Last Days in St. Kitts
I am kind of sad writing this last post for this incredible 15 months that we have been blessed to experience. I have so many thoughts flying around in my brain that is it really so hard to express how I feel. I know one thing: I am sad that we didn't have a chance to go to church in St. Kitts for one last Sunday but on the other hand, having church at our apartment with just two other friends was an experience that I will not soon forget. I am also sad that when we get home that we won't be having church so that we can say hello to everyone there and that we won't be able to mingle with our family or friends for at least 14 days. Things are just so different than I thought they would be.
On Friday when we flew home, we were in 5 different airports. THAT made me extremely nervous but I just had to trust that all this is happening for a reason. I know that the Lord knows better than me. EXAMPLE: When Grant and Olivia told us in November that they had bought a house and would be out of our house in January I was very nervous about our home being vacant for 6 months. We had several people ask if they could stay in our house, but when we would pray about that we didn't feel it was the thing to do either. Now, here we are just 2 months later and it all worked out perfectly for us and for Grant and Olivia.....so sometimes we just have to trust and have faith that things will work out.
I saw this thought pop up one morning that I thought was profound:
I saw this thought pop up one morning that I thought was profound:
The last few days in St. Kitts were so wonderful. Not only did we have Suzanne and Jeff Wilding there until the day before we went home, but we had Wilson and Elizabeth Walsh there. We met them like the 2nd week of our mission in St. Thomas and we consider them dear, dear friends. They were coming there and then heading to a few other islands before landing in St. Marten. The plan was to sail to Spain with some friends and their son....but with the virus going on, that is all out the window and they are kind of up in the air with all the ports closing. They took us out on their boat one evening and we saw a fantastic sunset. It was so great to see them again.
We got to say goodbye to a few of the members here too. This is a picture of us with Giles Edwards. He is really a wonderful person and we have learned so much from him. He is an example of how the gospel changes people. We will miss him so much!
WE are going to miss the beautiful sunsets here....
When saying goodbye to the Paynes on Thursday, Ava actually didn't want to let go of me. I told LJ and Tonisha that I would be glad to take her home with me as the best souvenir ever! But they didn't go for that really! Gonna miss them.....I could get a pretty good gramma fix with her! Aren't they just so cute?
This is a picture of our amazing Branch President and his little boy. It was such a pleasure to work with him and see how he managed the Branch there. I just wish that we could have stayed longer....
This is a picture of where we lived when we were in St. Kitts. It was the Silver Reef Condos. It was really a great apartment. So convienent to town and to church and very comfortable to live in. Coming back to our home here in Brentwood seems so excessive to me right now. I just feel like we have TOO. MUCH. STUFF......so we are doing a bit of purging at the moment.
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| Elder Hallows and Elder Smith |
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| Five darling sisters....all going home early. |
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| Elder Hallows bought all the sisters neck pillows with the balance on his card....so thoughtful of him! |
Sister Cantu and Elder Garrison
We flew to Puerto Rico and joined 7 other missionary that were going home early. 5 Sisters and 2 Elders. We all flew to Atlanta together but our flight and Sister Cantu's flight got cancelled from Atlanta, so we ended up staying overnight in a hotel and getting on a flight Saturday morning. She is from Las Vegas and ALL THE FLIGHTS TO LAS VEGAS were cancelled so she flew to LA and her parents drove there to pick her up! She was such a good sport and we feel blessed that we could spend some time with her before parting our ways. Coming home from a mission I always imagined all our kids and grandkids being at the airport with balloons and signs BUT not this time! Due to the virus scare, just Bob and Grant came and got us. But it was wonderful to see both of them. They drove us by the Stake President's home and we visited on his porch then proceeded home. Bob and Grants' families had gathered there and the signs were on our house. I am so mad that I didn't get a picture of everyone...but we were trying to stay our distance.......here are the pictures that I did get:
So. We are home, but a part of our hearts are still in the beautiful Carribbean Islands of St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, St. Kitts and Nevis. It was a wonderful opportuity to serve and we met some people there that will be friends forever. Some of them we may never see again in this life, but the impact that they have had on us will never be forgotten. We have loved serving in these islands and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with our friends. How blessed we are to have Christ as our friend, our Savior and our Redeemer. I know that He knows each one of us, we are His children, and that He cares about us and that He wants us to return to live with Him again. What a wonderful blessing it is to know these truths as we go through the things that we are going through on this earth: especially now, when there is so much uncertainty. He lives, and He loves us....we can always count on that.
Stay strong and steadfast.
Love,
The Garrisons
So blessed to have this family!
And last but not least....Chloe turned 16 this week! Happy Birth- day Chloe... She is such a wonderful girl and we are blessed to have her in our family.
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