Some Days Are Diamonds; Some Days are Stones

Bon jour nos amies. Ca va bien?    (Hello our friends; are you well?)

Remember the old John Denver song? (Blog title)  Brent and I laughed a while ago and started singing that song  because it perfectly describes our days here.  Some days really do glitter and shine, like diamonds, and we carefully tuck them away in our mental file.  Other days are just better over:  days when we are saying, "WHAT?  They really did/said that?  President Adams wants WHAT?  WHAT are we going to say to them?  WHAT will happen now?  WHAT are they thinking?  WHAT in the world are we going to do about that?" Open the window, take a deep breath of humidity, and just keep calm and carry on!

The hurricane abated with only torrential rains; President Adams arrived on Sunday instead of Thursday, and we squeezed five days of work into three, and, as always, ca march!  (It works)  We had  the Saturday zone conference on Monday - yes, Pday - with 6 1/2 hours of teaching by President Adams, all in French.  I can remember dreading those days, but this conference was very enjoyable for me.  Because he is American, President Adams speaks slower than the members here, and I could actually understand most of what was said for the entire day.  Usually after lunch when the stress of feeding the missionaries is over (will there be enough without wasting money by making too much?)  I have been known to have a blank stare all afternoon, but, this time, I was focused all day.  Brent, of course, is always focused, but he did jump at the opportunity of leaving the meetings to take a trip to the store when I found that my sour cream had mold on the top.  "I'd be MORE than happy to help you out!"

The zone conference seemed minor to what took place next.  The District Presidency had to be released, so there were beaucoup, beaucoup men who had to be interviewed.  All of those interviews had to be done on Monday and Tuesday, with the new District President called Tuesday afternoon.  His counselors had to be called and interviewed Tuesday evening because President Adams was  leaving the next morning.  On Sunday Brent traveled to all of the branches to have the new presidency sustained, with  President Adams coming in again on Sunday night to set them apart.  The district reorganization necessitated the reorganization of two new branch presidencies, who were chosen on Sunday evening and interviewed on Monday, followed by a LONG training session for the new district presidency Monday night.  This Sunday, Brent will travel again to the two branches to sustain the new branch presidencies and then everyone will be in place, for a minute.  Whew! Were you able to follow all of that?  We barely could.

Lowlight of the week:  Well, we finally saw it...a babouk...the large spider that we read about before we came here.  We were coming home, with the Adams, after one of those late night sessions, and it was spread across the wall in the stairwell.  I wanted to put my hand somewhere near it so that you could get an idea of its size - maybe a volleyball? - but I had heard that they are amazing jumpers, and I had visions of it jumping on my chest, so I decided otherwise.  We did hit the wall to make it move, and, wow, can they run!  We couldn't believe that anything with such long legs could move so fast.  Funny side light:  one of the apartment doors on that level was slightly open because the people have a cat that likes to go in and out.  The spider ran across the wall, zipped around the door and into their apartment!   It makes me shudder to think of seeing him sitting on the couch!

Highlight of the week:  The sister missionaries had exchanges this week.  The one exchange companionship stopped by the apartment about 9:30 PM - the time they are supposed to be home for the night - to tell us that they were going leave to meet the other companionship and switch back, which meant traveling about forty kilometers down the coastal highway.  Brent said not to go, it was too late,  to do it in the morning, but to call the others to let them know the plan.  Then he said, "But I want you on the road by 4:30 in the morning."  (You know how Brent teases.)  Well, these two sisters are Tahitians and didn't understand the humor.  A few minutes later we got a frantic phone call from the other companionship saying, "Do they REALLY have to leave at 4:30?  Can't they come just a little bit later?"  Brent couldn't believe that they thought he was serious, so we called them down, explained, and laughed for 10 minutes.  They really were planning on following directions and leaving by 4:30.  How cute is that?

                                                                 PHOTO GALLERY

Zone conference meal...Mexican goulash...a family favorite.  I made quacamole from scratch with local avacados.  I don't love quacamole, but this was fantastic!!!!  Some of the foods here we will really miss; we have never tasted such flavor.

There he is; I wish you could get an accurate perception of his size.  By the way...Brent is afraid of snakes, but I am afraid of SPIDERS.

For Christmas, Sister Adams had ties made in Madagascar for all of the elders, scarves for the sisters, and we gave them the Adams' gifts at the Christmas party.  We thought it would be fun if they all showed up at the zone conference wearing their gifts...hence the photo.

On Tuesday, we had about five hours before all the interviews began, so we got up early, headed for the mountains for a short hike and then down to the beach for a some ice cream.  Sister Adams said, "That water looks so good.  I love walking along the beach with the water splashing on my feel."  Guess who said, "Take off your shoes, we're going in!"?

I loved this little drawing in one of the primary rooms.  The scripture, the hearts, the smiling faces, and especially the little girl with the mermaid body.  I guess she is sitting down.  Isn't that SO cute?

Elder Heap waiting out the downpour.  It can rain so hard, but you know that if you wait five minutes, you will be able to make a run for it without being drenched for the whole day.

There are a lot of feral dogs here and this one, sitting on top of a mailbox, needed to be remembered.  Really kind of cute in a scruffy sort of way, but I sure wouldn't want to try to pet him.

We are thinking, two days after Valentine's Day, of those we love and who play such an important part in our lives . We are blessed with a wonderful family, whose love always lifts and sustains us.  We have many friendships that are constant and treasured.  We know that God loves all of us and that He is there for us at every turn in the road.
 Love, the greatest gift.

A bientot!

The Castaways