Adventure is Out There!

 

As they say in Sparta, Yert!

I have no idea why they say that it or what it means completely, but it sounds fun. Bonus points for anyone that knows the reference in the title. There were a couple of weeks this month with some pretty bad weather, so we were kept inside a lot. We get a limit of 1200 miles each month to drive and we only used 600. Therefore, we could drive up to 600 miles before the month ends this week.

We traveled to the edges of our area in all four directions. I will be including a map of the area to help describe it. Our journey first led us out west towards Rock Island to see a member. The windy roads down the mountain and through the wide open plains were surrounded by tall trees on every side. It was amazing to see. We saw the beautiful orange sunset fall across the hills as we were driving past. In the east, we traveled through the treacherous roads towards Mooneyham. 

We were focusing on contacting people in the area. There was a lot of rejection to say the least, some nicer than others. We did attract a lot of attention from several dogs. The dogs were more interested in us than the people themselves. I would say we could start teaching them, but all dogs go to Heaven anyways. We also saw a bearded lady, so definitely an interesting day. That's Mooneyham for ya! 

One the greatest treasures in Van Buren county though is Falls Creek Falls. Elder Cohn and I had the chance to stop there for a little bit. The waterfall is beautiful. I don't think I could describe it well enough, so I included some pictures. 

We journeyed to the far north of Sparta, TN to reunite with our fellow Elders. We were graced with the presence of the Kings in the far south near Dunlap. We had a large feast and shared the good news of the gospel. 

There were a lot of opportunities for service this week that I enjoyed a lot. First, we served Angela (the lady with the goats from last email). My companion and I pulled brush to clear an area for all the new goats. I am so glad I had the opportunity to help her in anyway we could. She gave us some delicious banana pudin' too. We did our usual service at the local food outreach passing out food to people. We also helped one of the members, Brother Knipp, move firewood into a shed. We later learned he had an aneurysm and is in the hospital. He is doing better and recovering. They are such great people and I love being around them. Please keep them in your prayers. 

One of the scriptures that inspired me this week was Moroni 6:8:

"But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven."

I have thought a lot about this idea. I make a lot of mistakes as a missionary. I sometimes feel like there is a lot I can change and be better in. I have realized that even though I do mess up, as long as I seek to become better, I will be forgiven. We each have to always repent and learn to rely on God continually. I have learned a lot about how to do that here on the mission.

Let The Depths of Humility Raise You Up

Elder Oram