Feb. 21, 2010

We have heard from several of you this past week and we have enjoyed
getting caught up on your news.
We heard of Raymond Parks passing away and it brought back many
memories for Jim about the Moreland 2nd ward and growing up. Raymond
was a little older than Jim and all the boys his age looked up to
Raymond. He was their Sunday School teacher and he also had a
hard-top convertible car that was "all that and a can of Spam". We
did not hear what kind of an accident he was in; we hope someone will
let us know.

Our week has been relatively quiet which is a change. This coming
week is a very busy one so we are grateful for the breather so we can
prepare. Last Monday, the Jackson's dog, Sandy, had her pups. She
had 8 and 2 died. It has been fun watching them come home from work
and school to check on the little litter. Aaron is especially good
with Sandy and had fixed the doghouse up with long grass for a bed and
a blanket to cover the door for shade. I made a chocolate cake for
"the best friends a dog ever had". For lunch after district meeting
on Tuesday, we ordered doubles from a member who makes them and that
was fun. Any of the elders who have served in Trinidad love them. We
have never had them and they were good, a nice change of pace.
Wednesday we took two of the elders to town to get a police report for
them before transfers the first of March. It was another experience
with "just now" but we are being blessed to not be held up for weeks
like it sometimes can be. While we were in and out of the main police
station in Kingstown, there were three boys, about 10 years old there.
Two were sitting on a bench and a third boy was barefoot and looking
through the bars in the cell he had been put in. The second time we
went into that area, the lady police officer asked us to, "Please help
these boys!" She said that they had been molesting people, which
means that they had been stealing. We talked to them and found out
that two of them were brothers; we asked for their names and phone
numbers. We will try to find out more about them and see if their
families will be receptive to the "good news". There are many who get
on the wrong track early in their lives here. There are a lot who go
to school and never learn to read. The school system doesn't care if
they learn anything; they just pass them to the next grade whether or
not they have learned anything. People not knowing how to read is one
of the main problems here. The Church has a great program that helps
them learn to read by using the Book of Mormon. I sat by Gracie today
in Church and she was doing really well following the words in the
hymn book while we sang. I wish you could all meet Gracie, she is a
one of a kind, great lady! She listens to the Book of Mormon on CD
everyday and she teaches with the missionaries several times a week.
That is pretty much it for this week. We will have a lot to tell you
next week.

We hope that winter is wearing itself out in your neck of the woods
and that this finds you healthy and happy. Just a little reminder to
read the Book of Mormon everyday. We just finished it Friday and
started again on Saturday. Elder Wheeler has also been reading the
Old Testament and sharing his findings with me while I am busy with
other mundane things (wash, cook, etc.). The mission has also started
the "Loan a Book of Mormon" program and we have faith that it will
bring many into the waters of baptism. We have the members mark the
Book of Mormon with 50 scriptures and then write their testimonies in
it and then loan it to family and friends; they check back in about a
week to see what they have learned and many want the missionaries to
come to teach them more. Through the statistics kept by the mission,
we have found that 100 percent of converts who are taught by the
missionaries with a member are still active. Til next week...

Much love,