"The Work Is Exploding"

Good Morning,

Another crazy week.  Spent some time in my old area because Sister Jex went home for medical reasons and Sister Edmonds needed a companion.  We were in a trio for a few days and we worked both areas.  It was fun but hard because we had a lot of people to see and not a lot of time.  Amazingly enough we had the best week as far as numbers.  We taught more lessons in our area this week than I have on my mission.  That isn't counting the lessons we taught in Sister Edmonds area.  Heavenly Father provided a way for us to still teach everyone we needed to in half the amount of time.  Pretty amazing.

It was nice to work with Sister Edmonds again and catch up.  We stayed in her apartment for a few nights.  I got to teach some of the people we had been teaching before and see their progress.  Her new temp is Danielle, the less active we found and were working with.  She has been doing so good.  She has come to church every week since my last week.  She will do wonderful things and I am excited for her to have the missionary experience.  The Curepe Sisters are doing great.

The work is exploding in Chaguanas.  We found a lot of families to teach and we have several people preparing for baptism in February.  In this area there are a lot of Hindus.  They are willing to listen to anyone.  This is both wonderful and hard.  The best part about it is I get to be a part of teaching them for the first time about Jesus Christ.  Most of them don't know very much about him and it is an honor to share my testimony with them.

Miracle of the week:  Sister Jex was with me on trade offs on Tuesday.  We went to contact a referral and a guy called us over and said that he wanted to talk to us.  We went up and he told us to sit down.  We asked if we could say a prayer before we started and he said no and pointed to his chair.  He had been drinking.  He said he wanted to change his life and find a wife to help him.  We told him we didn't have a wife for him but we did have the way to change and it is through the Savior.  He said okay and we asked him if he was ready to start by giving up rum.  He said yes and he gave me the bottle.  I said okay and went to dump it out.  He really wanted one more drink but he didn't and I poured out the rum.  Since that day he hasn't had anything to drink.  We saw him again on Saturday and he is now preparing for baptism.  The Lord is able to work miracles if we do our part.

As always thanks and I love you all.

Shout out to Sister Jex:  You are amazing.  Feel better.  We are praying for you.

Love,

Sister Shirts

This is a maxi - public transportation in Trinidad

This picture is for Sister Shirts brother who IS Batman.  Maybe the next batmobile?

Adventures in Trinidad

Hello Everyone,

We had a great week.  We have a lot of good people we are working with.

This week we ran into a guy who had an alligator thing nailed to his window.  It was very random and I had to take a picture.

I asked where he got it and he said he catches them in a river not too far from where we stay.  I will have to be careful when we are walking in the bush so I don't get eaten.  Good thing we are not allowed to go swimming.

We had quite the adventure this week.  Sister Taufu'i had to fly out to Grenada to start her 90 days over so she could get her license stuff started.  I spent the day with Sister Jex and Sister Edmonds until the tradeoff she was doing.  Then Sister Edmonds left and Sister Herrick was with us.  We had a great morning with some very spiritual experiences.  Then it was time to pick Sister Taufu'i up.  We drove to the airport and waited for a while.  Then she came out with an airport official.  She needed to pay a fine to get into the country and she didn't have the money.  She had to wait at the airport while we ran back to the Sister's apartment and got the money to get her out.  I am glad it wasn't me who got stuck.

Miracle of the week:  We are still working with Fred and Bobby.  We had a lesson on the Plan of Salvation this week.  It was amazing and the spirit was very strong.  Each was taught what they needed to know.  I am amazed at how open they are to learning and praying.  Fred has already read up to 1 Nephi 13 and he loves the Book of Mormon.  He is progressing a lot.  Bobby has a strong desire to follow Christ.  This is his first real experience with coming closer to Him and he loves the spirit he feels.  He said it makes his heart cry for joy.

Thanks for everything you do.  Sorry it is so short this week.  Love you all.

Love,

Sister Shirts

Service Is A Great Way To Share The Gospel

Good Morning,

We had a lot of service opportunities this week.  We look for as many service opportunities as we can to live the gospel and share it by actions.  We shovelled concrete, shelled peas, peeled garlic, and helped several people put away groceries.

Great news:  I have an official Trinidad drivers' license.  I am now able to drive in the country for five years.  It was a long process, but I am glad I got it over with.  The only test I had to take was a really easy written test that took less than five minutes.

Sister Mehr came out teaching with us.  That day we met a lady tracting and had a lesson for her right then.  The Spirit was strong.  She recently accepted Christianity because she felt her previous religion was missing something and it didn't feel right.  She is willing to be baptized if she prays and receives the answer that she should.  She has a wonderful family that is willing to as well.  We also took Sister Mehr to see Bobby and Fred.  Both are doing well and want to be baptized.  We taught them the Restoration together and once again, the Spirit was very strong.  We love it when Sister Mehr comes teaching with us.

We met a lot of people this week.  We had sixteen new investigators who want to learn more about Jesus Christ and his gospel.  It is amazing how fast the work of the Lord is moving here in Trinidad.

We had a wonderful zone conference yesterday.  We learned how we can help strengthen the wards and branches here.  We do it by baptizing, retaining the converts, and rescuing less actives.  This is the work of salvation.  We also learned a lot about repentance, covenants, and the importance of temples.

Miracle of the Week:  We met two guys on the street who were not interested.  We asked if we could take ten minutes of their time.  One of them set a timer and said sure.  We started with a prayer and immediately started asking questions which led us to the Book of Mormon.  Thirty minutes later both walked away with a Book of Mormon and a return appointment to learn more.  Both are going to pray and ask God if the Book of Mormon is scripture.  It is a really cool experience to be a part of this great work.

Thank you for all the kind words you post on my blog and facebook.  I can't go on those sites but my mom always passes on the messages to me.  I apprecieate all the support you give.

Thanks for everything,

Sister Shirts

New Companions

Sometimes The Car Likes To Go Into Ditches.  Luckily There Was A Nice Man That Towed It Out

Chaguanas, Trinidad

Good Morning Everyone,

I had a lot of adventures this week.  We had three brand new sisters with us for a few days so we went on splits.  Sister Edmonds and I split them up and took them out with us.  It was fun to show them how we do missionary work in the West Indies.  I took them on a little mountain adventure trying to find a guy we met on the street.  It turns out he lives in a very humble shack in the mountains, but he loves it and is glad he has a place to live.  He was very grateful for the Book of Mormon we brought him.

They celebrate New Years' here pretty much the same as in the States.  Fireworks and music.  The difference is instead of calling it New Years' Eve they call it Old Years' Night.  New Years' day was a little slower because everyone was sleeping because they don't go to bed until like three in the morning.  We still had many wonderful lessons.  We just had to get our foot in the door:)

The transfer happened on Thursday and now I am here in Chaguanas.  My area is called Charlieville.  I already love it just as much as I love Curepe.  Sister Taufu'i is great and it feels like we have been teaching together for a long time.  We are excited to see a lot of progress in the branch.  I went to my first branch council yesterday and the Stake President was there.  It was great.

Chaguanas is really beautiful.  It is more country than Curepe.  A lot greener.

New foods tried:  Oil Down.  It was okay but not healthy at all.

There were a lot of miracles this week so I couldn't just pick one.
1.  The drunk guy Sister Edmonds and I found is still progressing.  Sister Edmonds and Sister Jex took him to a baptism on Saturday.
2.  We met three potential priesthood holders this week who all want to follow Christ and have a date they are preparing to be baptized on.
3.  We started working with a family the Elders taught a year or so ago.  They said they are now ready and they chose a baptism date.  They also know Joseph Smith restored the true church and know they want to be baptized as a family.  They are really cool.

We have nine people working towards baptism right now that we didn't have a week ago.  Heavenly Father blessed us a lot this week.

Sorry for the short email.  Just a normal week of missionary work.  Thanks for everything.

Love,

Sister Shirts

Christmas in Trinidad and Transfer Time

Good Afternoon,

The last two weeks were amazing.  I couldn't email last week because we only had about fifteen minutes and we were skyping anyway so sorry the rest of you missed out.  Thanks for all the Christmas notes.

Christmas was great.  On Christmas eve we went to the mission home and made cards for our investigators, less actives, and members.  Then we had a wonderful devotional and had our Christmas dinner.  It is always fun to see all the missionaries.  On Christmas we went and passed out the cards.  We shared a short Christmas message with those we saw.  It was really cool because even though we shared the same scriptures and basic message, the Spirit was able to teach everyone different things.  It was a great day.

We got fed a lot on Christmas.  We ate over four good sized Christmas dinners and by the end of the night we had to take home food because we were so full.  They were okay with that as long as they got to feed us.  We had lamb, chicken, turkey, ham, pastels, mac pie, rice, lasagna, pepper pot, salad and a lot more.  Trini's are very kind and excellent cooks.  They love their fruit cake and sweet bread on Christmas and they want everyone to try it.

Well... it is transfer week.  I will be serving in Chaguanas, Trinidad with Sister Taufu'i.  I am sad to be leaving my area and Sister Edmonds but I am excited to learn new things and meet new people.  Sister Edmonds is an amazing missionary and friend and I am going to miss her a lot.  She has taught me a lot and we have had some great experiences together.

Sister Grigg was here on tradeoffs and we had a wonderful day.  We taught eight lessons and found four new investigators.  Heavenly Father blessed us a lot.  Sister Grigg is a great missionary.  Sister Edmonds said she had a great time getting sunburned on a bike in Sangre Grande.

Miracle of the Week:  Last week Sister Edmonds and I were tracting at the foot of the mountain and we contacted a group of drunk men.  We gave them Plan of Salvation pamphlets and scheduled a time for us to come back when they weren't drunk.  Well, last Sunday Sister Mehr came up to us before church started and said she wanted to come out teaching with us that day.  We looked at our schedule and guess who was on it.  It was the group of men.  We stayed true to our promise to go see them and brought the Mission President's wife with us.  Only one of them was there and it turns out he is searching for truth and is willing to read the Book of Mormon.  He has a son and he wants to change his life and follow Christ, he just didn't know how.  The Spirit was very strong during the lesson and last time we checked he read the chapter we left him.  It is amazing what the spirit can do.  We are led to people for a reason.

Thanks for everything.

Love,

Sister Shirts

A Very Rainy, Muddy Merry Christmas!

Pepper Pot (pig nose, cow heel and all that good stuff)

Santa Claus And His Helpers Stopping Traffic To Hand Out Gifts

Another Great Week

Good Afternoon,

I was able to go to San Fernando for a day this week for tradeoffs.  It is a completely different area.  There are more hills and I was able to see the ocean for the first time in a while.  Trinidad is an island but we are pretty far from the coast and in my area there are mountains that block the view (they are beautiful mountains though).  While there I had a cool experience.  We were tracting in some apartments and we contacted a lady.  She wasn't interested until we mentioned the Book of Mormon.  She hurried us over and invited us to sit down and talk about it.  She was very confrontational at first and demanded evidence, but as we bore testimony and read from the introduction her heart was softened and at the end she wanted more.

Sister Edmonds had a leadership conference thing for a few days so I got to work with Sister Tia again.  She has been out less than a transfer and she is doing a great job.  We were very bold during our lessons and invited someone to be baptized.  He said yes during the first lesson and we are excited to help him prepare.  Following the promptings of the Holy Ghost does bring miracles.

Miracle of the Week:  We had two investigators come to church.  Each has a really cool story.  First Sheldon.  We met him on Saturday and had a first lesson.  He has had a death in the family and is going through a rough time.  He loves God and wants to do the right thing.  He said he has felt the Holy ghost testify to him before and we promised that if he came to church he would feel the same way.  He said he would come.  We waited outside the church for him to come and he didn't so we went up.  (The church is located on the second floor above an electrical store).  Right after the opening prayer he started calling us (our phone was on silent luckily) and we rushed outside.  We waited and he came.  We had to take the Sacrament outside though because he was late for that.  It was really great.  The next investigator goes by Baby.  She has had a rough marriage for years and has a granddaughter living with her who is about 5.  She told us during the lesson that she wanted happiness in her family and we promised her that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ was the way to find happiness and we invited her to be baptized.  She accepted.  We then invited her to come to church and caught travel with her.  She had a great experience as well.

Heavenly Father is blessing our area a lot as we are exactly obedient and listen to the counsel of our leaders.  I love serving here.

Love,

Sister Shirts

This Is An Example Of What Some People Live In

New Investigators, A Giant Dog And A Purple House

Good Morning,

We had a wonderful, amazing week as always.  We taught a lot of wonderful new people (we found ten new investigators), and met a lot of people.  I love sharing the gospel.

We had a great Family Home Evening lesson with the Clarke family and talked about the Armor of God.  We read the scripture in Ephesians and had the kids go around the house and find things to represent the Helmet, the Shield, and everything.  Then they dressed up their dad in the whole Armor of God.  It was fun and the spirit was strong as well.  They were able to discuss what they can do as a family to put on the Armor of God and protect their family.  We ended with a wonderful dinner and homemade cookies.

We are still helping our doubles man paint.  We painted his house purple this week and it actually looks pretty good.  It is interesting how the people here randomly decide to paint their houses weird colors.  In the States that doesn't work but here it is fun.  It isn't weird.

We had some fun tracting experiences.  We went up a street that led to a dirt path in the mountains.  Sister Taylor had taught some people up there so we went to see if we could find them.  We didn't, but we found some new people.  The grass was wet and we almost slid down the mountain.  Our shoes were pretty dirty after but it was worth it.  Yesterday we went tracting around our neighborhood and we called into a house.  All of a sudden a giant dog jumped up and barked really loud.  We panicked because it had almost jumped over the gate.  The gate was almost as tall as us and the dog nearly made it over.  We started laughing after because it kept jumping and couldn't make it over.  He did it for a good five minutes.  The owner finally came out and we are going to teach him this week.

Driving in Trinidad is just as lovely as always.  I have been driving every other day and I still don't really like it.  Driving in Trinidad is not like driving in the States.

Miracle of the Week:  We have an investigator who is going through a really hard time right now.  She is a teenager and is pregnant and has a young daughter.  Her family situation isn't that great either.  We had a great lesson on the Sacrament and the power of the Atonement and committed her to come to church.  She said yes.  We asked her if she would need help to get up in the morning and she said it would help.  She doesn't have a phone so we woke up extra early and got to her house by 7:15 am to wake her up for church and helped her get her little girl ready.  Then we caught the maxi with her.  It was a wonderful experience for her and she was smiling the whole time.  The best part is we got there early and she sat down and got settled.  A few minutes before church started a member we have taken by her a lot came in.  She looked at us and told us to move so she could sit by her friend.  Members are so important in this work.  Investigators need a friend.  Of course we were happy to grant her request.  We would much rather her sit with a member than with us.

That's it for this week.  Thanks for everything.  I would still love more testimonies of the Book of Mormon to put in the books I give out.  If you could send me your testimony about the Book of Mormon that would be wonderful.

Love,

Sister Shirts