Fall is here. And it's so beautiful!!
It's starting to get a little chilly and the leaves are turning!! So pretty. We had mentioned a few weeks back, to one of the sisters in our Ward, that we wanted to take a drive and see where the leaves turned the brightest colors and asked her where to go. She mentioned a few places to go but then dropped it. Then she called out of the blue and said, "still interested in seeing the leaves turn?" We gave an immediate YES! She said she'd wanted to take us on a tour the coming Monday, insisted on driving and going to places she felt would be the best. She turned out to be a quite a tour guide. She knew the history of the places we went and some secret fun spots to hit. Our favorite place was in Elsa, IL. It's longside the Mississippi River and the cutest little town ever. I mentioned that before we go home I want to take the Ferry across the river. So after seeing a few more places, she drove right over to the Ferry and drove the car onto it. We crossed the Illinois River and drove around for a few minutes and then headed back across the River. It was short but so much fun and free. Anything we mentioned that we'd liked or hoped to do, she made happen. I mentioned I liked ice cream, so at after a while she pulled into an ice cream parlor and said this is the best ice cream around. We ate lunch outside at a restaurant over-looking the Mississippi River. Turned out to be best day we've had so far discovering Illinois. Madelyn Waidmann is this sweet sisters name and we love her for making this such a wonderful experience.
Tuesday we went and got our Flu and COVID shots. We stopped by Howard Tate's house to visit and his mom was there. She isn't a member but such a sweet lady. We shared a few things with her and told Howard we would come another day and visit. Howard use to be a RAP singer in LA. I'm excited to learn more about that experience. We also visited with Robert Taylor. There's a few things around his house he's worrying about getting done before winter hits. Dan said he'd come back on Saturday and do what he could. We also dropped by Dean Rigsby's work. He said he would like to come to church. We offered to pick him up but he said he would figure it out. (We didn't see him Sunday :( Oh well another week.
Wednesday is always District Council. We brought a little trick or treat for each of the missionaries. After Council Meeting I got my hair colored and cut. YAY! It's been too long and I really needed it. Afterwards we went down to East St. Louis. We met to Tashema Dixon. She was very happy we came bye and we talked to her in her driveway for about 30 minutes. She told us of some crazy things that keep happening in her home, people breathing hard, things getting moved around while she wasn't there or in the night. We couldn't tell if she was just paranoid or if there was really a bad spirit in her home.. Then she started telling us how dangerous the area was and how she had seen a couple dead bodies on her walk to the bus stop. Her neighborhood actually looked pretty good. I got a little freaked out by the time we left and was ready to call it a day. But I have a great companion and he encouraged me to make one more stop not far from that area. We stopped by Marcus Canada's house. We knocked and a big black guy came to the door and he pushed it wide open and said, "come on in!" We hadn't even introduced ourselves, so I was a little taken back and nervous. But as we walked in the table was full of church magazines and books and videos. I immediately felt more at ease. He loves the gospel and use to be the Sunday School President. He just doesn't have a way to get to church. It's such a problem here, people don't have cars or transportation to get places. We had a wonderful visit with him. He says the Sisters call him twice a week and share scriptures with him. When we mentioned to them that we visited with him their comment was, "He has the most powerful testimony!" He shared so much of his story with us. He use to be a television news reporter at three different stations. I don't know how he ended up where he is today. But what a great guys he is!!
Thursday we had several appointments, but we had to cancel, I started not feeling well again. Getting tired of feeling sick all the time. Can't seem to knock whatever this is.
Friday, we went back down to East St. Louis. We had an address for a Chris Mannie but when we got there it didn't look like a house. Kind of a scary neighborhood too. But thank goodness for my companion that pushes me just enough. We went in the door and there was a receptionist. We asked if Chris Mannie lived here and she said yes. She got up and started yelling, "Chris, you got company" This tall black guy came walking out to the main room. We introduced ourselves and he said, "Let's sit down." So we sat and talked with him. He'd been baptized 5 years ago and was dealing with some addictions. He was very sweet and quiet. Said he knew he needed to come back but couldn't right now. He's on our list to start visiting regularly. That evening we had an appointment with Lowell Bell. He lives in Madison just north of East St. Louis. When we got there he offered us a beer and a smoke. We smiled and declined. He got a phone call from his daughter and had to leave pretty fast. It's for the better because his house was so filled with cigarette smoke, that I started coughing and couldn't stop. I had to wash everything we were wearing because they smelled so bad.
Saturday, I wasn't feeling good again, so I rested most of the day. Dan went over to Brother Taylor's house and brought Brother Phillips and his 2 boys to get his house ready for winter. Turns out that Brother Taylor's 1st wife married Brother Phillips dad. Kind of a weird situation. But they got all the things he needed done.
Sunday they announced that the furnace wasn't working in the building and that most of the classrooms were too cold. So there would only be Sacrament Meeting today. Dan and I gave the prayers. In the afternoon we visited with the Olsson's. They are young, cute and newly married couple in the Ward. He is going to school and she works at Scott Air Force Base as a Meteorologist. They said they love to help the missionaries with lessons. That night we had a great MCM. We talked about lots of friends and new members that need help. We learned that Tony Johnson's cousin, who had just started taking the missionary lessons, had a brain aneurysm and died. We couldn't believe it. We had just been in a lesson with him on Wednesday and he was set to be baptized on New Years Day. His family is in deep mourning. Tony is the only member and he has only been a member for a few months.
Life is short and so unpredictable. So grateful for the gospel and the Plan of Happiness.
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