Epilogue 2 (Week 104) - Dwight

 As we visited multiple Church History sites and temples this week, we have experienced all sorts of emotions.  At the Carthage Jail, the site where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum and others were awaiting trial on bogus charges and where a mob of 100 men broke into and killed Joseph and Hyrum, we felt pain and peace and determination.  We watched a portion of a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R Holland, one of the 12 apostles, in which he testified:

"In this their greatest—and last—hour of need, I ask you: would these men blaspheme before God by continuing to fix their lives, their honor, and their own search for eternal salvation on a book (and by implication a church and a ministry) they had fictitiously created out of whole cloth?

Never mind that their wives are about to be widows and their children fatherless. Never mind that their little band of followers will yet be “houseless, friendless, and homeless” and that their children will leave footprints of blood across frozen rivers and an untamed prairie floor. Never mind that legions will die and other legions live declaring in the four quarters of this earth that they know the Book of Mormon and the Church which espouses it to be true. Disregard all of that, and tell me whether in this hour of death these two men would enter the presence of their Eternal Judge quoting from and finding solace in a book which, if not the very word of God, would brand them as imposters and charlatans until the end of time? They would not do that! They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon."

We visited several other sites before leaving Nauvoo.  Then, on Tuesday morning we left the Mississippi River and Nauvoo behind, passing through a corner of Iowa before entering Missouri.  We stayed in Independence MO for a couple of days and went to the Kansas City temple.

The Liberty Jail was another location where Joseph and several other Church leaders were incarcerated and where several revelations were received, including Sections 121 and 122 in the Doctrine and Covenants. 

D&C 122

7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?

We took a day and went to Adam-Ondi-Ahman, Hawn's Mill and Far West - which had all been former Church member settlements and where significant events took place and where significant future events are prophesied to happen in the future, including the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  Leaving Independence, we headed to the Omaha Nebraska area and Winter Quarters, where the members of the Church stayed the winter of 1846-47 after having been bitterly persecuted in Illinois and told they had to leave their temple, property and lovely city Nauvoo.  We wept as we considered some of the suffering and pain they had to go through.  We loved our visit in the Winter Quarters temple.

Finally we left Omaha and traveled along the Mormon/Oregon trail and stopped by the most famous landmark along this trail - Chimney Rock.  Now we're in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Carthage Jail

Nauvoo - Browning Gunsmith Shop and Home

Nauvoo - Red Brick Store

Saying Goodbye to the Mississippi

Hello Iowa

Missouri

Liberty Jail - Liberty, MO

Kansas City Temple

Entrance at Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Adam-Ondi-Ahman

Hawn's Mill - site where many Church members were mascaraed

Far West

Welcome to Nebraska

Winter Quarters Temple

Chimney Rock

Chimney Rock

The Wild West - Wyoming

Tomorrow we'll get to Utah and get to see many family members over the next few days.  This has been an amazing road trip and we feel closer to the Mormon Pioneers that did all that they did to give us the blessings we have today as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We're grateful for their sacrifices and thankful we could serve this mission and contribute, in our own small way, to the work they started.  We add our testimony to theirs.  God lives!  He is our loving Father.  Jesus Christ is His son and our Savior.  The Book of Mormon is true and Joseph Smith was God's prophet who restored the Church of Jesus Christ on the earth.

We're almost home!  Love you all!

Epilogue 1 (Week 103)

Last week we were so busy, we didn't have time to finish packing. So Monday morning when we were supposed to leave, we were still packing and cleaning. Can I just say, exhausted is the only way to describe us. Around 12 pm, we stopped what we were doing and prayed that we could finish up and have room for all our stuff in our truck. As I prayed tears were streaking down my face. I was so tired, my back ached, my feet hurt. After the prayer, I suddenly had extra energy and everything stopped hurting. (Miracle number one.) I put a bunch of clothes and blankets in those plastic bags that shrink things by sucking out the air. When Dwight was packing the truck he used every available space. We had one more box to put in the truck--it fit perfectly in the only spot left. (Miracle number 2) 

The contents have settled a little during the week.
When we started out, everything was touching
the ceiling. 

We finally left around 2 pm. We had a 10 hour drive ahead of us. When we had been on the road about three hours, the car gave us warning that our front right tire was losing air. It was pouring down rain and there was no where to stop. I looked up where the nearest Walmart was--6 miles. Could we make it? We weren't sure. All the other tires were at 39 psi, the low tire was 29 and falling. By the time we got to Walmart, it was at 13 psi. We ran in to get some "Fix-a-flat." It pumped it up a little, but the foam was coming out of the hole in the tire. A guy stopped and asked if we needed help. He used his air compressor to pump up the tire a little. We asked if there was a Sam's Club near by (that's where we bought the tires). He told us it was just a mile away. We thanked him and drove quickly to Sam's Club--the tire shop was open for 20 more minutes. There was no one in line, and the truck was immediately pulled in. We got a new tire and were back on the road in 20 minutes. (Miracle number 3--the only place we could pull off the road was the Walmart exit, the guy that stopped knew exactly where Sam's was and it was super close, and the tire shop didn't have a line and they had the tire we needed. That never happens. God was looking out for us.) We said a prayer of thanks and got back on our way.  

Our first stop was Millersburg, Ohio. We had so much fun there. We went to an Amish restaurant and bakery--so good! We went to an Amish farm and petting zoo. We talked to an Amish family, and saw so many buggies. We drove up to Kirtland and toured the temple and some other sites. The temple was amazing. Being in the room where Joseph was with Jesus Christ--just wow! We also sang "The Spirit of God" with the group we were with. Tears could not be avoided. Here are a bunch of pictures from those four days--(In no particular order.)

Millersburg countryside

This is in the Walmart parking lot--there is
buggy parking.

Leaving Walmart--I'm kind of advertising
this store a bunch.

Amish restaurant

Kirtland--Whitney Store

Kirtland Temple

Inside Kirtland Temple

We miss all our Haitian friends. Several of them have called and texted just to say hi. Jennipher Edwards sent me pictures of our youngest friends at a Primary swim activity. I'm so thankful to her for making sure these kids have great experiences. None of them have ever gone swimming. They had a great time--I want to hug them all.

We drove to Nauvoo on Friday. It was another long day. Nauvoo has been amazing. We did a session in the temple--it's beautiful! We watched three performances of the young service missionaries. We've had dinner at Jim and Cheryl Walker's house twice. They are from NC and are serving a mission at the Nauvoo Temple. We've toured some old Nauvoo houses. I found 8 ancestors who lived in Nauvoo between 1839 and 1846. I took those names to the visitor's center and they printed out maps of where those relatives owned property. It was really cool. (I told Dwight, when he was looking bored, that for two years we lived in his neck of the woods and constantly talked about his relatives. He looked at me and said, "Now it's your turn? Yep!) One of my relatives, Moses Curtis, my third great grandpa, lived right by Joseph Smith. Another one lived in the Morley Settlement (it was called Yelrome). A lot of the settlement, homes and farms, were burned by mobs. Another one has a house that's still standing in Nauvoo and is used as a private residence for senior missionaries. I'm so thankful for these faithful people!

Here are some of the pictures from Nauvoo.

A field where my third great grandpa,
Richard Rushton and his family lived.

Nauvoo Temple

A sun stone from the original Nauvoo Temple

The "receiving room" at the Mansion
House where Joseph and Emma lived
for a while.

Mansion House

The Homestead where Joseph and Emma 
first lived in Nauvoo (Mississippi River in
 the background)

We're having a great time on our trip home and are looking forward to seeing our family and friends in Utah, but we keep missing all of our friends in North Carolina. This has been the hardest move I've ever made. Our time in NC will always fill a space in our hearts.

We love you all so much!

Week 102 - Mission Accomplished!

My grandfather Needham Potter, and family with 2 missionaries, circa 1907

On Monday, May 27, 1907, a local conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints concluded it's final session at about noon.  This meeting had been held in the newly constructed Church building near Albertson, NC.  James Lewis Rushton (a second cousin to Susan), was a missionary serving here at that time. He had left his wife and children in SLC, UT.  He had helped my grandfather, Needham Tyndall Potter, along with others, build that Church building. He found out during that last session that he was being transferred to Lumberton, NC. In his journal, he described the scene at my grandfather's house that afternoon.  The picture above was taken very near this same time period. This is an exact quote.  "There was a sowerful sight at NT Potters all the family was crying I was crying    crying President Berrit came in and said it is not a funeral but I tell you I would not of felt any worse no matter what could of happened It was just the same as leaving my home again" [sic]

That pretty much sums up today at church, and the whole week really.  It's just been very hard to say goodbye to so many people that we love.  I'll give the "sowerful" highlights as best as I can.

Seems like we had lunch or dinner with somebody almost every day.  Monday we had lunch with Betty Jo and Mary Lou to say goodbye.  They are always fun to hang out with.  They were both a significant influence on me as a kid/teenager growing up.  That night we went to see Jennifer and Roger Edwards.  He cooked for us!  They have a wonderful family, which we got to know better.  She gave a talk in church today and did a great job!

Susan, Mary Lou, Betty Jo

Tuesday, our favorite landlady Sandra, and her husband Melvin, took us to Taco Tuesday and on a field trip in historic Kenansville. Lunch was great! Then we toured the Liberty Hall.  The town of Kenansville was named after the Kenan family and Liberty Hall was their home.  The tour was interesting if a bit long.  The home was constructed in the 1700's.  The Kenan family was instrumental in starting the first public university in the United States.  It was UNC - Chapel Hill - the Tarheels.  Now I know why they call the football stadium Kenan Memorial Stadium!  Sandra and Melvin have been way too good to us!

Liberty Hall

Melvin, Sandra, Susan, Dwight

The Edwards Family feeds the missionaries

Wednesday we went to Tarboro to see our friends JD and his daughter Lori.  We've been visiting them since the beginning of our mission.  JD is now in a nursing home.  That was a tearful goodbye.  Then, while Susan was doing some packing, I went with our friend Greg to lunch at Kings BBQ in Kinston.  Buffet.  I almost didn't eat too much.  That was a tearful goodbye.  We met the missionaries at Wolffencia's later and gave her a little graduation present.  She was so appreciative!  Worked on family history.  Saying goodbye to those girls has been tearful. Edit by Susan: I love those girls so, so much!

Alandjina, Susan, Leila, Wolffencia

That night the Elders had another baptism.  On Wednesday because we were going to have zone conference on Saturday in Fayetteville.  A sweet young Haitian, Alexandrine was ready!

Elders St Louis and Bates, Alexandrine with her family, Elders Hansen and Haffen

On Thursday I met Elder Adkins (they're replacing us) at Butterball.  I wanted him to meet Luz, the recruiter I work with.  I also wanted him to get to know his way around.  It went well.  That night, we took Luz to dinner at Longhorn.  She told us her story.  She has an autistic son, which I didn't know.  She's been a great help as we've worked together to find work for our Haitian friends.

Luz, Susan, Dwight

Friday was my birthday!!  We had zone council that morning.  Susan and I made lunch for the 30 of us.  These missionaries are so impressive and hard working.  We're gonna miss working with them every day. Two of the elders we've worked with for a long time, surprised me with a birthday cake!

The Goldsboro Zone is the best!

Elders Hansen & Bates

Then, we headed to Raleigh where Susan treated me to a steak dinner at The Angus Barn.  Nice atmosphere!  They made me a birthday cake!  Afterwards we went to our son's house to say goodbye to their family and our daughter's family.  That wasn't as tearful, because we know we'll see them soon.

I lacked 3 getting all the candles out!

An impossible task!

Saturday was a full day.  We left early to go to Zone Conference with our mission president and three zones of missionaries.  All our Haitian missionaries were there.  It was a great conference.  Susan and I were able to bear parting testimonies.  We saw so many missionaries that we've been able to work with.  There were a lot of tears in those goodbyes.

The Haitian District at zone conference

Elder Potter, President Stevens, Sister Stevens, Sister Potter

We're gonna miss learning from and serving with the Stevenses.  We basically started with them, but now here we are leaving and they have a year left.  These are wonderful mission leaders!  The ones we needed!

Saturday night we had dinner with our friends (he's my friend from as long as I can remember) Mark and Patricia.  We ran into the stake president and his wife and mother-in-law at dinner.  

we've been able to see Mark and Patricia several time over the last 2 years.  Those were tearful goodbyes.

Susan, Patricia, Dwight, Mark

Elder and Sister Potter, Judy, President and Sister Jones

After dinner, we had promised the Lafortune family we'd come say good-bye. They are the family that probably kicked off this Haitian adventure.  They invited the young missionaries and several of our Haitian friends.  They made a Haitian feast!  Of course, we had to eat again.  Evens sang a hymn, solo, without music, to us and just wept when he finished.  Those tears last night carried over to today.  We got home late.

For today, no pictures, just tears at Church.  When the teacher asked for a volunteer to say closing prayer for the 2nd hour for the Haitian Group, someone there suggested that I pray for them.  I have.  I do. I will.  I did.  The tears seemed unending.

At this moment it's 11:46 EDT and I'm signing off as our mission comes to a close.  It's been hard at times, but joyful always.  We're not sure we could have done more, but we hope we did enough.  We can't imagine it could have been any better.  We thank God for giving us this opportunity and we hope he's pleased with our efforts.  We know our lives have changed forever!

Love you all.

Good night.