Week 30 - Dwight

We talked to our dear sister-in-law Sheila a few days ago and she confirmed something that I was wondering.  "Dwight, your southern accent is getting really thick again!" - or something to that effect.  Language, speech, words, etc., it's one of the major ways we communicate and interact with each other.  It's hard enough to get it right when everyone speaks the same native language (I suppose I'd call mine Southeastern United States English  - backwoods vs city talk), but when a southern boy that hasn't really spoken French for 45 years is trying to communicate deep religious theology to Haitians that are native Creole speakers, but speak French as a 2nd language pretty well, then you're just asking for trouble!  We had 8 Haitians at church today, including 5 adults and 3 children.  Let's just say that my translation of sacrament meeting was lacking a little something - except for the sacrament prayers, because I could read those!  Good thing these are very understanding Haitians.  And, they are quickly becoming friends!  Three of the adults are members of the Church and are trying to become more active.   We're teaching the other two along with several others.  We met with Marie Guetty (member) and her husband Jean-Claude (non-member) on Thursday this week and set a date in February for him  to be baptized.  He seems excited!  Since the members haven't been to church in a long time and the others are learning, we are, for the time being, teaching missionary discussion during the 2nd hour.  Today we finished Our Loving Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation.

Early in the week it seemed like every appointment we had was canceled for one reason or another. We did get a chance to have a video chat with Kyle and Anna on Monday night:)  The kids are bigger every time we see them :(  

We were able to go to the church Tuesday with Aarayah Faison, along with her brother and cousin, and put Coach Dwight to work again teaching some basketball skills. Wednesday was a pretty busy day with our usual Wednesday morning District Council Meeting, now being held in Mt Olive.  Later in the afternoon we headed to Raleigh (Apex) because all the senior missionaries had been invited to dinner at President and Sister Stevens' home (mission leaders).  We had a great meal and enjoyed visiting with all the other senior folks.  Afterwards we went to see Jacob and Anna and the grandkids before heading back home to Kinston.

Nana teaches Clara to crochet

Thursday started with my going with the young elders in Kinston to visit a man that was a media referral.  We knocked on the door, but no one, we thought, was home.  As I drove to the back to turn around, we found him.  This man, Victor, had a fascinating story.  He was in prison for 30 years and was now out for a few and trying to change his life.  He had significant troubles, including financial difficulties.  In order to make certain that he knew we were not the ones to talk to about financial aide, we told him that the aide we offer is spiritual aide and quoted Peter in Acts 3:6 "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee."  Peter then healed the man he was talking to.  Victor still wanted to talk to us and it went well - we'll see where it goes.

Then, we headed to Snow Hill (right by Hookerton) to see our friend JD in the rehab center.  We stayed just a minute because he was having of all things, rehab treatments.  Scooted off to Mt Olive to see Alex.  The Relief Society president, Susan Hudson, met us there and we taught him some of the Plan of Salvation to help him prepare for the temple.  Afterwards we went to talk to Jean-Claude and Marie Guetty.

Friday we headed to Greenville to see our friend Bernard that had foot surgery.  He seemed to be doing well.  While we were there, one of his nurses came in and I could tell from her accent that she was not a native born American.  Her name was Mary, and she's from Kenya and has only been here for a couple of months.  She has a 12-year-old daughter with her and her husband and two other children are back in Kenya.  We talked to her about our desire to visit Kenya someday and just had a very lovely visit.  She gave us her phone number and we hope to visit her soon to share a message about Jesus Christ and get to know her better.  That night we visited the Huggins in the Woodington area and had a great discussion about the Kingdons of Glory and Thinking Celestial.

Saturday morning was big basketball game day at the stake center in Goldsboro.  The whole Faison clan was there as Albertson/Mt Olive/Woodington combined girls team took on Smithfield.  Aarayah, in her first ever basketball game, scored 4 points and pull down 5 rebounds!  We were so proud of her!

We're a little torn on Sundays because we want to be with the people we love in Woodington, but there's a need right now for us to be in Mt Olive every week so I can translate and teach our Haitian friends.  We hated that we missed seeing the Faisons and the Wards with Claire, along with everyone else in Woodington.  But, we really enjoyed being with and seeing everyone in Mt Olive.  We had to postpone teaching Maeci until this afternoon.  We had a great discussion with this beautiful family on Becoming Lifelong Members of the Church.  Ten people were present at the discussion and over half of us had tear-filled eyes because the Spirit was so strong.

Trying to translate sacrament meeting into French is a difficult and tiring task for me.  I hope those listening get something out of the meeting.  One thing that I'm coming to understand better and better is that love transcends all languages.  Susan can't speak a lick of French, but she shows and feels love for and from these new friends.  Also, the Holy Ghost breaks language difficulty and barriers and is able to speak to the heart when words alone fail.  We're so grateful for the knowledge we have, that the Holy Ghost bears witness to us, that God lives, we are His children and Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son!  We love Him and we love you.

Just because today's sunset was so beautiful!

Week 29

 

Week 29 finds us spending a lot of time in our truck (pictured above) like always. We drive an average of 4,000 miles a month. This week we have been to Albertson, Mt. Olive, Goldsboro, and Deep Run multiple times. We've also been to Raleigh, Snow Hill, New Bern, Trenton, Hookerton, and of course, Kinston (and through lots of little towns and crossroads on the way).

Ping Pong after lesson with Claire

We had two friends in the hospital this week, so we were regulars there. We've been going on member visits and met a wonderful new friend on Tuesday. Sister Stroud recently lost her husband. She had lots of stories to share with us. She and her husband served two missions together. I look forward to visiting her again. We taught at least 3 lessons in English this week... the rest were in French. Dwight is doing a great job. My testimony has to be translated, but I can feel the Spirit as we discuss the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Wednesday was District Council. Then later we took the Albertson Hermanas to the temple, so they could be with Martin (a new member) for his first visit to the temple. It was an amazing evening. As you can see, Martin had lots of people travel to Raleigh to support him. 

We got to Raleigh early, so we took the Hermanas to meet Jake, Anna, and their kids and Elayna. It was so much fun, and I cannot believe I didn't take any pictures. Just imagine two sister missionaries with 4 adorable kids... it was crazy with cuteness. 

Alyssa wasn't at Jake's house because she was picking up this kitten as a surprise for Elayna. Here she is the next day reading "Penguin" the cat a story. I can't wait for Elayna to introduce us to her new pet.

At Lovick's Cafe in Kinston

At Morris Barbeque in Hookerton

Dwight, Susan, Elder Clifford, Elder Bates, Jim

We asked the young missionaries in Kinston (one of whom used to be our District leader, Elder Clifford, in Goldsboro) if they could help Dwight give a blessing to one of our friends in the hospital. They were out of town at a meeting. They gave us a name of someone in the area... Jim Walker. Dwight has known him forever, and I have known their family for half of forever. Since then Jim has taken us to lunch twice. Once with the young missionaries from Kinston.

We finally got to meet Lorie Ann's husband, Kim. We look forward to hanging out with them some more. They live in Greenville, but Lorie Ann's dad is in the Woodington Ward. 

Saturday we took the Faison kids to the gym at the church to help Aariyah learn some basics in basketball. She just turned 12 so she gets to play on the young women's team. On Saturday she went from knowing nothing to making almost every shot she took with pretty good form. She probably got sick of hearing Dwight say, "Shot with one hand, do it again." They did lots of drills and promised to practice in their yard.

We always hear that "practice makes perfect." That sentiment applies to so many things. It even applies to something like listening to the Spirit. The more I've listened to the Spirit in my life, the easier it has been to recognize the Spirit. Also the more I've listen, the more the Spirit speaks to me. I may never be "perfect" in listening, but practicing listening to the Spirit helps me to become more like the person my Heavenly Father wants me to become. Aariyah listened to Coach Dwight and got better at basketball. I can think of no better life coach than the Holy Ghost. As we follow promptings we will be doing God's will.  

"And I do this for a wise purpose; for thus it whispereth me, according to the workings of the Spirit of the Lord which is in me. And now, I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things which are to come; wherefore, he worketh in me to do according to his will." Words of Mormon 1:7

We love you all!

Sister and Elder Potter

Week 28 - Dwight

Goldsboro District 1/10/24

 North Carolina gets nearly 50 inches of precipitation on average each year.  Utah, on the other hand, gets only about 12.   Early this week a pretty significant storm passed through the east coast.  Florida had tornados toughing down causing damage.  A tornado watch was issued for Eastern North Carolina.  It was significant enough that all the young missionaries were asked to remain in their apartments all day.  We didn't think it looked that bad so we decided to go visit Lucile in the nursing home in Pink Hill, about 20 miles away.  The rain was heavy, but not terrible.  The wind on the other hand was extremely stiff and was blowing our pickup all over the road.  After the visit we decided to stay inside for the rest of the evening!

The picture above of our district was taken on Wednesday because transfers were this week and we were afraid that several missionaries would be moving.  Transfers are every 6 weeks and on any given transfer, any missionary is subject to change.  Three missionaries were transferred this week, including our fearless district leader.

We continue to work with the Faison family.  We took 4 of them to church Wednesday night and was able to find youth leaders that were able to take them home.  That night we went to Mt Olive to attend ward council for the 1st time.  Was good to finally get over there and start to plan our work with the ward.

Thursday afternoon we headed back to Mt Olive to see Alex.  He's never been able to read, so Susan told him she'd teach him how.  Had a great reading lesson and also taught him the 1st part of the Plan of Salvation lesson.  He's a member of the Church, but would like to remember some of the basic doctrine.  That night we went to see high school basketball, James Kenan vs East Duplin.  Our friends Bernard and Rosanne Jones always go and help since their son Taylor is the coach of James Kenan.  We were surprised to also see an old friend Sandy Howard Whitman (went to prom after my mission as friends) and Jennifer Dixon Edwards.  It was a fun night.  My old team (East Duplin) wasn't able to keep up with the boys from James Kenan.

Coach Jones and parents at work!

Sandy and Friend

Jennifer

This week our friend JR Rouse (Junior) ended up in the hospital with an infection in his foot that required surgery.  After the surgery, his sister Sandra told us he wanted fries and a fish sandwich from McDonalds, since we were on our way to see him.  He hadn't had much of an appetite so it was good to see him hungry!  That day, we had been to see Sue Smith, a dear old friend.  When I was young, I worked with them on their farm every summer barning tobacco.  Her son Lynn was one of my good friends.  She may not realize the positive impact she had on my life with her goodness, kindness and example of a good mom, wife and person.  Way too many memories to mention here, but so many things that I will always remember.

Yesterday we felt like parents again as we took Aariyah Faison to the skating rink so she could spend time with her friends, then came back to get her and take her home.  It was fun!

Today was maybe our busiest day as missionaries.  It was the Woodington Ward Conference, which was great.  Years ago, when we had ward conferences, we'd always have a "spread lunch" with the stated purpose to provide a meal for the leaders that had to travel - and to socialize with them. Basically, it was an outdoor potluck picnic of the most heavenly southern dishes you can imagine.  Today we continued that tradition, only it was indoors.  Obviously, we stuck around for lunch.  After church we taught a lesson to Maeci (12 year old) on The Gospel of Jesus Christ as she continues to prepare for baptism.  She's so delightful!

After lunch, we headed to Mt Olive.  There are many Haitians that have moved into that area.  Most of them don't speak English or Spanish, but do speak Creole and French.  I speak French because of my missionary service as a youth in Belgium and France, so we were asked to talk to several members of the Church as well as several people that are interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and His Church.  We met with 6 different people in 3 different homes and tested my French ability thoroughly, but it was amazing!  And, we'll be going back!  We visited Junior in the hospital, came home for our senior missionary Zoom meeting (President and Sister Stevens spoke to us) and finished our day at about 9:00 pm.

The storms this week reminded me of the council that the prophet Nephi gave his sons about the storms of life that will come.  "...that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation..."  It is our hope and prayer, that all our foundations will be built "upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God."  Have a great week and know that we love you!

Week 27

 

Caroline's visit came to an end, "vacation" is over, and it's time to get back to work. Actually we did quite a lot of visiting while Caroline was here. She "wanted" to sing for all of our friends. On New Year's Day we visited JD and Angie. JD cried when Caroline sang and Angie clapped and yelled, "She is ready for a contract! I'm going to show her videos to all my friends!" Later that day we went to a movie... Wonka! Afterwards we had a New Year's dinner of Bojangles. For all you Westerners, Bojangles is a fast food chicken place that our kids love (especially their Boberry biscuits). Caroline even bribed Uncle Ryan with a half dozen Boberries to pick her up from the Salt Lake airport on Thursday. Thank you Ryan!!!

Albertson was the highlight of Tuesday. We took Caroline to see the house we are moving into in February. The house is located in the heart of "downtown" Albertson. It's right by the community building which is right by the famous Albertson Post Office where Dwight's dad served as the Post Master for decades.

Our new home in February

Caroline in front of Albertson Post Office

We had a great adventure with Dwight's truck this week. The day after Christmas we got the oil changed. A little over a week later, Dwight noticed oil leaking... like a lot under the truck. The next day we rented a car and took the truck to get checked out. Turns out that when the oil was changed, the cap was not replaced and three quarts of oil leaked out. The fine establishment that changed the oil reimbursed us for the rental car and the auto repair bill. I was quite impressed with their willingness to fix their mistake. I know there is an object lesson in this story about repentance, forgiveness, and love. I'll let you figure it out. :)

Another visit we made this week (actually two visits) was to Sheila, Steve, and Claire. Caroline sang to them. Sheila wanted her to sing again so she could record her. She wanted to send it to her mom. I told her I would send her a link on Youtube instead. During that visit, we discovered that Claire has a guitar that she doesn't know how to play. So I gave her a mini lesson and taught her how to play "Polly Wolly Doodle." Today when we visited Dwight gave her a ping pong lesson. She got a ping pong table for Christmas.

Claire loves her animals.

During a visit to a friend in Mt. Olive, I agreed to teach reading lessons to an adult man whose first language is Spanish. He never learned to read in Spanish or English. He is about my age. Dwight and I are looking forward to this new challenge. Well, I know I am looking forward to it. I love teaching kids to read. I hope it translates to adults.

Today was a good and busy day filled with church and visits. We went to church at the Mt. Olive Ward. It's always so good to see so many people we love! After Sunday School we went to Albertson Ward (more people we love) for the baptism of a super sweet 16-year-old girl, Kara. She bore her testimony after she was baptized and confirmed, and the Spirit was so strong. Her brother and his fiancé (neither members of the Church) commented afterwards that they felt something special. I think everyone felt something very special. 

Three sweet sister missionaries, Kara, and her 
grandparents (that we've known forever).

I miss our kids, grandchildren, home, hometown, and going on cruises :-), but there is nothing I'd rather be doing right now than serving a mission right here. I love feeling the Spirit every day as we share our testimony, listen to people talk about their joys or trials, figure out ways to serve others in interesting ways, interact with young missionaries and members from several wards in our area, and study the Gospel. "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." (2 Nephi 25:26) 

We feel true joy in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We love you all!

Love, Sister and Elder Potter