Letter Home - Week 62

Dear Family,

     What a great week it has been. I loved General Conference. It was a great spiritual feast. Earlier in the week I went on a trade off with Elder Merritt in his area. We spent a lot of good time contacting which was good and towards the end of the night we had a couple good lessons. As we talked about the last lesson of the night Elder Merritt was honest and shared some light on my teaching and helped me see where I could be better. I was thankful for it. During our weekly planning Elder Dixon also helped me out as we talked to help us be more unified. That was a big blessing to me as I recognized where I needed to be more humble and what I needed to change. He has been a great companion these short six weeks and has really helped me a lot.

     There was a hurricane storming through all the islands this week. We were prepared and were watching it closely. It was to hit us on Wednesday but it was a normal clear, sunny, and beautiful day. Thursday it was raining hard in the morning with some good wind but after we finished our studies and planning it cleared up so we could go out and work. We were told on Wednesday to stay in so we stayed in the whole day when all the way up to 5:00-6:00 we could've gone out. It got worse at night and started to rain a lot. We had a bbq on our grill that day. I read and studied a lot too. It was a nice day. The storm didn't really hit us at all but it did hit other islands like Barbados and St. Lucia.

     This week we got our transfer calls. Well after 3 months in the great Grenada Zone and Branch and after almost a year of being a zone leader I've been transferred and released. I have been called to serve in Barbados to serve with Elder Tye. I served around him in Vieux Fort and he is a great missionary. I'm excited for that. He will be the district leader and I will be a normal missionary. I've served my time as a leader and now it's time for others to have there turn to learn and grow. I'm so grateful for the time to have been a zone leader and the great blessings that flowed from it. It changed my life. It's a tough call to receive. Transfers were an unexpected change for me and it is bitter sweet. It's hard to leave now because I've loved the short time I was here with the people here(members, missionaries(We really do have the best zone), and investigators). I will miss the upcoming baptisms. Kelly-Ann, Wendy, and Princess will be baptized this Saturday and I leave on Wednesday. Danielle's date might be pushed back. It's tough knowing I won't be at MLC anymore. It would've been also nice to serve with Elder Dixon longer too. But on the flip side there are also many good things and I feel that this is where the Lord needs me right now. I'm excited to serve with Elder Tye! I've always wanted to serve in Barbados. It also means no more reports! haha :) I can also now spend a lot more time serving and doing real missionary work. It's a sacrifice but it will all work out and it's for the best. The Lord knows best.

     What I loved from conference was the wonderful music and the overall theme from the talks of missionary work and the missionary lessons, love, and repentance. The music was inspiring and uplifting. I learned a great deal from conference as I came with questions. I felt like the talks were directed towards me. The things I needed to hear were spoken. I felt a great joy and love in my heart during and after conference. We had Kelly-Ann, Wendy, and Princess come again to conference and they loved it. Danielle unfortunately didn't come like she was planning. We even went by her in the morning and she was doing what she needed to to come. I was surprised she didn't show up. We called and went by to find out why but she didn't answer and she was asleep as we came by after conference. 

    The most special experience of the week was teaching Lamar. We met Lamar at a member's home this week as we were having an FHE and he joined in. We left him some pamphlets and exchanged contact information. We later in the week got a call from him. He said he read what we left him and he wanted to talk about it. He said he wants to take baptism seriously. We were like okay! We later that day had an incredible lesson with him. I felt the spirit very strongly. I also felt a great deal of love for Lamar. He is truly an incredible man. He has a daughter that he loves very much and will all he can for her. He is actively looking for a job and doing his best to put his life in order. He has a very broken heart and wants to learn all the truth he can. We shared with him a copy of the Book of Mormon. As he took it he handled it as the great treasure that it is and read from it's pages in awe. A light shown on his face. We invited him to read. He said yes. We invited him to general conference later that day. He said yes. We invited him to be baptized. He said yes and did so with tears in his eyes and gratitude in his heart. This is what he wanted. He accepted a date. It was truly a spiritual event and as we taught we taught with power that you could feel. It was amazing and I'm grateful to have met him and had this experience before I left. He lives in the sister's area so we referred him over to them. He later came to general conference and loved it.

     Well I love you all so much! I know this work and this gospel is true. I testify of it with all my heart. I have felt the sweet witness of the Holy Ghost many times and I have felt the joy and love that comes from living the gospel. I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us dearly and they want us to love them. 

With great love,

Elder King