Week 79

Most of you know that we live in Albertson and do most of our missionary service in Mt. Olive. Because of this and because our family used to live in Mt. Olive, our Christmas gift to our 14 grandchildren was theme based on Mt. Olive, The Pickle Capital of the World. We went to the pickle store at the pickle plant 😊 and got each child a Mt. Olive Pickles t-shirt. I also crocheted each of them a large stuffed "emotional support pickle" because they are each such a big "dill" and will sometimes need a hug from Nana.

These had to be shipped to Utah, so they got 
finished by Thanksgiving.

These were for grandchildren in NC. The last
one got finished on Christmas Eve. 😏

This week we celebrated New Year's with our traditional black eyed peas and shrimp--and lots of other food including Caroline's divine French silk pie. However, we didn't have our traditional family celebration. This year on New Year's Day, we had special guests... the Albertson Elders, the Albertson Hermanas, and the Woodington Sisters. Caroline actually knew one of the Hermanas and recognized the other one from her job at BYU. Small world. We had a great time getting to know these wonderful young missionaries better. They are all in our district, but since we spend most of our time in Mt. Olive, we know the Elders there the best.

The Hermanas left before this picture. 😔

Here they are with Caroline at District Council.

Speaking of District Council, I took a picture at that meeting. Our district is huge. Missing from this photo is me and two Mt. Olive Elders. They are our Zone Leaders, so technically, I guess they don't have a district, but they live in ours. The Mt. Olive Ward has two sets of Haitian Elders and an English speaking set of Elders and the service missionaries that live at Eagle's Nest Camp and us. That's 10 full-time missionaries just in Mt. Olive and 18 total in our District when our Zone Leaders come.

This week we took Caroline with us to visit many of the people that have become so special to us. Some of the friends we saw were JD Robinson, Monica, the Pierre-Louis Brothers, Charlemise, and the Fils Aime Brothers. It was fun to listen to our friends and Caroline talk and laugh together in French.

Elders Hafen & Smithson, Dwight, Christmonor &
Edrice Fils Aime, Caroline, and Susan.

This week Dwight was able to take his friend on one last fishing trip before it gets too cold. This friend doesn't get out much, so it's good for both of them. Not only does his friend get out, but Dwight gets to have a real p-day and do something different. That day he was a fisher of fish and men.

Today after church we had a Haitian Group Leadership/Planning (I'm not sure what we're calling it) meeting with the missionaries and the Haitian Group Leadership. They have some great ideas to help our new members and friends.

Elders Bates and Nordgren, Romual-2nd 
Councilor, Davidson-1st Councilor

One day this week, Dwight got one call after another from the Haitian missionaries in Mt. Olive and Fayetteville. He'd hang up the phone and it would immediately ring again. They call him to bear his testimony about whatever principle they have just taught their friends. Sometimes these friends will ask Dwight questions, and the calls will be kind of long. Other times they are fairly short. For the most part, the people he talks to sound very receptive to the Gospel message. 

This particular day after receiving several calls in a row, Dwight said, "There are so many people that want to be baptized." At first I just laughed. Then I sat there pondering. We have been living in and witnessing a miracle in Mt. Olive. It has become so ordinary to have so many new people at church every week that I was beginning to take it for granted. Each one of these precious souls is a child of God. He loves them more than I can imagine. He has blessed us with the opportunity to share His love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ with these beautiful people.

We are so grateful for the chance we have to serve in North Carolina!

We love you all and thank you for your support!

Love,

Sister and Elder Potter