ONE MONTH IN BARBADOS!!!!

Things are great here in the West Indies. New Year's Eve (or Old Year's Day, as they call it here) was quite chill: we are on companion exchanges with the Sister Training Leader, Sister Tongi, so we played Old Maid and then went to bed at 10:32 (I know, so disobedient). The roads were almost empty the next morning, probably because everyone was nursing a hangover. We had a couple investigators tell us they were going to a party. That must have been why no one wanted to meet with us; for the first time on my mission we came in early. There was pretty much nothing to do other than update teaching records.

 

New Year's Day, we went over to the Macintoshes for lunch. SO. MUCH. FOOD. We were not even hungry for dinner. They had ham and steak and yam pie and sweet potato pie and sorrel (a drink that tastes kind of like potpourri) and Sprite. And then there was dessert: fruitcake, ice cream, fruit salad, and chocolate-covered berries. We were all dying. Even the elders couldn't finish. But it was really good food, too.

 

Saturday, before branch council, Sister Bennion and I held a reading class. We only had one student, but he's learning the alphabet. Our investigator Lonnie says that Barbados has the highest literacy rate in the world, but we have met five or six people here who cannot read. We invited them all to the reading class, and I think  we will be holding it regularly, but so far only one person has come. It's based off of a book called 'And Ye Shall Have My Words.' It is published by the Church, and uses scriptures and stuff to help people learn to read.

 

Yesterday was Fast Sunday :) I love fasting. We saw a couple miracles happen because we fasted and prayed. Testimony meeting was interesting: someone needs to refresh everyone's memories on what a testimony is. Sister Bennion gave a wonderful testimony, though :)

 

Something funny: a lot of people call the Book of Mormon "the book of the Mormons." Even after we correct them and say the real name very slowly and clearly, they still say "the book of the Mormons." A member even said it yesterday in his testimony! Also, Richie has been insisting lately that the sea is alive, and that her name is Rachel. He says it's in the Bible, but we haven't been able to find it . . . He says there is a scripture that says "and Rachel will give up her dead," but I remember that scripture a little differently. I don't know if he read it in a different version of the Bible or what, but he is very insistent about it. He asked at least two members yesterday.

 

Anyway, one month in Barbados! I can hardly believe it. Sometimes it feels like I've been here forever, and other times I'm like, "I only have 17 months left . . . ?" Being a missionary is weird sometimes.

 

Love, Sister Tibbitts