Transfers
So transfers hit and I'm going to Marathon in the Keys!!!!!! It's a small little island about half way down the keys. It's a hot spot for vacationers and tourists. I got to transfers and got my new companion Elder Clayson, this is his third transfer so I'm polishing him. He has only been in Marathon for one transfer so he's pretty new to it as well. We packed up our stuff and made the 4 hour drive down lol. It was super awesome!!! If you don't know, at the bottom of Florida there is a line of islands that vere off to the left. And there are bridges that connect all of the lslands together. Basically there is one main road that goes through all of these small populated island. Key west is the southernmost island, and it is the southernmost part of the entire United States which is super cool!!
Apartment
Our apartment is super cool. It's on the second floor of a building, and below us is a vape shop, lol. The guy that lives down there is always bumping reggae which is super funny to me and we hear it like all night. Our apartment is a one room apartment plus bathroom. It's super small and cozy and I love it. Elder Clayson and I decided to rearrange a lot to make more space in the apartment which worked out great!!!
Branch
The branch we are in is super sweet. We have an okay amount of members, all of which are on the older side because if you live in the keys, most likely you're retired. A lot of members that do come, have houses here and they decided to come down for like a couple months and then after go back. What's nice is that the president here convinces them to move their records so they can receive callings which really helps out the branch. It is an English branch but there are a few inactive Spanish members that we are focusing on really hard. What's tough is that about an hour north, there's a key (island) called Key Largo. A while ago they had a branch there as well but as of a few months ago the stake ended up shutting it down because there wasn't enough priesthood holders or something. The hard part is that all the members there were left with driving an hour north to the mainland to the nearest ward, or driving an hour here to marathon. So some members find it extremely difficult to come to church which is tough to see. The missionaries play a big roll in the branch, they are in charge of sacrament, cleaning the building each week, leading activities, setting up and taking down events, and more. It's really interesting being in this position because I'm learning to kinda run a branch, which is really fun, lol.
Different Kind of Work
Missionary work here is a little different than what I'm used to. There are so many people that come and go here, and almost all don't stay. What I realized is that a big part of our work is just being friendly, kind, and loving to everyone we come in contact with. Just try to be Christlike with them and make a good name for the church and for missionaries so they can hopefully be inspired in the future if they come across missionaries again. A ton of planting seeds basically.
Cubans
I originally thought that coming down here to an isolated island would make my Spanish take a big hit, however there are SOOOOOOOO many Cubans here it's crazy. There are trailer parks completely full of them. I'm getting a lot better at understanding them which is really comforting. I have always struggled with their accents, how fast they talk, and the words they skip, lol.
Miraclesss
We had a super amazing experience the first day we got here. We got to Marathon and just hit the ground running and started visiting people and talking to everyone. There wasn't a ton of success of people willing to talk, but we just kept going. It got dark and we saw a couple guys outside their trailer and we decided to go talk to them. After a min, they offered us a shot to which we accepted, jk, but towards the end of the conversation I saw a truck full of Latins pass by and I was like NOOOOO as they drove by because it looked like a family. But I saw where they parked so we ended the convo super quick and we went over there. We got to know them and their names are Milagros (the mom), Noelbis (daughter but an adult), Noelbis' son Juan, and a baby. They are from Venezuela and they have lived here for 3 years so I don't think they are goin' anywhere lol. We talked about the gospel and about God for a min and we invited them to come to church on Sunday and they said they would love to come. Flash forward to Sunday and they actually showed up!! They walked to church and we greeted them at the door. We sat down with them and I translated for them for sacrament. Then for second hour I went to Relief Society to translate as well. It was such a spirit filled meeting where a ton of the sisters in the ward were sharing some amazing experiences. And Milagros actually answered a question that the teacher asked and I shared it with everyone and they all loved it. They felt super welcomed by the ward even though nobody spoke Spanish, lol. I have some super high hopes for them and I'm super excited to work with them!!!
Danger
Danger is a kid I got to know pretty early on in the week when I got here. My comp briefed me on him a little bit and told me how he has been taught by the missionaries for over a year. And instantly I had a million questions. But the situation is that he is super strong in the church, he comes to church every week, try's to come to activities, reads the Book of Mormon daily, prays all the time, and has tons of friends in the church. He wants to be baptized.... But heartbreakingly, his parents won't allow him. They are catholic and don't want him getting baptized. They are the NICEST people ever though and I connect super fast with them. They are from Cuba and they speak very little to no English. They feed us all the time, they say we have a second home there, and that if we need anything to let them know. Now for a lot of missionaries they would see danger and drop him because he is not "progressing", however we have seen some MASSIVE improvements with him. For example, normally Danger walks to church, but his parents came and picked him up, and they stayed in the parking lot and talked with us and another member that spoke a little Spanish. Then, they made something for Danger to bring for the linger longer that happens after church every week. AND THEN, we pushed for Danger's sister, who is 7, to come to church, and she came!!! Then they are starting to allow danger to go to activities, there was an activity a little bit ago where the young men went up to Miami and spent the night then went to a Miami Heat basketball game. We play pickleball with the branch every week and normally danger walks there, but his mom dropped him off and stayed for a little bit. His parents have been seeing him change for the better and how he is improving and becoming a better person through church, and they said if he keeps it up, he can be baptized by the end of the year. I personally think it can be a ton sooner, like within a month or two. They are opening up more Nad more and more and I'm so excited for Danger.
We go over there and play basketball with him sometimes and he's actually really good for a 13 year old lol. So we have some battles. We asked his parents if he could come knock doors with us this week and they said they would love that!! So I'm super excited to get him baptized soon because he's dying to be!!
Key Largo
Wow, that last paragraph was massive, my b. So continuing with the Key Largo point, where the branch was dispersed, the house that the missionaries used to live in is still owned by the church, so we got approval for it, and last week we went up on Wednesday afternoon, worked the rest of the day there, then slept the night at that house, then worked all the next day and went home that evening. It was basically going up there and trying super hard to visit and strengthen all the members up there to help them out and show love to them. It went great!! We met some amazing members that don't come to church and extended a ton of invitations. That is something we are planning on doing weekly if our miles let us because it's an hour away.
FOOD
We have been getting fed by everyone, lol. We keep doing visits and they keep giving us food. We were walking by a trailer park and this Cuban was prepping fish behind this restaurant, and we decided to talk to him and he invited us in and LOADED our plates up with Cuban food and we befriended everyone working there, lol. Then the next day, we were walking by a trailer park and we found a couple Latinas outside cooking and we went to talk to them and they asked if we wanted Tomales. SOOOO yummy. All the members always send us home with food and our pantries are full, lol. I thought I was going to never get fed here in this tiny little island but that is definitely not the case so far, lol. I love it here and I'm so excited to keep working hard here everyday!!!
I hope everyone has an amazing week, and we will see ya next Monday :))))
Elder Harby
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