Well, the week quickly passed by and, obviously I DID NOT post again, so I am still a little more than a week behind, but I have to tell you about the week of November 12 because it was really a trip through the agony and the ecstasy of missionary work. President Adams and his wife arrived Monday afternoon, and we picked them up at the airport. They had just returned from South Africa the day before, so I assumed that they would want some down time allowing me time to fix dinner for the four of us - I had planned more than a bowl of cold cereal - but President Adams wanted to drop off their luggage and come directly to our house and review the week's schedule. They came over, I fixed dinner, which worked out fine, and then we talked for about 3 hours, going over the needs, the changes in schedule, and the meetings for the week. Time, obviously would be tight on the days coming up, so I offered, and had planned, to provide meals each day; the schedule looked like I would have sufficient time to do that.
We picked them up at 6:30 the next morning to go to the workout park (it is about a 15 minute drive to their hotel from our house, if everything goes perfectly) went to the park for an hour's workout, took them back to clean up, drove home and cleaned up ourselves, drove back to pick them up (stopping at the bakery for a fresh baguette...I thought the French just liked to buy their bread daily...no, the next day it is as tough as a piece of old rubber) and then the day's duties began. Remember that the trips back and forth to their hotel are going on constantly, from the workouts in the morning to the dropping them off at night. There were visits to make, splits with the missionaries, members who needed to talk with the President, leadership meetings with island leaders, private interviews, missionaries to be set apart, a zone conference with the missionaries, personal interviews for all of the missionaries with the president, priesthood and auxiliary leadership training; a very busy daily schedule, but interesting. Obviously, Brent needed to be to everything; I wasn't involved all of the time, but sometimes I was at the church because there wasn't time to go home (you know, always a little behind schedule). On Tuesday night after the priesthood and auxillary training meetings, Brent and I took Sister Adams with us to the airport (Pres Adams was still tied up) to send off a missionary leaving from La Reunion. He is a shy young man who had never left the island, and was scheduled to fly from Reunion into Orly airport in Paris and catch his next flight to the MTC in Madrid from Charles DeGaule airport, which is clear across town, with only a three hour town-around time. (The missionaries refer to DeGaule as the airport from Hell; we all have our horror stories about what happened to us there). This would not have been possible for even the most seasoned traveler; Ruddy Poncherville would have been totally overwhelmed. Luckily, President Poncherville, Ruddy's father couldn't read the ticket because it was in English and had called Brent to translate it for him. Brent immediately called South Africa, apprised them of the problem, (they were grateful because they recognized the difficulty as well and said they didn't know how THAT schedule had slipped through) and got his ticket changed, many phone calls later. The day before Ruddy left, we got an email which included the original ticket itinerary...what to do?...was Ruddy still going to be all right? Anyway, we were assured that all was good. We got to the airport, greeted the family, dad and Ruddy went to check in. Looks of confusion, frantic waves to Brent to hustle to the check-in counter, knots in the pits of our stomachs; the flight from Paris to Madrid had been cancelled because of a strike. The dad looked like he was going to have a stroke; Ruddy looked numb; Brent took them to the Air France counter and got everything straightened out after much discussion. I am telling you this so that you will know how even a simple little task can turn into something major...especially for that little family sending their oldest son out into the big world...alone. "Is someone meeting Ruddy in Paris?" the father had asked. It was not easy to say that no, no one, in fact, was; but they WOULD meet him in Madrid. I don't think that was much comfort.
Every SINGLE night before dinner, something happened and we...the four of us...arrived home with never more than an hour and a half before dinner had to be cooked, served, and eaten and everyone had to be back at the church for the next go-round. I don't do well with that kind of pressure, but you know what?, I got a lots of heavenly help because every night the dinner was good, we had time to eat, left the dishes on the table and headed out the door. Thursday at 12:00, I served a zone conference lunch to 18 missionaries who eat like elephants, (I got the BEST compliment ever when our Tahitian elder came up to me and said, "Thank you so much sister Heap...I am FULL!" - he NEVER gets full. We then attended the zone meeting, which lasted an hour longer than expected (surprise?), hurried home and had an hour and a half to prepare a departure dinner for two leaving missionaries - 6 people in all - and, of course, it needed to be special. Again, Heavenly HELP; it happened, was peaceful, and the missionaries thought it was wonderful.
We thought of you all often through all of this, and wished you could have seen and heard some of the amazing stories that people here have. When we are in the privacy of our home, we will be able to share some of these stories. Hardships beyond belief with faith to match...stories of people changing their lives and coming back, people whose love for the Savior and belief in the atonement made them whole and kept them moving ahead "no matter what." You are our "no matter what" and we appreciate all of the support you continually give to us.
We have learned to constantly look for the Heavenly Help in our days, because it is definitely there; it is so important that we recognize it and express our appreciation for it, both to our Heavenly Father and to others.
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| This is a little fuzzy, I know, but we wanted you to see Ruddy, in the back, and the Poncherville family, along with Ruddy's best friend, standing next to Brent (who, by the way, will be leaving on his mission around July and is now serving as a counselor in the branch presidency to President Poncherville!) |
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| Soeur Heap, Ruddy's mother, Soeur Adams, and the mother of Ruddy's best friend...all of us crossing our fingers - and toes - for Ruddy in Paris. |
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| The Poncherville family watching Ruddy in his final steps through security. The tears were falling, for them, and for Brent and me, as well. |
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| While traveling with President and Sister Adams, we all pulled over and snapped a photo...I think you can see why. |
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| President Adams during the Zone Conference. |
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| In the last few weeks, Brent and I have lost three cherished friends; two losses were expected, but still very difficult; one was a total shock. This rainbow is for Mike Sivulich, Karen Knight, and Conna Doxey, whose lives brought "rainbows of light" to those blessed to know and love them. A bientot dear friends...until we meet again. And to you, dear friends and family, our love and warm wishes for the holidays. Frere and Soeur Heap La Reuniion |
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