Letter and Pictures - Week 82

Dear Family,

This week has been good. We've been helping Sister Jones prepare for baptism. We reset her date for the 4th of March. She came to church again and has been progressing well. She is doing better on her reading. She is living the word of wisdom and this week we committed her to living the law of tithing. We had a less active member named Ulanda Alcott come back to church for the first time in a long while. Everyone at church was super happy she was there and came back. Jalisa Gibson, the other less active we've been teaching, texted us this week thanking us for teaching her and helping her gain confidence to come back to church and helping her understand that Heavenly Father is there for her but she said she didn't want to meet with missionaries anymore for now. It was a sad text to receive. We don't really know why but she doesn't want to talk about it. We reset a few dates this week one with Renee for April 8th who has been doing great at quitting his addictions to live the word of wisdom and also one with Juanita and her daughter, Jaania, for March 25th who we had a powerful plan of salvation lesson with at the Sobers. They were committed to come to church but she felt sick again. Meredith was also going to come and she was dressed and ready waiting on her two friends that she invited to come with her to pick her up but they never showed. It was awesome that she invited her friends though sad they left her hanging and kept her from being able to come to church. We've been having a lot of fall through appointments and stuff not working out but we keep doing the best we can and we keep pressing forward in faith knowing that all thing will work out in the end. I have a fun story to tell about the stolen bicycles. So last week Thursday we filed a police report for the bikes and this Monday early on Pday I got a call from the police station saying they found the tires for my bike and that I needed to come in and identify them. We did and they were my tires. They then told me that I had to go to court and give a short statement a little later that morning right during sports at 10:00am. I was in shorts and a t shirt from playing sport and I quickly went from sport to home to change into some jeans slightly nicer but not fully dressed as I didn't have time because we then had to drive with the senior couple all the way into town to go to the court. I got there and found that Jeans and a t shirt were against the policy but they let me in at the gate and even the police officer at the court entrance let me in to the court with my attire but as soon as I got up on the stand in front of the judge he kicked me straight out one time. I didn't even get a chance to say anything and I was like a deer in the headlights. It was crazy haha. The police station didn't tell me anything that I needed to bring or wear or really do but just to go there to give a statement. They said they would give us a call later on about the case. We could only file the report for one of the bikes the first time since Elder Tye was transferred to st. vincent and wasn't there to report it and the senior couple couldn't come at that time so Friday this week we went in with one of the senior couples to report for the other bike and when we were there they gave us back my tires! That was great! I'm still missing the front fork and a lot of stuff from the other bike but it's been reported and hopefully we'll get it all back. For now we are still walking but it's possible we get our bikes back. We were very shocked the police actually did something and found the one set of tires. It has been a good week. I love you all tons! I testify that this gospel is true with all humility and sincerity of heart! Take care!

Love,

Elder King

 

Victory!! haha one step closer to gaining back all the parts of our bikes!

 

 

End of Elder Anderson's first district mtg photo and then district lunch after. Elder Dixon, Elder Kuru, Sister Koger, and Sister Fuller are the others in our district. The other Elders are the Assistants to President Herrington. I got a Chicken and Potato Roti for lunch which is basically a Caribbean burrito and I had some local golden apple juice which was really nice :)

 

 

Letter and Pictures - Week 81

Dear Family,

With transfers this week it's been a fun and interesting week!

On Monday Elder Tye and I were able to take out some of the new missionaries proselyting for their first time. I took two of them contacting and the other went with Elder Tye teaching. I had a great time and they did too. Everything was so new and different to them and it was so fun and refreshing to spend some time with them. They wanted to come back out again another day while they were at the mission home but they couldn't. 

On Tuesday we had zone mtg and it was uplifting and inspiring. One thing that I took away was about sharing personal experiences when teaching. There were a lot of testimonies and personal experiences shared as part of the mtg by the missionaries and it was a really great experience. 

On Wednesday we sent Elder Tye off and I was with Elder George for the day until Elder Anderson came. Elder George's companion ( Elder Sandbakken ), Elder Moli, and Elder Tulikihakau had their flight cancelled for the day until the next day so Elder George stayed with us for the night. With all the driving around we were still able to do a lot of teaching. We had some really solid lessons today too. We saw one of Elder George's investigators and then saw Meredith and we shared the story of the tree of life. It was a good lesson. She still feels the same about baptism. She wants to but she won't until the time is right. She still knows it's true. She came to church this Sunday with the Sobers. We saw Sister Jones and read with her in the book of mormon because she hasn't been as active in her studies as she should be. We saw Patrick and we talked about baptism and testimony. He is now really searching for the truth. We also saw Jalisa and read from Moroni 6 and spoke more on repentance and forgiveness. 

On Thursday we had to go file a police report for the stolen bikes and that in addition to weekly planning and picking up Elders took most of the day. it was a long day. We did see Khalil and talked with him about the Atonement. 

On Friday we saw Ulanda again with Bro. Sampson. Bro. Sampson committed her to come to church and she didn't come. It was a good lesson on coming unto Christ. I thought she was going to come. I'm not sure why she didn't. Since Elder Anderson is the district leader we had a mtg at the mission office. With walking it took a while to get home. We did some contacting and then brought the Sobers to see Sis. Jones and then had a visit with the Sobers. We taught about CPR with Sister Jones and she understands the commands to pray, study, and come to church. We read Gen 1 with the Sobers and spoke about the goodness and greatness of God. 

On Saturday we taught a lot of lessons but most of the people we saw were interesting and they weren't the best of lessons. They were some new people that we saw. We aren't going to see them again. We did see Junika and it was great. We showed the restoration video and she remembered very well about Joseph Smith and was her super happy and cheerful self. 

On Sunday we had Dwayne, Meredith, and Thania at church. Sis. Jones, Chedrian, Jalisa, and Ulanda all didn't come. I was really surprised. Sis. Jones and Chedrian got home late in the morning and I'm not sure about Jalisa or Ulanda yet. We saw Patrick again and read in JS HIstory and it was a good spiritual lesson with him. He is becoming more sincere and earnest in knowing the truth. He is reading and praying a lot more. He committed to church this next Sunday. We saw Sis. Jones and talked about the word of wisdom. She drinks tea but committed to give it up and said it would be no problem. She said that she had been thinking earlier that she should do away with it kind of like Thelma. Oh Thelma made us some Mac Pie and it was so good. We had a first appointment set up for a guy named Simon and we came by and he wasn't home but his son John was. He started talking with us and asked us questions and took interest in the gospel. Simon didn't show up but John accepted to have us share a message with him them and we spoke of the book of mormon and he committed himself to read it. He used to go to church  but hasn't been in a while and he wants to get his life back on track. He was really cool and I'm excited to start teaching him. 

We weren't able to see Juanita, Renne, Chedrian, or the Grants this week but we have some appointments set up with them to go and see them this week. 

It's been a fun week! All is well! I'm loving the mission and the people! I'm working as hard as I can to bless the people here! I love you all! The Church is true!

Love,

Elder King

 

Well I said goodbye to Elder Tye this week. He is a great man and a great missionary. It was a blessing to have served with him.

 

 

Some volleyball action from today. We have some fun on P days :) Elder Moli was there today too.

 

 

Elder Anderson selfies haha he's crazy...crazy awesome!!! It's been fun so far and I'm excited for this transfer with him!

 

 

Elder Moli is leaving tomorrow to go home after a mission well served and I got to see him before he left back to Tonga. It was great to see him again.  From left to right: E. Moli, E. Me, E. Sandbakken, E. Tulikihakau, E. Anderson ( My Companion ), and E. George.

 

 

We had an encounter with Etzel the Monkey this week :) It was awesome!

 

 

 

 

Letter and Pictures - Week 80

Dear Family,

It's been an awesome week!

Monday - We went with Juanita and her family for an FHE to go play ping pong at this nice facility. It was a treat. Everyone had a lot of fun. The kids were really good. They play so much road tennis that it just came natural. Abby who is the father is a professional. He almost went to the olympics. He is so good. We came back to their home for a lesson. Everyone joined and we sang, prayed, and read from the book of mormon about the story of Nephi. It was special. Everyone received their own copy of the BoM and they've been reading. The kids love it. The spirit was strong and Abby took interest in it. Hopefully he continues joining in. It was a miracle.

Tuesday - We saw Sister Meredith several times this week and she finally opened up to us today and told us the one thing that has been holding her back from baptism and committed to give it up. We set a date for baptism with her. 

Wednesday - We've been working a lot with a great lady named Marcia Jones. She came to church again this week and is coming again next week. She is set on baptism and is looking forward for her day in a couple weeks. We are visiting with her as often as we can like everyday to get her ready by then. 

Thursday - We came by Meredith and we found that she told her son that she was going to be baptized and he was really upset about it. He doesn't want her to be baptized and doesn't like the church. He said he would leave if she got baptized. She doesn't want her and her son to separate and have their relationship torn apart. She told us she wasn't going to be baptized. It felt like the lesson from the District when Jynx said she received her answer and wasn't going to be taking the lessons anymore. My heart dropped when I heard and I prayed hard for help to know what to say to help her. It ended up being a good lesson as we talked about eternal families and how God wants her to be with Him and her son and that can only happen through her accepting the gospel. She accepted to continue to meet with us, to be baptized when she's ready, and to talk to Andre about it. It was an intense experience and I'm glad we were guided by the Holy Ghost to know what to say. 

Friday - We finally saw Chedrian for the first time in a while and we had a good lesson on the plan of salvation. She had a lot of good questions. She had stuff again this week but is planning on next week. 

Saturday - We saw Renee with a member named Elvis and talked about the word of wisdom. He is working on quitting so we set a plan with him on overcoming his addictions. He is set on quitting. He said he was tempted to drink coffee this week a couple times but he exercised self control and didn't do it. That was a great success. 

Sunday - We had Sister Jones and Jalisa Gibson come to church! It was Jalisa's first time in a while. She overcame her fears and came and loved it. Everyone welcomed her back with loving arms and the fellowship was awesome. She's coming again next week. Both actually are planning on coming again next week. Thania came again too. Junika was confirmed this week. It made her and Sister Cadet very happy. We got our transfer calls. Elder Tye is leaving to St. Vincent to be a district leader over there. I'm staying here and I will be with Elder Anderson and he will be the district leader. I'm really grateful for these 3 transfers I got to spend with Elder Tye. It was a great time in my mission and I've been truly blessed by it. It's sad to say goodbye. I don't know Elder Anderson but I'm excited to serve with him. I believe he is from Utah. He too was trained by Elder Odhiambo so I get to serve with my mission brother. Elder Tye is also my mission brother since we were both trained by our Father Elder Odhiambo :) The Grant family had a busy schedule this week and we weren't able to see them. Hopefully this week we can. 

I love you all! 

With much love,

Elder King

 

Jalisa Gibson with us and Jelani who is a member that comes out with us teaching. (I think he likes her so we are doing him a favor by bringing him with us haha I think they'll get married one day and it's all because of us ;) You can call us the match making missionaries haha Don't they look great together? They would make a great couple :) )

 

 

We had an awesome time with Juanita and her family! We went and played some ping pong! It was a blast!

 

 

I turned on the oven and then came back to it and I found there was a little fire in there haha :) I wished I had some marshmallows or starbursts to roast but I just warmed my hands by the fire :)

 

 

Meatballs and Elder Tye roasted some good chicken. Yummy :)

 

 

This is Renee with Elvis a recent convert. Elvis is in the buttoned up shirt. Because of the sun it made us all look like we are from star trek or something haha I thought it looked cool.

 

 

Oh I forgot to mention that on Saturday night we locked up our bikes to a pole and went out with a member teaching to a couple of appointments and then came back to this.... Someone ransacked our bikes and stole everything off of them and left the frames. It was a sad sight to come back to. Now our area will be a walking area. No more bikes :(

 

 

 

Letter and Pictures - Week 79

Hey family!

     It was another great week. We were able to finish off Junika's preparations for baptism, she passed her interview, and this past Sunday she was baptized along with Bro. Alleyne's granddaughter Chiara. Both are 8 years old. It was a beautiful service. The two of them were so happy and it was special for them to be baptized together. Before the service they were joyfully walking around together holding hands and all excited for their baptism. They looked like two little angels. Shirley's baptism was wonderful too. She is one of the Sister's converts and I was privileged to give her the Gift of the Holy Ghost. 

     Sister Meredith is getting closer and closer to baptism. This week we were talking with her about her testimony and she knows the Book of Mormon is true and she knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet! She's been taught the first four lessons so far and she's ready in that regard. She is now praying about a date for baptism. She wants to be baptized but she doesn't know when. She was praying at the end of one of the lessons and she wants her son to join her. It shows that she's made her decision and wants her family with her which is great. Hopefully she will be baptized soon. 

     With Juanita and her family we were able to plan the activity/FHE out with them so tonight we are going to go play ping pong with all of their family and then share a spiritual message with them. It will be great. She didn't come to church. She was sick this weekend but is feeling better now. She's been reading a lot since she's been on vacation from work. It's awesome!

     Chedrian and Sister Jones had things come up for Sunday but they'll be coming next week. Alisean is an 18 year old guy we met a while back and began teaching him. He hasn't been progressing too much and it's difficult to meet. He has done a little reading in the book of mormon though. He's a good kid and were trying to help him out but I don't think right now he is ready for that kind of change. His family is strong seventh day church goers right now and I'm sure that makes it tougher on him. Renee was recently married and is in his upper 20's to lower 30's. We've been able to meet often. We met him a while ago and he has just taken a big interest in the gospel. He has been making good changes in his life and before we me him began reading in the bible and changing his life around. He reads and prays and the lessons we have with him are always good. He is super attentive and marks in his scriptures things that stick out to him. A challenge is with work. It's tough for him to get to church because he works on Sundays. He will come one of these Sundays when he can. 

     We were able to go up to St. Peter at the top of the island on Saturday with Thelma and Fred to have a big FHE with all of their family up there. It was awesome! They all loved it. The spirit was really strong as we shared some mormon messages about how we can be with our families forever. It was special. We played some dominoes and the Sobers made some good food. 

     We've been sending scriptures each morning to Jalisa to remind and help her to read. She has started doing that and she it's helping her. She likes it. We called her Friday and she told us that she was coming to church this week! The spirit has been working on her. She was feeling guilty that she hadn't been reading so she started to read and she read one about the sacrament and without us inviting her she told us she was coming. We called her Sunday morning about an hour before and she was still solid. She called us back a little later and told us that she wasn't coming. We were so surprised by it. In talking with her she said she still had some fears in coming back and I think they got to her. The Sister missionaries are planning on visiting with her as well as some members her age to help her out. She's coming along. She will come back soon. 

     It's been a wonderful week! I just hit my 18th month mark yesterday so I only have 6 months left! 3/4 the way there. It's crazy! It is flying by so fast! I'm rounding 3rd base and before I know it I will be sliding across home plate especially since I run quick :). 

     Well I love you all! I know without a shadow of a doubt that this gospel is true. It has to be. It brings me so much happiness and peace and fills me with love and gratitude. Have a blessed week!

Love,

Elder King

 

Teaching Junika with Bro. Alleyne and Sis. Cadet. 

This is Sister Jones.

 

 

Some photos from Junika's baptism :)

 

 

Our fun FHE with the Sobers :)

 

1. Thelma and her sister Linda in the kitchen making food :) It was delicious

2. Fred, Thelma's mother Phyllis, Thelma's brother Steven, and Elder Tye.

(Linda and Steven came to Thelma and Fred's baptism)

3. I can't remember the two in black. They came late. Linda again and then Thania and Nara who came to church again on Sunday.

4. Elder Tye and I :)