March 25, 2013

The water for the baptisms and showers and everything is the same, COLD, ice cold.  Some days it’s nice when its super hott!  Super duper hot this week, low hundreds and low wind.  Thought I would be sweating off pounds but I’m gaining it somewhere probably in the legs from biking and walking a lot. I have gained 17 lbs since I left the mtc! haha so that’s crazy. Must be my American food diet keeping me at a decent weight!  Tried some different things for lunch this week. Had some goat and rice, chicken back, turkey neck, beans, and tried some crab. It was freaky staring back at me and everything, it wasn’t bad though! I just dint like chewing through all the bones having to be super careful, but better get use to that!! There’s like no dairy products, no cheese, fake milk, and bacon is expensive so yah... oh well !  This week has been rough but good, we gave like 8 priesthood blessings to people including my companion. That was sweet, we were able to keep working through it all! We have like 6 progressing investigators, all were at church. I’m starting to feel a total desire of love for these people and watching the gospel change them is sweet!!! We had to drop one investigator, just wasn’t doing the commitments, it was hard, he’s a boss, so we will see where that goes!! Umm, oh yah, almost got hit by a car. We were both skidding all over the road trying to stop, pretty intense!!  Cars here you just get use to, there is no way to track people so like no laws for driving. I have touched so many cars at like 50-60 mph it’s insane but I’m fine! I totally realized this week, it finally hit me I’ll be gone for TWO years! I Love And Miss you all but hey one month down only 23 to go!! My trainer explained it to me like a house you have the wall(first 6 months) straight up the wall, next 6 months up the roof still a climb but a little easier! You peak at the end and the next 12 are all down hill go so quick!!  So just gotta endure I guess!! haha! We went into Kingston today to play capture the flag at an old battle field that has places you can see where the turrets sat and got some pics. Still trying to figure everything out there!! but I will get them sent eventually ! It was right next to the ocean, it was beautiful an awesome!  Played monopoly last p-day and guess some things never change, they will never play again with me cuz i whooped them!! We play football some mornings at 5:30. Everything is going pretty good other than I have fixed my bike tire 3 times already but the roads are terrible! love my elders I’m staying with. We all help each other work hard. That’s bout all I got for this week! Oh, but one more thing. We were getting groceries and this kid comes flying outta nowhere in flip flops, never watched a kid run so fast in flops!!!  Like 10 secs later some more run around yelling thief !! We are like, “oh snap, we could have stopped him” !! but I guess they probably caught  him cuz like people realized what was going on and like everyone has everyone’s back! Like, no joke, people grab shovels, knives, whatever they can get and like 30 people going chasing this guy! Havent heard what happened yet ha! crazy!! Love you guys, have a good week!!

March 18, 2013

This week has been boss! Um, 8 hours of flying -  left at 5 and arrived at 8:30 at night!  The airport at Jamaica gave us trouble the second we stepped off, we got yelled at for taking pics right off the plane! Guess that’s not allowed.  Then we didn’t have all of our paper work so we had to wait forever while they tried to figure that out !  But the plane rides were good we talked to some Jamaicans on the way down ‘bout the gospel and all Jamaicans are super religious, totally believe in God, just don’t know where to find the truth. So we finally got out, one of my bags ripped so hope I didn’t lose anything, haha.  So we get outside and the first thing we notice is guess what? Gajah!  That’s what they call their weed, haha and everyone was super chill. It was sweet.  We crammed the 12 of us in a lil toyota and a van and the craziest thing is we drive on the left side of the road, but everyone drives like its grand theft auto!  So I guess my speeding tickets were kinda a prerequisite for this mission!!! Pot holes everywhere so swerving all over.  It was awesome, I look forward to driving!  Got to the mission presidents house where we had our first real meal in a while and our last hot shower for 2 years! Next day woke up at 7 and it was 86 Degrees! Holy freak, plus humidity, not missing the snow though! We got our companions and areas later that day and our bikes.

My first transfer is Spanish Town and my companion is Elder Hamilton. He’s boss! We went to KFC that day after as a zone. We put like 17 of us in this van, it was so mexican!!  Ha, glad they have some American food here.  After, we went out and met some members!! They all speak English, but it’s different, it’s called Patwah. It’s like slurred, mumbled English, so see mom, it’s good I can mumble, they understand better that way! Ha, but I understand some, it’s certainly helping my listening skills. But, no, the people are so cool and mostly not judgemental ! There are a handful that call me white boy or bleacher, but give me a month I’ll be black, it’s so hotttt!!! Learning so much. The schedules are tight and to be honest it is hard, they weren’t kidding! The first day my feet hurt and the second, my butt, from the bike and I blew a tire the first day cuz the roads suck. There are no garbage cans so you just drop your garbage on the road! Creating bad habits for when we come home, haha.  But, no, the apartments are cool, plenty of study room. The nights are chill. We hang on the roof tops, it’s perfect temp. by then. But the showers are freeeezing cold and gotta shower morning and night cuz we sweat all night long!  We had fried chicken the other day for lunch, bones and all.  They are soft enough though you just eat them ... and teaching is going well, we have like 11 investigators right now. So it’s fun, but hard to feel the spirit.  Speaker towers on like every corner and they play all day and all night ! haha, so staying up pretty good with the times.  We can’t go inside, the shacks are so small, so we teach like all the lessons outside sitting on our bikes or on crates or anything you can find. They build their houses outta anything they can find.  There are some more rich areas in Jamica, but they are a 3 generation country trying to act like a first.  Most have cell phones, but no couches, hah it’s crazy!!  

Church was.... different.  Really small, less than 75 people.  We had 2 baptisms after.  Um, like they have no music ability so all over the place, kids running around. I got a couple to sit by us and use my scripture stuff to color so they would be quiet, haha, so that was nice, made me feel like I still had my brothers.  And everyone is kind, feels like family somewhat, but different styles. People down here give it to ya straight and speak their minds no matta what you think! It can be good and it can be bad... they brown bottle their toddlers, just whip it out with no warning and you gotta be careful where you look, they are everywhere!!! Ha.  Um, pretty bad day though, we had the font ready and the plug came out so we had to wait to refill it and just like everything went wrong.  Satan works hard! Then after, we went to go to some appointments and our tires were flat on our bikes and people don’t keep commitments. But enough ‘bout that! Thankful for p-day, get a lil break.  Ohhh, a couple other things I learned.  I call the lil kids buddy if I don’t know their name.  I’m like, “hey buddy, what’s up?” and their mom gave me an awful glare. Buddy down here means penis soo check that off vocabulary and luckily I don’t fish cuz when they ask do you fish? or call you fish, that means gay so don’t say that cuz they will kill ya. So good, they’re against homos, don’t have to spend much time teaching that!  Gonna cut it there so I have time to enter some photos! Everything is spendy down here.  Internet is $250 an hour and gas is $125.80/ litre!  So don’t complain ‘bout your prices there!! Haha, $1 US dollar = 95 Jamaician so it’s interesting. Love you guys, talk to you next week!!!

(He wasn't able to send any pics because his file sizes were too big.)

Arrival

We received an email from the mission secretary to tell us that Sterling arrived safely.  This is a picture she sent of the new missionaries.

March 12 - On his way

I got a phone call from Sterling today!  He was in Texas on a layover.  He said that they had another layover in Miami and then should get to Jamaica about 8:30 tonight.  They left the MTC at 5:00 this morning so it will be a very long day.  He is traveling with 6 elders and 3 sisters all heading to Jamaica. 

My parents said that he told them that he got to teach a non-member in the MTC and was excited about that.  Apparently it was someone attending BYU who was getting religion credit by going to the MTC to be taught by the missionaries there.  They got him to commit to read the Book of Mormon so he was excited about that. 

Not sure when his p-day will be, but we'll wait anxiously to hear from him and keep you posted.

March 5, 2013

Hey family ! MTC is so much different then I thought it would be ! 16 hrs of study time a day, tons of praying and tons of studying. I have felt so much closer to the lord in the last few days then I would say in my life ! The spirit is so strong here and just something totally different about it than anywhere else! I can memorize things with ease and mom I make my bed every morning, pray morning and night my room is spotless its cool haha. Um the food so first day it was TERRIBLE we were like this is what we have to look forward to... so the next days food was much better we were like why such the dramatic change ??  We were talking with some other people and we went to the LEFTOVER line, it was like days old, the pizza was stacked sideways, it made sense!!  But I’m learning so much!  It feels like I cleaned my plate when I walked through the doors cuz I thought I knew a lot about the gospel but it turns out I didn’t really hah!  But no I have learned so much! I heard a quote about prayer that totally changed the way I look at it . It was " pray like tomorrow is judgement day" . Praying is so easy now.  I can whip out a 10 min prayer easy with God and can feel his love so much.  Sunday was focused on the atonement and I learned so much there and that helped with prayer as well.  My companion is Elder Bateman he is Canadian!  A lot of his language is rubbing off,  its kinda weird but not bad.  Just saying  bag like bog and lots of "a"s haha but no we get along so well it’s like having a twin and just like so many comparables in people I feel like I’m home. Like my branch president reminds me of Uncle Steve and acts like him it’s nuts!  So yah today is p day. We did laundry today.... and freak it was nothing like I imagined.  We got there and there is like 100 washing machines no schedule all running on different times and you just run around trying to find a spot sliding your pass card all over the place and pushing buttons but once you get everything its kinda nice to just relax for a min!  It’s just been a sweet oppurtunity to learn! The world really is so distracting it’s been nice to put down the cellphone, music, computer and tv for a while.  It’s been sweet to see the hand of the lord in like everything !! He helps us through so much if we will let him and having the spirit here and no distractions you can feel the promptings and recognize it more! I have had tons of sweet experiences and keeping a good journal!  Thanks for all the letters I have enjoyed them!!  Every time we get mail we sing mail time from blues clues!! Ha, our branch is so much fun, we all get along super well but also know how to get spiritual we keep a pretty sweet balance !!  We have teaching experiences like one is just our teacher and we have to make it seem real and it’s just a roleplay but its so like real life its struggling and frustrating but good!  This is the dealio! MTC experience is good but so pumped to hit the field and its coming fast!! I cant believe its already been a week!!  We leave on march 12 at like 5:00 in the morning so yah I think that is about all I have for today!  Love you all and miss you but not too much cuz they keep us super busy you really have no time to think! It’s a bitter sweet moment but yah love yall thanks for everything ! And  I guess only in the laundry room you can attach photos Weird !!! k Peace !

Feb. 27, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow!  MTC life its....different ha!  Show up and there was way more people than I thought there would be.  I got my first companion today.  His name is Elder Jordan Bateman.  He is from Canada.  He's way chill, we get along well.  Crack jokes but know when it's time to get spiritual.  Started with getting our name tags.  My host was Elder Blackburn.  He is headed to Japan.  (Not Richard's mission, but further south)  Then got our room, floor #4.  Keys and check cards everywhere!  Even got to have it to get food!  Then went to our class room, then a devotional, dinner, unpack, then a group roll play thing then back to dorms. 

Love you all!  Gotta study the good book!  Goodnight!