Sister Caressa Ann Pitt: June 9, 2014

This week was good. Went by in the blink of an eye, like every single week. I'm here emailing, and all of a sudden I'm here again... Weird. Time is just so strange for a missionary. Because you do so much in a week, it goes fast. Tomorrow I'm at 14 months. What?! 0.o I have been forgetting what America is like. I may have culture shock going back home...

Oh, so I ate Mexican food this last week. My first time actually eating cilantro in 14 months. I was on a tradeoff in Kingston and I begged Sister Hudson to take me there. haha I was so happy. It was delicious. Like, it was actually legit Mexican food. On the tradeoff we had to drop some new sisters going to the MTC off at the airport. IT WAS SO WEIRD TO BE THERE. I started getting nervous hot flashes, and freaking out. I was like, "I'm not supposed to be here for another four months! Let's leave!" Oh boy. I promise the day I leave this place, I will be an emotional wreck. I love my mission. I love Jamaica.

I'm super nervous for transfer calls this coming Saturday. I'm nervous because it determines my last 4 months of my mission. Seeing my track record of being in areas for a long time, I doubt they would transfer me after this next one. I'm excited to start a new area. I'm so sad to leave this one. I love it. I love the people. If I had to choose where to live in Jamaica, St. Elizabeth would be where I would pick. It is so beautiful and lovely. The people are awesome. It's kind of difficult to be in the same area for a long time, you start to move slower, because you are used to everything. I am trying my hardest to keeping pushing forward. One more week. I'm going to make the most of it!

Here in Jamaica they have so many different ways of saying things. If someone does something completely out of the ordinary and it upsets you, you would say, "You are OUT OF ORDER!" or "TOO RUDE."

It's been getting really hot. A few nights ago, I woke up at 2 am, sweating. I pretty much drenched my self at the sink and stood in front of a fan for 20 minutes. It is boiling... Thank heavens Junction isn't as hot as Kingston, because I was DYING in Kingston. It was miserable. The humidity is so high. I have a feeling my next area is going to be really hot. We will see.

Yes, there is a new stake in Jamaica! Elder Holland was here this last weekend. I didn't get to see him, or participate at all. I'm about 3 hours away, and in a branch that isn't part of the stake. Boo hooo...... I am so happy for Jamaica though. Apparently lots of people who served missions here in the past, came back. The stake president is Chinese. I think that is funny. I don't know why. (He speaks fluent patios).

Oh, I have been loving studying the Gospel during my mission. I have learned so much from the scriptures and words of modern prophets and apostles. This last week I started the Book of Ether, in the Book of Mormon. Chapter 6 had a great impact on me. The context of the chapter is that the Jaredites built some barges to cross the ocean to the promised land. The barges where covered, and I imagine they were shaped like an almond. The brother of Jared finds a way to get light in the barges. He takes some stones, and asks the Lord to touch the stones. Long story short, the Lord touches the stone, and they have light while they are in the barges. Anyways, these barges didn't have steering, they didn't have anything to catch wind, they simply set out in them, across the waters, trusting that the Lord would lead them to the promised land. I bet it was really scary to be in those barges. You couldn't see where you were going, at all. For an entire year, they sat in darkness with minimum light, being tossed to and fro on the sea. All they probably could do was call on God for deliverance. They didn't have control of the situation at all. The Lord truly was testing their faithfulness. I bet lots of murmuring arose, I bet there was contention. I bet there were times when they were frightened. Still, they praised the Lord in this uncertain situation. Once they reached the promised land they shed tears of joy because of the tender mercies of the Lord.

Our journey through life is a lot like the Jaredites journey across the ocean to the promised land. There are times of calm, and times of storms. If we are faithful and trust in God, He will deliver us to our "promised land." Funny enough the storms were there to get them to where they were going. The winds and the waves were probably ferocious, but without winds and waves, they would have stayed still, never moving forward. Likewise, our trials help us receive celestial glory. We have to have experiences of good and bad in order to be exalted on high. My mission has had many storms. I'm not a perfect missionary. Sometimes I feel like I'm in darkness. But, I know, if I call upon God, he will guide in the midst of my emotional and spiritual storms.

I truly love this Gospel. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It is divine. It is from God. I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he has redeemed our souls from everlasting destruction, as long as we TRUST in him.

Lots of Love and Aloha,

Sister Pitt