Dear Family and Friends,
The Berries below are called American Beauty Berries.They grow in the South, and are ripe and ready to eat when dark purple. They say that the taste is mild, but slightly medicinal flavored! So, you may have seen this part of the blog come out earlier....I meant to click on preview, and hit publish instead! So, now I will continue with what I started....
Elder Hess doesn't always make it into the zone pictures because he is tied up with something else, or in this case, he was getting ready for his presentation. The mission approved him ordering a bunch of things for a medical kit for each companionship. So, at each conference, we had 12 boxes on 2 long tables that the missionaries would walk down and put together their kit. They loved the kits, and now when Elder Hess wants to know what a sick missionaries temperature is, there is no excuse; they now have a thermometer! Elder Kearl, our AMA over 9 missions implemented these kits in the mission in Florida that he is in, and he said that they saved a bunch of money because the Elders and Sister could start treating their symptoms earlier. Sorry, I just went back to my last post and see that I already told you all of this, but guess this time I have the pictures to go with it. You won't notice if you are only looking at the pictures anyway...
In between zone conferences we drove to Memphis for our Wards Temple Day. This is Jamie, who was baptized in May, and we took her with us to do Baptisms. She was so excited all the way to the temple, and had looked forward to this for weeks. She didn't quite have her own names ready, but she did some work for Brother, Wells, also a new convert. He had his Mother, Sister, Grandmother, and two cousins that Jamie was baptized for. It was a glorious day! 
A family was sealed that day, and below is a picture of Sister Bowie, and her ASL interrupter. We have several American Sign Language Sisters in the mission, but this is a ward member who signs during church for Sister Bowie and her husband. We have given the Bowies a ride to church or an activity and we keep paper and pencil handy, and we can text them any questions that we have. 
After we left the temple, we took Jamie to the Bass Pro Shop, she had never been there. We looked around at all of the wonderful displays inside, had lunch, and then took the elevator to the top. The guide told us that when we reached the top, we would be higher than the Statue of Liberty! It was rather windy that high, beautiful view of the city and Mississippi River, a bit scary walking out on the Plexiglas looking floor.....just don't look down! Driving home, Jamie kept saying, "This is the Best Day of My Life"! Tennessee on the bottom, Arkansas on the other side of the river.
Some thoughts from some of our Sacrament meetings. "I will strive to become a disciple of Jesus Christ and bring others in so they can receive their ordinances. The road to discipleship is never smooth or easy." "Don't discount our trials, we need them, they could be the greatest blessing at the time our Heavenly Father give us them." Like Nephi said, we need to "Write the things of my soul for the profit of my children." We heard Elder 'longi bear his testimony after someone spoke about the Lamanites who gave up their weapons of war. In his very humble testimony, he said, "I was one of those Lamanites who has had to give up his weapons of war, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ has blessed me through forgiveness." I'm not sure what nationality he is, but before his change of heart, you wouldn't have wanted to meet him in a dark ally! Another Elder bore his sincere testimony saying..."you know that I like to joke around and have a good time, but I can tell you that I know Jesus Christ is the Son of God! I've looked in other places for happiness, but you won't find it there." 
We still like to go to the River Market in Little Rock on Sat., and also walk around the river while we are there. Last week Elder Hess bought a local watermelon, and it was a HUGH one! He thought he could carry it all the way to the car, but between it's size and the heat, it got quite slippery! He sat it down to wait while I went and got the car. We are still eating it, and it has been served at a dinner for 8 seniors, another dinner with Elders, (sending a large chuck home with them) today for dinner, and it's still going strong! One of the best we have ever had. On one of our last walks, we ran into this bronze statue of Harriet Tubman. This inscription is on one side of the base. Such good advice for each of us. We each do get weary at times, and need an added push, and that's what the gospel gives us, a gentle, but needed push in the right direction. I just want to tell each of you how much we LOVE our mission. Yes, it gets hard at times, lonesome too, but we can't think of anything more worthwhile to be doing. 
We liked this list that we saw at a nature center, and it's a great list. And, as important as it is to expose our children to all good things in nature, it is so much more important to expose them to the blessings that their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can offer them. Where else can they find purpose and meaning in their lives? Where else can they feel grounded and secure when worldly cares and winds beat against them? Where else can they find strength to fend off the fiery darts of the adversary? And where else can they find peace and true joy as they navigate their lives to adulthood and beyond. I am so grateful to have the truth in my life, to know that God is real, His love and sacrifice for us is real, and that His love for us is constant and sure. Little Katelyn Miller, a 12 year old Beehive, spoke in Sacrament meeting today. She has made a list of "Things I WILL do", and a list of, "Things I will Never do." Her advice was, "Live Your List". Next speaker said,,"We Pray to Heavenly Father with our questions, and He answers us through the scriptures."
Love to each of you,
Elder and Sister Hess
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