Abbeville

This is a note from a man in our ward who served in Cam's mission over 25 years ago, Cam emailed him and asked him for some stories from that time. 

Elder Cardon,

 

So thrilled to hear you are planted in the Atchafalaya Basin! My second day in the mission filed was in Lafayette where I was picked up by my companion, Elder Loper and a black member, Elijah Dee. I grew up with severl black friends so I felt very comfortable and even excited to meet brother Dee but when he spoke, I could only understand about 25% of what he said. It was an immediate udnerstanding of what my Patriarchal blessing said, "I would serve among a strange people", but, it also goes on to say... "where I will learn their customs and their attituedes and where I would find the pure in heart and they would be affected by my testimony and my faith, and realize that they are choice children of our Father".

 

Elder, it was 33 years ago and don't have my journals close at hand but some highlights from my first area, Abbeville, LA:

 

Densyl Haymond was our Branch President (son D.L Haymond lived in Baton Rouge). He was from the ward in Lafayette. We met in a small home in town that had wood floors and on a typical Sunday we would have three MPH holders at church, Bro. Haymond, me and my comp. His two counselors were active but worked offshore in the oil fields so they were only around occasionally. We blessed and passed the sacrament, I played the piano, we taught SS and PH and spoke in sacrament meeting often since there were no shows a lot and frankly, many times, no one else to speak but us anyway.

 

We tracked day in and day out, very little member participation but we taught a lot. The people were very welcoming as far as hearing a message about the Savior but the response was always, "I'm Catholic, my mamma's Catholic, my Grandma is Catholic..." you know. Mike and Katie Schwere (sp) were great members there and treated us so good. We went month's without a baptism but finally met Jake, an elderly black man who retained some paralysis after suffering a stroke, he loved to have us come and teach him and read the BofM to him. He was baptized in our font in Lafayette which was an old garbage dumpster with plaster on the inside that sat behind the church that we filled up with a garden hose and dumped what hot water we could heat on the stove in the kitchen into it to take the chill off. Jake couldn't climb the ladders in and out of our make-shift font so we had to lift him in and out. He was a very sweet man; I'm certain he has been gone for many years. There was also a single mom with two young girls who joined the church, I don't recall her name but the little branch had a start.

 

We lived in a dump of an apartment on the second floor of a fourplex in Guegnon St. It was roach infested and I was able to find a great place to live right before I was transfered (never slept a night in it). We worked in Abbeville, Erath and Perry, all on bikes. Our district leaders were in New Iberia. I went from Abbeville to NO for 12 months serving in Algiers and NO East and finished my last six months in Biloxi.

 

The greatest miracle in Abbeville was probably Elder Beeson's growth in knowlege and faith. I spent six difficult but wonderful month's in Abbeville, met so many wonderful people and learned what the church was like outside of Utah and how important PH leadership is and what modern pioneers were like. I passed off all my discussions and over 240 scriptures that I memorized while in Abbeville. I finally, really leaned for myself that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the Holy Ghost can bring comfort as well as guidance in our lives and that "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" but that when we press forward and endure, ultimately the window of heaven are opened and tremendous blessing come in many forms.

 

Elder, thanks for your faithful service. You may never know the tremendous impact you have had on others both in and out of the church, at home and away because of the work that you are engaged in.

 

See you before long, "The time is far spent, there is little remaining..."

 

Best Regards,

 

Sam Beeson