Greetings from Guyana

Dear all,

Rachel and Sandra's son, Terry, got baptized on Saturday. It was so cool to see Rachel finally get baptized. After the baptism Rachel told us that she couldn't feel any pain which she had felt before the baptism. Elder Williams, my companion, baptized her and I got to do the confirmation on Sunday.

The Branch Choir sang for the first time on Sunday. It was pretty good. I was impressed. The branch enjoyed it and the people really like coming to choir practice. We started singing a new piece on Sunday, Abide with me 'tis even tide. I am excited for the choir to sing that in sacrament meeting soon.

Oh, we are teaching a girl and her grandmother. The girl is 10 years old and really cute. She's really nice and I guess she likes me. During the lesson yesterday she sat there looking at me and at the end of the lesson she finally asked, ''Why are you so white?'' I had to laugh a little and said, ''Because I was born that way.'' She asked, if I was from Guyana. I told her that I wasn't, but that I was from Europe. Then she asked, ''Will you take me to show me Europe some day?'' I told her that I would try to get her some pictures. I just thought that was funny. Her name is Cadesa. She should be getting baptized on Saturday.

I also know a girl that reminds me of Amy. Her name is Sheena. Maybe amy could write her a little letter. I showed her a picture of Amy, so she already knows who she is. She 's really nice and she is just like Amy in many ways. She's 11 years old.

So, I am doing really well. Take Care.

Love,

Jeff

Sandra's baptism was pretty cool...

Excerpt from Jeff's e-mail from 22 Sep. 2008

Hi everyone,

Things have been going well lately. We had a baptism this week. The person that I was able to baptize was Sandra. She is related to Rachel by marriage. She married her brother. The baptism was pretty cool. She said that she felt really light when she came out of the water. She seemed like the happiest person on earth.

Rachel said that she was going to get baptized this coming Saturday, which is great because Terry, Sandra's son is also getting baptized that day. He is excited and totally ready to get baptized. We are also working with some other people that should be getting baptized soon.

I was not able to send the small package with the CD of pictures yet, because they were giving me some trouble at the post office. I didn't quite get what was wrong, but the Lady made a fuss. Since I didn't feel like making a big fuss out of it, I decided to try again another time. I'll be sending it this week.

Well, as you know we had Zone Conference this past week. That was really good. We heard some great talks from President and Sister Robison. During the zone conference, I also had a great interview with President Robison. We talked about the possibility of me going to another area in a couple of months. He is really a loving and caring mission president.

Love, Jeff

Come Thou Found of Every Blessing

The music of "Come Thou Found of Every Blessing" is one of Jeff's favorites. We were so pleased to see the latest pictures of our son (taken by Sister Robison), who is serving a mission in Guyana. In the mission-blog. Sister Robison recorded a music piece, and we could see and hear Jeff singing with 4 other missionaries.

He is really enjoying his mission and has developed a love for the people in Guyana. As parents we enjoy reading about his weekly adventures and successes.

Please pause the MP3-player (left) before watching this video clip..
Voordat u het filmpje bekijkt, zet dan eerst even de MP3-Player op pause.

The Branch is really cool!

We'll have Zone conference on Friday again. They are always very good. The messages our mission president, his wife and the APs share are amazing. They help us do better at our missionary work.

My companion and I are getting along very well. We have a lot of fun doing our work. He is very committed and strives to do his best. I am learning a lot from him.

The branch is really cool. We had our second week of branch choir and it went very well. The people are having so much fun and so am I. I have had people come up to me saying, "I like the way you teach. You make it a lot of fun." I enjoy doing that. Everybody is doing their best. We are starting the recitals on Wednesday. I could use any music you have, so keep sending more. We have a Kawai piano and not the organ. I cannot wait to play on a real organ when I get home:D.

Love, Jeff

LaGrange is Great!

Hello everyone,

Well, the new area is great. The Area is huge. Its about 7 miles in width and a few miles in length. We're doing a lot of finding, because they baptized all of the investigators before I got there. The members in the new branch are great. They are very committed to the work with the misionaries and will do anything to strengthen the church. I started a Branch Choir on Sunday. We had a great turn out. There were about 25 to 30 people there. They liked it and I guess they like my music teaching skills.

I really love this work. It is so great to see people change their lives. The work really goes faster and better, when members work with the missionaries. When members feel the same desire we as missionaries feel, the ward or branch becomes stronger and they will want others to have a part in this as well. Referrals from members are the best investigators.

Love,

Jeff

Moving to LaGrange Guyana

Excerpt from Elder Vernes weekly letter 1 Sep. 2008

Hi everyone,

Well I am moving to my next area on Wednesday. My new companion is going to be Elder Williams. I know him and he's a great missionary. I am moving to the only church building in the mission with an Organ. President Robison wants me to give weekly organ recitals there. I am excited to start doing that. The only thing is that I need to get my hands on music. Mostly Church music. I brought some with me, but I think I'll be through that in a short time.

I am excited to find out what it is going to be like. There will be quite some changes. I will be in a two man apartment, I will need to practice the organ regularly, I will need to get to know the new members and I will need to get to know the new area. After spending six weeks in an area, a new area is quite the change. But I look forward to the next transfer! I can't wait to go over the river on Wednesday. My new area is called LaGrange.

Anyway, that's about all. I'm doing great. I'm having fun and I love the work.

Love, Jeff