Dec.5,2010

,

We hear that it is a white world in the Intermountain West. Makes it
easy to have the Christmas spirit. There will definitely not be any
sleigh rides here. We are hearing a lot of Christmas music, lots of
beautiful Christmas lights and lots of people shopping for the season.
Gratefully, Christmas will be a blessed event here.

It has a been another very busy week in the West Indies Mission
office. There are always plenty of things to attend to in order to
keep the business of the mission taken care of. The mission office
system is a challenging program to learn and put into place.
Immigration is also a real challenge and it makes it hard to move
missionaries around the mission as the President would like. We have
been successful in getting missionary permits for some of us serving
in Trinidad and those are the first in about 7 or 8 months. We are
feeling blessed for that.

We have had some members that we know from St. Vincent come to
Trinidad to get medical care for their mother who has diabetes
because the quality of medical care is so poor and outdated there.
Sister Moses has been staying with us for the past two days. The
Church leaders found a member here who will provide a place for her so
we hope that works out. We have been able to help this weekend but
our time is limited during the week to help her get back and forth to
the hospital etc. Most people in St. Vincent have such meager
resources and they are no exception. Bringing Sister John, the
mother, here is a "leap of faith".

We took two young Sister missionaries to church with us in San
Fernando which is about a 45 minute drive, when there is little
traffic. The members there don't see Senior Couples or Sister
missionaries very often and they treat us like royalty. It is so
humbling! The people here are wonderful, loving people. We will
greatly miss them when this experience is finished. We feel so very
blessed to be part of this Church and the great missionary effort.
There is much to do to help build up the Kingdom and help the Lord's
work roll forth. This is such an exciting time to be on the Earth and
see the hand of the Lord in establishing this Church. Surely, the real
strength of the Church is in the individual lives of the members. It
is a great blessing to serve a mission!

You are all in our prayers daily and we send our wish for a Christ
centered holiday season your way.

Christmas love,

Nov.28,2010

We have been watching the weather and other news reports for the US
and Intermountain West. Snow is a distant memory for us and we hear
that you have had an abundance of the beautiful "white stuff". We
also have missed the Thanksgiving holiday. It is not observed at all
here, of course. The young missionaries were counseled to not worry
about it but a few of the senior couples and senior sister
missionaries celebrated this wonderful tradition in our apartment on
Thursday evening after serving in the mission office during the day.

Since our last e-mail we have had a very busy few weeks. We had Zone
Leader Council and Leadership Training with all the Zone and District
Leaders coming to Trinidad. It was a logistical fete with trips to
the airport and getting everyone to places of lodging as well as
navigating the immigration needs. We had 11 Elders staying the WIM
apartment in our complex and we were responsible to keep groceries and
other needs in the apartment. The Mission furnished one good meal a
day and the rest was potluck. We heard that the meetings were
outstanding which is usual with President Gamiette at the helm. We
also had the opportunity to have Pres. and Sis. McIntosh stay with us
and Pres. and Sis Ricks stay with Elder and Sister Harris (CES).
They are counselors to President Gamiette and we had not met the Ricks
before. We had a very enjoyable time with them even though it was a
hectic time. The McIntoshs are CES also. They are now called S and
I, meaning Seminary and Institute. Elder McIntosh speaks French and
is a welcome addition to the French side of the Mission. It is good
to meet with other couples and share experiences and gain strength
from each other.

This week we planned to have Thursday off from the office and
celebrate Thanksgiving. We received notice that Dayanara, who is from
the Area Office in the Dominican Republic, come to train Elder Wheeler
and Elder Luster. We thought she would arrive on Friday and we would
still be able to have Thanksgiving. Then came the news that she would
be here Wednesday evening and need to train all day Thursday and
Friday morning. We then decided to cancel Thanksgiving and go to
dinner all together Thursday night. Sister Harris implored us not to
cancel but have Thanksgiving in the evening. She made the rolls, yams
(not available here so she used what they call sweet potatoes) and
bought some pies. I did the turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy.
Sister Luster did a fruit salad and Sister Mimi did green beans. We
were glad that we went ahead and had it; it meant so much to be
grateful for our heritage, membership in the Church, families and all
of our blessings. Elder Wheeler and Elder Luster had quite the
training sessions with Dayanara. She is Spanish from the DR and a
lovely lady. She was there for our devotional Thursday morning and
shared her experience with a terrible car wreck a couple of months ago
and the many "tender mercies" she and her family have experienced
since then. Our devotionals have been such a blessing to start our
days and have blessed us with harmony in the office so that the Spirit
can be with and guide each one of us in our diverse and varied
assignments. Dayanara and Elder Wheeler have developed a wonderful
friendship through e-mail and it was good to meet her in person.
Dayanara and Sister Wheeler hit-it-off right away. It is interesting
that now that our days are numbered, the training is finally here,
better late than never. Dayanara left for home via Miami in the early
afternoon on Friday. Elder Wheeler is exhausted and we were glad for
a quiet Saturday. I was delighted to find Christmas decorations and a
tree here in the apartment and decorated while Elder Wheeler rested.

We had the Angus couple here the first part of the week for a few
hours between flights and again on Friday. We had lunch with them the
first time and then had them for leftovers on Friday evening before
their flight. Elder and Sister Luster came in on Wednesday for office
training and stayed with us at our apartment til Friday morning early.
Elder and Sister Childs arrived back in Trinidad after their training
trip to the French side on Friday afternoon and were here at our
apartment for leftovers also. It was a great group that had leftovers
on Friday evening. We love these couples we serve with. We have very
diverse backgrounds which help the work to move along. We appreciate
each other even though in different circumstances we probably would
not relate.

As you can see, there are many comings and goings. no time for
boredom. We have had many missionaries who have been sick or have
health issues. At present, we have two young Sisters who are living
in the WIM apartment. They are both from Guyana and are having a hard
time toughing it out. They are sweet girls and went to the Chiguanas
branch with us today. We hope that they can return to their
missionary activities soon, as do they.

We love you all and are so grateful for the Christmas season which is
upon us. We look forward to the First Presidency Devotional next
Sunday. You are in our thoughts and prayers!

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

Oct.31,2010

Dear family and friends,

We have been missing the Halloween weekend. We have yet to see the
family pictures of the Wheeler family spooks and are looking forward
to that. When we were in St. Vincent, it came and went without any
notice but they do celebrate it here. You probably all celebrated
last night as today is Sunday but they will celebrate it here tonight.
It will be interesting to see how many times our doorbell rings.
There are quite a few children who live in our complex. Everything
here is gated so they probably only go to those they know.

We had another interesting week. It was a "catch up" week as we had
not spent our usually time at the office the week before as we were
staying with the Gamiette family. We were relieved to feel almost
"caught up" as we left the office Friday night. About noon on
Thursday, security came into the Office and evacuated us as they had
received a bomb threat to the bank next door to us. They moved all of
us to the north end of the parking lot and kept us there for about an
hour and a half. It was interesting to watch how they reacted to such
an event. They did not stop traffic from coming into the parking lot
and they were still letting a few people walk by the bank. We decided
to go to lunch instead of waiting for the okay to go back to work.
"When you are given lemons, make lemonade." Right? On Friday, about
the same time we began to receive tropical storm warnings. Tomas was
beginning to form and they were warning everyone to prepare for heavy
winds and rain. The grocery stores were packed and the traffic became
unreal. The evening hours came and went and nothing. Night came and
went and nothing. Morning came and was very pleasant. And then we
began to hear that Tomas had indeed become a hurricane and was
battering Barbados. By noon we received a message from Brother
Sutherland in St. Vincent that they expected Tomas to hit about 1 p.m.
and that he would stay in touch if he could. Tomas strengthen to a 2
hurricane when it hit St. Vincent and St. Lucia. It tore roofs of the
houses, downed power lines, flooded and caused mud slides. Our hearts
and prayers are with our dear friends in St. Vincent and we are
anxious to know how they weathered the storm. Brother Sutherland
expressed his great faith that the Lord's will would be done. Those
who are truly converted have such great faith and are an inspiration
to all. It sounds like Tomas will be around for the better part of
this next week. It will be interesting to see what happens. We are
grateful to be this far south as most of these storms begin here but
do not strengthen until they are north of Trinidad. A local told us
that we are not out of danger for 36 hours and then it is over. We
had heavy rain this morning but it did not make it impossible to go to
Church. We were grateful to be able to go to Sacrament meeting and
partake of the sacrament. We attended Church in Couva and enjoyed our
meetings immensely. Sister Mundah, who was the first baptism we went
to here in Trinidad, talked and gave a very good talk. She has grown
so much and has been so faithful, great to watch.

Our thoughts and prayers are with each of you. We are so grateful for
our blessings and recognize our Father's hand in all we do. We look
forward to the Thanksgiving season and remember well President
Monson's admonition to be grateful.

Much love,

Nov. 7,2010

,

How are things in the Mountain West. We have noticed that there are
many coats and cold weather gear. That kind of weather has become a
distant memory for us but will come home to us when we reach home in a
few months. We love your e-mails and are so grateful to those who are
so faithful to write to us.

We have had a cultural week this week as the Hindu people have
celebrated Divali which is as big to them as Christmas is to us. They
call it the Festival of Light and they light there entry way with
little clay bowls with candles in them the evening of Divali. They
also cut bamboo in half and make designs and put these candle lit
bowls along the bamboo design also. It is a beautiful sight to walk
the neighborhood and see so many candles. They also open their homes
to family, friends and neighbors and have huge feasts and fireworks.
They dress in their best native dress and it is beautiful. We had a
Hindu investigator at church today in Chiguanas and it was most
interesting to listen to her explain their belief compared to our
belief. The Hindu people we have met are very good people.

It is transfer week and we are still working with the changes that
President Gamiette is making. Sister Ellison is the one that has the
most to do as she is the one that books all the flights that
facilitate the changes that are made. We only have four Elders going
home this time and no new missionaries coming in. December is much
the same but we will have a huge transfer week the first few days in
February. We have 16 of us going home and 13 coming then. We have
had notice that we will also receive 2 more senior couples who are
needed desperately.

We never a lack for interesting things happening. President Gamiette
worked with Elder Wheeler for a couple of days getting a plane load of
drinking water shipped to St. Lucia which had been hit by hurricane
Tomas. They needed the water desperately and when the plane arrived
the government wanted to charge the Church $8,000 duty. Unbelievable!
We have learned that we never give up, that things will work out and
to be happy. Our Heavenly Father is in charge and we just need to do
our best and leave the rest to Him.

We love you all!!!
Elder and Sister Wheeler

October 24,2010

Friends and family,

Greetings from Trinidad in the West Indies. We have had another busy
week. We stayed with our mission president's five children this past
week while Sister Gamiette joined the President on Zone Conference
tour in Guadeloupe and Guyana. It takes three to four hours per day
to drive them to and from school and activities. We were reminded of
all the hours we spent running the "school taxi" all the years our
children were growing up. We are glad we live each season of our
lives just once, along with a a few flashbacks while tending
grandchildren etc.

Our time spent in the office this week was reduced so we tried to be
efficient and productive. Sister Wheeler is preparing packets for
incoming and outgoing missionaries, coordinating airline tickets and
immigration issues, answering questions from parents of newly called
missionaries and newly called couples (which we need many more of) and
numerous other responsibilities.

Elder Wheeler is paying all the mission vendors, taking care of
apartment issues and paying monthly rents for 60 plus apartments,
funding all the missionaries for their travel and missionary support
funds, funding the petty cash funds in all of the countries, which
pays for apartment utilities, cell phones and other mission expense
and managing the car fleet of 50 vehicles. There is much to do!

We are enjoying being busy and doing as best we can what the Lord has
called us to do . We feel so blessed to be called to serve and to see
the work of the Lord going forth here in this mission. It is a great
blessing to serve with the valiant young missionaries the Lord has
raised up to carry the message of the Gospel and the Restoration to
the world. This work is led and inspired by God. Full-time
missionary service is wonderful! We love our friends and family and
appreciate your love and support. May the blessings of heaven be with
each of you!

Much love,

17 October,2010

,

It has been two weeks and we are thinking about all of you. We are
having trouble with our laptop and we are waiting for a back light to
be shipped in for it. I am writing this from the computer in the
Mission Office. We will make some Skype calls when our laptop is
repaired.

We went to Tobago with Elder and Sister Child last weekend and stayed
at Turtle Beach Resort. Tobago is beautiful and only a 15 minute
flight from Trinidad. Elder and Sister Luster were wonderful hosts.
We all went to Englishman's Bay and King Georges' Fort. On Sunday we
attended the Branch there which was a great experience. Lusters had
us and the Elders and Sisters for Sunday dinner. We flew back to
Trinidad at 11:30 p.m. and arrived at our apartment at 12:30 a.m.
(Not bad) We felt much refreshed and ready to go again.

This week has been very hectic. We have had Zone Conference for
Trinidad North (Wednesday) and Trinidad South (Thursday). Elder and
Sister Kilgore from the Area Offices in the Dominican Republic are
touring our Mission. Dr. Kilgore gave a great presentation on being
healthy. He made the point that being sick is a huge waste of time
and money. It takes a little effort to stay well, but getting well
can be a challenge. President Gamiette taught about temples and gave
us much to think about. We are all building temples be they personal
or Church. Each of us is a temple and we are influencing other people
who are also temples. Great lesson. We also received three
missionaries this week who have had a real challenge getting here.
Sister Shrestha from Nepal flew in with Elder and Sister Kilgore which
helped a lot. Immigration at the airport gave here some difficulty
but the Kilgores helped that situation. Elder Nielson and Elder
Lundgren, who will be serving in Suriname, received their visas on
Wednesday and were here on Thursday. Suriname has been very tough of
late giving us clearance and these two missionaries have been temping
in Tennessee while waiting for clearance. We are responsible to keep
the apartment they stay in stocked with breakfast items and clean
linen as well as light housekeeping. We have had four different
groups there this week. The apartment they stay is in our complex and
is the apartment we moved out of for this very purpose. It will save
the mission a lot of money by not having to use a bed-and-breakfast.
It is convenient to start a load of wash, straighten and then throw
things in the dryer. This week we will hire a local member to come in
and deep clean. We are grateful for so many things that are being
made easier and more efficient. Saturday morning we went to the
Museum with the Childs and enjoyed it immensely. It is most
interesting to see the European influence in the Caribbean. It also
helps us to understand the local culture. We will long remember our
experiences here. We attended Church in Chaguanas again today. The
father of the family that lost a full-term baby a few months ago spoke
in Sacrament meeting and then taught Sunday School. He is growing by
leaps and bounds spiritually, great to watch. Interesting that our
trials can become a great blessing if we are willing to let them do
that for us.

We will be staying with the Gamiette family again this week as Sister
Gamiette will be going on tour with President Gamiette. So another
busy week ahead. We love you all and hope that our computer is back
up and going shortly so we can communicate more effectively.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

October 3,2010

Good day from Trinidad!!! It has been a great couple of days as we
have watched General Conference with the rest of the Church around the
world. We have been so blessed by the messages. President Monson
said, " I have so far to go before I sleep and promises to keep." I'm
not sure that is exact but that is definitely how I feel after
listening to Conference. It is a good time to evaluate and set new
goals.

We have had another busy week. It has been transfer week and and that
is always an adventure. It went without any major difficulties for
which we are so grateful. There were five Elders who returned home
this week and will be greatly missed. The feelings are very mixed as
they leave. They can hardly believe that there mission is completed
and feel sadness at leaving and yet they are so excited to see their
families and start their personal lives again. It is definitely a
"pay day" for President and Sister Gamiette. They have grown to love
these missionaries so much and have watched them mature and strengthen
their testimonies while serving and changing the lives of so many.
There is a sweet spirit in the Mission Office! We will receive the
new missionaries from the MTC in the Dominican Republic this week. We
talked about them last week. None of them are from the US and four
are from within the West Indies Mission boundaries. Another great
week ahead. Immigration is always a challenge and we hope that we
have things in order.

May we all be blessed in the coming days as we remember the messages
given to us this weekend and use them to set and renew goals. Faith,
the Holy Ghost and listening to a "LIVING PROPHET" were repeated
subjects. Our love and prayers are with you.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

September 26,2010

We hear that potato harvest is fast approaching. We have so many
great memories of "Spud Harvest". Hard work, great family and
friends, long hours, patience and a sense of humor recommended,
cinnamon rolls for the crew and whole lot of gratitude for our
blessings. We hope that you will all be kept safe and that the
harvest is gathered in a timely manner.

We want to share two accounts this week. We have been telling you
about Elder Vaea. Last Monday, Elder Vaea had appointments with some
specialists in SLC. He was waiting in the hall for a test to be
taken, when a door opened and President Monson and his doctor came
into the hall. Elder Vaea stood up and Pres. Monson asked him if he
was a missionary and some other questions. They shared a wonderful
hug and then Sister Vi took their picture. It is a great picture and
we will send it along with this e-mail. The experience was such an
emotional boost for Elder Vaea. We have the picture on our Return
with Honor board in the Mission Office. There are no such things as
coincidences!!! One of those "tender mercies" that we all have from
time to time.

We attended the Chigaunas branch today and heard a wonderful story.
Brother George, a member of 20 months, gave the Sunday School lesson
without any notice. He began with his conversion story. He told of
his mother dying when he was 6 years old and her asking him to take
care of his three sisters as she was dying. His dad was an alcoholic
and they had a tough growing up. He became an angry young man and an
angry adult who was involved in a lot of bad things. He is about 65
years old now. He said that he decided he needed a Church and began
to look. As he was searching, he knew in his heart that he was
looking for "a book" and as he was walking the streets of Chigaunas
he saw the small sign "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints" on a building. He immediately knew that he wanted to go to
that Church. The first of the next week, two white boys came to his
door with a message from "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints and he gladly welcomed them into his home. He found that they
had "a book" which they would share with him on their next visit. He
was so excited and began to read as soon as he received his copy of
the Book of Mormon. He could not lay it down. There are three other
churches within a two block area of the Chiguanas branch which have
lovely chapels. The Chiguanas branch meets above a business and he
still knew he would find what he was longing for there. He is a
strong member and loves the Book of Mormon which he has read three
times. The subject of honesty came up in the lesson and he shared
this experience. After becoming a member, he had the feeling that he
needed to pay a debt to a friend and that he needed to do it very soon
because the friend was going to die. He called his friend and asked
him to come to his house within the next couple of days. He paid his
debt and his friend died on the following Saturday. He was so taken
back by the experience that he didn't come to Church for a couple of
weeks. He says he is so grateful for the Spirit that guides him
everyday. We love it!!!

We have been preparing for transfers the last few days. It is always
a hectic, challenging time for all of us who serve in the office. We
have one Elder coming from French Polynesia and a Sister coming from
Nepal who is the first missionary from her country. There are 4
missionaries from Guyana and 1 from Trinidad in the Dominican Republic
MTC who will be here in the West Indies Mission on October 5. It is a
miracle what has happened to have so many local missionaries. We will
share that story in person when we return home.

We are looking forward to General Conference this week. I listened to
the Relief Society meeting and loved President Monson's story about a
couple moving into a new neighborhood. The wife noticed that the lady
next door didn't have very clean clothes on her clothesline and made
comments for several weeks. One day she told her husband that the
lady must have done something different because her clothes looked so
much cleaner. Her husband told her that he knew what had
happened....he had washed their windows. Moral of the story, don't
judge. We love Conference!!! We will be thinking about you all as we
watch from the chapel in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

Elder Vaea.JPG 2198

Sept. 19,2010

Good afternoon this beautiful Sabbath. How are you all in the
Mountain West? We become more and more grateful for news from home
and those we love. The miles that separate us don't change how we
feel.

We had Zone Council and Leader training this week. Zone Council was
for all the Zone leaders (24) throughout the mission and it was on
Monday. Then the Zone leader from the islands went back and the
district leaders and the trainers came in for training on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday . They were from Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname,
French Guiana and Guyana. It was quite a feat for us to arrange
housing, food and transportation for all of them. The office Elders
and the Assistants to the President were on the road constantly when
they were not in meetings getting missionaries back and forth to
embassies for immigration, airports and apartments and a
bed-and-breakfast. Making sure they were physically feed was the
office's responsibility-Sister Mimi, tickets and accommodations-Sister
Ellison and Sister Childs, funding-Elder Wheeler and furnishings for
apartments-Elder and Sister Wheeler. Sister Mimi asked us all to help
with some of the food on Sunday night and that meant that we added
baking goodies in the mix. Sister Ellison hates to cook so she came
to our apartment Monday night and Sister Mimi came to our apartment
Tuesday for assistance with her assignment and then Wednesday night
kinda fell through as Sister Mimi was not feeling well. I still made
a chocolate sheet cake so there was some sweetie at the end of their
main meal that next day. We bought 10 twin size mattresses for the
apartment we vacated last week and filled the fridge with drinks and
fruit and bought rolls and cereal for breakfast. It came together
quite well with few miscalculations. They have all returned to their
assigned countries and areas and are fired up and ready to work.
President Gamiette is a wonderful teacher and blesses the lives of all
who hear him. I asked the Elders who passed my desk to share one
thing that impacted them from the meetings and they will hand me a
written note this coming week as they come to the Mission office for
mail etc. It was also fun to talk to some of their parents this week
as we were facilitating immigration requirements and needing documents
from home. It brought back great memories of letters from the
missionaries in our family and the blessings that come to the whole
family when there is a missionary in the field. We took a deep breath
yesterday and had a great nap this afternoon and are ready for another
week.

Our lesson in Sunday School today was on the prophets. We are looking
forward to General Conference and are ready to listen intently to
their messages. Isn't it wonderful to be members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? We hear this wonderful affirmation
when we talk to those who have joined the Church or who are
investigating. Their lives are forever changed. May you each be
blessed this coming week. We love you and miss you.

Much love,

September 12,2010

How are you all doing? We are wondering about the harvest, school and
the weather. We miss the change of seasons even though this green is
beautiful. It is still the rainy season here and the foliage is lush.
We sometimes have water ponding in the streets which makes it
difficult to get around but amazingly it disappears into the ground
after a short time.

We have had a great week! President and Sister Gamiette have been in
the Dominican Republic at a Mission Presidents Seminar for the past
week and we have been staying with their children. They are a great
family. They have five children. Coralie is 15, Jennifer is 14,
Terry is 10, Tom is 6 and Amy is 5. They started school this week so
it was a bit hectic but it brought back a lot of a memories and some
homesickness for our own grandchildren and family. We would start the
day with the commute to school. We would leave the house at 7:15 am
and take the older girls to their school which is a private school
just for girls. Then we would take the three younger ones to their
school which is a private Catholic school. The traffic is unreal as
they do not have school buses and everyone either takes their own
children or they us the vans (taxis) to get the children to school.
The morning commute can be over two hours. We would leave the Mission
office at 2 pm to pick them up from school and that commute was even
worse. We would arrive home about 4:30 pm and have the rest of the
evening to get homework done, have dinner and then scriptures,and
family prayer and then tuck them all in about 8:30 pm. We had a great
time. We also met the housekeeper, Doris, who works at least three
days a week and she is a delight. She has been the housekeeper for
the mission home through 4 or 5 mission presidents. The Gamiettes are
the first to have a young family. She had such great stories to
tell. She is originally from Guyana and is an Amoran indian. We hope
to stay close to her as well as the children the rest of our mission.
Sister Mimi (She was called to help the children make the change from
French to English and has spent a lot of time with them.) from the
office came to stay with them on Saturday while we came home to wash
and get ready for the coming week. We had shopping to do to prepare
for the training that the President is so anxious to give to the
mission leaders. He was so spiritually fed at the Seminar and is on
fire to share it with the mission. This coming week will be very busy
with many missionaries coming to Trinidad for Zone Leader Council and
now other leaders will be coming also. This mission is complex and
interesting.

Elder Wheeler had quite the experience this week with funding the
missionaries. There are two Elder Jordans. One is Michael Jordan and
he is in St. Maarten and the other is Christopher Jordan and he is in
Guyana. St. Maarten uses the U.S. dollar and the Guyana uses GYD with
an exchange rate of 200 to 1. Well, Elder Wheeler turned them around
and funded Elder Michael Jordan $124,000 and Elder Christopher Jordan
$430 which is $2.15 US. Needless to say, each Elder was very
surprised and Elder Wheeler was "taken back" by what had happened
also. Elder Michael Jordan should have received $430 U.S. and Elder
Christopher Jordan should have received $124000 GYD. It made for some
great laughs after it was all straightened out.

We are so grateful for all of our blessings and for this opportunity
to serve. We pray for you all at home everyday! After reading
scriptures with the Gamiette family each day, we hope that you all are
making time for this important event in your homes. We are so
grateful for the Book of Mormon and the answers to prayers that come
from reading it each day.

We are so enjoying each new experience. What a great blessing it is
to serve! There is so much need for senior couples.

Love and blessings,

September 5, 2010

,

Well, it's Fair week. We hope you all having a great time with the
Fair food and exhibits. We also heard that Kenny Rogers and the
Oakridge Boys will be there. We enjoyed a great fireworks
demonstration here on Tuesday, September 31, as it was Trinidad's
Independence Day. We left work early and went to the Port of Spain
Ward's barbecue and then walked to the huge Savannah Park in the
center of the City. Great fireworks!!! The ward members played
cricket, Dominoes, ping-pong and jump rope. Mormon gatherings also
have great food. Brother Kotiah loves to cook and did a great job
barbecuing chicken and fish. The Kotiahs have been ever so good to
us.

Monday night was a great night. During the day, we had a few doubts
that Elder Vaea would be able to get his passport and visa back from
the U.S. Embassy. We had to wait patiently for a TT Post courier to
bring it from the Embassy in Port of Spain to the TT Post post office
by the airport. He finally got it from a Security guard (the post
office had closed) working at the post office at 7 pm. He was able
to make his flight early the next morning to the States. The Vi
family was there to welcome him and take such great care of him. He
had an appointment with a doctor the next morning. He loves sharing
the gospel and was looking for some missionaries to go teach with in
Salt Lake.

We attended the baptism of Lennax Phillips in the Arima branch on
Monday night. He is a golden contact that Elder Wilkinson and Elder
Morris found and Elder Wilkinson was able to baptize him with a help
from Elder Morris. It was a very tender, spiritual meeting. Elder
Wilkinson is so weak (he can barely walk with someone by his side to
steady him) and we are glad that he was able to return home with his
parents. A Church doctor flew into Trinidad so that he could fly
home with them on Tuesday morning. Elder Wilkinson has extremely
serious heart trouble and we are all anxious to hear how things are
going for them. We are all united in our prayers for these two
Elders.

Today we attended the Chiguanas Branch and we ever so blessed again.
It is wonderful to feel the strength of the members. After Sunday
School, Brother Hussein, counselor in the branch presidency, told me
of being one of six member who started the Chiguanas branch and with
tears in his eyes bore his testimony of the Gospel and love of the
Savior and how much his life has changed since becoming a member. He
also has served as the branch president. Wonderful, strong spirit in
the meetings today. Elder Ence and Elder George a great investigator
at the meetings and we are all excited about him becoming a member of
the Church.

Life is good! The Church is true! The blessings come from living the
Gospel principles and loving the Lord and our fellowmen

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

August 29,2010

s,

We have had a good Sabbath and hope that you all have too. It is so
fun to go to so many different branches and wards and see the
consistency with which all the meetings are conducted. We had Stake
Conference today and it was great. The building was filled to
capacity and the talks were all very good. The Stake President was
called out of the Stake unexpectedly and the first counselor conducted
and gave two good talks. He was a missionary 4 years ago. He is now
married and serving in the Stake Presidency. Amazing what is
happening and how important Seminary and Institute are in preparing
missionaries and future leaders. It is good to watch the youth and
feel so confident that we will be in their care in the near future.

Last week we were concerned with health issues for two of our
missionaries. Elder Wilkinson's parents arrived mid-week and that was
such a blessing. We are hopeful that he will be able to travel to the
States Tuesday with his parents. There is a cardiologist from Salt
Lake flying in to travel with them. Elder Vaea had a good appointment
at the U.S. Embassy and they kept his passport and said they would
deliver it to the Mission Office. It hasn't happened yet but we hope
that it will happen tomorrow. We have a ticket for him on Tuesday
also and hope that the passport and visa come in time for him to use
that ticket. It is so wonderful to have all the technology and
knowledge so readily available to us in dealing with these
circumstances. Our faith is tested and after all we can do the
miracle happens. Tomorrow is another Zone Leader Council. It will be
held via the web instead of flying all the zone leaders to Trinidad.
We tried this while we were in St. Vincent. When they finally get the
bugs worked out, it will be a great blessing.

Elder Wheeler is working with apartments and vehicles. The wheels
turn slowly in these matters and it is a test of one's patience. The
van that needs to be sold should have been sold over a year ago. The
apartment that is needed will only be needed for a short time and
there three others that are unoccupied right now. Interesting! Also,
immigration is always a chess match with transfers. There is no time
to get into a boring routine for sure. We can see the Lord's hand in
the things that are happening even though logically it doesn't make a
lot of sense.

We love you all and pray for that the Lord's tender mercies will be with you.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

August 22,2010

Can summer be over and school back in session? Time is flying! School
will start here on September 6. The traffic gets crazier after school
starts. We are also hoping that we will be able to see Mars the end
of the week as it is supposed to look as big as the moon. We live in
an area where it is hard to see the sky because of buildings and trees
etc. so we hope we don't miss it. It is always good to hear from you
and to hear about what is happening in you world.

This has been quite a week. We have had a number of unusual things to
deal with as well as receiving and sending home missionaries. It has
also been transfer week with lots of travel, funding and immigration
issues. We were supposed to have seven new missionaries and we only
got four because three had not been able to get their visas. So, they
will be temping in the States until that happens. They come in with
their eyes big and ready to go. It is fun to watch how quickly they
adjust and get into the work. We also had nine Elders return home.
They have mixed emotions, so excited to being going home to their
families, friends and school and yet hate to leave those they have
come to love here in the West Indies. The Assistants to the President
took them to the airport and they said there was not a dry eye in the
van. We have served closely with some of them and love them like
family. We have watched them boldly share the Gospel and care for and
love the people. Great memories that will make us dear friends
forever. President Gamiette interviews each of the incoming and
departing missionaries and it makes quite a couple of days in the
office. President and Sister Gamiette also have them to the mission
home for dinner and a devotional. To add to the dynamics, we had an
Elder collapse in his apartment and was taken to a hospital. The
hospital was not the best so they took him to another private
hospital. He has been in ICU with heart problems. His parents are
trying to get here but they do not have passports. This young Elder
has only been here 8 weeks and is trying to do missionary work from
his hospital room. He is writing down the names of contacts and
calling people etc. Hopefully they will be able to stabilize his
condition and get home to the States this week. The sad side of all
of this is that Pres. also had four disciplinary councils with two
being sent home. SAD!!! Mission presidents pack a hefty load. Every
time there was a change, it meant changes in assignments and new
needs for travel, immigration and funding. We had a total of eight
transfer sheets before it was all said and done. We are still trying
to facilitate a visa for Elder Vaea and have an appointment for him at
the U.S. embassy at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. We have no doubt that the
Lord will make the right thing happen. Even through the difficult
things this week, there has been a spirit that the Lord's will would
be done. Obedience is such an essential principle and keeps us sa

We had a great experience yesterday. Elder and Sister Angus,
humanitarian missionaries, invited us to attend a 'handing over"
ceremony with them. It was held in Port of Spain at the International
Red Cross facility there. It was a container, semi trailer load, of
wheel chairs, new born kits, school kits, hygiene kits, clothes,
blankets and toys. It had been packed in Salt Lake City and then
trucked across the US and then sent by boat to Trinidad. They don't
always get the kits like they did this time but felt like the Lord had
blessed them as the community of Chaguanas had been flooded the last
couple of weeks with all the rain and was in desperate need of the
supplies that were in the container. It also helped those who are
trying to get ready for school to start. The ceremony was impressive
with the Stake President, Emrol Gould, handing it over to the Red
Cross and Missions International for distribution to those who were
most need. There were members of the cabinet (government) and the
media. there also. All 40 wheelchairs had already been spoken for.
The wife of the administrator for Missions International said that
they were so impressed with the way the kits had been put together.
She said that women must have been a part of that because they were
put together in such a caring, organized and thoughtful way. People
were so grateful to receive them as they were struggling! Our thought
went to home and they days that the youth and Relief Society work to
put these kits together. We saw first hand the gratitude from those
who receive them. We came away knowing that there are caring
thoughtful, good people everywhere. The administrator of Missions
International is a wonderful man who works tirelessly for the good of
others. Elder and Sister Angus are doing a marvelous work throughout
the mission and most especially in Guyana. Watching this will make
fasting and fast offerings more personal. It is so wonderful to be a
Mormon and to be a part of this great work.

We hope you all have a great week!!!

August 15 2010

Another rainy week in paradise. We love this rainy season and we know
that it is harvest there and it needs to be sunny and warm. We hope
that the Fall is a good one for all of you. We hope that you will
enjoy the Fall season for us; we miss the harvest, the cool nights and
mornings, the colors, the canning and storing the garden and the long,
hard working hours and those who helped with the harvest. I miss
making cinnamon rolls for the harvest crew and the blessing all these
good people were to us and to our children. We are so grateful for
all of you.

We had two experiences that we would like to share with you. There is
a missionary from Tonga that we served with in St. Vincent and also
have had the opportunity to spend time with here in Trinidad. He and
his companions were amazing, dedicated missionaries. In St. Vincent,
they went into the community of Diamond and walked the hills and gaps
and met all the people. Elder Vaea shared with me on Friday the
experience of finding "Bailey". Bailey was drunk and sitting in a
heap on the roadside. Elder Vaea told him who he was and asked him
what he wanted to do the rest of his life. " Do you want to drink
more? Do you want to smoke more? Bailey said, "No, I want to change
my life!" Bailey was not a youngster but an older man. He has come
to Church almost every week in the Calliaqua branch since then. He is
a strong member and has baptized others. There are many who will be
forever grateful to Elder Vaea and his other companions. Elder Vaea
is strong and of good courage. However, he has not been well most of
his mission and has kept it to himself. His situation has become more
evident and the mission nurse, Sister Ellison, has had him to many
physicians and had many tests and they have come to no conclusions
about his malady. The Church has made commitments that the
missionaries will return to their country of origin at the conclusion
of their mission. Because of this important commitment, it is hard to
get visas for missionaries that are not US citizens to make any stop
at all in the U.S. As we have looked for options for Elder Vaea, we
found that we were coming up short everywhere we turned. We needed
Missionary Department approval, General authority approval, physicians
recommendations from here and in the U.S. as well as legal advice,
very involved and complicated. We had Zone Conference tour the past
two weeks here in the West Indies Mission. Elder Coleman of the
Seventy and his wife were a part of this tour. They were in Trinidad
last Monday and Tuesday. Monday night Elder Vaea had an episode and
collapsed in his apartment on Monday evening. The Elders took him to
the hospital and Sister Ellison and Pres. and Sister Gamiette met them
there. There were some anxious hours and a powerful blessing from
Pres. Gamiette was given. The tour continued to Guyana and then they
had Friday afternoon again in Trinidad before going on to Suriname.
Pres. Gamiette and Elder Coleman came to the mission office directly
from the airport and things began to happen. There were many phone
calls and much finding of information. Pres Gamiette would come to my
desk and ask for things every few minutes and Elder Morris (Office
Elder) helped with sending information to Salt Lake City via the
internet. Elder Vaea, who has been serving as Elder Morris' companion
for the last few weeks, was right there at my desk and we were sharing
memories of St. Vincent. Just as this started to happen, Elder Vaea
had pulled up the pictures from our blog and we were sharing memories
shared in St. Vincent. We watched as a mountain was beginning to be
moved to allow Elder Vaea to receive medical help in the States. This
coming week will be important in scraping the dirt around and
smoothing things but we have seen a miracle. Sister Mele Vi, who has
helped from Salt Lake and is the mother of Elder Vi who served with
Elder Vaea in St. Vincent, has helped so much and has facilitated an
appointment with a doctor in Salt Lake as well as being his Tongan
family in the States. Elder Vaea's release date is the last of
September and he wants to serve right up to the time he leaves. Pres.
Gamiette has given him the opportunity to train a new missionary until
he goes to the U.S. and before going home to Tonga.

The other experience happened this morning at the Couva branch. In
Sunday School, we were talking about being guided by the Spirit.
Sister Hyman, a Hindu convert, shared an experience. She said that
she and her daughters had been to the Church to help clean on a
Saturday morning and had returned home. As they entered their home,
Sister Hyman felt she should lock her door. It wasn't long until her
brother came to the house and called in. He asked why she had locked
her door and she continued to talk to him through the window. Her
daughter pointed out to her that he had a large cutlass hidden behind
his back. He was very agitated and he said to her as he was leaving,
"It is a good things you locked your door, you know!" After Sunday
School, I told her that I appreciated her sharing her experience. She
began sharing more experiences and told me with tears in her eyes how
the feeling in her home changed as she put up pictures of the Temples
and that she would read the Book of Mormon and then embrace the Book
and cry and then repeat the process. We embraced as sisters with
tears in our eyes. We are so blessed to be members of the Church and
it says something about the choices we have made before this life and
in this life. Heavenly Father blesses us for every good thing that
we do be it immediate or sometimes when we least expect it. Again, we
heard a marvelous, first generation story of conversion.

We are enjoying our mission so much! We love the West Indian people!
We enjoy the people we serve with! It is important to thrive where we
are and to find the best in our associates. There are so much good in
people everywhere!

August 8,2010

Good night from Trinidad,

We have had great news from home with two new baby boys being blessed
in our family the last two Sundays. They are Andrew Beer Wheeler
(Kory and Heather ) and Kasen Krew Wheeler (Seth and Tiffany). We are
so grateful for these new little ones in our family. It sounds like
fall is fast approaching and that school is starting again soon. It
is hard to imagine when they seasons change very little here. The sun
comes up and goes down the same time all year round. I take that
back, it changes by about twenty minutes. The sun is up about 6 a.m.
and goes down about 6:30 p.m.

We have had a busy week in the Mission office as we have been
preparing for the Zone Conference tour with Elder and Sister Coleman.
Elder Coleman is a member of the Seventy and will tour the whole
mission with President and Sister Gamiette. We are also preparing for
transfers and the arrival of 7 new Elders and the departure of 9
Elders. It is great to see both as the new Elders are so ready to get
started and the departing Elders have mixed emotions. It is such a
great experience to see the growth that comes to these young
missionaries. Our Heavenly Father is definitely in charge and has
such a great plan for us. We are also watching the progress of a
Senior Couple from the Netherlands and a young Sister from Nepal as
the prepare to come to the West Indies Mission. They were having a
lot of challenges satisfying the immigration requirements but the past
few days things have opened up for them. It is amazing to watch this
young woman from Nepal and we look forward to getting to know her
story. It is very cold in Nepal and she will have quite an adjustment
as she comes to the Caribbean. We also had a wonderful P-day on
Saturday. We went to Maracas beach with Elder and Sister Childs and
had Shark and bake, which is a must according to everyone. It is deep
fried shark and a scone like "bake". We took the mountain road back
to Valsayn where we live. It was beautiful rain forest with some very
interesting road conditions. This island has it all, beautiful
beaches, flat crop land, swamps and rugged mountains. The population
is very diverse and we have come to love the East Indian people.
They are beautiful, well mannered, family oriented and hard working.

Well, we best call it a night as we have to be at the airport at 6
a.m.to pick-up Elder and Sister Harris (CES couple) who went to
Suriname for a Seminary Graduation this weekend. We have been
studying about inspiration and the Gift of the Holy Ghost. We are so
grateful for the " tender mercies" we receive as we are guided
through the complex matters that present themselves in the Mission
office. There is no doubt that we are blessed each day! D&C 8:2-3
"I believe that one day, when we are allowed to review the scenes of
mortality from a grander perspective, we will be astounded at how
closely the Lord directed our paths, orchestrated the events of our
lives, and in general led us by that kindly light we know as the Holy
Ghost." May you be blessed this week!

August-1-2010

Dear family and friends,

Last week was the first time on our mission that we missed a week
writing. We hoped to not let that happen again. We hope that your
summer is going well and that you are looking forward to the beautiful
Fall weather and school starting again. We are experiencing the rainy
season and everything is lush and green. We had an especially heavy
storm on Thursday which knocked out the power and flooded many of the
roadways. When we say pouring rain it is something that we do not
experience in Idaho.

Last weekend we went to the other side of the island for a get away
with most of the Senior missionaries. We had a marvelous time! We
went to see the leather back turtles. We checked into our
accommadations and went to the beach and the Turtle Center. We went
back to our rooms and went to bed. At 11:00 pm we were called to come
to the beach, that there was a turtle there. We arrived and there was
a large leather back turtle, approximately 800 pounds, who was
engaged in digging a hole in which to lay her eggs. She dug a well
sculptured 3 foot deep hole and then went into a trance as she began
laying her eggs. The eggs are about 2 and a half inches in diameter
and she lays between 80 to 100. She came out of the trance and
covered the eggs up very carefully. She then made her way back into
the ocean. She had been tagged in Australia. She will come back 4
or 5 times every few days and lay that many eggs again and again. She
then is on her way and may return to the same beach in another 10 to
25 years. We saw three other turtles coming in but they never did
come onto the beach. It was a beautiful moonlight night and we had
trouble seeing everything. We missed the height of the season when
there will be 200 turtles on the beach a night. There mortality rate
is astronomical, only 1 in 1000 will survive. We took a walk on the
beach the next morning and there were dogs and vultures digging up the
eggs etc. The little ones need to be back in the ocean before it gets
light in the morning. They hatch after a couple of weeks and have to
dig their way to the surface. When anyone finds one they put it in a
container and hide it until it gets dark and then release it into the
ocean. All the odds are against them and yet they are still here.
Brings to mind a quote that I have become well acquainted with by
President HinkcleyHinckley, "Things will work out. Keep trying. Be
believing. Be happy. Don't get discouraged. Things will work out."

We have welcomed another Senior Couple, the Harris from Layton, Utah,
this week. The are CES and will travel to many countries helping to
establish and encourage the Seminary and Institutes here in the West
Indies Mission. They arrived Monday night about 11 pm. and we got
them to their apartment about 12:30 am. The airport is so busy that
time of night with people loving to board a plane and sleep as they go
to Europe, the US, Africa and other destinations. It has been fun
getting to know them and helping them get settled. They are
experiencing some culture shock even though they are loving it here.
We took them to Maracas beach on Saturday afternoon and had a great
time. We walked the length of the beach and then had the "must have
shark and bake" at Richard's. We met some great people on th beach
and really enjoyed the day. Harris also attended the San Fernando
Ward with us today.

Sister Cummings is the Gospel Doctrine teacher and shared a great
experience she had this week. She works for a construction company.
She had not been feeling well and was making mistakes. Friday, after
an especially discouraging day, she returned home and found no one
there. She knelt down and prayed and expressed her frustration and
asked for help to know what she should do. She went to work on
Saturday expecting a large order for cement, very costly. The cement
company had broken down and the order was delayed. Because she had
time, she began to go over her figures and realized that she had not
figured correctly and she needed to change the order for the cement.
Her supervisor said to her, "God is with you!" The help is there if
we will ask, then listen and then act.

We are very aware of our blessings. These are challenging times......
but exciting times to be here on the earth. We are blessed to be a
part of this great work and to help prepare for the Second Coming of
our Savior. May each be blessed as you strive to be faithful.

July-18-2010

Dear family and friends,

We are so grateful for the blessings of this week. We have had great
news from home with the arrival of another grandson. Kory and
Heather's Alexander arrived on July 15. Two more grandsons while we
have been here on our mission. We are so grateful for the Internet
and Skype and being able to see and talk to our family. It is also
wonderful to receive e-mails and sometimes instantly respond. Almost
like a good walk and visit with good friends and family.

We have had unbelievable rain this morning which kept us home from the
beach. We also have been waiting for the senior couple from St.
Vincent to come to Trinidad before returning home from their mission.
They have been exceptional in their assignments and a great example to
all. They have not arrived yet because Liat airlines is having "much
trouble today". Their flight was to leave at 7:40 a.m. and they
finally left at 3:00 p.m. Their plane had trouble and had to land on
the island of Canouin which is a small island just off St. Vincent.
It is now 6:30 p.m. and we are still waiting to hear from them. We
have so much to be grateful for by living in the United States and
enjoying the best that is available. We had a quiet dinner with two
other senior couples last night and talked at length about the
challenges that so many have in just living from day to day. The
Angus couple are back in Trinidad from their Humanitarian assignment
in Guyana and they have so many interesting stories about life there.
Our thoughts are with you at home and with our ancestors as July 24
approaches. We have so many in our families that have shown such
courage in facing hardship and trials of their faith. We face a
different challenges and have their example to live up to. So many of
the Conference talks of the importance of our families and drawing
close to each other. We love you all so much and pray for you every
day.

We have had an exceptional week with missionaries. We spent Monday
with Elder Roeper and Elder Lubberink who are from Holland. They came
to Trinidad to renew some immigration requirements that they could not
accomplish in Suriname where they are serving. They were both
exceptional young men. We had a great day with them and then had FHE
with the Childs(senior couple), the office Sisters and these Dutch
missionaries before they left for a late flight back to Suriname. We
will remember with fondness the Dutch missionaries we have met. They
have a politeness and quiet manner that is engaging. Tuesday, the
local missionaries from Guyana. Suriname, Haiti, and the Bahamas
arrived from the MTC in the Dominican Republic. It has been a joint
effort to satisfy all that is required for them to serve and so we
feel like we know them even though we have not actually met them.
There was a wonderful spirit in the office as they were oriented and
taught by President Gamiette. They will be a strong force for good as
they serve their missions and will be a firm foundation for the Gospel
to grow from in the Caribbean. Elder Franklyn Smith from the Bahamas
was taught and baptized by Shawn Jones, Randy and Charlene Jones son,
a year ago. The missionary from Haiti is a sister missionary and had
such courage and confidence. Unbelievable what she went through to be
able to serve. Great smiles all around! They are pioneers here in
the Caribbean! We have felt so many blessings as we have stretched to
meet the demands of serving in the mission office, "tender mercies".
We have even felt that the rain has not fallen so we could get our
walk in the morning. It has been raining when we woke up and it was
raining when we left for the office. The walk is a great way to start
the day!! We know that our Father loves each of us and we feel his
blessings every day.

We look forward to hearing about how you all will celebrate July 24.
We look forward to the Choirs broadcast! The Fauxs (senior couple)
will return home on July 23. It will be a long day for them and they
will arrive home late that night. Elder Faux said, "We get home at
11:30 p.m. and it is a good thing because they are going to have a
parade for us the next day." Great sense of humor! What a delight
they are!! Sister Faux cut my hair a few times when we would go to
St. Lucia for Zone Conferences. Our thoughts and prayers are with

July-11-2010

Dear family and friends,

Good day from Trinidad! It is celebration here tonight as the World
Cup just ended. There are several parties in the neighborhood and it
is a lot like Super Bowl Sunday. Traditions are important! We just
need to think about what those traditions are celebrating. We are
looking forward to next weekend and receiving the broadcast
celebrating the July 24!!! It was fun to hear the members here talk
about the pioneers and their tremendous sacrifice. They were truly in
awe! We have much to be grateful for with that kind of an example.

This week was transfers and it went smooth for the most part. We are
being blessed! The only problem that happened of note was that one
Senior Couple had been waiting for an Elder to fly in for three hours
and he will not arrive until next week. They had not looked at the
date on the ticket and the Assistants had not talked to them about it.
This week we will welcome six local missionaries to the mission.
They have been in the MTC in the Dominican Republic and will arrive a
week later than those from the MTC in Provo. It is wonderful to see
these young people serve here and know that they are the future of the
Church in this part of the world. The Humanitarian Senior Couple, the
Angus, arrived back in Trinidad from Guyana on Friday. They will be
in Tobago in the next couple of weeks with a large project there.
They are helping an orphanage with much needed furnishings like beds,
a stove and other things. It is one thing to help those who are in
need but the challenge comes with working with all the different
governments involved. Childs, Senior Couple over audits, have
settled in for the most part. They have been here three weeks. We
went to Manzanilla beach with them yesterday. They planned to attend
the branch in Sangre Grande today and wanted to find it yesterday.
So, we had a great walk on the beach after finding the branch
building. Manzanilla beach is on the windward side of the island and
so there was plenty of surf. I have never seen foam on the beach from
the waves before. Today, we went to the other end of the island to
the San Fernando ward. It was delightful. Great talks and great
people. One of the Sisters who talked in Sacrament meeting has been a
member since December. After meetings, we had a great visit with her
family and she shared her conversion story. She said that she was in
a deep depression and was crying a lot. She saw the Elders on the
street and asked them, "Can you please help me." That lead to a short
conversation and they invited her to come to Church the next day. On
the way to Church, she was hearing words of discouragement like you
don't want to go, you will be totally out of place in those white boys
Church and other such things. She persisted in her journey. She felt
such peace after arriving and after the meetings the Elders taught her
the Restoration lesson and asked to pray and ask if it was true. Her
life has been a total turn around since then and she is so happy, as
is her family. She is married and has two daughters. They want us to
come to their home in the near future. We will bear witness of the
blessings of the temple when we go. We miss the temple immensely.
There are three couples from St. Vincent, that we worked with when we
were there, that will go to the temple in the Dominican Republic in
August. Our hearts will go with them! President Gamiette's
responsibilities are daunting. The blessing of "run and not be weary
and walk and not faint" come to mind often as we watch from a
bird's-eye-view. No one can do the Lord's work without His help
especially Mission Presidents and General Authorities.

We have felt such an outpouring of the Spirit and we are so grateful
to be here in the mission field together. May each of you be blessed
this week and always.

July 4, 2010

It is a strange experience not to be home for the celebrations on the
Fourth of July. We miss it and you all very much. Truly, the United
States of America is a chosen land where the Gospel of Jesus Christ
could be restored. Other countries are delightful to visit but there
is no place like home. We recognize how much we have to be grateful
for. Both Kory and Megan expressed such gratitude for America after
serving their missions in Brazil and England and we are feeling that
way also.

This has been another busy week. We learn so much every week. The
next two weeks will be extremely busy with new missionaries coming
from the States and from countries in the West Indies and transfers.
Getting everyone on planes and into the countries they are going to is
a daunting task. We don't find out till maybe 5 days before transfers
who is going and who is staying and then it is a blitz to get
everything arranged. We also are experiencing a lot of illness with
some of the missionaries. One that we served with in St. Vincent from
Tonga and have such love for, Elder Vaea, is currently having a
serious bout with an aggressive parasite. He is unable to keep any
nourishment in his system for very long. He is amazing in that he has
slowed down but is not "out-straight" with this malady. We flew him
and his companion to Guyana this week for a medication that is only
available there. It has not helped yet. He has trouble keeping it
down. We have thought about sending him to the States for treatment
but his Visas make that almost impossible. The miracle is yet to
happen but we have faith that it will. We decided to invite the
missionaries who live in our complex, the Office Elders and the
Assistants to our apartment tomorrow afternoon for a barbecue to
celebrate July 4th. Elder Vaea and his companion, who have been
staying in the humanitarian senior couple's apartment for the past
week, will come also. The Angus are so generous with their apartment
when needs arise; they are currently in Guyana working on humanitarian
projects there. Anyway, when we talked about getting together and
still have the missionaries ready to go to work at 6 pm, we decided to
start at 4 pm and then invite the rest of the people who live in
Valsayne Villa to come to the pool area for singing and light
refreshment about 6 pm. Elder Vaea has been so ready to get back to
proselyting and is excited about this event. So, we will be
celebrating tomorrow! Elder Wheeler and I have had the responsibility
of arranging for another apartment for the CES couple who will be
coming the end of July. Mr. Juman is the owner of Valsayne Villa and
has been remodeling one of the apartments in our building. He is a
very sharp businessman and when Jim met with him to rent the apartment
with our list of things we thought (hoped) should come with a
furnished apartment, he was not very accommodating. Well, we met with
him again on Friday in the apartment and he had done much more than we
requested. He was excited to show us what he had done and Johnny,
the manager, told us his wife had even come to put things away. It
will be a good place for the Harris to "hang their hats". Johnny and
Mr. Juman both thought that we should move into the new apartment and
let the Harris move in our apartment. Too much to do to think about
moving again. We attended church in Chiguanas today. Brother
Baptiste gave the lesson in Sunday School and he wore his love for the
Gospel in his countenance. Great man! I took a chocolate sheet cake
to their "Linger Longer" and there was not a crumb left. So, best get
cookin' for tomorrow!

We love you all! We are so glad to be Mormons and citizens of the US.

"God Bless America."

June 27, 2010

We are thinking about July 4 and that most of you will be at
activities, celebrations, and firework next weekend to celebrate the
signing of the Declaration of Independence. When you are in another
country, you realize how blessed we are to be Americans. Other
countries are a delight to visit, but... We have heard others tell
that when they arrived back in the U.S. they wanted to kiss the ground
upon which they stood. We are indeed blessed to be Americans.

We are having very busy weeks and the weeks are flying by. We have
had some sick Elders that have needed us to get them to doctors and
others that needed unusual paperwork to travel between countries.
There are quite a few local missionaries that have been called to
serve here in the West Indies Mission and their paperwork is more
complicated than the missionaries from the States. We sat in front of
the Dominican Republic embassy for three hours waiting for them to
open and they never did. We were quite concerned that he would not be
able to get this Elder into the DR for MTC training and then we
finally found out that he did not need the Visa we had been told he
needed. His name is Elder Hoepel and he is from Suriname which is a
Dutch country and he is a fine young man.

We attended Church in Chaguanas again today and their numbers are
small but they have the "very elect" as members. The Sacrament
meeting talks were excellent as were the classes. Alex is East
Indian and gave a talk about paying tithing. He joined the Church and
decided that he wanted to keep all the commandments especially keeping
the Sabbath day holy and paying tithing. His job would not allow him
to have Sundays off so he quit. His landlord noticed that he was home
and asked him about it. He told him that he was looking for work and
that he didn't want to work on Sundays because he wanted to go to
Church. The landlord had a pharmacy and called him the next day and
hired him. This job didn't pay as much as his previous job but he
would probably get a raise after six months. He worked for a month
and he received a call from his boss saying he wanted to see him. He
was nervous that maybe he had done something wrong; but, no... he gave
him a raise. Then in another two weeks, he got another call... and he
was nervous again... and he got another raise in pay. About two weeks
later, he got another call and it happened again. He knew he was
being blessed for his obedience in paying his tithing. When the Lord
says "prove me here with", he keeps his promise if we keep the
commandments. He began to help people at the pharmacy with their
nutrition and losing weight. The boss gave time off on Sunday to go
to Church but insisted on him coming to work on Sunday afternoon. So,
he took another leap of faith and quit that job and started his own
weight loss business. He has a good clientel and baptized Dalison
Moore yesterday, who is one of his clients. All along the way, he has
been blessed because he was willing to make the changes needed to be
faithful member of the Church. He is one of the "elect" that we have
met here. We can see that there are many whose heart have been
prepared to receive the Gospel and build a strong foundation for the
Church here in the Caribbean.

Our thoughts are with you this week of celebration!!! We need to be
grateful everyday for our blessings. We are thankful for such a
wonderful family and great friends.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

June 20, 2010

We have had a wonderful week with challenges mixed in to keep the
sweet ever more sweet. The news from home the first of the week was
indeed joyful. Tiffany had a beautiful baby boy in the early hours of
Monday morning. Seth is indeed a "proud papa". Kasen Krew joins
three sisters who can't wait to help tend him. This event brings back
the poignant memories of eight born to us and the unforgettable
feeling of the miracle of birth and the partnership we share with our
Heavenly Father as we become parents. We are so grateful for family
on this Father's day, for our fathers, for each of our children, for
each father in our family be they sons or sons-in-law. We have
mentioned before the lack of those who accept this wonderful but
challenging responsibility here in the Caribbean. There are those who
do and it is obvious that the family is the basic unit in our Father's
plan which brings happiness, joy and peace.

We had a an unforgettable experience yesterday. We got up at 5:30
a.m. and with Sister Ellison, who serves with us in the Mission
office, drove to a small village at the foot of the mountains to meet
a family who would take us on a hike in the Trinidad wilderness.
Sister Ellison had been there before and had arranged for this
opportunity for us. Pearl Ramdeholl is the mother of 14 and is a
member of the Curepe ward. Her adult children, David, Kathy and Jenny
and her daughter Desiree, met us at their mothers home and we began
our hike. It was a steep road for awhile and then we left the narrow
paved road and began our trip into the bush. Jenny was so
enthusiastic about sharing their culture and the beauty of her country
with us. We sampled every nut and every fruit along the way. We came
back with five kinds of mangoes, cashews, coco beans, a whisk Kathy
made from a coco branch for making soups and sauces. We learned about
all the different insects and animals and birds. They were so kind to
us and made sure that we were safe. As we reached high on the
mountain, the view of their village was beautiful. As we arrived
back in their village, it was alive with activity as they were
preparing to celebrate Labor Day. Part of the celebration was a curry
duck cook-off, like our chili cook-offs. It was a little after 10 in
the morning and the aroma from their efforts was delightful. They
took us along a small river where they go to swim, which they call
bathe, and it did have several good ponds as we climbed along the
river. They had built a dam at the top and had a pipe that came down
from there and brought this water to the village to drink. As we
arrived back at Pearl's home, she had made us a clear broth with a
small ear of corn in each bowl. It was comfort food and was much
appreciated. It was one of those experiences that only happens if you
are willing to become a part of the culture. Pearl has always
searched for a Church that taught the whole truth. She has joined
many. She has now been a member of the true Church for 12 years. Her
children have been skeptical because of her history and have not been
interested in hearing the "Good News" as of yet. Today the thought
has come to express our gratitude for their kindness and hospitality
by telling them thank you and sharing with them a message that we feel
much like they do about their homeland and heritage. That we have
something so good and will bring them joy and happiness and safety as
they return to our Father. They are a choice family... to be
continued.

We loved our Sunday School lesson today about David and Saul. Saul
became envious of David and David "behaved himself wisely". Our
choices are so important starting with what we choose to think. We
listen often to the Mormon Channel and are so grateful for the
abundance of good to choose from. We love you all so much and hope
this day finds you happy.

June 13, 2010

,

We have heard from a few from the mountain west this week and it is
good to hear about your lives. We had a senior couple arrive in
Trinidad late last night and they are really feeling the humidity and
heat and they told us the same as we have been hearing from you, that
it has been a wet, cold spring. We must have gotten used to the heat
for the most part because we were quite comfortable while they were
sweltering.

It has been another busy week and we have learned a lot. The office
is still challenging and will probably remain so as they are always
new things to deal with. This next month the West Indies Mission will
gain another island country, Barbados will become a part of our
mission. We have not received any instructions as of yet as to how we
are to help facilitate this change. One of the highlights of the week
came today as we attended the Chaguanas branch conference. A little
over a year ago, the first stake was organized here in Trinidad. The
Stake President, Pres. Gould, talked in Sacrament meeting and then
taught in Sunday School. It was such a treat to see what happens when
someone embraces the Gospel wholeheartedly. He talked of his
conversion 21 years ago as an 18 year old in Sunday School and it was
such a testimony of the Spirit teaching him the truth. In Sacrament
meeting, he started to talk about the booklet For the Strength of
Youth and he started with tithing and said that is too hard so I will
only pay a part and then he tore part of that page out. He followed
that with the way we dress and he said that was too hard so he tore
part of that page out. He continued by teaching that we cannot
rationalize away the principles of the Gospel or the commandments.
That we cannot bring them to our level, but that we must push
ourselves to reach the standards that the Gospel sets. It reminded us
of Marcia in St. Vincent when she read the Doctrine and Covenants and
tore the pages up after she had read them because she was not ready to
make the commitment to be baptized. Serving full time for the Lord is
a challenging commitment but so rewarding. We are so grateful for
this opportunity to serve at this time in our lives.

Thanks to all for your love and support!

Elder & Sister Wheeler

6 June 2010

Greetings from paradise. We know that it is a beautiful season on the
home front and we hope this message finds you doing well in your part
of the world, which is home to us also. We have fond thoughts of home
and all of you and hope and pray that the gospel is alive and well in
your hearts. The knowledge of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ changes how we do everything.

To begin this week, we are sending out a call for couples. We need
Senior Couples here in the West Indies Mission very badly. There are
many returning home with no one to replace them. They are such a
blessing to the work here as this is such a complex mission. When
you serve here, you are an extension of the mission president in a
profound way. If you have an unexpressed desire, please don't keep
it a secret. Let us know and we will send you the information that
you need to make you a convert to the wonderful experiences that are
here for you as you serve in this part of the vineyard. Hope to hear
from you.

We are having such an experience in the mission office. There are
miracles each day that come to help the work go forth. There are
plenty of challenges and opposition and there is either an immediate
answer or with time the answer becomes evident. We have been
preparing for the zone conferences that will be held from now until
the end of the month with three days of rest for Pres. Gamiette and
his Assistants. Their schedule is daunting. Pres. Gamiette's family
had a holiday break last weekend on the island of Tobago. He
participated in a triathlon and placed first in his age group and
fifth over all. The Assistants came into the office on Thursday
dragging as they had accompanied the President on his morning run. He
really put them through it. Just a little miracle that is the
process. The couple that are serving in French Guiana have a van and
the Elders put gas in it and it is diesel. Thus a major overhaul was
needed and the need that was really there became evident. The couple
have some needs that need to be met. The Elder cannot see well at all
and his wife does not know how to drive a standard transmission
vehicle. There are no vans available with an automatic transmission.
As the days have passed, the solution is coming together. A
humanitarian couple are here in Trinidad and are in an apartment in
the building next to ours. We went to Maracous Beach (the best beach
we have seen) with them yesterday. As we visited with them, they told
of going to Suriname in car that is an extra in Guyana to Suriname.
They are going to Guyana again this next week and would be able to
drive that car, which is an automatic transmission, to French Guiana
and then fly back. Tender mercies are all around if we are watching
and grateful for them. We also had a great conversation with Morel
who was baptized with her family in St. Vincent last week. I was
given a cell phone when we first arrived here in Trinidad. This past
week, I was given another phone which has the number for the WIM
secretary. I boxed the other phone up and left it in the office for
another missionary to use when needed. We had been very busy and as
things started to wind down for the day, I could hear a phone ringing
and ringing. The missionaries had left the office for the day to
proselyte for the evening hours and I thought that maybe one of them
had left their phone. I began to look and then realized that the box
with the phone in it was ringing. It was Morel and she had called 12
times that day trying to call us. One of the things that she shared
was the testimony she had written in a Book of Mormon that she was
planning on using as part of the "Lend a Book of Mormon" program.
Their family will be such a blessing to the growth of the Church in
St. Vincent. We had a great Saturday, we spent the morning getting
supplies for the office and doing a couple of things that couldn't
wait for Monday. And then, we had a beautiful drive and a walk on the
beach that just helped us relax and be ready for another week. We
even had a man serenade us as we ate at an outside food stand.

We have so much to be grateful for! When we think we might be
sacrificing, the unexpected blessings come and we become so, so aware
that our Father and the Savior know each one of us and that the
blessings are there if we have faith and ask. May you feel this
reality this week.

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler

30 may 2010

How is everyone? We hope that the Memorial weekend is good to all of
you. We want to hear your fish stories as long as they aren't too
exaggerated. We will miss visiting the cemeteries and honoring those
who have given so much so that we can have such a good life. Becky
Reader sent a touching forward about veterans and one of the pictures
that touched me the most was of a parade with a military corps with
the flag marching down the street and the only person standing to
honor them was a gray haired man in a wheelchair. We have been
blessed with a wonderful family including those who came before and
those who are here now!

We have had quite a week. We have learned a lot and have so much
appreciated the young Elders who are teaching us how to navigate on
the computer. It is definitely like the little girl mother would tell
me about. "When she was good she was very very good and when she was
bad she was horrible." When we get it right on the computer it is
amazing and when we don't.......@#^?! We have enjoyed getting to
know those who work in the office on a regular basis, Sister Ellison
who does all the travel and is the mission nurse, the Assistants to
the President and the office Elders. The office Elders are Elder
Morris and Elder Miles and they are very good. We will have to start
calling the "M&M Elders". We have also survived transfers and that
was an experience. When everyone is out of the air and in the right
country, it is a time for celebrating. It is also a very busy time in
the office with missionaries arriving from the MTCs and missionaries
returning home, the new and the old. We had wonderful reunions with
those with whom we have served in St. Vincent. We met the Risenmays
who are here to tour with their missionary and fly home with him. It
was fun to brag about their son to them. He was a very hard-working
Elder and had a great companion; they really tromped the hills in
Calliaqua. The numbers in Calliaqua are a witness of their dedication
and steadfastness. Elder Gilley walked his shoes right off! There is
a picture on the blog of the Elders' shoes left at the front door of
our apartment and Elder Gilley's are the ones that are falling apart.
We also heard from Elder Findlay on Wednesday that the Willliams
family was baptized that morning. We have talked about Morel several
times and she is the best. So, Wilson, Morel and Delano (9) were all
baptized, a wonderful white day at the beach. Morel was one of the
first investigators we met in St. Vincent. It was a wonderful
experience to watch and support them through getting married, having a
baby, waiting for Wilson to be ready and baptism. Now the goal is the
Temple! These are the names of the Elders who have taught and
encouraged them: Elders, Vaea, Moala, Vi, Risenmay, Gilley, White,
Morris, and Prince. Never give up! Shake it off and step up! We
also connected with the Elders from Suriname who are Dutch. It was
fun to listen to them talk and I wanted so bad to have them call
Anneke Marshall. (Mission rules,,,No way!) Elder Swart told me about
his family and how much they have been blessed while he has been on
his mission. His mother had been excommunicated and is now rebaptized
and going to the temple every week. His two brothers were making bad
choices and they went to Utah to live with extended family and are now
doing great and looking forward to serving missions when they are old
enough. We are going to have some wonderful experiences here in the
office with so many coming and going all the time. President
Gammiette and his family are in Tobago this weekend and he is
participating in a triathalon. He runs everyday and swims most, very
fit fella! The Lusters, they were in the office before us, are now in
Tobago. Elder and Sister Hymas finished their mission this week and
they were serving in Tobago. Elder Hymas served as a counselor in the
mission presidency for a lot of their mission and was very dynamic and
will be missed. He helped with our transition here in the office
before going home. Their youngest son is serving his mission at the
same time and will return home in another month. They are foot loose
as they sold everything before coming on their mission and have faith
that they will be blessed in finding a home for their son to come
home to. We have been staying in a bed and breakfast for two weeks.
Breakfasts were great but we are glad to finally be in the apartment
where we will be living. Great to have a place to cook and wash etc.
It is a comfortable, small refuge for us to kick off our shoes and
relax. I enjoyed unpacking more than I ever have, and Elder Wheeler
is making fun of my nesting ablilities. Well, Elder Wheeler is done
with his project here at the office so we are going to find office
supplies on our Pday. We don't have internet at our apartment until
Tuesday.

23 may 2010

Hello to all from Trinidad! We hear that you have had snow again.
Does that mean that you have had a wet spring? How is the water
situation for the growing season? Are the lilacs blooming? Just a
little peek, in our memories, at what Idaho is looking like.

We went to our Sunday meetings here in Trinidad today in the Couva
ward and there were about 35 in attendance. They have about 200
members so there is a lot of work that can be done in working with
those who are not coming. Pres. Gamiette has not assigned us yet so
we went to one of the wards that the Lusters have been attending.
This week is transfer week so it will be a wonderfully busy week. We
will have brand new missionaries from the MTC in Prove and also the
MTC in the Dominican Republic. There are 12 missionaries going home
and there will be a great send off. They have done a "marvelous work
and a wonder", many of which we have worked very closely with and
share special memories and tender feelings. We are also experiencing
tender mercies in the office. On Friday, Elder Wheeler was funding
the Elders' J. P. Morgan cards with their missionary support funds and
he came to Elder Johnson and tried to fund his card. When he tried
to submit it for approval, the computer froze and would not let him do
anything until he deleted the information on Elder Johnson's card and
went back to the name list. When he looked at the name list the
second time, he saw that there were two Elder Johnsons and after
further research he realized the he was trying to fund the wrong one.
When he entered the other one, everything worked perfectly. We know
the Lord blesses us in this work! We are getting to know the two
Sister missionaries that are serving in the mission office and they
have both had interesting lives. Sister Mimi is from Canada and is
teaching the Gamiette children English as well as acting as the
receptionist for the mission office. The Gamiettes are from Guadalope
which is French and have quite a challenge coming to Trinidad with
their family of five children. Sister Ellison is the mission nurse
and is also responsible for scheduling all the flights for the
mission. She had 60 flights to schedule for transfers this week.
There isn't any room for being bored!!! Transfers involve flying to
another country and then getting through immigration. We must give
each Elder the right instructions for entry into the country he is
being transferred to. So, we hope that we have covered all the
possibilities that may occur. Keep praying for all of us!

We know that our Father in Heaven is so aware of each one of us and
that we are extremely blessed by our membership in His true Church.
We are so grateful for the Prophet Joseph and the Restoration. We
know that the Priesthood is the authority to act for God. We know
that we can each be guided by the Spirit when we ask humbly for that
help. We know that the Jesus Christ is our Savior and mediator and
that this is His work of which we are all a part. It is very humbling
to realize that we have a part in preparing for His return. May each
of you have a blessed week.

- Show quoted text -

02-may-2010

,

It is Tuesday night and we received word from President Gamiette at 4
pm that we are being transferred to the mission office in Trinidad and
that we are to be there on Thursday. So, we will write again as soon
as we get settled.

- Show quoted text -

16-may-2010

Time is flying by and we think of home and our good family and friends
fondly. We hope that this note finds you all doing well and finding
joy in the journey. Today is cloudy and rainy and when we are in an
air conditioned building looking out it reminds us of spring at home.
Things have come back to life there and it is a beautiful time of
year. Enjoy!!!

We have had quite a week. It started with a wonderful FHE with
Kashore, Nadine and family and a golden investigator, Shavorn and her
two small children. Elders Jones and Gordon prepared Kashore and
Nadine to give a lesson on the first principles of the gospel and they
baked brownies and we brought cookies. We had the FHE at the McDowald
's humble home, one small room, dirt floor, no electricity, no water,
no furniture and tin nailed over the windows. As we waited for the
Elders to arrive, we sang hymns and Primary songs with Kashawna, Reon,
Reonique and Shavorn's little girl. As the sun was setting, they lit
a lantern and there was a sweet spirit of love and happiness as they
taught and shared the gospel with each other. Shavorn said that
before the missionaries started teaching her she had no hope for a
better day in the future. After she met the missionaries and started
reading the Book of Mormon, she experienced great happiness and hope
for the future. She looks forward to each day reading the Book of
Mormon and each week attending Church. She will sit for hours on her
porch reading the Book of Mormon and waiting for the missionaries to
come by. We felt so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful event.
The McDowalds are great missionaries, sharing the gospel with their
family and friends. As events of the week developed, we felt that we
had experienced a "tender mercy" from our Heavenly Father with this
memory to cherish. On Tuesday, we had District meeting and Elder
Prince taught that "duty makes us do things well and love makes us do
things beautifully". We can be apart of the stone rolling forth or we
can be on the sidelines and watch. Tuesday afternoon Pres. Gamiette
called and asked us to come to Trinidad and serve in the mission
office, Jim as financial secretary and Jan as mission secretary. He
asked us to be in Trinidad on Thursday. Wow!!! We felt very
overwhelmed as we have limited computer skills and this mission is
very complex. We went to work organizing things so that we could
leave St. Vincent and packing. We spent Jan's birthday packing and
having members and missionaries call and come by to say "Good-bye".
We have made forever friends in St. Vincent. Our flight was at 9 am
on Thursday. We have been learning a lot and have much more to learn.
We ask you to pray for us! There are some dynamics in the office
that need to be addressed and it remains to be seen how things will be
organized. Pres. Gamiette will be back in the office on Monday and
so by next week we will know exactly what we will be doing. We had a
lovely dinner today with the Gamiette family in the mission home with
the couple that have been serving in the mission office and Elder
Hymas who has been a counselor to Pres. Gamiette and is preparing to
return home after serving a great mission with his wife Jeralie.
Things in Trinidad are much more like home with four lane highways and
shopping plazas and a mall. We enjoyed attending a ward today; they
organized a stake here about 15 months ago.

We love you all and love hearing your news. We have faith that as we
strive to "step up" our prayers will be answered. S T R E T C H !!!

Much love,
Elder and Sister Wheeler