nate morris west indies mission

August 30, 2010

Hello America!

This morning we went to "the crane." Supposedly one of the nicest beaches in Barbados, thus one of the best in the world. The sand was fantastic. It was almost milky. Weird but it was awesome. Elder Jones and I buried ourselves in the sand up to our knees and we played football and cricket. Way fun.

This past week was tough but better than last week. We've been working with this guy Bazil who says a spirit inside him won't let him pray. But.. we're trying to figure out what to do. He's reading the Book of Mormon but having trouble getting an answer to his prayers because of the evil spirit inside of him. I've never dealt with anything like this so we're definitely in new territory. Thank goodness for the priesthood we have. He came to church and that was cool so we're still working with him.

We still don't know a ton of members here and although we're getting a bigger teaching pool we still have a lot of downtime. Which means a ton of walking around and talking to everybody we can. It's goin alright though. But the days can feel very long sometimes. Church yesterday was interesting... to say the least. Our branch president, well let's just say a change needs to be made. He has no enthusiasm and causes a lot of contention. We're trying to figure out what to do about him but we'll figure out something.. It's cool though. A lot of the active members have been active for 20+ years. So they know the gospel well but they're comfortable with the way things are, but things need to be changed. It's a trial and member work is hard to come by but we're still trying.

I've been reading a ton of the BOM still and it's fantastic. I"m loving every minute of it. Learning tons and feeling the spirit more and more. I've realized that if we want to become better and feel the spirit more we have to sacrifice more and be more obedient. So, i've been doing that and i've been gaining a strong testimony of that process since. I love the book of Mosiah. It is sweet! To see the hand of the Lord in delivering his righteous people. It's such a common theme and still happens, even today. Look at the pioneers and the early saints. Same kind of thing. However like in Mosiah 23 how it said the lord seeth fit to chasten his people. We'll ALWAYS have trials. that's what gets us better and stronger.

To answer some questions: Mom, Barbados was part of the Puerto Rico San Juan East mission, which was Billy Oden's mission. He served in Oistins Barbados and i see his name on records and stuff which is fun. He's way sweet and did great here. Also, Elder Hoepel does know dutch. But we've only met one person that can speak dutch, so it doesn't really help.

WEll that's about it from here. Lots of trials, lots of blessings. We're working hard and being obedient so that's what counts. I love ya and i hope you have a great week!

Elder Morris

PS: I"ll be eagerly awaiting the package!

PPSS: Elder Nelson i'm also excited to get your letter! Hope things are going well for ya and Matt, I love reading your emails too. Keep doing great.

PPPSSS: Pictures! Just random ones from today's expedition. The one with the kid in the red shirt is Elder Hoepel!