August 30,2009

Dear family and friends,

We have had another great week. We have heard from some of you and it is great to be updated about how you are doing and what is happening at home.

We have had President Gamiette and Elder Alvarado here this week and we didn't know that either of them were coming until last Monday. President Gamiette arrived on Wednesday and left on Thursday. Just a little bit about our mission President. President Claude Gamiette is French and from Guadoloupe. He and his wife have 5 children who are all at home, so young. He is 41 years old and has been a CES director, has served a mission in Florida and rumor has it that he converted over 300. He is extremely motivated and ran our zone leaders ragged. In 2008, this mission baptized 2012 and President Gamiette's focus is on retention and rescuing those who have become inactive. Our zone leaders were with him except when they took him to his hotel to sleep. We had lunch with him and the zone leaders and Elder Cronin was sunburned, (they have a car and do a lot of their work that way) hungry and thirsty.

President Gamiette left St. Vincent at 6 a.m. and Elder Jorge Alvarado arrived at 9:30 a.m. We spent two days being his host and facilitator. It was Pres. Gamiette's goal to get seminary and institute organized on this island. It was started last year and they gave it up after two months. They are very hopeful that they have a new chance at making it work here and that it will be a great blessing to the members and the young people who will be the future missionaries and leaders.

Elder Alvarado is 38 years old and is from Puerto Rico. He and his wife have 3 children and they stay in contact when he is traveling through Skype. He has taken Pres. Gamiette's place in CES and so they have a very interesting relationship. Elder Alvarado reports to Pres. Gamiette about CES and Pres. Gamiette reports to Elder Alvarado about the West Indies Mission (WIM). Elder Alvarado has served as a bishop, stake president and has been an Area Seventy for 6 years. He is dynamic, motivated and yet can kick it back a notch when things don't turn out like we had them planned. We visited members and young people in both branches hoping to get them committed to go to seminary and to get an institute program up and going for the young single adults. These programs help keep our youth strong in the States and the Caribbean members have not caught the vision yet. Elder Alvarado meet with the recently called supervisors and teachers to train them and set them apart. We had a fireside on Friday night and it was great. Both leaders were great examples of contacting people wherever we are and asking them if they would like to have the missionaries come. Elder Alvarado is very good teacher and a lot of fun. He left for other assignments in St. Lucia Saturday morning and hoped to be home with his family in Puerto Rico Sunday morning. These leaders put in unbelievable days and go to bed exhausted, but when they are ministering you would never know they are tired.

We had a wonderful day today. It started out a bit slow with the Calliaqua branch only having 5 people there including us at 9 a.m. and starting 10 minutes late. By the time the sacrament was over we had more than 30. Elder Alvarado has taught us not to stress when things don't go as planned; it is just part of the culture. The Kingstown Elders baptized Kyle and Sherwyn. (I told you about them and their mother Mavis a week ago.) Mavis had sickness and will be ready in the near future. They had a time for testimonies after the baptism and the spirit was very strong. We also were invited by President Baynes of the Kingstown branch to attend a family gathering on the beach. It was on the leeward side of the island and so the waves were small. It is a huge family. His wife is number 11 in a family of 16. Her mother will turn 90 in the near future and was there also. Pres. Baynes is the only member in that huge family. We hope to become good friends and hopefully help that situation. There was a man at this gathering who works at the airport and saw Dad there that thinks Dad looks like Teddy Kennedy (We heard Teddy passed away this week). We are sending a few pictures.

Another wonderful thing happened today. We visited the Small family the first week we here which we told you about before. They have so much to offer and Brother Small has not been to church for 3 years. His wife has also been inactive but is doing great now and has been called as a seminary teacher. Brother Small attended church in the Kingstown branch today!!! It was an exciting day!

We are still learning how to eat; however they have these huge avocados and the Elders are always ready for us to make a new batch of guacamole when the members give them another avocado. Elder Alvarado went home with quite a few in his suitcase. I would love to make mango salsa, anyone have a recipe?

The days are busy, they are full, but very enjoyable.


We love ya all lots,
Elder and Sister Wheeler.