9-15-2008 What the problem is?

Well this week has been full of good and also bad. We will start off w/ the bright side of things. President recieved my letter of difficulties that I have been having and how to deal w/ them and responded quickly. The Assistants to the President were at an older couple's house when we went there and we both got interviewed. One of the was my zone leader last transfer so he interviewed me and gave me some advice. The other AP interviewed Elder Bowens. After that we had Zone Meeting which set yet another fire. Basically in the last week every one of the problems that we had w/ effectiveness of the work has been solved.

Our numbers shot up a whole lot along w/ our effectiveness in finding people, the work is solved! We are seeing success again!

And here is my favorite paragraph! So last week the former branch president brought Vishal to church and me and him kind of connected. We went by them on Wednesday and it turns out there are 3 boys of baptismal age and the mom loves the church. We taught a finding and the next day came back and one of the boys who is 9 had already gotten an answer to his prayer if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He said something woke him up in the night and he remembered he was supposed to ask that question and when he did he felt a cold chill through his body. We came back the next day and the 11 year old said he prayed and he felt really weak, and then he had a cold chill through his body.

We kept talking about the church and President Gaji bore an amazing testimony of the church, the mom's ending words to the lesson were "Why did it take so long for me to find what I was looking for?" she wants the whole family baptized. The 4 sons came to the games night we had and totally loved it. We did a scripture scavenger hunt that I set up and it was real intense, everyone was very into it. We had a whole lot of fun, that family is so amazing. They are my new Ice Cream family.

Ice cream has been doing amazing missionary work in Princes Town, I am going to be able to see the family on saturday at the baptism and I am very excited for that. P-Town had 16 investigators at church last week, set a record for attendance also. 10 of them were ice cream and company, sooo cool. That place is seeing miracles like crazy, and everyone always talks about what Elder Risenmay and Elder Palmer did to Princes town.

I have seen how much of a difference attitude makes in the work. When discouraged faith is decreased and miracles cease. When the Lord saw the attitude that we had last transfer we saw so many miracles it was insane. We had more fun the last transfer than I have ever had in my entire life. All the Lord wants to see is a good attitude and so many people are placed in the path of those missionaries, I saw that last week in the work too. Everyone time we were in a good attitude about contacting things started to happen.

We also found 2 guyanese families that live together and one of the sons came to church. He is sooo cool, he is like a 10 year old kid who just wants to follow his dreams and do the right thing. He is actually 16, but he always talks about wanting to be the best fighter there ever was and how much he wants to go to china to fight people. He is just full of smiles all the time, he is one of those people that I can love very easily.

We have been teaching a guy named Pope and 1 of his co-workers. He owns a welding shop and they all stop to listen when we come. They are both really cool, pope asks a lot of good questions. Anil on the other hand has been getting answers like crazy. He said he used to wake up in a cold sweat all the time during the night. But he has been reading the Restoration Tract and he said when he reads his heart just starts racing and his throat starts feeling thirsty. He went and got 2 drinks and it still just felt thirsty. Come to the living water. He knows it's true, now we just got to get him to church.

The Branch President's son was watching me play the piano (I am kind of learning, I can play by sound a few songs) and I started teaching him We Thank Thee Oh God For A Prophet and i taught him about 1/3 of the song before church. We came back later that day for an activity and he came up to me and said he wanted to show me something on the piano. Apparently he had practiced what I taught him over and over at home and made his mom uncover the piano for him. I taught him the rest of the song and he can play the whole thing now. I taught him by numbers on the keyboard, so he sits there and he is like 7 and he says the numbers corresponding to each key he plays. His mom wants me to come and teach him piano lessons, I had to tell her I don't actually know how to play I just play by sound!

Things are looking way up. It was real cool for me to see, after being around all these kids I remember how much I love kids.The work has become exciting again, and I have been able to see the miracles of the Lord. The attitude of the work changed a lot this week. Things are good, I haven't taken many pictures recently so you will probably get them all at once. This transfer is looking way up!

-Elder Risenmay

9-8-2008

Big lake sounded like a whole lot of fun, especially after the last week's destruction. I cut my hair w/ a 2 and I did it again this week, I think I am just going to give myself haircuts every P-day in the morning. It is working out well for me so far.

I hope Valerie comes along, but if nothing happens it is still an amazing testimony builder to me and anyone who read that story. I never imagined that happening to me on my mission, or any of the amazing dreams.

Princes town is still on fire from what me and Elder Palmer set it off as. They work the way I like to. I am praying hard to find success.

I really love Elder Bowens as a person, he reads in the morning and I have to help him w/ just about every 5 words because he learned on his mission to read. His testimony is truly amazing, I can see why it is so hard for him though. I am just trying to be as Christlike as I can w/ him.

Ice Cream's family is still doing really well, all of my recent converts came to church last sunday and all of ice cream's family so my work is still appreciated! He told me that all of the member's have asked about me. Apparently the first time they went to Ice Cream's they were all just dead silent and not interactive at all. Elder Palmer said "He's not dead! He is just in Chaguanas!" they all miss me and with their trini language they all said "I find he funny" after I left. I miss Princes Town pretty bad, apparently all my Recent Converts had my ties on when they came to church too.

Princes Town had almost no young people, Chaguanas is packed w/ them. There are 3 girls between 15 and 17 who apparently I am like a magnet to. Within the first 5 minutes of being in the building my planner was taken out of my back pocket by a 15 year old girl when she saw the picture I have stuck to it of my family. 2 minutes later after that I was standing there w/ my hands on my hips w/ my elbows sticking out and a 17 year old girl walks by and smacks my elbow and looks back at me and smiles, and later that night in a lesson another 15 year old girl takes my planner out of my back pocket. I don't know who trained these girls to be this way, but there must definitely have been some Elders there who caused these problems.

The entire way through church I was being bombarded w/ questions from teenage girls. I would like to think it is my good looks, but I am pretty sure it is my passport! Needless to say there are plenty of wierd differences between the two areas, I am going to need some good stories from home and good encouragement for the next 6 weeks! Hopefully things will start to look up soon.

-Elder Risenmay

9-2-2008 Amazing Week

Monday was a holiday here, literally every store in town was closed except 1 grocery store, so no mail yesterday.That all sounds like a ridiculous amount of fun. I am glad you took Tobias, I know he has been craving some dirt bikes for a while now. I am excited to hear about all this missionary work being done by my family back home. It will keep up my drive throughout this time if you keep up yours.

This transfer w/ Elder Palmer has been totally amazing. I remember when Seth picked me up from the airport he said one thing that I haven't told anyone but Elder Palmer because he helped fulfill it. He said something like "I feel the Spirit very strongly and I feel like I should tell you that I think you are going to bring a new level of success to the West Indies". Well Seth, your prophesy has been fulfilled!

We ended the transfer w/
5 Bapt
5 Confirmed
12 Firm Dates
37 Soft
27 At church
134 Member Lessons
62 Other Lessons
35 Progressing
8 Recieved
24 Contacted
71 New Investigators
24 RCLAs
All 5 of our baptized and confirmed we found ourselves,
not 1 part member family and no free baptisms.

We set the standard for the whole of Trinidad as the youngest companionship on the island. As President Robison told me in transfer calls "Your work is done in Princes Town". That area has been set on fire! We doubled the member work done in the past.

First the stories. So we came back about Wednesday to meet w/ Ice Cream's family and talk to Meera and Kelly about baptism. She already dreamed the baptismal font before, now she dreamed that someone just kept repeating Jonas. We had no idea what in the world she was talking about so we went to the Index in the Book of Mormon and looked up Jonas. 2 of the 12 Apostles in the BoM were named Jonas, either one of the 3 Nephites who lives forever is ministering unto her or God just gave her a dream w/ the name. Either way a few verses later in the chapter it talks about him he coincidentally was baptized.

The next day we went by w/ President Farrer for a 2nd interview and we were filling out baptismal record for Ice Cream while he was being interviewed. We asked his wife Indra what her maiden name was and she said "Come and look" and I said what? "Common Law" basically they were married by a leader of a Hindu temple but he never submitted the paperwork, so he will be postponed for 2 weeks. The look on Elder Palmer's face made my day, they are posting bands today.

Needless to say the baptism was amazing, I asked Meera how she felt and she said relieved, we asked her again after church and she said "It is really strange, they things that I used to get real vexed at w/ my family aren't a big deal anymore" Thank you Gift of the Holy Ghost. This church is true! Shirley was also baptized, she went up to the front and bore her testimony and kept telling everyone that she called us out to talk to us and 2 weeks later she was baptized, although untrue everyone thought it was great that we weren't doing our job! Shirley said "I feel a difference in my whole body, light light light!" If only you could see the difference that I see in the people's lives that I teach.We went by on Sunday and I gave them all ties and we taught them how to tie them. It was a whole lot of fun and everybody loved it. One of the funnest times in my mission.

The next day Indra was telling us how much the youngest son loved it. We asked if he read at all afterwards, we left at 9 and he read from 9 until 2 in the morning and read 1/2 the Book of Mormon. His sister read the whole thing and he has read 1/2! I don't know how this is all working, but I love that family a ridiculous amount. The Spirit can be so strong in their home, I am not sure I have ever felt that loved in my life. I have become these people's heroes! Every single person in the branch came up to me and told me how much they were going to miss me. Ice Cream described just last night how his family used to never spend much time together, and he had never even heard his children read. Now they such a unified and amazing family, he said at the baptism "Even though I didn't get baptized I feel a real difference".

It is pretty common for families to come and pick up missionaries here in the West Indies, President Robison doesn't have a problem w/ it. If that was the only reason for bringing you down here to meet that family I still would. Plan on picking me up from Trinidad.We got transfer calls on Friday, I am going to Chaguanas, and like I said earlier President Robison said "Your work is done in Princes Town". We called him a few days before calls to ask him a question and try to get a hint of what transfers are going to be like. He said "As of now you are a great companionship and you are staying together. But you are both so valuable that I might need one of you elsewhere". He has tossed us both into the fire! After 3 months I have been put as a Jr Companion to Elder Bowens, he is from St Vincent and is about 24 or so. I was told that I have some amazing leadership qualities.

Chaguanas is the 2nd biggest city in Trinidad, so I am going from the most country area to the most populated. I have heard Elder Bowens' testimony at my first zone meeting. He was baptized about 1.5 years ago and has been on his mission for 7-8 months or so. He has the most powerful testimony I have heard from any missionary. He was taught by his trainer how to read, and the only book he can read is the Book of Mormon. Not 1 other book can he read, if that is not a testimony to it's truth I don't know what is. But w/ my work and planning and his testimony and ability to gain the people's trust I think we will do amazing. I plan on this being the most effective transfer of my mission, so if it is not chastise me.

-Elder Risenmay

9-2-2008 New Pictures

Chopping down Bush w/ a cutlass for our recent convert

Amazing Lasagna

Sleeping w/ cat

Ice Cream and family,(Left to right Meera, Kelly, Ganish, Ice Cream, Sodhamma, Indra)

President Farrer/Shirley(Recent Convert)

All The girls are being baptized (Besides Nanny), 2 men are baptizers

I took this picture so Lindsay could see her West Indian Twin in the middle

Rodney and Debbie's part member family. Such cute kids

Christina or as everyone calls her "Muh Muh" or Mah Mah

Wayne, Sabita, Me

Only fitting that we eat Ice Cream w/ Ice Cream

Sweet Bike

I gave away my 3 favorite Ties to this family and taught them to tie them. They loved it.

Finished product, Ice cream's is a little off.

Bike race

Nanny made us a meal on a leaf!

Kelly drew me this!

I cut my own hair

8-25-2008 8 minutes left!

I am going to have to speed type like a madman. It took me a very long time to send all of those pictures. This week was a rather disappointing one. The entire Island of Trinidad's numbers went down. We were still the best in our district by quite a ways, but it was bad. Lots of rain, tropical depression as they call it. The good things were that we baptized Bro Maraj on saturday. We had a man named Randy Rajah who earlier in the week fell out someone's front door down a stair or two baptize him. Needless to say we can't take him teaching much anymore. He got into the font and was in line to slam Bro Marajh's head into the back of the font because of bad positioning when we stopped him. He started saying the baptismal prayer and said something like "being....holy ghost...baptize..." until we stopped him and had him say the prayer 3 times over until he got it right. He then dunked him under 4 times to finally get everything right. It was quite the freak show but in the end he was baptized and confirmed a member of the church. Right after the baptism I was walking out the door and Elder Palmer yells "Go inside and check and make sure everything is turned off!" So I walk in and look around the building and the door slams from the wind. I go over to open the door from the inside and it doesn't work like that, as soon as I turned the knob I burst out laughing. We definitely were not in sight and sound for a little bit. Most of the time was spent looking out those bars in the picture, and he just got his birthday package so he was handing me pieces of jerky through the bars. It was pretty entertaining.Mira in the picture finished the book of mormon, she was the one who read 166 pages in a week. She also had a dream about a blue rectangular pool that she was in and she didn't know why. We showed her the picture of the font the next day. If all goes well we will be baptizing 4 on Saturday which would put us at 6 for the transfer. That will be awesome, I will work hard towards it. Out of time

8-25-2008 Plenty Pictures.

The pictures of the grass are the bush we cleared, it was totally covered,

kinda like our field when it isn't mowed for a while. I hacked plenty w/ a cutlass.

The bike is Ice Cream's son's invention. He strapped speakers

and a cd player to it and blares it up and down the road.

The girl is Mira, that is what page she is on in the Book of Mormon.

She probably finished it by now.

The Guy on the scooter is a KFC delivery man. He always sits forward on his seat

and looks like he is flying down a trail, it makes me laugh every time.

Baptism guy on the left is Bro Maraj, Bro Rajah on the right did the baptizing.

The jail picture is me getting locked in the church after the baptism.

8-18-2008 Yet Again

 

 

 

Be prepared for the most amazing story of your entire life. So we have been working this week on talking to everyone in our path to our appointments, we talked to a guy named John and set up an appointment. We went by him and his cousin Valerie and the 1st lesson went pretty normal, nothing amazing didn't seem too interested. 2nd lesson we came back and neither of them had kept their commitment to read or pray, so we watched the restoration movie. During the movie I was praying in my heart plenty for the Spirit to do some touching. I felt it pretty strong during and afterwards Valerie decided to tell us about her "Spiritual Breakthrough" which I was pretty skeptical about at first because I have heard plenty crazy things that is for sure. She goes on to tell us that 5 years ago her husband died, and 3 years ago she had a dream. In the dream her and husband were running around in a beautiful garden and he was wearing white shirt and pants and then he said come live with me in paradise(Alma 40:11-22) forever but first you have to put on a white dress. We were instantly amazed and talked to her about temple marriage and she was in tears and the Spirit was amazingly strong. So we are amazed by this point so personal study the next day we filled with finding white dresses that people wear in the temple. We go back the 3rd time and we have a preparing to enter the temple book and plenty pictures of white dresses. We show her pictures of some of the rooms with garden pictures thinking that is what she meant by the garden. We showed her the creation room of the Salt Lake Temple and she said those are the same pews(Benches) and we said what do you mean? She said "Well he said come and live w/ me in Paradise forever but first you have to put on a white dress and we need to watch a movie" Instantly I was totally amazed and Elder Palmer and I looked at each other right away and explained that in the creation room we watch a movie to go through the temple. Then she told us "After the dream I woke up but then I went into a trance, a man in white led me up some stairs through 3 different rooms but I never saw his face" we asked her to describe the rooms, she said "well there were colors of pink and light blue and after the dream nothing ever looks good anymore because the rooms were so beautiful" we showed her the pictures of the terrestrial and celestial room of the Salt Lake Temple and they were the exact rooms she saw in her vision. She saw the inside of the Salt Lake Temple before I did, and I have actually been through it! We asked her if she would be baptized, she said "I guess I'll have to". If that isn't a miracle and the biggest testimony to the truthfulness of this work I am sent on I don't know what is. She also lives next door to one of the strongest members and somehow we were the only missionaries to connect w/ her enough for her to tell us the dream. She is depressed since she died, I think she connected plenty because I was depressed a while back. Miracles.

This Sunday was the best sunday of my mission. 6 investigators at church, Mira the girl who read 166 pages of the Book of Mormon along with her dad(Ice Cream) and her Sister Kelly all came to church today. The Dad commited to a hard date of baptism on the 30th and the other 2 we are working on. Mira read the whole strength of youth between church and when we went over there at 7. Things are going plenty well.

We also met a lady named Shirley on saturday and walked w/ her to church on Sunday. She wants all of her children to be sent missionaries and has already reffered us to her tenants and came to church and commited to baptism and we didn't even ask her for refferals. No amazing dreams, but amazing commitment. She also read the tract we left.

The bad news is the my 1st baptism Bro Rambharose backslid like crazy in just 2 days. He has been to every movie night and every church and been teaching w/ us 2 or 3 times since he was baptized. He missed church yesterday and avoided us when we tried to go visit him, fortunately no one can hide from missionaries and we tracked him down. Hopefully he will get back on the right path, but right now he is somewhat anti church.

President Robison sent us "Great job, you make a great team" and he hasn't sent me anything before this. Apparently we are pretty favored right now, we are destroying everyone as far as numbers go but we are finally understand how to use our time right and work our days effectively. Things are amazing.

-Elder Risenmay