This first picture was taken on Michael & Michelle's wedding day! Couples in Guyana often need to get married before they can be baptized.
"The baptisms for Michael & Michelle went well but not quite to plan. Elder Hamilton baptized and confirmed Michael. I ordained him to be a priest yesterday! That was nerve racking! I get to baptize his wife Michelle next week. I'm super excited about that. I have now officially been teaching them for over half of my mission. That's a weird thought and I won't ever get to say that again! "
"We are also teaching a family of 8 and another of 5 a lot. Hopefully they will progress and we can baptize them! This past week we taught 30 lessons, that has been our high so far."
"I'm in a branch down here. We technically have about 250 members but only about 60 show up on a regular basis. That makes running the branch difficult. I have taken over the branch clerk job because I'm the only computer savy person within 1000 miles it feels like. Oh well. It's fun and I have a new found appreciation for those who do it back home!"
"I'm a lot darker because of my mission and I have lost about 8 pounds. I look way good cause of it too. I do miss my old life a little but it's okay. It goes by slow on bad days but fast on good days. Right now we are having even number of both. My brother is the thing I miss the most to be honest. I didn't expect that but it's true!"
"I'm getting to be a very good cook. I made peanut butter cookies from scratch last night. While I'm thinking about it, Dad, remember how you told me about you making the banana muffin mix in a bread pan during your mission? Funny story, I did that same exact thing on Tuesday and I didn't remember the story until I was eating it. I didn't have a bread pan though so I used a cake pan. Still tasted good!"
"I haven't received the letters you sent by the mail yet but they might be at the Larsen's. The mail service is pretty reliable. The best way to send a package is through Fedex though...that's what they tell us at least. So feel free to write as many hard-copy letters and your hands can handle because I have a whole week to read them and then figure out how to respond. As far as overloading the Larsen's go, they would love to see us getting mail because most people seem to have forgotten about us Elders here in Canje."
"Thanks for the sports update. Where did Jaycee Carol end up going? Keep me up to date on the medal count for the Olympics when they start too. That would be fantastic. Thanks a million!"
Scripture of the Week: Jacob 6:11-13
(If I die, I want verses 12 and 13 on my headstone)
(Shane & I just have to add here that verse 12 has been printed on a paper posted inside our back door for years. It is the last thing the kids see as they leave our house. We felt it was the best reminder and advice we could send them out the door with!)
