March 28th, 2018
Hello Family and Friends!

We have spend a few Sat afternoons visiting more museums, there's one in every community.  It's been fun, but not so fun when you see some of the items they consider "antique", and you remember these items well!  Some Sisters sent this picture to Elder Hess today, the missionaries LOVE him.  Last Sunday as we drove to a Musical Tribute to The Living Christ, put on by the missionaries, and the Sisters we had picked up in Searcy on our way to Jonesboro, kept asking Elder Hess to tell them a story!  He is so witty.  Sometimes some of the Sisters will send him a picture of what they have been eating, but only if it is something healthy!  He teases them that to catch a husband after their mission, they will have to woe them with a Spring mix salad with a raspberry vinaigrette!

The Sisters and I did a few "Heart Attacks" on Valentines Day, it was such fun, even though we got caught on one of them.  This is Sister Vaitai from SLC, UT.

Pres. Hansen has been speaking at each of the 5 Stake Conferences, and has asked the members in each stake to get a new copy of the Book of Mormon and mark it for an investigator.  Then to pray for the "one" to give it to.  What a great thing to do, want to take that challenge with me??

This is Untinet Turner, and she finally made the decision to be baptized!  Her family attended the baptism, but no one was really in favor of it.  She knows she has found the truth, and exercised so much faith in taking this leap of faith.   She has so many strikes against her with family problems and health concerns, but she has the biggest heart and will do anything for anyone!  Back, Brandon, Auraijaria, Bow, Untinet, Sister Vaitai, Sister Tyree, Jordon, James, Semja, and Andrew.

 Wanted to show you some of the people we see often in the office.  Dave works for the church and can fix anything!  Johnny is our faithful mailman who never comes into the office without his smile and good humor. He wears shorts any day that it is above 36 degrees.

Interesting museum in Stuttgart we visited, and instead of a a Miss Peach like Brigham Cities peach days, they have a Queen Mallard!  Take a look at the various duck calls housed here, and the display of the Queen Mallards...

This also houses quite a display of the years of rice production in AR, Rice land Rice. Tremendous flocks of ducks and geese spend the winder here, gleaning from the rice fields.

Cotton is big here in the state, and most museums have an interesting display of all of the products that cotton goes into, how it is produced, and old pictures of the workers, and actual bags used to put the picked cotton into, some of which were 10 ft long. (smaller ones for the children)

                                            Here's the long and short of it....Elder Ralph....

Sister Kaylee Croin, baptized in Feb.  She had had the missionaries in her home off and on for over a year.  She is such a wonderful person, and wants to serve in anyway that she can.  

                    These are some of her missionaries, and this is one of our Sunday dinners.

                 Our gate code box, and front gates...                                                 

 

Lunch at a small zone conference.  The two ladies on the left are sisters that the missionaries found.  The second sister, along with her son, was homeless when the Sisters found her several years ago. Now she is the Relief Society President in Jacksonville, AR  Her sister joined a year later.  

Isn't it amazing what one person can do, one person who will share the gospel of Jesus Christ and forever change that persons life.  

                                      Funny little building that use to be a police station

 Elder and Sister Beheshti, area authority, is always a part of the departing missionaries farewell instructions. 

 Daffodils have come and gone here in AR; Wisteria is fading,, but the Azelas are in full bloom!

  Poster at one of the museums....and, something I am looking forward to when we get home!

One quick story about an Elder Parker who spoke at our last Stake Conference.  He is an area 70, very Southern, and talks like a Baptist Preacher.  When he was 21 yrs old, a friend gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he started reading it.  He studied the book for 3 years before joining the church.  For the next seven years his family disowned him; his grandfather and his brothers are all Baptist Preachers and one of them has a mega church which means his congregation is over 10,000 people!  As he spoke to us, he said, "I have seen the Spirit of God rest upon you". He extended an invitation to any present that night who had not been baptized, to do so, immediately! "If you have a desire to be better, be your best self and to love your family, you need to be baptized. Then, go and serve. Those who oppose you or sustain you will not be present at your personal interview with the Lord, that will be between you and Him." Very powerful speaker.  I took Untinet up to meet him after the meeting and he looked at her without any introduction and said, "I want you to be baptized before the month is over. Here's my card, you email me when it's done!"  Her baptism was on March 17th. During his talk he spoke of his grown children and how he always wanted them to know 2 things about him..."if you have opposition with the Lord, you have opposition with me, if you have opposition with the Brethren, you have opposition with me. If you have questions, you come to me. If you are outside the boundaries of the Lord, you are jeopardizing our family and we cannot lose you to the world!."  He went on to say, "we, as parents, cannot shirk our duty to our children." D&C 109:14...(teach) words of wisdom out of the best books...and Alma 7:15, lay aside every sin which easily doth beset you. Alma 7: 25...and may the Lord bless you and keep you...

We are praying that He will do just that tonight...we are under another tornado threat, severe thunderstorms and probability of damaging hail.  Our weather radio has sounded several times in the last couple of hours, and we pray for all of the missionaries.  I sent them all an alert today to be extra watchful of the weather. 

Love to all,
Elder and Sister Hess
(Mom and Dad)