February 22, 2010



Hello from the Caribbean!



We made it out safely from Carnival. All the missionaries in North Zone went to Curepe’s apartment except us and the assistants so we had some fun just chillin’ at home. On Monday, we went to the office to do some work there and then went to Curepe to have a ping-pong tournament and played the game Signs with 16 people. So much fun. We had a blast. It felt weird just chilling not doing any missionary work but rules are rules. We didn’t hear much music, didn’t see anything bad, which was opposite of what people told us it would be. We figured that it got bad on the main road and in Port of Spain - centers of strength. After Signs we went back to our apartment. It was in the middle of Carnival. We had to cross the main road to get to our apartment and it was just FULL of people holding 2 or more beer bottles and dancing around like they were mad. Lots of crazy costumes like Halloween and stuff too. We got out of there FAST and luckily didn’t see much. Over Carnival we played Monopoly 3 times. Elder Scott, like in Georgetown, Guyana, re-did the chance cards and community chest and made it CRAZY. We had a blast.



This week really was a week to remember. Loved it ALL. Wednesday morning the ZLs picked us up, and the whole zone went to this campground up in the mountains next to Correr River or something like that. There we had a zone study. There was a big log in the river, which was just a slow creek, that half of us sat on and we had our feet in the water up to just below our knees for like 2 and a half hours. We talked about what we wanted out of zone conference and what we were going to do to make it the best one yet. We all decided to fast and pray for it and we had a great talk about the atonement. Two in the zone, Elder Duncan and Sookram are going home so we talked about them and what they’ve done in their missions and it was just a way spiritual experience. Loved it.



Thursday we had Zone Conference. The actual conference lasted from 9-4. Then lunch/dinner at 4. The Zone conference was absolutely phenomenal. I wish I could tell you all the things I learned. A lot of sweet stuff about the plan of salvation and how the Celestial Kingdom is the easiest kingdom to get to because the rest have to suffer for their sins because they didn’t take advantage of the atonement. There was a lot more to it but the Assistants and President Gamiette taught us some amazing stuff. The mission is making great strides lately and things are going to be SWEET.



We find out about transfers this Thursday. Should be interesting. Seven new English speakers are coming so a lot of people think that either me or elder Beeson will train. It’ll be fun to see. I’d love to. Elder Prince is just TEARING IT UP in St. Lucia. I wish I could be there with him. One of the best missionaries in the mission. So great.



This week was a bit of a disappointment with our investigators. None of our progressing investigators made it to church. They have been looking so great. Anthony and Nadia are awesome. Nadia is reading the Book of Mormon, asking questions, but she’s afraid to come to church cause she barely knows how to get around in Trinidad. Anthony couldn’t come so Nadia didn’t come on our own. Nadia is still sweet. Anthony is moving to Port of Spain though which is sad.



I feel so great about the work right now. I’m excited to get going and do what the Lord wants me to do. Inside I feel the Spirit more and more. Things are just sweet right now. I realized this week that we represent Christ in San Juan. Like it hit me harder than ever before. I can only be that representative of him for 15 more months. I love this work.



It sounds like everything is crazy back home. It’s always sad to hear about Grandma but I hope she passes away peacefully, and soon. It’s been very hard on everyone it seems. I wish Uncle Craig had the knowledge that we do that if he does indeed come unto Christ he’ll be able to live with them again. It is so real, the spirit has just told me over and over that it is.



I love you all!

Elder Morris



PS: Yes I talked to Elder Richardson on the phone. We were at Sister Doris and Rita's house, 2 cousins from Guyana, (SWEET MEMBERS) that feed us every Sunday after church. They are so cool! It was fun to talk to him, kinda weird though. Just did for a minute or two though.

February 15, 2010



Hello.

We... have.... new email addresses! So. My new email is nathan.morris@myldsmail.net. Check that. There's a DOT in between my name. Hah. I tried to have it the same but it didn't work.

We're in the office because the AP's were asked by President who is in Grenada with his family on vacation to write the weekly email to the missionaries. Checked my email.

The new email address is done with Gmail which is sweet. Looks exactly like Gmail from home and everything. Sweet.

So with Carnival and everything, we didn't get very many people at church. Anthony and Nadia didn't come, but they still are progressing and doing well, I just don't know what happened. We'll see what happens.

We had a great week but with Carnival and everything it was pretty crazy especially how the bars were full and also the parking lots were full which isn't such a good sign. We had to go in early yesterday and Saturday just a couple hours just cause things started getting pretty crazy.

Sounds like everything is doing fine at home. I didn't get Dad's email. One thing, there's a 3 hour difference and so if Dad sends his email at 9 o clock in the morning your time it gets here for me at 12. Sometimes we email in the mornings like this on P-days.

Can't really write much more than that other than I love ya. I'll write a bit more on Thursday or so when we do 40 days to Zion.

Love,

Elder Morris

February 11, 2010

Hey Everyone-
This week was such a great week. Awesome! There were ups and downs but, in the end it was sweet.

News about Louis. He was supposed to be baptized Saturday, but...he didn't. The interview was Thursday so we went over with the District Leader, Elder Bryan, and Louis was scared out of his mind. We got talking and Louis just wasn't ready yet. We taught a good lesson, helped calm his down then set a date for the next weekend. Well, he was in Port of Spain of Friday and Saturday then Sunday, he didn't come to church. We tried and tried to meet with him. Went to his house. All the lights on, door cracked open, they didn't come to the door. I guess he got freaked out. He should have been baptized a month ago but all this extra time he's had has made him freak out. We're still going to try with him but it's really too bad. The missionaries before failed to set a baptismal date, which is KET. If you're not working towards a date, you're not really working towards anything. He didn't have one before we got here, then we seet one and worked towards it, did everything we could have. We're going to try this week to get him to church.

News about Anthony. Anthony has been progressing GREAT. He is excited, reading the Book of Mormon. He came to church and we went by about 4 later after church and he told us that he's prayed about it, received an answer and is willing to do absolutely anything to prepare for his baptism on the 20th. He's way ready and very excited.

This week was fantastic. We worked extremely hard, relied on the Lord, and we saw the fruits of our efforts. We have 4 people getting ready to be baptized. We have a strong ward, where some of the members get together and teach others. We taught this guy Amos who is friends with a strong member, Jeremy. Amos had been taught the whole restoration by Jeremy when we met him. Way excited to be baptized. Things are going extremely well in San Juan.

Next week for Carnival, everyone in the Trinidad North zone are coming to our apartment. 16 missionaries in one apartment. It is going to be crazy. Good thing I get my own bed. Haha. It'll be way fun though apart from the really loud soca music and dancehall. We'll have to cover the windows. It's said that of the people on the streets, over 90 percent of them are half naked. Not good at all. We'll have a ping pong table, football, and board games to keep us busy from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday Night. It's not too good of a holiday. Sure it would be cool to see one of the craziest holidays in the world but...as a missionary? Not for me.

Thank you so much for your support. I love all you guys. The work is going fantastic and we're having a great time. About writing letters to converts, I think it's a great idea. I'll have a list for you next email home of people you could write a letter or send an email to. They'd love it. Also, next time I email might be Saturday due to the Carnival. I'll find out then let you know when we get on Thursday to do 40 days to Zion.

Hey, question, when is the package supposed to be here? Thanks for sending it btw. I'm excited to get it. And to send you pictures with the memory card reader!

Love ya!

Elder Morris

service for haiti

Sorting clothes for Haiti with Elder Beeson

Zone Conference

Christmas Day haircut by sister Bullock

Christmas 2009 - Service at the Orphanage

Christmas 2009 - Service at the Orphanage

Christmas 2009 - The Nativity

Feb 1, 2010

Hey!

THis week was quite a good one. We are having a baptism on Saturday, that's part of the good news. His name is Louis. He's about 26 years old, awesome guy. Had a bad past, but has a family now and wants to change. He is great. Loves coming to church each week. He has a 2 year old daughter, Renisha, that is hilarious yet very distracting when she sits there and screams at you. Haha.

Elder Beeson and I are having a great time. We're working very hard and it's just fun when you're doing everything you can to serve. He hurt his foot this week so it was a bit harder getting around but we made do. He is an awesome companion.

This week we did a LOT of service. The United Way for Trinidad and Tobago asked the church to send people to help sort food and clothing donations to be sent to Haiti. On P-Day of all days we went for like 4 hours. Then Wednesday we got asked to come back so we did that for another 4 hours. Took a lot of time out of proselytine, butu we did get a lot of work done. It's pretty cool to see that we really do know how to get things done. Who knew, the white boys know how to work!! As opposed to everyone thinking that we're very lazy and don't know how to work. On Friday we went to Curepe to help Elder Duncan and Elder Jones out doing some service and teaching lessons. They overbooked and couldn't change the appointments so me and Elder Duncan went and cleaned up this lady's yard for a few hours.

It was fun, this morning we played basketball at the Arima chapel. We had a way good time. Our team, the Assistants, Elder Beeson and I and Elder Duncan kicked butt. Way fun. I, however, haven't played forever so I wasn't too good. But it was fun anyways. Made a couple good drives. I love sports on P-day. We couldn't do that in South zone because Siparia was way far away from the other areas so we couldn't move to other areas. Elder Clark and Elder Carter call me from time to time and we chat about how Siparia is doing.

It was great to be able to talk to Grandma. She was able to talk for about 10 minutes which I was grateful for. Grandpa said she wanted to sit up to talk to her grandson on a mission. I love Grandma. Don't worry, I'm not worried about her. I am happy she's going in peace and that people are showing her that she is indeed loved very much. She said that she wanted to send me some money to buy a souvenir. I kept telling her not to warry and that I don't need anything but she wouldn't listen. Haha. Grandma is great. I love her a lot.

Ah. Here's something I can tell you about. Carnival!! Sounds nice, doesn't it? Biggest Holiday down here. Honestly, it is pretty much a holiday of sin. The streets get filled with people wearing barely any clothes, dancing to "soca" music and doing very very immoral things. The missionaries get shipped out and we can't go outside for 3 days. It starts on the 14th this month so two weeks from today. We go to Sangre Grande on Sunday then stay until Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday is when the streets are bad. Wednesday everyone goes to the beach to end the holiday with more badness. Sounds like fun right? One of the biggest tourist destinations in the Caribbean. The biggest one in the work is in Rio de Janeiro, Taylor's mission, so pray for him. Haha.

Curepe ward, the one we go to is awesome. There are some great member families that we can work with and it's the ward that President and his family go to. His family is pretty much one of the coolest families I've met. They are so cool haha. We stacked the chairs and Amy, the little 3 year old girl was climbing on the stacks. My back was turned to the stack of chairs talking with Elder Duncan and all of a sudden, she jumped on my back and grabbed onto my neck. Haha it was hilarious. She's crazy. Sister Gamiette got mad at her. Haha.

Well that's pretty much it folks. The mission is going SWEET. I am loving every minute of it. Can't ask for much more. Except packages and letters including lots of candy (including airheads, sour patch kids and watermelons, and Swedish fish.) Anything like unto it is great too! Ties....ties ties ties. My collection is large in stature but I could use a lot more. (Ryan that one is for you.) hahaha. I'm kiddin. This is a long list of demands. Just ideas of stuff you can send. Elder Barton got a package from his parents from dearelder.com and it had these cravers brand cookies with fudge on the bottom. They were absolutely phenomenal. Haha.

I love the Lord, love this mission, love the missionaries, and love my family back at home. I know this gospel is true and I know that as we seek guidance and counsel from the Lord we really can receive it. Just have faith.

Love ya -

Elder Morris

PS: Included is a picture I took in Guyana. I need a card reader for my memory cards so I can send new pictures. I lost my cord. Next package could you send me one? I need a good one that'll work for both XD picture cards and SD cards. Thank you! I love ya.

PPSS: I didn't get emails from Mom or Dad. If you had questions, I won't be able to answer them until next week. :D

Jan 25, 2010

Hey Everybody.

Dad-I hope you're doing okay. Sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's and everything. I wish I could be there with you. I'm not worried. Just...I wish I could be there. It was sad to hear about Grandma. Please. Tell her I love her. Give her a big hug from me. Tell her that I'm staying away from the Spanish girls. (she'll get that...I hope! Haha)

Mom-Yes I DID get a haircut from Sister Bullock at Christmas. They aren't here anymore!!! I miss them bad. Best senior couple in the mission. Them and the Lingren's. They are legit.

Alright so transfers happened and I am way way way happy. I live in North Trinidad which is very Americanized. They have Pricesmarts here. Owned by Costco, ya have to be a member, ets. Bulk food, everything. Looks exactly like Costco. They even have a hotdog and drink deal. They have a Coldstone, big ol grocery stores, wow. I'm in heaven. We really do take things for granted back home. Our apartment has air conditioning units inside each bedroom. A bidet in the bathroom (instead of toilet paper which is actually quite useful) and hot water hearter. It is BEAUTIFUL. The assistants, Elder Scott and Barton, are some of the coolest guys I've met. They are way fun to hand out with and talk to after the day. Elder Beeson I thought would humble up a little bit but he doesn't like to let me talk in lessons. It's rather annoying. I love the guy, we have a lot of fun, just like dad said in his last letter, pride is definitely the issue. He is a great teacher, way cool guy. We are having a lot of fun.

The new area is sweet. I'm actually serving in a WARD. Curepe ward to be exact. We actually have a good ward mission leader, bishopric, etc. Something I've never had my whole mission. Basically SanJuan area is LEGIT. The missionaries before didn't do a dang thing so we got here and there was absolutely NOTHING. We had to start from scratch. The assistants are going on zone conference tour for 3 weeks and they have a cool investigator, Louis, that we get to work with now. He's getting baptized on the 6th of Februray and is doing great. It's going to be a very very fun area. I hope I get to stay awhile.

I am very proud of Dad for being the awesome father/son he is. Ididn't appreciate him enough back home but I do now. Definitely.

I can't write much more, but please tell Grandma I love her. I hope she is doing okay with all of this. My prayers are with her and Grandpa. Also give Grandpa a hug for me. Tell the Smarts thanks for writing to me. It was fun to hear from them haha. They are awesome. Tell Parker I think he's a G and that the ladies are gonna love him if he treats them right.

Love all of ya. Elder Morris

January 18, 2010

Hey Everyone!

BIG NEWS!! I'm being transferred. Seems like just yesterday I entered Siparia. Basically the way the branch helped us out, supported us, I mean the lack of support, President decided that Siparia is only strong enough to have 1 set of missionaries. I'm giong to be in San Juan, which is north Trinidad (busy city). I'll be with Elder Beeson, my awesome MTC companion. We'll live in the Assistants' aapartment. That's going to be a BLAST. Elder Barton and Elder Scott are the Assistants and I knew them from Guyana and they are way tight. We have air conditioning, water heaters, and a bidet! Haha. Luxuries not found often in this mission. It's been a very long time since I had a hot shower. I'm stoked. Elder Clard and Elder Carter are still in Siparia. I'll miss them a TON. We had a lot of fun as a district. They slept over last night and we just chilled and talked for hours. They're way cool guys. I'm gonna miss Elder Jones too, bad. We got real close near the end of this transfer and now we gotta split. He gave me probably one of the most awesome compliments yesterday. Told me that I'm a lot like Elder Scott wherein I get along with everybody. That meant a lot to me. Elder Jones is a G.

We didn't get close to anyone in the branch really so saying goodbye was pretty easy. Sham is the only one I'm really gonna miss. He helped us do a lot of work and made us many meals. He is a way cool guy. We're goning over for a last dinner tonight. The branch, really, is struggling with pride. They did not accept us and nobody, except for Sham, even knows our names. Well President Nandlall, the Branch President, does but it made it really hard to work when no one is willing to help you at all. If they would have helped we'd probably be seeing a lot more progress letting us stay there.

Zone conference was absolutely amazing on Tuesday. President Gamiette is by far one of the most spiritual influences I have ever met. When he walks in the room you can feel tangible difference. He is absolutely amazing. I learned a ton. The mission is switching to working with members and through them finding new investigators. You can see that's why this area was a bit difficult. Haha. My interview with him was very short. Basically he told me that by the end of my mission he wants me to be a zone leader or an assistant, but that right now I need to get more motivated to go out there and get the job done. I will definitely work on that one. He really has a way with getting you excited for the work.

The Bullocks have gone back to America. We will miss them a ton. They live in Oregon but go down to Utah all the time. Michelle, our golden investigator, didn't come to church, and she isn't praying to knot the truth so I don't know, I feel like we didn't leave the area accomplishing much. Me and Elder Jones worked extremely hard and as smart as possible. I don't feel like it's really a bad thing. Just no success I guess.

That really about it this week. I wish I could send pictures I just don't have time. A DVD of all my pictures and videos will be sent soon.

I love all of you so much.

Elder Morris

PS: Dad I just got your letter. Don't worry about me being humble. I'm probably the most humble person in the mission. (Pun Intended). No really. I've dealt and will continue to deal with prideful missionaries and it's one thing I watch very carefully about myself, making sure I don't let myself slip. It's human nature to think that you're better and more correct than everyone around me. . But it's not the nature of a future God. PPSS: Mom, yes I have been in contact with Elder Sanchez. Haha he's doing great!! His spirits and his testimony I've never seen better. I'm really happy for him. PPPSSS: Mom and Dad, thank you so much for your support. I love you guys.

January 11, 2010

Hey Everyone!

This week was sweet! We worked way hard this week and it paid off. We found a truckload of new people. Hopefully they progress. We're working hard to do it.

We're working with this really smart lady, Michelle. She came to church yesterday and loved it. She didn't stay all 3 hours so her baptism date is pushed back until February 6. You can see how the baptisms are going to be a lot slower now.

Haha it was fun to hear that Jordan's back. I love that kid. Tell him hi for me will ya? I'm sure he did an awesome job on his mission. I can't imagine how much different a mission in the states would be.

The members in the branch here aren't too cooperative. They don't care too much about helping the missionary work out at all. The only one who does is Sham. We go over to his house every other day for lunch then he helps us teach people a couple times a week. Yesterday he cooked us cookup and barbecued chicken. It was delicious. After, he went teaching with us from 2-9. It was legit. Sham is going to the states late this year or early next year.

This week was really really good. I don't really know what to say about it though. Sorry. Haha I have those weeks from time to time. Just know that we're working hard, doing great and the work is moving forward. "Boldly, nobly and independent!"

Elder Morris

PS: Tell Megan to forward her blog to my email. Also. Tell her to send me pictures from California. That's so sweet they went!!! I bet the girls loved it.