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."
Sunday, July 4, 2010
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
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.
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
