When we first moved here
we took cookies to the immediate neighbors and introduced ourselves. Of those
neighbors the people we have come to know well are the father and son I
mentioned in the previous post. However we continue to get to know more
neighbors each week and continue to become better acquainted with those we
already know.
On occasion we walk the roads around the lake
rather than the golf course. There was one particular house I found to be kind
of interesting because it was larger than most in the neighborhood and had
large outside curtains hanging down from the balcony and I assume it was to
block the sun light. One day as we were walking we saw the owner of that house
out in the yard. We waived and he greeted us, we talked briefly, he said
something to the effect, Oh, are you the Mormons? We said yes. Since two senior
missionary couples have preceded us, people kind of know where the “Mormons”
live. It's a small town so everybody seems to know everybody. Also, this is rural Kansas so there is not a lot of diversity in terms of race
and ethnic background however the couple who live in this house are black.
After this brief
conversation, this house and its inhabitants continued to be on my mind. After
a week or so, I Mentioned to Sister Anderson that I thought we should take some
cookies to those people and try to get to know them. So she made more cookies
and we went by on several occasions but never caught them home. We began to
think that maybe they lived in the City (Meaning Kansas City) and only came
down on weekends. We kept trying and then on the third or fourth attempt we
went by and caught them at home, out working in the yard. As we presented the
chocolate chip cookies he mentioned that he wasn’t fond of these cookies (he
likes raisin and oatmeal J) but his wife would likely eat them. We met the wife and visited
a little bit, found out she has done a fair amount of family history and they
were both polite and cordial, but he didn’t seem too interested in establishing
any kind of friendship or ongoing relationship. After that I thought to myself,
”that was possibly a waste of some very good chocolate chip cookies”! (Just
kidding) However, I was a little puzzled why they had been on my mind since we
didn’t achieve the results that I was hoping for. So about a month has passed
and then this last Sunday after church we took our usual walk on the roads
around the lake, and as we turned the corner this same couple came driving down
the road and as they saw us, they pulled over to visit with us, we talked and
they invited us over next Monday evening
for hors-d'œuvres, (I hope this spelling is right, I had difficulty getting
close enough for spell check to recognize what I was trying to spell and fix it for me J)
I believe they also have invited others in the neighborhood. So we are excited
about that, we are always looking for opportunities to meet and get to know new
people. Maybe those chocolate chip cookies
accomplished their intended purpose after all and I need to learn not to rush
to judgment. We look for any and all opportunities to meet new people. There
really are a lot of really good people in this area. Knowledge of the Restored
Gospel would only make them better and bless their lives.
In District meeting
tomorrow the Elders have asked us to share any ideas we have on finding people.
I think I will tell them we just walk the gravel roads around the lake and
people pull over and invite us to their homes! J
