Sister Caressa Ann Pitt: I Love The Portmore Ward

Ah, I have to admit, this was a difficult week. Well, I have had worse, but I think it was tough on Sister Lewis, because of the lack of investigators, and this was probably her first really tough week of appointments falling through. I just told her that it happens all the time. You have good weeks. You have bad weeks. You have fantastic weeks. You have weeks that you feel as if all hell is breaking loose. But, it's all part of the experience. If we never had a bad week, would we really know if we were having a good week? Nope.

The thing that makes Jamaica particularly frustrating is the amount of denominations that are here. It truly causes a lot of confusion. For example, we had this conversation with a lady who is planning to be baptized in the Seventh Day Adventist church. She was going on and on about things she doesn't like about SDA's. I was really perplexed by her comments. I asked her if she believed in the Seventh Day religion, and if it is sanctioned by God. She flat out said no. I wonder if they even have their "investigators" pray and ask God if they should be baptized. All I know is that many churches get money for baptisms. The more baptisms and members they get, the more money the pastor gets. Religion is all business in Jamaica.

That last paragraph wasn't supposed to be negative, it's just causes me to be overwhelmed sometimes. The great thing about Jamaica is the fact that everyone believes in God. All though there is the complete disregard to the commandments, many people still fear Him and worship Him. All I want to do is change that fear of God, to love of God. I think it would help people a lot more. When you love someone, you are more willing to do what they want you to do. But, if you only fear someone, it causes you to rebel at times. If we all instill a love of God and His Son, Jesus Christ, in our hearts, then we will never want to break a commandment. We will always want to do what is right.

I love the Portmore ward. We had ward conference on Sunday and there were so many people there. The morning started with a baptism of a former rastafarian. He has dreads down to his knees. Many people holding positions in the stake came. None of our investigators came, but such is life. haha The spirit was strong at church. During sacrament they randomly called me up to bear my testimony. It was a great expirience. I love bearing my testimony to everyone. I want to share it with the whole world.

Our time here on Earth is extremely short. Just like a mission. We come, we perform our labors, and then we will return back to our heavenly home (or earthly home, if we are talking about missionary service). We have joy, we have sorrow. We strive to do what is right, and sometimes fall short. Heavenly Father premeditated that fact, and sent Jesus Christ to redeem us from our shortcomings. I have a deep love for my Savior. Not only has he freed me from the pains of sin, but he has given me the ability to change, to improve, to become like Him. As I have relied on the Saviors grace and mercy, I have become a better missionary. Not the best, obviously, but I have had a mighty change of heart towards my service. It has taken time, but I have seen the Atonement working within me. I only hope to be able to have others understand that change they can make, and the absolute happiness they can feel. I love this Gospel. I know God lives. I know Christ lives. I know this by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Love you all,

Sister Pitt

P.S. I've noticed my letters don't always give the best accounting of what I did during the week. But sometimes I really don't even remember. The days blend into one big blob of talking to people, trying to serve, teaching, studying, etc...

P.S.S. I just love fried chicken. Yum!