Letter from Colin:
Today we learned a bit about duck decoys and their history. Did you know there are some duck decoys worth over 100,000 dollars? Probably the most famous being the Dudley Duck Decoy? Either way, today Brother John Waterfield, who is a member of this ward, from a line of decoy-makers and waterfowl hunters that reaches back to the start of this country, showed how decoys are carved and painted. He also told us about the different varieties of ducks: Pintails, Wood Ducks, Black Ducks, Mallards, Canvas Backs, and a host of others. I didn't even know there were so many kinds of ducks, and that back-in-the-day, the whole coastal area of our mission was the world’s capital of waterfowl hunting. There is even a guild just for decoy carvers out in our mission; they have a big decoy festival every year down on Harkers Island, NC.  

         So ultimately, the area our mission covers is famous for:

         1. The birth of this nation (Yorktown, Jamestown, etc.),

         2. The best lighthouses in the world,

         3. The largest naval base in the world,

         4. The best Eastern-Carolina BBQ in the world (the Virginia Chesapeake Mission covers almost all of eastern NC, so that one isn't much of a surprise!),

         5. ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’ where BlackBeard mostly operated.

   And 6. Well, it's where I am serving my mission, so I think it's a pretty great place, personally, because it is home to some of the greatest people that I've ever met, for whom I will always have a deep-rooted love.

         Number six is the only one that really matters, though (okay, number one is important, too)!

         This last week with Elder Talbot (who I already miss a lot), and with Elder Davis, my new companion, we have focused hard on using the phone well (i.e., calling everyone to set up appointments, setting up members to come with us, and helping people keep commitments and such).  The result so far, of all that, is: we have 2-4 appointments already set for every day this week and we already have 6 members set to come out with us this week, and a good handful of those lessons will be new investigators.

         In other news, a Jehovah's Witness, who was selling meat, knocked on the door of our apartment yesterday. He had an interesting reaction when we opened the door--we seemed to be the last people in the world he was expecting. The man didn't try to sell us meat from his company or proselyte to us, although he seemed extremely interested in and surprised by the success that the Church's missionary efforts have worldwide (it's ‘almost’ as if it's successful because it's true and we have the supreme Governor of all the universe on our side), but the man was certainly nice enough.

         Our vision and goal for the next 12 weeks (the last 12 weeks of my mission) is to lift the culture of this Ward and of our whole mission. We plan to do so by helping others see Heavenly Father's vision for the Church

and this area. This is explained well in Moses 7:18, "And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." We believe we need to start where the leadership of the Church has been focusing: Sabbath day observance. We want to help the Ward have spiritually edifying Sacrament services, and other church meetings that are to a level where every member will have a desire to invite their friends and acquaintances to come and see why we do what we do. We want our meetings to be so focused on the Savior and His teachings, that because of the presence of the Spirit, you will know this is true and real, even just from being there and listening.  Clearly we understand that to accomplish this goal will take more time than I probably have left on my mission, but most anything worth doing will take some time to accomplish. I love the people here in this Ward and especially down in North Carolina, but really, the people in this whole mission, and I want them to be successful, happy, and find joy in truly living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If I can just be an instrument in the Lord's hands to even accomplish that, even in small measure, I will be happy with the two years I will have spent here in Virginia and North Carolina. Until I write next, I hope y'all have a blessed week.

 

-- Elder White