Really cool experience

Hey everyone! This week was really good. We weren't sure whether Mark would get baptized or not but we made some arrangements to get his baptismal interview and were able to baptize him Saturday. I was then  able to confirm Mark and Onika  Sunday at church. It was a really cool experience and I could truly feel the spirit guiding me as I gave the blessing. Oh and in case you were wondering why my mastercard bill is so high its because i had to pull out $350 US to pay my bike fee but my card wouldn't let me do it all at once. Then we ran out of money this transfer due to all the traveling up the coast we had to do but the area is being split so I shouldn't have to spend as much and they are putting more money into my MSF account. Everything is getting more expensive in Guyana. Anyways love you guys and it was great to talk to you on Christmas!

Elder Fisher

A picture of us and Mark 

Mark and President Coalo and us

then my last picture with all La Grange and Vreed En Hoop Elders. 

Waiting on the Baptism

The baptism was really good yesterday and also kinda stressful. The baptism was scheduled for 4:00 just before the ward Christmas party. We got to the church nice and early and 4:00 comes around and the only people at the church are us and Onika and Anasha and one other priesthood holder who was setting things up for the party. At 4:45 we called the branch pres. and were like where are you? he said he was preparing to come and that we should move the baptism to 6:00 so that more people could be there. At 5:15 people started to show up for the ward Christmas part and the baptism. At 6:00 no one who was running the party was there and a missionary senior couple where just telling Christmas stories and sing Christmas hymns with everyone. We called the branch pres. again and he said he would be there in 10 minutes. So we waited for 10 more minutes, him and everyone else in charge and everyone who was supposed to give talks are still not there So we start the baptism service anyways. 5 minutes later the first speaker shows up and gives there talk but the second speaker and the president are still not there so Sister Fry the senior couple gave a talk at the moment. Just as she finished the branch pres. and everyone else in charge of the party showed up. I then baptized Onika and Elder Paul baptized Anasha. And the Christmas party started at 7:20. The next day not too many people showed up for church because it was raining and they stayed up to late at the party. It was pretty crazy. 

It has been raining lots here. Almost everyday. I also got hit with what the locals call Caribbean thunder (Diarrhea) and am very grateful for medication. 

Here's a picture of Onika and Anasha. I baptized Onika and she is the one standing next to me. 

Heres a picture of a funny looking dog. It also had a big string of green snot hanging out of its nose but it fell out before I could get a picture. 

The last one is a picture of the common backyard in Parika.

I'll try to skype on Christmas around 4:00 Guyana time which is around noon there

Anyways love you guys!

Elder Fisher

7 Investigators

Everything has been good. 

We had an awesome Sunday yesterday. We had 7 investigators to church! Onika and Anasha got their baptismal interviews and then we had to get their parents to sign the forms. They were a little hesitant at first but as we explained a little more about it and resolved some of their concerns they signed. We will be baptizing them Saturday at 4. 

We had zone meeting on Saturday. It was about obedience. Then after we had an interview with president Egbert. He told me he is splitting my area and putting missionaries in Parika. He said he will Either put me there leave elder Paul in Vreed En Hoop or put Elder Paul there and leave me here or put us both there. He hasn't decided yet but we will know on the 24 when the transfer calls happen. 

The alligator man is a guy who catches alligators and snakes and makes wallets and bags and then sells them to people. We go to his house once a week and make orders for the missionaries. He will also give us his alligator meet but he hasn't had any for us when we visit. 

Oh and we did our one handed push ups and I could do more but Elder Paul says its because he has gotten fat since he has been out. Anyways love you guys!

Elder Fisher

A Picture of the alligators the alligator man caught and the snake trying to strangle my arm and Elder Paul walking towards a bus in Parika. I tried to send the first two last week but I'm not sure if they sent with the rest.

Anaconda

(Just a fair warning to Grandma Fisher......content may not be to your liking)

Hey sorry for not sending pictures last week. 

Our email time got cut a little short. 
This week we were teaching one of our investigators Onika, who is a 15 year old girl and a friend started to come to the lessons. Then out of the blue her friend, Anasha said that she would like to be baptised so their baptism dates are set for the 17th. 

Our other investigator with a baptism date is Mark. He is a 12 year old boy and his date is set for the 24th. He was an old investigator we decided to pick back up. He came to church yesterday and bore his testimony and shared about how he has been exploring all the other churches in the area and he feels this one is the true church. All very exciting. 

My companion and I haven't had our one handed push up contest but I will report the results when it happens. 

We also visited the Alligator man this week. He didn't have any meat for us but he let me hold an andaconda. 

He is also making me an alligator scripture case. 

Creolese just like jiberish. Its like a mix of english, dutch, and french but its mostly english. When I say I'm sorry I can't understand you they say why not I'm speaking english but it sounds like a  completely different language. I'm picking it up a little more but still am struggling with a lot of people. But there's also other people who are easily understandable and don't speak creoles but everyone here seems to understand each other. Its pretty crazy. any ways thats all I got

Heres a 5000 dollar bill (for those who are wondering that is $32 and a bit Canadian) and me after I had recovered from trying a ghost pepper

Elder Fisher

Splitting the areas

 This week was good. We set 2 baptismal dates, one for the 10th and the other for the 17. 
I'm still having a hard time understanding creolese. We get fed like everyday here. I've eaten a lot of rice. A lady who we are teaching gave us a ghost pepper to try. I only took a small bite but it was really hot. Its a small world we live in. I'll have to challenge Elder Paul to those push ups here soon. Today we have a thanksgiving dinner with all the missionaries in Georgetown and LaGrange and us. After we are going to play some good ol' American Football. 
We have been going to Parika because they plan on combining our branch with LeGrange and splitting our area in half, so we have to find a sacrament building in Parika and also an apartment for missionaries there. Its too expensive for the members to drive to LeGrange which is where we hold our sacrament meeting so we are hoping when we start holding church out there a lot of members will reactivate. Our branch is actually really big but no one is active. Hopefully things will change.

Guyana -- First Area

 Co-operative Republic of Guyana,^[9] is a sovereign state on the northern mainland of South America. It is, however, included in the Caribbean Region due to its strong cultural, historical, and political ties with the Caribbean Community. Guyana is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north, Brazil to the south and southwest, Suriname to the east and Venezuela to the west. With 215,000 square kilometres (83,000 sq mi), Guyana is the fourth-smallest country on mainland South America after Uruguay, Suriname and French Guiana. Originally inhabited by several indigenous groups, Guyana was settled by the Dutch before coming under British control in the late 18th century.The legacy of British rule is reflected in the country's diverse population, which includes Indian, African, Amerindian, and multiracial groups.Guyana also has the distinction of being the only South American nation in which English is the official language. The majority of the population, however, speak Guyanese Creole, an English-based creole language with slight Dutch, Arawakan and Caribbean influences.

My first impression of Trinidad as I got off the the plane was that it is going to be awesome.We got to Trinidad and spent too nights there where we met our president and had an orientation of the mission. My mission president seems like a hard working and dedicated man. 
My first area is the Vreed - En-Hoop area. Its the largest area in the mission and basically covers the entire west coast of Guyana.  The area is very nice. Well pretty dirty and the ocean water is brown. Its very hot and humid. Lots of rain. Lots of lizards here and i have seen some alligators too. Everyone here says Guyana is the best part of the mission. So far I am enjoying myself.
My companion is Elder Paul and he is from Alabama. I like him he's pretty cool.
Guyana has lots of small little towns and the ocean. Its very hot today but its the rainy season right now so it hasn't been as hot as it can be. There's a lot more poverty here but everyone is very friendly.
Oh and they did not prepare me for the language down here at all. They do not speak English. They read and right English and understand it but they do not speak  it. They speak cree-a-lese (not sure how to spell it) So yeah I am having a very difficult time understanding everyone. Creealese is the most broken English in the world. It sounds nothing even close to English. Occasionally you can pick out an English word and that's it. I have been praying very hard to be able to understand them. Luckily my companion can understand them pretty well

Love Elder Fisher

Here's some pictures of me getting off the plane, a random cow tied to a pole, and my companion and I hanging out with some boys by the ocean wall

Note from the editor:
About 2 hours after getting Elder Fishers email i received a Facebook message from Corrie (Taylor) Dewsnup (my cousins daughter) who sent me a picture.

It happens that Elder Paul who is Justins companion is Nash and Madelines best friend from Alabama. She told us that Elder Paul is very proud of his ability to cook alligator. "Justin is in good if not entertaining hands."

Thank you Corrie for sending this to us.

The phone home

Hey I get to email today because I fly to Trinidad tomorrow. President Pratt also gave us permission to call home for 10 minutes so I should be calling soon. 
We drove to Halifax last night and went to church here and knocked on some doors. This week we did a lot of contacting and looking for someone to teach. There are lots of people who just want to talk to us but that's about it. 
I don't know when I will be emailing next. I'm going to miss my companions but it will be good. I'm pretty excited! Anyways love you guys!

Elder Fisher

The phone call:

Justin did phone and it was fun to talk with him. Thanks Pres. Pratt for allowing this special call. He's at Dartmouth at the mission home right now.

Elder Fisher said he is definitely going to miss Halifax, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia all areas where he has been working. He is just starting to get use to the cold again so he is looking forward to someplace warm for the winter.  "You wouldn't believe how many people i have met in these places who are from Trinidad. Even today as i have been here at the mission home I met one other person who have family in Trinidad."

So he leaves tomorrow, fly's to Newark NJ, then to Huston and then to Trinidad. He stays at the mission home for a day and then fly's to Gyanna on the 16th. He is getting to be quite the traveler as he will have visited many airports - Calgary, Seattle, New York, Dominican, Boston, New York, Halifax airports so far and will be hitting Newark, Huston, Trinidad and Gyanna airports all 11 airports within  a couple of months.

Says he's not getting homesick as he is keeping to busy with all the work.