Monday, May 30, 2016

Hello from Ocho Rio

5/30/16

Hello all.
It has truly been crazy this last week.  I am now typing to you from Ocho Rio. I have been transferred already.  Also had a lot of fun in a bus and truck ride to get here.  It was supposed to be all on a bus, but the bus that I was to ride left 15 minutes before the bus I was riding, got there, so the APs (Assistants to the President) got me here.

I am liking the food here.  It is a lot spicier than what I am used to though, but nothing serious.

Our church here is actually a rental (and is 5-10 minutes walk from the apartment).  We only have about 30 regular members in this branch and our old branch President is now Elder's Quorum President and Elder Graham is the new Branch President.

Although I have more pictures to send, the internet has been real spotty all of a sudden, so I might not get them out this time.

Elder Wood

A word of caution before viewing the pictures below ... PLEASE DO NOT JUDGE THE MISSIONARIES ON THE APPEARANCE OF THE APARTMENT!  They must be doing laundry, trying to dry their clothes on anything that will hold still ;-)
Junction Apartment

Junction Apartment

Junction Aparment

Apartment inhabitants

Junction apartment

Elder Brown, Elder Wood, AP 

Zone Conference

5/24/16

This week has been an adventure.  So much to talk about with such little time.  I have learned more of the language, but I have also felt the love of the Savior through our investigators.  I sincerely hope that each one of them continues to progress.  I would love to type more but I am completely out of time.  Also, the reason I didn't write yesterday is because yesterday was Labor Day in Jamaica and everything was shutdown.

Elder Wood
Our Mission President with the APs at his side in Zone Conference

Elder Graham, he just became our Branch President on Sunday

Picture of the Moon

Monday, May 16, 2016

Week 7

5/16/16

I am still here, my companion hasn't finished me off yet, but with the intense hill workout, the members are starting to say that I have lost weight.  I am working off all that good MTC food.

I still don't have very much of an idea of what people are saying.  They like to speak softly and in very rough Patwa.

Just about everybody here is friendly and I can talk to just about anybody, understanding them is a different story, but they are still very receptive.  We are working with quite a few investigators and some are more receptive than others, but I am learning to love all of them.

I have very much enjoyed the non-bucket showers.  I am very much getting along with others.  Well, I am out of time.

~~ Elder Wood ~~
Here I am looking tired.

My companion, Elder Brown, taking a selfie.

Jamaica

More Jamaica

Jamaica again


Even more Jamaica

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Mother's Day

5/9/16
And so another week has passed.  I am going to keep this one pretty short (none of you asked questions).  It is always an adventure here and even though the temperature stays like 88 degrees, it still finds a way to cool off, sometimes at night.  i was able to Skype home yesterday for a brief while because it was Mother's Day.  I will take some pictures of people when I get the opportunity.  Nothing too surprising this week.

Oh yeah, they fixed our shower yesterday, now I don't have to bucket shower.

--Elder Thomas Wood--

A very good dinner that I happened to obtain through
circumstance. Chicken, rice, beans, & watermelon.
An amazingly beautiful view that I saw pretty close to sundown.
Some of the hill we travel a lot.
  

Monday, May 2, 2016

Another Week in Jamaica

5/2/16
So my dad suggested that knocking on doors and selling Scout popcorn or flags for the US holidays may have helped me prepare for the adventure I am on right now.  But this is completely different, this is a social place like I have never seen before and I have lived in three different states.  We can walk up to anyone and talk about Jesus Christ and when they speak good English, they will say something like, "Ya, he is my Savior..."  And we have those types of chats with people on the street.  Most of the time we can schedule a return appointment.  
To answer a question to my brothers about cemeteries in Jamaica, there are no large cemeteries to my knowledge, but there are plenty of tiny family ones around.  There is also a church every few feet here.  There are lots of people here willing to talk about bars in Jamaica.  
Pizza is a thing in Jamaica but it is not nearly as prominent as in America.  A lot of time I eat chicken with beans and rice.  That is like the main dish of Jamaica.  Could you send me decent pizza, lasagna, and other recipes that you can think of?  My budget is only about $250 (USD) a month, so keep them basic.  It is an adventure here in Jamaica.  Milk is expensive, so I am going to try using powdered milk and see how that ends up.
My companion's name is Elder Brown and he is from the states as well, so we stick out together.  Other than the fact that pepper is in everything here, I don't think anything is terribly different than the food in America.  The food here is a lot more fresh.  There are a lot of fruits around here.  The Patwai (language) is stilla s strange as ever.  I just follow my companion's lead on that stuff.  We live in an apartment that has a kitchen/dining area, bedroom, and bathroom.  I will try to remember to take a picture of it in the future.  I hope you all have a great week.  
This is Elder Thomas Wood, signing off.

Myself and my travel Companion Elder White
on the train from the Provo MTC to the SLC airport

My last view of American soil for a while
Local scenery
My current companion, Elder Brown

This is what happened to my companion, his front brakes
seized going downhill when it was wet and crashed.

Another scenic picture with an example
of what the electrical wiring is like in Jamaica.