the swamps and bayous of Louisiana and so absent from the west that we thought having a "cypress something" would be a great reminder of our time here.  The owner of Olivier's (the daughter of the founder, who died a few years ago) gave us a tour of the workshop and told us some of the history of the shop.  The straight line rip saw was built in 1914 and the lathe is also over 100 years old.  We asked if they ship furniture, and she said it was interesting we'd asked, because she and her employees had just been discussing making some of their pieces with removable legs so they could be shipped.  We placed our order, and our sofa table will be the first piece made with the new portability! 

The last time we could see our Pollock inmate was January 9th--the prison has been on lock-down every week since then.  Our Oakdale inmates said they heard there was a fatal stabbing up there, but I don't know how they would know that. . . .  This week's lesson was on agency, etc.  Prisoners at any correctional facility probably thought laws and rules interfered with their freedom, but once they have broken those laws, they REALLY learn about loss of freedom.

We visited a sister in Marksville on Thursday, then went to scripture study at the church, followed by another fabulous meal.  Sister Misner invited us over for her famous gumbo.  It was absolutely fantastic, and it's amazing how each person's gumbo is just a little different from anyone else's.  She served hers with sweet potatoes.  She also pulled out a box of special Mardi Gras beads and we all wore those to celebrate the season. 

In full celebration mode

Friday was a quiet day--we both had lessons and talks to prepare.  It was also Valentine's Day, and we're grateful for all the people we love.

On Saturday we attended a baptism for a wonderful young man in the Alexandria Ward.  The talks, testimonies, music, and the ordinance itself were especially spiritual.  Tim is excited to serve a mission as soon as he's been a member a year. 

We were both asked to give talks in Sacrament meeting today, but when we got there we learned that a member of the Stake Presidency was also speaking.  In order to leave him enough time, Kerby spoke and I'm now well prepared for March 8th.  (Stake Conference is next week, so can't speak then.)  This will make six times we've each spoken in Sacrament meeting--just a bit more often than that happens in Utah!