Week 71

We started out this week with all kinds of plans. We made visits and taught almost like before we got sick. By Wednesday, I was exhausted. Dwight was still ready to go, go, go! Thursday I tried to keep up. Friday, Dwight did "service" on his own so I could rest. Here are some highlights.

We visited Monica and talked to her about family history. She's going to call her mom in Haiti and try to get some information about her grandparents and great-grandparents. She seemed excited about that. We also talked to her about the Sacrament. She seems to really understand the Savior's love for her. We also told her about a special youth meeting next Saturday with Elder Stevenson, an Apostle. I hope she gets to go. I love this sweet girl.

Susan, Monica, Dwight

We visited Alin and taught his wife in Haiti on WhatsApp. The young missionaries taught her in Creole, Dwight talked to her in French, and I told her I loved her in English. The love and truth of the Gospel is felt through the Spirit in any language! I am so impressed with our young missionaries. They did NOT go through the MTC (Missionary Training Center) to learn Creole. They were called to learn the language while serving in Mt. Olive. They are doing so well communicating with all of our friends.

Alin (holding the phone with his wife Anseline),
Elders Smithson and Bates

Dwight, Alin, Anseline, Susan

We also got to visit two of our favorite people--brothers, Jean Edrice and Chrismonor. They are so much fun and love to study the Gospel. We read in the Book of Mormon and New Testament and had a nice discussion. We also measured Chrismonor for a suit. He's excited to dress up to go to church.

Paul Edrice and Chrismonor

Dwight actually had two days of service. Friday he took his friend that needed to get out of the house fishing. They attracted the attention of a cute little girl who wanted to see their fish. :)

Saturday, several people in our ward, including Dwight, went to help clean out the house of a lady who moved into assisted living. One of our Haitian sisters was the beneficiary of a piano. Luckily we have a professional piano tuner in our ward that made moving the piano much easier than it would have been without him. The sister that received the piano is so excited. She really wants to learn how to play! She thanks everyone she sees.

The donated piano

At church today we had a large Haitian second hour class. It was taught by a Haitian brother. It's wonderful to see the people growing in the Gospel and helping each other. It was Ward Conference today, so after church we had lunch altogether. Always fun!

Second hour class

Visiting after lunch

I found this on my phone today. It's Caroline singing I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus with a friend. It brought tears to my eyes. With all the craziness in the world, if we could all try just a little more to be like Jesus....  We love you all! Sister and Elder Potter

Susan Richardson Potter · N 1200 E St (1)

Week 70 - Dwight

When life is good and everything is going well and challenges are minimal, it's easy to take all that we have for granted.  My friend has had 3 operations on his feet in the last 2 years and there's a risk that he may lose one or both of his feet.  He's not taking his foot health for granted.  Anytime I lose the function of any small body part, I realize how much I have taken pretty much everything I have for granted.  But, I'm quickly reminded that we're dependent on God for everything, and everything we have, from Him, is pretty amazing!  We continued to both be sick this week.  We've stayed home most of the week and missed very much being able to get out and visit people that we love.  Finally, towards the end of the week, we started to feel better and were able to get out some.  We're not taking our health for granted.  We're so thankful for everything that we have and to feel good again.  We'll approach this week a little more humble, a little more thankful, and a little more determined to accomplish what God sent us here to do - and happy that we can get back to work!

Bella at her baptism

Bella in Utah

On Saturday, our granddaughter Bella was baptized in Cedar City, Utah by her dad.  We were sorry we couldn't be there in person, but we were able to attend via Zoom and we loved it!  Susan was even able to give a talk on The Holy Ghost.  We were surprised to see Susan's brother, sister, and mom in attendance.  It was amazing to attend this baptism, see and talk to everyone and feel the spirit, even over Zoom!

Saturday was also the Stew Fest in Albertson, across the street from where we live (Remember, we live down town!)  There is a stew contest and booths set up to sell food, local wares, and other items.  We were invited to set up a booth and teach people about family history.

Susan, Dwight and Greg at Stew Fest

Family History poster at Stew Fest

At the Stew Fest, we talked to several people and helped a few set up the Family Tree App and link to their family.  The Church's family tree is basically an attempt to create and populate one family tree for everyone who every lived on the earth.  It's an amazing undertaking and everyone is invited to participate.  One of the best experiences I had was talking to a woman and helping her link to her family tree.  We discovered that her great-grandfather was Benjamin Franklin Grady.  The grade school that I attended and that all my brothers and sisters attended and probably even my dad, was B.F. Grady and was named after Benjamin Franklin Grady.  For the people of Albertson, B. F. Grady is a pretty famous name.  She had no idea that the local school was named after her great-grandfather.  She was delighted!

While we didn't get out much this week, we did continue to support the work on phone calls and by working on some things to help our Haitian friends from home.  On Friday, I was feeling a lot better and Susan needed another day to recover.  So, for a few hours I took my friend, that's been cooped up in his home for weeks, fishing at the beach.  We had a fun day, caught a few fish and just enjoyed being outside on a beautiful day.

Sunset at Topsail Island

One of the things I love most about Utah is the mountains and being able to see them from a long ways away, the amazing sunsets and being able to see everything from the top of the mountains and the stars you can see in the mountains at night.  I think that's why I love the beach in NC, because you can see so far and so much of God's creations.  It reminds me of the scripture in the Book of Mormon Alma 30:44 "...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." Everything we have comes from God and we have a lot!  We are so grateful for this earth, for our family, for our bodies and good health.  We're also grateful for you and the love we feel from you at home and you here that we get to be with regularly.  We love you and feel God's love for you everyday.

Elder Dwight and Sister Susan Potter