Sister and Elder Hintze: 2/7/23

 

Monday, February 6, 2023

Hello family and friends,

What an amazing week we’ve had! First, the mundane stuffѮѯѰѱ. We’ve finally gotten into a

routine. Monday morning is laundry, grocery shopping, and baking day. We usually finish in

enough time to go on some visits in the late afternoon and early evening. Last Monday I baked

six loaves of bread and two dozen large, heart-shaped sugar cookies to take with us on visits. It’s

great to have a little something ready in the freezer to grab at the last minute when the

opportunity for an unexpected visit comes up. After two weeks as missionaries, and much trial

and error, we finally have a record-keeping system that is working!

The first visit of the week was with Jeremiah, the man that was baptized last week. He is

working so diligently to read the Book of Mormon. And he’s on the road to success in his

journey to quit smoking. We are taking him to the temple next Friday!!!

We set off on Thursday morning to fulfill our goal of finding an opportunity to serve in the

community. We have called and left a message with Meals on Wheels twice, but have not heard

back, so we decided to just show up at lunchtime at a location where they serve a meal on the

premises. The director was very kind, but she explained that they’ve been doing it there for

twenty years and they have it down to working like a well-oiled machine. We were a bit

surprised when she told us that they have all the help they need and didn’t need our help. But

she did suggest that the church down the road serves a meal a few times a week and we might

check with them. Again, we walked into the church right at lunchtime and found them in action.

We spoke with Tracy, who runs the whole program with her husband. He’s the cook and she’s

the server with a few assistants. During Covid, they transitioned to a drive-by bagged lunch

pick-up. It works so well that they are keeping this program. They serve 75 lunches every

Tuesday and Thursday. When Tracy noticed our name badges as missionaries for the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she asked us if we knew Margie Adams. And of course, we

did, as Margie was one of the first people in the ward that we met. Margie is Tracy’s next-door

neighbor and they are good friends. Thank you, Margie, for getting our foot in the door at the

Silverton Baptist Church. We will help prepare and serve two mornings a week. We’ll do

whatever they’d like us to do, but everyone that knows me knows I hope I get a chance to get my

hands dirty in the kitchen!

A tornado came through the neighboring town of Griffin, GA the week before we arrived here.

Several dozen members of the ward have been going to Griffin every Saturday to help with the

clean-up. We joined the work crew on Saturday at a gorgeous home that was built in the late

1890s. So many huge, hundred-plus-year-old trees had fallen. There were large roots to dig up

and huge trunks to saw into pieces to be removed. There weren’t many women there, but the

ones that were worked on raking up all the little timber and pinecones that had fallen. The

woman that owns the home made Brunswick Stew and homemade bread for lunch for all those

people! She was a wonderful woman, whose husband passed away from a heart attack just last

year at the age of only 52. They were in the middle of remodeling the home, which remains

unfinished, when the tornado hit. It will take many, many weeks to clear her yard of the damage

from the tornado.

My last story for the week is about a man named Tony. I think I mentioned Tony in an earlier

email. He is the man with the tattoo all the way across his forehead. Tony arrives at church early

in a white shirt and tie every Sunday, ready to pass the sacrament. We called him after church to

see if we could come by to see him and he welcomed our visit. He invited us in, introduced us to

his wife, Judy, and offered us a seat. Tony was very willing, if not anxious, to share his story

with us. He was raised in a Methodist church. He got the tattoo of a cross on his forehead when

he was eighteen years old. One day, while he was in his early twenties, he prayed to God to tell

him more about the Holy Ghost. He was longing to know how to feel the spirit in his life. As he

continued to pray and ask for the Holy Ghost to teach him, he had a dream. In the dream, he was

told that he would be a leader in the army of God. He saw himself walking down a trail with

hundreds of people following him. He believed that through this dream the Holy Ghost had

spoken to him and told him that someday he would be a leader in the kingdom of God. So, he

went and had fiery flames added around the cross on his tattoo to represent the Holy Ghost. The

very next week, while he was out on his driveway working on a car, two sister missionaries from

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints walked by and asked him if they could share a

message with him about the Holy Ghost. This is about the time that my arms started to feel

prickly and tears began to burn. Talk about a direct answer to prayer!! He was baptized three

weeks later. His wife joined him shortly thereafter. They have been members for fifteen years.

They haven’t been to the temple for many years, and when we invited them to ride with us and

make a day of it, they accepted our offer. We haven’t been to the Atlanta temple yet, and we

look forward to going with Tony and Judy. After hearing me tell my story last week in church,

and recognizing that we had much in common in our conversions, Tony stood to welcome me

into a big bear hug. If I had seen this 6’2” man with huge biceps and a tattooed forehead on the

street, I’m sure I would have run in the opposite direction as quickly as possible. But isn’t it

wonderful how the gospel brings us together as brothers and sisters?

As stated in both the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, we are to be ONE!

1 Corinthians 1:10

I beseech you that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together.

2 Nephi 1:21

Be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things.

Much love,

Elder and Sister Hintze