Back to Suriname

Dear Family,

We have been quite interested in watching the weather for the United States this past week.  Ours never changes, temperature wise, and the rainy season is about over, so we watch to see how cold you are all getting and how much snow you have.  

On Thursday, we made a quick trip to Suriname to renew visas for two of the elders.  We decided to just take the ferry there and turn around and take it back without driving into the city.  It went pretty well.  There was a Brazilian who had done it many times so he helped us get where we were supposed to go to get back on in time. 

We met an interesting woman on the way back on the ferry.  She was blonde and blue eyed, so I walked over to her and asked her where she was from. She was from Sweden.  She appeared to be about 75 or 80 years old. I told her that my ancestors were also Swedish. She has a goal of visiting every country in the world before she dies.  She has already gone to 115 countries.  She said that she used to travel with friends and family, but she has traveled alone several times.  We asked her where she was going that day and she said, New Amsterdam, which is where one of our elders live, so we offered her a ride and she accepted.  

She talked non-stop to the elders while we drove home.  We came to find out that she was a stubborn atheist.   The elders bore witness of God and life after death and she would have none of it.  She had never prayed in her life, so she said, and she would not accept a Book of Mormon, but she was a moral, good woman and delightful to visit with.  As she left, she gave us her address and I told her to visit the Stockholm Sweden temple when she returns home, which she agreed to do.  

 This coming week, we have 5 more elders who need to renew their visas.  We hope that it will be a smooth trip for them as well.

The government of Guyana has all but stopped giving missionaries work visas so we continue to take our elders out of the country every three months. Pray that the government will soften and allow more work visas.  We are also losing 2 of our senior couples next month and we don't have replacements for them, yet. It just seems that Guyana is really being tested.  However, there are several young men and women who are putting in mission papers from here.  We hope that there will also be some couples with a desire to serve.

We don't have much else to tell you.  We love you all and enjoy the email letters and skype conversations we have with you all.  Love, Mom and Dad