MISSIONARY MOTHER

I just stick my camera out the window as we travel.  The trees grow right to the edge of the highway.  There is no shoulder.

It rains so much here.  Our friend's huge garden was washed completely out with 6 inches.  Only 3 days in the next 7 will we have rain.  We love the rain.  They have shut the dams to fill the lakes for the summer recreationers.  It is absolutely beautiful.
All these beautiful places we show you are on our P-Days or on our way to a lesson or visit.  There is beauty everywhere; even in the rain.  Monday we took Lucy to the Buick dealer.  Elder Bayles had been told by the neighbor's friend to check the fuses in the relay box which is under the back seat with our battery.  How strange.  It looked bad so he bought a new fuse for $17.00  and it started right up.   Clint told us to have the Buick dealer check it just to be sure.  We did and left her there over night.
We waited in a little park for the Silkers to come.  We read this sign:

notice the name Bayles as the thief

  
We then headed down the Nantahala Gorge to meet Elder and Sister Silker.  The water was so high it was overflowing the banks.  It was amazingly wonderful.

The Silkers had heard about Bryson City and the 3 beautiful water falls so we decided to go see them.  It was about a 3 mile hike once we got to the park but so worth it.  Every place you go is beautiful here.  We love it 

artist along the river

We stopped to see where the Appalachian Trail headed out from the gorge and walked it a bit.  It comes and goes all over the Smokey Mts.

 We headed back home to get Lucy because the place closed at 6:30.  We got there at 6:05 and they were closed so we had to leave her there.
The next morning we headed to the Buick place at 8:00 and got Lucy and returned the truck be had borrowed to Bro. Frady and then went to Hiwassee Dam to give our investigator there another lesson.  She is so ready and reads the Book Of Mormon every day.  Sometimes she reads a chapter 2 or 3 times so she gets it all.  She's amazing.  Please pray for her because she is in a difficult marriage.  We teach her at work.  She is 44 years old but her husband is 63.  She has a beautiful daughter who is graduating from HS this month.  She will be going off to college this summer.  The mother is a security gate person at a private community on the lake.  When we got ready to leave Lucy would not start.  Ouch!  Elder Bayles jiggled the fuse and she started right up.  Tender Mercies.

full dam   

where we saw the geese with Erik  full now

We went back to the Buick dealer to tell our tale.  They rechecked her and said everything was fine.
We worked the food kitchen for a few hours and then went to Family Home Evening with our dear friends.  We had a birthday party for 2 of the sisters.  We took them a cake and ice cream.  They loved it.  We left there to go to Frady's for dinner.  It was chicken tacos.  So yummy. He had some questions about the ministry of Christ and His age and years He spent which Elder Bayles answered. He is such a good man.  (both of them)  They have a female Pyrenees puppy to raise for their male.  The puppy and the baby goat have become fast friends.  We love being with these people.

Thy also have chickens

We always love dist meeting.

Gomm, Elder, E Silker, Gosselin
me, S Silker

Our little mother had her gall bladder out and is not doing well.  She has a lot of pain.

Thursday mad it 2 months left and we are just not ready to leave at all.  We still have so much more to do.  We have 4 investigators who know the gospel is true but just can't make that decision to get it done.  Our lady at the dam is coming along so well.  We met at 10:30. In our planning session we decided to give her the message of the doctrine of Christ found in 2 Nephi 31.  When we got there we asked if she had any questions and she replied that she had been reading in 2 Nephi 31.  Do you believe it?  The Lord is so in control of missionary work.  She loved that chapter.  We had given her the DVD of the restoration and she said it just ended too soon.  She said she could feel how Joseph felt because for the first time she knew how she felt was right and she was not the only one in her congregation going to hell.  She said she had the right feeling in her inability to believe how her preacher was teaching.  She said she felt such a closeness to the prophet Joseph. She knows he was a prophet of God.  She has no doubt.  She is ready to be baptized but she has to have her husband's permission.  The Lord will provide a way.

Iris on way to Asheville

Poppys on the highway to Asheville

We left there and headed for Bryson City, more than an hour away.  We needed to go there to get a baptism jump suit for a man getting baptized Sat.  who needs a 4X.  There are sisters there.  We invited them to go to lunch with us and they were so excited.  They are wonderful and work so hard.  We then headed for Asheville so Elder Bayles   could give a baptism interview.  The lady did just fine.  He loves dong that.  We then turned around and headed back to Murphy.  We got home at 8:00; very tired.  It was a 13 hour day.  We were so tired we didn't even eat dinner.  I love the way the missionaries look to Elder Bayles for guidance.  He is such a good missionary.

We have been very sad over the finding of the 3 girls who had been imprisoned in a home.  We pray for their  needs and hope they can find peace.

We had quite an experience visiting a man we home teach who is in jail.  He is in for attempted murder.  He is the man with the pigs.  It is so sad to see him there.  We could only talk to him by phone through a TV.  When we got in Lucy she would not start.  We have had it so when Elder Bayles finally got her to go we headed once again to the Buick dealer. 

checking electrical system through the trunk

 They have now decided it is an electrical problem.  They had to order a new unit but the closest one is in LA so we won't have a car until Mon. or Tues.  They gave us a brand new Chevy Impala to drive.  We have to go to Asheville Tuesday, so this will save us miles on Lucy.

We took the Frady's to dinner in Blairsville Friday and had a wonderful time.  He will be baptized one day.
Today we got up early to fill the font with water.  The baptism was so wonderful.  The Blairsville elders are doing such a great job.  They have no chapel so they do baptisms in our church.  They both had to do it because the candidate was so large and needed help.  He passed out after, in the water, so it was good two were there.

We visited a less active after and then headed to our family..  She was headed to the hospital for the third time because she is just hurting so much from her surgery.  We took them dinner and flowers.  We got home at 6:00 so it was another full day, 10 hours.  We love full days.  When we got home we had a package from Tiff.
Life is great.  We love ya'all so very much.

The Jennings 3

Mother's Day was much harder than last year.  I don't know why but I really missed everyone.  Church was very hard and I must say that tears came easily.  I thought I was tougher than that.  After church a sister in the branch invited us to dinner at the church.   She always has us there.  It was very nice.  Our less active mother gave the Relief Society lesson.  She hasn't come to church for 40 years until we found her.  She gave such a wonderful lesson and I was more nervous than she was.  She's going with the youth to do baptisms for the dead Saturday.  We are so proud of her.  She has taught us so much.
We went to visit the Murrays to learn how they did at their son's baptism in Provo.  We had a great talk and they are wonderful.  We put it right out there and they agreed they needed to be baptized.  The father said he knew he would.  We just can't get a date.  We told him he had 2 months.  We hurried home because it was 7:30 and we had not been home since 8:30.  We love it when we can be teaching the restored Gospel.
As a mother I could not be happier than I am today knowing that our children love the Lord and are teaching our grandchildren the gospel.  You have all far surpassed my fondest dreams and prayers for you.  I learn so much from your examples and by doing this my testimony has grown so much.  My greatest wish and prayer is that we can always remain a forever family.   We are trying daily to be worthy of that blessing.  There is no way to express our love for you, for your eternal mates and those absolutely perfect grandchildren,  Thank you so much for making this life the joy it is.  There can be no greater joy.

Jan.20,1906  We got up in good time and after eating breakfast& getting our reports ready we went to Princeton and mailed them. We then went to Bro. Easton's & had a shave.  After dinner we went to the creek & had a bath. (Jan)  We the got ready & walked five miles to the Neuse Islands where we had meeting appointed for the next day.  On our way down there the mosquitoes got after us.  We stayed at Bro. Massey's all night.
Wed. Feb 14th   We got up in good time and after eating breakfast we went back to Smith's and as Bro Beasley was going to see about getting him an oxen he asked me to go with him so I had a nice buggy ride for about seven miles.  On our way back we called at Sam Smith's  (Sister Smith's son) who was sick to see him a few minutes  Mollie and Uonoire were there and were going home so I let Mollie have my place and Uonoire and I walked back.