A Week of Sorrow

I'm sure many of you have heard the news. Elder Walker was hit by a stray bullet last week on Monday on the way back to Kingston from Spanish Town. He returned home almost instantly. There were seven other missionaries in the van.

This is how the missionaries in the van were situated:

~Front!~
__________
(B) (E) Elders Brough and Emery
(T) (L) Elders Toutai and Luke
(W) Elder Walker
(K) (N) Elders Knowlton and Nelson
____ _(O)_ Elder Ostberg


The bullet came in through the back window and hit Elder Walker in the left temple. It was a tragedy to all of us missionaries.

For more information on the matter, please consult my mom.




Next in news. President Hendricks came to district meeting last Wednesday. I think it had something to do with the fact that all of our zone, except Elder Snelson and I, were involved in the incident regarding Elder Walker. He also interviewed Elder Snelson and I after the meeting and we had a good chat and I also got a few doctrine related answers while I was at it.

Next, we have the amazing super planning on Friday. Elder Snelson received some summer sausage in his Christmas package. Soooo, I broke out a tin of cheese I had been saving and we purchased some Ritz Crackers knockoffs and enjoyed our weekly planning session.

Sunday we travelled down with the Daniels to Kingston to stay the night at the zoneleaders house. But before they took us to the zone leaders house, we stopped and ate dinner at the Schaefermeyer's house. While there Elder Schaefermeyer showed me a video that I ask you to watch on youtube. It's called Two White Girls Pon a Minibus. This kinda relates the experience of travelling via public transportation in Jamaica. The head out the window thing is the only difference. People can't really do that anymore.

Yesterday, the zone leaders took us to Spanish Town for Elder Walker's memorial. Elder Coleman and his wife were there as were President Hendricks and his wife. All four of them spoke. Elder Coleman represented the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Carribbean Area Seventy. It was a good service. I also got a picture of me and my protege's.


Elder Huffaker


Note from Marilyn:
Brandon's comment of Elder Walker "returned home" -- refers to his death, and returning home to our Heavenly Father. I liked the comment I read on one of the senior missionaries' blogs: “Elder Walker's life was cut short, but his mission was extended”. And President Hendricks' affirmation that, “God is in charge.” You can email me if you have further questions about this, at PaintedFlower@aol.com.

Coincidence? I think not!

Well, another year has come and gone. But before the new year arrived, we had transfers on Wednesday. Elder Snelson and I stayed here in Yallahs, so nothing special there. It was just 3 full proselyting days back to back. It feels weird when we proselyte on Wednesday mornings instead of meetings and I dislike not being involved in transfers. Not that being with Elder Snelson is bad, it's just so fun with the moving around of missionaries and all.

Wednesday night we have a study night at the church. We read from the Book of Mormon and talk about what it contains. Well, afterwards, I thought I'd be nice and give Jamaicans a little taste of America! I brought mom's poppyseed bread over and gave those who attended a slice. Ever since then They've been asking me, "When are you gonna get some more. Tell your mom to send more! We want the recipe!" Yeah, I like it too.

New Years Eve isn't anything special to us missionaries. In fact, I think every 6 months in our mission is more important! I dropped asleep before midnight even rolled around. Not like I'm really doing anything to keep me awake either.

Elder Snelson received his Christmas package a little late, but that's ok. It was what was inside. Somehow we both received ties for Christmas from the same company with the same design only a different color. Check the pics!

Elder Huffaker

P.S. from Marilyn:

I'm actually shocked that Brandon shared the poppy seed bread. He loves it so much, I thought it would be a stretch to give just his companion a slice! It's definitely a family favorite.

Also, he forwarded some mission group photos to me, from the Christmas Eve gathering in Kingston, so I am posting those as well. Can you find him? He's near the center, and one of the 3 missionaries standing between the back row and the second row from the back. (Clear as mud, right?)

Christmas ... Round 2

This week and getting ready for Christmas has been hectic. More so than any other time, or at least so it feels.

As part of being branch clerk, I get to take the deposit to the bank each week. Well someone decided to close the banks in Jamaica at the most ridiculous time of the day. 2:30 p.m.! It has nothing to do with Christmas either, this is for any other Monday through Thursday in the year. So when I went to take care of the deposit on Tuesday, we left Yallahs and reached the bank in Morant Bay at what time?... 2:30 p.m.! The doors are LOCKED! You cannot come in at closing time. I was more than miffed about the matter. I basically wasted $240 JD for nothing. So Elder Snelson and I had to go back on Wednesday. GRRRR

Then most of the week was spent getting ready for our branch Christmas social for Thursday night. Elder Snelson and I pretty much spent Thursday running around getting every last thing that was not acquired during the week. The social was well attended and went fine on Thursday, but getting ready for it was a big pain.

Friday was our Christmas party for missionaries... see photos. There was singing and skits. Pres. Hendricks made the comment that if Pres. Uchtdorf can talk about the Grinch in the Christmas devotional, we can watch it. So we watched the cartoon version and also Mr. Krueger's Christmas. I got a kick that Jimmy Stewart has a cat named George.

Saturday being Christmas was spent with joy and bliss. Getting to talk to family was so nice! Wish some of you could have been there.

TA-TA

Elder Huffaker

WHY ME?

I know it's a terrible question, especially if it's said to the Lord. However, you really have to wonder sometimes WHY ME?

Well, since last Tuesday, a lot of things have happened. First off, on Wednesday, I went on a tradeoff with Elder Brough. Elder Brough was one of the zone leaders in Spanish Town. Well, on the way down to Spanish Town to commence the trade off, There is some construction, which we thought would hold us up. We blew right through that, only to find another obstacle... Apparently a bulldozer blade hit the back of a coaster bus. All I saw was the shattered glass of the back window. I still don't know how it happened, because the vehicles were going in the opposite direction and the bulldozer was on a flat trailer of a semi. Talk about intense. The trade off went fine and I was glad to see Elder Peterson back. We got along so well.

Friday hit me like a train. I got runny belly (bad case of diarrhea). Being healthy for so long you just feel like, "Dang, why don't I get sick, I could use a break." Well, be careful what you wish for. So I took some Pepto Bismol, which helped a lot. Only to have a cold hit me on Saturday! I've been taking Benedryl for the past couple of days now.

Saturday was the day we received our transfer calls. Around 3 - 4 p.m. we get a bunch of phone calls from other Elders with the exact same phrase, "Have you elders received your transfer calls? Do you know where you're going?" NO! So we get the news about where everyone else is going. Then at 6 p.m. Elder Peterson gets a phone call from Pres. Hendricks. He says you'll be staying in Linstead to train. OK........ what about Elder Huffaker? The Assistants were supposed to call him. So we wait. An hour later we call the zone leaders. I still don't know what's happening to me. 8:15 rolls around and finally they decided to call me (probably the last one on the island to get my call) and they're all apologizing saying we're sorry we forgot you. How can you not forget me. I HAVE TO MOVE!

So that brings us to Sunday. I didn't want everyone at the branch to know I was leaving. Only a few of the members that I was able to get to know. So, Sunday afternoon we went around to say goodbye to a few people. When we get surprised with a dinner plus dessert. Now this threw us off, because we always have a set dinner appointment at 8:00. DOUBLE DINNER = TROUBLE! Elder Peterson and I have already gone through this predicament twice before. I don't think he learned from it. So, during our second dinner, I ate about 2/3 and said thanks I've had all I can eat. He FINISHED his and when we left, we hadn't even made it to the corner of the street before water, rice and peas start coming back up. Poor guy. I hope he learned this time around.

Lastly, transfer calls means the transfer itself. All the zone leaders met up in Spanish Town. We were picked up by the Ochi Elders. Once in Spanish Town, I loaded my stuff into the mission bus along with all the Elders going home this transfer and plus one more who was getting transferred to Portmore. Well, the Assistants are thinking, ok, Portmore, we need to go there to drop this Elder off. Well, they forgot that the Portmore house is having a few problems and that they were staying in Kingston. So we took a scenic route through Portmore and here I am in Kingston with Elder Walker, who is a Jamaican.

Please remember to big up yourself this week.

Elder Huffaker

P.S. from Marilyn
Perhaps "big up" is Jamaican Patois for, "Have a good one!"

More New News...

Wow! Things are blowing by so fast and lots of things are happening. Where do I begin?

First off, Wednesday, Elder Peterson and I received quite the surprise. During the middle of District Meeting, our phone rings. We have certain ringtones for certain people. Helps us know how "urgent" it is. This one was President Hendricks. He asked if we were in District Meeting... yes. Ok, I'm on my way to Linstead to interview you Elders. WHAT!?! Talk about last minute. We just looked at each other with wide eyes. It's kinda interesting really. President Hendricks announced that he was only going to interview us once a quarter. It hasn't been a quarter yet.... somethings up. My interview was pretty normal, but Elder Peterson said his interview with President was about me. What he thought of me and so on. No news yet for the cause, but we suspect somethings going on in the works for me.

Then, Thursday I tried a new dish again. Sister Davis is pretty good about feeding us more than just fried chicken with rice and peas. This week we had... pig skin. Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "WHO eats pig skin?" Well, it's actually pretty good. A bit on the chewy side, however. It basically tasted like bacon - which doesn't exist down here. Normally I prefer my bacon crunchy. So from going to a crunch to extra chewy was.... interesting.

Last week I mentioned the plan to travel to Kingston. Yesterday we met in Kingston for a mission conference. I'm very glad that we got a ride from the Ochi Elders. I hate traveling. So, we listened to President and Sister Hendricks as well as Elder and Sister Anderson. President Hendricks went over 8 steps that all missions are supposed to be incorporating to better use Preach My Gospel. Elder Anderson went over the something remarkable. He talked about loving and serving God with our minds, hearts, and souls. He went on to explain the difference between these three things and how to use them. First: your mind. You have to understand something. Hence, why missionaries are to study for 2 hours every day. Second: your heart. This is your desire to do something and to be able to have the Holy Ghost testify to you. Third: your soul. Becoming what you understand and know to be true. Changing your life!

This morning, Elder Peterson and I made the trip to Portmore to play some inter-zone basketball. It was really fun and actually stayed pretty cool. Didn't have too much sun down there and thankfully no rain. It was really nice.

Next week. I will once again be emailing on Tuesday. Transfers are on Monday. So we will be getting the phone calls either Saturday or Sunday Night. So I look forward to hearing from you on Tuesday.

Elder Huffaker

P.S. from Marilyn:

"Ochi" refers to Ocho Rios, a town on the north shore of Jamaica.

A Week of Hurricane Season

Since we're at the beginning of hurricane season, the weather here has been extremely wet. Sometimes you're like "YEAH RAIN!" and other times you're like "Ugh..... it's raining again."

This week, along with all the rain, we had zone conference on Wednesday here in Sav. We got to listen to Pres. Hendricks instruct us, and boy did he give some instruction. That's what happens when you get a mission president who used to be a temple president. We were totally blown away with some of the things he talked about. I also got to catch up with some of the other Elders on the island, seeing some new faces and some old ones.

During the week, Elder Gantt and I also started listening to some other really interesting lectures. He has it on his i-pod, so I can't get a copy, but I highly recommend it. It's Truman G. Madsen and 8 lectures on the Prophet Joseph Smith. One thing that I remember that was really cool is the comment that Joseph Smith made that there was 100 times more to be revealed about section 76 in D & C and that if he revealed it all, it would have taken up as much space as it covers right now. (There are 119 verses in that section - it's the section that talks about the kingdoms of glory) So, if you have the time and resources available, I recommend listening to it.

Otherwise, things are going fairly well down here.

Elder Huffaker

What's Going Down in Town

Ok, to kinda brief you about what's going on in the island of Jamaica:

First off, town (see subject) usually refers to Kingston. So if someone says they're from town or if they're going to town, 90% of the time they are refering to Kingston.

Kingston has been a place where a lot of action is happening. Whatever I've picked up and am mentioning, it's all what I hear from people around me or what I catch on the news as we ride/walk by.

So in Kingston, the United States government is asking the Jamaican government to extradite a man named Dudus (doo doos - like what the dog does in the yard). Mr. "Dudus" is a drug kartel. However, he's paid off many politicians (including the Prime Minister) and in return, the political party in power is helping to hide him.

He pretty much runs a scheme in Kingston called Tivoli Gardens. It's here in Tivoli where most of the news is coming from. Many of the residents want to protect Dudus as well. So..... barricades have been thrown up, guns have been handed out - as large as .50 caliber -, and bombs have been placed. In return, the Jamaican government has sent in the police and the Jamaican Defence Force (JDF = military).

Many people have been killed and buildings (including a police station) have been burned and/or destroyed. The police and the JDF are doing searches of homes and persons.

This action and man hunt has reached Spanish Town and even the outskirts of Maypen. (please note that all in all, there are usually 14 missionaries in these areas).

In the meantime, Prime Minister Bruce Golding has publicly apologized. The United States and the oposing political party are asking for his resignation. However, he won't do it.

I don't know what is happening with the missionaries there, but everything is fine here in Sav.

------------------------------------------

In other news:

The new Mission President, Pres. Hendricks arrived in Jamaica safely.

Also, Elder Gantt and I received a surprise visit from our zone leaders on Saturday morning with a new telephone (because ours wasn't working) and later on received a phone call from Pres. Hendricks himself. He was stopping in Sav at the church for some reason and needed directions. When he finished he called us again and wanted to meet us. So.... I met Pres. Hendricks before half of the missionaries here in Jamaica have. He seems like a really amazing person. He's very tall and still has color in his hair.


AND HERE'S PICTURES . . . . .

First up: some pictures Elder Gantt took when we arrived home during the rain.

The scenic pictures were taken on the road to Grange Hill and as I was looking at the scene I was asking myself "Am I in Jamacia or Vietnam?"

How much line does it take to hold one wet missionary's clothes?

Elder Figueroa's last district meeting. We all wore our Clarks.


Lastly: WE MADE FOIL DINNERS ON FRIDAY!!!!



Elder Huffaker