Time Goes Too Fast

These past couple of weeks have just raced by. It's amazing that we have been in New Orleans for over a year and have ten months left on our mission. There are so many things about New Orleans that we have grown to love and there are some things that we put up with - like Hurricanes.

We have continued visiting people to see how they are doing after Gustav. The people here in New Orleans are slowly putting their yards back in order, repairing their roofs and schools are trying to catch up all of the missed classwork. (This has been something our medical and dental students have had to deal with especially during the past week.)

This past week was Sister Ward's birthday and all she wanted was to go to the zoo. So we got together all of the New Orleans Senior Couples and went to the zoo. It was so fun.

We also had a wonderful day with the Mission President and his wife. It was Interviews (every 6 weeks the Mission President interviews each missionary to see how they are doing). Sister Woods had all the Elders go into the kitchen and gave a great cooking class. The missionaries all helped make lunch (BBQ beef sandwiches, Chicken Croissants and lemonade). It was a great opportunity for the missionaries to see that they really can cook yummy food.

Saturday night's Relief Society broadcast was excellent and I keep hearing the words "Relief Society will be your mother." How grateful I am for Relief Society and the blessing it has been in my life. I'm also grateful for Relief Society sisters that are filling my shoes while I'm serving a mission. They are truly ministering angels and very much a part of my prayers of gratitude.

We had a meeting with the Stake President yesterday and he has asked us to step in to help with the Recovery and Humanitarian efforts following Gustav & Ike. The coastal areas of our stake took a direct hit from Gustav and then were flooded by Ike a week later. It's a mess and there is still a lot of work to do. We'll find out more about our specific responsibilities later today, but part of the work will include organizing the work crews from the southern states and coordinating the supplies needed from the Bishop's Storehouse, as well as taking pictures. We are both excited to do this; about a week ago as we were making deliveries of Cleaning Kits and Food Boxes our hearts were touched by this type of work and we are grateful that we have been asked to help out.

We love you all and hope that you will continue to pray for the people of Louisiana and Texas who have suffered from these Hurricanes. It's not over, even if it's not in the news.