Grandma and Grandpa Will Soon Say "Orevwa"

Well, by now most of you know we have been called to serve as Perpetual Education Fund specialists for 18-months (the above pictures aren't that great, but they will give you the general feel of the country). We feel like we have prepared our entire lifetime and are giddy about our assignment - not to Jamaica where we were called by letter from President Thomas S. Monson - but to the West Indies, according to a phone call on Monday from the church's missionary department! It will be hard to leave behind our six children, (nearly)13 grandchildren and one adorable little "great" when we say that heartwrenching goodbye on Monday, December 27 in the parking lot of the MTC in Provo.

The church in the West Indies is still small after being officially recognized in 1976. There are less than 3000 members in only 11 wards and branches in the entire mission located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the South American country of Venezuela.

The country where we will serve is about 1,980 square miles on two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad, where the mission headquarters are located, is the larger and more populated of the islands. The entire population is estimated at about 1.5 million; and for those who have expressed concern, the nation lies outside the hurricane belt.

Back in the earliest days of the church, Brigham Young established the Perpetual Emigration Fund to provide the means for new converts from all over the world - most of them impoverished - to obtain a small, low-interest loan to purchase wagons, horses or oxen and supplies needed to cross the American frontier as part of the second largest exodus in the history of the world.

In 2001, President Gordon B. Hinckley introduced a modern version of the PEF in the form of the Perpetual Education Fund which provides loans to members - mostly young adults in impoverished 3rd world countries - seeking additional education, mainly through vocational school and technical training. Career training options include school teacher, network administrator, computer science, systems analyst, human resource specialist, flight attendant, managerial, clinical lab technician, computer support technician, university faculty, political analyst, physician's assistant, physical and corrective therapy assistant, lawyer and judge.

In its first 8 years, more than 40,000 students in 40 countries have improved their position in life through PEF loans for education to increase their career options. These loans have resulted in an average increase in wages - after their schooling - from $179 a month to $756 a month, an increase of 320%

We still need to get more shots (ugh) and I will change my blog name, where our friends and family can join us on this spiritual journey in the West Indies.