So, when we were here way back when, I only remember a few things. I remember driving down a main street lined with nothing but monstrous churches. I also remember our trip to Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. And, I remember the Relief Society (women's) meeting that I attended. I can't remember where the building was or what the name of the branch/ward was, but I remember there were about six ladies there, one was the teacher and one was me, Eunice (my code name). The five of us listeners were all spread out, far apart. The feeling in the room was very icy and not too welcoming. My worst-case scenario self panicked about possibly becoming a member of that branch/ward.
Fast forward, fifteen years later. In June we came out for a quick trip to check out the area and to find a place to live. We were surprised to find out that there were four church buildings and a small temple in the Nashville area. The ward we visited was packed, there were even four or five rows of chairs set up in the cultural hall - with people in them! We were really surprised when we ran into a couple of families who used to be in our Boston ward. (Sing along with me: It's a small world after all, it's a small world after all...)
Apparently Nissan attracted a lot of people to the area when they moved their corporate office to Nashville a few years ago. Vanderbilt also attracts a lot of medical people. Anyway, our new ward, the Old Hickory Ward, is much bigger than I ever imagined it would be. (On Sunday someone mentioned that there are 450 members in our ward.) However, there seem to be very few 'real' Tennesseans. Most of the members are transplants and it seems like the majority of them have lived in California at one time or another.
We were really surprised to learn that a lot of ward members live near us. There's a new beta church website where you can see where your ward members live. Click here to check it out.
Our house is neon green - in the picture, not in real life ;o) |