We have almost completed our first week in Mound City. We drove here from Independence on Monday and arrived in the afternoon.
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| The House We Are Staying In |
The home we are living in is a modest 3 bedroom ( we only have the use of two bedrooms since the 3rd bedroom is full of the landlord's things, but it is adequate for our needs) modular home situated close to a 9-hole golf course. It is also close to a 90-acre lake. The area where we live is kind of a recreational getaway for people from the city, meaning Kansas City. There are about 100 homes around the Golf course and lake. The properties around the lake are a real mixture, we were told there is a million dollar home on the lake, but many of the lots just have camper trailers parked on them and some just seem to be used as camping spots. About half the homes have full-time residents, mostly retirees and half are used as vacation homes for people from the city. Mound City is about 2 miles down the hill from where we live and has a population of 600. We walk the golf course for exercise in the mornings and are getting to know those who congregate in the club house in the mornings. I suggested we make cookies for the neighbors, and we had some leftover and so Linda suggested we take them to those who congregate at the golf club. Linda measured out the ingredients for a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies, but it turned out, we did not have a beater in the house so I was given the chore of mixing a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies by hand with a thin wooden spoon. We also did not have a mixing bowl large enough for all the ingredients. The task was a little more difficult than I would have imagined.
All the people here are real friendly, polite and nice. The city is kind of like going back in time. Linda was thinking our date nights would continue as always and was a little surprised to learn there was no movie theater in town. We are told the nearest movie theater is about 35 minutes away and it is out of the mission. This is also where the nearest Walmart is located.
There seems to be a fair amount of wildlife around the golf course and lake. We see lots of rabbits when we walk. We saw several deer behind the house yesterday, a doe and her fawn. When we open the back door at night we see lots of fireflies and it sounds like a jungle with all the cicadas, crickets and who knows what else. The previous missionary couple said they had raccoons and possum on the back porch. There is a pair of Cardinals that sing in the morning and afternoon. Everyone has warned us about the ticks and chiggers that apparently are abundant this time of year. So while everything is green and lush with vegetation, we don’t dare walk in the forested areas or where there is tall grass for fear of the ticks and chiggers.
We are doing what we can to contact people that might be interested in the gospel. We took cookies to our closest neighbors and introduced ourselves. We have visited or met all the member families that have homes in Mound City which is four. We have started venturing out in the country and neighboring towns to meet members. We did purchase a GPS system prior to leaving Independence. It is a good thing, with no mountains to orient us we would be completely lost without it. In fact, half the time I think it is directing us wrong, but it gets us to where we are trying to go and back home. Many of the country roads are gravel with corn or soybean crops on either side and they all start to look alike.
Tomorrow will be our first Sunday in the Branch, we have met the Branch President and the Mission Leader and are looking forward to meeting the other members.
-Jay Anderson
