Scripture

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."
Alma 26:12


Email: megan.mouritsen@myldsmail.net

Leah's Mission Timeline

Leah's Mission Timeline

Monday, May 12, 2014

May 12, 2014: First week out in the field......Finally!

Hey wagwan mi dea azeen!!!

How are all of you?! Mother's day was great yesterday! It made me so happy to see some familiar faces! I love you guys! I hope all is well!

This week has been crazy! I left the mtc with Sister Oman, and Elder's Lambert, Davidson, and Sandmeier. We got up at 3:00 Tuesday morning, got on a bus at 4:30 and drove to the SLC airport where we flew to DFW airport in Texas, then to Miami Florida and then to Jamaica. We didn't get to Jamaica until like 9:00 pm.... Long day. President Brown and his wife and Elders Nelson and Daniels, who were the APs, came to pick us up. Then we drove back to the mission home. I don't know if any of you have ever actually driven (not in tourist areas) in Jamaica, but it is like death at every turn. Seriously. They drive FAST! And CRAZY! And the streets are TINY! And the steering wheel is on the opposite side of the car and they drive on the opposite side of the road. yeah. whoa. what?!? It's terrifying!

So we got to the mission home where they fed us chicken, salad, tomatoes and carrots and plantains, which are yellow-like bananas. They are almost better than bananas because they fry them on the stove. Delicious! haha! Then sister Oman and I slept at the mission home.



We woke up, had interviews with President Brown, who has the youngest family ever! The oldest is 13 and they have another on the way! I think there are 5 kids. They are an amazing family. It down poured that day too while we were driving to the transfer meeting in Spanishtown. While we were at the meeting, there were sisters from the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas on speaker phone, and then the power went out (a usual occurrence) so we just finished the meeting without all of those on the phone. We also got our assignments of where we are going to serve!

I am serving in Grand Cayman!!!! And my companion is Sister Mashabela and she is from South Africa! She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and I wish that you could all meet her in person! Sister Oman got called to serve in Nassau, the Bahamas. Her companion was already there as well.  Our planes weren't scheduled to fly out to until Thursday morning so we went with some Jamaican sisters who were serving in Kingston, I think.  We taught a couple lessons that night. We walked to the investigators’ houses and it was just so different. Their houses were just right on the river and were made of boards and wood and sheets for doors. The houses probably weren't bigger than our living room and it was split into four rooms. That was eye opening. But they did have huge TVs. haha! 2 of them actually! Interesting.... Anyway the lessons went well. We taught them about the godhead and prayer and how to pray. Then we committed them to pray. I think it went well. :) After that we went back to the sister missionaries’ apartment. I took a cold shower, which actually was like the best thing ever because it was so humid. And then we went to bed.

The next morning the Sister Training Leaders drove Sister Oman and me to the airport. Our flights were at different times so it was weird to actually be alone and not have a companion... It was so weird! I got to Cayman around 10 am and the sisters who are serving in Cayman picked me up. There are only two sets of missionaries here. Sister Mashabela and I and Sister Coleman from Jamaica and Sister Tominey from South Jordan, Utah. The Elders used to serve here before sisters Coleman and Tominey but they got kicked back to Jamaica. Haha! It's the sisters turn! So sister Mashabela and I have the East side of the Island the others sisters have the west. It's great!

The companionships not on Jamaica all get cars, which is wonderful! So on Friday I had to watch a whole bunch of awesome, cheesy videos that took like 2 1/2 hours about how to drive and be safe while doing it. And then I had to call President Brown and he quizzed me on what I learned. Then I was able to drive the car! We have a new Baby Blue Toyota Yaris! Holy cow it's nice! The only issue is that the steering wheel and the roads are also all backwards in Grand Cayman. So the first time I got into the car to drive.... I got in on the left side.... Mashabela just laughed her head off at me as I walked around the car to the other side. Haha! I haven't done that since though! I have to really think when I drive because sometimes there aren't lines on the road and I start driving on the wrong side. But I am totally pro now. :) I won't be able to drive very well when I get back to the States....

We have visited tons of members and recent converts to keep them strong in the church. We have also taught several lessons. I think it was on Friday that we taught a couple guys who are Jamaican. Tyrone and Glen. They were asking TONS of crazy questions!! Questions like, "So why isn't Jesus Black??" Just stuff like that! In my head I'm like, "If you really did know the answer to all these questions, how would that help your spiritual progression to the Celestial Kingdom and living forever??" Whatever. It was getting frustrating. I finally got my chance to put my piece in and I bore my testimony about what I knew they needed to hear and it shut. Them. Right. Up. It was great:)

I have loved getting to meet SOOO many new and amazing people. Holy cow it is so cool! The people here are great! They feed us a lot........ And when I try to take small portions they just put more onto my plate. How am I supposed to deal with that?? haha! So the four of us sisters, who all live in the same apartment in Georgetown, run about a mile and a half every morning. And we pass the ocean sometimes, which is beautiful! I love it! I ate Barracuda the other day, which was really good. And hopefully sometime I will get to try Turtle. I've heard that it's really good. They also eat a lot of Iguana here. There are tons of iguanas! It's like in Utah where you see a dead rabbit on the road but here it is Iguanas. Sad... They just catch them, clean them out like fish, cook them in coconut oil and eat them. I can't wait to try it! Except for the fact that they have been dying unexpectedly and they say that they have been eating something strange that's making them die so I probably won't get to try it for awhile. They also make smoothies like none other! SO good! Especially the white ones. :) I also had fish heads the other day which was good and yesterday some members fed us ox tail. That was good too! You just have to watch out for the bones. haha! And they also eat a lot of rice. yum…

Sunday was awesome! There is only one church building on the island and it only has one hallway, like 5 classrooms, a room for the branch president, Brother Johnson, and then the chapel at the end of the hall. Oh and Cayman like doesn't have carpet anywhere. It's strange to see actual carpet. Everything is tile and rugs. haha! But the 'chapel' is so small. There are like 120 members but only about 60 are active. When we went to Gospel Principles there was a guy in there who was just so against the fact that we weren't supposed to drink wine and he wouldn't stop arguing with the teacher about it! It was kinda funny. Sister Mashabela and I just looked at each other and laughed. He was just not listening to anybody. Oh well. We'll talk to him sometime maybe. haha!

Well today for P-Day we are going to go to 7 Mile Beach and stare at the water haha! It'll be nice and relaxing. Gotta love sand, palm trees, blue sky and frizzy hair!

I love you all! I can't wait to hear all about how the week went! You are all amazing! I will try to get more details about lessons and stuff this week. This past week was just a blur! I love you all so much! Keep going strong!

Love,


Sister Mouritsen :)

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