Hey guys,
I am really sorry about last weeks Emails. You have no idea how stressful it is to have a sucky frozen computer, 1 hour, and a whole bunch of elders waiting on you. Not that I'm trying to make excuses or anything. I am really excited to be back in Capesterre, even though this time it is a little different because there are 4 elders in the Apartment. my District consists of Elder Jones and Nelson, Elder Roberts and Copa, And Elder Lish and I. The other Elders are teaching Corrine, one of my old investigators, and she wil be Baptized this week. Elder Lish and I have been working in Goyave a lot this week, because no missionaries have really worked there before. We have found some good potential there, and I will keep you posted on their progress. This week were were out finishing up with our 20 contacts when we met with a lady from Dominica (that means she speaks English!). Apparently a few years ago, when missionaries first came up to Capesterre from Basse-terre, she had been taught by the missionaries and come to church a couple times, but since then she kinda slipped under the radar. We talked to her and she was excited to let us come back over and teach her again. But that leads me to a sad story, because we did teach her some pretty sweet lessons, and she promised to come to church, so we were super excited. Sacrament meeting started without hide nor hair of her, and the Sacrament part started, so they locked the door as to not be disturbed and as the bread was being passed someone knocked on the door. We couldn't do anything til the end of Sacrament. The person knocked for a while and Frere Mondongue peeked his head out and said something but at the end of Sacrament, the person was gone. I was totally depressed, because I'm pretty sure it was Elisabeth (the lady). She wasn't home last night either, so we haven't seen her yet. I hope we see her today and can explain, and I hope she isn't angry. I hope this email is better, because I am typing as fast as I can! I love you guys tons though. I hope you have a good week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CJ!!! Congratulations on everything you did this week!
LOVE,
Elder Ison
Monday, May 25, 2009
Party!!
Dear Friends and Family,
I love being a missionary! It's great! Monday evening we saw Justian (or Brother Evans as we are trying to remember to call him :) ) He's doing well. We talked about Enos, and prayer. It was good. He stayed for Family Home Evening, and Sister Andersen and I taught the lesson on Diligence, and then we played Taboo. It was great.
Tuesday was Zone Conference. I love Zone Conference. Then in the evening we went to see Heather Lawrence. It was so good to see her, and we had a really good discussion and lesson about prayer, and the Book of Mormon and things.
Wednesday we saw Bela in the morning. She seems to be doing better, but she still hasn't come to church... She's tired all the time... We're trying to figure how to help her. I'll send her address to you later, because I don't have it with me. Then we went to meet with Brother Beasley at the Noodle Bar. It was fun. We talked about Sister Lawrence, and he thought it would be great if she was invited to his Birthday party on Friday, so that was good. Then we went to meet with a man named Dave. Sister Robertson came with us and it was a really good lesson. Then we went and had another first lesson with a woman named Joanya. Then we met with Suresh. He's doing good, as usual. It was crazy though because during our lesson a crazy man came in. He was talking about just random stuff, but we gave him a restoration leaflet and he left so that was good. then in the evening we went to see Sonia Frietas and Nara for dinner. I love them so much. It was delicious as usual. Thursday morning we did our planning then we saw Brother Evans with Brother Tavner. I'm always so impressed with how well he is doing. Then we got to go see Sarah and Dorothy! I don't know if you remember her, but it's been a long time, and we're so excited that we got to see her again. Then in the evening we went to see the Stevensons, and had correlation.
Friday was a great day. On the way to the chapel in the morning you'll never guess who we ran into. First we ran into Lindsey Memmott's mom. Then later We ran into the whole family! It was so great to see her. We saw Brother Evans and Brother Casey came. Brother Casey is such a great support for Brother Evans. It's really good. In the afternoon we got to see Jane. it's been a long time since we've been able to see her. She's been through a lot, but she knows God is strengthening her. She misses her family back in Nigeria a lot, but her and her husband are working as hard as they can to be able to go back to visit. In the evening we went to Brother Beasley's Birthday Party. It was so great! Sister Memmott was there with her family. So were Sister Telford and Lillengquist(Sp?), all previous missionaries in Ilford Ward. Sister Lawrence came, and so did Brother Evans and Micheal. All in all it was a great night.
Saturday morning we met with a really cute young woman from Mozambique named Ornella Miguel. It was a really good lesson. Then in the afternoon Sister Lighten came with us to see Brother Kelleher. He's doing well, and hopefully he'll be able to come to church soon. Then in the evening we went to the Stake Center in Romford for a Hawaiian evening. it was really fun, and the youth did some skits. My favourite was this one where about four of the youth pretended to be synchronized swimmers. Two leaders held this blue tarp in front of them and then the youth did all this cool stuff. It's hard to explain, but it was sooo hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing.
Sunday was good as usual. Brother Evans came. He's going to go to Stake Conference as well. After church we had two good first lessons with Alice and then Bonny. We had a lot of really good first lessons this week, so we'll see what comes of them. Then we went to the Marriucci's for dinner. It was a lot of fun.
So all in all it's been a great week, with a weekend full of parties :-P Today Sister Andersen and I are going to go into London as well, so that's great.
Mom- Sounds like an amazing week! I'm so proud of CJ. He's doing so well. It's also so cool that Ethan quoted the Book of Mormon in his speech. I was shocked when you said Melody is expecting her 4th! I didn't even realize she had three! haha, Oh my goodness. That's so fun
Nathan- I hope you are feeling better! Do good with the last days of school! I love you!
Elder Ison- I love your pictures! Especially the one of you with the little kids. It's so cute. Then baptism one made me laugh because you are flaring your nostrils! Oh man... haha.
Sister Besso- I LOVE YOU! Haha, thanks for the picture! I'm super excited for your letter!
Everyone Else- I love you so much!
Love,
Sister Ison
I love being a missionary! It's great! Monday evening we saw Justian (or Brother Evans as we are trying to remember to call him :) ) He's doing well. We talked about Enos, and prayer. It was good. He stayed for Family Home Evening, and Sister Andersen and I taught the lesson on Diligence, and then we played Taboo. It was great.
Tuesday was Zone Conference. I love Zone Conference. Then in the evening we went to see Heather Lawrence. It was so good to see her, and we had a really good discussion and lesson about prayer, and the Book of Mormon and things.
Wednesday we saw Bela in the morning. She seems to be doing better, but she still hasn't come to church... She's tired all the time... We're trying to figure how to help her. I'll send her address to you later, because I don't have it with me. Then we went to meet with Brother Beasley at the Noodle Bar. It was fun. We talked about Sister Lawrence, and he thought it would be great if she was invited to his Birthday party on Friday, so that was good. Then we went to meet with a man named Dave. Sister Robertson came with us and it was a really good lesson. Then we went and had another first lesson with a woman named Joanya. Then we met with Suresh. He's doing good, as usual. It was crazy though because during our lesson a crazy man came in. He was talking about just random stuff, but we gave him a restoration leaflet and he left so that was good. then in the evening we went to see Sonia Frietas and Nara for dinner. I love them so much. It was delicious as usual. Thursday morning we did our planning then we saw Brother Evans with Brother Tavner. I'm always so impressed with how well he is doing. Then we got to go see Sarah and Dorothy! I don't know if you remember her, but it's been a long time, and we're so excited that we got to see her again. Then in the evening we went to see the Stevensons, and had correlation.
Friday was a great day. On the way to the chapel in the morning you'll never guess who we ran into. First we ran into Lindsey Memmott's mom. Then later We ran into the whole family! It was so great to see her. We saw Brother Evans and Brother Casey came. Brother Casey is such a great support for Brother Evans. It's really good. In the afternoon we got to see Jane. it's been a long time since we've been able to see her. She's been through a lot, but she knows God is strengthening her. She misses her family back in Nigeria a lot, but her and her husband are working as hard as they can to be able to go back to visit. In the evening we went to Brother Beasley's Birthday Party. It was so great! Sister Memmott was there with her family. So were Sister Telford and Lillengquist(Sp?), all previous missionaries in Ilford Ward. Sister Lawrence came, and so did Brother Evans and Micheal. All in all it was a great night.
Saturday morning we met with a really cute young woman from Mozambique named Ornella Miguel. It was a really good lesson. Then in the afternoon Sister Lighten came with us to see Brother Kelleher. He's doing well, and hopefully he'll be able to come to church soon. Then in the evening we went to the Stake Center in Romford for a Hawaiian evening. it was really fun, and the youth did some skits. My favourite was this one where about four of the youth pretended to be synchronized swimmers. Two leaders held this blue tarp in front of them and then the youth did all this cool stuff. It's hard to explain, but it was sooo hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing.
Sunday was good as usual. Brother Evans came. He's going to go to Stake Conference as well. After church we had two good first lessons with Alice and then Bonny. We had a lot of really good first lessons this week, so we'll see what comes of them. Then we went to the Marriucci's for dinner. It was a lot of fun.
So all in all it's been a great week, with a weekend full of parties :-P Today Sister Andersen and I are going to go into London as well, so that's great.
Mom- Sounds like an amazing week! I'm so proud of CJ. He's doing so well. It's also so cool that Ethan quoted the Book of Mormon in his speech. I was shocked when you said Melody is expecting her 4th! I didn't even realize she had three! haha, Oh my goodness. That's so fun
Nathan- I hope you are feeling better! Do good with the last days of school! I love you!
Elder Ison- I love your pictures! Especially the one of you with the little kids. It's so cute. Then baptism one made me laugh because you are flaring your nostrils! Oh man... haha.
Sister Besso- I LOVE YOU! Haha, thanks for the picture! I'm super excited for your letter!
Everyone Else- I love you so much!
Love,
Sister Ison
MARVELOUS Food
Dear Friends and Family,
Tuesday was a good day. In the morning we had district meeting. It was good (as usual) and afterwards we had lunch and Elder and Sister Ricks made it. it was really good. Then we went to Brother Beasley's with Sam Ololade. He gave us Pizza, so we had a double lunch :-P . It was really good to see both of them. Then we went and saw Justian with Sister Stevenson. He brought his friends with him. We talked a lot about faith, trust, and prayer, and read the story of the Brother of Jared because Justian is working hard to overcome a lot of opposition right now. Then in the evening we got to go and see Bela! It was great, plus she seemed to be in a much better mood lthan she had for a while.
Wednesday afternoon we went to see Doreen. She is very very very Pregnant, and told us that she had to have her baby before Monday or they were going to induce labour. It's pretty exciting. It was nice to see her. Then in the evening we went to the Frietas for dinner. They make such MARVELOUS food. mmmm :) We talked about the importance of Family Home Evening no matter how small the family :) Thursday was great. We had interviews in the morning. Then in the evening we saw a man named Harry. He's from India, and he's here for work and study. He's really good and we had a good lesson. Then in the evening we went to the Stevenson's for dinner and correlation. We're making a ward area book now... it's something new, so we're working on that. Sister Stevenson took Sam Ololade and Justian to the temple of Thursday as well. It seems like it was a really good trip for all involved. She took Elder Stevenson's advice from conference and had Justian and Sam go touch the temple. She said it was a really neat experience.
Friday we saw Justian again. We read the story of Jonah and the Whale and talked about trusting God and doing it his way. Justian seemed to really enjoy the lesson and it was really good. Then we went and visited with Brother Kelleher. He's such a good man. Then in the evening we went to Evelyn and Barry's for dinner, and had, yet again, marvelous food :) We talked about the Priesthood and the other organizations in the church, and left Barry an article to read about the duties of the Father in the home. Saturday morning we went to see a man from Nigeria named Dazzy. Sister Robertson came, and it was a great lesson! He was so prepared. He's gone from church to church, but when we explained what the Book of Mormon was he got very excited. Hopefully he will continue in that excitement :) Then we spent the rest of the day finding, but we got two very exciting phone calls. I don't know if you remember Selam. She was Joice's housemate before they got kicked out, and she came to church twice. She's a really sweet girl. Well, she was pregnant, and she called to say that she had her baby on Friday! It's a little baby boy! She also called to say that the missionaries in her new area were coming to visit. It was such an exciting to phone call, to hear that she's doing well, and that she's still investigating the gospel, and has a little baby boy! Ah man! It was so great! And to top it all off Doreen called to say that she also had her baby on Friday, and that it's a little girl! Haha, so many babies! It made me very happy.
Yesterday was also a good day. Justian came to church (as usual), but he's doing so well. He's determined to keep the Word of Wisdom, and be prepared for his baptism on 13 June 2009. He even announced it to the whole Gospel Principles class. In the afternoon we went tracting and actually ended up meeting this really nice less active member named Florence. And then we met with a family from India: Yogesh, Bubbly, and Yesh. They were very sweet. They've only been in the country for 3 weeks! So it's been a very good week in Ilford (as usual). I love it so much!
Mum- Seminary Graduation sounds like it was really great! I'm so happy that Decatur has such strong youth.
Dad- Thank-you for taking care of everything!
Nathan- Get well soon!
Love,
Sister Ison
Tuesday was a good day. In the morning we had district meeting. It was good (as usual) and afterwards we had lunch and Elder and Sister Ricks made it. it was really good. Then we went to Brother Beasley's with Sam Ololade. He gave us Pizza, so we had a double lunch :-P . It was really good to see both of them. Then we went and saw Justian with Sister Stevenson. He brought his friends with him. We talked a lot about faith, trust, and prayer, and read the story of the Brother of Jared because Justian is working hard to overcome a lot of opposition right now. Then in the evening we got to go and see Bela! It was great, plus she seemed to be in a much better mood lthan she had for a while.
Wednesday afternoon we went to see Doreen. She is very very very Pregnant, and told us that she had to have her baby before Monday or they were going to induce labour. It's pretty exciting. It was nice to see her. Then in the evening we went to the Frietas for dinner. They make such MARVELOUS food. mmmm :) We talked about the importance of Family Home Evening no matter how small the family :) Thursday was great. We had interviews in the morning. Then in the evening we saw a man named Harry. He's from India, and he's here for work and study. He's really good and we had a good lesson. Then in the evening we went to the Stevenson's for dinner and correlation. We're making a ward area book now... it's something new, so we're working on that. Sister Stevenson took Sam Ololade and Justian to the temple of Thursday as well. It seems like it was a really good trip for all involved. She took Elder Stevenson's advice from conference and had Justian and Sam go touch the temple. She said it was a really neat experience.
Friday we saw Justian again. We read the story of Jonah and the Whale and talked about trusting God and doing it his way. Justian seemed to really enjoy the lesson and it was really good. Then we went and visited with Brother Kelleher. He's such a good man. Then in the evening we went to Evelyn and Barry's for dinner, and had, yet again, marvelous food :) We talked about the Priesthood and the other organizations in the church, and left Barry an article to read about the duties of the Father in the home. Saturday morning we went to see a man from Nigeria named Dazzy. Sister Robertson came, and it was a great lesson! He was so prepared. He's gone from church to church, but when we explained what the Book of Mormon was he got very excited. Hopefully he will continue in that excitement :) Then we spent the rest of the day finding, but we got two very exciting phone calls. I don't know if you remember Selam. She was Joice's housemate before they got kicked out, and she came to church twice. She's a really sweet girl. Well, she was pregnant, and she called to say that she had her baby on Friday! It's a little baby boy! She also called to say that the missionaries in her new area were coming to visit. It was such an exciting to phone call, to hear that she's doing well, and that she's still investigating the gospel, and has a little baby boy! Ah man! It was so great! And to top it all off Doreen called to say that she also had her baby on Friday, and that it's a little girl! Haha, so many babies! It made me very happy.
Yesterday was also a good day. Justian came to church (as usual), but he's doing so well. He's determined to keep the Word of Wisdom, and be prepared for his baptism on 13 June 2009. He even announced it to the whole Gospel Principles class. In the afternoon we went tracting and actually ended up meeting this really nice less active member named Florence. And then we met with a family from India: Yogesh, Bubbly, and Yesh. They were very sweet. They've only been in the country for 3 weeks! So it's been a very good week in Ilford (as usual). I love it so much!
Mum- Seminary Graduation sounds like it was really great! I'm so happy that Decatur has such strong youth.
Dad- Thank-you for taking care of everything!
Nathan- Get well soon!
Love,
Sister Ison
Monday, May 11, 2009
Pictures!
Since we talked yesterday, I am going to send pictures today! It was great to talk with you!
Here is something to send to the family I guess...
This week we finally saw the fruits of all of our labors here in Grenada this transfer. Saturday we baptized Tara, who is the last in her family to take that step. We also have a couple dates for the coming weeks The work here on Grenada is really starting to pick up and the branch is getting stronger. I really feel that our prayers are being answered and the Lord is starting to pour out his spirit more abundantly on Grenada.
Beach bums
Dear Friends and Family,
I love my life. haha, it's been a great week.
Monday evening we went to see Christian. He's doing well. As mellow as ever. We taught him about the plan of Salvation, and Sister Robertson was there. It was a good lesson.
Tuesday morning was interesting. We were rushing and then the bus wasn't coming for a long time, then when the bus finally came we realized that our oyster cards had expired, so we had to fork out two pounds for the bus ride. Luckily when we were switching buses we were able to renew our oysters. Then I realized that I had lost my nametag, and I was nametagless.... Oh man. But then the day smoothed out. We had District Meeting, and for the first time in a long time I was able to smell! Yes! :-D Hehe, but it was shortlived. Anyway. Then after District Meeting in the evening we saw Justian. We talked about Christ's death. Justian is doing well.
Wednesday was a fun day. In the morning we went to see Doreen. She's soooo pregnant. Haha, it's fun. We had a good lesson with her, and then we went to Sister Blackman's for lunch. She joined the church when she was young because of the Osmonds. :-) She's super nice! It was really good to get to know her. Then in the evening we did some finding. Sister Andersen and I decided that the only thing that we should be addicted to is family, because that's the only thing we can have for the eternity. :)
Thursday we did our planning. Then we went to the Stevenson's and watched the Testaments with Justian. I love that movie. haha, it's the best movie ever. Then in the evening we had dinner and correlation at the Stevensons.
Friday morning we went to see a woman from Uganda named Gertrude. She has known a lot of Mormon's in her life, and has always had a really good opinion of all them. She's a prime example of the importance of always being a good example of the church. Then we went to see Justian. Then in the evening we went to see Bishop and Sister Theed for dinner. I love them so much! They are super awesome at doing missionary work. It was a good way to end the evening.
Saturday morning we went to see Chawezi again. She's soooo cute. We taught her the first half of the Plan of Salvation, and it was a really good lesson. She did her reading as well. Then in the afternoon we went to see a man named Patrick and his wife Esther. They were really nice, and he seems to really want to know what God wants him to do, so that's really good. Then in the evening we went to the Omoruyi's for dinner. They are a cute and very happy family. They have amazing testimonies. I love meeting so many amazing members. That's one of the great things about being a missionary!
Sunday was good. Justian came. Little Christine Fowles came up to us and was so excited because they had watched Errand of Angels and apparently one of the Sisters has orange hair and one has brown hair, like Sister Andersen and I, and that made her very excited. It was cute. Then Sunday we did a lot of finding. it was good. Then I got to talk to my wonderful family! It was super exciting!
Today was sooooo much fun. We went to Southend for Zone meetings. It's down by the sea! So we got to see the ocean. It's pretty intense. When the tide's out we see a lot of mud boats (what Sister Andersen and I decided to call all the boats when they were sitting in the mud). It made us laugh. We went out on Southend Peir, and went out to lunch. Then we went back to the chapel and played chair football. I actually got two people out. It was pretty intense. I love it! Haha, it was a fun day. Also, Elder Cusick has the new Motab CD. It was super awesome! I love it sooo much. It's really cool. Ah, it was a good day.
I love being a missionary. It's pretty awesome. :) I love all of you! Thank-you so much for all of your support.
Love,
Sister Ison
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto
Hello family!
How's it going? Its going pretty good here. We had a real nice week this week because we've had some investigators at church! We will have a baptism Saturday, Tara, so that is exciting! The Rasmussens have been a great help to the area, especially in strengthening the Branch. The branch leadership is having a few issues right now, but we are trying to work through those. We got a few refferals last week that we will work with this week too. The work is really starting to pick up now. Elder Owens is still great and not too trunky (wink wink). We are working hard together and really trying to carry out our weekly plans and we are finally reaping some of the rewards! My testimony is, as usual, continuing to strengthen and grow. It has really helped me through the ordeal with my Grandpa and the knowledge of the plan of salvation really helps. I am really excited to talk to you guys this week because you are the best! My package should be getting delivered as a type, so hopefully it will be with the Rasmussens when I get home. Those pictures of Nathan almost made me fall out of my chair! He is so cool. Those are nice shades, by the way. Some one really cool must have gave him those! What a guy. I am really excited to get back to the french side with all of my guys over there. It gets kinda lonely when it is just you and your companion on the Island. This morning we went to the beach to make sand castles, and we made some nice ones, but sadly, we didn't have a camera to take pictures of them. Next time. That is gist of the week, I hope you guys have another fun filled week. Good luck with the Eagle project, CJ!
LOVE YOU!
Elder Ison
Scatter Sunshine
Hello Friends and Family,
I love springtime! Haha. Well, I'll just get into it.
Wednesday was a good day. We did a lot of finding, and we got some pretty exciting new investigators. Then we went to the Fowles for dinner in the evening and she made us tacos. Mmmmmmm.... I can't remember the last time I had a taco.... Yay for mexican food!
Thursday morning we got to see Rebecca. It was nice to see her after so long! She's been really busy (and who isn't in London? my oh my), but we really hope that we'll be able to help her progress sometime soon. Then we saw Justin and Brother Tavner joined in, and it was a really good lesson. I learned about how Brother Tavner came to join the church. He was a hard core atheist. He wouldn't even go to a wedding if it was in a church. However over the years he had a friend who was a member of the church. She would say things to him like, "When you join the church you'll have to give up" And he'd always just laugh. One day she invited him to church, and for some reason he decided to go. He was sitting there and the person on the stand said something about the Book of Mormon. He turned to his friend and said, "You didn't tell me this was the d*** mormon church!" She looked at him and said, "Is that a problem?" He said "No, How can I be baptized?" Haha. He knew right then that this was the place that he would find the truth that he hadn't found in church when he was young. Before he even met with the missionaries he'd read the Book of Mormon a couple of times. He was an alcoholic, among other things, but he gave it all up and joined the church. It was pretty cool. In the evening we went to Barry and Evelyn's for dinner. It was spicy African food. I love it! haha. It was a good evening.
Firday morning we went to see Bela. It was good to see her after a while. She's still waiting to find out what they can do about her eye, but she's adjusting. Then in the afternoon we saw Suresh, and Justin with Sister Stevenson. We talked about Christ's birth with Justin, and it went really well. Then in the afternoon we saw Chawezi. She's a super cute young woman. She said she nearly died about a year ago and that she knows God has a purpose for her, and that's why she invited us to come. Her friend Ivy, from Luton, joined in the lesson, and it went very well. Then after that lesson we were running a little behind to get to correlation, and then we stand at the bus stop for a little while... getting impatient.... when finally not one, not two, but FIVE buses show up all in a row..... Haha... it made me laugh, but we got on the first one, and were just a little late to correlation, so that was good... :)
Saturday was a day full of finding. All of our appointments cancelled or hosed, so we spent all day tracting and OYMing. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, so that made it better. However, I got a pretty bad sunburn on my arms, and a nice farmer tan :-P .
Sunday was a great day. I love fast and testimony meeting. Justin came, and so did Christian! It was very exciting. And not only that, but towards the end of church a man named Frank walked in and said that he was looking for a church to join. :) We got an appointment with him this Saturday. Then after church we went to see Christian. It was a really good lesson. We talked about the Word of Wisdom, and the importance of really knowing if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He seems to be doing well, and we're deeing him again today. Then we went to see the Kangetsambos (who are Joice's Sister and Brother-in-law). They are such a cute family. It was fun to spend some time with them.
So that was my week. I love being a missionary. I love the springtime. I love all the sunshine. and I love Ilford! :)
Mom- haha, your e-mail just made me laugh. I'm glad you are busy. It sounds like a lot of fun things are going on! I'm especially excited about CJs Eagle project and Nathan's special olympics! That's so cool! I'm so excited to talk to you on Sunday!
Dad- You should send me one of those flyers :) I want to see them. Thanks for taking care of all the school stuff for me!
Nathan- Congratulations! You won two gold medals! That is soooooo cool! I love you!
Elder Ison- You are right... you are a horrible brother :-P Just kidding. I have the best family ever!
Everyone Else- I love you!
Love,
Sister Ison
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