Trip to Eric's Mission--Pearson, Georgia

We arrived in Pearson, Georgia after dark on Saturday, May 24th.  We stopped by to see the Odums and they were thrilled to see Eric and to meet us!  They were the first members that we met from Eric's mission and they and everyone else we met couldn't say enough about what a good missionary he was.  It was very heart-warming to know that he was so well loved and cared for! 

We stayed the night with the Whites, David, Paige, Maxwell, Eden, and Braxton.  They were waiting for us on the front porch and when we pulled up, Paige said to Eric, "Welcome Home!"  That meant the world to him.

We got a great night's sleep and went to 9:00 church at the Pearson Ward.  We were welcomed by the Bishop and he had Eric come up and bear his testimony.  After church, several people stayed around and wanted to listen to Eric play piano.  It was all very touching and we were very proud of him.

 This is the Odum family; from left, Bailey, Angie, Chad, and Peyton.

 The White family; from left, Maxwell, David, Eric, Paige Front, Braxton and Eden

 The White's home.

 Cute little puppy trying to get out of the kennel.

A friendly front yard game of football.  The White's had some people over including the missionaries and we had a feast of bbq chicken and all the fixins.  It was the start of some fabulous southern cookin!

Actually, before dinner at the White's, we had fabulous ham dinner at the Merrell's.  Bishop Merrell and his wife have a street with their home and several others where their children and their families live.  He and his wife have converted a corn bin into a quaint little home for themselves.  It really should be featured on an HGTV show.  It's quite amazing.

 Bishop Kevin Merrell, Eric, DeAnne Merrell

Chad and Judith Merrell.  Judith helped a lot to make us feel welcome.  She arranged for the dinner and she set up our lodging for the night at Brigham and Melinda Merrell's home.  We watched  the latest "Hobbit" movie with them at their house....well Mike and I zonked out, but hey, we tried to stay awake!

 These are the current Pearson Elder's--two English and two Spanish speaking
From left to right:  Elder Turnbull, Elder Hillier, Elder Bodily, Elder McNeil

The Pittman family

 While waiting for a haircut from Oscar in Pearson, the White's came in!  It was fun to chat with them.

 This is the chapel in Pearson and the house to the right is where the missionaries live.  This is where Eric finished up his mission.

This is the site of the first LDS church and cemetery in Pearson, Georgia.  It's called little Utah.  There's quite a history of the church here in this little southern part of the country.

 The Barroso/Araujo's

We had a really great visit in Pearson.  It was hard for Eric to leave here...again!  We left Pearson early afternoon on Monday and drove to Waycross where we visited these sweet members who had a sick baby (Mariana) in the hospital.  Eric and Chad Merrell were able to give the baby a blessing.  Afterwards, we went to lunch with Chad and Judith Merrell and their darling girls, Noelia and Natalia at Olive Garden and then we headed to Jacksonville!