Because We Have Been Given Much

Bonjour mes amis,

When Brent and I opened our hymn book yesterday to sing the opening song in Sacrament meeting, I experienced de ja vu (I now know exactly what that means and what tense it is...aren't you proud of my linguistic skills?)  The hymn was "Because I Have Been Given Much I Too Must Give"; it was the first hymn we sang on this island...our first sacrament meeting, our first opening hymn, our first attempt at singing in French.  Of course, because I am the person I am, I became emotional; yesterday, I again became a little emotional but for a totally different reason.  This time I was thinking of how much I - we - have been given here on our petite isle and how this mission has blessed our lives, Brent's and mine, and the lives of our family.  To illustrate, let me share a story with you.

Two weeks ago, Brent and I, along with a companionship of sister missionaries, had received an invitation to dinner.  The sister who offered the invitation is divorced with an extremely sad story and has very limited funds.  We worried about accepting the invitation and tried to tell her that we would love to just come for a visit, but not to worry about feeding us.  She was adamant...the invitation was for dinner!  I insisted on bringing a salad and dessert, but we still worried about the burden for her.  Dinner, about a 45 minute drive from our house was to be at 6:00; at 5:00 she called and asked if we could wait until 7:00.  Absolutely; no problem.  When we arrived at 7:00, fresh flowers from her garden graced the humble room and a beautiful table was set.  Brent gave a spiritual message just perfect for her circumstances, and we all sat down to dinner.  She then recounted the story of her day.  She had been expecting some money in the mail that day which would provide dinner, but it didn't arrive; she had nothing to feed us except rice and beans. She set the time back and had a fervent prayer asking for a way to feed the missionaries.  A short while later, a friend knocked at her door with 20 kilos of cut up chicken parts...could she use them?  She told all of this with the warmest, most appreciative smile, never questioning for a moment but that it was all a direct answer to her prayer.  We never doubted either that her prayer had been answered. The chicken was delicious; so tender and flavorful I would have thought it had been simmering for hours; the rice and beans were equally good.  She, and we, have been given much...

Another story to give pause:  Some of the older male Creole members here cannot read. The missionaries make blown-up copies of the sacrament prayers so their wives, whose eyesight needs a little help, can teach their husbands the prayers, making it possible for them to bless the sacrament.  A united effort to accomplish something very meaningful for them, something that might be easily taken for granted in other circumstances.  Again, we have been given much...n'est ce pas? (Haven't we?)

Highlight of the week:  I hope you have realized by now that the highlights and the lowlights are just for fun, not literal.  It is our way of sharing the lighter side of missionary work.

We had a sister missionary leave for home this week, creating a problem because there was no one to replace her yet.  The remaining sister missionaries now work as a threesome until the new sister arrives the middle of May.  The single missionary was having a baptism in her area on Saturday, so Brent and I told her that we would be her companions for the day and all go to the baptism together, leaving the other sisters to work in their area.  After the baptism, when everything was cleaned up, Brent called to her that we were leaving.  We walked to the car; she was still talking.  You know Brent, the tease.  He started the car and began driving out of the parking lot.  We hear her yelling after us, "Hey, attend; attend,"  (Wait; wait.) while running across the parking lot.  Brent drove clear down the road before he turned around to come back for her.  It was hilarious; I know she thought we really forgot her, and she was thirty minutes from home...by car!

Lowlight of the week:  We live in a huge apartment complex that is divided into four sections; each with its own entry, mailboxes, stairs, elevator, etc.  Last week when we came out of our section, the concrete in front of the door was COVERED with cockroaches...huge ones, all dead.  We had to tiptoe around not to step on them.  The sidewalk between each section and the adjoining doorways were all the same, like something out of a horror movie.  Of course we realized that the management had sprayed, causing them to come out in the open to die, but I kept thinking, "Where have they all been before now?" Ugh!  The missionaries said, "How many cockroaches have you seen in your apartment?"  "Two."  "For every cockroach you see, there are twenty that you can't see."  I have been shuddering and peering in every corner ever since!

Photo Gallery:

The primary of St Andre.

In honor of the Samoan missionaries, the elders shortened their ties for  district meeting; I guess the Samoan elders they knew in the MTC wore their ties shorter, sometimes with a ring (red tie) at the bottom of the knot.  Then, of course, they had to do the Hucka.  I have a better picture, with their tongues out, but we'll save you that.

Family Home Evening with a family at the beach.  I know; tough duty!

Sniff, sniff.  Our departing missionaries this week.  The sister has been a constant for us and such a happy part of our experience here.  The Tahitian was a Zone Leader when we came and taught us how to get around, where everything was, how to handle life and missionary work,  and even fixed the lights when we blew the fuse twice in the first week.  The other two are from Madagascar, but arrived in La Reunion, so they had to leave from here.  We had a great Departure Dinner together; a really good group.

This was a hike we took on P-day with President and Sister Adams to a much photographed part of the island called Le Trou de Fer; really spectacular view at the end, but the hike in was equally beautiful.

I couldn't resist snapping these flowers as we hiked along the trail.

Two missionaries who left last month; I wrote about the sister upstairs - remember - all that we had shared along the way.  She and the sister who left last week were companions, and great friends, when we first arrived here.  The Elder on the left was the other half of the Zone Leader companionship who "mothered" us through our arrival.  I don't know what we would have done without them.  The Elder on the right is a current Zone Leader and very valuable right now with so many missionaries leaving and coming.  He keeps us organized.  The missionaries here are wonderful.

Tout est Bien (All is well) in paradise, and, as we said before, we truly have been given much.

A Bientot!

The Castaways