Week #7 - Linstead

Hey fam, 

Sounds like every one is going on crazy adventures without me. That is ok though. I have my own crazy adventures here. No need to worry for me.  

This week was good. Elder Koegler and I got to see the prime minister at the community center grand opening. The ceremony was very... Jamaican, but it all went well. We are excited that it is done so that we can start seeing paul a little more frequently.  

I went into Spanish Town on Wednesday for Zone Meeting. Zone Meeting was really good. It focused a lot on meeting with the Ward Mission Leader. We just got a new ward mission leader, so I am going to have to do a lot of coordinating and training. I am still trying to figure it out myself. 

We went for a bike ride out toward Mexico (a small town somewhere in the bush) on Sunday when everything else fell through. As far as exploring the area goes, we did not find much.  The valley we rode into was, however, full of orange orchards. The tru-juice orchards spread out across the whole valley. It was green and absolutely beautiful.  

There was one night this week where we got home and there was no power. We had to plan with flashlights. It came back on before bed time though. 

My district has been doing great. We are all working hard here. There is much to be done. I will be going on trade off in Spanish Town tonight. It should be fun. I have not yet taught in Spanish Town. I will be with Elder Ambrose, so I am looking forward to it. Elder Ambrose is great.

Enjoy the vacation everyone. Good luck with Philmont dad. Seriously, good luck. 

I am glad to hear that Mariel is getting married. I also found out today that Gretchen Graham is getting married soon too. 

I am glad that I don't have to worry about anything for another year. Just hot sun, and ghetto gospel. Haha.

I love you all!

Elder Pullan

suit models for the ceremony Saturday

My art for the week.  On my desk.

The Zone

week #5 & #6 Linstead

Week #6

Hello fam, 

This week has been good. My district now consists of 8 people including me. Four of them are sisters. We spent some time getting the areas split for good. Elder Koegler and I have had a bit of a rough time since we lost a lot of the people we were seeing in the area split. Things are starting to pick back up again though. It has taken some slow days and hard work though. 

Elder Hall coming here was.... a mistake! The APs messed up the transfer calls. Elder Hall is actually in Ocho Rios now, and we got Elder Kemp. Elder Kemp is a cool kid. He will be a good addition to the district. Elder Koegler and I took a trip out towards Tulloch this week. Sometimes, when everything falls through, it is good to go and explore your area a bit. We went out to the point where we honestly wouldn't ride out there even to teach investigators. We never did reach Tulloch. The ride was beautiful though. 

We have been teaching a man named Paul lately. Paul is a great guy. He is really involved in his community, and has been in charge of overseeing the building of a new recreational center where he lives. We have been invited to attend the opening ceremony on Saturday. We will be counted as guests of honor along with... Portia Simmons, the prime minister of Jamaica. So that should be a cool experience. Hopefully we will find some more people to teach from it.  

It sounds like you had a great time on trek. All the pictures you sent reminded me of my trek. It really is a once in a lifetime experience. A good reminder of what our ancestors went through.  

Lydia: I bet you did great with the play. You will have to send me some pictures. You too nathan. 

Nathan:  Me a teach unu fi chat likkle patwah. Unu gwaan fi be a rill jameikan when me done wid you. Cyan unu seh- a di time? Das ow we ask fi di time dem. If unu cyaan undastand dis ting, read it out loud and maybe you will get it. A di ting m'yute. 

Good luck.

I love you all! 

Love, Daniel.

Me in the jungle

The jungle

Week #5

Hi fam- 

This week was pretty good. We did a lot of the same old stuff. Missionary work. We are teaching some good people, and all is going well though. Transfer calls came on saturday. I will be staying with Elder Koegler. Elder Hall will be coming from Mo bay to serve with Elder Groesbeck. Elder Dalley will be returning home to riverton this week. We will also be getting two more sisters, so my district will now consist of 8 members. Wow.  

The members have been really excited with the formation of the new stake. We have been working to get them all doing missionary work. It has been going well. We have a lot of great members here in Linstead.  

For trek- I think it would be good to talk about how each of us are pioneers. With the way things are going, it is going to take courage to be a Mormon. Even our pioneer ancestors look up to those in our day. Our trial will be hard, but the examples that have come before will make it so we can push through. Trek will be a great experience. I am excited to hear about it.  

Elder Koegler was not feeling well for the last few days. I sat inside all day Saturday. I drew literally the whole time. From nine in the morning until ten thirty at night. It was fantastic. I probably took a half hours worth of breaks in there, but twelve hours of drawing was great. Elder Koegler is feeling a little better now. We should be good get back out this week.  

I love you all!

Love, Elder Pullan

Dad- Happy fathers day!

I just realized that it was fathers day yesterday. I hope you had a good one. I want you to know that I am grateful for the example that you have set for me as my dad. You are a great man, and you have been my best friend since day one. Thanks for being so great to me, even when I was off doing my own thing. I love you dad.

Love, your son.

Me and Elder Packer at stake conference.  I love this kid.

week #4 - Linstead

Hello everyone,

My leg-  is about back to normal. I will have some splotchy scars that will fade, but that is it.   I was on an antibiotic pill + ointment. I am done with it now.  My leg does not hurt anymore and the swelling has gone down.   It takes time to get to kingston, so unless something acts up, I probably will not get a follow-up appointment.   As far as I can tell, it is back to normal.  Thanks for worrying.

The new stake includes; Constant Springs Kingston, Boulevard Kingston, Spanish Town 1, Spanish Town 2, Port More, and Linstead. Old Harbor is included in the stake, but will remain a branch until it gets a lot bigger.

At the first stake conference in jamaica, president brown addressed everyone for the last time as the priesthood leader of Jamaica. He gave us a list of six things that we each need to do with the coming of the stake. They were:

-Open your homes. Share the gospel in your home with your friends.

-Open your mouths. Share the gospel.

-Open your hearts. Love others unconditionally, whether they accept the gospel or not.

-Open the doors of the chapel. Make the chapel have a presence in the community. Hold activities often, and invite others.

-Open the doors of the temple. All worthy members 12 and up must have a temple reccomend, even though there is not temple in JA.

-Open your wallets. He said "I know of no other principle that will change the lives of those here." Pay your tithing and fast offerings and you will be blessed. 

Elder Holland was amazing. He told us a story about his childhood. He talked about how his father was a drinker and a smoker, and how his bishop, elders quorum pres., and sunday school pres. came by to call him to teach his son Jeff's class. This was a turning point in his fathers life. His father gave up the smoking and drinking that day, and only months later, was called the the bishopric. He died a faithful man. He told the congregation that we don't know who we are saving. Through the acts of his bishop and two others, him and the rest of his family were brought back into the gospel. It has influenced countless others. The lord is working on everyone in their own way. We have no right to judge or deny them the gospel. God loves ALL his children, and ALL will hear the gospel.

The next day, the stake was organized. Elder Cornish talked about how we bind Satan through personal righteousness. Elder Holland followed by explaining sustaining our leaders, and then invoking a blessing on all that were present. It was an incredibly powerful experience. 

After the conference, the thirty missionaries that got to attend gathered in a back room. Elder Holland took a few precious minutes to meet with us. We all had the chance to introduce ourselves and where we are from. Elder Cornish bore a powerful testimony of the truth of the gospel. He said "Don't think that we are not aware of scientific advancements, shift in culture and politics.  We are intelligent men with reason, and we have not been fooled. The Gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is undoubtedly the word of God...". Elder Holland then took a couple of minutes to tell us never, never to leave the church. For a return missionary to leave the church is to disgrace the good name that missionaries have. It is to go against all that everyone knows, loves, and respects about those who have taken this chance to serve the lord. To leave makes us absolute hypocrites. He said that a return missionary leaving the church is one of the few major tragedies in the church. He bore his testimony of the gospel, then shook each of our hands as we left the room. It has been an amazing week. I am so glad that I got to participate in such an incredible event. 

The stake conference was amazing. It was powerful and spirit filled. I was able to meet some of the pioneers of the church in Jamaica, like Victor Nugent, Amos Chin, and Bro. Nugents friend whose name I can't remember. This is a day none of them expected to see. It was great to see them there. This stake has been a long time coming. I also got to meet some return missionaries that served here in the 90's and came back for the stake. The congregation was huge both nights. Us missionaries stood in back for both sessions. It was rough on the legs, but totally worth it.

It sounds like everyone is doing well. Good job on the basketball camp lydia. 

Do you love baseball nathan?

You got an interview dad. That is a good start!

I am doing great. I love you all.

Love, Daniel.

week #3 - Linstead

Hey fam,

Not much to say for the week…

I had a crazy infection in my (He left this critical word out.  We assume, from his picture, that it is his foot or leg) two weeks ago. I guess I had an allergic reaction to something out in the bush, which then got infected. It got worse until I went to Kingston on wednesday after zone meeting in spanish town.  It is finally getting better.  I have been sitting inside on doctors orders with my leg up to make the swelling go down since wednesday.  I did do some drawing and played my uke, but being inside is just kind of boring. Mmmm... well, I enjoyed the drawing again, but there is nothing else to do.

Elder Groesbeck was a little on the sick side this week too, so Elder Dalley and Koegler tagged teamed our areas while Elder Groesbeck and I sat around. 

I wouldn't normally tell you that I am sick, but otherwise, I have nothing to say for the week. It is almost all sufficiently healed though.  It is definitely getting better, so you have no need to worry.  I am through the worst of it. I should be ok to get back out and teaching tonight.  Thank goodness.

I attended the last meeting that the Linstead branch will ever hold yesterday. Next week is the stake conference. I am in the boundaries, so I am very lucky that I will be able to attend. If I understand correctly, Elder Holland is going to address just us missionaries for a little bit right after the conference. I don't know that that is true, but I hope so.

It sounds like you all are doing great! 

Matthew- I didn't know that that painting was your huge one! It looks fantastic.

Lydia- Great job graduating from fourth grade. Everyone says that you did incredible in your program. You look so old now.

Nathan- Wagwaan m' yute? I love you. I heard you did great in your program too. Are you excited for summer? I wish you could come to jamaica with me too.

Mom- I love you.

Dad- Thanks for the quote. That is a really good one. I love you too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL! I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD ONE!

One Love.

Yes yes ma general.

Love, Daniel

my week

week #2 - Linstead

Hi fam-

This week has been a good one. I went on my first trade off, taught my first district meeting, and had an interview with President Brown. Everything went well. I have a great district. They are motivated and willing to participate. I taught about recognizing the spirit, the importance of first impressions, and member missionary work. In my interview with President Brown, he trained me on how the missionaries, the branch mission leader, and the branch council are supposed to coordinate. Most places in Jamaica have a problem with this, and I have a lot of work ahead of me in order to figure it out. Once everything is working as it should, the work is going to  progress very quickly.

Friday was Labor day here in Jamaica. Unlike American labor day, where we all go and play, Jamaican labor day is a day to work. It is the day that you have to get that one project that you have been waiting all year to do done. We went out to Knollis and helped one of our investigators out. We picked up trash and cleaned gutters while he did some welding on a broken guard rail. He is a very community focused guy, so he loves doing stuff like that. After we finished, we went around the back of his house and picked jelly coconuts. They were very sweet ones. We cut them open with our machets and had a feast. It started to rain hard a little after that, so we sat in his van for a while to wait it out. It ended up being a great opportunity to be seen in the community. Hopefully some new investigators will come out of it.

It has rained almost every day this week here. Linstead is notorious for the rain, and the rainy season has just started again. I love it though. It keeps things nice and cold. I did get a chance to see the market. I dont think it is quite as grand as it may have been in the fifties. It is honestly kind of grimy. Sorry to disappoint. We have been working with a lot of the families in our area so that we can begin to teach their friends with them. That is the way that member missionary works. It is the way that will lead to the most success. We are patiently awaiting results now. 

I love the gospel. I know that it is true, and that everyone will be happy as the obey its principles and ordinances. Stay strong in the faith my friends.

It sounds like the kids had a great last week of school. Are you excited for summer? You did great on the pacer test lydia! I remember doing it myself. Field day sounds like a lot of fun.  Unu enjoy ya field dee bwoy? (Some jamaican for you.)  When people ask whats up say "m'daya mon" . It means "my day here", or I'm here, everything is good. Another one is "er ting criss".  That means everything is cool. 

Have a great week everyone. Travel safe. Summer is almost here!

Love, Daniel.

In the cave at Mo Bay - Nathan wanted another picture

Beautiful Linstead

week #1 Linstead

What is to be said for this week? I am not really sure. It has been a good one. It went pretty fast due to all of the meetings we had. We taught a lot of people. We are trying to improve the work here and begin to work with members' friends... We got to go into Kingston all day on thursday. The Spanish Town Zone Leaders came by and picked us up in the morning, so we didn't have to taxi. We went to the Constant Springs chapel and participated in a great zone conference. It focused a lot on improving our teaching skills and making good impressions on people. Kingston is a great city. I always love to travel through there. 

Linstead is nice. It rains a lot here. There is always heavy fog in the mornings. It reminds me a lot of Washington. I really miss Washington. 

I have a lot of work to do here. My new position as District Leader has not been too bad. I will have to teach my first meeting on Wednesday. Wish me luck!

It sounds like you all had a wonderful week. Dance shows, talent shows, hikes, potential boyfriends, funerals, travel, and dinosaurs! Wow. I hope you are all doing well. Are there any big summer plans, other than the boyscout camp?

I love you all! Love, Elder Pullan

The missionaries in the picture are (L to R)

Dalley, Pullan, Bateman, S. Nelson, Pace, Packer, Tualatamalellagi

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   My shoe worn out in service

week #18 -Montego Bay (and a transfer!)

hey fam!

Crazy ting  t'gwaan dis week.   

Big news! Transfer calls were this week. It was extremely unexpected that I would be leaving. In almost ALL cases, you will come to an area, get to know it with your first companion there, then you will introduce the area to your second companion before you leave. Elder Hall got here one transfer before I did. Elder Hall will be staying here. I will be going to Linstead this Wednesday to be the district leader. Linstead also happens to be in the boundaries of the new stake, so I will be the first district leader of the Linstead Ward. I will have responsibility for receiving revelation on how to progress the work and help the district. I will be working with the six members of my district on a very intimate level. When they have questions, they turn first to me. I will have responsibility to counsel them, teach them for an hour and a half once a week, go on trade offs, do baptismal interviews, and take care of them. That is going to be a big change. Not to mention the fact that I will be mothering my companion (that means I will be his second companion, he just finished being trained) and I will be filling the shoes of Elder Famuii, a past Zone Leader and AP who just went home. Wow. That is a lot of responsibility. I am very excited for the opportunity to learn and grow there. 

This week was really good. Last P-day, we hiked through a gully and discovered a cave. We are going to go explore it today. It is a massive cavern full of bats.  Really cool. I will send some pictures. 

We haven't been able to meet with Bro. W yet. He got called into work last time we were set up with him. We will be calling him again today to try to set up. 

We met a Cuban man at church on sunday. He said he had a friend that was a member, so he decided to come. He likes the church's focus on families, and he is very willing to learn. We should be meeting with him on Tuesday.

I am really sad to leave mo bay.  I love it here.  I have met some of my best friends here. It is fun and beautiful. I am needed elsewhere though. I will be leaving on Wednesday morning. I have started packing. I hate packing. 

Dad- do you have any advice for me as I move into this position?

I would like to bear my testimony that the Lord sends us where he needs us. With this unusual transfer call, I have no doubt that I am needed in Linstead. I don't know why, but I am. 

Not much else has really happened this week. Just hard work.

I love you guys. I will skype sometime in the afternoon next week. I dont know when because I am not in Linstead yet. Just stay close to the phone, computer, and email after church.

I will see you next week!

Love, Daniel.

(Mom's note: Here is a link to a song, "Linstead Market", which popularized the market in Linstead in 1956 -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDqe3iYkUuU .  I am also attaching a link to an article about Linstead - http://www.visitjamaica.com/linstead .)

Rastafari!

Rooftop, trade-off with Elder Christensen

The baptism

Ummm...

The skylight at the back of the cave. 
It is showing up sideways, by the way.