Wisteria grows wild in the woods and is planted in yards. In the woods it wraps around the trees and covers low growing bushes. It just takes over everything. It is also grown in woods but has to be trimmed and cut back or it will take over everything. The wisteria is beautiful.
Spring in Augusta is absolutely beautiful. It rained most of the day Friday and Saturday. Each time we left our apartment you could almost seem to see the trees leaf out. In two days most of the trees are green. Monday we found a neighborhood with the most beautiful dogwood trees and azalea bushes in full bloom. We quickly took some pictures because of time but returned Saturday but the azaleas had lost their flowers and was just green bushes so we didn't get our desired pictures.
The missionaries have sown many seeds in Augusta "in tears and love and prayer." Our calling as senior missionaries is to find the "seeds by idle hearts forgotten." This week we had the opportunity to seek out and get to know an inactive convert. Sister Eubanks was at Church for two Sundays in a row recently and then she didn't come back. She met us at the door with a cigarette and never attempted to hid it or put it out. Sister Eubanks has a car but when she came to church for those two weeks she said she walked. We asked her why she walked when she could ride. Her response was that her doctor told her she needed to walk more. She said on the way to church she stopped at the Waffle House and got a cup of coffee. As we visited on her porch she told us about her conversion. Basically she joined the church because she attended a ward Christmas party while investigation the church. The cultural hall had surround sound and a film was shown of the Tabernacle Choir. She said she had never heard or seen anything so beautiful and fell in love with the choir and its music. When the missionaries left she neglected to nourish her seed and fell into inactivity. We learned that she still reads from the Book of Mormon occasionally but she got to a part she didn't understand so she stopped reading. She didn't understand the difference between priest and priestcraft and if it was bad. We got our Book of Mormons out, read the scripture and explained it to her and explained the difference and that priestcraft was bad. She was satisfied. We invited her to come back to church and asked if we could come back and visit and read the Book of Mormon with her. We told her about Conference this weekend that she would not only be able to listen to the Tabernacle Choir but to hear the Prophet speak. We offered to pick her up for all four sessions and she excepted our invitation. Upon leaving Sister Eubanks house we drove the distance to church and it was two miles and a half. We were disappointed that she wasn't at church yesterday. We have so many members that don't have cars and need rides and we help as many members as we can get to church. Our Ward Mission Leader's father-in-law is a Seventy and he visited in our ward yesterday. When the lesson was over in High Priest the subject was brought up about the lack of transportation and the inability to get the members to church who desired to come to church. The Seventy got his scriptures out and read from the Book of Mormon 1 Nephi 22. This is his interpretation: "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people; and they shall bring thy sons in their SUV'S and thy daughters shall be carried in their vans." In the past we have watched as the suv's and vans left the parking lot on Sunday half full. We are thankful for his words of wisdom and insight. Yes we are "sowing daily sowing" and we hope that we can redirect our seeds to life eternal.
This is count down week. We are looking forward to seeing our children this weekend and spending a week with them. Blake, Hallie, and Lex we can hardly wait for lots of hugs!
Love, Elder Papa and Sister Nana Berry
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