Another Transfer Down!

Hola Family,

How is everything going? Well things are going quite... interesting here in trinidad... So this week, they actually decided to move transfers up a couple of days because of some things that are going on in Guyana, so on tuesday we got our transfer calls! Well, I am staying in Siparia again, but I am with an Elder named Elder Bracken. He is on his 3rd transfer, and is quite an interesting fellow. He is like 26 years old, and doesnt really like being told what to do by a 19 year old. It has been difficult, but I am sure it will get better. I also got called to be the district leader, but that is a small thing. Well this week was pretty good. Right now, we are still working with alot of the same people, but this week we were not able to see mary at all. She was working all week, so that was a little bit disappointing. We were also able to find some pretty awesome people too. Last week, we tracted into a lady named Kizzy. She had never met with missionaries before, but had seen them around. We shared about the book of mormon with them, and it went really well. When we went back this week, we shared the restoration with her and her 2 kids. They are really cool, and I am really excited about them. So this week, on Thursday, we had a District meeting at the mission home, and had the opportunity to learn from President Gamiette and his Assistants. It was amazing! We learned alot about Faith and Repentance, and how that is really what we need to be teaching with everyone that we teach, whether it is less active members, active members, or investigators. It was an awesome meeting, and the spirit was so strong there, and it has really helped me to look at the way that I am teaching. When we really look at it though, everything that we teach and even believe, leads back to faith and repentance. As a mission, we have set a goal for 99+1 baptisms in December. To be honest it is going to be alot of work, especially because in the west indies, December is usually the slowest month of the year when it comest to baptisms. From what I have heard, people just run for their rum, instead of wanting to hear about the gospel. I do know that the goal that we have set is reachable though, and I am excited to see miracles happen over the next coming weeks to make it happen. On Friday, Elder Rodney and I went on a trade off with the Assistants. It was a really good day, and we were really able to learn alot. On Saturday, Elder Bracken came to siparia, and then on Saturday night, we had our branch christmas party. It was great, and I am really beginning to love the members here in Siparia! The party was really good, and after the little program, they fed us a delicious dinner. We had a really good turn out, but I think alot of the members decided that they were going to come to the christmas party on saturday night instead of church on Sunday morning, because at church, we only had about half of the people that we had there the night before! Sometimes I just dont know what to do with these people! Well thats about all that happened here in Trinidad this week. It sounds like you guys had a great week at home. Mom, I cannot believe you got an Iphone also! It seems like you guys are just getting younger, not older! Hahaha I am glad to hear that you had a wonderful birthday though. It sounds like you really got spoiled. Oh I almost forgot! This week, I got a boil, in a very bad place! It was horrible, lets just say that I have not been able to sit down comfortably for a couple of days now, it is starting to get better now though. Well, I hope you guys had a wonderful thanksgiving, because while you were eating turkey, I was eating burger king! I better get going though, I love you all and I am so greatful for all the love and support that you show towards me!

Love you tons,

Elder Gines

Pictures of our Christmas Party, Elder Rodney and me, and My tie burning ceremony. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Family,

How is everything going back at home? The work is going great here in Siparia and I am LOVING it! This week was really hard, and we are still struggling with everything that has been going on here, specifically the lack of support from the members. We are working through it though. So the story of the week is from Sunday Morning. Usually we wake up and get ready for church, and then go wait out on the road for a taxi to pick us up. It is usually a little bit difficult for us to catch travel so we try to get out there pretty early. Well, we were standing out there for probably 15 minutes or so with no luck, until a grey van pulled up, I could see through the wind shield that it was a family that was wearing white shirts like they were headed for church, and when I looked closer I realized that it was President Gamiette, and his whole family. Haha It was a shocker! Well we hopped in the car and drove with them, He asked us about the work, and we told him that it was a little bit slow, but that our sacrament attendance is going up. Now this week, we have been working really hard, trying to strengthen the branch so that we will be able to comfortably bring investigators to church. To be honest as we went throughout the week, it didnt really feel like we were seeing much success. When we got to church, we were the only people there besides the branch president and one of his councelors. Well slowely but surely the church started to fill up. Last week, we had an attendance of 27, which we were very happy about, so this week, we were hoping to at least top that. Well, people just kept coming and coming! It was amazing!!! A couple of the families that we visited this week came to church, and almost all of the chairs were full. We had 42 people there!!! I could not believe it! After church we were really excited, and really niether of us could believe what had really just happened! The only bad part was that we werent able to get any investigators there, but it was okay. This week, we met with Mary a couple of times, and were able to watch prophet of the restoration with her. I love that movie, even though I have seen it about 50 times! She got stuck at her sisters house on saturday though so she wasnt able to make it to church. Then Yesterday for P-Day, the senior couples through a Thanksgiving dinner for all the missionaries in trinidad! It was amazing and we had alot of fun, I still cant believe how much I ate though! Well, I am sorry this email is so short, and that I wasnt able to email yesterday, but I need to get to work today. I am glad to hear that Taylor is home, but I really cannot believe it! Tell him to shoot me an email or a letter soon! It sounds like you are doing great and enjoying life, maybe even a little bit too much with all these vacations you are taking! Well, mom, its finally here, you are going to be 50 just now! That is half way to 100 you know! I love you all and I am so greatful for the love and support that you guys give to me. Keep the emails and letters coming!

Love,
Elder Gines

Hey Fam!!

Hey Family and Friends,

 

How is everything going? Well things are going pretty good here in Siparia, and I am still loving it! We had an interesting week, full of hard work and LOTS of sweat, but in the end, it was all worth it. On Tuesday, we met with our investigator Mary. Lately we havent been too sure about her, so we really just wanted to figure out what was going on. She explained to us that she has been meeting with Jehovahs Witnesses in the past and lately they have started to come back. Meeting with so many different people, teaching different things has been really hard and pretty confusing for her, so she had made the decision that she was just going to stop meeting with all of us. Haha well I think I have told you this before, but Mary is really moving and progressing pretty slowely, and I have been working with her ever since I have been in Siparia, so going into the lesson we werent really sure what to do. The lesson went great though, and she felt the spirit very strong. She told us that she would be at church on sunday, and that she was going to recommit herself to find out if this is really true. Well our week went on pretty normally, doing alot of finding, and to be honest facing alot of rejection. It was really tough, but we just kept on working hard, and doing all that we could to find people that were prepared. On Thursday, we found a lady named Joanne. She invited us in, and we started to share the message of the restoration with her. It was a really powerful lesson, and the spirit was definitely there helping us. We are supposed to meet with her again tomorrow so we will have to see how it goes. Then on Friday night we went to see one of our recent converts, who just happens to be less active. I hadnt been able to meet with him at all yet, and I had only met him once. When we got there we sat down, and had a really good lesson with him. He is a really humble man, and has a very strong desire to gain a greater knowledge of the scriptures. When Elder Rodney and I left the appointment we both felt really good about it. We are going to try and continue working with him so that he can hold a calling in the church, because right now this branch needs all the help they can get! This week in my studies I have really been focusing on 3 Nephi Chapter 11. It is a really powerful chapter, and I think it might be my new favorite part of the book. The Nephites werent able to recognize christ, and it has really made me think about how hard we have to work in this life in order to be a true follower of christ. Well on sunday, our rewards finally came. After one of the hardest weeks I have had out here, the lord rewarded us and brought many people to church, including Mary! I was so excited to see her there, and I know that she really enjoyed it. Well, that was about it for the week out here in the West Indies, and it sounds like you had a pretty crazy week back at home. Oh, and I hit my 7 month mark yesterday! It amazes me how fast time flies! Anyways, It sounds like you guys are doing great and enjoying life. I am loving my mission and I really wouldnt want to be anywhere else right now! The joy that comes from spreading the gospel is unreal and I am greatful for the opportunity that I have to learn and grow!

 

Love you tons,

Elder Gines

Soakin in the tropical sun!!!!

Hey Family,

How is everything going? It sounds like you guys had a great week back at home. Our week here was pretty good, and we worked really hard! We are really struggling with getting people to church though and at times it can be a little bit discouraging. We had a great week though and we did, ALOT of finding! On thursday I went on a trade off with Elder Watchman here in Siparia, and Elder Rodney went to San Fernando for the day. It was a lot of fun serving with him again, and we had a great day together. I don't mean to rub it in or anything, but it has been SOOOOO hot lately! At times I wonder if I will be able to handle it for a year and a half more, and then I think about how cold it is getting back at home and somehow it doesnt seem as hot anymore! Well its crazy to say, but christmas is right around the corner! Can you believe it? I cant at all! To me it still feels like it is july or something, but then I look at my calendar.. The good news for this week was we were able to finally see Clayton and he is doing really good. We hadnt seen him for almost 3 weeks, and I was starting to think that he got a hold of some anti or something, but it turned out he was just really busy. We had a really good lesson with him about The Book of Mormon, and the spirit was very strong. Last week, I started to read The Book of Mormon over again and this time highlight everywhere that it mentions christ in any form. Well I have only reached  1 Nephi chapter 15 and It is amazing to me how much it talks, and testifies of Jesus Christ. All throughout my life, I have always heard of how strong of a witness of christ it really is, but for the first time in my life, I have been able to see it for myself, and it is incredible! As I have been reading it, I have had such a strong impression, that there is no way this book could not be true, I just wish that everyone could feel that way! Well it sounds like things are going great! Dad, Wow, I am impressed with all those ducks, it looks like we are going to have to start calling you Rex the duck slayer... Hahaha it looks like you are having a great time and the blind looks incredible!!! Mom, It sounds like you are doing great also! I hope that you start feeling better, and I will make sure to keep you in my prayers! Mel and John, Haha send me some pictures of your house already, come on! Jk, but really! It sounds like you guys are doing great! I hope the kids are making new friends and having a great time! Ang and Scott, my prediction is another boy!!! And his name shall be Daniel... I really hope that everything goes smooth with your house! Paige, It sounds like you are doing great also. Thanks for the email! I am only a little bit fat, so dont worry! And Jason, You got to baptize jaedin?! That is so awesome. Dont worry, it took me 2 tries on my first baptism also! I love hearing about your swim meets! Keep on working hard and preparing for your mission! Well I better get going, I am going to send some pictures, maybe some of my 6 month tie ceremony, and we will just have to see what else I have on the camera. The church is true, and I know that with all that I have!

I love you all,
Elder Gines

Happy Halloween!!! .... And Merry Christmas!!!

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going? First of all, I would just like to say thank you for the letters, I was shocked when I got to the mission office this morning and I had 5 letters waiting for me! Mom, I got the pictures that you sent along with the letters that you and dad wrote at snow basin, it was wonderful and I really enjoyed it. I Also got a letter from both grandma gines and grandma and grandpa page. It was really good to hear from all of you. So I am sure that you are thinking why in the heck did I say merry christmas, but I have to say that the people here in the west indies start playing christmas music even earlier than utahns! I am enjoying it though. It sounds like the halloween party was a success, and I wish I could have been there, but hey I only have one more halloween left on my mission, CRAZY! This week was an interesting one. We worked really hard, but still just didnt see the success that we were hoping for, although there were a couple of things that went great. So the whole time I have been in Siparia, we have been working with a lady named mary, for some reason, we could always see something in her, but she would never come to church. Ha she always told us that she will come when she knows that it is where god wants her. Well a couple of weeks ago, she FINALLY came! We have been working with her alot ever since then, and she is doing awesome! Another problem that we were having with her, is that she does not want to be rushed into anything, so we always had a hard time getting her to accept a date for baptism. Well when we met with her this week, we had a really great lesson. The spirit was so strong, and just by looking at her you could tell that she was feeling something special. She accepted a date for sometime between the 12 and the 19 of november, which was a huge step for her. We were also able to find a couple of other people that we are really excited about. There are some members, and we have been working with that gave us a referal to work with their son and his wife, we met with them, and the lesson went really well as well. We are still working with clayton, but he has been really hard to meet with lately. I am worried that something happened because he hasnt really seemed the same as he used to be. It is crazy to me how fast time flies, tomorrow it is going to be november! Mom, to answer your question, Not having a change of seasons is really wierd, but I love it at the same time! It feels like it makes it easier to lose track of time, but I am not sure, ha I really cant remember what it was like to have 4 seasons. Has it snowed much there yet? Haha That is definitely one thing that I dont miss! Dad, thanks for the letter again, It sounds like you are doing great! I am glad to hear that the duck club is working out! I love hearing about the lessons that you teach, and the crazy thing is, we had  the exact same lesson here, haha clear out in the bush in a tiny island in the carribean! Although I am sure yours was much better! Mom, How are you feeling? Is the change of the seasons still effecting your fibro? Did you ever send me back that other SD card that I sent home? Could you keep on sending the pictures also? Keep on studying all you can, the new testament is full of amazing doctorine! Mel and John, It sounds like you guys are doing great! That is exciting that you are finally moving into your house! Send me some pictures of it sometime. The kids look like they are doing great! Ang and Scott, I am glad to hear that you are feeling better. Those pictures of corbin are so dang cute! Thanks for the email! Paige, Wow you are in love... I am happy for you though! and oh man, that is wierd!!!! (I hope you know what I am talking about, if not just read the email you sent me and you can figure it out!) Jason, It sounds like you are doing great! Swim meets start this week? I am sure you are going to do great this year, especially because you have a girl to cheer you on!!!! Hahaha Jk JK! Well, I love you all and I am so greatful for all the support and love that you show towards me. I can feel all of your prayers, and dont forget to keep them coming! The church is true, and we are so blessed to be able to be born into this knowledge that we have!

 

I love you tons,

Elder Gines

Crazy Week!

Hey Fam,

How is everything going? Well I just wanted to let you know that I am OKAY!!! I am so sorry that I didnt have time to email last week, but it was a pretty crazy day! Well, I have a new companion, but I stayed in Siparia. His name is Elder Rodney, and he is from Guyana. So far we have had alot of fun together, and have been working really hard. This week was a little bit tough to be honest. We have done ALOT of tracting, but have not seen the success that we are hoping to see, but we are not getting discouraged! We are still working with Clayton, but he has been really busy this week, and we were not able to see him. It was a little bit disappointing, but we are planning on seeing him tonight. Right now the branch in siparia is really weak, and more than anything we are trying to strengthen the members that we have coming to church. So how is everything going back at home? How was St. George? And San Fransisco? Haha I cannot believe how much you guys are travelling! It is making me jealous! Well, everything is going great here and I am loving it! I am sorry this email is so short, but I will take some time and send some seperate emails!

 

I hope Everything is going great! 

 

Love you tons!

Elder GInes

How about General Conference!

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going? Things are going great here in Siparia and I am loving it! This week was probably our best week of this transfer, and we were able to see alot of success! So lately we have been having a difficult time finding new investigators, and one of the really big problems here in Trinidad is that people like their rum too much and are not willing to change and really dont care about the important things in life. So instead of just looking for anyone to teach, we have been looking for the people who are ready to progress, and accept the gospel of jesus christ. Well to be honest, it seems like finding those people is like finding a needle in a hay stack!!! One of the things that has been on my mind lately is how can I find the people who are ready, in a country that is filled with so much wickedness. I have come to a conclusion though, we must work until we cant work any more, and then and only then, will the lord guide us to these people! So that is what I have been trying to do! We have been picking a street, and talking to everyone that lives on it, I am not going to lie, at times that is really hard for me, but I am getting better at it! In our finding this week, we found a couple of really cool, and really humble people. One man was named Shewin. He is probably about 30 years old, and has alot of tatoos. I called into his house, and he immediately came out and invited us up. We were able to share the message of the restoration with him, and it went great. He is a doctor, so that means that sometimes he works days at a time, so we havent been able to meet with him since, but we will meet with him some more this week. Some of the other people that we found were Herman, Marissa, Michelle, and Tamiesha. Oh and guess what??????!!!!!!!!!!! I finally saw some monkeys! I was so excited and entertained! Temiesha, the lady that we found, actually has one in a cage in the front of her house, and right across the street, I was calling into a house, and all of the sudden a monkey came crawling out on the roof! It was one of the greatest moments of my life. We are still working with clayton, and are trying to help him to progress. He came to one session of General Conference, so hopefully he liked it. We will find out either tonight or tomorrow. Well you know how everyone always tells you how general conferences on your mission are so great? Its so true! I cannot believe what I have been missing out on by not watching every session every year! It was so good to hear from the lords servants on EXACTLY what we need to hear. It was so powerful, you can just feel the spirit with every word that they speak. On Saturday, we found out that the branch would be watching General Conference, on a computer monitor, in our branch presidents office, so we decided that we would go to San Fernando and watch it on the projector. When we got there, we found out that the power was out, so we actually missed the first hour! It was so frustrating. Then we found out that we wouldnt be able to watch the priesthood session until sunday morning because our missionary curfew, and conference didnt end until 10:00 pm here. On sunday we decided to stay in Siparia, and watch it in the branch presidents office. There were 15 people there (including us) for the first session, and for the second session, it was only us two, and our Elders quorum president. Haha it was disappointing. People here, and all over the world, just dont understand the significance of General Conference. Well thats about it for the week. It sounds like you guys are doing well at home, and I wish I would have been there for the family golf tournament. There are only a couple of golf courses here, and I am hoping to play one of them one of these days. Dad, I am sure you will get plenty of ducks this year, I am glad that luther had a good day on the opener. Mom, I hope you start feeling better, and I would give anything to go to all three of those temples in one day right now! Mel and John, that is exciting about your house, I hope everything is going good. Angie, I really hope you start feeling better also, I will keep you in my prayers. Paige, haha get married already! JKJKJKJKJK! And Jason, keep on having fun, let me know how the hunting goes, and send me some pictures! Thanks for the email too! Well I better get going, I love you all and can feel of your love and support. The church is true, and there really is no greater work than this one that I am doing right now!

 

Love,

Elder Gines

Great Week!

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going? Just to answer a couple of your questions, my thumb is fine! I have taken out the stitches slowely and it is healing up pretty well. Mom, My shoes are doing okay, they are wearing through the soles, but they should last me for a little bit longer, especially with  me having a car this transfer. I am eating better this transfer, especially because Elder Lagin is a really good cook. My shoes are hardly ever wet, and when they do get wet, they are dry before the next morning. To answer your question about the christmas package, whatever you guys want to do is fine. For the last package that you sent me, it only costed about 5 dollars to get out, so they arent too bad, as long as you are carefull about what you put in them. If you would rather just put money in my account, thats fine too. So lets see, this week... Oh yeah, yesterday I had to speak in church. It went pretty well, and my topic got changed, it was Faith in Missionary work. The Branch here in Siparia is really struggling. There are only a handful of strong members, so we are really trying to strengthen the members right now. There is one family, named the Thompsons though, right now Sis. Thompson is the only member in her family, but missionaries have been trying to teach her family for a really long time. President Gamiette, for some reason really wants to see her husband get baptized, and he has taken it upon himself to teach him. So on tuesday we had an appointment with them. Brother Thompson is a really stubborn man, but he is making progress... Very slowely! A couple of years ago, he wouldnt even talk to missionaries, but now he is willing to meet with us occasionally. Anyways, the lesson on tuesday went great, and their son, Clayton even listened. The lesson was on baptism, and specifically the importance of baptism. At the end of the lesson, when it came time to extend a baptismal commitment, we were all expecting both of them to reject it, but they surprised us. It started with Clayton, and he said that he really wants to be baptised. Then his father accepted as well. His dad's commitment was very soft, but at the same time you have to start somewhere. We invited them to church, but brother thompson said that he would have to work. Clayton committed to coming, but we couldnt really tell how serious he was. Well, Yesterday, at 9:00 he walked into the chapel with his mother. I was so excited to see him there! He is really sincere, and has a desire to be baptized. It is amazing what the spirit can do! Well that was the most exciting story for the week. So how are things going back at home? I cannot believe that the family golf tourney is on opening day! I am not sure where I would end up. It sounds like you guys are doing really well. I am so excited for conference this week! I never thought those words would come out of my mouth, but really it is such a huge blessing that we have to be able to hear exactly what the lord needs us to hear. I will be watching it at the same times as you guys, but on our time here it is 12:00-2:00, 4:00-6:00, and priesthood session will be from 8:00-10:00. It will be great! Well I better get going, Thank you for all that you do for me. I can honestly say I would not be able to be out here if I did not have the support that I have from you guys. I love you tons, and I pray for you every night!

 

Love ya,

Elder Gines

Whats Up?

Hey Family,

How is everything going? This week was a pretty crazy one. I hesitate to tell you this, but here it goes. Last night, I was at a members house, and some kids wanted to drink some coconut water. I have cut coconuts before, but to be honest I am not very good at it. Well, I was cutting it and they were pretty old, and when coconuts get old, they get hard. I was having a hard time cutting it so I put it on the ground, I took a pretty big swing at it, and the machette bounced off the coconut and right on to my thumb. It started bleeding like crazy, but i knew I would be fine. We cleaned it up, and then went to the hospital to get it stitched up. Mom, DONT WORRY, I AM FINE! Haha it took 6 stitches or so, but I got really lucky that it didnt hit my bone or my tendon. Lets just say that my coconut cutting days are over until after my mission. But anyways, besides that we had a pretty good week here in Siparia. I am having alot of fun serving with elder Lagin, and we are getting along great. This week we have found a couple of people that are really cool. While we were doing some tracting last week, we came to a house that was pretty big, and as missionaries in the west indies, for some reason we fear rich people. We talked to a lady that was outside and she invited us in. We had a little lesson, and then set up a return appointment for tuesday. Missionaries had taught them before about 5 years ago, but when we went back on tuesday, her 2 daughters were there also. They had alot of questions about the church, but we were able to answer them all, and they even accepted baptism at the end of the lesson. They are really cool, and hopefully we will be able to help them progress even closer to baptism. Their names were Denise, Naomi, and Natanya. Well not to much other stuff really happened this week. It sounds like things are going great back at home, and I am so glad to hear that the utes were able to dominate BYU, hopefully they can have a good season. I cant believe that the basement flooded again! I thought we had that pretty much fixed. Hopefully everything will work out. I am sorry that this email is so short, but it us kind of hard to type, with my thumb all messed up. Thank you every one for the prayers and support that you give me, I really appreciate it. I love you all and keep the updates coming!

Love always,
Elder Gines

Whats Up??

Hey Family,

 

Whats up? How is everyone doing? Everything is going great here in Siparia and I am loving it! It is so much different than San Fernando, but it is different in a good way. I am still getting to know the area, but for the most part, I am catching on pretty quick. The church here is really small. On Sunday, we only had 23 people here, it was a little bit disappointing, because only one of our investigators came, but it was still good. On Sunday, I was supposed to give my first talk in sacrament meeting in the mission field, and my topic, was The importance of General Conference. When I got to church they asked me if I would be able to give it next week instead, so wish me luck. It is a pretty easy topic though. I haven't had the chance to take some pictures of siparia yet, but I will make sure to do it this week. It is nothing like San Fernando was. In fact, it is almost exactly what you would think a city in the middle of the island would look like. It feels like I am surrounded by rain forest all the time. Right now we are working with a lady named Eli, and she is our main investigator. She is an awesome lady, and she has a 6 year old daughter that has down syndrome. She is so dang cute. She wasn't able to come to church this Sunday, but on Sunday we were able to meet with her. She is still struggling with receiving her answer, but we were able to help her realize that she has not been putting forth the effort that she needs to in order to receive her answer. Hopefully this week she will be able to read every day, and gain a testimony. Sometimes I just wish I could give someone a testimony, it would make things so much easier! Well, Elder Lagin and I are getting along really well. He is really funny, and a really good missionary. I am learning alot from him, and for the most part things are going well. That is crazy that Kendall is already leaving! It seems like just the other day he was getting his call. I am glad to hear that he did such a good job, He will definitely be an awesome missionary, and I am so proud of him. And Angie and Scott, CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!! That is so awesome, and all I have to say is that I knew you were giving me a hint! I think it is going to be another boy! Well I am sorry this email is so short. I will write more next week, I am loving it out here, and thank you to everyone for the prayers and support that you are giving me. I really can feel it. 

 

I love you all, more than you know!

Love,

Elder Gines

Wellllll I got my transfer call....

Hey Family, 

How has your week been? The week here has been a little bit crazy, and I'm not going to lie, quite frustrating. But I did get my transfer call, and guess what?! I'm leaving San Fernando!!! I am staying in Trinidad though, and I will be serving in an area called Siparia. I am really excited. I will be serving with a 26 year old french elder, and to be honest I am a little bit scared about it. But just for your information, San Fernando is more of a city area, and I have been dying to go country side. Haha I guess I have always been more of a country boy. Well Siparia, is about as country side as you can get in Trinidad. My companions name is Elder Lagin, and he is from Martinique. He is a really good missionary, but at times he can be a little bit lazy. Oh and I forgot to mention, more than likely, I will be in a car. Hahah that means I am just going to get even FATTER! I am really excited though, I know that the lord has a plan for me in Siparia. It will be really weird for me to leave San Fernando, but at the same time, I am ready. I love the families here, and there are alot of really good people. Oh and about those phone calls, don't worry about it. It is a family that is in the ward. At times they can be a little bit weird, and they caught me off guard yesterday and asked me what my home phone number is. Has dad been getting calls from Trinidad on his cell phone too? I don't know who that would be. The only thing that I can think of would be the random vagrant who stole my back pack this week, because it had dads cell number written in it. I doubt that they would call you guys though. So are you ready for the story of how my backpack got stolen? So on Thursday, we had a meeting with the bishop in our ward. The meeting was at 4:00, and we got there about 3:45 just to be safe. The bishop wasn't there yet, so I set my backpack down in the hall way, and went and played some ping pong, for a little bit. While we were playing, we thought we heard some foot steps in the hall, but we just assumed it was bishop. We went out into the hall, and no one was there so we went back and played some more ping pong. Finally bishop got there so we went and had our meeting with him. Before we went in, I looked for my backpack but couldn't find it, but I didn't really think anything of it. When the meeting was over, I came out and started looking for it everywhere, but it just wasn't there! Luckily, the church has security cameras, and because I know how to work security camera systems I was able to look at it. It turns out that when we heard foot steps in the hall, It actually was someone, and I watched him walk into the church, and 1 minute later, walk right out with my back pack! I was so mad, but luckily there wasn't hardly anything in it! I usually carry my scriptures in it, but that morning I had a feeling that I should not bring them with me, instead I brought a old bible, a couple of book of Mormons that we give out, some restoration tracts, and my Mormon messages DVD's. Luckily some missionaries had copied my DVD's so I can get them back. Well that is my crazy story for the week. There is no need to worry, because it was only a back pack, and no one even got close to getting hurt. The rest of this week was pretty interesting. Elder Watchman has been really struggling and I have been trying to help him as much as I can. We were able to find a couple of people, but all of them turned out to be really difficult. One of the people we found name was Harry. He is Hindu, but really liked to talk about religion. The second lesson that we had with him, was probably the most frustrating lesson that I have ever had. He kept on telling us that because he was born into a Hindu house, that is what god wants him to be. It is so hard, when people just don't understand what you are telling them. Well it sounds like things are going pretty well there, Dad, It sounds like you had a good time up in Alaska. That is too bad that you didn't limit out on silvers, but halibut can be just as much fun to catch. I am glad to hear that you were able to bring a couple of decent sized ones in. Mom, That is so awesome that you are going to be finishing the book of Mormon. I love reading it, because it really was written just for us in the world we are living in right now. Mel and John. That is awesome that you got the house, I am really happy for you! The kids are growing up so fast I cannot even believe it! I cannot believe that taylee is already in pre school! Angie and Scott, I am glad to hear that everything is going good. Corbin is growing like a weed, it is so weird to think how big he will be when I get home. I keep on praying that you will be able to sell your house, and the only advice I have for you is don't lose your faith! That is exactly what Satan wants you to do, but the lord can make anything happen, as long as we are showing and constantly nourishing our faith. That has been a hard lesson for me to learn, but I really do have a testimony of it. Paige, It sounds like you are doing great. I am glad to hear that you are happy, just keep on doing what you know is right! And last but not least, Jason! How is school going? I cant believe you are turning 17 this month! That is crazy. When is homecoming? I am glad that you aren't following after my foot steps (even though I still don't regret it like mom said I would). Enjoy school while you can, and just remember, these are the best years of your life (besides the 2 years you spend on your mission). Well I love you all. Wish me luck this week! The church is true, and don't be afraid to tell people that. I love hearing from everyone, and keep the updates coming! I will send some pictures next week!

Love you tons!
Elder Gines

Another Transfer Down!!

Hey Family,

How are things going? Things are going pretty well here, so I cannot complain? How was your week? I cannot believe that it is already September! It is crazy how fast time flies. This week was quite interesting though.. I cant lie, it was a little bit frustrating too. We were able to find some really awesome people, but definitely not as many as we needed! So on Wednesday I went on trade offs with one of my Zone Leaders, Elder Carter. He is a really good missionary and we had a lot of fun! The best part is, the Zone leaders have a car, and because I got to leave San Fernando, I got to experience my first day of missionary work with a car, and it was pretty dang nice. We have been doing alot of finding, which is really hard at times, especially when we are not seeing the success that we would like to see. So while I was on trade offs, Elder Kaelin and Elder Watchman found a lady named Adonna. On Friday we went back to see her, and she wasn't home! We were a little bit disappointed because we had our ward mission leader with us, but right before we were about to walk away, her mom came out of the house next door to hers. She told us that Adonna had told her that we were coming, and that she needed to listen to us. We were able to sit down with her, and her daughter, and had a really good lesson. It was AMAZING! At the end of the lesson, both of them accepted baptism. Sometimes it amazes me, how after just 4 months in the mission field, I can sit down with someone that I do not know at all, and teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I don't think someone could have paid me enough money to do that back at home, but I love it. We are still working with Cherianne Lopez, but are mainly just waiting for her children's father (as she calls him), to move out of the house. It is a little bit frustrating, because he is the only thing that is holding her back, so we will just have to see what happens. We are also still working with Sherry, but her family has been in the country from the states so we were not able to meet with her all week! This week on Friday, we have Zone Conference, I am really excited for it, and for this one, our Area Seventy, will be here. This week there are also 2 holidays on Wednesday and Thursday, so it might be a little bit interesting because on holidays, this whole country shuts down! By the time you hear from me next week, I will have my transfer call. At this point, I am not quite sure what is going to happen. This transfer has gone by really fast I cannot believe it! They say that every transfer it just goes faster and faster. I can see myself staying here for maybe one or even two more transfers, but at the same time, I can see myself leaving. We will just have to see though. Mom, That is awesome that you are almost done with the book of Mormon, it is crazy to me how much it relates to our time, but hey, it was written for us so it only makes sense. Dad, I hope you had fun In Alaska! I thought about you alot this week, and I want to see some pictures! It sounds like the family is doing great, and I love hearing from you each week. Keep on spreading the gospel in every way that you can! I love you all, and thank you so much for all the support that you give me.
Love,
Elder Gines

Its HOT!!!

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going? This week here in Trinidad was quite interesting. Elder Watchman and I have been working really hard, but are not seeing the success that we would like to see. I am still loving it though. Right now, we do not have very many strong investigators, but the ones we do have are doing really well. I am not sure if I have told you about a lady named Cherianne Lopez. She is part of a part member family, and has a testimony that is stronger than most members here in San Fernando. Two of her daughters have been members for about a year, but she has one small problem... she isnt married to the man that she calls her husband (its a very common problem here, and I am starting to realize, everywhere but utah.) Well anyways, she has been meeting with missionaries for over a year, and guess what? Her husband should be out of the house this week! I am hoping and praying that everything goes as planned, because to be honest, she has put baptism off for way to long! They are an awesome family though, and she will be a really strong member here, which we need more than anything. We are hoping to get her baptized on the 4th of September, so cross your fingers and pray until you cant pray anymore!! We also have been working with a lady named Sherry. She is awesome, and has a really strong desire to find out the truth. The only problem with her is, she also is not married to the man that she lives with, but she is planning on moving out as well. She has been really accepting to everything that we have taught her, and I feel really good about her. This week her family is in town though so it will be very tough to meet with her. The bad news for the week is that we had to drop a couple of our investigators. On Saturday, we met with Lahkan, and told him that if he didnt come to church on sunday, we wouldnt be able to come over anymore. Wellllllll... He didnt come, and instead, gave his travel money to his kids to pay an offering to another (false) church. Hahah I was pretty disappointed, because I really wanted to see him come into the gospel, but hey, we never know what will happen in the future. We told him that if he started to show the desire, and truly seek after an answer, we would be back, but that would mean he would have to come to church, so we will have to see. It was one of the hardest lessons I have ever taught though, and honestly, when we were done, elder watchman and I both said, it feels like I just broke up with a girl. Hahahah. Well that is pretty much what happened this week. Oh wait, so on wednesday or so, we were travelling out to an area called oropouche to see some investigators, and we were in a maxi (a taxi that is a van), well while we were sitting there, I got a phone call so I got the phone out of my pocket, but I didnt answer it. I just set the phone on my lap and forgot about it. So when it came time to get out of the maxi, I got up. When the Maxi drove away, I felt for the phone... and it wasnt there. So yes, in case you were wondering, I have just as hard of a time with phones out here, as I did back home!! Well I hope everything is going good for you guys. Mom, I know this is one of your least favorite weeks of the year because dad is gone, but you will survive, and it will just give you more time to read the book of mormon! Dont worry though, it will go fast, and who knows, you could finish it by the end of this week. I cannot believe school is already started. I remember, and it seems like just yesterday that I was talking to elder kaelin and I said, holy cow, school ended today! Thank you everyone for the updates, and I am sorry that I dont have time to write you all back! Today has been hectic. Dad, Catch as many fish as you can, and when you catch that 200 pound halibut, name it after me! PLEASE?!!!! I love you all and I am so greatful for your examples to me. Keep the updates, and the pictures coming!

 

Love Always,

Elder Gines

4 Months!!!

Hey Family,

How is everything going back at home? Hopefully good. Everything is going great here in trinidad and I am loving it! I cannot believe how fast time is going, next transfer I will hit my 6 month mark, and I feel like I just got here, but anyways. We had a much better week this week and are starting to see alot of success. On tuesday, I was able to go on trade offs with my district leader Elder George. We had a really good day and it was alot of fun. The thing that I have been learning alot this week, is getting over the fear of talking to EVERYONE that is put in my path. For me, it is really hard to do, but as I was with Elder George, he showed me how it is done, and I must say, when you are talking to everyone, it makes missionary work so much easier. It is definitely something that I am going to be working on for the next little while. We have been working with Lahkan alot this week also, and he is slowly progressing. It is so frustrating because he knows that it is true, he is just wanting to be 100% sure before he does anything. I am not sure what will happen with him, but I know that everything is going to work out. On thursday, we did some finding, and found a lady named sherry. She is awesome, and has a really strong desire to find out the truth. When we shared the restoration with her, she was predicting everything that was going to happen next. I loved it! She accepted baptism, and on saturday we set a date for the 3rd of september with her. Can you believe that september is just around the corner? CRAZY!! Well, on saturday, we got to go on trade offs again with the assistants to the president. Haha I was nervous. Usually, when you go on trade offs with them, both of them come to your area so that is what I was expecting to happen. But on friday night, the decided to tell us that only one of them is coming here, and that elder watchman would be going up to there area. No need to worry though, we had an awesome day, and were able to teach almost all of our investigators. Yesterday was a little bit disappointing though because we didnt get any of them to come to church. It was definitely a bummer, but at the same time, now we know what we need to do this next week in order to get them to church. I am loving it here in san fernando, and something is telling me that I am going to be here for a while longer. Probably at least one transfer, maybe 2, but you never know! Time flies, and I cannot believe that this transfer is already 1/2 over. I haven't gotten your letter yet mom, but It is probably in the mission office right now. I should be getting it either tonight or tomorrow. Elder Watchman and I are doing great, and we are getting along most of the time. I love it out here and I wouldn't trade this experience for the world. Sometimes I cant even believe that I am actually in Trinidad, because sometimes it feels like I am still in the states, just in a really poor area. There are so many things that I am excited for you guys to try, but that will have to wait 20 more months. I love you all, and thank you for all the emails. It is so good to hear from you guys every week, and It sounds like the house is finally back to normal. Let me know if anything exciting happens, and constantly send pictures, both in the mail, and email. The church is true and I know it with all my heart!

Love,
Elder Gines

Crazy Week!

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going back at home? Things are going pretty well here in trinidad, and I cannot complain. This week was an interesting one, but we made it through it. So on Tuesday, our fridge in our apartment broke, so we had to go fridge shopping, so that took a couple of hours out of our day, then wednesday, the fridge had to get delivered and guess when they told us it would get there??? Well I guess they decided to leave no room for error, so they just told us anytime after lunch... so we pretty much just had to wait all day for it to get there, and it didnt get there until about 3:30 so we only had half a day to work also! Then to make matters even better, on Thursday we were told that we needed to go up to Valsayn and get physicals so that I could finally get my visa and be legally here. By the time friday came around, we thought we were going to have a full day to work, and we had alot of people to see. For lunch we decided to grab some chinese food, but it was from a place that I hadnt had before. Right after we ate, we didnt feel very good, but eventually it went away. We did a little bit of finding, but didnt have much success, and we had a dinner appointment at a members house for the evening. We caught a taxi to go out to there house, and in the taxi I started feeling really sick. When we got out of the taxi, Elder Watchman said that he felt like he was going to throw up too, so we decided to head back. When we got back to San Fernando, to make matters worse, it started pouring rain! We walked home, and I was starting to feel a little bit better, but elder watchman on the other hand, looked like he was about to die. When we got home, he started throwing up, so we couldnt work friday night either! By saturday morning he was feeling better and we FINALLY got a full day of missoinary work in! Haha it felt so good! So yeah, it was just a little bit of a crazy week. But at church yesterday, we had 4 Investigators there! We were able to find a ride for Lahkan, and then a part member family that we have been working with came also. We were able to meet with Lahkan a couple of times this week, and it has gone pretty well. He is a great guy, but in a very difficult situation. I have been praying for him constantly, so hopefully everything works out. I am finally getting the hang of being the senior companion, and I am not going to lie, at first it was a little bit rough. Elder Watchman and I have been getting along much better though, and things are going great! I love it out here, and I am so greatful for the opportunity I have to devote 2 years to serving the lord. It truely is a huge blessing! Thank you for the pictures! This week I sent home a SD card, so look for it in the mail! It has alot of videos on it. Well I better get going, I love you all and I hope that you all have a great week!

 

Love,

Elder Gines

W.I.

Hey Family,
Well this week was quite interesting, but really good at the same time! Elder Watchman and I are getting along pretty well, and we are going to see a lot of success this transfer! I am really excited. We have a really cool investigator right now named Lahkan. He is incredible! He is probably in his mid 40's, and is the most humble man I have ever met. He is so ready to hear the gospel, and things are going great with him. Elder Kaelin and I found him last week or so, and taught him a couple of times then on Thursday, Elder Watchman and I went over to his house and had an amazing lesson! He is married, and has 5 kids, and we were teaching him about the plan of salvation. He remembers everything that we have taught him, and is always feeling the spirit very strong. The only problem is, right now he doesn't really have a job. He is doing everything he can to make ends meet, and is just making enough money to put some food on the table for his kids. For the last 2 weeks he hasn't been able to come to church, and whenever we go over to his house to see why, he tells us that he literally didn't have a dollar in his pocket to travel. It is so sad, yet so humbling at the same time. I have truly grown to love him and his family and my only hope is that he will be able to find the money to get himself and his family to church. Right now, he is our main investigator, and our teaching pool is pretty low, so we are going to have to do alot of tracting this week. Everything is going great, and I love this work that I am doing! There are times when I just start thinking and then realize that I am actually out here on my mission right now! It is crazy! It sounds like everything is going great at home! Everyone seems so happy. I really wish that I could be there to meet Marcela and Kei, because it sounds like they are amazing people. Well wish me luck this week because I am going to need it. The church is true, and I know that for a fact. It has been amazing to see my testimony grow in just these short 3 months. I love you all and thank you for all the support that you show towards me. Keep me updated!
Love,
Elder Gines

Transfer #3!!!!

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going? It sounds like you are doing great! Well we got out transfer calls last on Saturday... and I am staying in Sando... My companion is Elder Watchman... and I am the senior companion. It was a little bit of a shock, and I am not going to lie, I am really nervous. In the MTC we didnt get along all that well, but I feel like out here it is going to be alot better! I am really excited though and extremely greatful for the opportunity. Well, we had a really good week this week. It has rained alot like always, but I am surviving. Early on in the week, we found some really cool investigators that I am really excited about. Elder Watchman hasn't been able to baptize yet so I want more than anything to baptize this transfer. On tuesday, we found a man with a family named brother Griffith. He is really cool, and has ALOT of questions. He has a really strong desire to find out if what we shared is true, and we are going to meet with him some more this week. Then on thursday, we decided to do some finding in an area that we had never really been. Before we started we said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to guide us to a family that has been prepared to hear the gospel. Well we went down a road and for the first time in my mission, I was actually knocking on doors instead of calling in. Haha I didnt like it at all! Anyways in the 5th house we knocked on we found a lady named Sheri. She was really interested, and loved the restoration. We kept on going door to door down the street, until we came to a house where the family was sitting outside. We started talking to them and they told us to sit down. His name is Lakhan, and the lesson went great. We invited him to pray about it, and when we came back the next day, it was obvious that he had felt the spirit very strong. It was really cool, and I am praying that we will be able to help him progress in this gospel. I really dont feel like I am ready to be a senior companion, because I have so much to learn, but if there is one thing that I do know, is that the lord doesnt give us any task that we cannot fulfill. It is going to be weird to serve with someone other than Elder Kaelin, but it will be good at the same time. Him and I have gotten along really well, and in the past couple of weeks we have been teaching really well together. Well, besides all of that, it was a pretty boring week in Sando. It sounds like you guys are extremely busy and having alot of fun. Sorry this email is so short, but I am sure I will have more to write about next week. I love you all and remember that the church is true. Keep me updated on everything that is going on. 

 

Love you tons!

Elder Gines

Great Week!

Hey Family,

How is everything going? It sounds like things are pretty crazy in the Gines house! I would have never guessed anything like this would have been happening, it is definitely good though and I admire all of your desire to serve others. Well this week was pretty good, and to make things even better, we baptized yesterday! So to start off, on Tuesday after our district meeting, we had a little surprise. President Gamiette decided to come to our district meeting, and do some interviews because we we rent able to do them when we had zone conference. Well he interviewed everyone else, and then when it came time to interview us, he said well, lets go to work. I was so scared! We went to a couple of appointments that we had, but they fell through so we just kept on trying. Eventually we ended up doing some finding and it was amazing. The first house we called in we found 6 boys to teach. It was amazing to see how good of a teacher he was. I learned so much. After that lesson he had to go, which was kinda a relief. It was truly amazing though to be able to see how missionary work is really supposed to be done, and for the rest of this week elder Kaelin and I taught so much better together. Now for the baptism. For the past couple of weeks, we have been working with a girl named Niesha. Well to tell you a little bit about her, she is 26 years old, she has a 6 month old baby, her boyfriend recently kicked her out, she has no money, she has no education, and last but not least, she likes to breast feed her baby in front of people. Niesha, is good friends with the Moorali's, a family in our ward, and when her boyfriend kicked her out she asked them if she could move in with them. We were working with her a little bit right at the beginning of my first transfer, but then we didn't hear anything from her. Well 3 weeks ago, she moved in with the Moorali's and told them that she wanted to get baptized. We were excited, but at the same time, we wanted to make sure that she knew what she was doing. Wellllll she slowly began learning and remembering what we had been teaching her. Each time we met with her, she was getting smarter and smarter and there is no doubt in my mind, that the lord was helping her gain this knowledge. Eventually, she was even able to learn and memorize the 10 commandments! (in her own little way of course...) Well, we met with her a lot, and on the nights that we couldn't teach her, the Moorali's were able to step in and teach her. It was amazing to see her develop a testimony of the gospel and see her desire to become a member of the church. The very best part about Niesha, is her prayers. They are the most sincere, yet simple prayers I have ever heard. She truly had a desire to be baptized and we were able to baptize her yesterday after church. She was extremely excited about it, but at the same time she was a little bit nervous. When it came time to dunk her, it was quite the experience. Although we had showed her what she would have to do, when it came time to do it, she wasn't sure what to do. Eventually we got her submerged, and it was successful. We had a really good week and Elder Kaelin and I are getting along really well. This transfer has gone so fast, and when you hear from me next week, I will have my transfer call. I cannot believe it! Well thats enough about me. I am glad to hear that you guys are enjoying having Kei and Marcella around. It really is such a blessing that we have to be so close to so many church sites. I wish I would have taken advantage more! Dad, Happy Birthday! The big 51. I wasn't able to make it to hallmark, but I got a letter in the mail. Mom, That is so awesome that you have done so well with the Book of Mormon. I really love that book. It is amazing! Mel and John, I am glad everything is going good, I love hearing from you every week and I'm sorry I don't have time to write you all the time. Angie and Scott, I'm glad everything is going good! Corbin is growing so much, and thanks for the pictures! Paige, it sounds like you are doing great! I am so glad to hear that you are so happy and it sounds like Steve is a great guy. Jason, keep on working hard, it'll only make you tougher. Enjoy life while you can, but make sure you take advantage of everything that you have. Well tell everyone else that I love them, I'm doing great out here and I love my mission. Wish me luck on my transfer call, I am pretty sure that I will be staying in San Fernando, but you never know! I love this gospel and I am so grateful to be where I am today. 

I love you all,

Elder Gines

P.S. I'll send more pictures next week.

Its Finally Happening!

Hey Family,

Whats up? It sounds like everyone is doing really well back at home. I am glad to hear that you had a good time up at henries, and that the rest of your 4th of July was great! Well this week was really good. With Elder Kaelin being the district leader, he has to go on trade offs to see how the other missionaries are doing, and this week we went on 2 of them. On tuesday, I served with Elder Bybee. He is from Idaho, in a small town by rexburg. He is a really funny kid and a good missionary, so we get along pretty well. We had a really good day, and we taught alot of our investigators. There is good news and there is bad news though. I will give you the bad news first. So we were hoping to baptize Brother Degannes on saturday, but he was out of town and kind of just left us in the dark. He is moving to england this week, so we have given him the address to the church in England so hopefully he will find the missionaries there and get baptized. It was really frustrating because we know that he is ready, he just hasnt had time. Well, the good news is... we are baptizing this week!!! So do you remember when I talked to you on mothers day, the story about the lady who breast fed her baby during the lesson on my first day in trinidad? Well her name is niesha, and recently she moved in with some members named the Moorali's. We started teaching her again, and she wants to be baptized. The only problem is she is not very smart and she cant read. It has been amazing to see the growth in her though. As we have been teaching her, she has been able to understand (for the most part) what we teach her. There is no doubt in my mind, that the lord has blessed her to be able to do this. This week we were able to find some other investigators that have alot of potential also. The Moorali's have been really good about doing their member missionary work and that is where success comes from. They referred us to a girl named Nefisa. She is really cool and we also taught her sisters Zelina and Semira. We are going to try to work with them alot this week also! One of the really cool things that happened this week was we were way behind on our goals. We had set our goals really high this week to try and push ourselves. In this mission, one of our Key Indicators is street contacting 10 people every day. Well this week we missed a couple of days so we were way behind. We also had a goal to recieve and contact 20 referrals. Well when saturday rolled around, we decided that we were going to do everything we could to meet our goals. This meant that we needed to get 30 contacts, and recieve 15 referalls, and contact 18. It seriously seemed like it would be impossible to do. Well we decided to go do some finding in an area named La Romaine, right of the bat, we found a new investigator, and we were talking to anyone that we could. We were slowely getting our contacts, but before we knew it, we had all 30 of them, and to make things even better, we  had recieved all of our referrals also, all before 3:00! It just goes to show that the lord can make anything possible, even when it may seem impossible!

Well you may be wondering what "its finally happening..." means right? Well, Im getting fat! I have been eating so horrible lately and it is starting to show. I hate it! I keep on saying to myself that I am not going to let it happen, but then I start eating crappy food all over again! But anyways.. This morning we woke up at 3:45 because we had a zone activity. We were going to a beach! But this time, it was one of the nicer beaches in trinidad. Mom, do you remember how I brought my swimming suit? Well I wore it today, but dont worry, I didnt go swimming! We got to the beach around 6:00am and had a little devotional. After that we played american football on the beach. It was awesome, but I must admit, that I have never wanted to go swimming so bad in my life! It was so much fun though, and I did get to sit in the water. I am really loving trinidad, and I cannot believe that my second transfer is almost over! Time goes by so fast! It was really cool to hear about that cancer walk, and I cant believe how much money mel and john were able to raise! It was great to hear from everybody, and thankyou for all of the emails! I loved it! Dad, dont give in to jason on the motorcycle, remember what he did with the scooter? Hahahah! jk, Well I love you all and keep on keeping my updated. The Church is true and I am so greatful for the opportunity that I have to be serving the lord.

Much Love,

Elder Gines

Crazy Week!

Well Family,
How is everything going? It sounds like you guys had a good weekend up in Idaho. I really miss going up there. Well HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!! It is pretty awesome that we get to have p-day today, but we really aren't doing anything too special. This morning, we woke up, and some of the other elders came and we played a game of basketball at the church. It was alot of fun, but really hot! So in Trinidad, there are only 2 seasons. The rainy season, and the dry season. As of June 1 it has been the rainy season, and this week was the first week that was really wet. And when it rains here, it pours. Every single day this week, we have gotten completely soaked from head to toe, but you learn to just ignore it. The best part about it is, all Trini's think that if there head gets wet from the rain, they are going to get sick, so as soon as it rains, they run for cover. Then there are just 2 white boys walking down the street, getting drenched. They all look at us so weird, but we just tell them that the lords work just go on, rain or shine. This week, we saw alot of success. In zone conference, we really talked about being 100% diligent, and so we focused on that really hard. The thing is, when we are doing everything we can do, satan starts working even harder. This week we have been cussed at, and made fun of, more than I have in my whole mission, but the lord definitely blesses us and allows us to not let it bother us. That is one of the biggest blessings I have seen since I have been out here. There have been alot of people that I have run into, that back at home, I would have just wanted to hit, but here, I have so much more patience with them. It truely is amazing. We did alot of finding this week and we had alot better success than we have been having. We found a couple of investigators that really do have alot of potential. One of them is named Sister Rampousad. She is a 67 year old woman, that knows the bible really well. We taught her the restoration the other day, and it went amazing. She has alot of stuggles in her life and the biggest one is taking care of her husband. He has lou gehrigs disease, and can no longer walk. The only thing that is even functioning is his brain and he cant even talk. It is so sad. We are going by her house tonight and we are going to give him a blessing. I am praying for a miracle to happen but one thing I have come to realize is that through faith, anything can happen. The bad news for the week is that we are going to have to drop Nikita. She is really moody and we haven't been able to meet with her very often. Whenever we do, she says she wants to be baptized but she doesn't keep any of her commitments and she hasn't come to church for a couple of weeks. Its hard to drop people sometimes but there just comes a point when our time would be spent somewhere else. The good news is that we set a date with brother Degannes for this saturday. He is still searching for an answer but I really feel like he is going to get it. The bad thing about him is he is going to live in england the week after he is to be baptized. We really don't want him to fall through the cracks over in england, so we are going to do everything that we can to get him baptized this week. He is really awesome though. Some of our other main investigators we are working with are Sandra, Rudolph, Sharlene, and Shem. They all have a sincere desire to find out if it is true and hopefully as we continue to pray for them, they will come to this knowledge. It sounds like you guys are all doing really well, and it will be such a great experience for you guys to house Marcella and the Japanese english student. One of my favorite examples of missionary work is in alma 62 verses 17, and 27-29. The people of ammon were able to convert all 4000 lamanites just because of their example. I know that it is the same today and right now we are trying to make this work here in San Fernando. We are trying  to start having people in the ward have house meetings, where they invite friends, Recent converts, and less actives, over and we would have a lesson. The only hard part, is this ward does not like being involved. It is really frustrating but we are trying our best to make it happen. Well I hope everything is going well, I will let you know when I get the package, but my guess is it wont be for a couple of weeks because it seems to move really slow down here. I love you all and keep on keeping my updated. I was a little bit disappointed when I got on this morning and I only had a email from mom. Just kidding, I know you guys are all busy. Sorry I dont have pictures, I forgot to grab my camera this morning. This week I will send home an SD card because I made a little documentary for you guys. It is called, A Day in the Life of Elder Gines and Elder Kaelin. Haha well I gotta get going. I love and rely on you guys more than you know.
Love,
Elder Gines

Another great week in Trinidad

Hey Family,

 

How is everything going?! Everything is going great here in trinidad! I am really starting to love everything that I am doing and I am having an awesome time. This week was pretty interesting and it definitely had its ups and downs. Right now, Elder Kaelin is the district leader, so he has to go on trade offs quite often and also has to do baptismal Interviews whenever one is needed in our zone. So that means that I have to step up whenever he goes on trade offs and lead here in sando.. It is a really good experience though. I can already tell that it is helping me so much. So on tuesday, we went on trade offs with the zone leaders because they needed a baptismal interview for one of there investigators. I was here in Sando with Elder Carter and it was a rough day. I had a pretty decent day planned out for us and we were supposed to see most of our main investigators. Well they key work in that sentance is that we were supposed to.. sometimes things just dont go as they are planned. It turned out, that every single appointment that I had made fell through, and so did the back ups. By the end of the day, we had stopped by, or called every house that I could think of, and noone would meet with us. It was horrible, but to make things easier, we treated ourselves to ice cream right before we went in for the night. On wednesday, after Elder Kaelin came back, we went out to a city named Orapouche. We have been really focused on finding this week because our teaching pool is not where it needs to be. We called in to a couple of houses and just like that, we had 4 new investigators. It was pretty awesome, but frustrating at the same time because the day before, I called in every house I could and noone would let us in. Thursday, I went on trade offs again. This time it was with the elders in Point Fortin. So on thursday morning we woke up and travelled down there. It was about an hour ride there and when we got there they werent ready. It took them a little while but eventually, me and elder George got back in a taxi and travelled back to sando. Elder George and I had a really good day, even though alot of our appointments fell through. On friday morning, I had to travel back to point fortin to pick up elder Kaelin. Eventually we made it back to San Fernando and we taught Mark. He is doing really well. Last week, he recieved the aaronic priesthood, and this week he was able to pass the sacrament. I am really proud of him because it has been a pretty hard road for him to get to where he is. On Friday night, we went out to the Moorali's. They are a family of recent converts that are really strong. We watched the Emma Smith movie with them. That movie was so good! She was an amazing woman and I just cant believe how strong her and Joseph had to be. I love learning as much as I can about them. Then on saturday, we got a call from the zone leaders saying that Elder Kaelin had to sing at Zone Conference, which was yesterday. He had to sing with Elder Watchman, who is in an area right next to ours called Couva. We asked them if we could go over to couvas appartment sunday night and sleep over so they could practice and they said we would. After church on sunday, we taught a couple of the members that didnt come to church and then we caught travel to go sleep over. It was so fun, and elder watchmans companion is Elder Vi, and he is one of the funniest kids I have ever met. We stayed up pretty late and for dinner I made 5 boxes of Mac n Cheese for 3 of us... I will send a picture. On monday we had zone conference at President Gamiettes house. It was amazing! I learned so much and right now as a mission, we are working on baptizing weekly in every area. It is a huge goal, but we all know it is possible. Right now I am so excited to go out and teach anyone that I can. I love this work so much and it is such a privelage to be able to do this for 2 years. Right now I am really beginning to love my mission, and as bad as it may sound, I am beginning to forget about home. It feels like I have been a missionary for my whole life! Well I hope everything is going good at home, and what is this I hear about a swimming pool? It sounds like everyone is doing really well and I am sorry I cant write you all back this week. I pray for all of you every night. The church is true and I think alot of times we take advantage of it. It is such a blessing in our lives and it is our job to share it with whoever we can. Keep on keeping me updated because I love hearing from all of you!

 

Love,

Elder Gines

 

 

I watched a puppy die this week.

Hey family,
How is everything going? Well everything is going well here in Trinidad. This week was pretty uneventful again, except for one thing, but we will get to that later. Over the past couple of weeks, we have had a really hard time with finding new investigators. We have been spending a minimum of an hour a day doing finding. One of the things that make it really tough, is that almost everybody here will let you in and listen to you, but not all of them will accept the message, so sometimes we end up wasting time with someone that is going nowhere. It is a little bit frustrating. On tuesday, we went to a town in our area called oropouche. It is where Shakilla lives, along with a couple of other members. We were doing some finding, and we went and called into a little house. An old lady came out and told us that we could come in. We went and taught her, but I am pretty sure that she is crazy. Whenever we would mention the name Jesus, or even anything about him, she would start crying. She has a son that lives with her and he has 2 kids. The kids are really cool, and they go to catholic school, so they know quite a bit about the gospel, the only problem is, they have been brainwashed. The old ladies name is sister mahaise and she cooks us food whenever we go over there. They are really nice, but to be honest, they aren't going anywhere. We are going to see them tonight, but that will probably be the last time we go over there. We also met a guy named richard that lives right behind her. We went and we taught him the restoration and it went really well. We stopped by the next day and started to teach him about the book of mormon. It was really frustrating, but really funny at the same time because he just kept on cutting us off and asking random questions. The best question he asked though was definitely this. Do you think that Americans are brainwashing the rest of the world? Hahaha then he went off on how evil america is and he kept on asking us why we dont do anything about it. It was quite interesting.

Now for the good news for the week. We are still working with Nikita. She was supposed to be baptized a couple of weeks ago, but she didn't feel like she had a strong enough testimony. We have been asking her to continue in prayer and asking if this church was true and if she needed to be baptized. We stopped by her house on Wednesday to check up on her and asked her if she had recieved an answer. She said yes. Then we asked her when she would be ready to be baptized, and she said soon. We are really trying to get her to commit to being baptized on this sunday, but if it is not this sunday, it will be on June 3 for sure. I am really excited because she will be a really strong member of the church. Remember to keep her in your prayers. We are also working with Lenroy, he is a 40 year old guy with a family. Our goal as a mission is to find families to teach and to baptize so hopefully things will work out with him.

Now for the saddest story of my life. So in San Fernando, there is a hill, called San Fernando Hill ( I know, they were very creative right??), but on this hill there are some houses, and we have always wanted to go tracting to them. We decided to on thursday and when we got up there, we discovered this little area, with some of the most run down houses I have ever seen. If we end up going back up there I will take a picture because it was really cool. But there were a couple of puppies up there and when we walked in there, they started following us around everywhere we went. We decided that we wanted to go look off the edge of the cliff so we could get a really awesome view of San Fernando. We walked to the edge and it was such a pretty view. I looked over to my right and I saw a puppy, trying to reach for some garbage that was stuck in the trees, on the side of the cliff. I really didn't think anything of it so I went on with my life. The next thing I knew, I heard a rustle of tree branches, and a dog yelping. I looked over, and I could see the dog, about 5 feet down the cliff, stuck in some trees. Now this isn't just a little cliff, its probably a 200-300 foot drop off, straight down. Then the dog stopped yelping, and I could no longer see it. It must have fallen to its death... I felt so bad because the dog pretty much followed us out to the cliff! It was horrible, and the puppy was so dang cute! I cant lie, I was depressed for the rest of the day, and I keep on seeing the picture of a puppy falling in my head. Well not really but that adds some effect to the story.

Well that was pretty much all that happened this week. I am loving it here, and Elder Kaelin and I get along pretty well most of the time. I cannot believe that you guys already ran Ragnar and that is awesome how well you all did. I am proud of all of you. Well sorry this letter is so jumpy and random.

I know that this church is true and that I am in the right place. If it weren't, I know I could not be doing this. I love you all and keep on doing what we know is right.

Much love,
Elder Gines