August 10, 2015

Chillin with Drae

When our Word of Wisdom lesson turns into picking plants for bush teas

Going through boxes of clothing at the church. We had some good laughs at a few of the items!

The Okahrobo twins (tryphina and tryphosa...those names are in the bible) attacking Sister Medley

Madda Sick Dred (everyone's favorite expression in the Bahamas),

It has just been one of those weeks. It is so funny because Sister Nelson and I always blamed everything that happened when we were together on our companionship. Excitement companionship?? Oh no. no. no. We were so wrong.... IT IS ALL ME! Seriously, the moment Sister Nelson left this island our area mashed up! 

Stories:

The Tuesday after Sister Nelson left I called Seaga so we could have a lesson with him, no answer. We usually see Seaga about 4 times a week, and he pretty much always answers. Well, I never got a hold of him that day. Wednesday morning rolls around and Sister Lynn calls him for me and he answers. She asks if we would be able to see him later and he tells her probably the worst news I have ever received thus far on my mission (okay maybe I am over exaggerating this, but you will see...). He told Sister Lynn that he was moving back to Abacco the next day. Abacco is a family island. It is actually pretty big, but there is no organized church there, plus there are no missionaries. I cannot even describe how sad I felt. It is just not something I can explain over email. I just remember before I came out on my mission dad was talking to me. He said that on your mission your heart will be broken. I can tell you, my heart has broken a few times on my mission, but not like this. Seaga is just so great. He has such a desire to learn and he learns so quickly!  He is hilarious and I always walk out of his lessons learning something profound. I have countless Seaga quotes in my planners. We were able to stop by his house for a few minutes Wednesday afternoon. I encouraged him to continue reading and praying daily. I told him to continue searching for his answers and never give up, and that I knew Heavenly Father would answer his prayers. I didn't say much though because I could feel the tears coming. I asked him if he would say a prayer and we left. As I walked away the tears were steady streams. Even now typing this I feel a lump in my throat and tears stinging my eyes. At first, it felt unfair. How could Heavenly Father allow such a prepared person move to a place where the church is pretty much non-existent? As I drove on I just felt that Heavenly Father does have a plan for him. Seaga will be a member of this church one day. 

Later that day we stopped by our investigator Islande's house. Her best friend Yvonne who is also an investigator was there. Yvonne almost made it to baptism. She was literally days away and then she kind of disappeared. We talked with her for a while and she told us that just a few days earlier she was forced to leave her home. She was in a situation where she just had to grab her children and run. She couldn't even grab any clothing for her or her two kids. She was able to find somewhere to stay and we were able to find a bunch of clothes for her and her kids in the church. I was really grateful we were able to help her. 

The next day we saw Domonique. Domonique has twins and she just found out that she will be having another baby (possibly more than one...). And the next day she was evicted. Domonique's neighbour is a member of the church and she told us that the landlord was trying to help her, but she was trying to dodge him. She just will not allow anyone to help her or her children.  

Plus, I have been in a tripanionship for the past week because Sister Nelson left early. The three of us are covering the entire island. The coolest part is that I have never seen Heavenly Father work so meticulously in an area. Just the way a lesson will fall through so we are able to see someone else is just awesome. It is all working out.   Well anyways, we got transfer calls on Saturday. My new companions name is Sister Robinson. She just finished training. This will be my first companion that is not older than me on the mission. She gets here in a few days so I can make it! 

I am excited for the future. Sister Robinson and I will be doing A LOT of finding! We will make it work. 

I hope you all have a fabulous week. Enjoy your last few weeks of summer and remember it is almost my birthday. 

I love you!

Love,

Sister Tuttle

xoxoxo