Week #51 - The Fruits of Our Labors

Wagwan Fambily,

Not too much happened this week so I will keep it relatively short.

We picked up Elder McGregor at the bus park Tuesday night. He is actually from Old Harbor so we have a Jamaican in the house now. He is pretty cool.

Lychee

We visited the Williams family who live way the heck out in Grange Hill which is like a 20 minute taxi ride and then another 15 minute walk. They have a TON of fruit trees so they loaded us up with Jamaican apples, star fruit, jellies, and these things called lychee berries which are kind of like guinep on steroids. They are awesome.

On Friday during studies, I heard a call at the front door. It was the Riddlers (a senior couple from Wales) I heard Elder Riddler call in saying, "I come bearing gifts!" (Keep in mind this man is from Wales, just imagine it in your head, it was hilarious!) It was a package from Britt and Adam!  Can we get a WOOT WOOT for sister love?!!

I spoke in church about why we believe in Jesus Christ and I think it went pretty well.

Good week!

Love you all,

Elder Graham

Week #50 - Winning the Rat Race

Hey Family!

This week FLEW by extra fast. There was plenty of stuff to keep us busy.

I went on a trade off with Elder Anderson on Tuesday, and then with Elder Riding on Thursday.

On Wednesday we went to Montego Bay to watch a worldwide missionary broadcast entitled: "Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts." It was way good and I learned a ton from it.

Friday morning we found a rat in our house. I should probably be more sensitive because there might be younger people who read this... but we killed it and threw it outside (yeah us old people are fine with it). Elder Sandmaier and I spent quite a bit of time exploring parts of our area that we had never been to, and we found a couple streets with big houses on them and met a woman who is a flight attendant. She told us about a trip to Salt Lake City and she said that our Mormon temple looked really pretty. Hopefully we can go back and see her and talk more about it.

Saturday was transfer calls - Elder Sandmaier and I will be staying together. Not too many changes happening. We helped some members do some construction work on a house for a couple hours in the morning. We mainly just shoveled rocks into a bucket and carried them upstairs to the top of the house and dumped them out on some dirt - real manly stuff. I was so sore after.

Today our zone met in Negril and just chilled for a couple hours. We played some ball, said some goodbyes to people who are leaving the zone, and had milkshakes and a ton of food at Burger King so we all got a little sick, but rock and roll.

Hope you are doing great.

Love and miss you as always!

Elder Graham

We found a burnt down cane field in our area

Week #49 - Uke Can Do It

Hey Family!

We had zone meeting this week. At the meeting they brought the ukulele I ordered from Kingston a week ago so I am way stoked to get on that. I learned how to play the Zac Brown Band song, "Toes" so that is sweet. Can’t wait to hear this newfound talent, annnnnd I’m guessing he won’t be performing this particular number at missionary functions any time soon…

Friday night the branch had a big activity and Craig, Jermain, Tracy and CJ (the family that we are teaching) came. Craig, Jermain, Brother Woolrey and I played a very intense game of dominoes that went into a draw after an hour and a half because we had to go.

Burnt Savannah

On Sunday we got invited by a member to go way out to a place called Burnt Savannah to teach the member’s relatives. It was like an hour bike ride out but it was so scenic. Super cool. Also Sunday evening we were walking to an appointment and this rast man stopped us and told us to be careful because he saw two white guys get killed in a dream... So pray for me ya hear? Exactly the closing every mother 3100 miles away dreams of reading, eh? *Shakes fist at adorable missionary with red ukulele

Love and miss you guys!

Love,

Elder Graham

Week #48 - Maybe It's a Vacation After All... Nahhhhh

Hey Family!

Sorry about last week, the internet was being weird. But anywho, this week was awesome. We are teaching a SWEET family - mom, dad, and 11 year old son. All very interested. I'm going to focus on them because this is literally the only exciting thing that happened this week.

So Craig, Shada, their son, CJ AND even Shada's mother and her boyfriend ALL came to church on Sunday - it was great. They participated like they had been coming for years. This is especially great because they were hesitant to come due to negative experiences with previous churches.

To give you a clue of some of the struggles of the church and the mission here in Jamaica, I’ll tell you that this is one of the first experiences I've had teaching a structured family (married with both parents in the home) on my mission, so this is kind of a big deal.

Anyway, right after church, Shada told us she was headed to New York for a few months to do some sort of nursing/nanny work. Kind of a bummer but she will soon be back.

Today we’re going to Negril to eat at some fancy restaurant on a cliff overlooking the ocean - maybe it is a vacation after all.. PSYCH.

Love,

Elder Graham

I'd like you to meet Elder Riding…

The crew: Elder Anderson, Davis, Riding, Sandmaier, and Fowkes on the white beach of Negril

Week #47 - A Christmas Letter from President Brown

Technical difficulties this week resulted in pictures only, no family email, but we did receive a beautiful Christmas letter from President Brown:

THE CHURCH OF

JESUS CHRIST

OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

Jamaica Kingston Mission

4 Garelli Avenue

Kingston 10

Jamaica

Phone:  1-876-618-1625

Dear missionary parents,

There are not words to express our gratitude for the generous donations and packages received from you this season.  Every elder and sister serving here at Christmas received packages and mail, and thanks to your assistance, not one was left out, not one was without a gift to make Christmas special for them. 

This year each zone had a Christmas program focused on the birth of the Savior.  Sister Brown and I were able to spend a few minutes talking about the Savior’s birth and expressing our love to the missionaries. Following the program, we enjoyed a Christmas dinner prepared and served by Sister McPherson and Sister Medley.  They served a traditional Jamaican dinner of chicken, ham, rice and peas, potato salad, Jamaican vegetable, Jamaican pudding cake and ice cream.  

After dinner, Elder Havili, Elder Jarvis and I donned our Santa hats and distributed all of the packages.  As names were called out, there were smiles, and looks of surprise from some who thought there would be no gifts for them. We have captured some of the fun with pictures. We wish you could have shared in the sounds as well, but rest assured that your contributions were of great value in making each Christmas party a wonderful event for all of our missionaries. 

Jesus Christ is the true gift of Christmas.  That fact cannot be denied.  But as we stood and looked on your sons and daughters, it was very clear that they too are God’s gift to mankind. They are also part of the true gifts of Christmas as they represent the Savior of the world in their mission to the Caribbean people.

With sincere appreciation,            

President Kevin G. Brown

Jamaica Kingston Mission

President Santa (Brown) and a few of his elves!

Cody and his companion, Elder Sandmaier across from him,
Pretty sure two more are housemates but no clue of names yet!

It's a Christmas miracle... Elder Graham is singing.  Voluntarily.

Merry Christmas from the North Coast Zone!

Week #46 - Irie New Year

Merry Christmas and an irie New Year Family!

This week was awesome but super crazy.

Monday was our zone Christmas party up in Montego Bay. I got to see a lot of people and had some dang good food. I got the news at the party that Grandma Briggs passed away, but it was totally cool. In fact if I were them, that would be exactly what I would want! So that is good for them, those lucky ducks! They only had to spend a few days apart so that is awesome.

MOM STORY:  We sent two boxes to Cody for Christmas – one for him and one for a past companion of his and any other elder that might be in need of a little Christmas gift.  The day my dad passed away I got an email from Sister Hardy in the mission office saying they had received Elder Graham’s package.  It arrived in Jamaica only a day and a half after I sent it from our house in Oregon!  Big props to my dad for making that happen!  In my emotional state I didn’t read clearly that Sister Hardy said PACKAGE, not PACKAGES.  I had assumed both packages had been received.  Over the next several days we got a few emails from the mission that Customs in Jamaica had seized many of the packages sent to missionaries and was holding them for up to $200 in duty fees.  They warned parents that it wasn’t likely the packages would be released, and certainly not by Christmas.  I didn’t pay much attention to these emails, thinking both of Cody’s boxes had already been received.  Fast forward a few more days… my mom passed away nine days after we lost my dad and miraculously we were able to have a joint funeral for them.  On our way to the cemetery I saw an email from Sister Hardy saying that Cody’s package had come to the office.  I emailed back, confused about which package had arrived.  She explained that it was the small package for the other elders that came on 12/9.  This package, the one we sent for Cody, just showed up in the mission office, without a waybill.  She said it must have slipped through the cracks – that there was no way it should have made it to them.  THAT credit goes to my mama – no silly customs office was going to keep her grandson from enjoying a Christmas gift from his family!  Because Cody’s box came too late to make it to his zone Christmas party, Sister Hardy made up a box of goodies for him so he wouldn’t be without a gift.  It warmed my heart to see how grateful he was for the small box, thinking it was from us.  He had no clue his real gift from us was waiting for him in the mission office.  His humility humbles me – is that a thing??  Anyway, so many miracles this Christmas season.  It wasn’t loud and rowdy like the Graham Fam usually celebrates, but it allowed us to see the Lord’s hand in all things.  He truly forgets no one.  Okay, on with our elder…

Tuesday was our P-day - just the usual.

On Christmas Eve we went to Negril and did some semi-awkward caroling on the streets, but eventually some random people joined us so we gathered some spirited people up and sang like freaking angels.

Friday was CHRISTMAS - heck yeah. It was sweet. Elder Fowkes and I got out of caroling this time so we could go back to the church and skype. Just like the good ol' days.  After I was done skyping and Elder Fowkes got on, I grabbed scriptures and went and sat on the steps of the baptismal font in the church. It just felt good in there. Christmas was sweet. We made eggnog french toast and skype and we got fed out of the blue by a lady named Sister Griffiths so that's awesome. We moved some rocks for her too. It was great.

On Saturday we met this old guy named Caperton. He seems way prepared. When we gave him a Book of Mormon, he kissed it... kind of weird, but this guy just kind of  broke down in the lesson TWICE. Jamaican men do not cry, especially in front of other men. When we asked him if he would be baptized if God told him that all of this was true, he said he was looking towards being baptized by his birthday in March. He literally told us he just wanted to find a resting place with God. All I could think about was that quote from the movie, Holes: "I can fix that." I am way excited for him. I really feel good about him. He couldn't come to church (too short notice, he was going to take care of one of his daughters that day) but he promised us he would come next week.

So I was going to put up pictures but this funny thing happened..... my camera died... so yeah. NEXT WEEK FOR SURE.

Love,

Elder Graham