About the Giveaway and Visiting Teaching

A big huge congratulations to Roxie for guessing what is in the jar. The $20 Amazon gift certificate is in the (e)mail. Don't spend it all in one place!!

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Oh wait, you have to spend it all in one place.

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Oh well, have fun with it! Are you going to get some chocolate??

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I'll never forget the day I was visiting my 90 year old cousin and her offering it to me. She said, in her sweet and southern voice, "They are Apple Rings! But they aren't really apples, they are almost rotten cucumbers that you season like apples, they are delicious!!" And I smiled and nodded and accepted, knowing that I would never know if they were delicious or not. Well, unless there is a famine and it's the last thing left on the pantry, then I will know.

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But I must tell you something about my 90 year old cousin....

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In my church we have a program called visiting teaching. It goes on all around the world in my church. It's a pretty neat thing. Each woman at church is assigned a companion and 3-4 other women at church the to visit once a month. We bring an uplifting message and see how they are doing, offer to help if help is needed and so on. It's awesome.

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When I first moved to this small town in Georgia, I was given a list of women who I was to visit teach. I didn't know my companion or the people on my list yet, but was excited because how better to hurry and make new friends? I remember calling an elderly lady on my list and asking if I could come visit. A few days later my companion and I went to visit and she was sweet as pie. However, it wasn't long before she realized exactly who we were, she said she'd been attending another church and if she had known which church we were calling from, she probably wouldn't have let us in.

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I didn't want to stop visiting her though! I remember wanting to make her my grandma, she reminded me so much of my favorite Aunt Lula Mae. I felt like she was family.

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We continued to chat and get to know each other and she asked my companion where her people were from (that's exactly how she asked). She answered. Then she asked me where my people were from, I said South Carolina. Her eyes lit up, "I'm from South Carolina!"

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I said, "Is that right?"

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She said, "Yeah, I am a Black."

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I grabbed my heart. "I'm a Black!"

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She grabbed her heart and she said, "Who's your daddy!?!?!"

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I told her my dad's full name and she told me her daddy's name and said, "Our daddy's were brothers!!"

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And we looked at each other, still holding our hearts, both with tears in our eyes, in complete shock. And my companion, who we'd both forgotten was there, said, "Don't you think you two should hug?"

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And we did. We both got up and stood in the middle of her family room, hugging and crying.

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On the way home I remembered that my dad said there was an older lady that lived in this town that was his cousin. My cousin.

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It's been about 9 years. I still visit her, not as much as I want to or should, but I do. I always take my two youngest trick-or-treating in her little community, the elderly there seem to love having trick-or-treaters come by. And my two youngest daughter adore her. She is an amazing woman and a joy to know. I have a couple of pictures of her somewhere on this computer but they seem to be hiding. (and it's killing me!)

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But that is the story behind me and that jar of Faux Apple Rings. I thought you all should know.

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But I've wondered, should the contest have been -$20 goes to the person willing to try them?

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And Crash- really, why haven't you entered?

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