From St. Maarten to St. Kitts, Antiqua, St. Lucia, Trinidad and finaly Suriname.

My flight back to Suriname was quite the adventure. I flew from St. Maarten to St. Kitts and on to Antigua where I had a two hour lay-over. From Antigua the plane flew to St Lucia and then to Trinidad. When I arrived in Trinidad, the lady at the customs counter would not let me in the country. The couple had not given me any contact information of anyone in Trinidad, so I did not know who was coming to pick me up and who I was staying with. That information needs to be put on the entrance form, but I left it blank because I did not know what to do.

When I got to the immigrations counter the lady sitting there would not let me in. I told her that I did not intend to stay, but that I needed a visa to get to Suriname. I showed her the ticket and all of the information and that I was on my way to Suriname, but she would not let me in. She was quite rude, and sent me off back to the arrival hall. I had to wait there until she called me, which she didn't.

As if someone knew I was going to be in trouble, my very first companion, Elder Moala, who was going home and on his way to the mission home walked right past me in the arrival hall. I stopped him and asked him for the information that I needed and I was able to get in. It was great to see him. He should be home by now.

After one day in Trinidad, I was sent to Suriname at 9.30 pm. We arrived in Suriname after midnight. It was a long trip. I saw some members from the other area and they were so happy to see me and so was I. They were proud to report that the choir that we had started was still going well and that they had sung for District Conference. It is great to be back. I will be serving in Paramaribo South, which is close to my old area.

My new companion Elder Roepers is great. He has been on his mission for one transfer, and he is really motivated to work hard and to do his best. We should be having 2 baptisms on Saturday and a few more in the coming weeks. We have been teaching some great people that are ready to accept the gospel and get baptized.

Love, Jeff