Missionary Highlights: Roanoke

        I finished out my mission in Roanoke.   I started out with my youngest companion Sister J.  She did everything Pres. P. asked or told her to do.  She was on a mission to convert the world - preferably by herself so that she could get the credit. She was short and adorable and many of the elders lusted after her - which I guess is not so cool.

        She would make thought cards - by herself.  I didn't mind assisting, but I thought it would be more convenient to do them in an assembly line type manner - instead of both reaching for the same markers or colored pencils or what have you.  We actually got along okay, but didn't really seem to work as a team. 

        We would visit hospitals in the area and put in volunteer hours at the Ronald McDonald House.  We visited with members and formed a street directory with names and addresses of non-members that we might visit when we were on said street.  We encountered some interesting people.  We may have taught a few lessons together.  Mostly we gave references to the Elders. No baptisms.

        Every door in Roanoke had been knocked on every day by one religion or another, and thus we were told NOT to knock doors for at least a few months.  She was truly devastated by the idea as she was interested in getting more numbers but actually more interested in becoming Pres. P's golden missionary, thus we didn't knock on doors for the first two months.  Break my heart. 

        There was a quite damaging flood that occurred November of 1985.  We weren't even supposed to leave the apartment that particular day. I scanned had scanned pictures that had been printed in the newspaper which I shared in this post. We were together at Christmas. 

        I don't remember there being snow or cold when we were knocking doors.  I had thought I had been with her only two months and Sister S. for three, but it could have been the other way around.  I know there was snow when Sister S. and I were together, because we had built a snowman.   I know Sister J had gone out door-knocking a few times when the weather wasn't bad.  I think it had been a nice day from what I can remember from this post.

        I was in Roanoke when the Challenger blew up and devastated the nation.  I felt grateful that we had stopped by the home of one of the members shortly after the explosion so that we wouldn't appear so ignorant when we knocked on doors and someone would ask, "Oh, isn't what happened today so devastating?" and otherwise have had no clue.

        Roanoke has a historic star, which at the time was always lit up in white, except for two weeks that followed the explosion.  It was lit up red to honor those astronauts and teacher that had lost their lives.  

        My last companion was a senior sister.  She had a mighty big and humble heart.  I think she is around the same age as my mom.  I recently found her on facebook and I put in a friendship request though it doesn’t appear that she has been on fb for almost a year.  I wonder if she has failing health.  I wonder if she may have gotten dementia like my mom did.  I really enjoyed her company.

        I had pictures.  I had lots of them.  But many were disfigured as mentioned in here   The memories are almost as faded as the photos.  I know I scanned some of the pages – but I didn’t save a lot.  I think they are all on my personal drive that I still need to get an extention for as I am unable to view them at present.  I suppose it doesn't really matter.  

       I've lost so much of family photos and albums due to technology and updates and moving.  We no longer have a VCR and therefore all our VHS's seem outdated.  Dang.  But perhaps it is time to forget about the past and just move on.