Colorado to Kingston : Flat tires, rastas, and the plan of salvation

Hello good people. I hope you are all doing fantastically splendid and you had some delightful weeks.

This week we had many adventures. Let me tell you about a few of them.

As you all know, Portmore is now a walking area. Which means we have to take taxis to get to and from town now. So one night this week, we were in a taxi headed home when we hit a really big pothole and kablam! There went the tire. It was very much flat. So we got to stand on the side of the road with a bunch of lovely people fending off the mosquitoes until we found a new taxi to take home. But seeing as there is always a positive side to things, let me share the positive side to this story. We had a discounted taxi fare for the inconvenience and we got to use the extra money to buy ice cream the next day. Woohoo!

One night we were cooking and we accidentally set off the smoke alarms for a very long time. But the good news is our house is still standing and none of our house got damaged. Only a little bit of a pot. But we have another pot so it's okay. Hehe. One day I'll learn how to cook.

A few weeks ago when I was with Sister Walker, we were walking down the road when these two rasta guys called out to us. We ignored them at first but they kept calling so we walked over to see what they wanted. To be honest, they didn't seem interested in the gospel so we just left them with a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and went on our way. Then on Tuesday, Sister Llewellyn and I were walking with Brother Cornwall to a different appointment when these same guys called out to us. Brother Cornwall went over and talked to them, and then he asked us what we would think about having a little lesson with them. We agreed, so we had a little purpose lesson. We got a return appointment for Thursday. When we went back on Thursday, it was only one of them there-- a guy named David. We asked him why he wanted us to be there... like what he was expecting to get out of meeting with us. He said that the first time he saw us, he just thought it would be kind of funny to 'mess with the Mormon girls', but then after he heard what we had to say and he heard us pray in the last lesson, he realized he might be actually interested in what we have to say. When we went back again, he had read everything we left with him, and had been praying about all the things we asked him to. I don't know, but we both just have a really good feeling about him... it just goes to show that you can't ever tell who the Lord has been preparing to meet with you.

Next up... I helped an old lady carry her bags this week! Woohoo stereotypical service fulfilled. You always talk about helping the elderly carry their bags as service, but I never thought I would actually have the opportunity to do so. Well... I was wrong. She was a lovely little old woman, not interested in the gospel at all, but very kind and wonderful nevertheless.

Hmmm well Friday was my 9 month mark! It's crazy to think that this little old thing called a mission is half over. Time goes by so fast. We bought chocolate to celebrate. Because good chocolate is muy, muy expensive here and it's a very rare treat. Yummy yummy.

In other news, I found a delightful quote this week. Please enjoy:

"What matters most is what lasts longest, and families are for eternity." -M. Russell Ballard

I love that quote. I think it took coming on a mission for me to realize how big of a deal it is to be sealed to my family forever... and that knowledge combined with the fact that I'm realizing how great my family is more and more every day is just making me realize how blessed we are! I've been trying to see all of our investigators and people we meet on the street as not just someone who can be a good member of the church but someone who has the potential to become part of an exalted eternal family... Families are what matter most. So let's love them and cherish them and tell them how much we appreciate them :)

That's all for now folks! Have a splendid week.

xoxoxoxo,

Sister Oman