From John Alan Turner's Home Town

West Monroe, Louisiana is where the Dobbs' find themselves tonight. We drove up yesterday, and had an uneventful trip. We had supper with a group of people who had been involved with hurricane relief from the University Church of Christ in Monroe. They took Maggy, David, Elaine, and me to La Bella Vita, a nice Italian restaurant. They had kind words, hugs, and a nice gift from the Daily Harvest bakery in Monroe. It was a great night that really lifted our spirits. They put a lot of thought into the night, even signing cards for us. Today we missed the events planned at White's Ferry Road Church, in order to travel to Clarksdale, Mississippi. We attended the funeral for Maggy's aunt, Dot Peyton. She was Maggy's dad's baby sister. We saw several family members we hadn't seen in a long time. One of Maggy's cousins talked to me about getting a group of people to come down and work on the Coast. I've already talked to the Associate Minister there and got that ball rolling. Even on a family trip we're not far from our work on the Coast. It was good to see Maggy's family. I married into a wonderful family, and they have given such love to me over the years. It seemed a shame to only see them for such a short time, but it was better than nothing, I suppose. I had a camera in my pocket, but it seemed a poor time to be taking snapshots. As we drove back through Cleveland on the way back to Monroe, we stopped in McDonald's and was able to chat with two very special ladies. Edna Reaves is the wife of longtime Cleveland elder, Lyn Reaves. She was having lunch with Francis Neal. Francis is the widow of deceased Cleveland elder, Bill Neal. I have a long history with these two families, having worked for the Cleveland Church of Christ on two different occasions. It was great to bump into them and to give them a report of what was happening on the Coast. Since this week I have had no control over the meals I have eaten, my Weight Watchers plan has been a bust. I'll get back to it when I get home and have opportunity to choose what I eat. So, since I am already a sinner this week, we did stop by Delta Cream - a Cleveland tradition - and enjoyed some bad stuff. I tell you the truth, these donuts are so good, you'll spit out a Krispy Kreme in a taste test. I know, you don't believe me. My brother in law, Johnny Moore, will not agree ... but I know donuts. According to David and Elaine, it was a good day at WFR. Tonight's program included a concert from the Steffen Sisters and an entertaining and inspirational talk by "The Duck Commander", Phil Robertson. David reports also that phone calls to the Coast reveal that all is going well without us there. Amen! A crew from Pennsylvania will fly out from Mobile in the morning. Pray for them to have a safe journey home. They have worked hard all week. We have a light week this week, then another crew from Hope Missions will be in next Saturday. Thanks for reading and I'll try to let you know how things are going tomorrow night!