Christmas/Transfer Calls!

Merry Christmas!  I hope everyone's Christmas was awesome! I know mine was! I loved seeing my family over Skype. 

This week was crazy, but let me make it even more crazy because.... We got Transfer Calls!!!!!

I am leaving the beautiful island of Barbados, I will be Flying to another COUNTRY! ST. VINCENT!

My new companion is Elder Moli, and this is Elder Moli's last Transfer until he goes home!

SO much going on! New country, new people,  new culture, new environment. I am freaking out!

I will also be staying in the same apartment with my last companion (Elder Nixon!) 

On Christmas day, I went to church, then I skyped my family right after that. Later in the day, We went to the mission home and got to watch the movies "Remember the Titans" and  "ELF" with the mission president and his wife. Most missionaries that are here on Barbados were there also. 

The next day, I got word that I am going to leave. I have now started the process of seeing everyone I know and saying good-bye to them. The odds of me leaving barbados this transfer were "0" . But there is no rhyme or reason for us to move around whenever.

So, I have a lot to say in so little time. I have a lot to do today. I want to message all of you. I hope that I can here from each of you and know what your Christmas was like. 

Have an awesome week! I love you all!

December 15, 2016.....Zone Conference

Hey everyone! 

My week was crazy as usual. I ate ate "Subway" Yeah.... that was pretty crazy. haha. I got a haircut, and we had my first..... ZONE CONFERENCE! It was super long, but it was good. I got a one on one interview with president Herrington. He is funny. I got a lot out of zone conference. I have learned a lot just in that one meeting, and I am excited to apply what I have learned to my teaching and contacting.

Christmas! I cant believe I get to skype my family in 6 days! Words cannot describe how excited I am for Christmas! I am literally shaking! I dont have a whole lot to say about this week, but wanted to say that I love you all and I hope that that you have an awesome week and a better Christmas!

December 12, 2016......Less than two weeks till Christmas!!!

Good week,

We spent last Monday night moving a couch into a 2 story house. It took sooo much effort. It wouldn't fit up the stairs so we had to take it out side and up and over a small balcony. Long story short... I almost died. We moved it for Bro. and sis. Boyce. They gave us Non-alcoholic wine as a way to say thank-you. It was pretty good, but It tasted like  a vita malt mixed with grape juice. 

Also this week, I had a great Trade-off with my District leader (Elder Taylor) He is pretty cool. It went very well.

On Wednesday! We flooded Bridgetown with Books of Mormon! We gave out over 50 copies in 3 hours! Every missionary in Barbados was there. We got a ton of contact too. It was very hot though. I got super burnt on my face.

Also, Yesterday on Sunday, my talk went well. I felt kinda nervous as usual, but was comforted while giving it. The Lord answers my prayers when I need it the most.

We had a huge poisonous centipede come into our house, but It was dead when we found it. (Thanks to the Permetheren, It is a poison that we spray along the base boards) Also The cockroaches never stop coming. I think my Comp. is scared of them, but who would think that they are disgusting! Anyway, always something new everyday, and that's the way it is in the mission. I cant wait to Skype my family on Christmas! I hope everyone has a great week to and an awesome Christmas!

Barbados celebrates 50 years!

The week started off with heavy rain all of Tuesday. We were stranded at the church, and even though we are like a 5 min bike ride from our apartment, we were still drenched. The streets here are rivers when it rains. It stayed like that all day, and all night. On Wednesday, It was the 50th anniversary. We decided to go into town, but to our surprise.... Everything was closed! There was hardly anyone walking around. So we got some pictures in Bridgetown. There were fireworks coming from Bridgetown later in the night, but by then, it was too late to go into town. Fireworks went off again at 3:00 am the next morning. 

Our investigators have not been progressing. We are dropping a lot of them this week, and we are using our new contacts. It is hard to let people go just because they are not keeping their commitments. But, then again, we teach a lot of poor people that a little bit further from the church than most people, so the problem we face is getting them to find transportation. 

This week was alright. 
Elder Cox helped me make my first planner cover. It is made from picture found in the "Ensign" magazine. Then sealed to the cover using contact paper. They are pretty cool, and it protects the planner during the 6 weeks of the transfer.
Nothing out of the ordinary. I got assigned a talk in sacrament meeting about the blessing from family home evening, so we will see how that goes. Anyway, this is your Bajan friend signing off and wishing everyone an awesome week!

November 28th update:

This week is the 50th anniversary of Barbados being Independent! Its pretty lit here. There is going to be a parade on Wednesday, and a human chain around the entire island as well. so thats gunna be cool. Thanks giving was just another day. Nothing going on really. We did get fed by one of our investigator (Winter) He fed us home made Bajan food. It is awesome! I had bread fruit, and a lot of different spices along with curry. We ate at his house with some of his friends. We shared our purpose as missionaries, and they had a lot of respect for us. They were pretty cool to meet. LAST P-DAY, we went to a wild life reserve. We walked through a park full of monkeys,turtle,turkeys,and weird looking "deers" I dont know what they are. They had food laid out for the animals, and we got to watch them eat. The monkeys were funny, and really crazy.The whole experience was awesome! We also found a free roaming tortoise that had been tipped over. I tipped him back over and saved his life! 

This week was great! I hope you all have a great week as well.

New Companion

My new Comp. Is elder Cox! From...... you guessed it! Utah, Draper. HAHA is pretty cool. I am looking forward to this transfer. This week we had a Thanksgiving Brunch prepared by the Bradys! They are the senior couple. They are pretty chill folks. It was really good. Sadly no turkey here. We cant get turkey here in Barbados until Christmas time. We had Ham though. It was awesome. This week, we had a trainers meeting with my new Comp. The meeting was with the mission president. I sat next to him during the meeting. The meeting consisted of many missionaries from every island in the mission including the french ones. I got called on a lot by president, but everything went well. This week has just been filled with showing the area to my new Comp. and enjoying the mission here in Barbados! I see a lot of potential this transfer, so we will see how well it goes. Anyway, Enjoy your week! and I love you all back home! Take care.

November 14, 2016 update

Hey everybody!

I have been in the mission field for an exact 2 months! Pretty crazy. anyway.... my week was nice.

I got to find a service opportunity with one of our contacts. He is a 7th day Adventist, and doesn't like the mormons, but we found him starting to unload huge bags of fresh produce ( ginger, grapefruit, plantains, and dashines) out of his work truck. He was so shocked that a couple of guys in a white shirt and tie want to help move these heavy dirty bags. I was just so happy that we found a way to serve him. After unloading the enormous bags in the pouring rain, he told us to come back tomorrow to share the message. He gave us some of his produce in some bags for us to take home. He told us how to cook them, and they were great! We got a lot of food from random contacts this week, but that is just one experience. 

Everyday, we see cruise ships park just outside Bridgetown. They are huge! There are not a lot of tall buildings here, so its easy to see the ships from where we live. There is a new cruise ship almost everyday. They look really fun. Maybe we will sneak onto one someday and cruise home. haha jk. 

We got to play dominoes with bro Doyal again this week. They are strong members, and I have come to really love them. We had an international service day this Saturday. It was raining at first, but the weather eventually cooperated. We cleaned up a small school, and we made a huge difference.

I love and miss you all! I hope ya'll have another great week!

P-Day Pics.

This week went by fast!

This week went by fast for me. We had apartment inspections, and we did alright.... I guess. There's a few things we can work on, but at least our bedroom and bathroom are clean. haha. I cooked chicken cordon-blue Tuesday night, and it was a success! It tasted like home. We also got some "Rotis" made from a local. They are so good! Its like a Barbados burrito that is loaded with tasty curry. 

We had a baptism for a member that had fallen away from the church many many years ago. He is  really old, but has a strong testimony. I was privileged to be invited to his baptism on Friday. For baptisms like this, It is not publicized. Only 2 sets of missionaries could come. I got to give a talk about the holy ghost. Elder Nixon gave one about baptism itself. I was really nervous during the talk, but I survived.  I also was very fortunate to be one of the witnesses as well. It was great!

We had a Halloween party today with all of the missionaries in Barbados. It was really fun. There was a costume contest, but I didn't dress up. 

I got a sweet hat on the way into town today. I miss wearing hats. 

We had a lot of appointments fall through this week. So we made some new contacts for this week. We also invited a lot of people to church, no one showed... 

Let me know how ya'll are doing!

Have a great week everyone! and Happy Halloween!

Another day in Paradise

I got sunburned last week... Actually I have been burning all week. If Its not raining here, Its really hot... either way your clothes are drenched from sweat or rain. Every elder here sweats( Unless you drive a car in your area).

I was feeling kinda sick on Wednesday. I felt feverish, and my legs and joint were aching, but that was probably from biking all day long. I felt better the next day though. I think my teaching skills are improving. I have been taking the lead a lot more in conversations and lessons. Something that helped with that, was a "trade off" The district leader, Elder Taylor, traded off his companion for mine just for one day. I stayed at his apartment for one day, and did the usual routine. I definitely got a different taste in teaching methods. Every missionary is different. That lasted from Thursday to Friday. We have 5 investigators that are willing to be baptized, and I hope to see them fully develop their faith in this gospel. I just want my first baptism now. This week we played "Dominoes" at Brother Doyle's. It was really fun.  probably because I won most every time. hahaha! The Doyle's are really great members. Everyone here in Barbados plays dominoes. When you ride through the streets at night, You can see many groups outside playing dominoes on a table and making bets. 

This week has been pretty smooth for the most part. I love seeing this branch grow here in Black Rock Barbados. I hope to see our progressing investigators become faithful members (Steve, Moore, Winter, Patrick, Charles) Hope you all have a great week!

Hello Everyone!

This week, I got to see some wild monkeys. They were really shy, and didn't stay for long. That wasn't the only wild life I experienced this week, We get at least 1 cockroach a day in our apartment, and we always kill "1" a day. They can fly! and they are huge! But somehow we always find one on our ceiling. The only way to kill them is with your flip-flop. Elder Nixon taught me that. HAHA. We also get a ton of ants in our apartment. We clean the best we can, but they insist on staying in our apartment. Oh well. 

I woke up with a "kink" in my neck on tuesday, and it has been a problem this entire week. It restricts my view of the road when i am riding my bike. Thankfully, The senior couple had a hot pack for my neck. It has been doing wonders for me. I also got a flat tire yesterday from a shard of glass

This week was district conference, and we have been bussing a ton because of the adult session, and the main session. The place where we held the main session was not at a church..... but a resort! It was so beautiful there. It was extremely hot that day, and seeing the BEAUTIFUL beach right next to resort just about killed me!!! It was at the Savannah Resort Hotel. I got some great picture there too:)

We have aquired lots of progressing investigators. For example, "Winter" We found winter while contacting, and we got to have a good discussion with him. He was sitting back and relaxing until we pulled up on our bikes . We offered to help him with anything he needed around the house. He told us that he needed his house painted, and then he asked how much we would charge. After telling him that we were more than happy to help serve him for free, he began to listen to our message.We talked with him about the role religion plays in his life, and then he began to share his experiences with religion. Anyway, after explaining the restoration, he decided to show us  his home. He really opened up and began telling everything about his life. I can say that we had really developed a friendship He offered us a drink(soda) and told us to come back again. I really hope that Winter will find the truth. I have really come to love the people here in barbados. We have days where we are making so many contacts.  I hope that I will be able to bring them unto Christ.I love you all! I appreciate the emails I get that are directly from the heart. I pray for all of you back at home, and don't think that I don't miss any of you!

First week in Barbados

Hello everyone! I was introduced to the small island of "Barbados"s week and its is really pretty here! There is so much green and this place is full of exotic looking plants. First things about Barbados where I live (Black Rock)

-Everyone here drives on the left side of the road

-If you ride a bus, It will be the craziest ride of your life

-There are chickens,cats,dogs, and lizards everywhere you look

-The people here are really nice

-Really busy everywhere

-The Curry here taste great

-Mauby syrup is really good!(soda beverage only in Barbados)

-The best food in Barbados is "Mapps"(Chicken and fries)

This week has been quite the adventure! I been introduced to my new companion........ Shout out to Elder (Tanner) Nixon! from my home town of West Jordan Utah! We both went to Copper Hills High, but he is from the class of 2015.

Elder Nixon is awesome! We have been accomplishing a lot here in Black rock. We have met the nicest people you will ever meet, but their english is terrible! Its is broken english, and it is the hardest thing to understand. It honestly feels like I am learning a new language with all of this "slang". Elder Nixon and I ride around on bike, and I am gunna be honest... Riding a bike here is kinda suicidal. Everyone we meet warns us about the dangers of riding a bike, but I talk all of the precautions necessary.

It was really rare for me to be called to this mission, because there are not a lot of people that get in this mission (especially the English side). There are alot of missionaries that have been here for a year, so that means none of then have seen the new "Star wars" haha! A lot of missionaries are just dieing to see it. This place is awesome though. I cant wait to see more of it! I will most likely be going to the other islands next year in January or February. The cool thing about Barbados is that it is the only island that is not volcanic... It is made from a coral reef. That's why the water is turquoise here and the water is pretty much clean for the most part. Anyway... Love you guys!

New Missionaries

Grant with President and Sister Herrington

Oct 4th at the mission home.
Dinner with the new missionaries and also the APs. Testimony Meeting afterwards. After a day of training, they are ready and willing to go forth to serve!

He made it to Barbados!!

I left Santo, Domingo Dominican Republic at 5:30 in the morning at it was raining a lot. The wind got stronger and stronger (Because of the Hurricane), but I had already arrived at the airport. My flight was delayed 1 hour, so I got into Miami Florida at 12:15 p.m. I stayed there for 6 hours! I was only with sister Knapp. I never saw any other missionaries. I left Miami at 6:30 p.m. and we arrived in Barbados at 10:00 P.M.. I met the mission president there and he took me to the assistant's apartment. There is so much more humidity here, but I don't care. I am so excited to be here! I am glad we made it here safely. My next P-DAY is next Monday so I will read everyone's emails next week. Sorry this is short, but I got to go! 

Week 2 update

Well, I leave for Miami Florida on monday morning, and I then fly out to barbados. I am super excited! This week, has been crazy also. I have been learning how to teach all day long everyday. Teaching has been a slight struggle for me because I get nervous when we do role playing. I feel like I will do better with a real investigator though. This place is an emotional rollercoaster. you just feel the spirit so much during the devotionals, and you learn so much too! You are tired here all of the time. My Canadian companion (elder correria) is going back to Halifax Canada! haha! he will be serving there for 6 weeks until he gets his visa for trinidad. The other americans in my district have to go and serve in Houston Texas until their visas come for the "Trinidad" mission as well as the canadians. I am just grateful I get to go to barbados sooner :)

I got to got to the temple again today. It will be the last time in two years I will ever see another temple again. I am kinda sad about that. The grounds around the temple are just gorgeous! Its so weird to see this beautiful temple here in this crazy busy city. 

 We did another service project yesterday at a convention center not too far from here. We always get the weirdest looks from people when we leave our "Compound"(MTC) I am soo glad I get to leave and enter the field Monday. I feel kinda trapped here. I am used to going out and going places, but now its different for me. I have been gaining weight sadly:( haha. We eat so much rice here, and the food that goes with it is so good(Mom's food is always better) As always... The weather here is insane, and I will let you all know what its like when I get to Barbados If any one wants to read my blog rather than my email, just send me me an email. My blog is:

http://grantinbarbados.blogspot.com

One week here at the D.R. MTC!

This has probably been the most insane week of my life. The first day literally felt like an entire week!!! Everyday this week has been a struggle to get up and work. I have been constantly having classes, reading the scriptures and feeling the spirit! We had a member of the seventy come talk to us yesterday. It was elder Walter F. Gonzales. He said some pretty cool things that will help me in the field. The weather here is just INSANE! Its feels like walking in an oven and its is sooooooo humid here that you can never stay dry from your sweat. It is by far the most intense weather I have ever felt. Here at the MTC, It is beautiful! Its is an oasis in the middle of this city. The food here is good. We eat A LOT of rice, and chicken. The food here in general is delicious(A lot of exotic fruits and a lot of bananas). My companion and I have to do a lot of role play. It was weird at first, but you get used to it. We play a lot of basket ball here and its fun. MY room consist of Elder: Correria(Canadian), Fisher(Canadian) Gibson(Idaho) and me. I have come to love these brothers a lot. Everyone here speaks spanish!I have only met on sister that is going to barbados and sh is the one in the orange dress. Everyone else is going to Trinidad. Anyway, The flight here was noisy, but cool! I got to fly over New York city and times square! Yesterday we got to leave this compound and do some service down the street. We picked up trash and swept the side walks. There is still a lot more to clean up:p.I have been through a lot of change this week, but I have been prepared for it in many ways. I am sorry about bouncing back and forth between when I got here and now, but I will be better prepared next week! Love you all and I look forward to serving in Barbados!

Pictures from the MTC. Grant with President and Sister Romney and a picture of his district!

Grant arrived safetly!! His first letter home:)

-- I don't have alot of time to type right now, but this is just a brief "I am okay" letter. I am here safe, all of my luggage is here, and I am also way out of my comfort zone. But everything is okay! I have a feeling of great excitement rushing over me and I cant wait to get started with the work! On my flight from SLC to JFK, I ran into about 12 elders and about 15 sister missionaries! The flight was long and noisy and I was really tired. I got no sleep. Once I got to JFK, I stuck with the big group of missionaries, and we were able to find our next gate. I just went through immigration at the D.R. and it was crazy scary! I only have seen one other missionary that is going to barbados and she is a sister missionary. everyone else is serving here in the D.R. except my compaion I just got assigned to! He and two other elders are going to the Trinidad mission. I like this companion and I think we are going to get along just great. when we drove from the airport to the MTC... I saw poverty everwhere. Everyone here is a scary driver. and I am just glad I got here safe. anyway sorry for the spelling errors, but I got to go. my pdays are thursday and I get to email you guys next thursday. 

Elder Jacobson

There he goes....to the Dominican Republic MTC...then to Bridgetown, Barbados

Grant has been called to the Bridgetown, Barbados Mission. He leaves September 13, 2016.