May 25, 2014

Well we worked on more projects and reports this week.  The newest one is with a dialysis centre (yes it is spelled different here) project that we are working on. There is a critical need for life saving dialysis treatment in Jamaica.  In the Spanish Town area 150 people are on a waiting list for treatment.  The newest people on the list can expect to wait for 2 years before receiving treatment.  Many of these people will die before they can receive treatment.

The Dialysis Centre is new and has only three dialysis machines.

 Two Members Rohan and Craig started the centre.  Rohan had an uncle who died because he could not get dialysis treatment.  Every since then, Rohan has had a dream of operating his own dialysis centre so others can receive the treatments they need to live.  His dream has come true but he needs a little help.

Branch President Lue went with us to evaluate the project

 Here he is inspecting the equipment.

 The next two pictures are of the water purification system.  This system is one of the best on the Island and should have cost 50 million Jamaican dollars but they were careful and were able to purchase the equipment for only 1 million Jamaican.  The say they have been helped with many miracles while setting up the center.

We have been working hard on this project and we will let you know how it turns out.

We went to Hope Garden some of the other Senior Missionaries.  It’s very pretty place and we took some picture while we were there with our cell phone but as luck would have it we can’t make the computer see the pictures to down load them.  Maybe next time…

Friday was Jamaica’s Labor Day so we had a 3 day weekend…yup we got bored!  We worked on the computers until our eyes went buggy and then would go out and walk around the apartment lot until our eyes would focus again…this getting older is not for sissy’s. Thing are starting ti creak and we’re starting to moan getting up and down. Bending over can land you on your nose if you’re not careful.  It is a good thing the Lord loves us and keeps us upright and mobile most of the time. The rest of the time we are in a prone position sleeping!  Life is good and we love our time here.  We have been so privileged and blessed to have good health. We have no complaints and no wish to murmur, just poking fun at ourselves!  We have two eyes to see this beautiful people, two ears to hear them sing the songs of Zion, a nose to smell the wonderful flowers created by the hand of God, two hands to serve others with, and two feet to move us around this wonderful island. What a blessing it is to be a child of our Heavenly Father, living on the earth at this momentous time in history..

We love you all and miss you so much. We want to say congratulations to Abbie Miller (Lori’s middle daughter) for her graduation from Kindergarten, and Bronco Larsen, (Katie’s youngest son) for his graduation from his Preschool. Both are wonderful grandchildren and we love them so much!!!

Love

Mom and Dad

E/S Murdock

May 18, 2014

We know you just got an email but here it is time to do another one.

Mission work is fun and rewarding but with each project come with lots of hard work, planning, computer entry, and obstacles to overcome before anything can happen.  However it is the hard work and struggles that make the projects worthwhile, after all if everything was easy how would we know when we are doing well or when things were good.

What you see in these pages is only a small fraction of the kindness, and the great work being done by the Church all over the world. 

Most of this week we have been starting new projects and working the Humanitarian reports and documents.  Between the Project Development Worksheet, and getting all of the information down in the correct order with all the documents attached to the church computer program it is a lot of work.   We are progressing but not as fast as we would like. 

We had Zone Conferences this past week. We attended the one in the Mandeville District as we were asked to speak in that conference.  Mom spoke on Patience and Dad spoke on Diligence. Dad did a really great job and even threw in a Search and Rescue story about Tug, our first SAR dog.  Everybody loves a good animal story… Mom did well too; she said she is still trying to learn how to be patient and that it’s more than just waiting for something to happen. It is doing all you can to make it happen. There are no magic pills that make you patient and no book to read so you end up patient when you’ve finished

We visited with the Ocho Rio Branch to attend a service/humanitarian project where Branch helped residents of the St. Ann Infirmary with personal health care and afterword they gave some hygiene kits and quilts.  The Hygiene kits were donated by the Churches Humanitarian Department.  The quilts were hand made by members of the Church (back in Utah).  When we first arrived residents just stared and wondered where all the visitors came from.

 We found they were all friendly and happy in spite of their struggles.   This young man was really happy to have someone pay him a little attention and get his picture taken.

 President Lester cut finger nails and toe nails while getting acquainted with the residents. Other members cut hair and shaved some of the residents.  The residents come from all walks of life Masons, Farmers, Backhoe drivers, Mechanics and Taxi cab drivers.  Most had one thing in common; they had no one to take care of them and no one who came to visit them.  The little kindness and friendship offered by the Ocho Rio Branch really brightened up their day.  One man was expressed his thankfulness;  he said they take good care of us here, but life in an infirmary can be hard and discouraging so he asked if we could come back once in a while with a spiritual message.  President Lester was so touched by the experience he announced on Sunday that the Branch would go the infirmary periodically and give uplifting spiritual messages.

 Brother Francis is a new member who is all fired up and eager to serve in any way he can, including attending church and cutting finger nails.  He has sacrificed much to become a member but is rock solid in his faith.  If you remind us when we get home we can tell you about his inspiring story.

 At the Closing Ceremony President Lester turned 60 hygiene kits (soap, towel, tooth brush, tooth paste, and comb) and some quilts (Vicky and Carma will recognize them) over to the Infirmary caregivers who will distribute them to the most needy residents.  A North Coast Newspaper writer was there to take pictures and get information for his news column.

Love and miss you all.

Mom and Dad

E/S Murdock

May 11, 2014

Well the weeks are literally flying by and this letter is late!!

We had transfers again this week and a trip to Sav and Discover Bay sandwiched in between. Our assignment at transfers was to bring in two elders from May Pen, from different houses, into the transfer meeting and then to bring 3 back out to May Pen. It is always an exciting time for the young missionaries when it is transfer time.  Most are brokenhearted at having to leave their old areas but then so excited to see everyone else being transferred and the brand new missionaries at the transfer meeting. Plus it is always a grand adventure to go to a new place and to get to know new people.

In Sav we are looking at a little school that is owned by Branch President and Sister Robinson. They are trying to help the poorer members of their community by providing a safe and educational environment to have the children in while their parent is at work.  They are also helping with literacy by teaching reading to children who are struggling with this issue so that they don’t get behind in their school work.

 We were able to go to Holiwell, Jamaica’s National Park so here are a few pictures from up there.

 We packed a lunch and had a cool afternoon with the temperatures in the low 70’s, it was so nice.

Sunday was Mother’s Day and we were able to have the four Yallahs Elders here to make their phone calls.  It is always a grand time in the apartment when it is filled with young missionaries; to see their faces when they talk to their families.

 One of the elders is Elder Beckford. He is Jamaican and when he called home he got right on the computer and was doing Family History work!! Talk about dedication! Elder Beckford is the new Branch President of the Yallahs Branch as Elder Stuart just went home.  They are hoping to have a Yallahs branch member become the next branch president after Elder Beckford.  Things are all going on the Lords timetable.

Mom is going to Choir practice on Sunday nights. They will be singing in the Stake Choir. It is hard to realize that we will have our first Stake in just 4 weeks. She has assumed her position behind the pulpit sitting next to Sister Mortensen. That is their comfort zone. They say Put the Jamaicans up front and we will just be background noise. We are also excited to see some Senior Missionaries returning to visit us for this event. The Pugmires ,  Larsens, Smiths, and the Whiteheads will be here for 4-7 days. These Seniors are marvelous examples for each of us to emulate in their service to the Lord as Missionaries in the later years of our lives.

We did neglect to mention that last Sunday May 4^th was Aaron Miller’s (Lori’s husband) Birthday. He is a wonderful example of a loving husband, father, and son in law.  We are thrilled to have him as part of our family.

If anyone is questioning whether or not to go on a mission…the answer is YES, GO, Go Now. The need is critical. Even for us, we are losing our office couple…again…next month. They have been filling in since our official office couple, who left in February. The church has immediate need for 100 Senior Office Couples all over the world. But if you want to come here we can hook you up!!( For any Senior Couple, not just office). Also for Humanitarian Service Couples…when we leave in September our area (the Caribbean) will be short 3 of the 4 possible positions.

 We have logged more time getting reports sent out and projects ready for submission. Know that we love you and pray for you daily.

Mom and Dad

E/S Murdock

P.S. Steve Barrowman can you check on our mission account and let us know where we stand?

Larsens,Pugmires, Whiteheads: Can you look for “Caffe D’vita’s  Fruit Cream Smoothie” mix at your grocery stores.  It is made in California so we are hoping you can find some and bring about 3 cans when you come?!?!

May 4, 2014

We are looking into a project in Savana La Mar to assist Quality Care Nursery Center.  This is a small nursery school just getting started.  We were there at the request of President Robinson Branch President of the Savanna La Mar Branch.  The first picture is inside the school. School starts here for the children when they are 3 years old. This way the mother can go to work and the children are cared for. 

 The also teach Literacy to school age children who need some extra guidance.  These students tend to come from very poor homes and most struggle to pay for the literacy classes. It is kind of a catch 22 because they are the ones that need the training the most in order to break the chain of poverty. 

The next picture is President and Sister Robinson in front of the school.

 Now we move on to the Yallahs food initiative project closing ceremony in Yallahs.  We have told you about this great Branch and the friendships we have made with them.  So we will let the pictures tell the story.  In this picture the automobile wheels are the charcoal grills.  The put real charcoal they make from partially burnt wood inside the rims.  Then the pans are place on top.  The whole dinner was cooked this way.

 Here is a picture of the Relief Society dishing up healthy portions of food.

 Our Mission President Brown and his wife attended and had lots of fun with this great group.

 We had a small ceremony with a couple of talks from people about the chicken project.  The group calls themselves the Chicken Council.  Then we had a slide show presentation of all the pictures we took during the building of the project.  They were laughing with ,and clapping for each other.

 Finally this is a group picture.  All in all it was a great ceremony and dinner with around 60 to 70 people.

We also spent two days helping the Pearsons move from Spanish Town to Negril for their new assignment there.  They will be helping with 3 branches, Savanna la Mar, Negril and Montego Bay. President Brown wants them to help get the members ready to create another district on the North West side of the Island. They were scheduled to go home the end of next month but elected to extend their mission another 5 months. We are thrilled to have them extend their mission as senior couples are so hard to find.

Well there is always much to do and little time left to do it in so we had better get back to work!  We love and miss you all and hope you have a great week.

Love

Mom and Dad

E/S Murdock

April 27, 2014

We really had a fun time visiting with Carma, Vicky and Virgil this past week.  We took them up to Ocho Rios and did a few tourist things. We walked through this park and went to the Craft Market and visited with John John and some of the other vendors we know there. They were real helpful in finding the treasures we were looking for. One lady even ran all over the market looking for one specific item for Dad. After the bartering was done he ended up with 3 of them! She was a real trooper in our hot and humid climate! He was having a good of a time in there. 

 We had President Lester of the Ocho Rios Branch cook a traditional Jamaican meal of Brown Stewed Chicken, steamed vegetables, and Rice and Peas. He cooked it over a fire outside and in back of his house. He raised the chickens himself. He firmly believes in being self-reliant and started his chicken coop by himself by saving his money to purchase his first chicks and finding scrap materials to build his coop.  He is a very resourceful man. The second picture shows his cooking the chicken in a large pot over the fire.

 His son Peter even helped pluck the chicken.  The man on the right is someone who Pres. Lester has sold some chickens to and he came to prepare his own chickens to take home. They even save the feet of the Birds to make chicken foot soup…it tastes really good!

 President Lester has quite the yard. He even has his own chocolate tree!  Inside that pod are many cocoa beans.  Too bad we can’t get this tree to grow in my backyard!

  Carma, Vicky, and Virgil stayed in this lovely place. Since it had a big table we came to their place to have breakfast to start each day. Dad and I stayed in a different room in this complex. We went out their front door to the road and then started down 72 steps and around the pool area to get to our room. It was quite a hike traversing those steps but we enjoyed it.

 On our last day here we saw this man coming up the drive with his catch of the morning.  The colors on the fish were amazing! Some were pink, red, green and blue. They were really beautiful.  He planned on selling them to someone farther up in the housing complex.

 We did get time for a little swim in the Caribbean Sea. The weather cooperated and the rain held off until well after we were done here.

It was hard to send them home on the airplane. We love and miss our families so much, but the Lord still has some work for us to do here.

The temple trip for the Jamaican members was a great success. The youth had an Area YSA Conference and were able to do baptisms for the dead. We had temple marriages performed, and had families sealed together. It was a marvelous experience for them. They had so many attend that they not only filled the chartered flight full but they had to have some go on a commercial flight too. What a glorious opportunity for all involved. Next we are looking forward to the organization on the first Stake in Jamaica, just about 5 weeks away!

Take care dear family and friends, know that we love and pray for you all…

Love

Mom and Dad

E.S Murdock

P.S. Dad got his new glasses and they are helping quite a bit!! Still no driving after dark but at least in the daylight he can see clearly now!! What a blessing…

April 20, 2014

Another good week.  We have been out of internet for the first part of this week so this is slightly later than usual…

 We were able to meet with Spanish Town Hospital and it looks like the want to participate in the Church’s wheelchair program. That is good because we don’t have anyone in the Spanish Town area. We were able to meet with Ms. Chambers, we were scheduled to meet with Ms. Hamilton the hospitals CEO but she was having some car trouble the day of our appointment. Ms. Chambers was open with us about her concerns about the amount of time and expense to the hospital but we hope we were able to alleviate her concerns.

Delivering Hygiene kits to Yallahs, Salvation Army, and Ocho Rios.  This picture is of Captain Mitchell at Salvation Army.  They regularly give to the poor and the needy. The SA has been a great partner to work with.

 Captain Mitchell gave this little girl one of Vicky and Carma’s Mattress pads.  It does not look like she is going to give it up anytime soon. 

 Ocho Rios Branch President Lester got some of the Mattress Pads to take to a local infirmary.  In this picture you see him and his some Peter and Dad’s sister Vicky. The young man is the plaid shirt is also a member but I can’t remember his name.  I believe he is a new convert as of a few months ago.  He was helping to take the kits up the long flight of stairs up to the church.

 We took Captain Mitchell at Salvation Army some Hygiene Kits and pads to give out to the homeless and needy. In this picture is Dad, Carma, Captain Mitchell, Vicky, Mom holding Little Derrick Junior and Virgil

 Tracy (Ramounah ) and Rondall  Anderson cooked us a really good Jamaican dinner.  It included rice and peas, barbeque chicken, curry chicken, jack fruit, bread fruit, baked and fried, ackee and salt fish, 2 kinds of mango and fresh coleslaw. We laughed and told stories on how funny Americans are here in Jamaica. We all enjoyed the evening spent together.

 Then we attended church at the Yallahs Branch for Easter Sunday.  These are the members of the Priesthood.  The first time we went to Yallahs they had 2 Priesthood holders.  Now they have all these and some more who were sitting on the left but not in the picture. This little branch is growing!

It has been fun to have Dads sisters and brother in law here. We will have more adventures with them in the next email.

What a blessing it has been to be able to serve the Lord here in Jamaica.  We have been so humbled by all of the prayers and support that have come our way.  The Lord has truly watched over us and strengthened us so that we were able to do His work.  To our family and to our friends we say a sincere and heartfelt Thank-You.  You are an inspiration to us…Keep the Faith and Hold to the Rod…

Love

Mom and Dad

E/S Murdock

April 13, 2014

Wa gwan in Jamaica

Well it has been another busy week here in the Lords vineyard of the Jamaica Kingston Mission. 

We started off the week by purchasing more vaccine from the Ministry of Health for the prospective missionaries.  After we got them delivered to the Drs. office we headed to our Emergency Container in Spanish Town and picked up some of the Hygiene Kits that we were going to take to the Hopeton Branch on Saturday.  They are doing a service project at an Infirmary there and at the end of the service they will donate the Hygiene Kits to them to help provide these little necessities to help alleviate some of what the patient’s lack that is not provided by the infirmary.  After returning home we started getting dinner ready as the Office and Kingston Elders were coming by for haircuts last Monday night.

Tuesday we went to Montego Bay and Savanna la Mar and met with their branch councils.  The first picture is of the Mo Bay Branch and the second one is of the Sav Branch Councils.  We were meeting with them to discuss the Food Initiative Projects that we had started, but then had to hold off a little on.  There have been some changes in our program and with the new Self Reliance Center opening we have talked with them about the other options that are available to them along with the chicken coops.  In Mo Bay we had Pres. Blake the Self Reliance Manager with us via Skype and in the Sav Branch he was there in person with us.  It looks like our Building Self Reliance Project and the Church’s Self Reliance Center Program mirror each other, so it is a wonderful marriage of concepts and ideals. With the aid of the humanitarian projects all persons who have a commitment to improve their situation, and a real need, can be helped in what will be best for them.  Both of these branches are very progressive in helping their members  and looking out for each other.  They are great examples of the Saviors love for his children. 

 After our meeting with the Sav Branch we headed to Negril. The Pearsons who came with us on our trip are looking for a new apartment. They are a senior couple who have been serving in the Spanish Town 1^st branch and have extended their mission call another 5 months and have been reassigned to the North and West Coast of Jamaica. We were able to help them find appropriate housing in Negril. The branches they will be working with are Mo Bay, Negril, and Sav. They will be working with the branch leaderships to help train them so they can become a ‘Mini-District’. They will then be more able to take care of the needs of the members in their areas.  Jamaica is only 150 miles long but it can take 6 hours to get from one end to the other. The roads here are narrow and winding and there are several mountains to cross over. So if they can help them become ready to be a district it will be a big help for their members and for the Mission President as well.  He won’t have to make quite so many trips out there.

The picture below is of the hotel we stayed at in Negril called the Westender. It is by far the best place we have stayed at in Negril. It is on the farthest west end of the island; past the lighthouse a couple of miles, sitting on a nice quiet road without any parties that last till 3-4 am. They have an excellent chef who cooks all you meals in an outdoor restaurant on the property and you have this lovely beach front setting. The sea was turbulent when we were there and in the photo below you can see a covered bench. The bench surrounds a blow hole and then the waves come crashing in the water shoots up the blow hole and sprays water all over you. You do not sit at this little place without a swimsuit on as you will be soaked with the first wave that is forced up through Wa gwan in Jamaica

Well it has been another busy week here in the Lords vineyard of the Jamaica Kingston Mission. 

We started off the week by purchasing more vaccine from the Ministry of Health for the prospective missionaries.  After we got them delivered to the Drs. office we headed to our Emergency Container in Spanish Town and picked up some of the Hygiene Kits that we were going to take to the Hopeton Branch on Saturday.  They are doing a service project at an Infirmary there and at the end of the service they will donate the Hygiene Kits to them to help provide these little necessities to help alleviate some of what the patient’s lack that is not provided by the infirmary.  After returning home we started getting dinner ready as the Office and Kingston Elders were coming by for haircuts last Monday night.

Tuesday we went to Montego Bay and Savanna la Mar and met with their branch councils.  The first picture is of the Mo Bay Branch and the second one is of the Sav Branch Councils.  We were meeting with them to discuss the Food Initiative Projects that we had started, but then had to hold off a little on.  There have been some changes in our program and with the new Self Reliance Center opening we have talked with them about the other options that are available to them along with the chicken coops.  In Mo Bay we had Pres. Blake the Self Reliance Manager with us via Skype and in the Sav Branch he was there in person with us.  It looks like our Building Self Reliance Project and the Church’s Self Reliance Center Program mirror each other, so it is a wonderful marriage of concepts and ideals. With the aid of the humanitarian projects all persons who have a commitment to improve their situation, and a real need, can be helped in what will be best for them.  Both of these branches are very progressive in helping their members  and looking out for each other.  They are great examples of the Saviors love for his children.

After our meeting with the Sav Branch we headed to Negril. The Pearsons who came with us on our trip are looking for a new apartment. They are a senior couple who have been serving in the Spanish Town 1^st branch and have extended their mission call another 5 months and have been reassigned to the North and West Coast of Jamaica. We were able to help them find appropriate housing in Negril. The branches they will be working with are Mo Bay, Negril, and Sav. They will be working with the branch leaderships to help train them so they can become a ‘Mini-District’. They will then be more able to take care of the needs of the members in their areas.  Jamaica is only 150 miles long but it can take 6 hours to get from one end to the other. The roads here are narrow and winding and there are several mountains to cross over. So if they can help them become ready to be a district it will be a big help for their members and for the Mission President as well.  He won’t have to make quite so many trips out there.

The picture below is of the hotel we stayed at in Negril called the Westender. It is by far the best place we have stayed at in Negril. It is on the farthest west end of the island; past the lighthouse a couple of miles, sitting on a nice quiet road without any parties that last till 3-4 am. They have an excellent chef who cooks all you meals in an outdoor restaurant on the property and you have this lovely beach front setting. The sea was turbulent when we were there and in the photo below you can see a covered bench. The bench surrounds a blow hole and then the waves come crashing in the water shoots up the blow hole and sprays water all over you. You do not sit at this little place without a swimsuit on as you will be soaked with the first wave that is forced up through the hole.  Mom can personally attest to that fact!

 After returning from our trip out west we headed Yallahs (yup…the east part of the island!). There we finished purchasing the feed for their chicken projects. Now the members have received all the startup material to get their project up and running and start them on the road to self-reliance.  They will be ready to slaughter their first crop of birds in a week or so.  We have spoken with the branch president and they will let us know when they will be planning a closing ceremony to officially mark the end of the church’s help and the beginning of their own self-reliance projects.  It has been a sweet experience to see these humble members pull together and work with each other to help each other be successful. We hauled 68 bags of feed (in two trips) and the last 14 bags of feed were taken in a taxi to the members who lived farther out. All of the arrangements were made by the branch. The Taxi Driver, Barton McGowan, is a member of the church and he put all 14 bags inside his taxi and headed out to make the deliveries.

 Hauling chicken feed in a taxi

 Bro. Lofters was so happy with his layer girls. He goes out every day to visit with them and prays for them to lay good eggs.

 Bro Lofters has quite a few fruit trees on his property and volunteered to pick us some mangos.  His trees are very tall so he uses two bamboo poles lashed together with a hook on the end and a cloth basket to catch the fruit after the hook pulls it off the trees.

 The last picture is of George Williams and his dad Leonard. George is on the right holding one of his ‘little girls’.  He also goes out every day to visit them and tells them how good they will taste. George was our project foreman and did an exceptional job of not only teaching the others how to build their coops but of the lessons of service and love.  He will be receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood very soon.

We do have a rather large announcement to make…Jamaica has been granted permission to have its first Stake!!!!  The Stake will officially happen on the weekend of June 7^th-8^th 2014.  Everyone here is very excited about the changes that will happen and are so thankful for the growth the Church has been experiencing in the last few years. That includes the re-activation of members as well as new converts.  There has been a tremendous effort by the members, local leadership and missionaries alike in making this happen here on this beautiful Island. We feel blessed to be here for this historic moment in Jamaica’s time.

As usual we love our work and the time we get to spend here is precious to us. We feel like we cannot move fast enough to get it all accomplished.  Please continue to pray for more senior missionary couples, not just for our mission but all over the world. We will be needing a Humanitarian Couple to replace us soon. It takes about 4 months to get the paperwork completed to enter Jamaica so get busy and put in a good word for us with your friends and neighbors… Only 8% of missionaries are Seniors and we need so many more.  We are getting a couple from Sandy in the early part of summer and are so happy for this wonderful news.. The Bowcutts know them and we are excited to hear of the Bowcutts new mission call too! What a great example they are for all of us. We wish them well and send our love and prayers of support for them.

Take care dear family and friends and know that we love you all…

Love

Mom and Dad

E/S Murdock

April 7, 2014

Letter from Jamaica

Well this week we had an unwelcome April fool’s joke…our internet stopped working and we were left without internet for two days.  After discovering that it was our wireless internet box that died we went and purchased another one; so we are up and running again.  It only took two days to get this figured out and now most of everything back to normal. Our Magic Jack phone is still not working and neither is the printer but we will continue to work until we get those back up and running as soon as we can.

We also had two wheelchairs to deliver this past week. The picture below is of the street we delivered the second one too.  It looks pretty good but the truck was just about too wide to fit. It was about 5:30 pm and the people usually start coming out to visit with their neighbors about this time of evening.  The heat of the day starts to dissipate and people get to visiting with each other. This was a pretty friendly street and everyone smiled or waved to us as we went by.  We were asking where the lady lived we needed to deliver the wheelchair to but no one knew who she was. Then Tracy (our wheelchair monitor) started asking for the lady who walks with a walker and really struggles trying to get around. The people said “oh you mean ‘mum!’” It turns out that she has a lot of people who just call her ‘mum’ as she helps those she can around the neighborhood. She is a nice lady who is helping to take care of her daughters, granddaughters, and great grandchildren too. She was cooking Chicken Foot Soup in her little outside kitchen hut and it sure smelled good.  She lives in Portmore.

 This young lady young lady in the middle is about 20 years old and has been incapacitated for about 5 years now. We don’t really know what happened but have been told she had a terrible shock and has not walked since.  Dad had to assist in getting her into her new wheelchair as she could not help in anyway.  She lives with her mom and sister in this little house. The camera shows the whole width of the room. The length is about 20 feet long. She was so happy to have a wheelchair. Now she can get out of the house and attend her church.

We also met with the Director of the FISH Foundation about partnering with them for dental equipment and help with our prospective Jamaican missionaries.  This is a great foundation that serves the poor and needy here in Kingston. 

We met with Pres. Blake at the Self Reliance Center and decided to make some combined trips this next week to see if we can help each other do our respective work. Much of what we do and what they need can be done in a cooperative effort.

Also this week we headed up to Port Antonio to meet with the Branch President up there to discuss starting a Food Project there.

Conference weekend was wonderful! We enjoyed watching it on the internet. We were able to see all of the sessions. We had the Mortensen’s and the Senior Sisters here and shared lunch and desserts…always good times.

Well another week has come and gone and we have just completed 18 month of our mission.  Time is starting to wind down so quickly now that it is scary to think of all we want to get done before we are called to return home. Dad’s eyes are holding up for us and we have been told by Pres. Brown to not drive after dark so we are trying to be obedient.  It is hard when there is so much to do and we have to depend on the goodwill of other to assist us if we need to be out after dark.  We have been blessed to be surrounded by such good people here in Jamaica who are willing to give us a lift to meetings or appointment that will keep us out after dark.  The Lord blesses us so much. There is no way we can ever repay him but to be diligent and obedient to his commandments.  We love the work. We love the Lord. We love the people of Jamaica. We love our families who make our mission possible. Without all of your love and support we would be lost. Thank you for all you do for us and for the Lord…Keep the Faith and Hold to the Rod!

Love

Mom and Dad

Grandma and Grandpa Murdock

E/ S Murdock