It's been such a wonderful week! Every six months, the West Indies Mission (WIM) has a Senior Missionary "get-together" for 4 days. There are about 50 of us. We're a crazy and wild bunch, I know!!!! Pres. and Sister Mehr have the church fly everyone to Trinidad from 11 countries so that we can mingle and get rejouvenated, then go back out into the fields of labor refreshed and ready to go again. We are given a significant shot in the arm, so to speak. We had never met these folks, but had spoken on the phone or emailed all of them, so getting to know them face to face was a real joy. 10 of these couples are going home in the near future, so this may be the only time we see them, (in this life) yet we have a connection and bond that won't ever be broken. I can only imagine the great Senior Missionary Conference that will be held in Heaven!!! What an event that will be.
OK, enough of this....here are some pictures of this week.
This is Pres. Colin Goodluck. He is a counselor in our Mission Presidency, Guyanese, age 31 and a ball of fire! This man is going to be a major leader here in the West Indies. Incredible person!!!!
This is the Stake President in the Port of Spain Stake, Pres. Gould. He talked to us about the culture in Trinidad, and the West Indies, in general (although each country has their own history). After listening to him speak, the way of life here made more sense. He told us that rules here are only suggestions---that's why they drive like maniacs! I can see why so many, after being baptised, go inactive. They aren't used to structure or obedience to anything, and that is contrary to what we teach in church. It's not that they don't like the church, they look upon their baptism with much fondness, but they haven't learned obedience to anything. It's the culture.
Pres. Gould explained to us that the black people were brought here as cattle to be slaves. They weren't permitted to be here as families. The men were taught to detach themselves emotionally. They had to UN-learn being a father, so there wasn't any emotional connection to family. When I heard this, it was a "light bulb" moment. The men here still have no attachment to family. Most are not married, but have multiple children by many different women, who raise these children on their own. It's the norm. How many generations will it take to help the men to be fathers again? When the slaves were brought here, many of the mothers and children killed themselves rather than be slaves. This was a sad era in history. To judge these people would be a horrible mistake.
When Pres. Gould joined the church, he wanted to be obedient, marry, live our church standards and raise a family, but he had no father figure to model his life after. The only father figure he knew was Bill Cosby as Dr. Huckstable on the Cosby show, so that's who he used as his role model. He certainly could do worse than good old Bill!
He told us that polygamy comes up far more often than the black issue, when it comes to learning about our church. Interesting.
He said that we may be the closest thing to a family that these people will see, but that doesn't mean we are exceptional. We all have work to do in the "bettering ourselves" department.
The people here don't want to be colonized by Americans. They are perfectly happy to be who they are. Resistance to our church may come, not because we are Mormons, but because we are Americans. They look at our church as a white man's church. We are definitely a minority here.
There is a huge Indian population that came by choice as indentured servants to make a better life for their families by working in the sugar cane fields for long hours. They had structure as a family unit. Some were Hindu and some Muslim. There is tension between the Indian and black populations here. Hinduism, in it's purest form, isn't offended by anyone. If they live a good life, then that's all they need. If their life had problems, then they believe they will be reincarnated to get it right the next time. In this way, our LDS culture doesn't appeal to them because of our belief in the life after this. Muslims, on the other hand are more dogmatic. They pray several times a day, as we do. They fast, as we do. They pay tithes, as we do...so there are similarities. They don't necessarily want to be sealed in the Temple to family members who have sexually assulted them, so the missionaries don't get very far with these folks.
Pres. Gould expressed his greatfulness to us as Senior Missionaries because of the sacrifices we have made to come. He asked us to tell our children "THANKS" because he knows it must be incredibly difficult to let their parents leave.
This is the cutest couple ever! Colin and Vonella Goodluck from Guyana. He is in our mission presidency. Kent took them to Las Cuevas beach one afternoon. I wasn't able to go because of a back injury. I really missed out!
Can't go to the beach without eating a famous "Bake & Shark" from Richards. We actually met Richard's brother last night in Trinidad. He catered our dinner at the mission home and said that he's been looking to change his life and would really like to attend our church. Imagine that! Ha!
Sister Smith and Vonella. The Goodluck's have 2 little boys
These good folks are the Olpins. Elder O. is the mission Patriarch. Many in the West Indies have received blessings from him. They are the parents of Sister Mehr.
Our hosts, Pres. and Sister Mehr! They are the BEST!!! We learn so much from them! Pres. has helped us to re-learn something we already know, but it has been brought back to our remembrance more profoundly. He has taught us to rely on the Holy Ghost as our teacher and instructor and He will help us in "real time" with the situation at hand. He knows what we are thinking and what another person with us is thinking. Use that help....be in tune.
Other than having a back problem, this was a terrific week!!!
Thank you for making the effort to share! We love reading the updates and are inspired to continue the work here at home!
ReplyDeleteThanks James and Summer. Hope your family is doing well.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about your adventures! Thanks for your example! Take care of your back!
ReplyDeleteThe sisters in the ward where my brother is serving in Florida just had a baptism of a 60 year old man from Guyana. He sounds like a neat guy!
Heidi, that is so wonderful about the guy from Guyana. Now he needs to go back to Guyana and strengthen the church there. Probably won't happen, however.
ReplyDelete