Be a good fixer!

We have been travelling for three weeks and forgot that we needed an adapter for our American electrical items when we went to French Guadeloupe.  I solved the problem by just not washing my hair so I didn't need the blow dryer or the curling iron.  (And it looked like I didn't use them, too!)

Grandpa had to shave, tho, so he was more creative.  He figured out how to take a lamp cord apart and "plug" his razor in to it!  He has always been a good fixer.  He fixes electrical things, and computer things, and car things, and anything that is broken things!  I am so grateful for him!

I hope we can all be fixers, too.  Let's fix anything that needs repenting of or forgiveness for.  We are so blessed to have this gospel and we are so grateful that we can serve a mission!

Remember that we love YOU!

We saw monkey's! (And we weren't looking in a mirror.)

We saw monkeys!  Three of them!  They were walking around the yard where we were staying.  They were eating the fruit of a mango tree.  It was so cool!

Ever since we got to Barbados, we have been looking for them.

When we saw the three monkeys, it reminded me of a popular saying that I was taught as a child.  It was always depicted with a picture of monkeys, like this:

The saying is:  See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

That is good advice, even today!

What kind of evil should we avoid seeing?  Bad pictures or movies are things we should not see!

What kind of evil things should we avoid hearing?  Music with bad words, gossip, people swearing, etc.  Those are all evil things that we can avoid.

What kind of evil things should we avoid saying?  We should not say unkind words, or bully in any way.  We should not gossip or lie.

I think it is very good advice, even today.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Believe it!  Do it!

Remember that we love YOU!

The Voyager Tree

There is a beautiful tree here that the locals call the Voyager Tree.  When I asked a lady why it was called that, she explained that in olden times, when sailors saw land they would look for this tree.  Quite often, their supplies of water would be very low and they needed fresh water quickly!  Apparently there is a large amount of water stored in the intricate weave of this tree.  The sailors were always grateful to see them and they are still a symbol of hope in the Caribbean today.

We are all voyagers in this life of trial and temptation.  Sometimes things look pretty bleak.  We feel like we are out there all alone on a vast sea and we might not make it to shore.  Have hope!  There is always a solution to every problem!  There is living water just waiting for you to take of it!

We have seen that on our mission.  People who are lost and searching.  Then they find the gospel and how their lives change!  It is a wonderful experience.

Always partake of the living waters.

And remember; we love YOU!

Get Tickled

A while back, some missionaries showed us a very cool plant.  When you "tickle" it's leaves, it closes up!  I don't know if it thinks it's going to capture some kind of food or what, but it is fun to watch.

When a person gets "tickled", they do the opposite.  They open up!  They just enjoy the moment and the people they are with.  We had this experience a few weeks ago with our friends the Bateman's.

I think it's better to open up and allow ourselves to enjoy the good things in life,  Family, friends, faith...those are all things we should open up to and allow ourselves to feel the joy of them.  There is so much joy in family!  There is so much joy in friends!  There is so much joy in having faith in the gospel!

May you always find the joy in every day things and get tickled!

We love YOU!