week #1 -Portmore

Hey Fam,

Portmore has been great so far.  I has been so good to get out of the city.  I never left Kingston for six months straight.  Kingston was great, but I am glad to have some fresh air and a little room to breathe.  The rumors about Portmore are mostly true.  The heat is bad, however, there is always a breeze, so I think Kingston was worse.  The mosquitos on the other hand are worse than expected. They only come out in the evenings.  If you are anywhere near water, they are terrible.  If you stop moving you will have at least three on you in a matter of seconds.  People use dirty shirts, rags, and kerchiefs to "run" (or shoo) them.  It works well, but you have to keep waving your kerchief around the whole lesson. 

Portmore was built on a bog.  They filled it all in so that they could put a city here.  That is why there are so many mosquitoes.  Portmore is totally flat too - not a hill around.  It is great for biking.

Our area consists of ghetto to middle class residential.  It is huge compared to my last area. I enjoy the freedom and the fact that people are out on the streets all the time.  There are so many people to talk to. 

Elder Sullivan is from Yallahs.  He has been out for six months.  He is a great elder that loves to work hard, and believe me, we are working hard.  We will have this area looking like an area before I have to leave. 

We have a ton of great investigators, less actives and members here.  I already love them. 

I am going to enjoy Portmore.  Living with Elder Biddulph is great. I love that kid. 

I love you all!  Enjoy the SUMMER!

Love, Elder Pullan

Me and Elder Biddulph at the
Bob Marley Museum a few weeks back

week #23 -Kingston (no letter last week due to mother's day phone call)

Fam,

This week has been really good.  The area seems to be building back up again, slow and steady.  I have worked hard this week and I feel good about the time I have spent in this area.  This area is a product of my blood sweat and tears, and the grace of the Lord.  Mostly the grace of the Lord.  I have worked hard here and am proud of the area.  It has come a long way.  When I got here to begin whitewashing, Elder McGregor and I had absolutely nothing to work with.  It now looks and feels like an area.  I never realized how much people care until I tell them I am leaving.  I have many great friends here.  I could not have done it without the help of my Heavenly Father.  This is his area, his work, and his children.  Not mine.  I am glad he allows me to help though. 

That is right.  I am leaving Kingston.  I will be going to Portmore on Wednesday to finish my mission.  I will be serving with Elder Sullivan (a Jamaican, 6 months out, from Yalluhs), and living with Elder Ashworth and BIDDULPH!  Haha.  I am so excited to live with Elder Biddulph again.  We lived together in Linstead for two transfers (12 weeks).  I really love that kid. 

Portmore is extremely hot.  There are a lot of mosquitos, and it is a lot like Kingston.  It is also supposed to be very flat.  That is all I have heard about it, so I will confirm these things to you next week.  It should be a great last area. 

On Thursday, we went and did some service for sis. M's cousin.  We helped a lot of guys dig out a hole for the foundation of part of the house they are going to add on to.  I was digging down in a pit when my hand ran up against either a small shard of glass or a very dull rock. More likely the glass.  It split the top of my middle finger on my left hand open deep.  There was a lot of blood.  I wrapped it in my bandana, we called the Zone Leaders, and twenty minutes later I found myself at the doctor getting three stitches.  That is right.  Only three.  It is not that bad.  Just deep.  It hasn't really been hurting me and is healing up just fine, so there is no need to worry.  All that will be left is another sweet scar. 

I got transfer calls on Saturday morning.  I was allowed to give a farewell testimony to the Boulevard ward.  After church, I spent some time getting contact info for people that I love here. 

This morning, we woke up at 4am and caught a ride with a member named David to Holywell (pronounced Holly-well) national reserve up in the blue mountains.  The sisters drove their own car.  We got up there  early and enjoyed a beautiful view of Kingston.  The vegetation and climate reminded me a lot of Seattle.  There was a nice cold bite in the air, and a short hike to a small waterfall.  Holywell was incredible.  It has been so long since I have been hiking in the mountains.  The air was cold.  Do you know how long it has been since I have felt cold?  It was amazing.  I did not want to come back down.  I will send some pix.  It was the best p-day of my mission. 

Yep Nathan.  7 weeks!  Mi soon see unno.  I have not seen any fish lately.  I will let you know if I do.  I have heard there are crocodiles in Portmore...

Nice job on your tests Lydia! That is great. Keep up the good work. 

I love you all.  Thanks for all of your prayers and support.  They keep me going.
Love, Elder Pullan

Sis. Bailey, Thompson, Rampersad,
Elder Pullan, Mecham, Evans and Beck 

week #21 -kingston

Hey fam, 

This week was great.  

Our monday trip back to the fort was interesting.  It began with a lot of bike problems on the way to Parade (downtown kingston. look it up).  We met up with elder Davis and Johnson from the downtown there and caught a bus to Port Royal. There was not all that much out at Port Royal, so after looking around, we went to Fort Rocky.  We ran and jumped and threw flips just like I had planned on doing.  It was a lot of fun.  

Tuesday, we helped out the Project Sole people hand out shoes. We went with some other missionaries in the morning to Salvation army headquarters and loaded up the vans. Our first stop was down in Jones Town.  The bishop of the Constant Springs ward had no idea where he was going so we ended up taking a detour through Tivoli Gardens.  That was pretty exciting. The people who put on the project sole are all return missionaries, so it was fun to talk to them. Jones town was crazy. Unno tink unno know ghetto? Nah mon. People were yelling and pushing and scrounging for shoes the whole time. It was not very controlled. The next place was a lot better. It was a little school up near August Town. We handed them out inside of the school. It went a lot better. The guy that was filming the project was named Aaron.  He does freelance film and lives in Hawaii.  We had a great time talking together.  We are a lot alike. When the day was done, we all went to Chill-eat-o's for some Jamexican food.  It was great.  

Wednesday was Zone meeting.  We learned a lot more about how to bring the spirit in our initial contacts with people so that they will keep their appointments.  It was a good refresher.  I am sure it will help.  

We did more service for Sis. Hamilton on Thursday, and I went on a trade off with elder Beck on saturday.  

We had to drop a few investigators on Sunday because they did not come to church for the umpteenth time in a row.  It is always hard to do, but if they will not put forth the effort to learn and grow and progress, then they can't get anywhere.  We did have an investigator named Sis. A at church. She had a great time there. She made some friends and really enjoyed it. She is very prepared. I am excited for her. 

That is the week for you.

Your week sounded great Lydia! What a fun activity!

I love you all. 

Love, Elder Pullan