Seven Sisters Falls

Rob was able to go to Seven Sisters Falls with the other missionaries in Grenada today. He said it was "very cool." Not the air temp, of course, but the scenery. AND, he sent photos! Here are his email notes from today: "85 and rainy. How'd you know? Same old weather here. Sister Maico, who I came out with, just went home because of a knee injury sustained while playing beach volleyball. Kinda sucks, especially since it has enforced a rule that we are no longer allowed on beaches. :/ O well. But in her email she said even in the middle of summer in LA it's still cold there. haha. Gonna be quite the change coming home. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm sure that there are some people who, just by having a quick chat on the bus or even some of our investigators, will have their hearts softened to future missionaries. Sometimes that's just the best we can do, you know? Scripture study class and church are about the same as usual. Three showed to scripture study and ten to church. Some old faces we haven't seen at church in awhile, some familiar faces missing. Lol. I swear they have like a schedule set on who comes to church so others won't come. But regardless, they are out there and just need to feel loved and cared for, I think. I ended up teaching the group discussion at church. It was about retaining a remission of our sins. Maybe you had the same topic? I don't know, it was given to our group leader by the St. Georges branch president, so I'm assuming it's like a worldwide thing? Lol. Not too sure, but anyway, it went really well. I decided to hit more strongly on the sacrament and how important it is, and the opportunity it gives us to refill our spiritual glass each week. I hope I did't sound like I was guilt tripping them into coming to church too much, that's kind of what I was trying to avoid. I tried to make it seem more inspirational and encouraging, but sometimes you don't realize how well it comes off. Half the people were asleep anyways. haha. Whenever someone falls asleep, I immediately call on them to read a scripture. Lol. It seems to work, so why not, right? haha. Things here still suck at my apartment. Even the senior couple that came to visit said that it was not livable housing for missionaries. But oh well, every morning I wake up to take a cold shower I just think to myself, 'only 8 more months and you'll be back to hot showers, cool sleeping, and a bed that's not broken.' It's keeping me sane for now. I am studying a lot about the Atonement and getting a better feel for Christ and His suffering. It's really impossible to fully comprehend, but I feel like for once in my life I'm starting to scratch the surface of it all. Anyways, everything here is gonna be fine! Love you guys so much. Tell Baxter I miss him!!!! Thank you for everything and the help and support. Bless up!"

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Rainy Season

The picture above, courtesy of Sister Layton, is from last week's P-day hike up Mt. Qua Qua. We have ordered a new camera for Rob, so he will (hopefully) have no more excuses. Here are his notes from today: "Happy Father's Day! Late Fathers' Day, of course. And thanks for the new camera. Sorry I'm so needy! Church was okay. We had about 12 people there and even talked a bit with some of the more solid members about reaching out to the less active members, just cuz it's a lot better when a secure friend comes to visit them instead of someone who is only there for a short while. I'm really hoping that President Herrington doesn't shut down the area, that would really bum me out. Sorry about your heat wave, but you are right, although it is hot here Grenada is VERY green. I love it. But if it makes you feel any better, our room has no windows and no a/c and no hot water. Oh, and a cockroach infestation. So that's my life right now. Bahaha. Fun stuff! Apparently we are entering into the rainy season and it's been raining like nobody's business! Things are really wet lately, but hey, the work continues, right? We make jokes, because apparently the saying goes, 'Every time you walk in the rain on your mission your future wife loses 5 pounds.' So the ongoing joke is, 'Well, either my future wife is an unhealthy anorexic right now or she's not born yet.' lol. But things here are moving slowly but surely. Seems like we're seeing a lot of the same people over and over again. I'm thinking we're gonna start finding some new people to teach this week, so we'll see how that goes. I totally understand the struggle is here for a reason, so I can look back and say I did that. Scripture study was us, Cake (our group leaders nickname) and Rachel. Could've been better, but what can you do? Just feeling a little discouraged. But I am grateful for your help, I'm really grateful for the way you raised me. I feel like you gave me a good balance of freedom and trying to guide me. Sorry I went off the path for a while. I'm sure that wasn't easy to handle as a parent, but I can assure you it won't happen again :). Sorry I don't have pics again. I'm the worst. I'll get them to you though, promise! Thanks for all the help you give me and being there for me. I appreciate it. Love you guys! See you soon! Hope you got to enjoy Fathers' Day! Bless up."

Eating Hamsters

No, Rob has not been eating hamsters this week. This is just one of those annoying titles on the interweb, designed to get you to click on a link. However, he did THREATEN to eat a hamster, so there is a kernel of truth... as usual. Here are his emails from Grenada this week: "Holaaaaa! Happy early Fathers' Day! Haha. I don't know why we can't call for Fathers' Day too. Seems sexist to me, but what can you do? Lots of stuff going on. Mission life, right? lol. Courtney sent me a cool article that talked about things people wish they had done more on their mission, and one of the things was that he wished he 'hadn't hated being there so much.' Haha. I kind of feel like that'll be me when I come home. Like, 'What was I complaining about? That was great!' One can only hope, right? But yeah, we ended up doing the scripture study and FIVE people showed up :O. It was epic! Haha. Not including the missionaries either. WOOT! So that was rad. Sister George came to church Sunday for the first time since I've been here (a little over 3 months now - wow, time flies). So that was awesome as well. The group really welcomed her with open arms, almost as if she had never left, so THAT was really cool. Less actives are coming along well. I think we're just around the corner from turning this group into a branch. Reactivations really are a big rollercoaster. The struggle is real. Sister Cato AND Brother Carlyle didn't show this week, BUT Sister George did so that was cool. One leaves another comes. Can't win. [We sent Rob a picture of his niece's beloved new hamster. This is his response:] Tell Lynlee her hamster is the stinkiest thing I've ever seen and that I will cook it and eat it. Muwhahahaha - with an evil laugh. We took a SWEET hike to Qua Qua mountains today! Holy poop, it was so cool! The view was amazing. Like we were high up with the clouds kinda, and when the wind blew you could see the cloud hit the mountain and then fly up in your face. Haha. It was so cool. I'll send pics I took with someone else's camera cuz mine ran out of batteries. Brother Stewart might've posted some stuff too so you might wanna check that out. But ya, the work is progressing. I'm trying to have more fun with everything. I miss carpet, A/C, my computer, BAXTER OBVIOUSLY, my bed.... O man, I miss my bed. Haha. Okay, I should probably stop before I start to go insane. But just know I love you guys and am excited most of all to hang out with you and to start going back to school and start my life. Haha. I'm ready! I'm excited to come home but I also know the Lord wants me here for now, so I'll be continuing the work with as much diligence as I possibly can. Thanks again for the support. You have no idea how much it lifts me up every week and gets me refreshed to start again. So thank you. I love you guys so much. Thanks for the emails and I'll talk to you next week!"

Rob must have run out of time before sending any pictures of his hike to Mt.Qua Qua, so I lifted a few from Google images. The hike is about 1.5 hours each way.

Hiking Mt. Qua Qua.

The view from Mt. Qua Qua.

Short Note on Reactivation

Pictures included here are courtesy of Brother Stewart, who kindly posted a few photos from a recent baptism in St. Georges. The one to the left shows Rob wearing his companion's glasses, looking studious. Although he didn't have a lot of time to write today, it sounds like Rob is working hard and doing well. Here are his notes from the field: "Ahhhh, crud. I forgot my camera again. Next week, I promise! Anyways, this week has been cool. We were able to get Brother Carlyle and Sister Cato out to church (both less active). But it's hard, because it seems like we can't get EVERYONE to come out to church on the same Sunday. Like, a few come out of the woodworks and the others bail out. Lol. Hopefully we can get them all to come out. President is threatening to shut down the Gouyave group because it's not big enough, but it's bigger than the other group in Grenada and has higher attendance. Hope he will reconsider. Believe it or not I am trying to humble myself. I really see the Gouyave group coming together this transfer, as in a lot of reactivations and making it a lot larger! I'm hoping it is successful! Sorry, I took a lot of computer time with other things and am running short on time. :P Things here are good. Anyways, I miss you guys sooooo so so much and I can't wait to come home. Love you all. Thanks for the support!"