The Pink Palace Resor
t is the name we have given our apartment in Trinidad because the walls are painted bright Caribbean pink and we have hot showers, air conditioning, washer and dryer and a swimming pool. It feels like we are on vacation (because we don’t have these luxuries in Guyana) – even though we are very busy there. We also enjoy being with other senior couples. We go to nice restaurants together, have FHE, explore the Island and work together at the mission office. We have the opportunity to stay in this luxury about every two months for three weeks at a time. We had some great experiences this trip.
t is the name we have given our apartment in Trinidad because the walls are painted bright Caribbean pink and we have hot showers, air conditioning, washer and dryer and a swimming pool. It feels like we are on vacation (because we don’t have these luxuries in Guyana) – even though we are very busy there. We also enjoy being with other senior couples. We go to nice restaurants together, have FHE, explore the Island and work together at the mission office. We have the opportunity to stay in this luxury about every two months for three weeks at a time. We had some great experiences this trip. We arrived on Friday
, Jan. 28th. We were glad we could be there that week because our special friends the Wheelers were being released from their mission. The senior couples went to dinner that night at the Mongolian Grill – the Wheeler’s, Angus’s, Child’s, Sappington’s and Luster’s and Sister Ellison. It was sad to see the Wheelers go. They have been such a great influence here. They have been the office couple for about nine months. Before that they had been assigned to St. Vincent. They loved their experience there. They are going home to Idaho. We will be able to see them again.
, Jan. 28th. We were glad we could be there that week because our special friends the Wheelers were being released from their mission. The senior couples went to dinner that night at the Mongolian Grill – the Wheeler’s, Angus’s, Child’s, Sappington’s and Luster’s and Sister Ellison. It was sad to see the Wheelers go. They have been such a great influence here. They have been the office couple for about nine months. Before that they had been assigned to St. Vincent. They loved their experience there. They are going home to Idaho. We will be able to see them again. Saturday 29th we attended Port of Spain Stake in-service meeting. The spouses of the S & I teachers were invited because we showed the video of the ‘Evening with a 
General Authority’. This is an annual event that the CES puts on every year. In Utah we go to the tabernacle on Temple Square. It was very nice to have it with the teachers here in Trinidad. President Ucktdorf was the speaker. Late that night we went to the airport to pick up our dear friends, Bob and Raylene Bush. They have a mission call to our West Indies Mission. Yes, we recruited them. They are serving on the Island of Grenada. They stayed two nights with us. We had a great time. It was so nice to be with friends again. They are very excited to be on a mission. Bob and Larry served together as missionaries in Uruguay, South America in 1962.
General Authority’. This is an annual event that the CES puts on every year. In Utah we go to the tabernacle on Temple Square. It was very nice to have it with the teachers here in Trinidad. President Ucktdorf was the speaker. Late that night we went to the airport to pick up our dear friends, Bob and Raylene Bush. They have a mission call to our West Indies Mission. Yes, we recruited them. They are serving on the Island of Grenada. They stayed two nights with us. We had a great time. It was so nice to be with friends again. They are very excited to be on a mission. Bob and Larry served together as missionaries in Uruguay, South America in 1962. Sunday 30th attended San Fernando Ward. It was a sweet experience. We love each
ward/branch we go to. We are always welcomed warmly and invited back. We were able to meet with the bishop and stake president to talk about seminary and institute teachers. They have been without any this year. On our way home we stopped at President Gamiette’s home to get our key from the Bushes who were having dinner there. Much to our surprise and delight they invited us to stay and have dinner. We had such a nice visit. We love our mission president and his wife and children. She is from France and he is from Guadalupe. They are both converts and are an incredible couple. They have five children from 5 – 16 years old.
ward/branch we go to. We are always welcomed warmly and invited back. We were able to meet with the bishop and stake president to talk about seminary and institute teachers. They have been without any this year. On our way home we stopped at President Gamiette’s home to get our key from the Bushes who were having dinner there. Much to our surprise and delight they invited us to stay and have dinner. We had such a nice visit. We love our mission president and his wife and children. She is from France and he is from Guadalupe. They are both converts and are an incredible couple. They have five children from 5 – 16 years old. During the three weeks we were in Trinidad we visited three seminary classes and two institute classes. That is always one of the high
lights of our trip. We are amazed at the teachers and students and the spirit that attends.
lights of our trip. We are amazed at the teachers and students and the spirit that attends. Arima Branch Seminary with Sister Garcia and students.
Brother Blackburn’s class starts at 5:00 am and he has four young men attend every morning. It is an 
hour drive so we had to get up at 3:30 am. We took Sister Kotiah, our supervisor, with us. We come away from these classes inspired to be a better person. One of these classes was the institute class in Chaguanas. Sister Chan Qui is the teacher. She had two students that evening. They are both recent converts. They have such strong testimonies. They shared their conversion stories. Anderson Bridgelal told how he became acquainted with the church when he was 17 years old. He loved it and attended for a while. But he got into some bad friends and fell away. For ten years he made some very bad choices and was miserable. One day he realized he did not want to live like this any more. He hoped he could find the church again but by this time he had moved and didn’t know where to find it. One day he was walking down town. He saw two missionaries. He was so excited that he literally ran to meet them. He about knocked them over in his enthusiasm to talk to them. Of course the missionaries were shocked to see someone that was so excited to see them. It had never happened in that way before. He joined the church and is so much happier and so anxious to learn more about the truths of the gospel.
hour drive so we had to get up at 3:30 am. We took Sister Kotiah, our supervisor, with us. We come away from these classes inspired to be a better person. One of these classes was the institute class in Chaguanas. Sister Chan Qui is the teacher. She had two students that evening. They are both recent converts. They have such strong testimonies. They shared their conversion stories. Anderson Bridgelal told how he became acquainted with the church when he was 17 years old. He loved it and attended for a while. But he got into some bad friends and fell away. For ten years he made some very bad choices and was miserable. One day he realized he did not want to live like this any more. He hoped he could find the church again but by this time he had moved and didn’t know where to find it. One day he was walking down town. He saw two missionaries. He was so excited that he literally ran to meet them. He about knocked them over in his enthusiasm to talk to them. Of course the missionaries were shocked to see someone that was so excited to see them. It had never happened in that way before. He joined the church and is so much happier and so anxious to learn more about the truths of the gospel. Siparia Branch
On Sunday the 6th we attended church in the Siparia Branch which is about two hours away. We love going to this branch. There is such a special feeling there. There were only ab
out 20 people in attendance. It was fast and testimony meeting. Even though there weren’t many people there was not a lapse in testimony bearing. We both stood together and bore our testimonies. We bare our testimonies or give talks in every branch we attend. Sometimes we get asked a head of time but many times the branch president comes up to us before the opening prayer and asks if one or both of us would speak in the Sacrament Meeting. We have learned to pull our thoughts together quickly and rely on the Spirit to guide us. It has always been a very spiritual experience. We love sharing our testimonies with the saints here. We are very impressed with the branch president in Siparia, President Nandlal. This is a picture of President Nandlal with his wife and little girl. He was Blake Buswell’s mission companion for 8 months in New Amsterdam, Guyana. Blake also served in the Siparia area and got acquainted with his family
. President Nandlal told us how much he loved Blake as a companion and what a good missionary Blake was. Since Blake is my nephew, President Nandlad says he considers us family.
out 20 people in attendance. It was fast and testimony meeting. Even though there weren’t many people there was not a lapse in testimony bearing. We both stood together and bore our testimonies. We bare our testimonies or give talks in every branch we attend. Sometimes we get asked a head of time but many times the branch president comes up to us before the opening prayer and asks if one or both of us would speak in the Sacrament Meeting. We have learned to pull our thoughts together quickly and rely on the Spirit to guide us. It has always been a very spiritual experience. We love sharing our testimonies with the saints here. We are very impressed with the branch president in Siparia, President Nandlal. This is a picture of President Nandlal with his wife and little girl. He was Blake Buswell’s mission companion for 8 months in New Amsterdam, Guyana. Blake also served in the Siparia area and got acquainted with his family
. President Nandlal told us how much he loved Blake as a companion and what a good missionary Blake was. Since Blake is my nephew, President Nandlad says he considers us family.One of the first times we attended this branch we met Rick. He was sitting on the back row with his family. We could tell he was there not of his choice. We introduced ourselves and could feel of his negative spirit; but as the meetings unfolded he began to lighten up a little. We joked about his attitude and he was a good sport about it. Today (about two months later) when we walked into the chapel, low and behold there was Rick and his family again. But this time he had a smile on his face. His countenance had changed. He was no longer antagonistic; but a happy man enveloped in the spirit. It was a testimony to us how the spirit can change a person. It was like night and day; from darkness to light or from a m
an of the world to a man of God. We had a good laugh with him again about our first meeting. That experience will always be indelibly stamped in our minds.
an of the world to a man of God. We had a good laugh with him again about our first meeting. That experience will always be indelibly stamped in our minds.After the meetings the Saints of Siparia asked the two Elders to come into the chapel. They were both being transferred. They love their missionaries. They had them sit in front of them and they sang “God be With You Till We Meet Again”. It was very sweet and caused a few tears.
The Warner Family
On our way home we stopped in Princess Town to train Sister Warner who is one of our supervisors. She and her sister are the only members in their large family. Once a month they have a big dinner together at the home of her parents.
They are a close family. We were privileged to have the wonderful meal. There were so many dishes we had never heard of. We had to try everything. It was so good. It was sweet to meet her wonderful parents, grandparents and siblings etc. They were a typical fun loving noisy family.Pt. Fortin Branch
The following Sunday we had another wonderful experience. We visited the Pt.
Fortin Branch. It is also two hours away. There is such a sweet spirit there. Again there were only about 15 – 20 in attendance. They meet upstairs in a small rented house. They have it fixed up very nice for their chapel. They always start late at about 10:20. They have a two hour block. When the branch president, President Mohammed saw we were there, ( picture of he and his family is below) he came over immediately and asked Elder Harris if he would be the speaker in Sacrament Meeting. Larry did a great job with no prior preparation. He is a gifted speaker. He is so relaxed as he speaks. His down to earth and sincere and always adds humor and warmth. 
I love when he bears his testimony at the end. He says it with such power and conviction as if he is on the Lord’s errand to testify and bring his brothers and sisters to Christ. It is a blessing to bear our testimonies often. It is definitely strengthening to us! One of our favorite things about this small branch is their singing. Such a small congregation belts out the hymns with so much enthusiasm like we have never heard before – a little flat (no piano) but that is OK. The Spirit of the music and message came out loud and clear. We loved their Sunday school class. It was taught by Sister Beverly Mathews. She is the happiest woman I have ever seen. She says it is because she loves the gospel and is so grateful for it. She said, “Why not be happy here on earth? When we get to heaven we will rejoice and greet everyone with enthusiasm and a hug and shake hands and high-fives. Let’s practice it here!”
Fortin Branch. It is also two hours away. There is such a sweet spirit there. Again there were only about 15 – 20 in attendance. They meet upstairs in a small rented house. They have it fixed up very nice for their chapel. They always start late at about 10:20. They have a two hour block. When the branch president, President Mohammed saw we were there, ( picture of he and his family is below) he came over immediately and asked Elder Harris if he would be the speaker in Sacrament Meeting. Larry did a great job with no prior preparation. He is a gifted speaker. He is so relaxed as he speaks. His down to earth and sincere and always adds humor and warmth. 
I love when he bears his testimony at the end. He says it with such power and conviction as if he is on the Lord’s errand to testify and bring his brothers and sisters to Christ. It is a blessing to bear our testimonies often. It is definitely strengthening to us! One of our favorite things about this small branch is their singing. Such a small congregation belts out the hymns with so much enthusiasm like we have never heard before – a little flat (no piano) but that is OK. The Spirit of the music and message came out loud and clear. We loved their Sunday school class. It was taught by Sister Beverly Mathews. She is the happiest woman I have ever seen. She says it is because she loves the gospel and is so grateful for it. She said, “Why not be happy here on earth? When we get to heaven we will rejoice and greet everyone with enthusiasm and a hug and shake hands and high-fives. Let’s practice it here!” 
Wow, no wonder this post took you a month! Good work and a lot of happy memories.
ReplyDeleteFantastic post. Love all the spirituality that you put into it. The people here really are amazing and we totally love them like you do. Keep smiling like Sister Mathews!
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