Mon, Aug 29, 2011
Wow! That was the most intense hurricane I've ever been in. It was so crazy I could just feel the whole house shaking. We spent most of the day on the kitchen counter because the house was flooded with 2 feet of water... Actually it was pretty disappointing. The worst part about it was having to stay inside for a whole day with no electricity and with all the windows boarded up so we couldn't see anything. Oh well, comes with the territory, I guess. It was a real storm though. we didn't get hit like some of the other islands, but it did its fair share of damage here. It mostly knocked down a ton of trees all over the roads and power lines and such. No real housing damage for anyone we know except maybe some missing shingles. The place where one of our investigators works got blown into the sea. it was a big warehouse tent where they sold crafts to the tourists. When the storm calmed down Elder Brockbank and I headed to the church to check on it. there is a bunch of tall trees in the yard that we were pretty worried about. Luckily none of them fell, but there were branches and trash all over the place, so we spent the evening cleaning it up. The hurricane wasn't all that exciting. it pretty much just killed our missionary work for a few days. Surprisingly, no one wanted to meet with us when they didn't have electricity and they are cleaning up their yards. We tried offering our help but weren't able to do much. bummer.
We did have some success this week. Lesley was confirmed on Sunday. She is doing really well. Sunday evening we had an activity for our new members and the rest of the branch on Family History and temple work. it went really well. We taught the doctrine behind it all and we had our branch family history consultant (it's crazy, I know. we actually have one in this branch.) do a presentation on how to start gathering information on your family and such. The members recieved it really well. They were really excited about it.
Things are going great. We trying to make this week a good one (no dengue, no hurricanes). it looks like this may be our last week together. Transfers is next week and I think one of us will be leaving back to Jamaica. We'll see.
Well, We'll talk to ya next week. love you lots.
Elder Kartchner
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Good Sabbath
Mon, Aug 22, 2011
Hello Family,
It's good to hear all is well. That's crazy to hear about the tornado in MO. We don't hear about any of that kind of stuff here.
Well life is good. We had a bit of a slow week. Elder Brockbank has been sick for the past week and a half. It's been pretty bad. The doctor said it was some virus. She said she doesn't think its the dengue fever but it sure acts like it. We decided to call it dengue anyway. we figure if you're sick on your mission you might as well have a cool story to tell afterward like you got dengue on your mission. at any rate, it's slowed us down quite a bit this week. We were still able to teach a little bit, but not much.
On Thursday President Vineas, the area president, flew in with president and sister Hendricks for a mission tour. The elders from Freeport, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos flew in as well. we got stuck with taxi driver duty. It was good though. We had a really good meeting on Friday. afterwards we took everyone back to the airport. President Vineas talked alot on the atonement. He made an interesting link between Jacob 4:12 and John 17:3 saying that one of the best ways ways to help people gain eternal life is to learn and teach of the atonement.
On Saturday we had a funeral here at the church for a member who was born here but lived in Chicago. The daughter of the man that died came down for the funeral and somehow was banking on the fact that all missionaries can sing and play the piano and she asked us to do the musical number. well, Elder Brockbank can play better than he can sing, and I can sing better than I can play so we gave it a shot and stumbled our way through it. Now I've sang at a wedding and a funeral. the funeral itself was pretty interesting. all the relatives that attended were non members - mostly baptist. Most of it was really good, but when one lady got up to speak everyone was shouting and hollering and then these old ladies break out into song (and they sound terrible). This is all happening in the chapel and Elder Brockbank and I are just sitting in the corner trying to keep a straight face.
Sunday was really good. we had a few members invite their friends to church. Looks like there's some potential there. after church we had a baptism for Lesley Clarke. She's doing awesome. We've been working with her for the past 3 months. It's been incredible to see the change she's made in her life.
Well, that's pretty much like a long email so hope you enjoy it. love you all lots.
Elder Kartchner
Hello Family,
It's good to hear all is well. That's crazy to hear about the tornado in MO. We don't hear about any of that kind of stuff here.
Well life is good. We had a bit of a slow week. Elder Brockbank has been sick for the past week and a half. It's been pretty bad. The doctor said it was some virus. She said she doesn't think its the dengue fever but it sure acts like it. We decided to call it dengue anyway. we figure if you're sick on your mission you might as well have a cool story to tell afterward like you got dengue on your mission. at any rate, it's slowed us down quite a bit this week. We were still able to teach a little bit, but not much.
On Thursday President Vineas, the area president, flew in with president and sister Hendricks for a mission tour. The elders from Freeport, Bahamas and Turks and Caicos flew in as well. we got stuck with taxi driver duty. It was good though. We had a really good meeting on Friday. afterwards we took everyone back to the airport. President Vineas talked alot on the atonement. He made an interesting link between Jacob 4:12 and John 17:3 saying that one of the best ways ways to help people gain eternal life is to learn and teach of the atonement.
On Saturday we had a funeral here at the church for a member who was born here but lived in Chicago. The daughter of the man that died came down for the funeral and somehow was banking on the fact that all missionaries can sing and play the piano and she asked us to do the musical number. well, Elder Brockbank can play better than he can sing, and I can sing better than I can play so we gave it a shot and stumbled our way through it. Now I've sang at a wedding and a funeral. the funeral itself was pretty interesting. all the relatives that attended were non members - mostly baptist. Most of it was really good, but when one lady got up to speak everyone was shouting and hollering and then these old ladies break out into song (and they sound terrible). This is all happening in the chapel and Elder Brockbank and I are just sitting in the corner trying to keep a straight face.
Sunday was really good. we had a few members invite their friends to church. Looks like there's some potential there. after church we had a baptism for Lesley Clarke. She's doing awesome. We've been working with her for the past 3 months. It's been incredible to see the change she's made in her life.
Well, that's pretty much like a long email so hope you enjoy it. love you all lots.
Elder Kartchner
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Big Weekend
Mon, Aug 15, 2011
Awesome. looks like a successful wedding and such. I was a bit sad to have missed it - so sad that I totally forgot about it till Friday night. I was hoping that you would set up a cardboard cutout of me in the picture. oh well, maybe next time.
this week was good. we have some awesome investigators. Lesley is doing very well and will be baptized this Sunday. Widline is doing good as well. she should be baptized 2 weeks after that. we also have a guy by the name of Kenry who's come to church twice now and is planning to be baptized in about a month. It is so rewarding to have real investigators that actually put in the effort to change. Our recent converts are doing awesome as well. Melda is on fire. She can't put the book of mormon down. (just to give you a heads up, she told me she found Mom on Facebook so if she sends you a message you know who it is.) Also, we've been working with this 20 yr old guy, Marcthony for a while now. when we first got here he was totally inactive. We've befriended him and taken him out teaching with us a lot. it is awesome to see the change he's made in his life. yesterday he wore a white shirt and tie and passed the sacrament for the first time in his life. It's been awesome to watch the changes the gospel and an eternal perspective makes in the lives of people. I'm happy as can be.
Besides all that, it's just been good. we had a bit of rain this week, but nothing too serious. Elder Brockbank is sick. we think he got food poisoning from eating at a members house. we'll see. The mission president and the Area President should be coming on Thursday for a Zone Conference.
love you lots,
Elder Kartchner
Awesome. looks like a successful wedding and such. I was a bit sad to have missed it - so sad that I totally forgot about it till Friday night. I was hoping that you would set up a cardboard cutout of me in the picture. oh well, maybe next time.
this week was good. we have some awesome investigators. Lesley is doing very well and will be baptized this Sunday. Widline is doing good as well. she should be baptized 2 weeks after that. we also have a guy by the name of Kenry who's come to church twice now and is planning to be baptized in about a month. It is so rewarding to have real investigators that actually put in the effort to change. Our recent converts are doing awesome as well. Melda is on fire. She can't put the book of mormon down. (just to give you a heads up, she told me she found Mom on Facebook so if she sends you a message you know who it is.) Also, we've been working with this 20 yr old guy, Marcthony for a while now. when we first got here he was totally inactive. We've befriended him and taken him out teaching with us a lot. it is awesome to see the change he's made in his life. yesterday he wore a white shirt and tie and passed the sacrament for the first time in his life. It's been awesome to watch the changes the gospel and an eternal perspective makes in the lives of people. I'm happy as can be.
Besides all that, it's just been good. we had a bit of rain this week, but nothing too serious. Elder Brockbank is sick. we think he got food poisoning from eating at a members house. we'll see. The mission president and the Area President should be coming on Thursday for a Zone Conference.
love you lots,
Elder Kartchner
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Howdy
Mon, Aug 8, 2011
Good to hear you've been getting some rain. We got a little bit too over the weekend. It was a bit disappointing though, because we were supposed to get a small hurricane. It ended up just being overcast and drizzly on Friday and Saturday. Nothing exciting.
Things are going well here. We have several good people we are working with. All our recent converts are doing awesome. it is so rewarding to see them grow in the gospel. The mission has really changed my perspective on life and what's most important.
Wow, the wedding is already here. that was fast. glad I'm not the one to clean up and get ready for it. Way to go Jeff for getting married when I'm gone! Tell the family Hi for me. Don't have too much fun without me. Make sure and save a piece of cake for me! If it goes stale before I get back, you can feed it to Rio. I'm sure she'd love it. make sure to send some pics of the wedding/ reception and such.
Love you all lots.
Elder Kartchner
Good to hear you've been getting some rain. We got a little bit too over the weekend. It was a bit disappointing though, because we were supposed to get a small hurricane. It ended up just being overcast and drizzly on Friday and Saturday. Nothing exciting.
Things are going well here. We have several good people we are working with. All our recent converts are doing awesome. it is so rewarding to see them grow in the gospel. The mission has really changed my perspective on life and what's most important.
Wow, the wedding is already here. that was fast. glad I'm not the one to clean up and get ready for it. Way to go Jeff for getting married when I'm gone! Tell the family Hi for me. Don't have too much fun without me. Make sure and save a piece of cake for me! If it goes stale before I get back, you can feed it to Rio. I'm sure she'd love it. make sure to send some pics of the wedding/ reception and such.
Love you all lots.
Elder Kartchner
Monday, August 1, 2011
Happy August
Mon, Aug 1, 2011
Acute Conjuntivitus - that's what the doctor said it was. All I know is that it felt like there was a load of sand in my eye. Don't worry. it only lasted a few days. all's well that ends well. It makes it pretty awkward to do missionary work when you have pink eye because no one wants to come near you. It didn't slow us down too much. we just were'nt able to do as much finding as we normally do.
Speaking of getting sick, a couple people we know, including one of our investigators, got Denge Fever (i don't think that's spelled right). don't worry, though, it's not the kind that kills you, it only makes you sick for a week or so. (I only tell you that because I trust that Mom won't freak out and make some irrational phone call or something)
Well, you don't get any sympathy from me about the hot nights. I don't remember the last time it got below 85 at night. We do have AC but it cost tons to use it so we only use it for short periods of time. about a month ago when we had zone conference we ran the AC all night because we had everyone there. It got so cold I couldn't sleep.
The work is going well here. We've been meeting with Melda's friend most every day this week and she is doing awesome. her name is Widline and she's 20. She came to our branch fun night on Friday and Church on Sunday. One of our other investigator's, Sis Theme, is also doing well - or was until she got Denge. Lesley is still doing great. All three have a baptism date for Aug 21. We had another really cool guy come to church yesterday for the first time. one of our other investigators invited him. We'll meet with him this week and hope for the best.
Last night we had our branch activity on the Family Proclamation. It went really well. As far as other news, it was elder brockbank's birthday the other day. I got your package. thank you so much. I really like the tie downs that you button on. thank you for the shirts. they were much needed. the socks as well. I think I'm good to last till the end of the mission.
Love you much
Elder Kartchner
Acute Conjuntivitus - that's what the doctor said it was. All I know is that it felt like there was a load of sand in my eye. Don't worry. it only lasted a few days. all's well that ends well. It makes it pretty awkward to do missionary work when you have pink eye because no one wants to come near you. It didn't slow us down too much. we just were'nt able to do as much finding as we normally do.
Speaking of getting sick, a couple people we know, including one of our investigators, got Denge Fever (i don't think that's spelled right). don't worry, though, it's not the kind that kills you, it only makes you sick for a week or so. (I only tell you that because I trust that Mom won't freak out and make some irrational phone call or something)
Well, you don't get any sympathy from me about the hot nights. I don't remember the last time it got below 85 at night. We do have AC but it cost tons to use it so we only use it for short periods of time. about a month ago when we had zone conference we ran the AC all night because we had everyone there. It got so cold I couldn't sleep.
The work is going well here. We've been meeting with Melda's friend most every day this week and she is doing awesome. her name is Widline and she's 20. She came to our branch fun night on Friday and Church on Sunday. One of our other investigator's, Sis Theme, is also doing well - or was until she got Denge. Lesley is still doing great. All three have a baptism date for Aug 21. We had another really cool guy come to church yesterday for the first time. one of our other investigators invited him. We'll meet with him this week and hope for the best.
Last night we had our branch activity on the Family Proclamation. It went really well. As far as other news, it was elder brockbank's birthday the other day. I got your package. thank you so much. I really like the tie downs that you button on. thank you for the shirts. they were much needed. the socks as well. I think I'm good to last till the end of the mission.
Love you much
Elder Kartchner
Monday, July 25, 2011
Finally
Mon, Jul 25, 2011
That's cool. good to hear that you got some rain and flooding. I just want you to know that we did too. We had a couple good rains this last week. Since Nassau is totally flat and there is no drainage on the roads or anything, when it rains the whole place turns into a lake. In some places there is just a foot or so of standing water on the road that just has to wait till it dries up. it makes it hard to get some places. It's not bad really, just makes life interesting sometimes.
Things are going good. We've spent a lot of ime finding this week and we have a few new good investigators. We also got a few member referals this week which is always great. We started to teach one of them and she came to church yesterday and really liked it. Our recent convert, Melda, is doing awesome. We taught her about missionary work the other day and she called us yesterday and told us she had a friend at her house we could come teach. we showed up and had a super spiritual lesson with her friend and comitted her to be baptized. We'll see how she does in the follow up. It's so awesome to see members get excited about the gospel as they live it and share it with others.
It is transfers tomorrow. Elder Brockbank and I are both staying for at least another 6 weeks. I'm glad. I'm really starting to love the members of the branch here.
I'll be picking up my package today. I got a notice that it is at the post office. Hope it's good.
Love you lots and keep up the good work.
Elder Kartchner
That's cool. good to hear that you got some rain and flooding. I just want you to know that we did too. We had a couple good rains this last week. Since Nassau is totally flat and there is no drainage on the roads or anything, when it rains the whole place turns into a lake. In some places there is just a foot or so of standing water on the road that just has to wait till it dries up. it makes it hard to get some places. It's not bad really, just makes life interesting sometimes.
Things are going good. We've spent a lot of ime finding this week and we have a few new good investigators. We also got a few member referals this week which is always great. We started to teach one of them and she came to church yesterday and really liked it. Our recent convert, Melda, is doing awesome. We taught her about missionary work the other day and she called us yesterday and told us she had a friend at her house we could come teach. we showed up and had a super spiritual lesson with her friend and comitted her to be baptized. We'll see how she does in the follow up. It's so awesome to see members get excited about the gospel as they live it and share it with others.
It is transfers tomorrow. Elder Brockbank and I are both staying for at least another 6 weeks. I'm glad. I'm really starting to love the members of the branch here.
I'll be picking up my package today. I got a notice that it is at the post office. Hope it's good.
Love you lots and keep up the good work.
Elder Kartchner
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Keep the Faith
Mon, Jul 18, 2011
Hey Fam,
It's been a good week. We've been keeping real busy. We've been working a lot with strengthening our recent converts as well as a few less active families. we've been seeing a lot of success with that. All three of our baptisms- Mylande, Melda, and Scott are all doing awesome. One of our investigators, Lesley, is still doing awesome. she has changed so much already. We also found a few more potentially good investigators this past week. we'll see how it goes.
Besides that, there's not much to say. just working hard, being obedient, and enjoying life. I haven't got the package yet. I'll let you know when I do. It may not be for a while yet. Elder Brockbank's mom sent him a package a couple weeks before you did and we still haven't got it yet. Well, hope all goes well on the home front. keep it real and keep the faith.
Elder Kartchner
Hey Fam,
It's been a good week. We've been keeping real busy. We've been working a lot with strengthening our recent converts as well as a few less active families. we've been seeing a lot of success with that. All three of our baptisms- Mylande, Melda, and Scott are all doing awesome. One of our investigators, Lesley, is still doing awesome. she has changed so much already. We also found a few more potentially good investigators this past week. we'll see how it goes.
Besides that, there's not much to say. just working hard, being obedient, and enjoying life. I haven't got the package yet. I'll let you know when I do. It may not be for a while yet. Elder Brockbank's mom sent him a package a couple weeks before you did and we still haven't got it yet. Well, hope all goes well on the home front. keep it real and keep the faith.
Elder Kartchner
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