Week 26 - Dwight

 

Caroline & Dwight at European Grocery Store LIDL

So ends 2023.  A year that for us has been full of change, yet full of memories of old times as we've returned to the land of my childhood and our young married life to serve as missionaries.  This calling for us has been nothing short of a miracle and we recognize it almost every day! 

We had a quite and reflective Christmas this year.  It's been easy for us to get into the spirit of the real meaning of Christmas while serving as full-time missionaries and we love it! We were able to have a day with our 3 kids and families that are here.  We visited a few people on Christmas day which was amazing!  We had a Zoom call with all of our family late on Christmas day.  The grandkids are growing way too fast in our absence!  The day after Christmas we visited with our family.  Hanging out with the adults and grandkids was way fun.

Jacob, Caroline and Alyssa

Today Susan and I had the privilege of speaking in my, our old home Albertson Ward.  Caroline, our youngest daughter that's spending the holidays with us, sang "Where Can I turn for Peace" and it was beautiful.  We also got to teach our amazing 12-year old Maeci as she prepares for baptism. 

With Caroline here this week, we made sure she had an opportunity to sing for several families, including, the Faisons, Angie, Lorie and JD, as well as our missionary district council.  We went to lunch with Fred, who insisted on seeing Caroline while she is here.  We visited Caroline's old elementary school, where she rode a folding chair down the slide when she was 7 and broke her arm!  We also visited our old home in Goldsboro so Caroline could see it because she has so many memories there.

With Fred at Pizza Inn

Former Home in Goldsboro

Spring Creek Gators

As we contemplate the ending of an old year and the start of a new one, we're so thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, that, because of His atonement, we can repent and start over every day!

Happy New Year!

Week 25

 This week started out with Elder Potter helping our son with secret Christmas stuff in Raleigh while I finished secret Christmas stuff here. That day seems like months ago. Tuesday we visited Claire to give her a new member discussion (which she could have given to us--she knew it all). She wasn't feeling very well that day... more to come on Claire a little later. That evening we went on another visit to a ward member's home this time with a member of the Elder's quorum presidency. We had a fun visit with Barbara and Jimmy. We gave a Christmas message and had a wonderful discussion.

Wednesday afternoon we visited Judy. She's the new member in Albertson that we took to the temple a couple of months ago. We have another trip planned with her for January. She just lost her older sister and is very grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and her understanding of the Plan of Salvation.

Us with Judy

Thursday we had a great visit with Angie and JD. We talked about Christmas and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and how we need to prepare temporally but more importantly, we need to prepare spiritually.

Susan, Angie, and JD

We visited the Faisons that day and took them some Christmas surprises and watched a Christmas video about the birth of Christ. The Christ Child: A Nativity Story

Us and the Faison Family

Thursday night we went to the Huggins Family Christmas Party. Clifton Huggins is Claire's great-grandpa. When we got there we found out that Claire started feeling worse after we left on Tuesday night. She had the flu with a 104 degree temperature! I was disappointed we didn't get to hang out with her at the party and really sad she was so sick.

In the picture of the entertainment below, the boy on the left is a Huggins family member home from a military base in Kentucky for Christmas. When he saw our missionary badges he told us about the senior couple on his base. He said he loves them. They found him immediately after he got there and have helped him so much... shameless plug for senior missionaries.

That's Claire's great-grandpa in the middle and
next to me is her grandma, Sheila. 

Being entertained at the party by Huggins
family members.

Friday was our Christmas Zone Conference. It was actually a four-zone-zone conference. I know we've said it before, but hanging out with the young missionaries is awesome. They teach us so much. I always look forward to Wednesday for district council or any day there is a Zone council or conference even though it means getting up earlier than usual. From 9-12 it was spiritually uplifting and from 12-4 there was lunch, Santa, games, and a movie. We left before the movie because we had to go visit someone.

Some of our district and our zone leader...
love them!

Today is Christmas Eve. We took the two youngest Faison children with us to church. The 7-year-old has a LOT of energy. He needed a LOT of reminding to be at least a little more still and not quite so loud. On the way home we talked to him about why we go to church. We talked about Jesus and how he loves us. Now that I think about it, Jesus is probably thinking something similar about me. She needs to be a LOT more patient with that 7-year-old. The Savior is patient with me as I learn, and He forgives me when I make mistakes. What a beautiful world it would be if we were all just a little more patient and a little more forgiving. We are so thankful for Jesus Christ and His Infinite Atonement that makes the Plan of Salvation possible.

In about an hour, we are going to Raleigh to visit Jake and his family and then to pick up Caroline from the airport! Yay! :) I'm not going to post this until I can add some pictures from that, so this will be a little late.

Homemade pasta... thanks Jake!

Lego building

Time for Luke 2

Clara read beautifully!

Picking up Caroline at the airport!

Now I can show you pictures of the what I made for all my kids and grandkids for Christmas. I don't think I ever want to make another one! :)

Merry Christmas to you all! We love you!

Love, Sister and Elder Potter

Week 24 - Dwight

What an amazing week!  Of course, way too many Christmas parties and dinners.  On Monday afternoon, for p-day, I took 2 of my old buddies, Junior Rouse and Gregory Harper pier fishing at the beach.  We caught a lot of fish, just not many fish legal to keep.  I did catch a nice 19 inch black drum.  We were all sore and worn out by the end of the day.  The next morning Gregory said he had to learn to walk again because he was so sore!

On Tuesday, we visited a house in Albertson that's for rent by our friends.  We're trying to figure out if we can move over there.  That would be amazing, since that is my "home town".  More to come on that.  We also ran to see our friends the Huggins and left a Christmas message from the Book of Mormon. Later that night we began our new efforts to visit members of our ward.  We, along with Sister Finch (Relief Society President) visited John and Kristie Grady and got to know them much better.  There's nothing like visiting someone in their home to really get to know them!

Dwight, Clifton & Betty Huggins

Wednesday, after district council meeting, we headed to Mt. Olive.  We spent about an hour with Alex.  Alex lost his wife a few months ago after taking care of her 24/7 for years and he has really struggled with the loss.  Our friend Doug and I gave him a blessing and we loaded the Gospel Library App onto his phone.  He promised to listen to conference talks, the scriptures and sacred music to help him get through these hard times.  He wants to get to the temple and have his wife sealed to him.  We're praying for him.  That night we ended up at a favorite spot - Eagles Nest - the Church campground near by.  The Mt. Olive ward had their ward Christmas party there and we ate way too much (at least I did.)  Saw a lot of people we love.  Then we headed with the young missionaries to teach Rose and her husband, a very nice family.  Talked about Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation.  It was great! 

Dwight & Alex

Thursday morning I met the young missionaries in Goldsboro to work on 2 houses being built by Habitat for Humanity.  We did a lot of painting into the afternoon.  Then we went to see Denise and Claire.  Denise has been feeling like she's alone and we wanted her to know that she is not.  We saw a beautiful crescent moon on the way home.

"Professional" painter?

Goldsboro Zone - Habitat for Humanity

Friday we were invited to a "pig picking" by Murphy Williams at Albertson, along with others of his friends, including the Rouses that we've been spending some time with.  It was a cool night and they had a barrel with a good, warm fire - that was making coals to cook the pig.  He cooked a whole pig and it was amazing! He asked me to say the blessing, which I did.  I tried not to be too long winded since everyone was hungry, including me!

Saturday night we took the Faison kids to the Albertson/Woodington wards Christmas Party at Albertson.  Y'all, I'm starting to get way too fat eating all this southern Christmas food, but I just can't resist pecan pie!

Jay asking Santa for a basketball

Today, we finally got to teach Maeci, a 12 year old young woman who is so ready to join the Church of Jesus Christ by being baptized.  She was amazing, asked several good questions and cried as she felt the spirit of the Holy Ghost.  We're just praying that her mom will give her permission to do so.  Tonight, one last Christmas dinner with the Wiggins Family in Mt Olive.  Lathan and Pauline Wiggins were wonderful friends with my parents for many years.  Tonight we had dinner with several of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Lots of memories!

Today in church, Sister Welch gave a talk on the Light of Christ and how she sees it in her everyday life.  It made me realize that we can see and feel His influence every day, in small ways, like a smile from a stranger, the smell of grandma's baking bread, the beautiful sunset, the smell of evergreen trees, the sound of children's laughter and in so many other ways.  I'm going to try and pay more attention.  We love Him and are so thankful for His light and His love for us.  Love to you all!

Week 23

 

This week started out with P-day cleaning, laundry, and organizing. Then we put up a few Christmas decorations... very few. Our tree is as tall as the star on our tree at home, but it still reminds me to feel the Christmas spirit in our little home. Anna (our daughter) sent a wooden cardinal ornament with some presents. We hung the cardinal on the tree, and the tree needed a little help standing up. If you look closely at the tree, you can also see two special "ornaments." Claire made two bracelets for me. One is red and white and the other is green, so they are hanging on the tree!

Tuesday we went to lunch with Linda, Donald, & Cari (Dwight's sister, her husband, and their daughter) and Linda's friend since elementary school, Nadine. We had a great time, and of course, Elder Potter helped Nadine put the FamilySearchTree App on her phone. She was amazed at the generations of her family that she could see on the app. She said we could come visit her and her son sometime soon and help him get the same information on his phone. We haven't met anyone yet that hasn't wanted to learn more about their family. It's something the whole world has in common!

Us, Nadine, Linda, Donald

Wednesday was zone council, which is always fun because we're with the young missionaries for half the day. The young Elders and Sisters do a fabulous job teaching and training and encouraging everyone to share testimonies of Jesus Christ that uplift us all. That night we went to dinner with amazing friends and family. Some of you will recognize these wonderful people. We shared things of the Spirit, things of the heart, and lots of laughs. 

On the way out, I noticed this sign. If you can't see it in the picture, it says: "Courage is being scared to death--but saddling up anyway. --John Wayne" I thought about that a lot and how I can use it as a missionary. There are a lot of things that scare me, but I've got to saddle up (put on my name badge and go out and serve). I hope as you're reading this you're thinking of a way you can "saddle up" and have more courage.

Since Linda and Donald are here, they wanted to go visit Kevin and Tami (Dwight's brother and his wife) at their beach house. Linda and Donald flew here and don't have a car, so we "unselfishly" volunteered to take them. Missionaries are supposed to have service hours, right? I'm not sure if that counts, but senior missionaries can take time out to see family. We had a great visit--ate good food, played games, walked to the beach, and visited. Kevin and Tami are the best hosts!

Trying to duck out of the sun in Duck, NC. :)

I took this at sunset.

I took the next picture out the window while we were driving home. It reminded me of a lot of things. First it reminds me of how beautiful God's creations are. Sometimes during our busy day, we forget to stop and look around us and just appreciate all we have. Another thing I thought about was the sun shining in the darkness and the beautiful colors it makes. When we have trials and we allow the "Son" to shine on us in our darkness, our world can become more beautiful that we can imagine. Only in and through Jesus Christ can we become the person God knows we can become.

Today we went to Albertson for the baptism of Martin. He is such a good guy--he glows! I wish you could see the glow in the picture. During the baptism service he bore his testimony in Spanish. I only understood a word here and there, but I understood the spirit and power with which he spoke. There is no doubt that Martin loves Jesus and His Gospel and has a testimony that it has been restored to the earth.

Hermanas and Martin

The sunset picture and thoughts of Martin and his baptism had the song "Our Savior's Love" going through my mind. The words of the song are my testimony this week.

1. 1. Our Savior’s love

   Shines like the sun with perfect light,

   As from above

   It breaks thru clouds of strife.

   Lighting our way,

   It leads us back into his sight,

   Where we may stay

   To share eternal life.

2. 2. The Spirit, voice

   Of goodness, whispers to our hearts

   A better choice

   Than evil’s anguished cries.

   Loud may the sound

   Of hope ring till all doubt departs,

   And we are bound

   To him by loving ties.

3. 3. Our Father, God

   Of all creation, hear us pray

   In rev’rence, awed

   By thy Son’s sacrifice.

   Praises we sing.

   We love thy law; we will obey.

   Our heav’nly King,

   In thee our hearts rejoice.

Text: Edward L. Hart, 1916–2008. © 1977 IRI

Music: Crawford Gates, 1921–2018. © 1977 IRI

We are grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who answers our prayers and for His Son, Jesus Christ and His Atonement. We love them!

We love you!

Sister and Elder Potter

Week 22 - Dwight

Well December is finally here and we're starting our 6th month as missionaries.  Some interesting things happening this week.  With Mt. Olive being added to our area, we're trying to figure out how to plan for both wards.  We're about a 45 minute drive from the Church in Mt Olive, so we're considering if we need to move to somewhere between Woodington and Mt. Olive to make it more convenient - say, I don't know, maybe ALBERTSON, where I grew up!  My friends have a house they want to rent, right beside the Post Office, where Daddy worked and I spent a lot of time.  We'll check it out and more to come on that, but that would be amazing!

Tuesday we spent some time with Lorie Ann, our friend that's preparing to go to the temple.  She continues to have a lot of good questions about a lot of things.  We feel really blessed to know her and to be able to have her as our friend (and 3rd cousin!)  That night we went to Albertson to my grand niece's baptism - Adelyn.  She is my sister Linda's granddaughter.  There were lots of family and friends there.

Adelyn (left) and friends

4 Generations of Duprees (L-R) Ken, Adelyn, Richard, Charlotte

Wednesday mornings are always filled with meetings with the young missionaries.  We said goodbye to Elder Hardy, our district leader, who's finished his 2-year mission and heading home.  That night we attended the funeral of Ramona Ann Collins Jenkins LaPlante in Pink Hill.  Sister Ramona grew up in the Albertson area and knew my parents very well.  They used to call my mama the "general" because she liked to be in charge and get her say.  If Mama was a 1 or 2-star general, then Sister Ramona was definitely a 4-star+ general!  Soon after we arrived here, she texted me 31 times asking us to go visit a sister that she was ministering to because that sister had had a stroke.  We went and that visit resulted in two baptisms!  Later Ramona had her own stroke, but seemed to be doing well.  Just four weeks ago today she bore a short, heart-felt testimony of Jesus Christ in our Fast and Testimony Meeting.  Then just 2 weeks ago she was in the hospital.  We visited her and the family 3 times and each time we went she just got weaker.  We gave her a blessing.  On our 2nd visit she said to me "Brother Dwight, I want to be with Jesus"  I felt like her time was close.  On Thursday I was honored to dedicate her grave site.

Thursday we also got to visit with Claire and we watched the Joseph Smith story video together with her and her grandma.  Always fun to visit their house.  From there we rushed to the church to help clean it and from there we rushed to our friends' house (Sandra Dixon, JR Rouse's sister.)  We were invited to a fish fry with them and extended family.  We didn't realize until we got there that it was Melvin Dixon's birthday that we were celebrating!  We were the only non-family there and felt loved to be invited.  I had already researched the Rouse family history and helped them get the FamilySearch Tree app downloaded and loaded in their tree.  We love doing that and seeing people be amazed at how much of their family tree information is available.  

Friday I spent most of the day with JR (Junior to me).  We fished some at the beach and I caught a fairly large pompano and we also caught several large sea mullets!  Yay.  Junior is a good friend from my childhood and now we're good friends again.  I think he's helping me as much as I'm helping him.  He's not a member of our Church, but we always pray and talk about spiritual stuff.  He lost his dad earlier this year and has been struggling with how to deal with that, as we all would.  There is so much hope because of Jesus Christ and he knows that.

JR surf fishing

On Saturday we spent all day in Mt. Olive.  Annie Carter is a sister that was baptized on Saturday by the young elders.  Very nice lady!  Took the young missionaries to lunch and then went for a lesson with them to a guy and his "grandson" with a very interesting story.  He set a baptism date!  Visited with some dear friends Manon Parent and Clara Gwaltney and just had a lovely day.

We love Jesus Christ and know that He is the Savior of the world.  President Nelson (prophet) invited us to "think Celestial".  We hope that we're not only believing in Jesus Christ, but trying to become something more by following His perfect example for us, so that we can begin to think more "Celestial" and live more "Celestial".  We believe that trying to live a more Christ-like life will not only bring us peace and happiness in this life, but will bring us a hope of more peace and happiness in the world to come.  We know that it is only through Him that we are saved.  Love you all!