Week #18 in May Pen

Hey fam,

I chopped a yard with my machete this week. That's right. I cut grass. And I own a machete. Kinda cool. Its a Jamaican ting mon. On Tuesday morning we woke up and the four of us prepared to go to miss D's to chop her yard. We rigged our machetes on our bikes in various ways with plastic bags and took off. When we got there, miss D was surprised. She didn't think that we were actually going to come. She was very touched and grateful as we chopped her yard. It took a lot of work in the hot sun. The sweat was literally running and dripping off me. That is what the humidity will do to you. After a couple of hours and blisters later, we looked at the chopped yard and were satisfied. We loaded back up with our machetes and rode home. 

I got to attend a zone conference in Mandeville last week. The drive to Mandeville is awesome. We weave through little mountain roads for over an hour to get there. Mandeville is a slightly bigger city with a very unique feel to it. I have found that every Jamaican city is totally different, but they are all definitely Jamaican. This week I will get to go to Sav (Savannah La Mar) for a combined conference with the north coast zone. Sav is right on the ocean, so I just might get to see the beach for the first time since I got here. It should be cool. 

We are working with a lot of members now. It takes a lot of work and patience, but we are going to start utilizing them. It will be a slow process, but as we make the shift, finding and missionary work will be done by members. Our job will and should be simply to help teach. 

I have had another enjoyable week here in Jamaica. 

Lydia- I never did get to meet with Lucky and Eyeball. That was on a day that Pres. Brown went out with us, so we had to readjust our schedule a little bit.  It worked out though. 

Nathan- Here is some patois:  "Wagwaan my ute, waayadeal wit? "

(What's up my youth?  What are you dealing with?  What are you doing?) Now you will know some Patois for when we come back to Jamaica.

Take care guys. I love you.

Bless and love,

Elder Pullan

Elder Fowkes, having been "floured" on his birthday.  (A little about the Jamaican tradition from the internet: Whether you are 9 or 99, no-one is immune the birthday tradition of Flouring. Loved ones buy bags of flour  and spend days devising cunning ways to liberally throw the stuff on you, the unsuspecting victim. It isn't uncommon for crafty relatives to top off your 'Flour Shower' with a liquid of some kind, resulting in you being covered in a sticky mess of floury goo. The nanosecond that the calendar lands on your big day, you'll spend the entire time figuring out this year's attack plan.)

A Jamaican girl, apparently celebrating her birthday on a different day.  

Daniel's "broken soccer ball hat" he made on P-day.

Elder Whitlock and Miss. D - cutting her lawn with machetes as service.