July 14, 2025
Good morning, beautiful people! It's definitely been a little while. Few things to cover in today's episode of: "Where the heck have you been?!" It's been a very fun past few weeks. For those of you who had no idea, which would be all of you, I was transferred a couple of weeks back, and I'm back on the island of my youth, the beautiful island of Curaçao. And I have a new companion, Elder Winfield, who's perhaps the coolest Missionary ever, so it's been pretty fun!
Getting used to the island life again was a little Strange. There's less traffic, no cows, and you drive on the correct side of the road again. But not to fear, I was back in Guyana again this week! Every 6 months or so our mission president likes to bring us to Guyana for a leadership conference, and this week was the week. So, after about 7 days back on the island, I packed up and headed to Guyana with a couple of other missionaries. What an adventure it was! We flew from Curaçao to Panama, hung out in Panama for a few hours, almost went to see the Panama Canal, then flew into Guyana at about 3 am. Once off the plane, we began the next adventure of getting to the senior couple to get some sleep before our meetings in 4 hours. Quick reminder that Guyana drivers are absolutely crazy all day every day, but most of them are probably also drunk at 3 am. Armed with that knowledge, we hopped on a bus with a good friend of ours and headed into the unknown. The unknown lasted about 45 minutes, not a whole lot of unknown.
Three hours later, we were up, kicking, and ready to spend a few hours learning from Elder Zabellos! It was a great conference, and we learned a lot about how we can become better and stronger leaders. From there, it was off to the senior couple to sleep, then back to Curaçao! About 48 hours of travel with about 5 hours of sleep. 10/10, definitely worth all the lost sleep!
Man, it's good to be back in Curacao! Guyana was a blast. Truthfully, I loved every second. But I needed more adventures so it was time to go. Really fast, I just want to leave you all with a few scriptures: Alma 5 45-47
45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.
47 And moreover, I say unto you that it has thus been revealed unto me, that the words which have been spoken by our fathers are true, even so according to the spirit of prophecy which is in me, which is also by the manifestation of the Spirit of God.
Sometimes it's hard to learn and understand new gospel concepts. It can feel a little overwhelming, confusing, and strange. But there's a sure-fire way to become strong and faithful. That's through effort. Fasting, prayer, and studying scriptures are all a part of putting forth our best effort, and God loves effort. He will help us along the way. I love you. God loves you. Have a beautiful and blessed week. Ayó
Elder Aldrich
I would caption these, but honestly, I don't feel like I need to
