Daffodils, Ice Storm and Old Town Salem

Daffodils bring Sunshine and Hope and Renewal to my Heart!

Luckily I have a husband who recognizes that and shares them with me.

 Our blossoms are still hanging on in the apartment comlex

Last Sunday we had a few precious moments that enticed us outside in the sunshine 

to take a walk. There's a beautiful big park near our church,  Reedy Creek Park, 

that we've been hoping to explore. We weren't disappointed. 

It felt amazing to be outside again and to feel the hope of spring in the air.

 I could almost see the new little leaves anxious to decorate the thousands of trees

 in North Carolina. I can't wait to share the spring pictures with everyone.

 There was a fork in the trail so we debated...

and chose Dragonfly Pond 

We had a lovely walk!

We took a "selfie" so you could see these happy faces!

We taught our first Book of Mormon Class on Tuesday evening.

We had 14 people show up (which was a surprise) not including Elder Youngstrom and Elder Valgardson who brought a young investigator and a young man who has been less active. 

We took pictures to help us learn everyone's names. 

We'll see if any of them come back on Tuesday night!

We had quite the rainstorm Thursday and Friday in Charlotte 

but nothing like the Ice Storm that hit a little north of us! 

We had no idea when we left sunny Charlotte on Saturday morning 

what had happened just a a few miles up the road. 

We had the opportunity to see some of an ice storm's effects

 on our drive to High Point yesterday. 

All along the freeway hundreds of trees were snapped like tooth picks

 or totally uprooted because of the ice. 

Here's a couple of photos that I found online from the storm.

Love this photo of 4 cardinals waiting for the ice to melt.

I know you are wondering where in NC is High Point.

 Look between Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

We were asked to do training for 5 couples assigned to help the Mission

 as Apartment Coordinators for  8 different areas (16) apartments of High Point Stake. 

What a blessing they will be in our Mission. 

I hope that they will be a model for all the stakes in our mission! 

We were supposed to meet at the Stake Center (Church) building 

but we received a call to change the location just as we were leaving. 

That was our first clue to the effects of the Ice Storm. 

The electricity was out in the churches, many businesses, even a huge mall was shut down. 

We were told the power could be down 2 or 3 days. 

We met at Brother Miller's home because his power was working. 

When we got off the freeway, the traffic lights weren't operational in most places 

and it was risky just crossing an intersection! 

NC drivers aren't known for being cautious or obeying traffic laws!

Elder and Sister Andrus drove with us and we had a great time. 

The training went really well and I'm so grateful for the service 

these wonderful people are willing to give to us. 

They love having missionaries in their areas and take very good care of them.

This is lovely little pond behind Brother Miller's home. 

In the 2 hours we were there much of the snow and ice had melted in the warm sunshine.

 If you look carefully you can see the Canada Geese meandering across the lawn.

 After the training we drove to Winston-Salem and went to Old Town Salem to have lunch. 

We didn't have enough time there so we'll have to go back. 

If anyone's interested we'd be happy to bring you along!

This tavern was built in 1805 and is now a restaurant. 

We had a very late lunch there and I tried real southern cooking, 

fried Catfish Po boy and Sweet potato fries. It was delicious. 

Then we just had to try dessert... warm gingerbread cake and lemon ice cream. 

Also very nummy!

If you look on the left side of the photo you'll see the corner of the main Tavern, built in the 1700's. George Washington stayed in that Tavern for 2 days during his campaign for President. 

I need to do a little more research to get the whole story!

Elder and Sister Andrus with Elder Urban

We send our love to y'all!