Sister and Elder Hintze: 3/27/23

 

I hope this week’s email finds everyone happy and healthy. I know those of you in Utah are

more than ready to see a daffodil pop up or hear a bird sing. We are watching the weather there,

and we know that Utah broke a forty-year record for snowfall. Although I’m sure winter is

getting old, the greatest thing is that the moisture will fill the lakes and end the drought!

This past week here in Thomaston has been a great week with both happy and not-so-happy

events. First of all, we had to say goodbye to the first Elder that was here in our mission when

we arrived, Elder Dunn. What a terrific young man he is. He’s diligent in the work, committed

to his mission, and he’s doing great work here. He also loves to play cards, (and might I add, just

a bit competitive) so for many P-days, we had the Elders over for lunch and had a rousing round

of Fast Track or “May I”. We were sad to see him go, but happy for him to be transferred to

Atlanta to serve as a district leader.

We had another wonderful visit with Vicky, her husband Walt, and their kids. Vicky is

amazingly talented at landscape design. She does the design work and Walt does the

landscaping. Their yard is beautiful and stands out in their neighborhood. I’m sure I mentioned

in the past that Walt is hesitant to talk to us and he avoids making eye contact. He is very quiet,

but Elder Hintze finally found a way to get him to talk. He is into building car speakers and has

some that are super powerful. So, Elder Hintze asked Walt to show him his speakers. He was

really happy to do that. While the guys went outside, I brought out the bracelet kit that I brought

to make beaded bracelets with the girls. Little did I know that Vakayla, the twelve-year-old, has

been working really hard making jewelry to display at an annual craft fair that they have coming

up here in town. Vicki and I made some bracelets with the girls and then Vakayla brought out

some of her jewelry to show me. For one so young, she does a beautiful job. I found one

bracelet and earring set so pretty, that I decided to become her first customer! Her mom was

telling her that she needs to beef up her stock, so at the end of the evening, I decided to donate

the bracelet kit we were working with to her efforts. I can’t wait to go to the fair at the end of

April and see all of the products that she’s created.

On Wednesday evening we had our “transferly meeting”. This is a meeting that happens every

transfer, which is every six weeks. We go over mission goals usually through playing games.

This time we played a game similar to jeopardy. We always sit in the back row and just listen

while all of the Elders and Sisters participate. But this time, all of the Elders shouted out that

they wanted the Hintzes to take a turn. So we went up to the board and pulled off a category,

which was “Church Trivia” for 200 points. Then we had to spin a wheel to see if we had to draw

the clue, build the clue with playdough, or act out the clue. We drew acting! As terrible as we

both are at acting, we were very relieved that we didn’t have to draw!! The clue that we were

trying to get the Elders and Sisters to guess was “Carthage Jail.” So, Elder Hintze crouched

under the table while I used my arm to represent a gun, shot at him making shooting noises with

my voice, and he got up and ran toward a window and pretended to be climbing out the window.

It was hilarious, and the Elders guessed it! The night was a lot of fun! It’s so fun to review

principles through games.

We had one other really special visit this week. A few weeks ago, we were walking through

Walmart and this woman came practically running up to us to say hello and introduce herself.

Her name is Lisa, and she told us that she’s a member of our ward. We recognized her name

from our list of names of inactive members that we want to go see. We asked her if we could

come to visit her and she was willing to schedule a date for last week. When we drove up to the

house, her 82-year-old mother was working in the yard pulling weeds. She’s a really lovely

southern woman. We stood outside talking with her for about ten minutes before Lisa came out.

Lisa invited us inside the house and told us her life story. She’s had a very hard life. She grew

up in an abusive home and was removed to be placed in foster care at a young age. The family

that she went to live with at the age of 14 was members of the church. Her foster parents

encouraged her to be baptized. After she was baptized, she was active in the Young Women’s

program for a while. At the age of 16, she went to live with another foster family. She was

adopted by this couple. The woman was her social worker, the very same woman that was

working in the yard when we arrived. Lisa and her mom have a very close and loving

relationship. But since her mother is not a member of the church, Lisa hasn’t always attended.

But when we told Lisa of the blessings that would be hers by coming to church and partaking of

the sacrament each week, she became very teary. She has a testimony of the gospel and told us

that she has no excuses for not coming. After telling her that the Lord loves her and that she is

missed in the ward, she said that she would be in church on Sunday. Although I’ve only met

with Lisa once, we connected heart-to-heart. We greeted each other at church with a big hug!

We finally got to work in the ward garden this week. This garden is Brother Adam’s pet. But

he’s also quite professional and particular. I wasn’t sure he was actually going to let us really get

our hands dirty, but he eventually did. We created two rows the way he does them with little

berms on each side, and he had us plant those rows. And of all things, we planted collard greens!

Neither one of us has ever eaten a collard green. There’s a new southern food to put on the list.

The purpose of the garden was discussed in our ward correlation meeting. I thought it was just

done as a hobby and that anyone that wanted to could come and volunteer to work. But I found

out that the food is grown to help the many needy families in the ward. It was suggested that this

year we try to preserve some of the fresh produce for the winter months. Elder Hintze and I are

very grateful to have a garden to work in because we miss our big vegetable garden that we grow

every year.

Another interesting thing that happened this past week is the weather. It rained really, I mean

really hard, for three days and nights straight. There were flood warnings issued early Sunday

morning while we were getting ready for church. Of course, we went anyway in the hard rain.

At the end of sacrament meeting, we heard someone’s phone go off with another flood warning.

So, the bishop announced that there would be no classes and everyone should go home and stay

off the streets. Our new Elders, Elder Cosme and Elder Chapman asked us if we would be

willing to do a Come Follow Me lesson with them in place of our second hour of church. So,

they came over to our apartment and we studied this week’s scripture lesson with them. We all

got so much out of it. It’s one thing to read the scriptures, but it’s another thing altogether to

discuss what the Savior is teaching us. At the end of the lesson, they expressed a desire to do it

every week!!! I don’t know about every week, but we certainly enjoyed our study time with

them and I’m sure we’ll do it again.

And then, early this morning around 7:00 a.m., the tornado sirens started howling. Having

grown up in Missouri, I clearly remember tornado sirens and heavy downpours of rain. But a

tornado warning was a brand-new thing for Elder Hintze, who has lived in the desert all of his

life. Our landlord next door has invited us to come to her basement in the event of a tornado

warning, and she did call us this morning. But due to the other event that happened, we could

not get over there, so we sat in an interior closet for an hour until the warning was lifted.

The other not-so-happy event is that on Sunday evening I stood up from the table and my knee

buckled under me. I knew it wasn’t a passing thing when throughout the evening I was unable to

put any weight on it. I’ve known for a number of years that this knee is wearing out, but it has

continued to serve me. As a matter of fact, we just went for a big walk around the park on

Saturday. The pain was so great that it prevented me from sleeping much Sunday night. I got up

early this morning and started researching orthopedic surgeons in Atlanta. We’ve been warned

about the sub-zero health care here in Thomaston, so we went directly to doctors in Atlanta. I

called the one with the best google reviews, and they were so wonderful to get me in today.

After being treated by the Physician’s Assistant, I knew I had made the right choice. She x-rayed

my knee and told me that there is no cartilage left in my knee (which I was already acutely aware

of). I feared that they would tell me that I needed a knee replacement immediately, and that

would end our mission. I have been praying since yesterday that they would offer me a cortisone

injection and that the injection would buy me enough time to finish my mission. And that is

exactly what happened. As much as I fear those big needles, I was so relieved when she said she

could inject the knee. I gladly accepted that offer. I walked out of there on crutches, so grateful.

It is feeling slightly better tonight, but it takes 24-48 hours to take full effect. So, I ask you all to

pray for me that the cortisone will alleviate my pain enough to allow me to carry on with my

mission. I know the power of prayer because I have had so many prayers answered. The more of

us that pray, the more power will be in that prayer. Thank you, everyone!

I know this is a lengthy letter, but I cannot close before I invite you all to join me in watching our

annual General Conference this weekend. Twice a year, in April and October, the prophet, the

apostles, and the other leaders of the church address us with inspiring messages about how to

live our lives closer to God. These messages apply to all people, not only people who share our

faith. The conference is broadcast all over the world in 93 languages so that all of God’s children

can hear the message. We invite you to join us in hearing these uplifting messages. Feel free to

listen to just one session or as many as you can. They are always available afterward online.

Sessions of the conference will be broadcast at the following times: (Mountain Standard Time)

Saturday, April 1 10:00 -12:00 p.m., 2:00 – 4:00 p.m., 6:00 -8:00 p.m- MST

Sunday, April 2 10:00 12:00 p.m., 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. MST

Livestream – www.churchofjesuschrist.org or on the Church of Jesus Christ youtube channel

After the conference the entire conference will be posted on the church’s website.

Hope you have a blessed week,

Love,

Elder and Sister Hintze