"Live The Gospel JOYFULLY"!

"You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can't count the number of apples in a seed."

This week was nice. It was hectic. Lot's happened. We had Zone Meeting. We had Trade-Off's with the Sister Training Leaders. We had a birthday party at the church for a girl named Alexa. We watched the General Womens Conference. President Brown told me to start making my five year plan. I laughed. I learned a lot.

First of all, trade-offs were fun. I went to Kingston with Sister Austin. It was so fun. We go home at the same time so we were just like, "Argarbargal..." haha When I was in Kingston we stayed up till midnight, with the other two sisters who live in the house. We were just laying in bed talking and talking. Mainly laughing. It was a really funny night. I haven't stayed up past 10:30 for probably a year, so it was draining the next day. I had some caffeine, but once that wore off I was dead. I have been on tradeoffs to Kingston three times my whole mission, and every time I've gone we went to see this family of members who I just love so much. Last time I saw them I told them I would come back before I left, and look here, I did! They are the Clark's, and they are so awesome!

I had to bear my testimony at Zone Meeting. All the missionaries who are leaving at the end of the transfer had too. It was so weird, because my whole mission I have been listening to others who were going home do that, and it always seemed so far away. Sigh.

Tender mercy of the week. Gobrena sent me a letter from Linstead. She is so sweet. She was talking about how when I left, I left a hole that no other missionary has been able to fill. She said she is so thankful for me, and how I helped change her life for the better. It really was nice, because I had a few dissapointing moments this week. 

Patrick is good, but he is unsure if he is ready to make this big change in his life. I have been praying and fasting for him. I am worried, but I think I have been selfish about the whole thing. I just wanted to see him baptized before I left, but I would rather him do it because he knows this is true. I want him to recieve his own spiritual witness. I know he will become a member of this church one day, whether that day is soon, a year from now, or twenty years from now. Who knows, maybe a miracle will happen.

I have a few more favorite scriptures.

Alma 37:44 = I love this one because it simply says if we give heed to the words of Christ, we will have ETERNAL BLISS. You don't see that phrase in the scriptures except in that verse. It was so unique and it stood out to me so much. It's so simple. If you read and follow Christ's teaching, you will be happy. 

D&C 64:33 = "Be not weary in well doing, for ye are laying a foundation of a great work..." I guess sometimes I get discouraged, especailly looking back on my mission and worrying if I did everything I was supposed too. I have no regrets, but sometimes I think, "What if there was somthing I missed..." This leads to the quote that I put in the beginning of the email. We will never know how much good we do until we reach the next life. Abinadi wasn't aware that his testimony converted Alma until probably after his death. 

I loved Womens Conference. I can't wait to go back to the temple!

I'm going to miss Jamiacan food. 

I had dreams about missionary work this week. Weird.

I have avoided the mosquito disease.

Pray for me.

I love the song in the hymn book, "O My Father". It is so deep.

"Live the Gospel JOYFULLY!" -Uchtdorf

Love you all,

Sister Pitt

I LOVE The Clarks!

THANK YOU Sister Woolf!
I Finally Got It!

Best Soda EVER!

Friendly Neighborhood

I LOVE This Painting!

In "The Boulevard" House
I Added MY Name!

Out Beautiful Alexa Brown Is 19 Years Old

Our Little Rasta Leperchan At Church

Our Neighbor Church

Pouring Rain!

Sister Austin and I

 

This Picture is SO Hilarious

SISTER POWER

Elder Fowkes, My Linstead Brother

Us And Elder Beckford

VERY Tall Elder

ONE MORE MONTH!!!

I had a very interesting experience this last week that left me thinking. A man that we talk to occasionally in passing continually invites us to the church that he attends. We told him that it would be impossible for us to come on Sunday because the time conflicts with our church. He is very persistent and invited us to the Wednesday night worship. I didn't know what denomination his church was, until we got there. It was a Pentecostal sect, and let me tell you, it was very different than anything I'm used to. In fact, I have always heard about what goes on in those churches, but it is so different to actually be there. The man told everyone we were coming, and all the members had their eyes on us. It began by everyone standing up, and praying at the same time. Different prayers. Very loud, prayers. Lots of shouts and "hallelujahs." Many of the people had their eyes closed and their hands in the air. (By the way, everything I say is not exaggerated. In fact it is probably toned down compared to the actual scene). It was chaotic. So much was happening at the same time, I had to control myself from laughing, because of how uncomfortable I felt in this situation. Then they sang a song together. I don't remember what it said, but it repeated "Jesus!" over and over again. It was so loud, so different from Mo-Tab. (They were really good singers though. haha) Then they handed everyone out a nine page paper full of a written prayer. A small quiet looking woman got up and took the microphone. (Yes, they had speakers, which I don't think they needed at all, because they were so loud). I didn't think this petite woman had it in her, but she proceeded to shout and scream out all nine pages, BACK AND FRONT, of the written prayer. And everyone shouted it with her. The best part was there was this kid that fell asleep during all of this. I was like, "What?! How can he sleep during all of this?!" Anyways, after the crazy written prayer, they went back to all praying at the same time. Except this time it was more intense. It started off kinda slower, and then climaxed. My heart was racing and I literally felt like I was choking. I almost wanted to just run out of there because it was too weird for me to handle. Many people started making erratic movements all over the place and they started to speak in a gibberish language. I just stood there next to Sister Lewis smiling because I didn't know what else to do. (By the way, my heart went out to Sister Lewis, because if I was having culture shock after 17 months, I don't even know what she was experiencing at that moment. haha) Not much more happened, plus we had to leave because of curfew, but it was something I will never forget, for the rest of my life. 

I am very glad I went. I am glad I got to see what I saw. This explains so much about the difficulties of converting people to the Gospel here in Jamaica. They are used to loud expressions of worship. I bet they feel uncomfortable when they come to our church. The culture has such a huge impact on these people. I feel like I understand better where they are coming from. It explains a lot about even the members of the church who after feeling the spirit, were converted to our church. They made a huge change, a dramatic change from what they were used to. That must have taken a lot of faith. I have been thinking about the whole experience since Wednesday, and I even had dreams about it. Like I said, I will never forget that church we went too. It has change my perspective on so many things, and has built my testimony of the true and restored Church even more. 

Patrick is still doing great. He is in the middle of 2 Nephi. I'm so happy for him. He came to church, again. He loves it. The members are doing well at including him. I really think he feels a lot of love from them, and from us. He is such a smart, unique young man. He is not like any of the other young men we meet here in Jamaica. He has a lot of faith, and he doesn't even realize it. I think the thing he loves about the church is that you are able to talk things out, and learn. He is just doing so well. I pray everything works out with him. 

Something I have really learned through the course of my mission is the idea that it is not enough to just go on a mission. Just going on a mission will not get you a place in the Celestial kingdom. It is the way you serve and give your heart to God that will help you receive your eternal reward, and what you do AFTER the mission. Likewise, it is not just enough to be a member of the church. Just being a member means nothing if your whole soul is not in it. Heavenly Father expects consecration. We covenant with Him that we will give our all. When we stand before our Maker, we not only will be judged of the things we avoided doing (breaking the law of chastity or word of wisdom, etc..) , but we will be judged of the things that we did not do. If we could have helped someone, and we didn't, we will stand accountable. We must do all we can. I have also learned that we will feel inadequate. We will ALWAYS feel inadequate doing the Lord's work. We will always feel like there is more we can do, but if we just do our best and pray for strength, we can produce a miracle. I pray that my whole life will be dedicated to serving my Father in Heaven. 

I love you all,

Sister Pitt

BOOK OF MORMON

Found Sister Wallace in Mega Mart!

I LOVE The Colorful Houses In Jamaica!

I Love This Ice Cream Cart!

Me And The Artist Of The Mural!

Sister Lewis Hates Pictures

Love Christlike Love

Did I eat fried chicken for breakfast? Oh yes, yes I did.

This week was GREAT. So many wonderful things happened. First off, Patrick is doing so well. SO WELL. I am amazed by his progress in just one week. We had a great lesson with him about the priesthood and baptism. We commited him to be baptized on October 12th. HE ACCEPTED, without hesitation. Most people you have to kind of talk them into it or wait on them. He got extrememly emotional, and almost cried towards the end of the lesson. He is already almost done with 1st Nephi in the Book of Mormon. That is what has amazed me the most, is his reading comprehension of the scriptures. Many people don't really understand what is going on, and he even struggled at first, but we told him to pray everytime he reads, and now he is telling us the stories. He thinks Laman and Lemuel are so dumb. He thinks Nephi is amazing. AH, yay. Anyways, we lent him the Jospeh Smith movie, and he LOVED it. We were able to go over the plan of salvation, and he related everything in the movie to the lesson. He was really worried about not being able to make it to church yesterday, because he had to take his mom to the airport, but he came, ON TIME. He said that he knows that God wants him to be there, that is why the time didn't conflict. He just loved church. He says he feels at home. Amazing. Miracle. Happy dance time. I don't want to get to excited and jinx anything, but I really have faith that all things will work out. Even if it's not the way I want it to work out. I just am praying continually. 

There are so many members here in Portmore I love. We are helping three young men prepare to go on their missions. One of them is waiting on his call. Another just finished his papers, and the third is working on them. They are all amazing and will be fantastic misisonaries. There is Emile, Sean, and Orane. Orane is a convert of about less than a year, so he has to wait till his year mark to leave, which isn't far away. They are extrememly focused and truly love the Gospel. They are not worldly or vain, they are humble and have strong testimonies. I truly believe that it is more of a sacrifice for Jamaicans to go on missions than most of us who have been in the church for a long time. They don't have a lot of money, they don't have family and friend support, they get ridiculed and mocked for their decisions, and they face many difficulties. But, I think they are better prepared than I was for my mission. I look up to them so much. 

A family of investigators cooked us Sunday dinner. They went ALL out. They made us a table, they cooked a ton of food, and had dessert for us. I was so appreciative of their effort. Especially because they barely know us! Their kids are all so cute, and I just love them. I would love them even if they didn't cook us food. It is so cool to be a missionary and feel christlike love for people. It's so hard to explain what it feels like, but it's non-judgemental and pure. The love I feel for all of our investigators, less actives and members is real. It truly breaks my heart when I see that they are unhappy or made a wrong decision. I am grateful I had this opprotunity to learn to love, to really love. Not just say "I love you," but to MEAN it and feel it. 

I think everyday for the rest of my life, I will thank God for sending me to Jamaica. I have learned so much. I couldn't have learned what I've learned anywhere else. I have been humbled, and even at times brought really low, but Heavenly Father truly has risen me up each time. I can honestly say that I have experienced that "mighty change of heart," that the scriptures speak of. I am more converted. I still have so much to change, because the "natural woman" comes out every once in a while, but I know that as I work on it each day, one day I will be able to stand before my Maker and be confident that I did my absolute best.

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is REAL and TRUE. 

Love,

Sister Pitt

First Member To Join In Portmore

Burning Trash

Drew This For Papa Rasta, Our Friend

Escuse The Naked Women

Fried Chicken, Plantain, Breadfruit, Yum!

Cutees!

I Love Them!

Our Awesome Investigators

They Are AWESOME!

So Creative!

 

I Think This Is Jesus!

NICHELLA

Our Three Potential Missionaries!

Rainbow After The Storm!

Some Of The Young Single Adults

Isn't She Darling

Taking A Picture Of Taking A Picture

This Is Called "Lion Palm"
All The Rastas Do It

SIX WEEKS LEFT!!!!!

This week was an amazing week. It was just jammed packed with amazing experiences and joy. I honestly can’t believe that so much happened, yet the week went by so fast. Is anyone else besides me FREAKING out that I only have about 6 weeks left on my mission? What?! I am really nervous, sad, excited, determined, trunky, etc… Every emotion, ever. I just really want to make these last 6 weeks the best 6 weeks of my whole mission. AHHHHrarbarlgahhh

First off, there is this crazy mosquito disease going around. It’s called chikungunya or something like that. I really don’t know the name, but every time I say it I’m like, “Do you have chickachooga?” Or “Chimichanga.” All I know is whatever it is, I don’t want it. (Unless it is a chimichanga…) So many people are getting it. It causes a rash, weak joints, fatigue, and more. I am so scared to catch it. I swear, I’ve been spraying on mosquito repellant every half hour. It doesn’t help that the mosquito’s are literally EVERYWHERE. They are swarming and it is so disgusting. So just pray I don’t catch that virus!

Sister Lewis and I have been praying and being as diligent as we can. Our work is paying off! We had three investigators at church on Sunday! I was praying and fasting that the spirit would be there and that they would come, and Heavenly Father truly answered my prayers. One lady, Ladeen, is a great investigator. Her baby was blessed in Sacrament meeting. She was so happy and really felt the spirit. She loved church and felt, “at peace.” Richard also came to church. He enjoyed it very much. He is doing so well and as we visited him this last week in his prayer he said, “I’m starting to believe that these missionaries are an answer to my prayers.”

Patrick came to church! I think I might have mentioned him last week. If not, he is 27 year old, and really amazing! We found him on a day where everything was going bad, and Sister Lewis and I decided to walk down the street to see if anyone was around. He was the only person we met, and he literally “ran us down.” I truly believe the Lord led us to him. Oh, out of all our investigators, I think church affected him the most. He said he felt filled during testimony meeting. He thanked many of the members for their testimonies. Then, he enjoyed the classes sooooo much. “I’ve been to so many other churches and no other churches are like this!” He participated in class, he even told us he received inspiration on how to mend the relationship with his own father. Isn’t that just beautiful? I prayed that our investigators would find answers at church, and he did! Heavenly Father is so good! We gave him a Book of Mormon this last week, and he is already in 1 Nephi Chapter 6! This is a big deal, because many investigators will never even open the book! He said it was hard to understand at first, but he committed to pray as he reads. At church he told us that he is understanding it better. He was like, “It’s just so funny how they end up getting the plates. God just put Laban in Nephi’s path!” I smiled so big. He is really sad because he might not get to make it to church next Sunday, because he has to take his mom to the airport, but he is hoping the flight is later in the day. He said, “If not next week Sunday, I will be here the next Sunday after that!” We are going to commit him to a specific date this week. I really hope I will get to see him baptized before I leave! I really believe and have faith that he can make it there. He is so golden.

We have found two families recently. I think I mentioned the Ayres already, but we also found a family whose father was taught by the sister missionaries in 2010! He went to church once in Port Antonio, but had no idea that there was the church in Portmore. His name is Nicholas Walker, and he and his girlfriend or wife (Not sure yet), have three children. They are awesome. We haven’t been able to teach them anything yet, but they are looking for a church to go to. The girlfriend, Vanessa, wants a church where her children can actually learn and grow. Not one where they don’t let you find out for yourself what is true and what is not true. We were able to have a great discussion with her about how we encourage everyone to ask for themselves. Nicholas still has the Book of Mormon and everything. The way we came in contact with him was truly awesome. I saw this happy looking Rasta man doing some work outside of a house. We called to him and just started casual conversation. Then he called his son out, and his son, Nicholas, was so happy to see us. It’s been years! I know it will take them some time, especially if they are needing to get married, but I see a lot of potential. They invited us over for Sunday dinner next week and they are even building us a bench to sit on. Their kids love us already, I’m just so excited and happy!

So yes, God truly does answer prayers! I just love Heavenly Father so much. He is so good. I am grateful for His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who is the captain of our salvation. I KNOW that these people are being led to us, and we are being led to them. I know we had to be here in Portmore to find them. I’m just so grateful for all these experiences.  We have been praying our hearts out for three months here in Portmore, and finally we are seeing the rainbow after the storm. 

Love you lots!

Sister Pitt

Sister Woolf! First Companion

"Preach The Gospel Joyfully..."

The best part about being a missionary is being the answer to someones prayers. First of all, many people needed us this week, and we just so happened to show up! One less active lady told us that the previous night she prayed for us to come, and we were there the next day. One pregnant member has been low on funds, and needed fruits and veggies to stay healthy. We received a free watermelon and we felt inspired to take it to her. She was so grateful and just kept saying that Heavenly Father is so mindful of her. We also started teaching a young man, Richard, who is a dear friend of a member, Shauna. They dated in high school. Apparently after high school he started having anxiety attacks and depression, so he was in Florida with his father for a while getting treatment. He is back in Jamaica, and Shauna had never shared the Gospel with him, because she was just recently truly converted. She decided to share it with him, and it has been amazing. His favorite subject is the Atonement, because it heals us physically, spiritually, and mentally. Teaching him about God's love is amazing because it is exactly what he needs to hear. Shauna is an amazing fellowshipper, because she always checks on him and makes sure he is reading and praying. He told us that we and Shauna are "heaven sent." God is so mindful of all of His children! I'm so grateful that we get to be answers to peoples prayers!

We have new investigators that are so sweet. I really love all of them. I can tell the spirit is working with them, and they are prepared to learn. We will see how everything goes, but they are all amazing. There is one young man named Patrick who actually ran us down asking us why we are here. He agreed to meet with us and the thing that stands out to him the most is the idea that we have the FULLNESS of the everlasting gospel. He really connected with that statement and wants to learn more. We also found a family! Mr. and Mrs. Ayres. They are the sweetest old couple. They have been married for almost 30 years. Their son and granddaughter live with them. They belong to a church, and when we first came they thought that Joseph Smith was a racist and all sorts of false things. But we soon had them smiling, laughing, and telling us their life story. By the time we were about to leave after sharing a message, they asked us to come back! It was cute at the end when the grandfather prayed, he said that we helped him feel a "tingle" in his heart.

Another adventure this week: Me. Huge crab. In the house. Broom. Standing on chair. Screaming. A battle of epic proportions. 

Something I really focused on this week is the commandment from the Doctrine and Covenants to, "Preach the gospel joyfully..." I really took that to heart. I have always been joyful during my mission, but I decided to really focus on being joyful in all circumstances. I could literally feel the joy I had radiate onto other people. They would light up as we talked about simple gospel truths. It was really a great feeling to feel of God's love and feel the joy that the Gospel can bring to these wonderful people.

The zone leaders stopped by this week to do a vehicle inspection. They told us that we have really turned this area around and that we are doing such a good job. It's nice to hear that, especially after feeling like we were not getting anywhere. Things are looking up. I know it's going to be tough, but I am just finding the joy that comes each day. I truly love this Gospel. It brings me so much happiness. 

Love, 

Sister Pitt

Haha! Cute Babies!

Creepy!

Mr Crab

So Onolicious!