I think I was the most surprised to get the call from President Robison last week. I will still be relying on English as my main language but I will have to learn some French so I can contact everyone. I've also been told to learn how to greet in Spanish, Dutch, Chinese and Creole. It is going to be an adventure to say the least!
I will be on the "Dutch side" of the island in a place called Philipsburg. I can't wait to go! I will be going to French zone conferences on Guadeloupe every 6 weeks. How cool is that?!? I don't know how all this came about but it's pretty stinking cool!
Dad was right about me teaching a lot of lessons. I don't know an exact number from this transfer but it's a lot. I haven't finished adding them all up yet. I did teach 113 lessons with members present this transfer. That's 2nd most in the entire mission! I have helped in the baptisms of 13 people in Guyana in just 4 months.
Well, I gotta run. I will send you my address in Sint Maarten when
I find out what it is. I have taken a lot of pictures since I got my transfer call because I realized I probably won't be back in Guyana for at least a year. How sad. It has become my home. It's bittersweet.
The scripture of the week is D&C 10:5.
(Please check back on Wednesday. We will add a post with information on Saint Martin/Sint Maarten.)
Showing posts with label 04 Guyana-Reliance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 04 Guyana-Reliance. Show all posts
Monday, October 13, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
I have now helped bring 10 people into the waters of baptism
I am doing well. We got to watch conference at the only chapel [with satellite] in the country outside of Georgetown, the capital city. It also happens to be the building where I get to go to church every week. I laughed on Saturday when I noticed that the tie Elder Bednar was wearing is identical to one of the ties that I have. I enjoyed the Priesthood session a lot because the entire First Presidency spoke! I personally think that Sunday morning was the best session. What was everyone's favorite talk? Mine was President Monson's on gratitude during the Sunday morning session. I am going to try and print it out this week if it has been released. The guy that gave the closing prayer for the Sunday morning session is our area president, President Johnson.
It has been an interesting week because I have been in a threesome since Wednesday. That is because Elder Jones, my district leader, got Dengue Fever. He is starting to do better so he should be back to work by Friday, hopefully. [Dengue fever is an acute febrile disease, also known as breakbone fever, which is found in the tropics and Africa, much like Malaria. Dengue is transmitted to humans by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which feeds during the day. It presents with a sudden onset of severe headache, muscle and joint pains, fever, and rash. There may also be gastritis with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. The classic dengue fever lasts about six to seven days. A variation called dengue hemorragic fever can also cause a tendency to bleed because of a decrease in the number of platlets. Treatment is supportive (wait it out!) with IV fluids to treat dehydration and prevent shock from bleeding. There is not yet a vaccine but there may be one in the near future.]
We had another baptism this week of a lady named Sarah. I got to confirm her yesterday between sessions of conference. I also got to stand in on 2 other confirmations from the area right next to mine of some people that I have helped teach. They are a great couple.
I have now helped bring 10 people into the waters of baptism.
We have 2 more baptisms planned for this weekend. Things are going well right now!
I finished the Book of Mormon this week and I have started again.
The scripture of the week isPsalms 31:23-24.
Periodically Shane & I visit the blogs run by the senior couples in Jonathan's area. We found these 2 pictures on the Myers' blog, a brand new senior couple serving in Guyana. The first is a picture from Jonathan's recent Zone Conference with the quote that accompanied it on their blog.
"Then Elder Larson and his companion taught the rule about not staying too long to "lime" (chat) in members' or investigators' homes."
They also had this picture of a typical Guyanesse mailbox we thought was interesting.
Jonathan's Neighborhood in Guyana. His apartment is the building with the Red Roof with bright white spot in center screen. He is 4122 miles from home. That's a long way!
View Larger Map
If you want the exact location in the Google Earth program click on the following link then click on the Google Groups link on the next page: Jon's First Apartment.
Now that we have shown you how to locate Jonathan's apartment in Reliance, Guyana we have some interesting news. We received a surprise e-mail from Elder & Sister Larsen, the senior couple in Jonathan's area, that said, "Elder Larson is being transfered to St. Martin, to learn French. The transfer will take place on the 15th give or take a day depending on flights. Letters will be forwarded, but packages are more difficult. He seems excited to learn French, and can fill you in on the details next Monday." That's kind of a surprise. We know that we included a quote from one of his letters a couple of weeks ago about his reading the Book of Mormon in French and trying to get a French copy of Preach My Gospel, but none of us thought he would need to know French soon, if ever! We will try to put together some information on St. Martin in an upcoming post.
It has been an interesting week because I have been in a threesome since Wednesday. That is because Elder Jones, my district leader, got Dengue Fever. He is starting to do better so he should be back to work by Friday, hopefully. [Dengue fever is an acute febrile disease, also known as breakbone fever, which is found in the tropics and Africa, much like Malaria. Dengue is transmitted to humans by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which feeds during the day. It presents with a sudden onset of severe headache, muscle and joint pains, fever, and rash. There may also be gastritis with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. The classic dengue fever lasts about six to seven days. A variation called dengue hemorragic fever can also cause a tendency to bleed because of a decrease in the number of platlets. Treatment is supportive (wait it out!) with IV fluids to treat dehydration and prevent shock from bleeding. There is not yet a vaccine but there may be one in the near future.]
We had another baptism this week of a lady named Sarah. I got to confirm her yesterday between sessions of conference. I also got to stand in on 2 other confirmations from the area right next to mine of some people that I have helped teach. They are a great couple.
I have now helped bring 10 people into the waters of baptism.
We have 2 more baptisms planned for this weekend. Things are going well right now!
I finished the Book of Mormon this week and I have started again.
The scripture of the week isPsalms 31:23-24.
Periodically Shane & I visit the blogs run by the senior couples in Jonathan's area. We found these 2 pictures on the Myers' blog, a brand new senior couple serving in Guyana. The first is a picture from Jonathan's recent Zone Conference with the quote that accompanied it on their blog.
"Then Elder Larson and his companion taught the rule about not staying too long to "lime" (chat) in members' or investigators' homes."
They also had this picture of a typical Guyanesse mailbox we thought was interesting.Jonathan's Neighborhood in Guyana. His apartment is the building with the Red Roof with bright white spot in center screen. He is 4122 miles from home. That's a long way!
View Larger Map
If you want the exact location in the Google Earth program click on the following link then click on the Google Groups link on the next page: Jon's First Apartment.
Now that we have shown you how to locate Jonathan's apartment in Reliance, Guyana we have some interesting news. We received a surprise e-mail from Elder & Sister Larsen, the senior couple in Jonathan's area, that said, "Elder Larson is being transfered to St. Martin, to learn French. The transfer will take place on the 15th give or take a day depending on flights. Letters will be forwarded, but packages are more difficult. He seems excited to learn French, and can fill you in on the details next Monday." That's kind of a surprise. We know that we included a quote from one of his letters a couple of weeks ago about his reading the Book of Mormon in French and trying to get a French copy of Preach My Gospel, but none of us thought he would need to know French soon, if ever! We will try to put together some information on St. Martin in an upcoming post.
Monday, September 29, 2008
I guess that will be my legacy!
This is the baptism picture for Gopi. His real name is Pertab Singh. (Elder Averette, Gopi, and Jonathan)
This is the baptism picture for Vicky Balkarran. He is Ricky's little brother. We baptized Ricky last week! (Elder Averette, Ricky, and Jonathan)
This is Jonathan with a few of the kids in his area.How has my week been? I don't even know where to start. We had
two more baptisms. We will be having another one this weekend, the lady's name is Sarah. If we are lucky, we might even be able to have 3 others! We had 5 for the month of September. That's the most that this area has had since May.
I went on a trade-off with Elder Ritchey (one of my zone leaders)
in Rose Hall this week. He asked me to come up with a symbol to represent confirmation. There is a symbol for baptism that all of the missionaries know so he wanted one for confirmation too. I came up with a pretty cool symbol that will be used in this mission forever.
I guess that will be my legacy!
As far as transfers go, we move on Tuesday's and they tell us the Friday night before. So we only have a couple of days to get everything packed and to say our goodbyes. If some of the "real" letters are left behind, they will give them to the Assistants to the President to deliver. They always come to zone conference with a suitcase full of letters for people that have moved.
I will get to watch all of conference this weekend. I'm jealous that you got to meet Elder Hales and President Eyring! Poor Julie having to speak in front of him (Pres. Eyring) at her farewell!!!
The scripture of the week isMosiah 4:9-10.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Things are going well right now
These are a few pictures from the combined Canje and Berbice Zone Conference held on September 17th.
Jonathan's zone (Canje) sang a musical number.
They enjoyed a Guyana style lunch of roti, curried chicken and pineapple. (Sis. Robison says that Guyana pineapple is the absolute best in the Caribbean)
If you look closely you will see Jonathan eating in the background.
The Mighty Missionaries of the Canje Zone!
Now onto Jonathan's e-mail from this week.
This is our baptism picture for this past weekend. (From left to right) Me, Ricky, Vijay, Vishal and Elder Averett. I was privileged enough to baptize Ricky and Vishal. We are hoping to have 3 more this weekend! Things are going well right now.
Sorry again about not being able to write much last week. Anyway,
I have a list of things I want to talk about so I'll dive right into it.
The dog that bit me didn't tear my pants. It just left permanent bite marks! (Battle wounds).
We have a lot of power problems around here but we always seem to have it when we absolutely need it.
Yes, we have a washer. We have to hang dry the clothes though.
As far as I can tell, that's how it is all over the mission. I hate the water we have to use though because it's so rusty. I have to use a rag to filter it as I fill up the tub or else my clothes get covered in rust stains. I have lost a couple of shirts because of that. (That was before I realized I could filter it!) Don't worry though. I still have 8 short sleeves and that's all I need at the present time. I could probably use one for Christmas though… :)
I almost blew myself up in the oven yesterday. I thought that the gas was turned off when I lit the match to turn the oven on. I leaned in and then all I know is that I was surrounded by light and flames!!!
The whole oven was engulfed in a fireball! It was so cool. By looking at me, you wouldn't know that I had done that though… All I had was a few singed hairs on my right arm! Other than that, I'm doing okay so don't worry about me. I know I'm protected because the flames weren't hot. They were just warm. It was a weird sensation. Probably like Nephi and Lehi in their furnace or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. I also got electrocuted this week while doing some wiring work at one of the other apartments. Again, I'm perfectly fine.
In my personal scripture study, I am in Helaman 5. And in my personal study of the Book of Mormon in French I am in 1 Nephi 6.
I have also ordered a Preach My Gospel in French to help me learn the language better. I know I didn't tell you, but I have decided to try and learn French while I'm out here. I'll keep you updated on my progress.
The scripture of the week is Proverbs 17:17.
Well, I gotta run. We have taught 105 lessons over the last 2 weeks so we are really busy. At the rate we are going, by the time this transfer is over, we will have taught 275 lessons! We are working really hard right now and I'm always worn out. I always have enough energy to play a good game of basketball like we did this morning though!
I love getting letters by the way. It makes me feel somewhat remembered.
Jonathan's zone (Canje) sang a musical number.
They enjoyed a Guyana style lunch of roti, curried chicken and pineapple. (Sis. Robison says that Guyana pineapple is the absolute best in the Caribbean)
If you look closely you will see Jonathan eating in the background.
The Mighty Missionaries of the Canje Zone!
Now onto Jonathan's e-mail from this week.
This is our baptism picture for this past weekend. (From left to right) Me, Ricky, Vijay, Vishal and Elder Averett. I was privileged enough to baptize Ricky and Vishal. We are hoping to have 3 more this weekend! Things are going well right now.Sorry again about not being able to write much last week. Anyway,
I have a list of things I want to talk about so I'll dive right into it.
The dog that bit me didn't tear my pants. It just left permanent bite marks! (Battle wounds).
We have a lot of power problems around here but we always seem to have it when we absolutely need it.
Yes, we have a washer. We have to hang dry the clothes though.
As far as I can tell, that's how it is all over the mission. I hate the water we have to use though because it's so rusty. I have to use a rag to filter it as I fill up the tub or else my clothes get covered in rust stains. I have lost a couple of shirts because of that. (That was before I realized I could filter it!) Don't worry though. I still have 8 short sleeves and that's all I need at the present time. I could probably use one for Christmas though… :)
I almost blew myself up in the oven yesterday. I thought that the gas was turned off when I lit the match to turn the oven on. I leaned in and then all I know is that I was surrounded by light and flames!!!
The whole oven was engulfed in a fireball! It was so cool. By looking at me, you wouldn't know that I had done that though… All I had was a few singed hairs on my right arm! Other than that, I'm doing okay so don't worry about me. I know I'm protected because the flames weren't hot. They were just warm. It was a weird sensation. Probably like Nephi and Lehi in their furnace or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. I also got electrocuted this week while doing some wiring work at one of the other apartments. Again, I'm perfectly fine.
In my personal scripture study, I am in Helaman 5. And in my personal study of the Book of Mormon in French I am in 1 Nephi 6.
I have also ordered a Preach My Gospel in French to help me learn the language better. I know I didn't tell you, but I have decided to try and learn French while I'm out here. I'll keep you updated on my progress.
The scripture of the week is Proverbs 17:17.
Well, I gotta run. We have taught 105 lessons over the last 2 weeks so we are really busy. At the rate we are going, by the time this transfer is over, we will have taught 275 lessons! We are working really hard right now and I'm always worn out. I always have enough energy to play a good game of basketball like we did this morning though!
I love getting letters by the way. It makes me feel somewhat remembered.
Monday, September 15, 2008
We had a good teaching week
Here are excerpts from this week's letter dated Aug 28th:
"I want to thank everyone that I got a letter from on Monday. I got 5!
So, thanks Amanda, Mom & Dad, G&G Larson, and G&G Olson (for 2).
Here are the answers to the questions I was asked:
- I love getting the ward newsletter and program. It helps me feel like I'm somewhat connected dispite the 4100 miles between us.
- The Malouf's won't be over my mission since I'm technically in a caribbean mission. Maybe I could request him though.
- I take my vitamin, my antihistamine and a doxycycline pill (antibiotic) every morning. I'm back to normal weight and we try to eat vegetables everyday. We eat plenty of fruit!
- We get the Ensign every month and we get the Church News every week.
- We have a nice chapel to meet in. It's a phase I Stake Center. That just means when they organize a stake next winter, it will be the main building. We use to have a small keyboard but now we have a nice big electronic organ. It's fun to play.
- When I first got here, we had 45 people coming to church every week. On Aug. 17th we had 72. On Aug 24th we had 81! Members are usually willing to fellowship but our branch is so spread out that fellowshipping is hard.
We lost 2 golden investigators because she got scared of one of her neighbors. To be honest, we have called their neighbor Cruella de Vil and Ursula because she is evil.
Well, that's all to report. We made pizza this week. We also made chili and some tortillas. It's been a good food week. Right now I'm eating a giant bowl of homemade tomato soup. It just needs goldfish to be perfect!"
Excerpts from today's e-mail:
"Sorry I don't have lots of time today. I will have extra time next week because my new companion, Elder Averett, is pretty bad at time management and we have an appointment in like 10 minutes!
We bought bikes today. I'm excited and I will send you pictures next week. Our weather got up to 109 degrees a couple days ago. The low for the week was yesterday night 82 degrees. It's so hot during the "dry season"!
We had a good teaching week. We taught 27 lessons to investigators with a member present. We taught 55 total lessons. Both are records for the area for the year! We had a wedding on Friday. That was exciting. We should have a couple of baptisms this week. Hopefully they work out.
I saw an amazing show of faith this past week. I was with Elder Jones in the bank in New Amsterdam. We had been sitting there for 45 minutes with no power to the whole city. He then said, "It's easy. It's just 'clap on, clap off' right?" He then clapped his hands twice and, I kid you not, in less than a second, the power turned back on! I was amazed and I couldn't help from laughing.
Zone Conference is tomorrow and Wednesday. To prepare for it,
I had Elder Ritchey polish my shoes. That's the first time they have been done because I don't know how to do it myself and I'm too lazy to learn! Luckily it's at my building this week so I don't have to go to Georgetown." (Keep and eye on the mission blog for pictures of Zone Conference)
This is a sunset from a few days ago.
This is Elder Jones "cleaning" out the East Canje apartment. I spent a week in that apartment with him because his new companion was stuck in the Dominican Republic MTC. We spent 9 hours that day cleaning out that place and torching the cockroaches.
This is a guy named Orin Moses. He is so cool. His mission papers are in right now and we are all excited to see where he's going.
The scripture of the week is Alma 26:22.
This week I am also including a few items we found interesting from Sister Robison's blog. We enjoy visiting both the West Indies Mission Blog and the West Indies Mission Website to learn about what is going on throughout Jonathan's mission. We have even used some of the pictures posted by Sis Robison in this blog. The new mission video should be on the WIM website some time after September 22nd. Be sure to take a look. It was so fun to see such a great picture of Jonathan in the last one! The following are quotes from Sis. Robison's blog:
"Here's some interesting info on this blog. It averages 90-100 visitors per day. People from the following countries visited this blog during the past 30 days: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Egypt, Burkina Faso (Africa), South Africa, India, China, Indonesia, and Australia.
I am curious about our visitors. For example, there have been 18 visits from Hangzhou, China this month. I would love to know more about international visitors - why don't you leave a comment and let us know who you are."
"I have learned some mission lingo. A 'son' is a new missionary being trained and the 'father', of course, is the trainer. The 'mother' is a new elder's second companion. I even heard one elder, yesterday, refer to himself as a 'test tube baby' because he never had a 'mother' - he went strait from trainee to co-companion. 'Brothers' are missionaries trained by the same trainer. There are 'grandsons' and 'great grandsons' as they go down the line of trainers and trainees. Missions have quite the genealogy."
"I want to thank everyone that I got a letter from on Monday. I got 5!
So, thanks Amanda, Mom & Dad, G&G Larson, and G&G Olson (for 2).
Here are the answers to the questions I was asked:
- I love getting the ward newsletter and program. It helps me feel like I'm somewhat connected dispite the 4100 miles between us.
- The Malouf's won't be over my mission since I'm technically in a caribbean mission. Maybe I could request him though.
- I take my vitamin, my antihistamine and a doxycycline pill (antibiotic) every morning. I'm back to normal weight and we try to eat vegetables everyday. We eat plenty of fruit!
- We get the Ensign every month and we get the Church News every week.
- We have a nice chapel to meet in. It's a phase I Stake Center. That just means when they organize a stake next winter, it will be the main building. We use to have a small keyboard but now we have a nice big electronic organ. It's fun to play.
- When I first got here, we had 45 people coming to church every week. On Aug. 17th we had 72. On Aug 24th we had 81! Members are usually willing to fellowship but our branch is so spread out that fellowshipping is hard.
We lost 2 golden investigators because she got scared of one of her neighbors. To be honest, we have called their neighbor Cruella de Vil and Ursula because she is evil.
Well, that's all to report. We made pizza this week. We also made chili and some tortillas. It's been a good food week. Right now I'm eating a giant bowl of homemade tomato soup. It just needs goldfish to be perfect!"
Excerpts from today's e-mail:
"Sorry I don't have lots of time today. I will have extra time next week because my new companion, Elder Averett, is pretty bad at time management and we have an appointment in like 10 minutes!
We bought bikes today. I'm excited and I will send you pictures next week. Our weather got up to 109 degrees a couple days ago. The low for the week was yesterday night 82 degrees. It's so hot during the "dry season"!
We had a good teaching week. We taught 27 lessons to investigators with a member present. We taught 55 total lessons. Both are records for the area for the year! We had a wedding on Friday. That was exciting. We should have a couple of baptisms this week. Hopefully they work out.
I saw an amazing show of faith this past week. I was with Elder Jones in the bank in New Amsterdam. We had been sitting there for 45 minutes with no power to the whole city. He then said, "It's easy. It's just 'clap on, clap off' right?" He then clapped his hands twice and, I kid you not, in less than a second, the power turned back on! I was amazed and I couldn't help from laughing.
Zone Conference is tomorrow and Wednesday. To prepare for it,
I had Elder Ritchey polish my shoes. That's the first time they have been done because I don't know how to do it myself and I'm too lazy to learn! Luckily it's at my building this week so I don't have to go to Georgetown." (Keep and eye on the mission blog for pictures of Zone Conference)
This is a sunset from a few days ago.
This is Elder Jones "cleaning" out the East Canje apartment. I spent a week in that apartment with him because his new companion was stuck in the Dominican Republic MTC. We spent 9 hours that day cleaning out that place and torching the cockroaches.
This is a guy named Orin Moses. He is so cool. His mission papers are in right now and we are all excited to see where he's going.The scripture of the week is Alma 26:22.
This week I am also including a few items we found interesting from Sister Robison's blog. We enjoy visiting both the West Indies Mission Blog and the West Indies Mission Website to learn about what is going on throughout Jonathan's mission. We have even used some of the pictures posted by Sis Robison in this blog. The new mission video should be on the WIM website some time after September 22nd. Be sure to take a look. It was so fun to see such a great picture of Jonathan in the last one! The following are quotes from Sis. Robison's blog:
"Here's some interesting info on this blog. It averages 90-100 visitors per day. People from the following countries visited this blog during the past 30 days: United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Egypt, Burkina Faso (Africa), South Africa, India, China, Indonesia, and Australia.
I am curious about our visitors. For example, there have been 18 visits from Hangzhou, China this month. I would love to know more about international visitors - why don't you leave a comment and let us know who you are."
"I have learned some mission lingo. A 'son' is a new missionary being trained and the 'father', of course, is the trainer. The 'mother' is a new elder's second companion. I even heard one elder, yesterday, refer to himself as a 'test tube baby' because he never had a 'mother' - he went strait from trainee to co-companion. 'Brothers' are missionaries trained by the same trainer. There are 'grandsons' and 'great grandsons' as they go down the line of trainers and trainees. Missions have quite the genealogy."
Monday, September 8, 2008
Hot and hotter!
I finally added the post with the letters we received last week.
To see it, click on the Older Posts link at the end of this one.
"I'm doing alright. I have a new companion. His name is Elder Averett. He seems like a nice guy but he's trying to hard to be my friend. He's trying to be funny and it just comes off unnatural. Oh well.
I've got a couple of cool pictures to send but we ran out of time to do stuff so they will be sent next week.
Glad to hear your reading is going well. I'm in Alma 22. I didn't have much time to read this week because I was living in another area in a threesome with Elders Averett and Jones. Jones' new companion (Rosales) is in the MTC in the Dominican Republic until Wednesday so we have to stay with him."
Excerpt from an e-mail to Jonathan's Uncle Jay:
"I would do anything to have a little bit of cold weather! The weather around here has 2 different seasons. Hot and hotter!
As far as hurricanes go, we don't really worry about them hitting us here in Guyana but the guys on St. Martin and some of the other northern islands worry. We are all required to have food storage in our apartments that would last us at least 2 weeks. So even if one comes we'll be okay. I'm sure it would humble some people around here though.
My area is full of JW's and 7th Day's. It's been fun the last couple of days with the JW's because I got a copy of the "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures" and I can now prove that Jehovah is Jesus Christ using their own scriptures! It made one lady really mad. Oh well."
This is from an e-mail to Jonathan's friend Jeff who is getting ready to go into the MTC:
"I would countdown but don't dwell on it too much. I guess I didn't fully realize how long 2 years was. I had a major eye opener while I was in the MTC and I was only in for 18 days! It's alright though.
Just tell your parents that you love them every chance you get and don't forget to hug everyone as often as you can. Trust me! I've been out for almost 4 months and the thing I miss most are the people that I can't hug anymore. In fact, if you get the time, (I know you're busy) go give my parents a hug for me!"
The scripture of the week is 2 Nephi 1:20-23. I really like it.
To see it, click on the Older Posts link at the end of this one.
"I'm doing alright. I have a new companion. His name is Elder Averett. He seems like a nice guy but he's trying to hard to be my friend. He's trying to be funny and it just comes off unnatural. Oh well.
I've got a couple of cool pictures to send but we ran out of time to do stuff so they will be sent next week.
Glad to hear your reading is going well. I'm in Alma 22. I didn't have much time to read this week because I was living in another area in a threesome with Elders Averett and Jones. Jones' new companion (Rosales) is in the MTC in the Dominican Republic until Wednesday so we have to stay with him."
Excerpt from an e-mail to Jonathan's Uncle Jay:
"I would do anything to have a little bit of cold weather! The weather around here has 2 different seasons. Hot and hotter!
As far as hurricanes go, we don't really worry about them hitting us here in Guyana but the guys on St. Martin and some of the other northern islands worry. We are all required to have food storage in our apartments that would last us at least 2 weeks. So even if one comes we'll be okay. I'm sure it would humble some people around here though.
My area is full of JW's and 7th Day's. It's been fun the last couple of days with the JW's because I got a copy of the "New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures" and I can now prove that Jehovah is Jesus Christ using their own scriptures! It made one lady really mad. Oh well."
This is from an e-mail to Jonathan's friend Jeff who is getting ready to go into the MTC:
"I would countdown but don't dwell on it too much. I guess I didn't fully realize how long 2 years was. I had a major eye opener while I was in the MTC and I was only in for 18 days! It's alright though.
Just tell your parents that you love them every chance you get and don't forget to hug everyone as often as you can. Trust me! I've been out for almost 4 months and the thing I miss most are the people that I can't hug anymore. In fact, if you get the time, (I know you're busy) go give my parents a hug for me!"
The scripture of the week is 2 Nephi 1:20-23. I really like it.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
I still make paper boats to represent Nephi's boat!
Last week we received two letters from Jonathan and I am finally putting them on the blog.
Jonathan sent some Guyanesse money for his collection so Shane scanned them. Just in case you are wondering, the thousands of Guyanesse dollars in this picture are worth only $22.25 in U.S. dollars! Jonathan said "I would send some of the coins too but I can't find any good ones. Then again, no one uses them because they are only 1 and 5 dollars. (1/2 and 2 1/2 U.S. cents respectively)"
"So you guys want to hear about some of my more interesting experiences huh? Well, let's see... 1) I almost got bit by a dog.
I jumped really fast and it only caught my pant leg. That was close!
2) I had potato and belangi curry on Tuesday (belangi is eggplant).
A couple hours after eating it, I threw it all up on the side of the road. I wiped my mouth off and we continued on our way!
3) I went on a trade-off with Elder Mundy in Rose Hall. It was fun to meet new people and see how else missionary work can be done."
"I'm not sure what other types of experiences you want me to write about. I could write about the 3 green tree frogs that live in our 48 degree shower. I had one jump on my leg this morning! Stupid thing!"
"I have a funny story for you. We have a kid who was suppose to come to Church yesterday so he could get baptized on Saturday. He chose not to come and he suffered the consequences. While he was hanging out with his friends, he broke his foot! Now I think he realizes that he shouldn't have skipped church!"
"Tell my primary class they need to listen and learn as much as possible. Being a missionary is hard work and people question everything you say. I use the same exact stuff out here that I taught them in class. I hope they learned as much from it as I did."
(I still make paper boats to represent Nephi's boat!)
"At the MTC I had to have a couple of scriptures from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon for every lesson. Here in Guyana though, we teach like we are talking to 11 or 12 year olds. We teach things so simply."
We told Jonathan that Michael is learning to play a few hymns after hearing that he is playing the organ at church. Michael has been a little resistant because he already plays the saxophone.
"Tell Michael not to worry about learning to play the piano yet. He still has a long time and I'll help him when I come home. The excuse of knowing how to play one instrument is pretty lame. I can play the guitar but I have to play the piano. There will be no saxophones at church, but we've passed a few Assemblies of God that were really rockin'! Their guitar players were terrible."
"Elder Hamilton is a pretty nice guy. We are both strange in the fact that we are both sports nuts and we love music. "We're like two trippy peas in a far out pod man." (Scooby Doo Movie) It's fun because we both like a lot of the same bands so we will just sing away while we walk down the road, he even loves Disney movies. He was a pretty good trainer. There are some things I will do differently once we're separated. We get along well most of the time but there are moments where I would love to cross-check him! The one major difference between us is that he loves Federer and I love Nadal!"
Jonathan also sent a chart that outlines what he does each day.
Jonathan sent some Guyanesse money for his collection so Shane scanned them. Just in case you are wondering, the thousands of Guyanesse dollars in this picture are worth only $22.25 in U.S. dollars! Jonathan said "I would send some of the coins too but I can't find any good ones. Then again, no one uses them because they are only 1 and 5 dollars. (1/2 and 2 1/2 U.S. cents respectively)"
"So you guys want to hear about some of my more interesting experiences huh? Well, let's see... 1) I almost got bit by a dog.
I jumped really fast and it only caught my pant leg. That was close!
2) I had potato and belangi curry on Tuesday (belangi is eggplant).
A couple hours after eating it, I threw it all up on the side of the road. I wiped my mouth off and we continued on our way!
3) I went on a trade-off with Elder Mundy in Rose Hall. It was fun to meet new people and see how else missionary work can be done."
"I'm not sure what other types of experiences you want me to write about. I could write about the 3 green tree frogs that live in our 48 degree shower. I had one jump on my leg this morning! Stupid thing!"
"I have a funny story for you. We have a kid who was suppose to come to Church yesterday so he could get baptized on Saturday. He chose not to come and he suffered the consequences. While he was hanging out with his friends, he broke his foot! Now I think he realizes that he shouldn't have skipped church!"
"Tell my primary class they need to listen and learn as much as possible. Being a missionary is hard work and people question everything you say. I use the same exact stuff out here that I taught them in class. I hope they learned as much from it as I did."
(I still make paper boats to represent Nephi's boat!)
"At the MTC I had to have a couple of scriptures from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon for every lesson. Here in Guyana though, we teach like we are talking to 11 or 12 year olds. We teach things so simply."
We told Jonathan that Michael is learning to play a few hymns after hearing that he is playing the organ at church. Michael has been a little resistant because he already plays the saxophone.
"Tell Michael not to worry about learning to play the piano yet. He still has a long time and I'll help him when I come home. The excuse of knowing how to play one instrument is pretty lame. I can play the guitar but I have to play the piano. There will be no saxophones at church, but we've passed a few Assemblies of God that were really rockin'! Their guitar players were terrible."
"Elder Hamilton is a pretty nice guy. We are both strange in the fact that we are both sports nuts and we love music. "We're like two trippy peas in a far out pod man." (Scooby Doo Movie) It's fun because we both like a lot of the same bands so we will just sing away while we walk down the road, he even loves Disney movies. He was a pretty good trainer. There are some things I will do differently once we're separated. We get along well most of the time but there are moments where I would love to cross-check him! The one major difference between us is that he loves Federer and I love Nadal!"
Jonathan also sent a chart that outlines what he does each day.
Monday, September 1, 2008
The 999th person baptized in the Canje District!
Today we received several pictures from Jonathan. He said, "Sorry I haven't sent pictures the last couple weeks. There have been some computer problems... So here are the last 3 weeks worth."
This is a picture of Jonathan studying and playing around with the settings on his camera.
Jonathan and Elder Williams (Assistant to the President) a couple of weeks ago during their trip to Georgetown.
Jonathan with Elder Williams (who was Elder Hamilton's trainer) and
Elder Hamilton (who has been Jonathan's trainer).
Jonathan's first attempt at making pizza since being in Guyana.
I guess working at Little Caesars paid off!
Jonathan has being trying to cook a few new things.
This is chili with homemade tortillas.
"I was the happiest person in the world yesterday when I made vanilla pudding!!!"
"This is me with Jacko the monkey. He is a crazy little animal. I finally understand why parents call their children monkeys."
"This is a picture of our baptism this week. His name is Manmohan Praymey. (Praymey for short. Pronounced pray-me) He was the 999th person baptized in the Canje District."
"Today, it is hot, humid and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather to go surfing...but I can' do that! :)
Well, my companion and I set a record last week (for our area). We taught 43 lessons! Our transfer total was 205! That is also a record for our area.
I get a new comp this week. I can't wait because I get to retrain him to be a Guyana Elder. He has been in Trinidad for his whole mission and it's totally different up there than it is here. I hope he can handle it! His name is Elder Averet. That's all I know about him at this point.
I'll let you know more next week.
I have one good story I forgot to tell you from last week. We had a wicked thunderstorm come in and our apartment got struck by lightning!!! Elder Hamilton screamed, our light bulb blew up and my fan started on fire!!! It was so cool."
The scripture of the week is D&C 58:26-28.
We received 2 letters from Jonathan over the week end and will add another post dated before this one. So be sure to check back in a day or so.
This is a picture of Jonathan studying and playing around with the settings on his camera.
Jonathan and Elder Williams (Assistant to the President) a couple of weeks ago during their trip to Georgetown.
Jonathan with Elder Williams (who was Elder Hamilton's trainer) and Elder Hamilton (who has been Jonathan's trainer).
Jonathan's first attempt at making pizza since being in Guyana. I guess working at Little Caesars paid off!
Jonathan has being trying to cook a few new things. This is chili with homemade tortillas.
"I was the happiest person in the world yesterday when I made vanilla pudding!!!"
"This is me with Jacko the monkey. He is a crazy little animal. I finally understand why parents call their children monkeys."
"This is a picture of our baptism this week. His name is Manmohan Praymey. (Praymey for short. Pronounced pray-me) He was the 999th person baptized in the Canje District.""Today, it is hot, humid and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect weather to go surfing...but I can' do that! :)
Well, my companion and I set a record last week (for our area). We taught 43 lessons! Our transfer total was 205! That is also a record for our area.
I get a new comp this week. I can't wait because I get to retrain him to be a Guyana Elder. He has been in Trinidad for his whole mission and it's totally different up there than it is here. I hope he can handle it! His name is Elder Averet. That's all I know about him at this point.
I'll let you know more next week.
I have one good story I forgot to tell you from last week. We had a wicked thunderstorm come in and our apartment got struck by lightning!!! Elder Hamilton screamed, our light bulb blew up and my fan started on fire!!! It was so cool."
The scripture of the week is D&C 58:26-28.
We received 2 letters from Jonathan over the week end and will add another post dated before this one. So be sure to check back in a day or so.
Monday, August 25, 2008
That just keeps life interesting!
"I was going to send you some pictures today but the power has been out all day. This (Internet Cafe) is one of, I think, 4 places in the entire city that has a generator. (i.e. power)
Super glad to hear about our boys b-ball gold. I knew they could do it. I figured Argentina would get a medal. No one around here thought they would but I was right!
Dad: I made you proud at Zone Conference last week. The AP's (Assistants to the President) asked the group who the first people to climb Everest were. I was the only person in the entire mission to answer that Tenzing Norgay was actually the first person followed by Edmund Hillary."
This is a picture of the Guyana Elders from the Canje and Berbice Districts at Zone Conference on August 20th.
"We made pizza this week for lunch. It was so good. I still got it. My companion loved it too.
This morning, we were throwing a Frisbee around our back yard and we accidentally hit a fence and the thing exploded. It's in like 10 pieces. It was so cool!
Some of the things people yell at missionaries are just dumb. I had a guy accuse me of being an American Spy yesterday. He just rode up on his bike and wouldn't let it go for like 10 minutes. (We had to duck into an investigators house to get rid of him!) Oh well. That just keeps life interesting!
We should have 1 baptism this week and hopefully have 3 next week. It probably won't work out like that but that's what we are hoping for. The mission had 48 this past week end. That's a ton! Especially since my zone only had 9!
I get a new companion next Wednesday. I am staying in Reliance but someone new is coming in to replace Elder Hamilton. It's a bittersweet feeling but I'm looking forward to finding out who I will be with. I know that we have 2 greenies coming to our zone. That will spice things up a bit around here. I hope that I don't get one of them!!! I'm not ready to train anyone yet. I think I would have a heart attack if I have to train.
The scripture of the week is Mosiah 2:32-41. I'm not really sorry that it's so long because it's so good."
Super glad to hear about our boys b-ball gold. I knew they could do it. I figured Argentina would get a medal. No one around here thought they would but I was right!
Dad: I made you proud at Zone Conference last week. The AP's (Assistants to the President) asked the group who the first people to climb Everest were. I was the only person in the entire mission to answer that Tenzing Norgay was actually the first person followed by Edmund Hillary."
This is a picture of the Guyana Elders from the Canje and Berbice Districts at Zone Conference on August 20th."We made pizza this week for lunch. It was so good. I still got it. My companion loved it too.
This morning, we were throwing a Frisbee around our back yard and we accidentally hit a fence and the thing exploded. It's in like 10 pieces. It was so cool!
Some of the things people yell at missionaries are just dumb. I had a guy accuse me of being an American Spy yesterday. He just rode up on his bike and wouldn't let it go for like 10 minutes. (We had to duck into an investigators house to get rid of him!) Oh well. That just keeps life interesting!
We should have 1 baptism this week and hopefully have 3 next week. It probably won't work out like that but that's what we are hoping for. The mission had 48 this past week end. That's a ton! Especially since my zone only had 9!
I get a new companion next Wednesday. I am staying in Reliance but someone new is coming in to replace Elder Hamilton. It's a bittersweet feeling but I'm looking forward to finding out who I will be with. I know that we have 2 greenies coming to our zone. That will spice things up a bit around here. I hope that I don't get one of them!!! I'm not ready to train anyone yet. I think I would have a heart attack if I have to train.
The scripture of the week is Mosiah 2:32-41. I'm not really sorry that it's so long because it's so good."
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
That makes 3 of us Larson's/Larsen's
Sorry we are slow in updating the blog this week. We have been at Lake Powell. We were able to get Jonathan's e-mail on Monday, but the internet service was so unreliable we weren't able to complete
the update.
We asked Jonathan in our e-mail who the people were in the pictures he sent last week. He said, "That picture last week was Michelle's mom. I have found out her name is spelled Leila. It's short for Lillawattie Ramnarine. What a mouth full! The little boy is Michelle's son Randy. Too bad that he broke his arm about 3 hours after that picture was taken!"
"I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Georgetown this week. While we were there, we got to see some of the Olympics because we were staying with one of the senior couples. We watched the women's all-around event in gymnastics, a men's volleyball game, and Michael Phelps win his 6th gold medal. I heard that our basketball team is just destroying people. I saw something today about a 50 point victory or something like that. It's awesome. On the way to Georgetown, our cab driver had sweet music. We got to listen to Bon Jovi the whole way there and back. It was actually a fun trip. I accidentally left my camera in Reliance at our apartment though. Oops!"
Something funny happened last week after we posted the blog update. Jonathan forgot to send his scripture of the week and asked Elder & Sister Larsen to e-mail it to us since his e-mail time was finished. When Shane received the e-mail he assumed it was from his dad and sent a "Thanks Dad" e-mail back. He realized later that it really came from the Larsen's! We mentioned the incident in our
e-mail and Jonathan said, "The Larsen's said that Dad was confused. They thought that it was pretty funny. I explained to them that Ron is grandpa's name too. Don't you love how confusing some things can be? During our trip to Georgetown, we actually stayed with Elder Larsen's brother. He and his wife are here as missionaries too.
That makes 3 of us Larson's/Larsen's."
"The only food we get to eat is what we make ourselves so it's not
very good. We experiment a lot so at least it's always interesting!
We can eat at peoples houses in any other country but it's banned here in Guyana because a of couple Elders got really sick. So, most people just give us recipes and tell us to go make stuff. We have tried a few and they usually turn out alright. Nothing is as spicy as what I was expecting though. (None of the other elders like how spicy things are... I think they are just wimps!)"
"I'm glad you are reading the Book of Mormon. I am also reading it and I'm not too far behind the schedule. I just finished reading Jacob this morning and I will probably read Enos tonight before I go to bed." (Our ward is reading the Book of Mormon to finish by the end of the year. We sent Jonathan our reading schedule thinking that he could read along with us each week.)
"I want to let you guys know that you can feel free to send me pictures and stuff because it is really cheap to print pictures here.
I can also put them on my MP3 player. I talked to some elders here about mailing packages. They all said to use USPS. If you get on the website, just click on the international links. I did it at the Larsen's this morning and a 5 pound package to Guyana is $34.50 and takes
6-10 days. Just so you know."
I think this is a not too subtle hit that he would like a few more packages. I have also checked with the post office, they told me the cut off was a 4 pound package for less than $40 (over that and the cost really jumps). After how much we spent to send a small package by FedEx, I think we will try the USPS next time!
This weeks scripture of the week is: D&D 63:23
the update.
We asked Jonathan in our e-mail who the people were in the pictures he sent last week. He said, "That picture last week was Michelle's mom. I have found out her name is spelled Leila. It's short for Lillawattie Ramnarine. What a mouth full! The little boy is Michelle's son Randy. Too bad that he broke his arm about 3 hours after that picture was taken!"
"I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Georgetown this week. While we were there, we got to see some of the Olympics because we were staying with one of the senior couples. We watched the women's all-around event in gymnastics, a men's volleyball game, and Michael Phelps win his 6th gold medal. I heard that our basketball team is just destroying people. I saw something today about a 50 point victory or something like that. It's awesome. On the way to Georgetown, our cab driver had sweet music. We got to listen to Bon Jovi the whole way there and back. It was actually a fun trip. I accidentally left my camera in Reliance at our apartment though. Oops!"
Something funny happened last week after we posted the blog update. Jonathan forgot to send his scripture of the week and asked Elder & Sister Larsen to e-mail it to us since his e-mail time was finished. When Shane received the e-mail he assumed it was from his dad and sent a "Thanks Dad" e-mail back. He realized later that it really came from the Larsen's! We mentioned the incident in our
e-mail and Jonathan said, "The Larsen's said that Dad was confused. They thought that it was pretty funny. I explained to them that Ron is grandpa's name too. Don't you love how confusing some things can be? During our trip to Georgetown, we actually stayed with Elder Larsen's brother. He and his wife are here as missionaries too.
That makes 3 of us Larson's/Larsen's."
"The only food we get to eat is what we make ourselves so it's not
very good. We experiment a lot so at least it's always interesting!
We can eat at peoples houses in any other country but it's banned here in Guyana because a of couple Elders got really sick. So, most people just give us recipes and tell us to go make stuff. We have tried a few and they usually turn out alright. Nothing is as spicy as what I was expecting though. (None of the other elders like how spicy things are... I think they are just wimps!)"
"I'm glad you are reading the Book of Mormon. I am also reading it and I'm not too far behind the schedule. I just finished reading Jacob this morning and I will probably read Enos tonight before I go to bed." (Our ward is reading the Book of Mormon to finish by the end of the year. We sent Jonathan our reading schedule thinking that he could read along with us each week.)
"I want to let you guys know that you can feel free to send me pictures and stuff because it is really cheap to print pictures here.
I can also put them on my MP3 player. I talked to some elders here about mailing packages. They all said to use USPS. If you get on the website, just click on the international links. I did it at the Larsen's this morning and a 5 pound package to Guyana is $34.50 and takes
6-10 days. Just so you know."
I think this is a not too subtle hit that he would like a few more packages. I have also checked with the post office, they told me the cut off was a 4 pound package for less than $40 (over that and the cost really jumps). After how much we spent to send a small package by FedEx, I think we will try the USPS next time!
This weeks scripture of the week is: D&D 63:23
Monday, August 11, 2008
Every baptism just resets my patience meter.
Jonathan sent these two pictures today but didn't tell us who the people are.
This is a great picture of Elder Hamilton and Jonathan with a cute little boy. He is Michelle's son, Randy.
This is Leila (Lillawattie Ramnarine), Michelle's mom.
These are quotes from today's e-mail:
"Well, we are up to 3 baptisms as a companionship now. My comp is doing just fine. We get along pretty well most of the time but there are a few moments where I would like to go "hockey" on him."
"We are doing another trade-off this week but I will be staying in Reliance this time. We were supposed to have 2 more baptisms this week but they are postponed. I'll let you know what happens with those."
"Life down here is the same as always. We still have the sun beat down on us, people still yell at us, throw stuff at us... the list of bad things just goes on and on. It's okay though. Every baptism just resets my patience meter."
"Thanks for sending the stuff about the Olympics. It's fun to keep updated."
Scripture of the Week: Luke 15:4-7
P.S. This "Scripture of the Week" came in a seperate e-mail on Wednesday from Elder & Sister Ron Larsen, the couple in Jonathan's area. They also had this to say about him:
"Elder Larson was more interested in telling you he was well and alive and to give you his love that he forgot to give you his scripture for the week. He seems to be doing well and I believe they will have baptisms on Saturday.
Thanks for raising such a strong missionary that is willing to work hard and keep the mission rules."
This is a great picture of Elder Hamilton and Jonathan with a cute little boy. He is Michelle's son, Randy.
This is Leila (Lillawattie Ramnarine), Michelle's mom. These are quotes from today's e-mail:
"Well, we are up to 3 baptisms as a companionship now. My comp is doing just fine. We get along pretty well most of the time but there are a few moments where I would like to go "hockey" on him."
"We are doing another trade-off this week but I will be staying in Reliance this time. We were supposed to have 2 more baptisms this week but they are postponed. I'll let you know what happens with those."
"Life down here is the same as always. We still have the sun beat down on us, people still yell at us, throw stuff at us... the list of bad things just goes on and on. It's okay though. Every baptism just resets my patience meter."
"Thanks for sending the stuff about the Olympics. It's fun to keep updated."
Scripture of the Week: Luke 15:4-7
P.S. This "Scripture of the Week" came in a seperate e-mail on Wednesday from Elder & Sister Ron Larsen, the couple in Jonathan's area. They also had this to say about him:
"Elder Larson was more interested in telling you he was well and alive and to give you his love that he forgot to give you his scripture for the week. He seems to be doing well and I believe they will have baptisms on Saturday.
Thanks for raising such a strong missionary that is willing to work hard and keep the mission rules."
Saturday, August 9, 2008
More than 10% Done
Today we received an actual hand written letter from Jonathan! These are a few excerpts:
"If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm going to be away from home for a while! By the time you read this I'll be more than 10% done."
"I'm still with Elder Hamilton. The next transfer is September 3rd and then he should be on his way out of this country because he'll have been here for 11 months."
"The rainy season has ended meaning that it's time to harvest sugar cane. This place is covered with it because we live about a mile from a sugar cane processing plant. Did you know that they have to burn the cane to make it easier to cut, and they cut it all by hand? Since they burn it, the whole country smells like burnt sugar. Take a cup of sugar and put on the stove (without a pan). That's how it smells all of the time"
"In my first 6 1/2 weeks, I've taught 189 lessons. We had 34 this week alone. We're shooting for 200 this transfer. I'll let you know how it goes."
Closing Scripture: Moroni 8:3
"If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm going to be away from home for a while! By the time you read this I'll be more than 10% done."
"I'm still with Elder Hamilton. The next transfer is September 3rd and then he should be on his way out of this country because he'll have been here for 11 months."
"The rainy season has ended meaning that it's time to harvest sugar cane. This place is covered with it because we live about a mile from a sugar cane processing plant. Did you know that they have to burn the cane to make it easier to cut, and they cut it all by hand? Since they burn it, the whole country smells like burnt sugar. Take a cup of sugar and put on the stove (without a pan). That's how it smells all of the time"
"In my first 6 1/2 weeks, I've taught 189 lessons. We had 34 this week alone. We're shooting for 200 this transfer. I'll let you know how it goes."
Closing Scripture: Moroni 8:3
Monday, August 4, 2008
It was hard work
"This picture is of Elder Hamilton and me doing our first service project since I got here. Nobody ever wants to let us help so we went back to our apartment, changed and then demanded to help. It was hard work. We laid concrete for about 5 hours. The path we made was about 75 feet long and 4 feet wide."
"I went on a trade-off to Rose Hall on Thursday. It was fun to get to see some new faces. I was paired up with Elder Mundy. He is one of our zone leaders and he reminds me of Tim Jensen a lot. We had a good time sharing stories about all of our high school days of glory. He never played a college sport though. I am unique for that reason. I haven't found anyone else that has."
"I had some fun last night. We got in a little early so I decided to make a cake. It was hard! It was a white cake but that was too boring. So... I whipped up some jello mix and dumped it on the cake while it was still liquid. That made the cake way better because it just absorbed the liquid. It made it nice and moist and tasted like raspberries."
"Discouragement is just part of the game down here. It's okay though. We are baptizing a lady named Leela this weekend. She is Michelle's mom. (Michelle is the lady I baptized a couple weeks ago.) We will hopefully baptize a lady named Sarah next weekend as well as a kid named Ricky. They are both cool but have a problem (like most people down here) of putting in a little effort to come to church.
I have discovered the cure for discouragement though. It rests in last weeks Scripture of the Week. I read it at least once a week!"
This week's scripture is Alma 5:49-51
"I went on a trade-off to Rose Hall on Thursday. It was fun to get to see some new faces. I was paired up with Elder Mundy. He is one of our zone leaders and he reminds me of Tim Jensen a lot. We had a good time sharing stories about all of our high school days of glory. He never played a college sport though. I am unique for that reason. I haven't found anyone else that has."
"I had some fun last night. We got in a little early so I decided to make a cake. It was hard! It was a white cake but that was too boring. So... I whipped up some jello mix and dumped it on the cake while it was still liquid. That made the cake way better because it just absorbed the liquid. It made it nice and moist and tasted like raspberries."
"Discouragement is just part of the game down here. It's okay though. We are baptizing a lady named Leela this weekend. She is Michelle's mom. (Michelle is the lady I baptized a couple weeks ago.) We will hopefully baptize a lady named Sarah next weekend as well as a kid named Ricky. They are both cool but have a problem (like most people down here) of putting in a little effort to come to church.
I have discovered the cure for discouragement though. It rests in last weeks Scripture of the Week. I read it at least once a week!"
This week's scripture is Alma 5:49-51
Monday, July 28, 2008
We taught 34 lessons this week
I think Jonathan's e-mail messages home are getting shorter! I really didn't think that was possible. We sent him a package last Tuesday and it arrived at the Senior Couple's home on Saturday so he had it when he messaged us today. We were so surprised that it made it to Guyana so quickly! We were also surprised that it cost so much to send! On a positive note, since we sent it FedEx he didn't have to pay any fees to pick it up.
The following are a few quotes from today's messsage:
"Sorry for the short letter but we have limited time today. President's letter was really long. Nothing new is really happening. We taught 34 lessons this week and will hopefully baptize 3 people next week."
"The apartment is pretty sparse but it's okay. It's a lot nicer than most of the places around here anyway. Most people here eat a lot of Curry and something called Cook-Up. It's got rice, coconut, bora garlic, and some kind of meat. It also has some other greens in it but I have no idea what they are! We can't eat it anyway though. Guyana is the only country in the entire mission that you can't eat at peoples houses. I'll let you know more when I get out to the island in like 8 months because I will get to eat with the locals every night!!"
"Can you send me the words to the Robert Frost poem called
"The Road Less Traveled" or something like that. I used to have it memorized but I forgot it!"
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
"Well I gotta run. Thanks for the package again. I now have to send you a package so I can make weight for plane transfers. I probably won't have one of those until early next year though."
Scripture of the week: D&C 122
The following are a few quotes from today's messsage:
"Sorry for the short letter but we have limited time today. President's letter was really long. Nothing new is really happening. We taught 34 lessons this week and will hopefully baptize 3 people next week."
"The apartment is pretty sparse but it's okay. It's a lot nicer than most of the places around here anyway. Most people here eat a lot of Curry and something called Cook-Up. It's got rice, coconut, bora garlic, and some kind of meat. It also has some other greens in it but I have no idea what they are! We can't eat it anyway though. Guyana is the only country in the entire mission that you can't eat at peoples houses. I'll let you know more when I get out to the island in like 8 months because I will get to eat with the locals every night!!"
"Can you send me the words to the Robert Frost poem called
"The Road Less Traveled" or something like that. I used to have it memorized but I forgot it!"
The Road Not Taken
Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
"Well I gotta run. Thanks for the package again. I now have to send you a package so I can make weight for plane transfers. I probably won't have one of those until early next year though."
Scripture of the week: D&C 122
Monday, July 21, 2008
First Baptism
"I got to baptize this lady yesterday morning right before church. Her name is Michelle. I also got to confirm her during sacrament meeting about 20 minutes later. That was the same meeting where I had to play the organ. This has been a rough week but it was things like this that got me through it."
We have been asking Jonathan to tell us about his apartment so this morning he sent us two short videos:
He asked us to "tell Uncle Rob that I have some sweet new sunglasses. They're fake Oakly's that I got for $2.50. They beat his Wal-mart specials."
"Anyway, out of time. Love ya, Bye!"
Jon also sent us a copy of a couple of messages that he sent to two of his friends. These are excerpts from them:
"It is pretty here but the sun causes us to forget that. I'm not officially the clerk but I have taken over the job because our branch is a real mess right now. My comp and I are getting along okay. I have received one letter from my grandparents. I've heard they have sent another one so hopefully it will come this week. Speaking of mail, do you remember what I said about not sending packages because it would be expensive to pick them up? One Elder had to pay 540 dollars to get a package this morning. I know that sounds like a lot but it's only $2.70 because of the exchange rate. Basically, as long as the package isn't huge, feel free to send stuff." (I think this is a gentle hint to all of us!)
"Well, that's really all that has happened to me... other than getting chased by a bull, bit by a dog (it only got my pant leg because I jumped out of the way), had someone attempt to rob me and have a drunk guy get mad at me when I "accidentally" broke his unopened 1 liter bottle of vodka."
"We are also struggling with our investigators right now. They enjoy getting drunk because there are no rules here. Almost everyone is either: Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian or 7th Day Adventist. So pretty much no one wants to listen to us. We are doing our best though. That's all we can do I guess."
Scripture of the week: Mormon 9:27-28
We have been asking Jonathan to tell us about his apartment so this morning he sent us two short videos:
He asked us to "tell Uncle Rob that I have some sweet new sunglasses. They're fake Oakly's that I got for $2.50. They beat his Wal-mart specials."
"Anyway, out of time. Love ya, Bye!"
Jon also sent us a copy of a couple of messages that he sent to two of his friends. These are excerpts from them:
"It is pretty here but the sun causes us to forget that. I'm not officially the clerk but I have taken over the job because our branch is a real mess right now. My comp and I are getting along okay. I have received one letter from my grandparents. I've heard they have sent another one so hopefully it will come this week. Speaking of mail, do you remember what I said about not sending packages because it would be expensive to pick them up? One Elder had to pay 540 dollars to get a package this morning. I know that sounds like a lot but it's only $2.70 because of the exchange rate. Basically, as long as the package isn't huge, feel free to send stuff." (I think this is a gentle hint to all of us!)
"Well, that's really all that has happened to me... other than getting chased by a bull, bit by a dog (it only got my pant leg because I jumped out of the way), had someone attempt to rob me and have a drunk guy get mad at me when I "accidentally" broke his unopened 1 liter bottle of vodka."
"We are also struggling with our investigators right now. They enjoy getting drunk because there are no rules here. Almost everyone is either: Hindu, Muslim, Rastafarian or 7th Day Adventist. So pretty much no one wants to listen to us. We are doing our best though. That's all we can do I guess."
Scripture of the week: Mormon 9:27-28
Monday, July 14, 2008
I won't ever get to say that again!
Sorry to those of you who have been waiting for this week's update. We were having some technical difficulties with the blog but they seem to be solved now. The following are excerpts from the e-mail messages we received from Jonathan along with a few pictures.
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!)
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!)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Hello from Guyana, (the surface of the sun!)
Sorry to those who were waiting for us to update yesterday. We received Jonathan's e-mail letter in the afternoon. Being on vacation, we didn't get around to posting it until today. Here are a few quotes.
Hello from Guyana, (the surface of the sun!)
Things are going well here. It is always hot and we walk a lot (about 13 miles a day I figure) but we are doing our best. We are baptizing a couple this weekend named Michael and Michelle. I'm pretty excited about that because I helped find them and we've been teaching them for like 3 weeks. They call us by our first names and it's weird. They are a great family though.
We only have one other family that we are teaching steady so we spend a lot of time trying to find new investigators. That means we have to be among the people a lot and listen to their taunts and have stuff thrown at us... There are just somethings that really bother me and that ranks right up there.
I have a request for you... Ask all of the other returned missionaries in the family if they ever struggled with Hindu's and Muslims. If they did, ask them how they got through to them. I need all the advice I can get on the subject.
I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July. We didn't get to celebrate it down here. I made jello and sugar cookies and then sang the
"patriotic songs" in the back of the hymn book for our party. It was fun but there weren't any fireworks.
The food we eat is very interesting. I wish I could have normal milk and I would have no worries. (I would also like a microwave and a clothes-dryer. That would just be for convenience though.) We add a lot of pepper to flavor stuff up and to hide the ants that crawl into our stuff. We also drink lots of Kool-aide because there is no milk and the filtered water tastes funny.
Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 5:13
Love ya!!!
Elder JLAR
Hello from Guyana, (the surface of the sun!)
Things are going well here. It is always hot and we walk a lot (about 13 miles a day I figure) but we are doing our best. We are baptizing a couple this weekend named Michael and Michelle. I'm pretty excited about that because I helped find them and we've been teaching them for like 3 weeks. They call us by our first names and it's weird. They are a great family though.
We only have one other family that we are teaching steady so we spend a lot of time trying to find new investigators. That means we have to be among the people a lot and listen to their taunts and have stuff thrown at us... There are just somethings that really bother me and that ranks right up there.
I have a request for you... Ask all of the other returned missionaries in the family if they ever struggled with Hindu's and Muslims. If they did, ask them how they got through to them. I need all the advice I can get on the subject.
I hope you had a fantastic 4th of July. We didn't get to celebrate it down here. I made jello and sugar cookies and then sang the
"patriotic songs" in the back of the hymn book for our party. It was fun but there weren't any fireworks.
The food we eat is very interesting. I wish I could have normal milk and I would have no worries. (I would also like a microwave and a clothes-dryer. That would just be for convenience though.) We add a lot of pepper to flavor stuff up and to hide the ants that crawl into our stuff. We also drink lots of Kool-aide because there is no milk and the filtered water tastes funny.
Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 5:13
Love ya!!!
Elder JLAR
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Caricom Day & A Cool Tie
We didn't get any messages from Jonathan yesterday on his p-day, but this morning we received this brief video explaining why.
We didn't know what Caricom Day was, so we looked it up.
Caricom Day commemorates the treaty establishing CARICOM
(the Caribbean Community and Common Market) and is observed annually by all CARICOM countries, though not necessarily on the same date of the year. The Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed on
July 4, 1973 at Chaguaramas in Trinidad.
Guyana, Antigua, and Barbuda are among the CARICOM countries that observe the day on the first Monday in July every year.
St Vincent and the Grenadines celebrate Caricom Day on the second Monday in July, Jamaica on July 4, and Barbados in August.
Jonathan said that he will e-mail more later today. When he does, we will add it to this post. Be sure to check back!
(We added another video clip that Jonathan sent today in the previous post, make sure you see it as well.)
We didn't know what Caricom Day was, so we looked it up.
Caricom Day commemorates the treaty establishing CARICOM
(the Caribbean Community and Common Market) and is observed annually by all CARICOM countries, though not necessarily on the same date of the year. The Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed on
July 4, 1973 at Chaguaramas in Trinidad.
Guyana, Antigua, and Barbuda are among the CARICOM countries that observe the day on the first Monday in July every year.
St Vincent and the Grenadines celebrate Caricom Day on the second Monday in July, Jamaica on July 4, and Barbados in August.
Jonathan said that he will e-mail more later today. When he does, we will add it to this post. Be sure to check back!
(We added another video clip that Jonathan sent today in the previous post, make sure you see it as well.)
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
My Brother Forever
Today would be Jonathan's friend, David Heiner's, 20th birthday.
Our family will be attending the memorial service for him today here in Logan.
This was in yesterday's e-mail and Jon asked that we post it:
I was thinking and I wrote something that I would like shared at the memorial service. President Robison said I should write my feelings down to help me release my emotions because he says I'm too good at keeping them bottled up. It's not done yet, but here it is:
My Brother Forever
Friends from the beginning, friends from the start.
You've been a friend with a place in my heart.
Through all the good times we've had a blast.
Too bad we grew up and childhood couldn't last.
Filming movies was cool and so were those drums.
We were water ski-pros, but at golf we were bums!
Remember the Olympics party that your parents threw?
We stayed in the hot tub, February '02.
We grinded our scooters down poles lit on fire.
We jumped of cliffs and out windows when situations were dire.
Canada was cold, snowboarding was too.
So was that time we tipped our canoe.
To a Jazz game we went with our parents one night,
There was that drunk guy below us that wanted to fight!
Dirt-bikes and go-karts, rock climbing and rafting,
The fun things we did always kept us laughing.
Best-Men-to-be at each others big days,
Our futures were bright in so many ways.
I'm sorry we didn't finish the last thing on our "to-do"...
To watch the 6 Star Wars movies all the way through.
We faced trials together and overcame all our fears,
We became quite a team over those years!
Now the hardest trial I've had, when I've needed you most...
You can't come and help with because you're a ghost.
David you're gone, but forgotten never.
You're still part of me, my brother forever.
That's it. I hope they like it.
The memorial service went too long today and they didn't open the time up for people to share memories of David so we were unable to read Jonathan's poem. We did give Mark & Vickie a copy and they really apppreciated it.
Our family will be attending the memorial service for him today here in Logan.
This was in yesterday's e-mail and Jon asked that we post it:
I was thinking and I wrote something that I would like shared at the memorial service. President Robison said I should write my feelings down to help me release my emotions because he says I'm too good at keeping them bottled up. It's not done yet, but here it is:
My Brother Forever
Friends from the beginning, friends from the start.
You've been a friend with a place in my heart.
Through all the good times we've had a blast.
Too bad we grew up and childhood couldn't last.
Filming movies was cool and so were those drums.
We were water ski-pros, but at golf we were bums!
Remember the Olympics party that your parents threw?
We stayed in the hot tub, February '02.
We grinded our scooters down poles lit on fire.
We jumped of cliffs and out windows when situations were dire.
Canada was cold, snowboarding was too.
So was that time we tipped our canoe.
To a Jazz game we went with our parents one night,
There was that drunk guy below us that wanted to fight!
Dirt-bikes and go-karts, rock climbing and rafting,
The fun things we did always kept us laughing.
Best-Men-to-be at each others big days,
Our futures were bright in so many ways.
I'm sorry we didn't finish the last thing on our "to-do"...
To watch the 6 Star Wars movies all the way through.
We faced trials together and overcame all our fears,
We became quite a team over those years!
Now the hardest trial I've had, when I've needed you most...
You can't come and help with because you're a ghost.
David you're gone, but forgotten never.
You're still part of me, my brother forever.
That's it. I hope they like it.
 |
| From David Heiner ... |
The memorial service went too long today and they didn't open the time up for people to share memories of David so we were unable to read Jonathan's poem. We did give Mark & Vickie a copy and they really apppreciated it.
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