Hard Times

Dear Family, My computer is broken and I am at an Internet cafe. My computer is at the repair shop and I hope they will be able to help. I will let you know if it gets fixed, however if you don't hear from us for a while, that is the reason.

This has been the most emotional week on our mission. 9 of our members and several more nonmember friends were picked up by immigration and sent back to Haiti. I don't have time to explain it all right now, but it has been extremely hard. We made many trips to the detention center to take clothes and food to those being deported. When they fly them to Haiti, they drop them off at the airport and expect them to find their own way wherever they need to go. Everything they had in their pockets, cell phone, wallets, identification, money, is taken from them and they are left there. We have talked to several of them. Some have made it to their homes and some we do not know. The immigration officers came into our church building after the elders had been teaching, jimmied a locked door to get them out. Some of these men that were taken spent several hours each day translating and helping the missionaries. To be taken from the church (for me) was very hard. We were in contact with the church lawyer in SLC and found that in this country, it is legal for them to come in, and break down the door, if necessary to get people they think are undocumented. So we have no recourse. If immigration had come on Tuesday or Thursday during English class, they probably would have taken 40 or more men that are illegal from my class. President Ockey suggested we not hold English class for a while as immigration seems to be targeting this area. Your dad thinks they were there because they thought it was an "English" night. This is a great blow to me as this is how I spend much of my time and energy. My heart is broken but keep thinking this must be a precursor to something better..... :)

I have been worried sick about these men. Some of them have stayed together after arriving in Haiti. We tried to get them help from the church members in Haiti, but there were problems there too..... and our guys found themselves sleeping outside with no food. They have become like our children and to know they are hungry, alone, is very difficult.

Then Saturday afternoon we got a call from the area presidency to tell us our mission president had been released and was on his way home. He has only been out 10 months. We do not know why....someday I will tell you what I know....but I don't know much. I know it was NOT because of being unworthy or anything like that. I think it has to do with management style. We called him last night and talked to him, expressed our love and appreciation. I think that meant a lot to him. We were told not to tell others of his release until it was common knowledge. This AM we were told that it is public information now. A new mission president has been called and will be in Jamaica at the end of May. Elder Coleman of the Area Presidency will act as mission president until the new one arrives. He will be here in Providenciales this Friday to talk to us and the elders. I am sure we will get more information when he comes.

Then Saturday night after all this, your dad turned on the computer, and it would not work. We were so discouraged. I could not help but wonder what else could go wrong. Then I thought of you, my dear children. I began to pray that heartache would be deflected away from you. I know we are highly blessed and we want you to know of the tremendous blessings and peace that we feel being in the service of Heavenly Father. I hope the computer can be fixed..... we do so much of our work from it..... but it is just a "thing" and everything can be replaced.

Anyway, my time is close to being up....and they will shut down the computer. I love you all very much. I pray for you night and morning. Please know of our great love for each of you, your children, and for Heavenly Father. I feel we are guided and protected at every turn. What a great blessing of peace.

Love, Mom and Dad