All of the missionaries in Trinidad gathered at 5:30 this morning in front of President Robison's house to wish him a final farewell. He really appreciated it and he even shed a few tears. (That's only the 2nd time that I've seen him do that. The other time was at the fireside at the mission home on Father's Day). He'll be missed by all of us.
We copied this from the mission blog: "We honestly thought we were all done with goodbyes.
Early this morning, President Robison walked into the big living room where we held many wonderful zone conferences and wished he could see the missionaries one more time. Little did he know what was happening outside our gate.
The assistants (Elders Hamilton and Jones) and two of the zone leaders (Elders Williams and Worthington) arrived just before 6:00 AM to take us to our flight.
We climbed in the big mission van.
Pulled out of the driveway.
Drove through our gate.
Took one last look down our pretty street.
And what did we see?
This:
Every missionary in Trinidad standing along the sides of our street waving handkerchiefs (paper towels actually) and singing "Called to Serve". I can't think of a more beautiful (and tearful) sight.
They followed us down the road.
And we just had to stop for a quick photo. (Can you see Jonathan?
He's holding the paper towel in the air that is furthest to the right.)
Thanks to the couples (talented Sister Myers in particular) who helped gather the elders and made this sweet memory possible (and fed them all breakfast afterwards!)"
Back to Jonathan's e-mail:We got news on Thursday that we will be getting sister missionaries soon. One of the twelve called President and said that he has been inspired to call a sister to this mission even though there aren't any here. President said "Send her and give me 12 companionships." They agreed. So we should be getting the first 6 sisters in September or October. It will be a big change. I don't want to be in their zone! Girls are weird!
On Friday I built an electric fan during lunch. It was hot and we had an old engine lying around so I pieced it together.
David and Pheumia are doing great. David blessed the sacrament yesterday. He was really nervous but he didn't mess up. Their friend, Latoya, came and brought along one of her other friends. Their daughter came as well. After visiting with them last night, all 3 of them have baptism dates for the 11th of July! I'm excited for it. We had a sweet FHE Friday night. It was on Nephi going to get the plated from Laban. We acted it out with a couple of David and Pheumia's kids. It was so fun.
We have been working in a nice area called River Estate and in a place called Petite Valley (I think that's what it is at least.) There are a few cool people up there that we have found. One is named Junior. He is a little slow, like a Guyanese person, but he is really humble and is willing to do everything that we ask of him.
(We got a brief e-mail on Saturday morning from Jonathan saying that his permanent retainer is broken.) I haven't gotten my retainer fixed yet. I have a couple of phone numbers for some orthodontists and for some dentists in the area. I am going to call a few of them and see what they can do for me. I forgot to grab the scripture of the week so maybe I can send it to you in a couple of days when I report back on my retainer. (It is legal for me to email you since this is considered an emergency.)
