Letter and Pictures - Week 73

Dear family!

     Congrats on the new addition to the family! It's super exciting news! You all are looking great! That was very nice of Mike to take mom out for her birthday. Happy Birthday Day/Happy Anniversary/Merry Christmas/Happy New Years to Mom and Dad and everyone! This is a busy and fun time of the year! Enjoy it all together!

     With Joy and Akiel I too thought they were prepared and ready to accept the gospel because of all the awesome changes but I guess that day is in the future. With Chris one day we went by and he did not want to see us at all and flipped out. We were like what did we do and what happened?! We came back another time and he still didn't want to meet with us anymore and we don't know why. It was sad news. He found work and it took a toll on him with how much and how hard he works. It made it difficult to meet too. He also doesn't have good peer pressure and the environment he's in is tough. I all the things combined made it really tough on him.

     This week has been a good week. We received a referral this week from a member that her granddaughter wants to be baptized. Her name is Jennika and she recently turned 8. Her mother isn't a member. Jennika is great and she has a wonderful light about her. She is always happy. She gets along great with the other children in the branch and fits in well. This week she came to the branch christmas party and church with her grandmother, Sister Cadet, who has been making her way back to church herself the past few weeks. She has a lot of health challenges but is trying hard to be there.

     We were finally able to set a solid baptismal date with Thelma and Fred for the 7th of January! Yeah I know it's on Kaylee's birthday! Her eye is getting a lot better but needs a little more time to recover completely. They are so excited and we are so excited for them.

     One experience that I would like to share was yesterday on Sunday that I Elder Tye and I were asked by a member to give a blessing to their friend named Pamela who is in the hospital. We simply gave her a blessing and after sang a hymn for her. She felt at peace and felt comforted. She wanted us to stay and pray over her for the whole day. After I just felt good and I too felt at peace.

     This week we had our zone conference, our branch christmas party, and another baptism by the sisters. Her name is Ramona and Elder Tye baptized her. It was an interesting baptism because Ramona was super scared of the water. She ended up with permission doing the baptism forward and on her knees because she kept flailing as she went back. It was such a spiritual experience though attending that baptism because she did it!! Even though it was hard she persevered! Her mother was there and was so proud of her. The testimonies after were something special. It was a memorable experience. Zone conference was great. We learned a lot about improving our teaching skills. The party was a success and the food and company were great. 

     This week we were able to do some good less active work and finally get in contact with some of them. While we were searching out our less actives we came across a lady named Mrs. Jones who went out of her way to help us find who we were looking for. It was remarkable and she stopped a random lady and the lady happened to be friends with the less active and directed us straight to her. We contacted the Mrs. Jones and thanked her for her help. We gave her a book of mormon and she was excited to read it. She said she came across it at the library and she was going to buy one because it really interested her but we were able to give her one for free. She wants to come to church next Sunday. She is really cool. We were definitely led by the Lord to her and her to us. 

     Thelma, Fred, Ennrico, and Jennika were the ones at church this week. Enrico came this time in a white shirt. It was a little change but it was really cool to me. Chedrian and her mother flew out to the states this week because her grandmother is ailing and they are going to visit her. We also found that John has been gone for the past few weeks and that is why we haven't been able to get a hold of him but he should be back soon. We were able to bring Thelma and Fred with us to go see Andre and Meridith and we had a wonderful lesson. Thelma bore strong testimony to them of her conversion and it was powerful. They know each other already because they used to work together. Unfortunately they didn't come to church or the party. We still haven't been able to meet with Shervon. Lashawna accepted a date to work towards for baptism and we were able to have a really cool restoration lesson where she shared of how she is trying to reconnect with her father and she has been praying hard for it and one night he texted her. It was really meaningful to her and she connected to her Father in Heaven and she really wants to regain that connection. The path to baptism and back to God though isn't an easy one and she's been facing opposition. We've been trying to apply the counsel given at zone conference of daily contact with our investigators and frequent appointments to help feel the spirit often and have that sustaining strength. 

     Well it's been a good week! I love you all! Keep doing good and share the wonderful light of Christ that is in you all! I'll see you all next week! The church is true!

With great love,

Elder King

Zone Conference and Lunch!

Baptism of Ramona. She is great!

Service! We did some service this week for our branch president, President Yearwood. We scraped off old paint from their house so they could repaint. He harvested some sugar cane and gave us some. It is good :) Sister Yearwood also made us lunch. I don't know if the service ended up being for them or for us but I was grateful. Elder Tye since I always beat him to his shirt and iron it for him in the morning made me some breakfast. It's simple but very nice of him. That's the best kind of service.
 

This was at the branch christmas party. Enrico showed us some of his Thai Kwan Do
 

Letter and Pictures - Week 72

This week was great. We had a couple of really special lessons this week with Thelma and Fred. They meant a lot to me. The first one was their first FHE and they brought their daughter and granddaughter. We read the family proclamation with them. I feel it brought their family closer together and they all enjoyed it. We are hoping and looking to teach Thania. She is nice and has already been to church couple of times. The second lesson lesson was the most meaningful to me. We taught about missionary work. It was a simple lesson but the spirit was strong. They are already great missionaries and they have a strong desire to share the gospel with everyone because it has really blessed them. Thelma talks literally with everyone about how much she loves her new church and how great it is. They both expressed near the end with emotion in their voice of their sincere gratitude to us for bringing the gospel to them. It really touched me. It made me feel so good inside. It's moments like that that really strengthen your testimony of the gospel and of missionary work. It's what makes missionary work so worth it. We expressed our gratitude for them and their faith and goodness. They have been a big blessing to me in my life and have brought a lot of joy to me. Thelma and Fred came to the Chirstmas Devotional. It was so so good and they loved it. It was a beautiful devotional. Thelma and Fred may get baptized this weekend! Yeah!! Finally! It's been a long wait but they've both continued learning and growing in the gospel. It will make for a really special and happy day when they do get baptized. We find out if she can be baptized on Wednesday after she goes to the doctor. If her doctor clears that she can get her eye wet then it's a go and she will be baptized. If not it may happen the next week. Either way it's coming soon! I cannot wait :) As far as service this week I helped a less active youth named Khalil by giving him one of my white shirts. He only had one and it was by his dad. He came to a baptism to help support and he also came to church this week for the first time in a few months.

Patrick hasn't been to church in the past two weeks and he didn't come to the Christmas Devotional like he said he would. We also haven't seen him this week. We had a couple appointments but things came up. He still has potential. We are still working and trying hard with him. He is a great guy.

Enrico came to church again and he also came to the baptism that the Sisters had this week. It was great. He missed out on the devotional. Like I said he is progressing but he still has some more to do before he is ready. 

John - We don't have his number so it was tough to get a hold of him. We had a couple scheduled appointments but they fell through. They didn't come to church this week. 

Chedrian/Cherry - They are very cool! Chedrian had a rugby tournament this weekend so she wasn't able to come to church nor the devotional or baptism sadly but she will come next week. with our last lesson with Chedrian her mother had somewhere to go but as we were talking with Chedrian she felt drawn to the lesson and was so interested and didn't want to leave. The phone rang  with someone wondering where she was and she told them she was coming but she didn't want to go. Both are really cool. We will hopefully see them soon.

Joan and Keith - They dropped us. They didn't want to meet anymore. They said they are comfortable where they are with their church. 

Roger and Sharon - They can only meet on Saturdays and everyone so far that we have scheduled with them has fallen through. They are pretty busy people. 

We keep trying with them. Maybe and hopefully we will have a lesson but if they aren't willing to make some time to visit with us then we can't see and teach them. 

Paul and Sally - They haven't been keeping any of their commitments and they haven't given us a day to come by. We ask when we can come but they never give us a day. They aren't really seriously working towards baptism. They are such a wonderful family but now just isn't their time. 

Jade and Jamila - They never answer their phones. We had never been able to schedule with Jamila because she just had a baby. when we came by again this week we were able to schedule an appointment for the next day but when we came by she said something came up and the appointment fell through. We try to visit with them but it's been difficult. 

Anton - We have only had the one lesson with him. His number doesn't work and he doesn't have a home where we can find and meet him so we lost contact. We did run into him one day but he wasn't really interested in having a lesson. He wasn't as cool as we thought. 

Jennifer and Pearson - We haven't had a lesson with them since we set a date with Jennifer. Something always comes up and she hasn't really been showing those good signs of keeping commitments. With them and all of these I've mentioned they are going to or have already been dropped. It's sad and tough to see but it is the consequence of not making and keeping their commitments. Hopefully seeds have been planted and they will take this time to grow until they are willing to meet with missionaries again. 

Joy and Akiel - Not keeping commitments nor appointments. They are going to be dropped. 

With the many investigators that have been dropping off there have also been many which have been filling their places. Our teaching pools are ever changing. Conversion is a miracle! When it happens it is such a joy!

A couple of new ones are Andre and Meridith, Shervon, and Lashawna. I'll talk to you about them next week because I got to run.... They are cool and have great potential. 

I know this gospel is true and there are so many great blessings in store for us that Heavenly Father so desperately wants to give us but they come as we persevere through our tests and trials and faithfully obey and follow Him. The greatest blessing is the pure and divine love of our Heavenly Father which is oh so sweet and worth every effort to achieve. I love you all! Stay strong! 

Love,

Elder King

 

P.S. - It was way way awesome for Enrico to bare his testimony. He still has a ways to go but he is making progress. Thelma and Fred may get baptized this weekend. We find out wednesday if Thelma's eye can get wet and if she will be able to be baptized. She says it's clearing up so I think they will get baptized this weekend. Fingers crossed :) They are so ready for it. It's great to hear that Mike was able to connect with a friend and go to church. He needs some friendship and love.

For school I'm planning on going to Weber State. I will need to work first when I get home to save up for the school semester so I am thinking I will just work from when I get home in August until the start of the Spring semester in January. Then I would be in school from January until May and then sell for the four months over the summer and start back up in August. That way I will be good financially, I will get to spend some good time with all of you, and I will be able to run and train to get back in good shape for track/xc in college. I want to run at Weber State for a couple years. Maybe I will be able to get a scholarship by the next year. The only thing I would be having to worry about when I get home is getting a job as soon as possible to start saving. I should be able to sign up for the spring semester when I get home.

 

This is Khalil. Wish him a happy birthday because he turns 16 this Wednesday! He is fun to teach!

 

Service for sister Walkes! We helped wash her windows and spray some special stuff that make the plants go away when you spray them. It was a joy to serve!

 

 

This is Chedrian! I think she will be baptized shortly once we can visit her more. This week was a crazy busy week with her tournament and other stuff.

 

 

FHE with Thelma, Fred, Thania, and Nara! So much fun. Thelma made some food and we played some dominoes for fun!

 

Bados is AWESOME!  So we decided to do some mass proselyting to spread this precious gospel to them. We as a zone went into Bridgetown and flooded it with the book of mormon and talked to and gave as many books and tracks that we could! It was a great success!

 

 

The baptism of Jarad! He is the son of a recent convert and he is great! The baptism was great and a really good uplifting and spiritual experience.

 

Note: These photos were taken by a little kid who wanted my camera to take photos haha :) He did a good job.

Letter Home - Week 71

Dear Family,

This week I want to talk about Enrico. Enrico has been progressing really well. He is reading all that we leave him and he came to church the past two weeks. Last week he felt really uncomfortable as it was his first time in a church in a really long time but by the end of church he said he felt good. Yesterday was fast and testimony mtg and Enrico leaned over to Elder Tye during the testimonies and said that he wanted to share his testimony. This is something he would normally never do. It was way out of his comfort zone and he was super nervous but he and Elder Tye got up anyway and went up to bear their testimonies. He shared one of the most beautiful and powerful testimonies I've ever heard from an investigator. Everyone really enjoyed his testimony. I was so happy for him for doing something so great. The whole time he was up there I had the biggest smile on my face. He shared with us after that it made him feel so good and so happy doing it. It was the happiest he's felt in a long time and the most he had felt the influence of the Holy Ghost. He enjoyed the feeling of knowing that he did something good. He did it as an action to confirm within himself that he is changing his life. He knows that he has a distance to travel but he is moving forward. This was such a big step for him in his life. He has been thinking about baptism and he said that one day it will hopefully happen. He knows that repentance comes first and when he is ready that he will. 

The beginning of the week was slow for us. We had 3 lessons in 3 days. There were a lot of fall through appointments but it turned out to be a blessing because we were led where we wouldn't have otherwise been but where we needed to be by the Lord. Monday was Pday and we only have a few hours of proselyting so it wasn't a shock to only have one lesson. Tuesday there was more rain than there was during the Hurricane! It was crazy how much rain we got. It literally rained all day and it was a down poor all day. We went out and worked hard anyway and had a fun time doing it. We accepted the circumstances just got soaked biking around from appointment to appointment. That was the coldest day of my mission thus far. I was actually shivering and needed a jacket by the end. We did get some relief with an appointment with Thelma and Fred. We taught about continuing to learn and grow through CPR and enduring to the end. They committed to have daily personal and family prayer and scripture study. By the end of the day Elder Tye and I were ready to go in and for some reason at the beginning of the week we decided to buy hot chocolate and we were so glad that we did because it was heavenly after a day like this. Wednesday was their Independence and it made it tough to have lessons. We did have a good lesson with Patrick that day where we watched the restoration video and it was really good. He is praying to know the truth. It was at this point after teaching Patrick that we were led by the Lord. It was only 7:00pm and we still had two hours of proselyting left in the day but we had gone by everyone that we could think of for the day and had no one to go and see. We didn't know what to do so Elder Tye said we should say a prayer and so we did. No one was coming to my mind except to go and contact the referral we had gotten a long time ago and he was never ever home when we would try to contact him. So we biked over there to go and see if he might be home but he wasn't. We felt like we should just start contacting the homes around there and so we did. Nothing was really coming from it and no one was really listening to us or interested at all. But we kept on trying. We ended up knocking on a less active member's home that we didn't even know. She used to attend a different branch but moved and that's why we never heard about her. She lost her book of mormon in the move and accepted another one but as for right now she isn't ready to meet with the missionaries. It was still cool that we found her. We continued on our way knocking on doors late at night and it was getting close to time to head in for the night but we had a few more minutes so we knocked on one last door. A lady named Chedrian answered the door. She was so interested. She had a close aunt who passed away who was a member. We left her with a family and temple track about how families can be together forever. We came back the next day and had an awesome lesson with her and she accepted to be baptized and was very excited when we extended the invitation. She was going to come to church but she came down with something and is very sick right now. From meeting with her you can tell she is really prepared. I'm happy that things didn't go the way we had planned and expected with our appointments falling through so that we could contact into Chedrian. 

Patrick and Lewis didn't come to church this week. I'm not sure exactly why yet. We did have another couple come that we just contacted into this week. We contacted into them on Wednesday morning when our appointments fell through then too. We taught the husband John once and it was great. He knows his life isn't where it should be and he wants to come closer to God. He hadn't been to church for the whole year so far but after extending him the invitation he committed and he came. I don't know his wife's name yet. We barely met her and they left right after Sacrament. He wants to come again and stay for the whole time next time. They are from New York and visiting family for several months. He is originally from Barbados and is planning on moving back sometime. 

The rest of the week our appointments started picking back up and we were able to finish off the week well. It was a good week. We haven't watched the Christmas Devotional yet this week. We are going to watch it next Sunday when the branch is rebroadcasting it. I'm excited for it. 

I love you all! The gospel is true! 

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 70

Dear Family,

     Elder Tye and I had a good week. We had five investigators come to church this week. Three of these it was there first time. We had Thelma, Fred, Enrico, Patrick, and Lewis. They all enjoyed it. With one of them, Lewis, it was an answer to a prayer. Lewis is a really spiritual man and all of the lessons we have with him are amazing and you can really feel the spirit. (We teach him at the Garrison on his lunch break and he makes sacrifices to meet with us) He really understands and grasps what we teach and he had been progressing well towards baptism. He reads everything we leave him, is praying to know the truth, and doesn't have doubts from what we teach. But this week he had told us that he didn't feel that he should be meeting with us anymore. It was a shock to us and it was sad to hear. We talked with him to find out why and he said it wasn't because he didn't enjoy or learn from visiting with us but because he felt he was wasting our time because he didn't think he would change churches and get baptized. He also said there are going to be some big changes in his life and he may be quitting his job in the future. He attends another church where he feels good and at peace there. He does have real intent and he said that if God answered his prayer and he felt he should join this church that he would. He hadn't been to church yet and he said he needs to make a visit but that he wouldn't make any promises. I was really praying hard that he would come. Sacrament mtg. had started and he wasn't there and I was like no he didn't come but then during the sacrament I looked out the door and I saw him there. It made me so happy. He really enjoyed it and he had a big smile on his face there. We showed him the app on the phone and he has been exploring it and he said it's like an archive on there with how much there is on the app. He says he is going to keep praying and keep reading for sure. Hopefully we can continue to meet with him to help him keep progressing. It was a big step for him. That was the highlight of my week.

     Chris didn't come this week to church. We passed by him in the morning and he was getting ready to come but he never did. We went by to find out why and he said that he had something important come up and he wasn't able to come. We had a lesson with him Saturday and Sunday and they were really good. He is doing well. He expressed his sincere concern to quit smoking and how he really wants to quit so he can be baptized. We taught him the restoration and he wants to find out if it is true. Elder Tye showed him a video by Elder Bednar called Patterns of Light that we don't ever show but Elder Tye was inspired because Chris said that he felt the spirit again as he watched it and he was able to relate to the video with how he feels. 

     Enrico we started teaching a couple weeks ago and he has been progressing. We've seen him a lot. He is 24. He isn't married but he has a daughter. He doesn't work but is looking for a job. He has been feeling the Holy Ghost and it prompting him to make changes. He has been reading and praying more. This week he came to church with Thelma and Fred because he doesn't have a ride. His experience at church was interesting. He felt so uncomfortable at the beginning. He hadn't been to church in a long time. He felt out of place and you could compare it to a teenager going on his first date. Deep down he wanted to be there but his nerves and discouraging thoughts kept coming to him like, "I shouldn't be here" or "Why am I here?" He has an inner battle that he is facing right now and he needs to pick a side. He stayed the whole time and by the end he felt good. He said he thinks he will come next week. 

     We had a lesson with Kim and her family this week that was awesome! We watched the restoration video and it really brought the spirit and helped them understand the doctrine and apply it to themselves. Kim participated more than she ever had before. Kim said that she really needs to start studying the Book of Mormon. She hasn't been and the Holy Ghost has been working on her. 

     Patrick we have only had two lessons with but he is great. He accepted baptism already. He is reading and praying to know the truth and he loved his experience at church. He is single and works as a broker. We have high hopes for him. 

     Ian dropped us for the same reason as Lewis. He says that he wouldn't be baptized. Leo still wants us to visit and Ian is always there and will still join in the lessons so it's like he isn't dropped. They both have drinking and smoking problems and we taught the word of wisdom and they both want to quit. Maybe as we help Ian repent it will soften his heart on baptism. 

     Thelma and Fred are as good as ever. The lesson on family and temples went really well and they want to be sealed together as a family in the temple. They want to go to the temple. We also taught about family history and it testified to them of the importance of families. On the 14 of Dec we will know the day on which they will be baptized. It could be the following Saturday on the 17th or the 24th. That would be cool to be baptized on Christmas Eve and then confirmed on Christmas :) It also could be the 31 where they are baptized on New Years Eve and then Confirmed on New Years day. A real new beginning for them.

     It's been a good week! I love you all soooo much! I really do! I'll see you all on Christmas! Can't wait! The gospel is true!

With much love,

Elder King

P.S. - Here they don't have Thanksgiving. It is an American holiday. We didn't do anything this year as missionaries for Thanksgiving. We did play football today for P-day. That's how I like to celebrate Thanksgiving ;) Turkey Bowl!! Barbados does have their Independence this Wednesday and this year it is their 50th so it is really big. They say that Rhianna is coming and performing at the Garrison for it. The Garrison is that horse track/big park in our area where we sometimes have lessons.

This is Lewis! He is so great!

This is Enrico! He is great too!

This is Sister Edwards. We did some more service expanding her shop. She is a funny lady. She is awesome.

We went to the Wild Life Reserve last P-day here in Barbados. It was so much fun! We got up close and personal with the wild life here. Here they have monkeys, turtle, some type of deer and rabit, wild birds, aligators, and peacocks. We were there during their feeding time and it was not only a treat for them but a treat for us to watch. We had a lot of fun. I have some cool videos that I wish I could send home but it doesn't work to.

Oh we didn't have milk because this week the store didn't have it so I melted but not heated some cookie dough ice cream that we had and used it for my Reese's Puffs Cereal :) haha it was delicious!

I also tried some local food called Conkies which is a delicacy here. It is basically like some pumpkin puree cooked in a banana leaf. To be honest...It was gross... Elder Tye likes it.