The Heap Saga Continues on La Reunion...

Bienvenue de notre blog! (Welcome to our blog)

That's about as good as it gets family and friends.  I know every word is used and spelled correctly - which rarely happens for me -  only when I'm using the French dictionary.  I know just enough correct French to second guess every word I'm saying now...is that the correct conjugation, correct syntax, correct?????  I was a happy little French speaker when I thought I knew something and really didn't; now that I know a little more I'm paralyzed by doubt. But I can order food at the market, greet people at church, follow the missionaries lessons(generally), and read from Le Livre de Mormon each day, so I am richly blessed.  Brent is doing very well.  As we drive around the island to meetings and appointments,  I am always quizzing him on vocabulary, phrases, sentences, etc. (not from my  head, from lesson materials we brought from the MTC).  As I watched him discuss the gospel last evening with a new Malagasy member getting ready to go to the temple in Johannesburg in December, I was filled with gratitude for the language skills he has received here.  I will be honest, it was a STRUGGLE in the beginning, and still is, but when the need is there, the language comes.

In our last blog, we told the story of meeting soeur Payet, the granddaughter of the Defaye family Brent baptized fifty-four years ago.  Well, the story with the Payet family continues and keeps getting better and better.  A few days after our experience with Anderson Payet and his wife, Brent had to go to the bottom of the island to solve some problems there.  I decided to finish deep cleaning our little apartment and finished it all except for the office...Do I? Don't I?  The office was filled with CES materials and papers from years ago.  You know the scene...cords, pamphlets, office "stuff" that hasn't been used for years and probably never will be used again.  I squared my shoulders and dug in, committing to clean every shelf and drawer.  I cleaned out the desk last and in the last drawer, in the very bottom, I found a plastic sleeve with typing I recognized as coming from a typewriter, not a computer.  I carefully pulled it out and found a history of the International Mission written by the original mission president,  Elder Edmunds, telling the story of being called and arriving on La Reunion to begin the mission here, which included Madagascar, Mauritius, La Reunion, and any other islands they could find.  He and his wife made flyers telling about the church and inviting islanders to come to their apartment for English lessons.  He also told about finding a man named Andre Payet, baptizing him, and how they had worked together doing missionary work on the island.  Andre is Anderson's father and has been inactive for years.  Brent called Anderson and told him that he would like to meet with his father and would Anderson arrange an appointment.  Anderson said he would ask but didn't know if his father would consent.  Brent said, "He will."  Anderson called his parents and set an appointment for them to come to our home the following Saturday afternoon.  They arrived right on time, came in, we talked about Brent's connection to Anderson's wife, and ate ice cream.  Brent left the room and came back with President Edmund's account of the church's history here, asking Anderson to read it to his parents. (It was written in English and Andre speaks only French.)  As his son read the story, Andre became very animated, leaning forward on his chair, adding details to the story, nodding and shaking his head as the memories were rekindled.  Glowing eyes; radiant smile.  The moment was right.  Brent's turn to lean forward now.  "Brother Payet, you still have a testimony of the Gospel don't you?"  A tearful nod.  "It's time for you to come back.  You are a pioneer in the church here.  You can tell stories that no one else knows; the members, especially the youth, need to hear you tell those stories.  The church needs your strength and your example, your family needs your example, and you need the church in your life again.  Will you come back?" Another, very slow and very tearful, nod.  I watched, from the back, as they embraced, and I could see the look in Andre Payet's eyes; it was a look of total joy.  It will be a "heart photo" forever and ever.  He said he would attend church on 2 September.  We drove to the St. Marie branch yesterday with butterflies in our stomach, and there was Andre in front of the church, in a group of men talking and laughing together, smile as wide as the church door.  He said to Brent, "We are going to work together here; I know a lot of people who used to be a part of this."  A story written decades ago, resurfaced to bless the life of a wonderful man who needed to remember what used to be his and how much it once meant to him.

I hesitate to write anything else after that story, but I have to include some pictures, so

Next, a few glimpses of a day in the life of elder and soeur Heap:

We are so fortunate to have an exercise park just a ten minute drive from our apartment.   It is huge with many  outdoor exercise options: stairs to walk or run.  If you look to the right you can see levels of ramps that switchback to the top of the hill if stairs are not your bag.  On the back of the hill are stairs that are not so steep.  Walking paths, a running/jogging oval.  Up-down-all around...it's there.  Out the door at 6:45 at least four days a week.

The St Marie branch "cool guys" at a good-bye party for a family moving to the states.  Some things just don't change! (They are sooooo cute.)

Sunday night personalized rice pudding from a sister missionary - soeur Redford - from Pennsylvania.  I know ladies, bad hair day; I don't dare get a haircut here.  What to do?

Pday at the beach in St. Pierre in our little Toyota Yarus.  The highway follows the coastline all the way down the island.  Beautiful day, picnic lunch on the beach, time to ourselves.  Heaven!

Joanie by the Indian ocean.

Brent also needed a haircut and didn't want to chance it sooooooo he asked me to cut his hair.  "Seriously, you must really be desperate."  "If it doesn't work out, I'll have Elder Tema buzz it."  I did and this is the result.  Don't tell me missionaries don't receive help...just look at that haircut! 

Primary in St Marie.  They look so demure; that room exploded after the photo.

I TOLD YOU the flowers cascaded over the walls like waterfalls.  The array of colors is unbelievable.  Eat your heart out desert dwellers.

Fifteen minutes to spare...I think I'll just take a quick nap before leaving again.

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Love to you all.