ENTRIES OF A JOURNAL

For the past nine years or so I've been keeping an up-to-date journal. I have bits here and there going even as far back at age fourteen. Sometimes I wish I used to keep it even further back so as to remind me of my thoughts the day I was baptized or receiving the Aaronic priesthood. Anyhow, I keep one now and I would strongly advise that if you do not, then there is no time like the present. It will benefit you greatly as you write about your growth and trials. As you review what you have taken time to write you will see how you have progressed, changes, or blessed the lives of others or best of all -- the blessings you have been granted from a loving Heavenly Father, because you used righteous principles to battle evil and wicked times and temptations.

The following entries came from my journals. It will show how the District was formed and the events that led up to the writing of this second book of the History of the Saints. You will notice that this chapter will also deal with those Saints in other lands as well. Since this is a worldwide Church, it is impossible to just dwell on the native members.

Sunday, 16th July, 1995. The Port of Spain Branch meets in a rented building known as #47 Tragarete Rd; Woodbrook. A new couple was present at sacrament meeting -- Elder and Sister Bodily. They introduced themselves and bore testimony. That same day Pres. Reuben Raphael, Br. Albert Alleyne and myself went to the mission home to visit with Pres. Roy R. Valantine, the mission president at the time. We had a number of issues to discuss and he was always willing to answer any questions we had. One of the things I learnt was that buildings of the Church are built according to specific guidelines set out by the 'Brethren' in Salt Lake City.

Pres. Valantine always has a true story for almost any situation you could think about. He acquired these from his many experiences. He chose to share one with us. He spoke about how one Bishop in the States could not understand why a building was being erected a certain way, so the Bishop complained to one of the senior men of the Church building committee hoping that they would see his point of view. The senior committee member then replied,

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"Look, I have to report to the Seventy and the council of the Twelve about various buildings and the first thing they ask me is-- "DOES THIS BUILDING CONFORM WITH THE GUIDELINES SET ?"--if I say "no", they will ask me, "why is is not ? " Will I then say that I felt the ideas of some Bishop was better than the inspired directive from the Twelve."

Obviously the bishop was then quite content with the way the building that was soon to be his Ward was to be established. This made me think of the numerous times we get direction from our Heavenly Father through the prophets and yet we seem to think to ourselves that our idea is better. How great it is to be part of a Church that receives revelation from the heavens on behalf of its members and in fact the whole world.

Sunday, 23rd July, 1995. A recent converted called Edward Callender gave a talk. He really felt great about his conversion and leaving his old life style behind.

Wednesday, 26th July, 1995, We visited our future meeting house. (This can be read in book one under the chapter entitled, 'Vision') Br. Arthur Ince made sure that a newspaper photographer was there.

Sunday, 30th July, 1995. 'Twas the usual happy day in the Port of Spain Branch. I gave a talk in sacrament meeting on the history of the Church in Trinidad. I quoted from the Parliamentary Secretary Lavantile West, ground breaking speech. Some members approached me after the service saying that tears of joy welled up in their eyes to know the Church is finally acknowledged and welcomed by the Government.

Friday, 4th August, 1995. My feet felt like I have been standing on them for the last seven hours, but wait, look at the time, I was indeed in the mission office using the photocopy machine that long ! I cranked out fifty copies of book one of the History of the Saints in Trinidad and Tobago. The copier was hotter than an oven and Sr. Bodily remarked,

"That copier is likely to breakdown before you do !".

I was unaware of the hours that flew by so quickly. The excitement of printing the books was greater than the need for physical rest. Later at home, mom and I took about three hours to compile it page by page throughout the night. I was now exhausted after all of that work, but gratified to see the history clip bound and ready for distribution. Those eager to know the historical beginnings of the Church here would have the opportunity. (This refers to the Printing of the original books)

Sunday, 6th August, 1995. Br. Stedman Augustine, a faithful member in the Port of Spain Branch, was the first one to request a copy of the History of the Saints. Sr. Jasmine Raphael returned from serving a successful mission in Florida, U.S.A.

Wednesday, 9th August, 1995. Br. Alleyne and myself went over to Cipriani Blvd. to meet with the architect, contractor, and a representative from the area office. We met in the kitchen of the uncompleted building to discuss a hand over date and a few other details. At present there is a strike amongst cement workers making it difficult to finish construction. It was humbling to know that this chapel would be the biggest in the Caribbean. However, I understand another was to be erected on one of the islands some time in the future that would be even bigger. It was agreed that the hand over date would be the 21st August, 1995.

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Monday, 21st August, 1995. Well, there was no hand over -- it seems like September will be the month. I spoke with Sr. Pamela Persad. She found some errors (typos) in my first printing that she promised to edit. I was grateful for her help.

Thursday, 7th September, 1995. I printed the edited version (Sr. Persad looked it over) of the History of the Saints. I found that printing ten at a time would be more realistic than trying to obtain fifty all at once. Finding errors in the book reminded me of a true story told by Thomas S. Monson concerning the printing of the LDS King James version of the Bible. He related that at one time he visited Cambridge, England where the Bible was being published. He had always prayed for the guidance of the Spirit to discern truth from error. As he was viewing the process by which the Bible was being printed he noticed a mistake -- the machine was stopped and the mistake was corrected. He thanked the Lord and felt a warm feeling.

Wednesday, 13th September, 1995. We, the Branch Presidency, inspected our future chapel with two of the area office workers, one of them being Br. Cortez. While viewing the rooms, Br. Cortez went over to a certain tile on the floor, took a bunch of keys out of his pocket and dropped it in a manner so as to ensure it would hit the tile he hovered over. A hollow sound was heard and he said,

"This will not do, these tiles will need to be done over ".

To prove his point, he used his keys again and while raising his hand in the air, let them go. They keys fell straight down to one of the tiles with a different sound. A tone in which you would know that the tiles in the area were arranged and placed properly. In all this time he kept a serious yet calm demeanor having done these building inspections many times before. Most likely it would not be until late October until we moved in.

Thursday, 14th September, 1995. I attended a Branch Presidency leadership training meeting at the mission home wherein Pres. Valantine got up and said,

"Elder F. Burton Howard of the Seventy asked me why Trinidad was not a District yet ?".

Sunday, 17th September, 1995. Br. Alleyne baptized his wife, Ivonne S. Alleyne and Elder Hyde confirmed her.

Sunday, 15th October, 1995. A lot of members are talking about a split in the Branch in order to form a District. So we, the Branch Presidency, emphasized the fact that its not where you will serve, but how you will serve.

Sunday, 22nd October, 1995. The Rasmussens, a couple that served a mission here some years ago, came to Trinidad to visit with some friends of theirs called the Batemans.

Wednesday, 25th October, 1995. This day I'm quoting directly from my journal -- The excitement of moving into our new chapel is taking front stage at our Branch Presidency meetings and I have found that the wiles of Satan have begun in force through the weak part of the membership. Nevertheless, the faithful press on in Christ. At the time were many struggling Saints who battled for virtue against a world of changing morals.

Sunday 5th November, 1995. Today two of my mom's friends from Guyana were baptized; Rita Griffiths and Doris Melville. I had the honor of baptizing Rita. It was the first time I participated in this ordinance since my mission to England. What a wonderful feeling it was to be clothed in white seeing a friend equally dressed and humbly stepping into the waters of baptism as Christ did. This was done at West Moorings by-the-Sea. This day also represented our last sacrament meeting at #47 Tragarete Rd.; Woodbrook. We would now worship at 22-26 Cipriani Blvd.; the new Port of Spain Branch chapel. Everyone is full of expressions of enthusiasm and it almost seems like time is moving at hyper drive now.

Sunday, 12th November, 1995. We had an island wide conference -- similar to that of a stake conference. Three hundred and ninety-eight people were in attendance. It was a blessing to be there that day, seeing all who were gathered from different parts of Trinidad. Pres. Stephen D. Nadauld, the North America Southeast Area President, dedicated the chapel after presiding in the conference. I went up to him to shake his hand. Pres. Valantine was standing next to him introducing the Saints as they likewise wanted to greet him. My introduction from Pres. Valantine was thus,

"This is one of our returned missionaries whom we are trying to marry !"

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I was taken a back by the statement, but became openmouthed when Pres. Nadauld replied,

"From the pulpit I saw some pretty Sisters here today."

Then with a clever smile on Pres. Valantine's face he was whisked away in the mission car with Pres. Nadauld. You have to be a single returned missionary to understand the pressure that comes with the title; 'single returned missionary'. You become like a king on a chess board about to be checkmated by every arrow wielding Eros around. There is no escape for you while around any member.

Wednesday, 15th November,1995. A new government has been established under the leadership of Basdeo Panday and A.N.R Robinson. At Branch presidency meeting we knelt in prayer for many of the members and especially for the new leaders of government to be guided by the Lord.

Sunday, 19th November,1995. The first sacrament meeting in the Port of Spain chapel. Reuben Raphael and Ashton Garcia spoke.

Saturday, 2nd December, 1995. We had an official opening ceremony. The architect, real estate agent Hugh Francis gave remarks. The agent spoke of having great difficulty in acquiring the land for the Church, because it was two lots of land owned by different landlords.

Thursday, 8th February, 1996. Today marks twenty-eight months since my mission. Br. Albert Alleyne came to visit me. He wanted me as his first Counselor in what was to be the new PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD DISTRICT. He was following a directive to choose his 'helpers' from Pres. Valantine. Pres. Valantine was commissioned from the Area Presidency to start a District. Over the next few days up until we are sustained, we met (Pres. Alleyne and myself) almost every day in mini-conferences over our huge tasks for the upcoming months. It was interesting to notice that the first time I met Albert Alleyne he was a nonmember attending sacrament meeting (97 Tragarete Rd., Woodbrook). He was impressed with his visits to the Church in England and wanted to see what it would be like locally. Oddly enough, it was the last Sunday before I left on my mission and as I shook his hand on my leaving he said in a shy tone,

"I've been to Manchester."

It's only a few years later and now I'm talking to my future District President. It was a lesson for me -- the Lord works in many mysterious ways. You can never know the potential of any person, but the Lord knows, and if that individual chooses righteousness over evil, then the Lord makes him a fountain of His Spirit, a tool to bring to pass his holy objectives.

Often we hear of many who are called to certain positions in the Church and we are quick to judge that persons ability to perform the task based on what we have seen them do or how others may see them. The Lord counseled the prophet Samuel in this same way;

"Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him; (referring to Eliab, who Samuel thought was to be anointed) for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

(1 Samuel 16:7 K.J.V. Bible).

Sunday, 3rd March, 1996. Albert Alleyne stood as Pres. Valantine asked for a sustaining vote for Br. Alleyne to be the first District President over the PORT OF SPAIN TRINIDAD DISTRICT. His name was presented throughout Trinidad in each Branch. Also sustained was myself as first Counselor and Hubert Sadaphal as second Counselor. Br. Edward Callender was voted in as the District Executive Secretary along with Br. Adolph Bellamy and Br. Austin Mendoza as District Councilmen. Pres. Alleyne, Br. Callender, and myself, met for a brief District Presidency meeting (the other Brothers were unable to attend). It was one of the most reverent straight to the point meetings I have ever attended. We all dwelt on the spirit of the occasion, the weight of our labor, and the faith and hard work necessary to fulfill the Lord's desires for this District. You may wonder what a District Presidency does, well, wonder no more;

A) Call Branch Presidents, Counselors, Clerks, Exec. Secretary, Elders Quorum Presidency and other District Officers.
B) Counsel Members, interview for Temple recommends or Melchizedek Priesthood.
C) Oversee District Programs and Activities, train leaders and supervise.
D)Direct the District Council Men.
E) Preside at meetings in the absence of the Mission President.
F) Report to the Mission President.
G) Fulfill District, Mission and Area goals through helping members and missionaries bring souls unto Christ by baptism and eventually to the saving ordinances of the Temple.

Tuesday, 5th March, 1996. It was odd to hear the leaders refer to me as President Borde -- Brother Borde suited me just fine. I was asked to conduct at two hour training meeting in which the Mission Presidency taught about what was needed to manage a District. Most of the Branch Presidents were also in attendance. Pres. Valantine gave the keys to President Alleyne through the laying on of hands. The rest of us were set apart as follows; Jean Borde set apart by Pres. Lynn H. Bodily, Hubert Sadaphal was not there -- working off shore, Adolph Bellamy set apart by Jean Borde, Austin Mendoza set apart by Adolph Bellamy, Edward Callender set apart by Albert Alleyne We then made time to discuss the boundaries of each of the five branches (Couva Branch having been formed). We used a big map with pins of different colors to show the position of the borders. To this day it is kept on the wall of the District office for planning and future presidency meetings.

Wednesday, 6th March, 1996. Pres. Alleyne and I meet for about two hours or more each day to read the General Handbook of Instructions and familiarize ourselves with our duties.

Thursday, 7th March, 1996. I met Pres. Valantine to discuss some District business. He expressed how happy he was to know the District was formed and it felt like a lot of weight was now off of his shoulders.

Sunday, 10th March, 1996. The Port of Spain Branch had two new Counselors in the Branch Presidency; Gavin Ishmael and Peter Rojas. We brought the District Master Calendar into circulation so as to inform all Branches of upcoming events within the District. The new boundaries for each Branch were also announced and members were invited to start attending the Branch they were allocated to based on where they live. Some who would have to move out of the Port Of Spain Branch felt unhappy about leaving their friends behind.

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Tuesday, 12th March, 1996. Pres. Alleyne, his wife Ivonne, and myself, went to Couva. We met Elder and Sister Davis, a missionary couple called to serve in this part of the country. Elder Davis would be the acting Branch President until someone was officially called. We visited the house of Esmond Ramkissoon in California. He allowed the Church to hold services on the ground floor of his two story home. We visited a hardware in the vicinity to purchase lumber for benches as there were not enough seats available during sacrament meeting. Esmond and a few members agreed to give of their time to help build the benches.

Friday, 15th March, 1996. There were plans to have the mission office moved from Arapita Ave., Woodbrook to Mayfield Rd., Valsayn, but due to certain complications it was never realized. However, a large office building was rented upstairs of a plaza off the Southern Main Rd., Curepe.

Sunday, 17th March, 1996. Br. Callendar and I drove down to Couva during the early part of the morning. In the back of my pick-up's tray was the Port of Spain's Branch old pulpit, amp, hymn books, and a fair number of chairs. We were taking the items for the Couva Branch. All of it would be set accordingly under Esmond's home. More of the establishment of the Couva Branch will be had under the title of 'Couva Branch' within this book.

Wednesday, 20th March, 1996. Pres. Hubert Sadaphal, now on land again, was set apart by Pres. Alleyne.

Sunday, 24th March, 1996. Felicia Borde, Ashton Garcia and I went to the San Fernando Branch. Ashton who was very proficient in the financial and record keeping procedures of the Church, went to help the Branch with upgrading its files. I met with both Lucy Payne and Elizabeth Rogers in interviews. They were strong in testimony and willing to serve. These are the women who began the foundation of the Church in this country. I met with Elder and Sister Stuart, a missionary couple, wherein Elder Stuart was acting in the capacity of Branch President.

Sunday, 31st March, 1996. I visited the Arima Branch. In previous District meetings the decision for each member of the District Presidency to visit a different Branch each Sunday became the norm. In this way we could access the needs of individual units of the Church here and the District as a whole. We also used this time to build up the leadership, strengthen the members faith in Christ, teach, and look for potential District officers. Br. Suresh Mohammed, a recent member of the Arima Branch, was set apart as an Elder. He later became a vital leader within the Branch.

Saturday, 6th April, 1996. This was the day in which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was organized (see D&C 20:1) We had our first annual District Sports day at the Eddie Hart Grounds in Tacarigua. About four hundred people were there with ninety-five percent of them being members. Everyone enjoyed themselves with the endless number of events and games. The Sangre Grande/Arima Branch won the overall sports.

Sunday, 7th April, 1996. I visited the Sangre Grande Branch. The members there are always eager to learn of the Gospel. Later on in the day, the District officers met with Pres. Valantine in the mission home where he passed on further knowledge on the management of the District.

Sunday, 14th April, 1996. The first Port of Spain Trinidad District conference was held at the District building. It was no longer just the Port of Spain chapel, for it encompassed all the Branches under one roof. The speakers were excellent and the Spirit felt strong. The following persons were sustained; Elizabeth Rogers as District Music Chairperson, Lucy Payne as District Relief Society President, Vilma Bellamy as Director of Public Relations, Felicia Borde as Asst. Director of Public Relations, Anthony Clarke as District Y.S.A Representative, Carlos Chan-Qui as District Clerk, Elder Gordon Davis as District Patriarch

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That same say Suresh Mohammed was also set apart as the second Counselor in the Arima Branch Presidency. As you noticed from above Elder Davis, a former Patriarch in his home Stake, also resumed that office here -- what a blessing to those Saints who have waited ever so long for one who had the authority to give the sacred blessings that come only from Patriarchs.

As I sat back and listened to the speakers during conference, I could not help but notice the preparation that goes into each of these biannual occasions. Months of planning, instruction workshops, hymn practices, interviews, correlation, and Branch visits are invested in making sure each is a success. The purposes of these conferences are; "To help the Saints build faith and testimony" (pg 24 General Handbook of Instructions).

Great effort is undertaken for members who live in remote areas of Trinidad to come to the Port of Spain District Building. Great blessings are upon those who have come faithfully.

May, 1996. Srs. Elizabeth Rogers and Leslie Ann Seecharan were called as Counselors in the District Relief Society Presidency.

Sunday, 26th May, 1996. The Couva Branch Presidency was officially called and set apart with Elder Gordon Davis as President and Lincon Ramkissoon and Esmond Ramkissoon as Counselors.

Sunday, 2nd June, 1996. This Sunday was spent in the San Fernando Branch. A new Branch Presidency was called with Magnish Ramoutar as President and Michael Rupa and Mark Griffiths as Counselors. This was an important event as it meant that all Branch presidencies in the District had local leaders. It was testimony Sunday and many members bore strong testimonies of Jesus Christ and pledged to help the Branch move forward through sustaining its new leadership. For me it was one of the best sacrament meetings I have ever attended. May I however say a few words on sustaining; Many would believe that just by raising your right hand to the square as a name is presented for sustaining vote is all that is needed to gratify both the one being sustained and the Lord. However sustaining can be defined as; 'sustain....to up hold or support' -(The Nelson Cotem. English Dict.)

Supporting or up holding someone requires effort on our part. Therefore sustaining does not only mean helping the person you have sustained, but doing your own duty without having to wait until you are asked. An example of this; you have just raised your hand and sustained a newly called Branch President. You quickly think to yourself, "If he asks me to do something-I promise do it" and that is fine, but you have some things to do already. These tasks should not have to require the Branch President giving you a direct invitation to fulfill it. Some of these duties are; HOME TEACHING OR VISITING TEACHING as the case may be, KEEPING THE COMMANDMENTS, PAYING A FULL TITHE, BE CHEERFUL IN CHURCH, LOVE ONE ANOTHER, DO NOT GOSSIP, DO NOT SPEAK EVIL OF THE LORD'S ANOINTED, READ THE HANDBOOKS (so you can better understand your call), FAMILY HOME EVENING, FAMILY PRAYER, and on and on I could go to the bottom of this page. These are a few ways that you can really apply 'SUSTAINING YOUR LEADERS'. By doing these things you will lessen the amount of times the Branch President and other leaders would have to remind you of your personal duty. They would then have more time to further the work in the Lord's Kingdom. Hey, believe me, it does not look like it, but a Branch or District President has a lot of weight on their shoulders.

Wednesday, 12th June, 1996. I'm not sure if many of the leaders in attendance at the priesthood leadership meeting recall this day of spiritual awakening. I call it thus, because there was a lot of bickering and murmuring about the formation of District. As with all things -- many do not like change, but progress is to change from one thing to something better. Pres. Alleyne felt inspired to invite those in attendance to bless and exhort each other to become 'awakened' and stand up to the labor set out before us. On my mission we used to refer to those in this 'slumbering mode' as being in a 'comfort zone'. Nephi probably had the same trouble with the members the members then when he cried out;

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion! Wo be unto him that crieth; All is well!"
(2 Nephi 28:24-25, Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ)

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