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Waiting was SO hard! The signs got too heavy.

Brothers chillin' 

Week 25

Finally, some pictures! 

This is from 2 weeks ago, when he fell in this 'gutter' while showing off popping wheelies. 

He titled this one, 'Adventures in the Caves'. lol.

Slack lining in the Jungle. I think this Elder is cheating though...

Investigators kids, they really like to climb he said. 

Rock cairns after a baptism

Eating cook shop in the middle of the road like bosses. 

The sisters new convert

His district. His comps are the one in the front left, and the one you can barely see.

Luke as a gangster. I don't think he's pulling it off...

Week 23-- When doing wheelies, watch for mud holes...

This week was fun, I have a few stories. The first one is that I've gotten really good at wheelies on my bike so whenever there's a bunch of kids they just yell, "Wheelie wheelie!!" So I was riding up the street to an investigators house and there's a 5 foot deep 4 feet wide gutter on the side off the road for floods, and I saw some kids so I did a wheelie and then I fell of my bike head first into the gutter!!!!  I was covered in mud and the the bike fell in on top of me! I handed my bike to Elder Simpson who was laughing hysterically, and then climbed out.  All the kids started laughing so hard! Then all the parents came out and laughed too. It was so funny, funniest thing that's happened on my mission so far:) and I wasn't even hurt! But I did smash my bottle so if you could send me an new 32 oz hydro flask that would be great:)

This morning we went to these caves-- really just a really deep depression in the ground. It was still way cool though.  I made a fort out of rocks:) 

Mom: What does E. Simpson think of your rock creations? 

L: He thinks they're cool:) but he also thinks I'm a hippie:)

It was surprise missionary Sunday in church this week, which means we all had to give a talk with 5 min. notice. I talked about keeping the commandments and having the spirit, then I bore my testimony and cried in front of every one. I told the branch that I had literally felt the arms of Christ around me. It was cool, and I have.  This funny old guy in the ward came up to me and was like, "Hey why are you crying?!" It was funny:) Oh, and the youth sunday school teacher didn't show up so me and Elder Simpson taught it:) It was way fun and we had a great lesson on following the revelation that God gives us.

Mom: What is the branch like? 

L: The youth is like 7 kids, and the branch is like 60 active members, 300 less active. 

Mom: Do you work with the inactive? 

L: We are working with 4 inactives, but the rest have been inactive for like 20-30 years and we just can't find them anymore.

Mom: Tell me about E. Simpson.

L: He's been out for a year, he has an older brother and 4 younger sisters. One died while he was out, I think about 5 months ago, it was really hard for him, but he's really helped me get through my trials, because he's already been through so much. I think it's interesting that God has put me with two companions who have had a family member die while they were out. I think he's trying to show me I'm not the only one going through hard stuff, and compared to them I'm not.

We helped a member chop her yard the other day and she called me a bulldozer. I've bought my own cutlass (machete) and I've gotten really good with it:) so when I come home I won't need the lawn mower any more. I'll just use a cutlass:)

M: They won't let you bring that home you know.

L: They actually will if you check it. :)

Dad: Dude, we are keeping the mower.

Oh and yesterday we had three different members feed us!! It was awesome, one lunch and two dinners:) {Getting fed by members is rare, bc everyone is so poor.}

Mom: Couldn't you spread out the meals over a few days? 

L: When someone offers you food in Jamaica, you just say YES. End of story.

Mom: What do the chicken feet taste like? Don't they have bones? 

L: They cook them so long the bones are soft and they just taste like whatever you cook them in, so curry.

M: Gross. gross. gross.

I have to go in like two minutes but I really love you guys and I miss you so much, tell the family I love them ok:)

Luke

I stole this photo from the sister missionaries blog. Luke said he didn't trust the internet cafe they were in today for viruses, so no pics. :( There are 4 Elders and 2 sisters in his district, he says having the sisters is fun, but they never see them except at church and meetings.

Week 22--Book of Mormon Balance

The new area I'm in is flat, windy as heck and very hot, with little rain, but I like it. People are a little better with mental comprehension here. My companion is Scottish and used to be in a gang and fight all the time, but he's way cool and way fun to be with and he's really nice and funny. I will enjoy serving with him.

Conference was really good, it answered a lot of the questions I had on my mind and was praying about. I felt like the general theme was enduring trials by way of faith, keeping the commandments and relying on Christ's atonement in all things. It really gave me a lot of hope. But seriously, every single talk went back to trials. I wonder if people are already going through trials or people are about to go through trials?

Luke's new district

We woke up at 4 in the morning to go to the caves in Linstead before I left to Old Harbor. It was way fun, I climbed this vine like a firemans pole. It was only like 2 inches thick and could hold my weight.

This is my district in Linstead before I got transferred.

This pic is a cow in the back of a truck with almost no securings:) hahaha.

The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion:) hahaha, this makes a great teaching visual:) it took me like 30 min to balance. The Jamaican kids who watched me build it thought I was magic:)

This picture is stew peas with rice, chicken foot and pigs tail, it was surprisingly good and I'm looking forward to the next time I'll be eating it:) They are actually quite delectable.

These are pictures of me and Elder Simpson, he's pretty short but really strong. We are the fastest missionaries on our bikes in our zone:) We race a lot --it's fun.

Luke on TV!!

The story starts at 42 min. and goes till the end. You can see him a few times, singing, on the roof, shoveling and cutting grass.

Bike races in Old Harbor

My new area (Old Harbor) is way hotter and way dryer. Apparently,  it hasn't rained for 3 months, but it's nice and flat, so riding my bike is like a thousand times easier.

The members here are way cool and really nice, they talk about and discuss the deepest doctrines. In church this Sunday, we talked the whole time on godly intelligence. Honestly, I didn't get what they were saying-- so they all must be smarter than me.

My new companion is way cool, really fun and energetic. I'm much happier to be with him. We live in a four man house and we have a lot of fun together. 

In my new area everyone pimps their bicycles. It's sick! If you're riding and pass someone you just yell, "Race!" and you race right there with a random stranger. It's way fun.

I don't have the means to upload pics today sorry, but I saw the blood moon too. We had dinner on the front lawn and watched it. It was cool, the other Elders where freaking out, one of them said a prayer that the clouds wouldn't cover it:)

I love you Mom and Dad, tell the family I love them.

Transfers and Glasses

Mom,

If all I could say
was three words for this day
If thats all I could share
To let you know that I care
It sure would be tuff
But it's still just enough
To say
I love you

Happy birthday Mom, I think your birthday's this week right? I'm a terrible son ;)
but I really want you to know how amazing you've been in my life Mom. You've raised me up right and taught me so much, not to mention being my best friend, and all the love you show me.
I love you mom.

Interviews with President Brown were awesome, 5 min. in I started crying and didn't stop till after I'd finished the closing prayer, he cried a lot too. At first, I didn't feel like he understood me but by the end I knew he could really understand me. That guy is amazing. He went teaching with us after the interviews and he made me and Elder Gordan and the investigator cry, it was so spiritual.

Transfers came and I'm leaving Linstead and moving to Old Harbor, and I will be with Elder Simpson. He's 5 foot nothing and Scottish,  he's got a serious accent-- so, pretty stoked for that. Today we went to the caves again. I'll send the pics next week it was way fun.

I bore my testimony so hard to an investigator-- she just looked at me and said, "I hate to admit it... but I just know everything you're saying is true!" What!!!!! It was sick! The spirit was so strong and I felt so much love for her that at the end of the lesson I gave her my glasses. Let me rewind, at the beginning of the lesson she asked if she could try them on and she said they worked really well and she could see great. She had such a bright smile on her face the second she slipped them on I almost gave them to her right there. Then she told me she was trying to take classes to get a job. But she couldn't see the board, so by the end, I just gave them to her and told her if they don't work you can give them back, but if they work, they're a gift. Luckily, the next day she said they worked great, I was so happy.

Which brings me to the other thing-- I probably only have three months worth of contacts, so if you could send me some that would be great. Thanks guys. 

Kissing Lizards

Hello Mom,
That's awesome that you found Elder Fietkau's blog! He's so cool-- he was a convert for a year when he came out on his mission and he's one of the wisest and most spiritual kids I know, I really enjoyed serving around him:)

That's awesome Kate and Ella are doing Peter Pan! Film it so I can watch later. I can't believe Kate broke her arm again! Tell her I'm sending her all my loving healing energy.

The hurricane storm thing didn't even rain over here! In fact there's a drought in Jamacia right now. Since they don't irrigate, all the crops are starting to die. Don't worry, the mission has a great system for huricanes and TONS of precautions against them.

Thanks for sending the stuff mom, that means a lot and I've really missed my mints:)

Sorry I don't have as many pictures this week, not to much happened. But we did have 22 lessons which is the most I've ever had, but this is the 5th week in a row not having any one at church. People just don't like to come to church unless it's the one next door:) And literally every house has a church next door, half the time I think people choose their denomination based on which church is closest:)
I love you so much mom 

Love Luke

This picture is kinda random but seriously what are they doing!?!?!

Me and Elder Ashworth had some extra time the other day so we decided to branch out in to our area... we got lost in the middle of some million acre orange orchard, but it was really pretty:)

Burning some Gs in the front yard... perks to living in Jamaica. Got some trash?... burn it. Where? Anywhere.

Mad Machete Skillz Paying Off!!

Service project Jamaican style!!!! Chopping the grass in the yard with a machete, and mixing cement by hand with a shovel! Hardest work I've ever done! We helped a lady in the community fix up her school house:) It was a blast! 

Some mormons from Salt Lake who work for KSL came and filmed it all too and they said we would all be on in between sessions of the Oct. General Conference.

I could mix cement so good by the end of the day that all the Jamaicans in our ward were yelling that I could mix cement like a Jamaican:) but they said I chopped the yard like a white man and that I should just stick to mixing cement:)

In addition to laying a drive way and chopping the bush we also patched her roof with the stickers made of tar:) So I got on the roof:)

Elder Ashworth, Bro. Blake and Bro. Walker taking a rest in the shade. Me on the roof.

Mixing, and Bishop giving orders:) He ran the show like an Army drill! He's a cop.

Finished Product

 

Part of our area is up on a super tall mountain called Gibraltar.  Wow,  it was a tuff bike ride but going down was a blast!

They're also cutting a huge freeway in the side of the mountain! The Chinese are paying for it and Jamaica is going to pay them back over fifty years!

Doesn't look that steep right?:) Well think again!!! It's like the stairs in the Lord of the Rings!!!
This is how they do it on Jamaican construction sites:)

Service at a members, this is Elder Ashworth chopping a tree with a machete. We chopped this thing to pieces! It was awesome, bet you never thought my chopping skills would come in handy right mom? ;)

I thought this was funny, one of our investigators has a weed plant:)