Letter Home - Week 47

Hey family!

This week has been good. We went on a trade off with Elder Nixon and Elder Arzu. They are having a tough time. The trade off was good and we were able to have a day full of great lessons and good contacting but even after they still weren't getting along. I don't know how much it helped. They've had several arguments with each other and it makes it difficult for them to have the spirit. I also went on a trade off with Elder Mikolyski since Elder Merritt is down with his wisdom teeth removal. It was really good. We were able to finish off the night visiting with a recent convert named Odellia who has been having a hard time lately and has missed church the past few weeks. She is great but her circumstances are a burden on her and make things difficult but we were able to go there and have a great spiritual lesson to help lift the burden and it did. She committed to come to church. She was really happy and grateful that we came. It made us both really happy as well that we could help her. We taught Janelle about eternal families and the temple ordinances and it was a really powerful lesson. It was what she needed. We went through the new pamphlet about it and helped her understand the end goal of living in eternal families with Heavenly Father and road to get there. She still has doubts and fears. She wants to make the right decision and I think she is afraid of making the wrong decision. We talked about her testimony more. She isn't firm on her testimony of the restoration through Joseph Smith and so we invited her to pray. We gave Ether 12 to her along with a good talk about faith by Elder Holland called The Best Is Yet To Be where it refers to Lot's wife and how she looked back. I think it's one that will really help her. We will teach her more about faith and overcoming fear. We are really trying to do all we can to help her. She is such a great individual and has a wonderful family. We taught Joan as well. We finished the basic commandments and helped her understand about prayer, scripture study, and church and how Heavenly Father expects us to obey and He will bless. She has financial concerns which makes it hard for her to come to church. We also asked about her testimony and she found and understood that she needed to pray. We committed her to do so and we will follow up with her on that. We've begun teaching quite a few new people that are showing some good signs. We started teaching a lady named Porsha and she is great. She read what we left, asks good questions and is committed. We committed her to be baptized and she committed herself to work towards July 23. We hope all goes well with that. We still have plans to find and begin teaching as many new people as we can. We are finding that a lot of the people that we are teaching are the elect of God but aren't quite ready now. We are dropping many of them. It's hard and sad but necessary. It will only help them in the future. We again weren't able to have anyone come to church. That was hard. It makes me really concerned for a lot of these great people that we are teaching. Joan had her concerns but she said she will be getting paid next week and said she will come next week. Janelle read but she didn't come to church. With Father's day she went elsewhere with family. I hope and pray for them and do all I can for these people that I love but ultimately it's their decision. It's hard. I love you all so much. I think about you and pray for you. Keep doing good. Well I hope you have a great week.

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 46

Hey my dear family!

It's been a pretty great week. We were able to visit with Janelle on Saturday. Unfortunately she didn't read since the last time which is unusual since she always reads what we give her. We brought a strong member (Sister Sarah) out with us to visit her. It was such a powerful lesson. Sister Sarah was Catholic too and being around the same age as Janelle, she also being a single mother with kids, and being the same gender it created a good connection between the two. We talked about Alma 34, which is what we left with her, and went through some of the versus. We read versus from that chapter and elsewhere that focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and really helped her understand it. We led it into a conversation about her concern with still having connections with the Catholic Church. We talked about choices and also about how in order to step from one stone to the next we have to leave the one we are on. We gave her a good talk about Decision Making the Lord's Way and she committed herself to read it. We are thinking about talking with her about "letting go" and "moving forward" to help with her troubles of letting go of old habits and traditions. I asked President Herrington about Janelle and her situation and he counseled to teach about the doctrines of eternal families and temple ordinances. Janelle did say that she wants to take things little by little but that she does want to continue moving forward in faith. We will do our best to help her overcome her concerns. We invited her to pray also, after she reads the talk, about her decision to be baptized. She said she would. We invited her to come to church and she committed herself to and then we came to find out that her mother ended up being home that morning and she went with her mother to the Catholic church. That was really sad. Oh and Janelle and Calvin I don't think will be getting married in the future. She's been hurt by him several times and I think shut the door on that matter with him. She doesn't want Luke to be without his father and it was one thing that was so hard for her and that's one reason that she let him back into her life but I think it's over now. It's sad. Shenelle left to Canada. She is on vacation there. She said she is going to visit the temple there. That made me happy to hear. She also said she would read and study each day that she is out there. I hope so. She said she will have a lot more time. This Sunday we went out in the morning to walk with our investigators to church and bus with them and we had confidence that there were going to be many of them there at church but we ended up not having any. That was so hard. We've been thinking a lot about our area and our investigators and we are thinking that we need to have a better flow of new investigators so it progress doesn't become stagnant. We've really set some good goals and made some good plans to help make that happen. Things are looking good for the future. We taught Joan a couple times. We taught about prayer to help with her receiving answers and we started into the commandments to help teach about the commandment to go to church to help her come. They were good lessons. We ended up not getting through all of the commandment lesson which is okay. We will teach the rest on Tuesday. She has been finding it hard to actually commit to doing some of the things that we invite her to do but this week she actually committed herself to coming to church next week for the first time. Hooray!! She's come to GC but not church. I really hope she comes or we'll really have to pray about the decision to continue to teach her or not. She is one of the elect of God but it may be that she's not quite ready as yet. But there are really signs that she is showing forth. Things have been going well. I loved hearing about all the good in each of your lives. It brightens my week each time I open my email. Trek sounds like a blast. It brings back good memories. Thanks for all your prayers, your kind words, and your love. God loves us. The Savior's Atonement is real. Families are forever. The Church is true. These are some great and precious truths. Another is that I love you all! Take care and have a great week. 

 

Love,

Elder King

Hello from St. Lucia!!!  Isn't this place just awesome?!  Love ya'll!

'Jungle Swingin' - Aaaahhhoohhhaaahhhh!  Watch out for that tree!

 

 

Punny Photo - I see you!

 

 

Letter Home - Week 45

Dear Family,

This week has been good. We finally were able to teach a less active in our area named Yuandia. She has desires to come back to church and her schedule is changing for work so she will be able to. The Lord is preparing the way for her to come back. We had a really good lesson with her about the Holy Ghost and how it warns and prompts us to repent and do good. She had a question about it. We continue to teach Janelle who is the girlfriend of the guy that moved back to Guyana. She and her son, Luke, stayed and the boyfriend, Calvin, left. I'm glad we get to continue to teach her. She is doing better and moved past what she was going through. I think the lesson and talk on the Strengthening power of the Atonement helped her. She has a testimony!! We taught a lesson with her on Saturday and she expressed that she knows the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, and that the Church has been restored. She still has a few concerns with family that we are working with her to clear up. She has been progressing very well. She reads a lot and marks good things she likes as she reads. She is torn though because she grew up Catholic and her family (Mother and Father) are still devout Catholics. Family is really important to her. She would always go with her family to church. She said she knew it is true but honestly speaking she would come to church three Sunday's out of the month and then the fourth go with her family to the Catholic. She wouldn't go to the Catholic Church because of the church but to be with her family. We are working with her on it. During that lesson we were teaching about the commandments of prayer, scripture study, and attending church when the concern came up. We talked to her about it and taught and testified of the restoration, the priesthood, the need for baptism into the Church, and weekly partaking of the sacrament. She understood and she said she would pray more about it. We are planning on giving her more talks on the subject that would help her with her concern. I was wondering if any of you had any good thoughts that might help her? I had told her in an earlier lesson to imagine what it would be like to be a member and she said that she has. Joan we had a good lesson with her this week. Right now she is going through a tough time and needing answers to her prayers. We taught about a few things that she could do to help her show her faith that would help the needed answers come. We taught about Alma and how he fasted and prayed many days that he might receive his answer. We also taught about how D&C 8 about how she needs to actively do things to seek her answer like scripture study, church attendance, and studying out her decision and even actively pursuing that decision instead of just praying to God for an answer and then sitting around waiting on Him. Answers come as we act in faith. Help comes as we ask in faith and act. Healing comes as we ask in faith and act. If we break our leg we can ask for God to heal us but he would require us to act in faith and go to a hospital to seek that healing. He can help make the process go smoothly and help with a quick recovery but not if we don't actively do something to help in the process. The same goes for spiritual healing. We can't just sit around waiting for answers and waiting on God. We must seek that ourselves. I promise that healing can and will come as we seek it. I know that the Atonement is real. It is a real power. We can find healing as we humbly ask for help in faith. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of the details in our lives. He loves us. He really does. I love you all and continue to pray and fast for you. Exercise your faith. Seek that spiritual, emotional, and mental healing. Heavenly Father will make you stronger and bless us with those things you need. You will find peace and happiness. Always remember your future is as bright as your faith. Take care! Thanks for emailing and letting me know how you all are doing. I would love to hear from each of you! I love you!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 44

Dear loved ones,

Yesterday I hit my ten month here in the mission. It's been flying by so fast. Saturday I received the transfer calls and I will be staying here in St. Lucia with Elder Kuru. It's going to be fun! I'll serve half of my mission here in St. Lucia. I'm never going to leave haha It's nice to serve on one island for a while because then I really get to know the place and then when I return I'll still remember it pretty well and be able to get around everywhere and know where the cool places are. I've really enjoyed my time as a missionary here and I've learned and grown a lot. I hope I can make the most of the rest of my mission. I received the letter from the Jensen's. I really appreciated it. Tell them thank you for me please. I've received several letters from members of the ward as well. They are nice to receive. This week we lost, Calvin, one of our really promising investigators because he moved back to Guyana. Him and Janelle, his girlfriend, were progressing really well. The good thing is that he took his book of Mormon and plans to go to church there and find the missionaries and she is still progressing. She was having a really hard time with the whole situation. We gave her a talk Sunday morning for her to read from the October General Conference given by Elder Oaks called, "Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ" when we came by to talk to her and invite her to come to church. We then came back Sunday evening to talk with her about it and help her. She read the talk about the Atonement and then we talked and testified about the healing power of the Atonement and Christ's ability to help her as she faithfully asks for it. It was a spiritually uplifting experience and it really helped her. Shenelle came to church again this week. Unfortunately she wasn't able to pick up Villia and Alma for church. They wanted to come. Shenelle was the only one who came. Janelle was crying a lot and having a hard time so she didn't come this week but after we sat down and talked with her she said she will come next week. That talk is a great one for Michael to read. I would invite all of you to read it. It's message is powerful. I know through Christ that we can find the healing we need. His power can reach each one of us no matter how low we are or feel and lift each one of us to new heights of comfort, peace, and happiness. We can be healed whether it's temporal, spiritual, social, mental, or emotional through Christ as we humbly ask for his help. I love you all. I pray for each of you. Keep going and keep the faith.

 

With much love,

Elder King

Janelle and Calvin had us over for her birthday lunch two Sunday's ago. The food was delicious. Janelle, Calvin, and her mother Diane made the food. It was so nice of them. Plus we got some ice cream at the end! Mmm Mmm good :)

We taught Odellia a few times this past week. We went up on top of her house and had the lesson up there. She is a recent convert of a little less than a year. She is awesome. We went over another talk from the October Conference Address by Elder Uchtdorf called, "A Summer with Great Aunt Rose". It's anther good one for you all to read. It's about a girl who is unhappy about her current situation and then learns from her great aunt rose about finding happiness despite challenging and difficult circumstances.

Lunch at the mission home for MLC in Barbados. So good :)

Fly by over Martinique when we were coming back from Barbados. The islands are so pretty.

The water looks so nice! Too bad I can't go swim...  haha

Life of a Missionary!

6:30am - Wake Up! Wake Up! It's time to get ready and go!

Doing some laundry...I kinda need to so I can have some clothes to wear.

Sometimes I feel like Cinderella ;) Gotta make them floors shinny!

Yes Mom we clean the bathroom too haha

Don't forget breakfast! I like breakfast! Yummy

Washin' the car. Gotta keep her shinny too!

Whoa! The hose packs a powerful punch!

Gotcha!

We even do the dishes too!

Then I do this a lot but at least it's got a nice view :)  Elder Kuru got his license now so we switch and take turns driving.

He's a good driver

Pray pray pray everyday :) It's what we like to do!
 

Letter Home - Week 43

Hey family!

I feel like I just emailed since the last time was just on Wednesday evening but that's a good thing :) Monday we flew into Barbados and stayed the night in the Blue Horizon Hotel that we stayed in when I first came into the mission. It was then that I was also with Elder Kuru as short term companions so it was flash from the past. It was great. In the morning we went on the same run we did the first time on the beach and then had their continental breakfast. It was nice. The MLC was stellar. It was great also to see many of the missionaries I've served around like Elder Moli, Elder Odhiambo, Sister Conrad, Sister Maico, Elder Taylor, Elder Alldredge and the other mission leaders. It was just awesome. Wednesday morning we flew back and then immediately had Zone Conference. It was good. Elder Kuru and I had to help conduct and lead a discussion/council. That's when I got to email while waiting for all the interviews to finish. I had my interview on Saturday before when President was here for Branch Conference. We didn't get to do any proselyting during those three days. With the rest of the days we were able to teach a good number of lessons. We continue to teach Kevin and he is doing good. We saw Stephanie and we were able to get her the book of mormon on CD since she can't read. She has begun listening to it. She didn't come to church because of the rain. We went to go bring her to church but because of the rain it got all of her clothes wet that were hanging out to dry. It rained like all day Saturday and the morning of Church. Hopefully next week. We taught Calvin the restoration by himself and he said after that he didn't have any doubts. We later taught Janelle and Calvin together (boyfriend/girlfriend and yes they live together) about the Law of Chastity. They understood what it meant and the choice they will have to make. We gave them a few good talks to read along with Alma 32 about faith. One of the talks clearly goes over what the Law of Chastity consists of and another about our choices in life. We found another good one after called Making the Marriage Decision. We also had a good lesson with Joan about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about having faith and that after the trial of her faith that she will receive her answer to be baptized into the church. She wants to come to church and she says she will sometime soon. We gave her a pathway to baptism that showed the steps that lead to it to help overcoming the fear of the unknown. It was a good lesson. She committed to following the steps that lead to baptism. She hasn't committed as yet to baptism but it's something that she wants. Kevin says hi :) I love you all so much! I'll send some good photos next week! Have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder King

Letter Home - Week 42

Hey family!

It's been a great week. The Lord's work is something that changes lives and help you become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It's changing mine. It's blessing mine as well as I see the Lord's work changing the lives of others, especially those I love. This week I had some real spiritual edification with a Branch Conference on Sunday where President Herrington came, Mission Leadership Council in Barbados with the AP's and all the other Zone and Sister Training leaders, and Zone Conference with the Herringtons. I've spent some good time around our Mission President this week and it's been a blessing. I don't get a lot of time to spend around him because he is on a different island but it makes it something special when I do get some time around him and his wife. They are so great. There is a special spirit and you can feel the power of it. The focus in the mission now is to set goals, make plans, and use our time wisely. There has also been a real focus on working with the branch. Well we finally got the car back on Friday. It took a long time but we got it. It took really long to get a programmer but eventually we got one. It's nice to have that luxury back. It makes our work so much easier. Well we contacted into a less active member around our apartment late Monday night. His name is Kalev. We talked and then invited him to church. He came and stayed for the whole block. It was great. On Wednesday we had a special experience. We had a lesson with Janelle and Calvin who has a four year old son named Luke. We taught about the Plan of Salvation. They had great questions about baptism. We taught how families can be together forever and about how baptism is the gate to the Celestial Kingdom where families can be. They had been talking about baptism together which brought up questions. Janelle has been thinking a lot lately about baptism. But the cool thing was that Calvin near the end of the lesson asked if and how he could become a member. It was unexpected but awesome. He had said that he had never felt closer to God during the lesson. He was feeling the Spirit and it moved him to ask us if he could become a member. We invited him to be baptized and gave him a date to work towards. He accepted. We invited Janelle again but she hasn't accepted yet. She will just now :) We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Janelle in another lesson. She's been reading what we give her. We focused on repentance the lesson. It's the worldwide missionary focus and she has been feeling guilty lately for certain reasons and feels like she couldn't make it to the Celestial Kingdom as of now. She is willing to work towards it though. She wants it and is willing. It's giving her hope. They both came to church together with Luke on Sunday. It was such a great meeting and perfect for Janelle. It was such a spiritual meeting and I learned a lot. Janelle had to leave during the third hour and when she was leaving Calvin said he wanted to stay because of what he was feeling. He pointed to his chest and said he hasn't felt anything like it. It was hard for him to describe. They both enjoyed church and afterward they invited us to have lunch at their home. It was so good. They made us Roti! It consists of some chicken with some sauce and a handmade type of tortilla. It was a special treat. St. Lucia has dropped in numbers of missionaries and so some areas have been closed. We have taken over two other areas and so we've picked up some new people. One is named Indy. He also came to church. He has been taught for a while. He is from Taiwan. We had a good first lesson with him. We also talked about prayer with Indy just as Jay but not as what sounds like a stellar lesson. I wish I could've been there. I have a personal testimony in the power of prayer. Heavenly Father is there. He does listen. He loves us. I've learned also to visualize Heavenly Father when I'm saying my prayers and that I'm actually talking to him. Not just saying words. We are going to really start working with Indy to teach him as often as we can because he has a lot of faith and is such a great guy. He's been to church a lot. We are going to try to help him be baptized. On Sunday we were leaving church and just outside at a nearby building there were two guys talking. They were a little ways away. We waived and said afternoon as we were passing by but then I stopped, turned around, and went and talked to them. It turns out they were really in need. Both have had thoughts of suicide because of less than fortunate situations. We were there to help and placed there by the Lord. We talked with them and bore testimony. It was guided by the Spirit and was powerful. The spirit was really strong. It was a blessing to him and he was sincerely grateful. I was blessed by the special experience. We left saying wow that was cool. Lots of good stuff happening over here and it sounds like it over there as well! Keep being awesome!

With much love,
Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 41

Hey family!

Mother's Day was so nice! It was so great to see all of you again. Even if it was short it was wonderful. I love you all. I want each of you to know that. Keep doing all the good you do and being the great people that you all are. With this week there were a lot of things that took away from our proselyting time but there were still some good things that happened. We were able to sit down with a member named Sister Tessa and her daughter Nelida who is 12 this week. We talked about baptism with Nelida and she accepted to work towards it when before she felt like she wasn't ready. It was great. She loves to read and she accepted to start reading the book of Mormon. She has already finished the book of Mormon stories book with the pictures. She enjoyed it. The little book will help her understand the book of Mormon better. We also started to teach a lady named Scera. She lives next to Michael. She is really cool. She is really interested in the message we share and believes in it. We taught the restoration with her and it was a nice lesson. We set a date for baptism with her. I hope she continues to progress. We had a great lesson with Joan about faith. She read Alma 32 and like I mentioned on Skype that she said that he little seed is beginning to grow. We taught Candice about the restoration as well. We've tried to teach her this lesson so many other times but things kept getting in the way so it was nice to be able to get through the whole lesson this time without all the interruptions and noise. This week at church I taught priesthood class about the importance of scripture study. Last week I taught Sunday School about Mosiah Ch. 1-3. Sometimes the lessons get thrown onto us as missionaries because the teachers aren't there or something. It's been a great week. I love you all and I keep you in my prayers. I hope each of your lives becomes lighter, brighter, and happier as you exercise your faith. Remember your future is as bright as your faith. I love you.

Love,
Elder King

Well with how long I've been driving it was bound to happen eventually... At least we are all okay. The car...not so much... I'm just kidding haha. But this week we spent some time dealing with the car. The key to the car got damaged and the immobilizer inside the key fell out and got lost so the car wouldn't start. We thought it was the battery but after trying to jump the car and that not working we knew it must be something else. So we left it overnight because it was late and then in the morning we had it towed. We got to sit in the car as it was being towed. That was fun. We took it to a place to have them look at it and they told us it was the problem with the key. This happened on Thursday. It's taking a long time for the problem to be solved but hopefully we will get the car back today. We got a new key with a new immobilizer but now we have to wait for them to program it. It makes me grateful for a car to get around because it's kind of a pain taking the buses with three Elders with all the places we have to go. There were blessings that came from it though. We were able to talk to more people because of it and who knows maybe one of them are prepared to hear the gospel.

Letter and Pictures - Week 40

Here's a sign Gordon still hasn't lost his sense of humor.  This was his original letter home.

Dear Family,

I love you.

Love,

Elder King

It was followed later by the real thing.  Such a tease!

Hey guys,

This week was really good. We were able to teach a lot and the teaching between Elder Kuru and I is great. The lessons are full of the spirit. I love it. We are doing our best to help our investigators to progress towards baptism. Today we had a great zone mtg. that Elder Kuru and I taught. We taught about using our time wisely to keep the spirit with us. It was a lot about becoming converted ourselves so we will have the spirit to convert the investigator if they open their heart to it. I enjoyed it. The spirit was strongly felt. I hope you all have a great week.

Love,

Elder King

Breakfast for lunch! We had pancakes and sausage and on the pancakes we had peanut butter and ice cream! It's really good by the way :)

This is Cleopha and her son Marvin. She is 19 which is surprising. She is doing well. We had a couple good lessons this week with her. One about the restoration and the other we watched a video about Joseph Smith and the restoration. She believes it is true which is the start of her testimony. We invited her to read and pray about the book of Mormon. It may seem like a simple invitation but it's oh so powerful when done. There is a real power behind daily scripture study and daily personal prayer. As one acts on these invitations that is when the spirit can testify to them of the truthfulness of it as they allow the spirit into their heart. It is from this submitting oneself that one gains a testimony on a principle of the gospel. It is through a humble prayer for help that one can soften their own heart and through love that another can help in the process of softening another's heart.

We were privileged to be invited to a member's home for Sunday lunch after church to break our fast. The couple are from Mexico and they just moved into the branch here because of work. They are so nice. The meal was great. This is their apartment. It's pretty nice :)

The meal was great. We had some really good fish and a special rice and salad. They also made a papaya juice drink which was good.

The view from their apartment is absolutely gorgeous too. It was a great experience. It was refreshing. We also had an oreo cheesecake for dessert. I liked that :)

Additional emails while online:

I am the one driving and we drive everywhere. I feel like a taxi driver haha

The weather is great. Doesn't rain much. Nice and sunny but not too hot. Elder Kuru has three siblings and has been a member his whole life. I hope and pray that Michelle will be okay. That's a scary thing to have occur. I'm glad that Kaylee is having a blast in school. I hope they do well at State. I'm glad to hear that Jay is reading his scriptures daily. That's great. It puts a smile on my face. I hope you all have a great week! I'll see you on Sunday!

With much love,

Elder King

Letter and Pictures - Week 39

This week has been really good. Elder Kuru and I have been getting along great. We love serving together. He is a really hardworking missionary and he is helping me grow more. After hearing about transfers Elder Moli and I went and said goodbyes to our investigators. They miss Elder Moli. He is a good missionary. This Sunday was great. The meeting was really good and great talks were given. We had two investigators, Janelle and Shenelle, come to church and Kevin administered the sacrament for his first time. He did great. He received the priesthood last week. Well I'm out of time because I was busy sending photos but I hope you all enjoy them. I love you all! Take care and have a blessed week.

Love,

Elder King

This is the zone before all the transfers. There were 9 that left St. Lucia and 5 that came in. Two Sister companionships were moved to other islands. The Senior Couple is Elder and Sister Leavitt. They are from Canada. They are great as well. They are doing a lot of great work to help the branch.

Top row: Sister Leavitt, Elder Leavitt, Elder Merritt, Elder Nixon, Elder Sandbakken, Elder King, Elder Topou.

Middle row: Sister Benn, Elder Miller, Elder Powell, Elder Mikesell, Elder Alldredge, Sister Timaia, Sister Conrad, Sister Nelson.

Bottom row: Sister Maico, Elder Hardy, Elder Wallentine, Elder Ropati, Elder Moli, Sister Campbell, Elder Lameta.

Elder Alldredge, Sister Conrad, Sister Nelson, Sister Maico, Elder Hardy, Elder Wallentine Elder Moli, Sister Campbell and Elder Lameta left Castries.

Elder Kuru, Elder Dancan, Elder Arzu, Elder Jones, and Elder Cox replaced them.

 

This is Janelle and Luke. She is 27 and he is 4. We recently started to teach her and she is doing really well. She came to church this Sunday and really enjoyed it. She has a boyfriend named Calvin who we also started to teach after being referred to him by Michael who is Calvin's friend and Calvin and Janelle don't live too far from him. She is Catholic. Luke is a ball of fun. He is such a great kid.  

This is Odellia. She recently was baptized. She loves coming to church and the happiness it brings her. She is awesome.

This is Alma. We were able to figure out a good day for her so we can visit her. She got Sunday's off so now we are going to be teaching her on Sundays. We are trying to coordinate with Shatal too so we can teach both of them.

This is Villia who is Alma's sister. We've been helping her work through keeping the word of wisdom and keeping the law of chastity. She has strong desires to follow christ and be baptized and she is willing to work toward and live these laws. 

This is Joan, her mother, and her 2 year old baby girl. They are doing well. She is reading her book of mormon and praying about baptism. 

This is Candice and her kids. We haven't been able to meet with her much, but we will. 

We had some smores on our last night together. It was Elder Moli's first time having it and he liked it.

This is Shenelle. She came for her third time this Sunday. She is doing really well. The Sister's area has closed and now we took over the sister's area. It's good to be able to still teach Shenelle. 

Some of the kids playing cricket. 

Elder Kuru and I right after his arrival into St. Lucia. He has really been enjoying his time here. We are getting along really well. Our teaching is going great together. It's really fun to teach with him. The spirit is really strong and powerful when we teach.

This is where we Elders love to eat out at. It is a Philipino restaurant that we call pino. They have good food. We ate here one last time with the Elders leaving.

We had a really fun branch activity on Saturday. Both branches combined and came together for a great time. We played games had food and good times together. It was good to see the members again down in Vieux Fort. 

Letter and Pictures - Week 38

This week has been really good. We have been able to visit with many of our investigators this week. It has been a blessing. Sometimes it is difficult to see them all with trying to coordinate our busy schedule and their busy schedule. We have been able to find a lot of great investigators who have been prepared. A lot are beginning to progress really well. Well, This week is transfer week! It's a crazy one. There are a lot of changes occurring. President Herrington called Elder Moli and I to give us our transfer call on Saturday night. Well Elder Moli after 10 1/2 months is finally leaving the island. He will be leaving to Barbados to serve with my papa Elder Odhiambo. Elder Odhiambo's last companion will be coming here to St. Lucia with me in my area. His name is Elder Kuru. He came out with me. He is from Austrailia. We will continue to serve as Zone leaders here. I'm glad to stay to continue to teach the great investigators that we have. Our area has been progressing really well. With transfers I have mixed emotions. I am glad to begin serving with Elder Kuru. With the time I've had to get to know him he is a great person and a great missionary. Though after these many months of serving with Elder Moli I've gained a great friend. Elder Moli is a man with a big heart. When I first started serving with Elder Moli I witnessed an experience to show this. It was when we went to visit a family he and Elder Clement had been teaching. Elder Moli was leaving the area and they were saying goodbye. It was hard for them to do. There wasn't a dry eye. Now that he is leaving to Barbados we went to say goodbye this time for real. He will be really leaving and I don't have words to describe how hard it was for the family. They love Elder Moli and Elder Moli loves them. It was a tough experience for Elder Moli as well. In sacrament meeting he gave his farewell testimony. With tears in his eyes he bore his love filled testimony. It left many with tears. He is a man of love. There have been many, many experiences throughout these past three transfers that shows it. I owe him a lot for what he has taught me. I will miss him. It will be a transition for me for him to leave. But it will be good. Though sad and hard Elder Moli is excited for the change. Since the transfer call we've been spending time saying goodbye with everyone. Everyone loves Elder Moli and he will be missed. I love you all! Thanks for sending those photos! Love and miss you guys tons! Until mothers day! Can't wait! Have a great week and take care.

 

Love,

Elder King

 

We've been able to start teaching Shenelle again. She came to church this week and was crying during Elder Moli's testimony. We as a district here in Castries went and did service for her at her home on Saturday morning. We helped her paint her home. She is rebuilding up her house. She has been reading the book of Mormon and already has a testimony. She had an experience of when she was having a hard time and she turned to the book and started reading. Her troubles left her and she had a peaceful feeling. Super cool :)

 

 

This is that family I was talking about. Christina, Sancha and family. They were the ones I interviewed.

 

 

This is them crying. Christina was having a really hard time. When it was time to go she couldn't do it and began wailing. It reminded me of the other side of heaven when they were mourning for the dead.

 

 

This is Michael and his family. We recently started teaching him and he is progressing well. He is reading in the book of Mormon. He loves his family very much and works hard to support them.

 

 

Taking pics today for p-day at the beach :)

 

 

 

Letter and Pictures - Week 37

Hey family!

With Skype I believe I will be able to Skype in the morning. If not I may be able to Skype the day before. Most likely in the morning. Mother's day is coming soon. I'm excited.  Can't wait to see you all. This week was great. We spent most of the week preparing Kevin for his baptism. It was great and it all went really smoothly. The baptism was a spiritual experience. I loved it but more important Kevin loved it. He is really happy. We were able to teach Joan this week about the plan of salvation. It was really good. She is understanding and beginning to accept it. She is really interested. It was a good lesson. We were finally able to visit with Alma yesterday. We will hopefully be able to visit each Sunday with her and maybe even have Shatal come and be a part of it. We are hoping. We read in the book of Mormon with Villia in Alma Ch. 7. We are trying to get her to consistently read to help her make the necessary changes that she desires to make. The book of Mormon will really help her. We are trying to help her understand that. We also taught Cleopha. She read in the book of Mormon a little. We read with her the rest of the 3 Ne. 11 and talked about baptism. She accepted a date. We are doing well. Hope you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder King

 

Kevin right after his baptism. The baptismal service was great. His mother came to support him. She is amazing. She spent all morning providing this big meal for after the baptism. It was great. We are going to try to start teaching her. Kevin gave his mom a book of Mormon. Elder Moli baptized Kevin and I confirmed him. After his confirmation we had fast and testimony mtg. and Kevin got up and bore his testimony. It was great. We are going to be working with him to receive the priesthood and a calling. I think a branch missionary would be perfect for him. He already comes out so much with us.  

Elder Ropati and I witnessed the baptism.

 

 

The missionaries from Vieux Fort came up to Castries to support Kevin at his baptism.