SEASONS

The mango season is upon us, with all of its delectible sweetness.  Mangos are an immensely desirable fruit with a large core in the center, making it difficult to eat, but because of its sweetness and flavor, so worth the effort.  

The gospel of Jesus Christ is much like a mango.  At the core is our Savior, Jesus Christ, with all of the sweetness of the gospel surrounding Him.  We have to work to obtain His goodness, but on the way, we will find much joy as we taste of His mercy.  Unlike the mango, Christ does not have a season.  He is ever present and endless are His days.  He invites all to come unto Him and partake of His fruit which is the most sweet and desirable to make one happy.

Sisters Cragun and Kime 

Our Zone traveled to Barbados on Monday, Jan. 6th, for Zone Conference.  Here we are at the airport in Grenada, ready to board the airplane

 Elders Dohrman and Smith

 Elders Larson and Strong

 Sisters Cragun and Kime

 We logged in MANY hours on the flight to Barbados.  We traveled to Trinidad and St. Vincent before we finally made it to our destination.

 In St Vincent, we picked up 4 more missionaries, for a total of 12.  Pretty sure that people noticed us.  Pres. and Sis. Mehr and the Assistants to the President, Elders Anderson and Creech,  joined us.

 Elders Hendricks, Shariatmadari, Larson and Strong doing role playing at Zone Conference

 Sister Cragun, listening intently

 President and Sister Mehr and Assistants to the President, Elders Creech and Anderson

 We learned so much from our leaders at Zone Conference.  We were all uplifted and edified.

What treasures from Heaven are we gathering?  Remember, God inspires....Satan does not.
We learned how to teach repentance.  The Lord heals.  We have all experienced the Atonement in one way or another.  2 Nephi 26: 24-27 "He (Christ) doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him.  Wherefore, He commandeth none that they shall not partake of His salvation.  Behold, doth He cry unto any saying: Depart from me?  Behold, I say unto you, nay; but he saith: come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey without  money and without price.  Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay.  Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation?  Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance. "   These are some of the most beautiful words in scripture!  .....and we get to teach it!  People are seeking this joy and we get to bring this message of joy to them!  We all need to change, This is the central focus that Jesus taught.   Repentance is a fresh start, a forsaking and becoming.
Pres. Mehr taught us so many things, one of which was this: we must thrust in our sickle and remain in the vineyard for our entire lives.  We must hang onto the iron rod while we nourish, prune and dung in the vineyard, never leaving, for leaving is rejecting God.  It's disobedience.  BUT, we can re-enter the vineyard through repentance!  Then, we give all that we have.....and at the end of the day, His payment to us is Eternal Life.  The Lord has already ransomed all of us...even those who have strayed from the vineyard......but He wants them back!

It was a wonderful conference!

 The Assistants

 Sister Mehr

 Then, it was back to the airport on Tuesday night

 We sat for hours, while our flight was delayed.........but we kept smiling......and the airline provided us food.....we smiled more.....

 The 3 Smith missionaries

Friday was Fun Night at the church.  Elder Smith and Dohrman were in charge.  We watched the movie on Joseph Smith and the restoration of the church.  Afterwards, we divided into teams and played a game of Jeopardy with questions about the movie.

 Saturday, the St. Georges missionaries, plus 2 members, Ryan and Roger, went to the church for a service project which included clearing the brush along the beachfront where we perform baptisms.

 If you look really hard, you will see us down by the beach chopping away at the brush

Then the Sisters and the Wright Family also cleaned the church.  It was a huge project because we had no water.  We had to bring several gallons from home.  Oh the joy!

On Sunday (today), we went to the city of Gouyave to attend church at one of our "group" meetings.  There were 21 in attendance!  It was a beautiful day!  This picture, outside of the church/apartment, shows Elder Larson, Bro. Smart and Sister Jean

 Elders Larson and Strong on their way to a teaching appointment with Bro. Smart

Bro. Michael Smart in front of his mother's home

Michael B. in front of his new business sign.  Michael is getting ready to go on a mission.

We have had an invasion of frogs this week.  Found 2 in our window and 2 in our toilet tank.  YIKES!

 The big Yachts are coming to Grenada.  Word on the street is that Oprah and Bruce W., and probably lots of others that we don't know about, have been here recently

 This was taken on the fly, so it's blurry, but it's traditional Grenadian wardrobe that some still wear.  Love it!

 Bright house, laundry and a rooster.  Love this too!

Ahhhh....what's not to love about this view from St. Georges University (The 5th most beautiful campus in the world)