Letter Home - Week 21

Hey Everybody!

 

This week has been crazy busy. Unfortunately, not much proselyting was done though. With transfers missionaries were leaving and new ones coming in so Elder Moli and I had to make sure everything worked out with that. We were basically a taxi service picking up and taking people to the airport and a lot of other miscellaneous things. And yes that means we have a car and no Elder Moli cannot drive. So before all of this I had to get a driving permit for here in St. Lucia and immediately after start driving on the left side of the road. It's been fun. It's different but not as bad as I thought. I've been here for almost 5 months so I'm used to being on the left side. If I were to start immediately driving from when I first arrived here in St. Lucia it would be harder to transition. We had a Branch Christmas Luau Party on Friday and it was awesome! It felt like a ward party back home. I like the Branch up here in Castries. There's a lot more kids and youth and it feels like a family. I'm blanking our area which means that neither Elder Moli or I were working in it so we are doing our best to find people to teach and build up our teaching pool. We are doing what we can to work closely with the members and teach their friends and family. I find that that works best and a lot of success can be found in doing so. Elder Moli is from Tonga and is one of the hardest working missionaries I know. I will learn a lot from him during my time serving with him as I have already learned a lot just this past week. He has been out 10 months. He is super obedient, he gets things done, and he really loves the people. I saw this love when we went to visit a family he had been teaching for the last time. Saying goodbye he broke down in tears. It was really hard for him to leave them. I heard Patrick and Lenelle both accepted to work towards a baptismal date this past week and Patrick came to church. He only came once a while ago and hadn't been back for many weeks. Junior is also doing really well. He as an investigator has already started going out with the missionaries teaching. He is on ch. 20 in the book of Mormon and came not only to church the past two weeks but also an activity today and the baptism for Earl. He is awesome. I love to see it when people are changing their lives. I love to see the light and happiness that follows making the right choices. Choose the right let the consequence follow. Hope you all have a great time this Christmas Season and I'll see you all on Friday!!

 

Much Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 20

Well it's been a fun time serving in the Vieux Fort Branch but it has come to a close. Now I will be up in the Castries Branch which is on the other side of the island in St. Lucia. I've finished my time with Elder Whipple and how great those 12 weeks were. I loved serving with him. He is a great missionary. He is hardworking and obedient while still being able to have fun. I will now be serving as Zone Leader with Elder Moli who has been the Zone Leader for St. Lucia. Both of us will be ZL's as he will be training me to be one. All I can say is....crazy.... but I'm happy to do it and to serve and help out in the Zone where I can. Earl's baptism was amazing. It went super well. I was privileged to be the one to perform it and Elder Horne confirmed him a member and gave him the Holy Ghost. I can probably get you guys there contact info so you can meet them. As for Skype, unfortunately because of location and inaccessibility I was sadly informed that it will not be happening....not on Christmas or any other day...only email as usual. Maybe it will work out for mother's day but we will see. Love you guys tons and I hope you don't hate me for nearly giving you a heart attack for making a funny joke ;) sorry but I had to haha. Of course there will be Skype on Christmas and I can't wait!! I will make note of mike's schedule to make sure that we Skype after 12:00 your time or 3:00 our time. Definitely send me your Skype name. There was this guy named Junior that is 21 that Elder Whipple and I started teaching and he is progressing really fast. He is awesome and I am sure he will be baptized soon. I'm sad I don't get to see it through. This past week was fun but hard. I hate goodbyes. It was hard to leave the people in Vieux Fort as I've loved serving them so much. It was so amazing and I am grateful for the time I had to spend there and the people I was able to meet. I love you guys tons! 10 days!!! Hope you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder King

 

Earl at his baptism!

 

 

 

Elder Whipple and Elder Tye witnessed and I performed the baptism. I asked Earl how he felt after and he said that he felt great! He was a happy guy. He was saddened when I told him that I was leaving. I will miss their family but I'm glad to see them all get baptized before I left.  

 

 

Ambrose and Gaius were baptized together. I'm happy that I was able to see them get baptized as well before I left. I was able to interview Gaius and he is an awesome guy. 

 

 

 

I witnessed along with Unan(member who is turning in his papers to be a missionary) the baptism of Ambrose and then I gave Ambrose the Holy Ghost. It basically was a blessing of strength against temptation. Then Unan baptized Gaius(who was taught by the sister missionaries) and Elder Whipple and I witnessed. Unan helped a lot in the teaching of Gaius.

 

 

 

Hiked to a cool waterfall two p-day's ago. The hike lasted about 30 seconds...hahah  Last p-day we went on a bus tour around the island which was cool and then this p-day we had a zone activity at a beach and played some volleyball. 

 

 

 

After the 30 second hike we went on a real hike that went almost straight up this mountain. It was a sweet hike. Those peaks that you see are called the Pitons. There are two of them and they are incredible.

 

 

 

Bamboo Bunch! Saw this on the hike

 

 

 

Another pic from the hike and you can see one of the pitons

 

 

 

Pic from the tour around the island. It was a gorgeous view.

 

 

 

 

Letter Home - Week 19

Good afternoon!
 

This week has been a good week. My understanding about faith grew a lot this week. I've been thinking a lot about improving myself and my missionary efforts. The spirit is really an amazing teacher if we listen. I found many things that I can do. I wanted to change what I was doing right then but unless I did something and applied my faith nothing would change. It was something the spirit really helped me to see and it was a great blessing to me this week. The Christmas Devotional was exceptional and so inspiring. I hope you guys got the chance to see it last night. I've personally been working on faith this week for my Christlike attribute. I've set goals and tried different ways to make sure I achieve them. Earl's baptism got pushed back a week so we could finish all the lessons but we are excited for this Saturday. We had a really special lesson with him on Saturday night where the spirit was so strong. We watche the restoration video and shared testimonies after. Dad I'll work on compiling info for each person for you guys this week. I hope you all are having a wonderful christmas time! It truly is a wonderful time of year to reflect on the Savior. Love you all! Have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 18

Hey guys!

 

This week was jam packed with things to do! On Monday we had a thanksgiving dinner that was provided by Elder and Sister Horne. It was amazing! Reminded me of home. We had all the missionaries on the island there at the church and had a great time. Tuesday was district mtg where I taught about our purpose as missionaries. They all really enjoyed the mtg. One of the zone leaders and his companion came down for it and then after we went on a trade off. So I was with the zone leader and Elder Whipple went up to Castries for 24 hours. It was a good experience. I learned some good things as Elder Malyon (from London and yes he has a cool accent) and I taught a few people from my area. Friday we had zone conference with President and Sister Herrington. It took up the whole day but it was worth it. I loved the spiritual boost that came from it. It helped me think about and focus on some areas where I could improve and some areas where Elder Whipple and I could improve as comps. Saturday was the baptism of Ambrose and Gaius. Gaius is Sister Maughan's and Sister Nelson's investigator and he is really cool. I had the opportunity this week to interview him. The gospel has blessed both of their lives. We taught Dorothy on Saturday with her mom and brother. She read what we gave her last time and she is understanding what we teach. She had questions and we were able to answer them. She was really accepting and believing. We invited her to start reading from the book of mormon to gain her testimony and to really find out for herself the truth. We also went up to Earl's home and taught him. We've been teaching him about the different commandments and he has been really receptive to what we teach. He has changed a lot. His prayers when we invite him to pray at the end are really heartfelt and you can see the love that he has for God and his family. He is a good man. We hope all goes well this week and that he will be baptized this Saturday. On Sunday we gave Ambrose and Gaius the Holy Ghost. Since Elder Whipple baptized Ambrose I gave him the Holy Ghost and Elder Horne gave Gaius the Holy Ghost. After teaching some good lessons there was an area seventies broadcast for the carribean. We were able to teach a less active named Ange and bring him with us to teach Natalie who is very accepting and really understands and also to the broadcast. Then today as a district we went on a hike that was absolutely gorgeous! It was an adventure! Thanksgiving for you all sounded like fun! I bet the Elders were absolutely stuffed by the end of the day! Hope you all have a fantastic week!

 

Love,

Elder King 

Letter Home - Week 17

Hola mi familio,
 

Thanksgiving is this week! Hope you guys have fun! Today us Elders went to a field  for p  day and played a little touch football :) It was fun. We are going having our Thanksgiving feast today! I'm excited. Last week I was just a few days of feeling discouraged and because of the gospel I've bounced back and feeling really good! I'm happy :) I love the work and it just puts a smile on my face being a missionary. It also makes me happy to see how well things are going with you guys at home. I love you guys and can't wait until Christmas to skype you all :) One month! Next week will be my four month mark and it feels like time is just flying. It's really great weather down here right now by the way ;) Haha hope you guys stay warm! It feels like it's still the summer for me. The families we are teaching are doing really well. Ambrose if all goes well will be baptized this Saturday! He has made some great changes in his life. He loves God and wants to serve him to the end. I'm happy for him and the decisions he is making and has made. Earl will follow Ambrose the following week to join his family as a member of the church. :) Earl has made some big changes as well. He has really come a good way since I first met him. He has really been able to humble himself before God and gain a testimony of the Gospel. He has a strong testimony now of the Church. Megan who is one of the members grand daughter has been really faithful. She reads prays and comes to church each week. She is 16 and has a testimony. We were finally able to start teaching her mom together with her and we had a couple really good lessons with them. Hopefully the mom comes around so they can be baptized together and that their relationship together blossoms. There are a couple ladies that we started teaching that I feel really good about. I believe they are prepared for the Gospel. Their names are Natalie and Andrina. We've only taught one lesson to each so we will see what comes of it. There is also this guy named Gregory that I feel good about as well. He is looking for the truth and has started going through the book of mormon. He has great questions. He really wants to change his life. Rodrique is doing awesome! He loves the gospel and is so faithful. He will be a great blessing to the branch down here. He seems like a leader. The McFarlane boys are doing really well. Their family has been greatly blessed by the light of the gospel and they are seeing that. The mom Pauline is seeing her prayers answered of her whole family being part of the gospel. The Gospel just makes life sweet! There is good in everything. We just have to look for it. Love you all so much! Have a great week and take care!

 

Love,

Elder King

 

P.S. - The district mtgs are going really well. I'm learning a lot about how to be a better teacher and leader. It's cool. I've done two and tomorrow I'll do my third one. The first time I went through a Enos 1 verse 12 about desires and faith to help motivate the missionaries to take the good desires they have and nurture them with their faith. To have the faith to find ways to help their desires of being great missionaries come true. The missionaries in my district are already amazing and are really obedient. They inspire me to be a better missionary and I learn a lot from them. Last district mtg I talked about Christ like attributes to help build us missionaries up to them in turn help build our investigators up. Both I felt like went really well. I do attend ward council mtgs along with all the other missionaries. No pec. I take part with Elder Horne(branch president who is from Orem and is returning home in January. He also owns Talons Cove golf course. I thought Mike might like that. He and his wife are absolutely amazing and are a big help to us missionaries.) and Bro. Hippolyte(First Counselor from St. Lucia) in the weekly mtg before church where we discuss things about the branch. I sit on the stand and I assume one week I will conduct the Sacrament Mtg. Elder Odhiambo did when he was Second Counselor. I think they rotate between the three of us each month. So maybe next month it's my turn. I teach quite a bit as well in priesthood and gospel principles. Lots of work but I love it! Love you guys!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 16

Hello!

 

Love you guys! Thanks for the emails and pictures! Dad to answer your question I don't do interviews for the branch but I do do the interviews for baptism. This week was hard for me but in the end turned into a beautiful one. I just felt really down. I was beating myself up for things that I later realized were out of my control. I was looking at all the negative and it made it really hard. I was looking at all the areas where I wasn't doing well and putting unnecessary stress on myself to improve all at once instead of taking things one thing at a time and like it says in the scriptures how we learn and grow line upon line and precept upon precept. We also need a plan for improvement or else we have no hope. I'm so grateful for our Heavenly Father's plan for us and how this Gospel gives us the hope we need. To get over my troubles I turned to our only source of hope. I turned to my Heavenly Father. I turned to the Gospel. It is our ray of hope in a dark world. Through Jesus Christ we have access to the power of the Atonement. Through him we can change. I focused on what I could do instead of what I couldn't. I prayed. I read in my scriptures. I read conference talks. I found answers to help me along and as I applied my faith to apply the gospel into my everyday life I started to feel a joy. I started to feel happy. I saw things in a different light. I felt better about myself. I was able to escape my head and my negative thoughts. My week finished off awesome! It was beautiful. The Gospel is true. I know it is. It fills my life with joy. I love you guys so much. Have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 15

Good morning from St. Lucia!

 

It's been an exciting week with all the new missionaries coming and old ones leaving. I miss them but I like the spirit and attitudes of the new ones. As district leader  I am in charge of overseeing the district and relaying information from the mission president, ap's, and zone leaders to the district. I carry out the teaching in district meetings which are basically reports and training within the district on how to be better and more effective missionaries. I take the nightly calls and make sure things run smoothly. With Elder Odhiambo gone I'm also now the Second Counselor in the branch. Mom, I do know Elder Taylor but the other one is new and I haven't met him yet but I will shortly. They are in my zone but not my district. There are now two districts up in castries with the flood of new missionaries and one still in vieux fort. Our investigators are doing very well. We had 8 of our investigators come to church this sunday which included christian and ambrose, earl, patrick and lenelle, patrice, nash, and megan. Nash is an older guy who we started teaching and he loves sitting down with us. He has a few things to try to overcome but he has a willing heart. Megan is 16 and we are going to start teaching her mom. She has some friends in the church and has been coming faithfully to church often. She is really cool. Patrice keeps reading in the book of mormon and is doing well. Patrick has been taking the lessons with Lenelle and we are preparing both to be baptized together. That will be a great day. We continue to see progress with christian and ambrose. The highlight for my week though would be yesterday when we were finally able to sit down with earl after church. I guess after the baptism of his kids it brought a lot of questions and some inner reflection for him. We had the one lesson after the baptism with him that was really good and then from there it's been between him and the Lord. Sitting down with him I noticed a change in him. We had a great lesson and during it he was talking and basically shared his testimony of the church which has been the things holding him back. We were able to point that out to him and it was really cool. We gave him a date to work towards and helped him understand that he needs to go into the book of mormon now to further his testimony. He is willing and I'm so excited for him. I think he will be ready to enter into the waters of baptism by that date and will be able to join his family as a member of the church. I was so happy during that lesson and Earl himself in the closing prayer mentioned that he loved it too and prayed that the next time will be even better. The church is true. I love it! Have a stellar week!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 14

Hey Family!

So this week has been really good. We've seen a lot of good progress with Ambrose! He came to church this week for all three hours and fasted the full 24 hours! He spirit has changed. He is more humble and his light is growing. I can see it. He has been reading in his scriptures each day and has quit smoking!! We have a baptism date for the 12 of December for him. With Christian we've also seen some changes. He has started becoming more involved and asking questions. We haven't been able to teach Earl since the baptism because of him being gone but he came to church this week. He still has the desire to be baptized but needs to gain a testimony first before he gets baptized. Patrick and Lenelle are doing well. Lenelle came to church again and this week when we went to go see him we found him studying in the book of mormon. Lenelle and his dad are reading the book of mormon together and we extended a baptismal date for the 5th of December. Hopefully he can be prepared by that date. These two are good people and deserve to have the blessings of the Gospel. We met and started teaching this lady named Patrice this week. She has a sweet spirit and has been keeping her commitments. She loves the book of mormon and she came out to church and another activity! She also has a baptismal date for the 19th of December. This week we got transfer calls from President Herrington. Elder Whipple and I will continue to work together in the same area! I'm really excited about that because there are some really cool people that I want to continue to teach. Elder Odhiambo though is leaving the island and going to Barbados to be a District Leader. He was the DL down here so guess what that means.. I got called to be the District Leader for the Vieux Fort area. It's going to be a good experience and I'm excited to serve! Down here they don't celebrate Halloween but Elder whipple and I bought a big bar of the toblerone chocolate! It was sooo good :) I loved seeing the pictures of your holiday adventures! Loved the pumpkins! Good job! The gospel is true and it's full of light and happiness! I'm glad to hear about all the good! Have a great week! 

Love,

Elder King

Lenelle reading and studying :) It made me so happy to see him doing this! He is 14 and is such a great example to his family. Such a good kid.

This is our new "apartment". It's a 3 bedroom house and cost the same as the other apartments. I like it.
     

Us with Christian Ambrose and Max :)

Oh and with the new apartment Elder Whipple and I are now biking back and forth from it! I like that part a lot :)
 

Letter Home - Week 13

Hey family!

I love you all! It's great to hear all the good that's happening! Keep doing good! This week has been really awesome! On Saturday we moved apartments. The one we moved into is way bigger and really nice. Then later on Saturday we had the baptism of Rodrique. I baptized him. He was so happy and felt very blessed. He got confirmed by Elder Whipple and received the priesthood yesterday! He has such great faith and such a great spirit about him. He will do a lot of good down here in the branch and in bringing souls unto Christ. We continue to work with him. Shantel and Petrus are doing really well. They have a lot of good support. We didn't meet with Earl this week but I talked with him on the phone and I felt something different about him. The boys were very happy and thankful to be baptized. They expressed that they felt really good. Kyle who is 13 paid his tithing the day he was confirmed. Nyle is 11 and Shane is 8. We talked with them about the priesthood and Kyle will most likely receive it next week. We started teaching Lenelle's dad who's name is Patrick. He is receptive to what we are teaching. They said they will start reading in the Book of Mormon together. Lenelle will be a big help and strength to his dad. His dad said that he has seen a change in Lenelle since going to church. We also have been teaching this older guy named James Daniel. We had a really spiritual lesson this week with him. He said something really cool. He said,"I know it's true...I know it and cannot deny it" He just needs help in turning to Christ for help with overcoming his addictions. It's good to hear things worked out with the car! Looks nice. I'm proud of Jay. Keep on going bro! Love ya man! I hope the locker is doing okay... I wouldn't want to take a kick from Kaylee ;) Hope her foot heels quick! Mom hope all goes well with the ms keep on fighting! Glad to hear that the school year has started off successful for you Dad! Hope mike is doing well! Love towards each of you and the Douglas clan! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 12

Hey family!

 

Sounds like there is a lot of fun stuff going on at home! Hope you're each doing well! It's always good to hear about BYU! But the year they are doing good is the year I can't even watch.... This week was really good. On Saturday we had the baptism of Kyle Nyle and Shane and on Sunday we had their confirmations. It was really cool. Elder Whipple, Elder Odhiambo, and I each were able to baptize and confirm one of the boys. We continue to work with and pray for Earl. He wants to be baptized but he needs to understand about gaining a testimony and the steps of the Gospel. We had a really great lesson with him after the baptism. We talked about Ether 12:27 and having humility and faith. As well as, Alma 32:21, 26-28, and that we need to have the desire to believe. We've been watching priesthood session of conference on Sunday's in priesthood and it's been just what Earl need to hear and do. He comes to church and watched them. He loves conference. Roderick continues to progress and he is super excited about his baptism this Saturday. He is so ready for it. He has been one of those golden contacts and just taking it all in. He keeps all his commitments and wants to follow God. Hope you all have a great week! Love ya!

 

Love, 

Elder King

 

Kyle, Shane, and Nyle with each of their Elders that baptized and confirmed them.

 

 

I baptized Nyle :) Such a cool experience

 

The Mcfarlane family!

Letter Home - Week 11

Hey!

 

This week has been a week full of good things! We had at conference last week one of our investigators named Roderick come and he has been coming to church each week! He loves it! He loves the feeling there and he has a testimony. We invited him to be baptized on October 24th and he said yes! He is such a great guy and just so ready to take this important step in his life. He also has been keeping the commitments that we extend. I'm super excited for him. We also have been working with Earl and his family. The kids are ready for baptism and are getting baptized this Saturday! Earl still needs to gain his testimony first but he has a strong desire to be baptized into this church with his family. During priesthood class at church we watched some of the priesthood session which we didn't get to watch. He hadn't ever seen conference before and he loved it. He doesn't have internet but we gave him an older session of conference on dvd that he can watch which will help him to gain that light and knowledge of the gospel. He also said he will be studying more on Joseph Smith because that has been a lot of his hang up. We are continuing to work with him and can't wait for the day he gains his testimony. The family also has a cousin named Lenelle that we are working with and he wants to be baptized as well. He comes to church and he loves it. He is 14 years old and his parents are okay with him being taking the lessons and eventually being baptized. That is awesome to hear about Jay going on splits with the missionaries! It's a good experience to see what it's like. It's also cool that he will be meeting with them as well. Kaylee's concert sounds like it went great! Would've been fun to be there. The tailgate things sounds like fun! Wish I could of been there! I've been working hard with Elder Whipple. We've been doing all we can to be great missionaries! My love for the gospel and the light of it has been growing so much! When I watched conference I just wanted more and more. I've started back through the book of mormon from start to finish during personal studies. I'm focusing on references to christ and his atonement, faith, repentance, baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. I'm learning so much and my understanding is growing. I love you guys! I challenge each of you to start going back through the book and give it your own point of focus. I know it's true and will bless each of your lives if you do. Love you guys!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 10

Hey family!

Yesterday was a holiday so we couldn't write because the shops were closed. This week was really good for Elder Whipple and I. We have been focusing on finding new people and this week we have started teaching several who I believe are ready but just need to be taught. I'm super excited for them and the opportunity to teach them the gospel. The areas have been switched up a little bit with who is proselyting in which area so I won't be continuing with Sherline but Elder Odhiambo and his companion will be. I will be teaching Earl and his family now along with Christian, Ambrose, and Max and some others. General conference this past weekend was so inspired and so good. We had one of our new investigators show up for that one and the mechanics really wanted to but were so busy with work. My favorite talk was the opening talk by President Uchtdorf. It was what I needed and I loved every word. It was the theme I felt like with conference of keeping to the basics and was a great start to such a wonderful conference. The speakers really focused on talking about the most important aspects of the gospel that will keep us strong in such a troubling time. I loved how I felt after listening to it all. I loved the light that radiated from each message. When I heard that Jay got in an accident my heart dropped. I'm so glad that he is okay. I hope and pray that this rough situation will not just be a bad circumstance but that each of you will be able to see the hand of the lord and turn it into a positive. It could've been way worse and I'm glad no one got seriously hurt. I hope and pray that everything will be alright. My bit of advice that I've learned out here in hard situations is to look to Heavenly Father and pour your heart out to him in prayer and then have faith and trust in him to lead you along as you faithfully act to find the best course to take. Things will be alright if we each look to him in every thought. I love him very much and he helps me so much in his work. He really is our best friend in time of need. I love you guys and pray for each of you. I hope you each have a great week!

Love,

Elder King

Elder Whipple and I have been trying our hand in the kitchen this week and it wasn't bad haha :)

Elder Whipple making some alfredo!

Our bedroom after trying to kill a cockroach...... hahaha

Elder Whipple and I at the beach here in Vieux Fort for some p-day fun!

District activity at the beach! We played volleyball and soccer. So much fun! From left to right: Elder Whipple, Elder Tye, Sister Carpenter, Sister Maughn, Emmanuel, Elder Odhiambo, Elder King, Sister Kaitaua, and Sister Takuia.

Some more yummy food that we made! Not half bad if I do say so myself :)

Letter and Pictures - Week 9

Dear Family,

Experiences through the week:

Monday - After doing our typical P-day activities we went to teach a lady who we feel is really special. We have only taught her once before this but I just felt something about her. Her name is Sherline and she has a son who is 15 named Shequan. The day leading up to contacting her wasn't that great and no one was picking up their phone so we walked down this road near where we were and decided to knock on her door which we usually don't do. When we first contacted her we gave her a restoration track said a few things about it and then left. When we went back to visit with her she had read the track which is surprising and it helped her answer questions she had been having about what happened after Jesus Christ was crucified. The first time we taught we taught the restoration of the gospel and gave her a book of mormon to read but what was cool was that during the lesson before we had brought it up she asked how she can know if it's true. It was a cool lesson. The second lesson was cool too about the plan of salvation and she liked the three kingdoms. She has been reading in the book of mormon and when we left we invited her to pray and specifically ask if the book of mormon is true and if the church was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith and she did. We split areas with the new missionaries but I think I will continue teaching her. The only thing is that she is a strong Catholic and that's where she has been her whole life but when she gains a testimony and continues doing what she is I think good things will happen with her. It started pouring like way hard though so we ending up staying and watched general conference talk. It was good. The son was asking questions too. 

Tuesday - District mtg in Castries! I love my district here and the good times we have. We also video chatted with the new missionaries coming in for a little bit. 

Wednesday - Today we went up to Castries again to pick up the new Elders and Sisters and had a welcome to the mission dinner and devotional that was really good. My companion is Elder Adam Whipple and he is from Bountiful, Utah. He like music and drama. He is into soccer and we have been going on morning runs. He is a good missionary. He is obedient an it has been fun so far to train him. It's cool to see again through the eyes of a new missionary the first time experiencing the island and mission life and remembering back to my first experiences. It's fun to show him around. 

Thursday - So Wednesday the new missionaries stayed in Castries for paperwork and we went back to Vieux Fort. On the way back I dropped my wallet off the bus when I was letting someone out and I didn't realized. It's an hour drive so it was gone and lost. But we had an idea of where it was at so this morning we went and walked the highway to look for it. We walked for a long time with no luck but the sisters talked with this lady who insisted they check the police station and sure enough it was there with everything still in it. It was a miracle. It had a lot of important stuff in it. 

Friday - Thursday was the official first day of taking the new elder around so we went to some people we are teaching and introduced him and a few lessons. 

Saturday - We taught a really great lesson to this less active member named mernalie and we followed the spirit and bore powerful testimonies that strengthened her testimony and said she would start reading the book of mormon again. Hopefully she does.

Sunday - It was a great day! Church was inspiring as the 4 new missionaries bore their testimonies and shared why they were here on a mission. We also had powerful lessons with Shantel and Ambrose. Ambrose has really been progressing and it's so cool to see his light grow. He came to church again along with Christian and is working hard to be ready for his baptisimal date in October.

Monday - Today we had a zone activity that was really fun! we played soccer and basketball which were so refreshing to me and then we went and got dominos pizza for lunch.

I'm no longer teaching Earl with the new areas but he is getting stronger in his faith. We have also been working with Randy and Emmanuel who recently got baptized in August right before I came out. They are awesome! They received the priesthood and are now our branch missionaries. I'm super excited for General Conference this weekend! We will be watching it at the Church and are invited a lot of people to come to it. I love you all! Kaylee I appreciate what you wrote. It means a lot to me. I'm learning a lot about myself out here. I'm changing into a better person. I'm been really trying to follow the Spirit out here. I'm growing in humility and love a lot. It's been a life changing experience already. I think mainly because I've been looking to Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Spirit instead of relying on myself and I've been putting my whole heart into the mission. I've been looking to do the will of the Father instead of the my will. I think a movie in the mtc really helped with that. It was by Bednar and can only be seen in the mtc. It's called the character of Christ and it talked about how Christ turned outward instead of inward and I've been really trying to apply that. I've been thinking so much of others out here and it has changed my perspective. I love the gospel and how it changes lives. Love you guys and thanks for all the emails! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder King

We did some more service a while back where we helped mamma sherba cut down some vegitation around her home. This is called a cutlas or machette.

 Climbing a coconut tree at the service at sherba's!

Walking into the water for the baptism of Petrus

Elder Odhiambo and I at Randy and Emmauel's place! These guys are awesome! They were rasta's before they joined the church. They are really strong in their faith.

From left to right: Ambrose, Christian, and then Max. This is at their shop where we always teach them. They are really cool.

Doing some service! We carried sandbags up the mountain to Janal Felix's home. He is a recently returned missionary here and is now our branch missionary leader. He is building a basement for his home.

Elder Whipple and I at the Church in Castries

This is where we do all our studies! I've learned some cool things but mostly received a lot of inspiration for our investigators here.

My apartment here! I'm staying in this one again with Elder Whipple. It's not a bad apartment. I like it.

I thought you guys might like this :)

Letter Home - Week 8

Hey guys!

Well this week has been an awesome week for me personally and it also has been a good week as far as the success of the work. It has been great for me because of the things I'm learning and seeing myself change as I apply the gospel in my life and am being obedient. I'm growing so much and in turn being able to really help people. It brings me a lot of joy serving and loving the people here! My love for people has grown so much. I'm growing closer to my Heavenly Father. I'm growing closer to my Savior. I'm also growing closer to the Spirit and learning to listen to it's promptings. There have been so many blessings that I have noticed from coming out here and I am so grateful for them. This week we have been having progress with Earl and Ambrose. Earl has been having faithfully coming to church with his family for a while now. He wants to be baptized in this church with his whole family. The only thing that is holding him back is his testimony. He needs to find out for himself and get on his knees and sincerely pray for an answer. It's been hard to find time to teach him with his schedule but the few times we were able to they were really good and I think he finally understands what he needs to do. With Ambrose I've been noticing some big changes. He has been working hard to quit smoking but recently I noticed an increased motivation to do so. He has started reading the book of mormon and he came to church this week! It made me so happy to see the joy on his face from being there. I love you guys very much and hope you each have a great week!

Love, 

Elder King

Hey I forgot about something that is very important and exciting! We have transfers every 6 weeks and so with this being week 8 and having 2 weeks in the mtc this week is transfer week. But those being trained like me they stay with their trainer for 12 weeks or 2 transfers. I got a call though this week from President Herrington. He told me that there are brand new missionaries coming into the mission this transfer and said I will not be continuing my training with Elder Odhiambo but will now be training a new missionary myself! His name is Elder Whipple and he is from Utah. He will be arriving on the island on Wednesday and from there I start training him. Crazy!

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Picutres - Week 7

Hey guys!!

This week has been good! It has been busy! I've been working hard trying to do the best I can and be the best missionary I can. It's been a blast! It's been great to read about each of your experiences throughout the week and all the good you are doing. You all are really doing amazing things and are such good people. I love you all! I've been getting pictures put on here and will keep sending them. Keep doing good! Keep serving the Lord! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder King

These are the ackees that I had.  They are good!

(It appears to be different from the poisonous ackees found on the internet.)

This is Ambrose!  Such a great spiritual guy!  We have been teaching and preparing him and two others, Christian and Max, for baptism.  They all work as mechanics.
 

Missionary Work!!

 

MTC companion Elder Clement from Lindon, Utah 

 Names left to right for my district: Elder Dawson, Elder Bishoff, Elder Lindsey, Sister Stewart, Sister Layton, Elder Miller, Elder Ritchie, Elder Ludlow, and Elder Clement. 

Letter Home - Week 6

Hey family! I wanna say that I thank each of you for your love, prayers, and support! I pray for each of you and love you all very much! This mission experience has already been so incredibly wonderful and I am so grateful for it. It has blessed my life already in so many ways and I am becoming a better and better person every day. My testimony has grown immensely and I am becoming more and more converted to the gospel every day. This is where I'm supposed to be. I'm very happy here doing the Lord's work. I do miss you all very much. I love hearing from each of you each week and hearing about what is going on in your lives. This week has been great! The baptism of Petrus went very well and it was a great day for him. I'm excited to keep working with him and continue to help him grow. He has a girl friend in New York who is a member who has been a big help to him. They already have the temple in their sights which is so cool! To go to the temple from here costs a lot which many people don't have. I was privileged to confirm him a member of the church on Sunday. That was a first for me and was a neat experience. We missionaries help out a lot with the church out here because the numbers are small and most of the members haven't been in the church too long. We help them along. There are usually about 50 people at church each week. It is a branch. They have two branches on St. Lucia. One here in Vieux Fort and one in Castries which is on the other side of the island an hour drive away. On the Vieux Fort side there is a couple missionary, Elder and Sister Horne, who are from Orem, Utah. They are a big help. He is the branch president. There is a strong family in the branch and the father is the first counselor and my companion is the second counselor. We only have us, the sister missionaries, and the couple in vieux fort and then there are three elder missionary companionships in castries. All of us combined make up the district and zone so we travel back and forth a lot. Shantel is the daughter of a recent convert and is 11 years old. We will continue to teach her as well to keep her strong. There is the Mcfarlane family that we are teaching right now. The mom recently became a member and we are teaching the dad and their three kids. They want to be baptized but we have to make sure they are ready first. Hopefully they will get baptized soon. I love the work! I love the people here! I love my Savior! I love my Heavenly Father! And I love each of you! Hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 5

Hey Family!

The adventure continues! I just found out that Elder Odhiambo's mom just got baptized! super cool! The hard part of the missionary work out here is that everyone likes to "lime" around or just sit around and not do anything. So we will teach and they will listen, we extend commitments and they accept, but then don't keep their commitments. It makes it so tough because that is how we have and show our faith. Faith leads to repentance and both lead to being prepared for baptism. Baptism leads to having the spirit which leads to enduring to the end or continuing to do these four steps over and over again for the rest of our lives. Enduring to the end leads to conversion and it means continually coming unto Christ by continually having faith, continually repenting, continually renewing our covenants at baptism and making new commitments and goals to become better, and continually living so we have the spirit to be with us always. We show our faith by reading our scriptures everyday, praying sincerely, attending church and participating while we are there, fulfilling our callings, going to the temple, keeping the commandments, and anything else that leads us to Christ and being perfected in him. I know this is the way back to our Heavenly Father and the only way to find true peace and happiness in this life. Please read your scriptures diligently and pray sincerely! I know it will bless your life. You will grow closer to your Heavenly Father. He loves all of us so much and he wants us to talk to Him through prayer and He want to talk to us through our scripture study. The more faith and diligence we put towards the two together the better people we will become and the happier our lives will be. It is wisdom in God that we have them. This shows us why it was so important that Nephi and his brothers went back to get the brass plates and not give up when things were hard. They are our way to know the will of God. The people here say they will do these things but then they don't and it makes the work hard. We are trying to find ways to help them come unto Christ by keeping their commitments. I taught Shantel many times before she was baptized. We have been teaching many people out here. One of them that we are teaching is a great guy named Petrus (like tetrus but with a 'p'). He is getting baptized this coming Saturday! He has a five year old daughter and both make great sacrifices to get to church each week. Church is at 10:00 but they have to get ready super early to catch a bus to drive like 45 minutes to get here. He is a great example of faith. Others have a hard time walking 5-10 minutes to get there. There are many other investigators that we are teaching and working towards baptism but we are having a hard time getting them to keep their commitments. The Sisters in Vieux Fort, my area, had a baptism two days ago. We also work a lot with getting members to come out to church. There are a lot of less actives. I've now had the island mangos here and they are good! I've also had a lot of other fruit. We had a meal at Mamma Sherba's house where we taught Shantel. She is a member. It was interesting. It was like chicken and dumplings with lentils. It wasn't bad. The fruit that I had, ackees, was different from the fruit you described. It was actually given to me by the other missionaries and was the first thing I had when I got to Barbados. They are harmless. They are good. It looks like a green grape. It has an outer shell that you take off and then eat the inside. It only has one pit. There's no need to worry about me out here at all. I'm well taken care of and I feel very safe here. The rastafarian thing is true and now I get that reference from Cool Runnings haha. There are a lot of people out here with dreads. The work is good and I love it! There are hard things but there are so many great and wonderful things too if I keep looking for them and staying positive. If you guys could keep sending pictures too of each of your adventures back home that would be awesome. I loved seeing the pictures of Kaylee and the ones that Kim sent. I heard about drop box and tried using it last week but it takes forrrrrrrrreeeeeeever to download haha it's kind of frustrating but I got a flash drive here and I don't think it will bad to send it home in an envelope if I wrap it up. I'll wait to send it until after I get your email for next week to make sure it's ok. I love you all so much! The church is true! I have such a strong testimony of it!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 4

Good Afternoon Family!

What an adventure it has been for me! From the emails I see that each of you had a pretty good week! As much as you all look forward to Monday I do as well. I love hearing from you guys. I finally got mike's email. I don't know why they weren't going through. I'm happy for Jay that he is trying to get his license. I know he will pass that test. I had a laugh from his picture last week. I'm glad he shaved the goatee off haha. School has started! That feels weird to me. I'm glad Kaylee likes her classes and that Dad you have found a great goal and purpose for your students this year. Mom tell sister Goss and her family thank you for the treat in the mtc. It was appreciated and I had a good laugh when I opened the package of cheese balls. I wish I could've been there for Sydney and Paige's farewell talks. I bet they were amazing. They will both be awesome missionaries. My companion, Elder Odhiambo, is a convert and was baptized at the age of 14. The missionaries found him and taught him. His dad is a member and his mom is now taking lessons. He has three sisters and no brothers. Only one sister is not a member. He likes to eat and drink coke. Lots of coke. He is a sprinter not a long distance running like me. We have gone a short run once and plan on running like three times a week in the morning. He plays rugby and is a strong guy. He's from africa and always says he is a lion and I am a king so together we make the lion king hahah. They have a store here that is like a mini version of macy's that we get our food from so I have a lot of food from home that I can get. We don't really eat at the members homes. We always eat at our apartment but I have had some food that's from here. I had some fried fish that was good. I also had this fruit called akies that is small like a grape with a pit and you suck on it. It was interesting. The island is gorgeous. It is also very dirty. The people are amazing but their circumstances are quite humble. It amazes me how they live and are still so happy. They remind me of the people on cool runnings and the other side of heaven. It's been so awesome to work with them. They are so accepting to listening to us. I haven't had much experience with rejection out here. They are so humble and believe in God. They are poor and don't have much but still are happy. They don't complain. It has taught me a lot. Back home it's like a paradise and yet sometimes we can still be so ungrateful. My apartment is humble and yet still nicer than a lot of the people's homes. In our apartment it is only air conditioned in the bedroom so while we study and plan and stuff in can get really hot. I often end up going in the bedroom to study haha. The temp outside isn't bad because of the breeze that is there. It feels nicer outside than in the apartment. The best part of my day is when we go out and work with people. It brings me great joy. We are able to listen to a lot of great music in the apartment which is awesome too. It kinda feels like a farm out here because they have animals everywhere. There are dogs wandering the streets all the time but they aren't scary at all which I'm glad about. They are timid stray dogs. They also have goats, pigs, horses, frogs, cats, bulls or cows, and lots of bugs. Yesterday I found a couple of huge roaches in the apartment....ahhh haha they're harmless though. The mosquitoes aren't as bad as I thought. Only at night do they get annoying. Nothing really too bad. For travel we walk a lot but there is also a fun transportation system to get us from area to area. They use "buses" or vans and they drive on the left side of the road!!!. It was an adjustment to get used to it. They have small roads and there are some crazy drivers here haha. In certain areas is hard to get a bus and one of those days was the day of the baptism of shantel. We were far away at a teaching appointment and only had a short time to get back in time for the baptism. We got a ride from some people but then had to get dropped off because we were going on a different route. It started pouring on us and so we started running downhill for a least a mile to the next bus area and were finally able to make it to the church for the baptism. The baptism of shantel was great. It was such a cool experience. Not just because of the baptism but seeing shantel before during and after being baptized. She progressed well while teaching her and then after the baptism she was talking to me and asked can we do that again tomorrow. She was really happy. It was also cool to be able to do it in the ocean. The Smith's from PG were there and we had a good time with them. I'm learning a lot about the basics of the gospel and my understanding has grown immensely. I feel like I'm becoming a good missionary and the tools given like preach my gospel are helping a ton. PMG is inspired. I'm learning how to really love the people here. I've felt a lot of love for them from the beginning but it's growing. We are teaching a lot of lessons and finding good people. We teach everyone members, investigators, recent converts, and less actives. It's so fun. I'll write next week about the different people we are teaching. For pictures it is too hard to send them all with the limited resources I have and it takes a lot of time to even send a few so I thought of a way that I could get you guys the pictures. If you could send me some flash drives in the mail I could download all of them and send them back. If you send quite a few I can continue to send them every few weeks or so. Right now I have like over 300 so this is the only way I can think of. I don't want to lose them and would like you guys to see all of them. If you send it in an envelope and do something to protect the flash drives I think it will work really well. Then I can delete the photos I have and take more. It will take a few weeks I think for you to send them to me and then to get back to you but it will be worth it. Anyway I'll talk to you all next week! I love each of you so much! I know this church is true!

With much love,

Elder King

Pictures - Week 3

MTC Companion

Letter Home - Week 3

Hey Family!

It's so good to hear all about what each of you are doing! It brings a lot of comfort to me to hear about your lives and to feel all of your love. I love you all so much and miss everyone! It sounds like all is well. Kim it would be nice to hear from David, Aaliyah, and Sophia. If you could ask the girls what they would want to say and then write it in letter that would be awesome! Tell mike again to write me. 

Well, a lot has happened since we last talked at the airport. I'm in a totally different world. We left the SLC airport to New York and there at the airport during our layover all of us missionaries started talking to people. We met a lot of people and did some good. It brought me a lot of joy when I would get over my fears of talking to complete strangers and speak about the things I know. I met in the boarding line a guy whose name was Bob Johnson and I talked with him a little and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon. It felt really good. I bore testimony to him and extended the commitment to him to read and pray about the book to know if it is true and he said he would. It was my first time and it felt good. 

After the long flight to New York and the long flight to Barbados we finally arrived. The flight was during the middle of the night and it was so hard to get any sleep on the plane so we were all tired but we went to the hotel after finally getting through security. haha I had little glitch in the process but after calling the mission president we got it all figured out. We then after dropping our stuff off went to the mission home and had devotionals and met one of the seventies there. He was a really great man. After that we were finally able to get some sleep. 

We went for a run on the beach here the next morning and the following day which both were absolutely incredible. An awesome experience. The islands here are beautiful and the people are so nice. I'm running out of time but the flight to St. Lucia was good and the island I'm on is even prettier than Barbados. It is astounding. My companion Elder Odhiambo is awesome and has been teaching me so much. He is new himself so we are learning together but he knows a lot. He is a great missionary. I'll tell you all more about my week next week but so far it has been a great experience. I attached some pictures from my experience in the mission so far. There are a lot more but I don't have time because I have to do them one by one.

If you would like to send mail the address for it is:

PO Box 923 

Gable woods mall, South

Vieux Fort, St. Lucia

West Indies

They don't have addresses for every home here. It's weird, but this is the address for the senior couple in my mission so if you send a letter they will get it and give it to me.

I love you all so much and am grateful to you all for your love and your spirits! You are in my prayers!

Lots of love,

Elder King

Pictures w/ Mission President - Week 2

Letter from Mission President - Week 2

Dear Parents of Elder King,

We are so pleased to welcome your son to the Barbados Bridgetown Mission! He arrived safely in Barbados on 10 August 2015. On Tuesday, he and the other new missionaries from the MTC were taken to the mission home where they were given training and interviewed by President Herrington. He also received instruction from Sister Herrington and the Assistant's to the President. We spent the remainder of the evening with him in the mission home for a welcome dinner and a spirit-filled devotional. We were especially grateful that our Area President, Elder J Devin Cornish was in attendance for this.

We have loved getting to know your son and we love him already. He is a bright and thoughtful young man and is clearly excited to go to work teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Each new missionary has now travelled to their assigned area. Elder King has been assigned to labor in the St. Lucia Zone in Vieux-Fort. There is a growing population of members there and the missionaries enjoy much success working closely with them. His new companion is Elder Odhiambo, an experienced and faithful missionary who will guide your son through a 12 week training program.

Elder King's faithful studies in the Book of Mormon, Preach My Gospel and the 12 week training program will prepare him to be an inspired teacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please encourage your son as he begins this challenging but extremely rewarding work. His gospel study and diligent obedience will help him teach effectively by the Spirit and to grow in his own testimony and conversion, which will be a foundation for his mission and also for the rest of his life.

Your son is encouraged to email his immediate family and his mission president every week on Monday, our preparation day.

We look forward to getting to know him and working with him in the great work of salvation in the Barbados Bridgetown Mission. Thank you for sharing him with us!

Sincerely,

President and Sister Herrington

Letter Home - Week 1

Hey Family!

It is so good to hear from all of you! I love and miss you guys! I'm glad Kaylee had a great week at girls camp and that she learned a lot. I'm happy for Kim and David for being able to move out. That so exciting. I would love to hear from Jay and Mike as well. I've only been here a week and I have learned some amazing things that I wished I had learned earlier in life, but I'm very grateful to be able to learn them now. My testimony of the gospel has grown so much as well. The Spirit is so strong here. It has been an amazing experience already. The other missionaries here are great. I already got my prescription and have been using it every morning and night. I've been taking pictures and I'll send some to you next week. My companion is Elder Clement and he is from Lindon, Utah. He is awesome and I'm glad I am able to be comps with him even if it's only for this short time. I am flying out to Barbados this Sunday evening at 6:00. I'll either end up in Barbados or St. Lucia for the first part of my mission. I'm excited to head out there. Our schedule here is so packed that the only time I get to email or even look at it is for an hour on p-day. Here at the mtc it is a little different and I have p-day on Tuesday but starting next week it will be every Monday since I will be out in the mission field. On Sunday, my birthday, we had sacrament and priesthood which was very cool. It was fast and testimony meeting so a lot of Elders and Sisters including me bore testimonies and it was a cool experience. We also had a devotional where Sheri Dew spoke which was really powerful. The best thing we did though was watching the character of Christ by Elder Bednar. It was one of the greatest talks I've heard. It was so powerful and I was changed from it. I wish I could watch it again but they only show it here at the mtc. I didn't really do anything specifically for my birthday but that doesn't matter to me. I had a great day. I loved spending it learning about the gospel in one of the greatest places on earth. I wish I had more time, but I'll write more next week. I love you all so much! I know this church is true! I can feel it!

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 0

Dear family,

 

I love you! I love it here at the MTC! Everything is going great! I am learning so much! The church is true!

 

This email is to let you know that I am alive and well.

 

Love,

Elder King