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.