Jan. 24, 2010

Dear family and friends,

We just viewed a report about the winter storms in the US. We are
having a very long summer and wish we could share with you. Actually,
we can if you want to visit us while we are here. Let us know.

We had a very blessed Monday. We started with going to immigration to
extend three Elders visas. We have felt a little more confident in
preparing for these encounters. However, on Monday they threw us
another curve and said that even though all the paperwork was in
order, the Elder (person) had to apply for the extension in person.
That is a first! We have never had to do that before. We thought it
might take us awhile to get the Elders there. We were up against a
deadline and and needed to get it done before the immigration office
closed for the day. We began calling the Elders. They were all
together in Kingstown, a block from us, e-mailing their families! We
had all of them in the immigration office within a half hour. There
were some surprised faces and we felt very blessed. I also had a
health issue and needed some antibiotic. I had gotten some the week
before and it had not worked. We went back and asked for something
stronger and the pharmacist told us that I would have to see a doctor.
We expressed concern because we didn't know any doctors here. He
recommended a doctor that was next door and we went there directly.
The receptionist was very nice and told us that we would have to come
back about 4 pm as the doctor was in surgery. Our thought was that
"just now" would be our lot for the rest of the day. It was just
about 1:30 pm. We walked about a block away and our phone rang. The
receptionist said that the doctor had just returned and that I could
see him. We walked back and he did see me right then. We had a
stronger prescription and were on our way home by 3 pm. We could have
spent the whole day in a state of frustration but it all turned very
quickly. That kind of a day does not happen here without the powers
of heaven intervening.

We also had transfers on Wednesday and lost 3 Elders and gained 3
more. Elder Weiderhold was especially disappointed about leaving St.
Vincent. He has only been here for one transfer and the work in
Diamond is going so well. He hated to leave those that he and Elder
Vi have been teaching. Our new Elders are Elder Vance, Elder Bowles
and Elder Gordon. There are a lot of good things happening with less
actives and the branch attendance is gradually increasing in both
branches. Kingstown branch also has a temple class on Tuesday nights
and they will be choosing a date to attend the temple in Santo Domingo
in the coming months. Calliaqua branch has had a lot more primary
children than they are used to and it has been a challenge. We talked
it over and decided to have Gracie and Sister Wheeler help with
reverence. Gracie is the best. She is a recent convert and is
constantly teaching her friends and family. She cannot read and
listens to the Book of Mormon on CD's. She has friends into her home
to listen with her. She also exhorts the children to be quiet even in
Sacrament meeting. When Primary was over, there were smiles all
around, from the children, from the Primary presidency and from Gracie
and I. Heavenly Father blesses us so much when we follow his plan.
The Primary presidency is becoming convinced that they need to follow
the program. We also attended the baptism of two 8 yr old girls in
Kingstown on Saturday. Bro. Jackson was to fill the font as his
daughter was one of the girls and he was to baptize them both. He
didn't come early enough to fill the font completely and so....
Sariah Jackson was immersed three times and Chelsea was immersed
twice. It was a bit traumatic. There was a good spirit however----
never a dull minute. We have begun a literacy class and we will share
how that is going next week.

Our thoughts are with you all. We love hearing from you and sharing
your news and your faith promoting experiences also. One of the
things that we learn over and over again is that the answer to the
challenges in life are solved by reading, praying and pondering the
Book of Mormon. How are you doing? We love you all!!!