Garrison’s Virgin Island View

We arrived home from Tortola on Monday about noon and went immediately to the grocery store to stock up because they had closed schools expecting a tropicl storm.  The stores were packed with people getting food, water and batteries.  We are pretty well prepared thanks in a large part from our predecessors that went through both Irma and Maria.  They stocked our apartment with a generator, batteries, food, solar powered flashlights.....you name it, they got us ready! So thankful for them.   I ran across this quote this week as I was studying Galatians.  I absolutey want to remember this....I have had too many experiences where I just happened to be at the right place at the right time or that someone else has been there for me at the right place at the right time.  I don't think it is a coincidence at all.  God is in the details of our lives.  This is a picture of the waterfront of Charlotte Amalie the night that the Tropcial Stor...

Well folks we are thinking that we are 1/2 way through this journey of a mission .  Looking back, I am trying to decide if i am a better person today than I was before coming.  I don't know if I am better, but I do know that I have learned a lot, not just about myself and my relationship with Dick but with my relationship with Our Heavenly Father too.  Here are a few things that I have learned or that I am still learning:  1.  I am naturally more at ease when I know what is on our agenda for the day but I have learned that each morning it is important to ask the Lord what HE WANTS US TO DO OR WHERE HE WANTS US TO GO.  It has been amazing to see that when we do that, often we are led to someone that needs to talk to us or who needs our prayers on their behalf.  2.  We have been disappointed that we haven't directly brought anyone into the church and that has been hard.  But I have learned that maybe our mission is to just plant seeds of lo...

We had the Elders over for lunch after church on Sunday and while we were eating we watched the 95th Birthday Celebration of President Russell M. Nelson.  What a phenemonal man he is!  He has accomplished so much and at 95 continues to be  an inspiration to so many.  Seeing the clips about his life from his family, his colleagues from the medical field and his fellow apostles and church leaders was so insightful.   One can just feel a deep love, respect and devotion from each one of them for him.    We are so blessed to be led by such an amazing prophet.   So Pickle Ball this Monday .......well we won 5-2 but notice that the Elders did win 2 games from us. They are creeping up on us.... This is the first time that they have won, so they are improving!  Watch out! It won't be long before they are man-handling us for sure! We had Branch FHE on Monday evening .  We had a good turn out, probaby 23 people were there, which is good ...

September started off good .  We had a very nice Fast and Testimony meeting on Sunday.  We didn't have many visitors this weekend, the hurricane probably scared people off a little bit.  We are looking forward to it getting a little bit cooler as the weeks go by.  Right now, the humidity is just killer!   We played Pickle Ball bright and early on Labor Day .   Even though Elder Garrison is the one exhausted, we did win today again.....I know the day will come that the Elders will be beating us, but for now we are enjoying the victories.  After the games, we treated the Elders to breakfast at McDonalds..I know, we are big spenders!  So one of the bonus things that happened with the hurricane was that there were a bunch of mangos that were blown off the trees around here.  So on Dick's morning walk, he brought a few home, so I made shrimp tacos with mango salsa.  They were deliciso if I do say so myself! Moving right...

Here we are in Week 33 .... and  September.  September is the month that both Irma and Maria hit the islands in 2017, so there is a sense of uneasy anticipation all around us.  When we were at the store on Tuesday night, people were just filling up their carts with tons of food and water and we wondered what was up?  Well when we woke up on Wednesday morning, we knew exactly what was going on......more on that to come...... Monday morning, bright and early, we started out the week out right by playing P ickle Ball!  Our first time back on the court since Elder Shah and Robinson left.  I have to say that we "schooled" the elders today, but aren't so naive to think  that as the weeks go on, that these 19 and 20 year olds will get better and better and these old geezers will stay the same and that they will soon be "schooling" us!  Either which way, it was fun to get out and play again and get some exercise and some laughs. You probab...