Elder Fielding McConkie Sarager

"The coming forth of my church out of the wilderness- clear as the moon, as fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners".

2008-08-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

"Every man heard them speak in his own language".
"Walking leaves" from the Amazon Jungle.

Elder Sarager and his mosquito eaten knees. The senior missionary couple helps to keep the Elders well stocked with mosquito repellent.
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life".

Elder Sarager next to a large Amazon tree.
"Search my sheep and seek them out".

Alligators view baptisms in the rivers
Elder Sarager has baptized people in muddy rivers with alligators several yards away

Spiders as large as a man's hand weave their webs
"And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them".

This snake was on the side of the road. Once Elder Sarager and his companion came home to find a snake slithering in their front door.

"And there were many holy men in the land, and they did speak the word of God".

2008-07-26T16:30:00.000-07:00

"Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people".
"When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God".

"All thy children shall be taught of the Lord".
"My mother and my brethren are these which shall hear the word."

"And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work".

2008-07-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

"No more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens".
"Love thy neighbor as thyself".
"Ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another"."He who loveth God love his brother also".
"Let every man esteem his brother as himself".

Teaching With The Spirit

2008-07-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

Surinamers traveled four hours by bus on a bad road to listen to General Conference and hear the Word of the Lord
"For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water"
"Press forward with ... a love of God and of all men".
"Teach them to love one another"
"We love the children of God, when we love God".

The Field is White Already to Harvest

2008-07-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

"Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, ... Repent, and I will receive you".

(Dutch fort built in the 1600s).

"The good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name ... which is the name of Christ".
"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Elder Sarager played soccer with children in Uitkijk).

"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."

Elder Fielding Sarager and his companion: a native Surinamer

"Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together."

A Marvelous Work and A Wonder

2008-07-06T19:18:00.000-07:00

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring glad tidings of good things, and that saith unto Zion: Behold, thy God reigneth!"
"Desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people".
"Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins."
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God".

Book of Mormon Land

2008-07-05T20:50:00.000-07:00

"Alma and the people of the Lord were apprised of the coming of the king's army; therefore they took their tents and their families and departed into the wilderness".

(Interior of the Amazon Jungle)

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun". (Joseph Smith)
"We will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full!" (Riding his bike through the Amazon Jungle)

Hurrah for Israel! Hurrah for Israel!
"Having one faith and one baptism, having their hearts knit together in unity and in love one towards another. And thus they become the children of God".

Baptizing Converts and Building a New Church Building

2008-07-05T20:39:00.000-07:00

"For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost."
"I will make you fishers of men".
"Feed my sheep."

(Putting the church sign on the new church building in Uitkijk)
"Commanded to preach unto the people".

Elder Fielding Sarager had the privilege of nailing the sign with the name of the Church on the new church building. The sign is in Dutch, the language of Surinamers.

Tropical Suriname, South America is lush, green, and humid

2008-07-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

"Marvelous work is about to come forth".
"Go forth and none shall stay them."

(With machete in hand, Elder Sarager is prepared for the huge anacondas in the Amazon Jungle!)

"When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
"Go and bring forth fruit".
"Open your mouths and they shall be filled."

(Since Suriname is so close to the Equator, it is warm all year round and missionaries can get steam facials for free!)

The work progresses in Suriname, South America

2008-07-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

"Declare glad tidings unto the inhabitants."
"Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings".

(LDS Youth in Uitkijk. This is Elder Sarager's first day in Suriname.)
"Bring, save it shall be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy."
"The waters of Mormon, ... how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer."
"Bearing testimony unto all the world."

Elder Fielding McConkie Sarager in the West Indies Mission

2008-07-04T08:28:00.001-07:00

Elder Fielding McConkie Sarager left for the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on August 1, 2007. There he spent ten weeks learning the Dutch language in preparation for his call to the West Indies, Dutch Speaking Mission. The Mission President and his wife are Reid and Diane Robison. Fielding attended the temple 28 times before he departed for Suriname, South America. (Twenty times in Arizona and eight while at the MTC). It will be two years before he can go to a temple again.
Elder Fielding says he is in the "Promised Land". He rides his bicycle through the Amazon Jungle and primarily teaches descendants of former black slaves.