Best week ever times 2

I can't say anything other than this week was spectacular! But I will try and put it in words. We have taught 19 member referrals this week. That is almost double the standard of excellence so I cannot complain at all! We have had 11 member lessons for the week too! We have been working hard and Laverne has been progressing even more and her friend Felix is starting to really get interested too. I need to stop putting so many exclamation points because I feel weird. Anyways funny story for this week. I had an awesome trade off with Elder Jacobson and he came to my area. During studies I asked him to throw my mini Preach My Gospel over to me. Maybe I am not too coordinated but it hit me right in the face and my nose bled. Wow I am way out of time too many questions from everyone but yeah my face bled. I love the conference edition of the Liahona. Tons of random funny people in it. Hurricane season is coming! This week has overall been really good but I wish I had more time to describe it. Just imagine the best week ever times 2. Love you all and see you next week!

OUCH!

Plum Pickin

Well this week was a bit interesting. Some members of the church who have been members for years had their records lost so we had to go an re-baptise them. I got to go out into the water and be a witness. It was really cool! Closest thing I will get to swimming here. We have been sweating buckets as we worked this week. We got a ton of work done and I had a nice trade off with the Zone Leader. It's plum season so I picked a lot of plums and we have enjoyed eating them. It's fun climbing into the trees. One investigator we have picked back up on has some of the most strange questions. She asked us who the first two people on Earth were. That was the 5th most random question she asked that day so I asked her "What does it say in Genesis?" She replied "Adam and Eve." These questions aren't that hard. We have had one of our less actives come to church for about a month now and soon she will bring her boyfriend we hope! We set a baptismal date with him for June 5th. He needs a lot of change but we have high hopes for him. He used to curse at me and my last companion but for some reason he loves me and Elder Bingham. Elder Bingham and one of the Zone Leaders taught him the Restoration and he said "Look at my arm! Those are goosebumps." I wish I could have been there for that. We had picked up an old investigator who Elder Dye and I had dropped and and she came to church and brought a friend! Things are really looking up. She is getting surgery so she got a blessing from some people at church too so I think this is really building her faith. She doesn't like how we talk about Joseph Smith though. I think she will accept the restored gospel soon though. This next week is packed full of appointments so I am excited for that! Just working hard out here and loving it.

Mother's Day callI

Oh man it was great seeing family yesterday! I was on a bit longer than I was supposed to be so I guess I probably need to repent of that. Nieces and Nephews are huge now! Chance didn't want to talk to me because he said "No! I am nervous!" I have one more Skype call in 7 months for Christmas. By then I will have only 4 months left on my mission. I just hit 13 months the other day so it's flying by really fast! I am scared to get home. I just want to be here forever! A mission really is a once in a life time experience. It's not the same if you get married and go. The Senior Couple here can go scuba diving and stuff. It feels so nice being tempted to swim. Well this week we had a few laughs. I have my awesome "Great Plan of Happiness" book that I got just before I got on my mission. It's really good! There is one part talking about agency and how we must use it right. It has a part where a kid hits a baseball through a window and is tempted to run away with his friends. We shared that book with a less active member and right as I say that these kids playing Crickett across the street hit the ball and it hit a car that drove by at perfect timing. I saw the kids and they were so scared. A lot of them started to run but the car reversed and it was a tennis ball so they just told the kids to be careful. It was the most ironic moment ever. This week we also tried teaching a Rasta man who actually is there in his head. He believe Salaci I is the King of Kings though. Elder Bingham said "Everyone has the Light of Christ in them. But for you Peeli I guess you would call it the Light of Salaci I." It's funny because he totally agreed though. We have been struggling to get people to church especially with Carnival season going on. People will avoid us so they don't have to feel as guilty. One lady saw me and just walked in her house and ignored me. We did get one person at church though. His name is Roy and he is always drunk. He came in about half way through Sacrament Meeting and talked loud to me during the talks. He was drunk and left right after the meeting was over. It sure was interesting. Also we got a media referral! Those apparently are the most successful things ever. The person actually requests that missionaries come see them. We don't really have addresses here in the Caribbean so it's hard to find the person. We have tried calling this girl day after day. Sent text messages but her phone rings through so we can't leave a message. We are trying really hard to get to meet with her. Anyways being a District Leader is awesome! I love giving nightly calls! I bond with the District and we are going to all cook some curry today. I will be the curry chef and king today. Each nightly call I do I have a question of the night where the Elders will vote on something. I do things like Charizard or Blastoise, Blondes or Brunettes, Caramel or Fudge. It's really nice. Well that's about all for my week but I love you all and will see you around!

I got to meet Baby Blaire for 1st time

Spidyman the new District Leader

We got transfer calls this week! Good news is Elder Bingham and I are staying together! I love that guy. Also I have been promoted to District Leader! I am really excited about this. The Caribbean is getting funny. On May 1st we had a holiday called May Day. No one knew what it was they just all took the day off. That's the Caribbean way of life. Unnecessary holidays all the time. Also Carnival is coming. It's more in town but they did a big kick off celebration. We had a baptism that day out at a beach and some people drove by blasting music wearing not much clothing. One of the people in the back of the truck that was dressed up in skimpy clothes was an investigator to one of the missionaries. I guess that baptismal date is getting pushed back. Also the Elders in town got chased by two naked women who were apparently sober. We get to stay in doors for a few days when it gets really big. It's my first Carnival since they don't really do it in Guyana. Also one of our good member friends told us he saw the new Spider-Man! He told me all about it and it had some parts in it I thought would happen. Mom, Dad, anyone go see it please! I want you guys to be able to tell me about it on Skype for Mother's Day! This week I felt a lot like Spider-Man though. I found a rope and hung upside down on it like Spider-Man and I found a Lizard and played with it with some of our investigator's kids and they played way too rough so it died pretty quick but they thought it was still alive. It just had it's reflexes and then they realized finally that it was dead. I took some funny videos of how they played with it even when it was dead. It reminded me of the last Spider-Man movie with the Lizard. I can't believe that this one has 3 villains in it and then one comes in at the end! That is seriously on the top of my list of movies to see as soon as I get home! Overall this week was pretty good. We had 4 investigators come to church and one of them is actually considering getting baptized on her birthday next month! We have been trying to get her baptized for about 6 months now. Also 2 less actives we have are starting to come back into activation. Things really are looking up. We have had some poop weeks this last transfer but I got a good feeling about this now.

District Spidyman

Good old American Hamburger

White Bird & Crazy Lady

Well this week was alright. People were having Easter hangovers and just not wanting to meet with us. My temper was a bit higher this week but I kept it cool. It's been a tough week but we are hanging in there. Something that can pick up your day though is having your goofy neighbor singing really loud on Thursday morning. He sang about every single animated Disney movie song. Lion King to Little Mermaid. I love that guy and I am going to miss him if I have to leave. Not much to say this week but we were teaching one of our investigators who has not been to church in a while and she has a crazy mom. Our investigator is a Grandma and her mom is just a crazy great grandma who yells at us and says some words that would need to be censored. She always yells "Get the freak out of my yard you freaking white birds!" She adds a lot more words too. She actually came off of the porch and started walking with her cane. She never does that. We motivated her! She had a dull cutlass in her hand. Cutlass is a machete. She threatened us with is but couldn't get anywhere without holding onto something. We weren't too scared. She said some profound things. A few of them here: "White man come to shoot me!" "Don't look at me white bird!" Then I started speaking Spanish to her (The little that I know) and she got upset and started making up her own language. She had no teeth so she got mad at me when I would smile at her. We invited her granddaughter to be baptized (She is about 30) and then she told us that she wants so be baptized tomorrow. Crazy lady wanted to be baptized and her granddaughter said I need to hold her under water. They all tell her that she is crazy. We didn't baptize crazy grandma though. We shook hands with everyone as we left though and she stood off to the side with the cutlass and told us to shake her hand because she wanted to chop us. It was so funny. So we asked a lot of people how their vacation was to the islands for Good Friday and people gave into temptation. We asked people if they drank and they usually tell us "I drank a few bears. It's not as bad as rum." Rum as you all know is huge in the Caribbean. I also forgot to mention that a few weeks ago I saw a guy who looked really strange. I saw him at the super market. He looked like a strange Jim Carrey with blue hair. I saw him in Bequia last week with the same clothes and everything with a strange necklace thing. It's like a dog collar. Saturday was disheartening though. We had 5 fall appointments fall through. Back ups as well. It was really hard to keep cool about that. If you set up an appointment we expect you to call us if you cancel. Things have been tough but we are still working hard.

True meaning of Easter

Well Easter out here is another reason to get wasted. Kinda a bummer. No one wanted to meet with us but we did get some appointments. When you walk up hill both ways through the sun to an appointment that falls through it can get a bit upsetting. We shrug it off though and keep working hard. We got a new phone and it has a camera on it! As a missionary that is about as cool as it gets. It is super sturdy too. You can drop it and it is fine. We put a picture of Elder Bingham and I acting like goobers as the background. I studied the Passover on Saturday morning and it is so cool to see how Christ has fulfilled that story to us. He truly was the great sacrifice! I am so grateful for him in my life. Easter here is a reason to get drunk now which is pretty sad. Many people have forgotten the true meaning behind it all. That was something that I truly had enjoyed about it. Forget about the big scary looking bunny. We had time to mess with crazy Rastas when appointments fell through and kept it brief though. Gideon is our buddy who says crazy things like that he want to Hell told us that his drunk cousin has issues. Easter was also on 4/20 but I actually think that is an American thing. No one here even mentions it. Everyone smokes pot out in the open anyways. It's pretty much legal here. Cop can go by and think nothing of it. I got a sweet package too! Thanks mom for the sunflower seeds, scripture tie, jerky, sweet journal, and marshmallows! I just wish someone could ship me some In N Out Burger. That shipping would be fast and expensive. Anyways Kenrick got the Aaronic Priesthood this week and is now a Priest! He really has stepped up and become a man! We are so proud of him. Also I finished these Jalapeno Sunflower seeds in a day with pretty much no help. Some Elders had a small amount but I loved them a lot! Also random observance I have not told anyone but the Caribbean doesn't really have carpet. All tile. Also we met with this one guy who would always curse at us and now he loves us. He is still kinda crazy but we got a picture with him throwing up gang signs and stuff. Not much left to say but we went to Bequai today and held turtles again! I loved it!

The year mark, perfect week!

Kenrick

This week was just perfect! I hit my year mark, burned a shirt, baptized Kenrick, got the picture books for Doctrine and Covenants and the New Testament thus completing my collection. I got story books for Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants. I had a strange dream the night I slept and was going to wake up on my year mark. I dreamed I was at home and my family was there at the church and everyone asked if I was ready to give my farewell talk. I said "Didn't I do this a year ago?" and then my mom told me that you come home for like a week at your year mark and kinda give a report on the work you have done. I felt weird going up there to give my talk in my dream. Being a missionary throughout this year really has made me change. Elder Bingham and I were talking about what we would do if we were released and had 3 days left on the island. We couldn't think of anything. Then it pops into our minds that swimming at the beach would be fun but that took a while. I am just used to being a missionary. If I was released right now what the heck would I do? Being a missionary is the best and I am sad to see that I have less than a year left. I am going to make it the best year ever! I feel like I am just a Caribbean and I love it. Not much to say but we had such a great week!