We are really TRYING to establish a routine!

Hello Everyone,

Greetings from paradise where the palm trees sway in the trade winds, the flowers cascade over the walls here like blooming waterfalls, the sparkling Indian Ocean gently laps the beaches, and frere and soeur Heap are desperately trying to establish some semblance of normalcy.

The week after we arrived, the branches on La Reunion held seminary and institute graduation.  A CES representative from South Africa was the guest speaker.  The church tries very hard to properly recognize those students who go the extra mile to attend and meet the CES requirements and the members are so proud of them.  Brent and I felt extremely fortunate to be able to be a part of it.  We were able to meet the presidents of all five branches on the island and have since been trying to visit each one (maybe I should say "find" each one).  I know you are saying "What?", but the roads here are narrow, winding ribbons that have no pattern or logical layout and the drivers here are all crazy.  We feel like we are part of NASCAR at worst or the bumper cars at Lagoon at best.  Many times we end up lost or wandering, but as they say here, "Ca marsh" (it works).

The next week the mission president and his wife  - President and Sister Adams, absolutely wonderful people - arrived for a zone conference.  This involved four days of meetings with branches, visits with members, going on splits with the elders and sisters, the zone conference itself, which included a meal for everyone which was my responsibility, a departure dinner for the mission president and his wife with an elder who was leaving for home the next week, also my responsibility, and arrangements and presentations, all in French, which were Brent's responsibility.  Our heads were spinning, but, hey, sleeping here is never a problem.  By the day's end, we are totally exhausted and grateful to be able to stop trying to think in French.

How is the language coming?  It is a constant struggle for both of us.  Brent, of course, speaks French, but not well enough to make him feel totally comfortable, and more is expected of him than of me.  I am really lost most of the time.  I can understand about every sixth word because they speak so rapidly here.  It is so frustrating to be part of a dinner party or a church meeting where everyone is talking and you are just sitting there with a throbbing head.  The worst part is wanting to connect with people, to hear their stories, to empathize with their feelings, to let them know how much you care about them and not being able to.  It will come; I know we will be blessed if we do our part, but that is difficult because we have been so busy that by the time we get home, we are too tired to study.  I know; we sound like junior high students with our lame excuses!

We sent our first two elders home this week; met two new elders at the airport the next day; warmly welcomed them, oriented them, fed them, introduced them to their new companions, hugged them and sent them off to finish their day porting in their new areas.  Our hearts were bursting with pride and love for them...so new and wide-eyed!

The learning curve is huge and Brent and I are jumping up and down on our tip toes just trying to catch on to the bottom end of it.  I made chocolate pudding for Brent yesterday.  It took me 11/2 hours because I had to look up almost every word in the instructions and convert all of the measurements from the metric system.  Did you know that 50 cl is two cups?  Neither did I!

What a great and marvelous experience to serve here.  We have never worked so hard, but we know it is where we are supposed to be.  Missionary work is truly a gift of love...not for those we serve, but for us.

Au Biento!

P-day hike to du Piton de la Forunaisse (mountain of the furnace, the volcano).  We had to leave at 3:30 AM, reached the trailhead at 6:30, and hiked for six hours to the top of the volcano and back.  There was a slight eruption in 2010, so we were actually hiking over the hardened lava flow.  Some fissures along the trail were still giving off heat.  Amazing hike, but the best part was the time spend talking with each missionary.