Show missionary WRITES elkmont elemont Elk mont alabama august 12 IM 1987 7 dear brother marshall I 1 just received my reaper and enjoyed joyed it very much along with all the other papers I 1 have received from you since I 1 have been here in the mission field I 1 am indeed sorry horry to know that elder blain marshall has had to go home on account of his health but hope hop e in the near future he can return and fillish his mission in coming to the southern states I 1 was afraid that I 1 would suffer with the heat beat but never yet have suffered or could not sleep on account of the heat it gets hot but it just affect me as some of the elders sly health has been good so far other than a cold now and then since last writing to you I 1 have spent most of my time in the northern part of the state of alabama I 1 have met up with many experiences and one of them was I 1 had held some street meetings in athens ala and had met much opposition well we had conference up here and there were seven elders so we went and held another street meeting in athens and after our meeting we were run out of town aud and told not to come back so we left and are thankful that things were no worse than they were two of the elders a few months ago were mailed up at one small town in southern hou thern AI alabama and when they arrived there their mail had been opened and they were told to get out of town soon so they left we still receive some persecution but it is is a grand place to labor and I 1 mean to ray these southern people are naturally a religious people and are well read in the bible they as a whole are rather a hospitable and kind people find and as the saying goes we always have to tk take some of the bitter to appreciate sweet I 1 have traveled a great deal up in this end of the state and it is really a beautiful country I 1 have visited the muscle shoals or wil wilen zen dam at florence ala which cost the united states and I 1 remember leading tiding about it in ill geography geog rap raphy we went through it and it is a wonderful sight to see what man mail can do we also visited tile the joe wheeler dam which cot these are only two of the many dams dains that the T V A rover I 1 have been out here in the country is as we have a beautiful chapel and quite a few members after spending six months with them I 1 hate to leave I 1 will be going back to the city the first of ScTt september ember and these good cooks that we have here in the country will surely be missed as they sure know how to fry chicken and bake hot biscuits the crops are all being liar harvested vested except cotton and cane but they will start on that soon the cotton fields surely purely look beautiful all abloom I 1 hope this finds you and your fam fain div in good health and all the rest of rich county praying the lord will bless you all that P you vou may mav carry on and fill the expectations of these people ag aa they are arp watching utah and the of the latter day 9 sainta n i n t z sincerely your brother brothe r in the finel S wayn REX |