Monday, September 28, 2015

week 60

Well i just bought a camera so sorry again


Wow you can never get just a normal week of work out here.  So tuesday was district meeting so our church is actaully just an upstairs room in an industrial zone.  so i parked my car in the zone like usual and it started raining HARD.  nothing new though so we go to district meeting.  the parking lot got flooded but the cruze got out just fine.

Later in the day i had to come back for a skype meeting.  so we drove in and the zone was bone dry again.  parked the car.  and went to the meeting.  We came back out and hour later and the zone is flooded up to knee deep in water.  and poopy doopy the car got flooded bad.  I got in the car and drove it out of the water but 15 minutes later she gave up the ghost.  tow truck had to come and take her away.  like what the hack martinique just wrecked our car so now were on foot.  were averaging about 10 miles a day in the sun so im slimming down real fast ahaha.  

i have now had my window bashed in, two tires blow out, and my car flood since i became a driver.  i think its time for me to be released of my driver duties.

In other news our best investigator right now would have to be a man named simeon.  Hes been coming to church for about 3 months and he said to us he is no longer intrested in searching for any other church he has found his. meaning our church!  hes a lawyer he just got his masters and is starting a doctorate program so hes a champ. 10 points for griffindor.  hope youre all ready for SUPER SATURDAYSUNDAY best time of the year.  Bets on Elder Dube as apostle. 

Elder logan Robert sackley

week 59

well no pictures this week... my camera has given up the ghost

so ill probably buy one today if not next week but yeah sad day no pictures.  But good week!  Fort de France is going to split!

Since i have come up to Martinique it really hasnt made sense why one companionship covers all of fort de France.  It is HUGE and we can barely cover a fraction of it.  So since i got here elder belnap and I talked about how it would be better splitting fort de France.  So when president herrington visited Martinique a month or two ago i was with him in the car for a while and expressed what i felt was best for the zone in moving more people to fort de France.  I didnt get a whole lot of feed back but i put it out on the table.

Than when i went to Barbados he sat me and my comp down and asked us if he gave us 3 more companionships on Martinique where we would put them.  Elder okano was still new to the area so i let the charge.  all three of them in fort de France.  The Church is trying to centralize its efforts around its buildings.  So if people dont have cars they can walk to Church or bus at least.  So this week i got a call from president herrington and he said Elder sackley were splitting fort de France.  Make a new area but dont split fort de France in half were planning on putting more people there so make the area like a quarter of fort de France.  

I havent picked the name yet because i feel like the name has to be super fly and i cant make up my mind but its the Hood ahahha man its such a Hood area i love it.  i wish i was opening it its going to be ridiculous its right next to the Church.  so come tomorrow Elder chidester my old comp and first born in the wilderness is moving into our apartment  and training an Elder from the MTC that had no french training in the MTC.  im calling it project fort de France were pilling the missionaries in here its going to be sweet!

so will live four missionaries in our apartment till our lazy senior couple buys an apartment for the other missionaries.  ahhaah oh wait thats me.

Elder Logan Robert Sackley

week 58

I have so many stories from this past week I could share, but I'm not sure how much time I will have today, so instead I'll just share two random ones: 

Service is just a part of the mission, and as such we look for every opportunity to help the people in our area. Of course, sometimes we get a little more than we wanted (biting off more than we can chew)-it's something that happens every once and a while, I guess you win some and you lose some. This weeks lose? We cleaned black mold out of a lady's two fridges. As we were cleaning it out I kept thinking "yep, I have locked myself into cancer in the next five years or so..." Like I said, I think we lost Russian Roulette this week. 

This past week we also got invited to an Adventist church. We have an investigator who's dad is a pastor of a church that isn't quite evangelical, but its not Adventist either... (something that happens a lot in the islands-just mixes of whatever people want). Anyways, we went to the church and there were drums AND an electric guitar! They even had some chanting and loud singing. After about 10 minutes of confusion between the guitar and the chanting, the pastor singled my companion and I out in front of the 30 or so people there. And then the next 30 minutes was the pastor screaming into the mic and just laying into LDS missionaries and the Church. The whole congregation was just staring at us seeing if we would react or I guess how we would react. I have never seen so many smirking faces-everyone seemed to believe the pastor, and after a half an hour of him laying it in us I realized the gospel didn't deserve to be mocked so harshly. Or really, ever...you know, God will not be mocked. 

So that's when I turned to my companion and just said "I'm getting that microphone." 

Bless Elder Okano and his horrified face as he realized what I was saying. He reached out trying to grab my arm or stop me in any way, but I was determined by that point. I had stood up and somehow the Pastor had stopped his rambling blasphemy for a moment-wondering I guess as to what I was going to do. 

The pastor then asked if I had a question. I replied yes, my question was if I could have the microphone and say something before we had to leave. He somehow obliged. I walked up to the front and looked into the crowd of people who had just witnessed 30 minutes of this pastor ripping into us. It seemed they were all hoping we were going to break in that 30 minutes? (I'll give you a hint-you can't break a missionary who gives up their family for 2 years in only 30 minutes.) 

I then thanked them all for being there, and for letting me speak. I expressed love for their faith in God and their love for their church. I know a little of their doctrine, and so I stated a few points of what they believe in that we two believe, or at least honor as well. (It was mostly that I wished the whole world would keep the 10 commandments as well). Then, I bore my witness of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  Elder Okano who at this point had stood with me, then did the same.  

There was no electric guitar to back us up, nor were the drums rocking or the people dancing in the background or yelling and jumping around. Instead, it was pretty silent. Which I am sure you can only imagine meant a sweet spirit was able to enter the room. We then said a prayer for them and prayed for their children to always remain faithful to God. And then we left.


I never really understood how submission and teaching with power were together until that moment.

Love, 
Elder Logan Robert Sackley



St Pierre

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

week 57

well


Some weeks just are different then others here on the mission. This week was way different, as it was Mission Leadership Council week. 

You just can't beat the feeling of getting on planes to go to leadership councils or zone conferences. So i jumped on a plane Tuesday morning and got to Barbados at 12. I will just say to everyone who doesn't know anything about the islands; go to martinique before barbados.  Barbados looks like a piece of texas got dropped into the ocean.. As in it is just brown brown brown with beautiful white beaches. I guess all I am trying to say is that Martinique is way prettier.  

So we went to the mission office and they had real carpet (!!!) so i just sat on the ground the whole time and enjoyed the fact that something looked like home.  President Herrington sat me and elder okano down and talked about what to do with martinique since elder okano is still new on martinique and i was previously leading the charge for everything.  I suggested to split fort de france into a billion pieces and centralize all the missionaries around the chapel, and somehow President thought my idea was good ?  So it looks like not this coming transfer call but the next one Elder Okano and I will split but both be zone leaders and will train new missionaries, and we are looking forward to it! It should be sweet.

The MLC itself was super cool Elder Cornish of the Seventy was there.  In my luck i was called on to give a talk infront of the entire Mission Council, but it ended up being pretty okay, and definitely one of the most edifying days of my mission.

After the MLC the assistants and the Turner's, (a senior couple, ) hung out with us for the rest of the day.  We just lounged at the beach and ate at a grill place right next to the beach.  so you could say it was a succsesful MLC.  

In terms of missionary work we still managed to get 8 people to come with us to church including the Espagna family of 5.  We're starting to really sink our teeth into them so keep praying for them!  (Figuratively obviously. Missionaries are not vampires). 

go barbados mission go!

Elder Logan robert sackley
so how was your week?
there is no such thing as a normal house in barbados its either a shack or rihannas house so we got a mansion mission home

LOOK THERES CARPET mission office chem dry for life

island hopper to MLC

Mission council squad

Thursday, September 3, 2015

week 56

I dont know how much time i have so will see where this goes


One of the biggest succsess i have seen as a missionary is in teaching people who they are in the eyes of God.  Meaning investigators, missionaries, members, and myself.  Its not a secret that the people here sometimes get down because of lack of succsess.  Im going to pull an example
we have an investigator named kevin hes 22 he learned english from video games and he actually speaks pretty well.  First day we met him he said look guys will talk but its only so i can practice english.  This week we gave him a call and he told us things were not going well so we went over to his house.  It felt like i was talking to a buddy back home he just vented to me for about 10 mintues about life.  Theres moments in the mission where you just hit a moment of clarity kevin didnt really seem like an investigator to me in this moment as much as just a friend that had a bad week.
So i sat there using scriptures and doctirine to back me i taught kevin how great he is in the sight of god.  How important he is to the being who created everything.  Like i said the first day we met him he said as we left it was just to learn more english.  This time when we left he said you know Sackley if i get my answer im going to join you guys.  Helping him understand his valeur made all the difference.
Something i have been trying to do is express to the members how important they are.  In doing so i help them take a step back and look where they are and who they are.
you live on martinique a little island in the middle of the ocean.
You are one of 70 active members on an island of 300 000.
Before this life God chose you.  YOU because he knew that YOU could build the church here.  God doesnt call people to fail hes called you to make this place explode.
Ive been doing this for the past couple weeks and it finally clicked this week.  We had a wave of 11 member refferals and i feel like we have just scratched the surface.  Were going to take our little band of 70 and take down the 300 000 because they were called and picked before this life to do so. 
In other news im going to hope on a plane tomorrow with my comp elder okano to go to barbados for a MLC.  (Mission Leadership Council) MLCs are held once a month by skype and starting now every 3 months by plane rides into barbados.  Should be pretty cool Elder Cornish of the 70 is going to be there so should be a party.
thats a big throw up of all my thoughts for the week
Elder Logan Robert Sackley

week 55

well ladies and gentlemen its been almost one year since i left the states

and finally luck caught me

we were robbed.


Id love to send pictures showing everything but wow these computers are slow.  anyhow.  As zone leader on Martinique we are also the Senior couple so this past wednesday we were in town at 14h paying a bill at the post.  Since were senior couple the mission shuffles extra money to us called petty cash so we can take car of all bills and affaris for the island.  So we park our car in the Middle of town. Go to the post come back and two Windows are bashed in.  We had a box in the back of the car with petty cash luckily a small amount and elder okanos bag are gone.  

It was a pretty weird experience.  My wallet was in the car but somehow the robbers didnt see it and just swiped the box and Elder Okanos bag.  No one on the street saw anything , probably a lie.  So i went down to the police station got yanked up into a police office and filed a report.  It was one of those moments where i said to myself how in the world did i end up here.  Missionary on a little french island getting robbed and explaining it to some french man.  It was a weird experience all of it.  We did a day of cyrain wrap Windows and than made temporary plexi glass Windows which actually are really impressive.  new Windows have to be ordered will get them in 2 weeks.

In other news i fly to Barbados sept 2 for a mission leadership conference so that should be fun.  





sometimes giving service to people can be harder than you think...like, what did i sign up for?! 

Robbers can steal my petty cash box but not my heart ahahha 

little asian man fixed my car ahahah Elder okano is a good comp

Goodbye Elder Ehlert