Boots on the Ground

BONJOUR!

PHOTO GALLERY

A friend we have made at the outdoor market.  If we miss a week, she asks us where we've been.  All the best apples, oranges, grapes, and kiwi's come from her stand.  She's a worker and a wonder!

The mornings here have been so clear and beautiful.  We look out over the ocean and feel like we can see forever.  The rainy season needs to start soon because we are in a drought.  It is hard to believe that you can have a drought on a tropical island in the middle of the ocean, but we can really see a difference from last year.  We need those torrential rains again.

After  church with the former branch president, a member of the grand council, and an investigator.  My seat is the bare spot.

Sunset in St Pierre.  I tried to zoom in, but it made the picture fuzzy.  Still, I wanted you to get an idea of the spectacle we witnessed.

Same photo, full view.  We arrived in St Pierre to attend the Young Women in Excellence evening a little early - you ALWAYS have to allow extra time for traffic - so we drove along the beach, which turned out to be a great idea.

AND here are most of the young women of La Reunion Island.  A very special night as they shared their talents and their fun personalities.

JoJo relaxing on P day....a rare event indeed.

Bonjour a tous,

Surprise, surprise...photos first; stories later.  Like our life here, things keep switching, changing, rearranging.  As our time here is speeding toward the finish line, we are struck with a great feeling of urgency and a little anxiety.... which brings to mind many of our earlier struggles here.

First day:  Arrived at 9:00 AM, and were met by President and Sister Adams.  We dropped our bags off at the apartment, cleaned up a tiny bit after 30 hours of traveling and were whisked off to lunch.  Oh...did that ever taste good... a REAL meal.  We then spent all afternoon in meetings, and Brent had more meetings in the evening.  Our heads were spinning; our eyes drooping.  The next morning President Adams set Brent apart as a counselor in the Madagascar Mission presidency and then they were off again to Madagascar.  What is next?  No other couples here....

We laugh as we remember our first few weeks.  We didn't really know what we were supposed to be doing.  We didn't know how to get where we wanted to go; addresses made no sense at all to us.  We didn't know where to buy what we needed.  Funny story: There are beautiful pharmacies everywhere, and we kept wondering how the people here could possibly need that much medicine. Only last month did we discover that all of the good, nongrocery items that we had been used to buying in the grocery stores at home, were sold in pharmacies on La Reunion.  Contact solution, (I had been very stingy with mine, thinking that I would run out) waxed dental floss, Listerine, EVERYTHING that we thought we couldn't buy, we found because we needed some ibuprofen and finally went into a pharmacy.  It was like Disneyland for us...LOOK AT THAT...I can't believe it!...and we found all this out fifteen months too late.  I can remember Brent going into a store that would be equivalent to AT&T to buy service for his IPhone...couldn't understand a word they said and came out devastated.  The missionaries laughed when we told them about it, "Hey, don't worry Elder Heap; they weren't speaking French; they were speaking Creole."  What a relief, but still, at first, the language was difficult and talking on the phone...IMPOSSIBLE.  I thought of that a little while ago when Brent went to the Toyota dealership to purchase a new car for the missionary fleet here and was so fluent and persuasive that he saved the church 5,000 euros.  I guess we are what you would call "Boots on the Ground" here now.  We finally know our way around, know the members, know how to get what we want and need, understand what we are supposed to be doing and, for the most part, how to do it...and it is ALMOST over!

However, many of the things we have learned LATE (like grocery shopping) will benefit others.  We have many missionaries here who take an interest in cooking, like to eat healthy meals, and want to make their euros last, sooooo Joanie has a new focus...helping the missionaries with their culinary skills.  I can remember feeling sick to my stomach when I would enter the grocery store.  I assumed, when I came here, everything would have the same name, just in French.  Not so.  I soon realized that I had no idea how to find what I needed, didn't know what I was buying, couldn't look everything up in the dictionary as I shopped because it took too long, and that half the items I used at home didn't exist here.  We ate a lot of fruit, bread and cheese at first.  I digressed, sorry.  I have learned the art of substitution, have learned what things are, and have learned how to make dishes taste like home...somewhat.  Each week at district meeting, we pass out 3-4 new recipes to everyone: healthy, quick, and cheap.  Finding them has been so much fun for me and, because we know the missionaries likes and dislikes, one of our elders even likes quinoa, a favorite of ours, the searching for "the perfect recipes" has become a quest. (It is my "end-of-the-day" unwind.) Those darling missionaries are so grateful, anxious to see them, try them, and report their success.  SO FUN!

This has been a lighter post, but we do want to share something that has touched both of our hearts in a special way.  There was a convert baptism the first of September.  A single, older gentleman, quiet, with a patch over one eye.  Brent and I have watched his transformation as the gospel has enriched his life.  He supports everything:  each baptism, each activity, each meeting.  His manner is more relaxed; he talks and laughs more, and enjoys conversation with other members; he now sings in the branch Christmas choir.  When General Conference was shown here, he and Brent sat together during the priesthood session, and he told Brent after the meeting, "You don't know what all this has meant to me.  I love these meetings; I love this Gospel."  We watched, three weeks ago, as he stood at the sacrament table, now a Melchizedek Priesthood holder, ready to bless the sacrament.  His face beamed (even though we could see he was a bit nervous) and he looked so good in his white shirt and tie. It was easy to see what performing that ordinance meant to him.  Sometimes, we can appreciate the gift of the gospel more fully when we stand back and observe its blessings through the eyes of someone who has just received it.

Highlight of the week: When we attended church in St Pierre, a young boy came up to us after Sacrament meeting with a picture he had drawn for us.  It showed a BIG airplane on the tarmac, a square man and an even squarer (?) woman flashing huge smiles wearing name tags, with text bubbles:  "I am Sister Heap;" "I am Elder Heap;"  and his name signed with love.  He was so excited to give us his drawing; we felt like his grandparents.

Lowlight of the week:  Brent opened the "pantry" (which I created in part of a hall closet) and saw the gecko running around on the wall.  "Hey little friend, let's get something straight! You are welcome under the couch and behind the curtains, and even under the bed, but you are NOT welcome in the pantry!"  Now everything that is not in a can, is in a plastic zip baggie.

                             "Boots on the Ground" and loving ALMOST every minute of it.

                                                              A bientot, with much love

                                                                     The Castaways



   

Dressed All in White

Bonjour encore mes tres chers amis,

District conference, the weekend we both anticipated and prepared for, is now behind us.  Another whirlwind weekend, with missionary interviews on Friday,  Priesthood and Auxiliary leadership training on Saturday afternoon (Sister Adams and I were in charge of the auxiliary session...another story for another time...one of those "OH NO!" moments), followed by Saturday evening and Sunday sessions of conference.  I mentioned before that Brent and I both had to speak in the Saturday evening session, something I knew Brent would do wonderfully, but I was filled with anguish anticipating a ten minute talk in French...that is A LOT of French, with no idea how my brain and my mouth would coordinate under stress.  We had numerous messages of support from family members, a random "love you and wish you well" email  from a friend at home who didn't have any idea what what was happening here (which really made us smile and appreciate her), an extra kindness lovingly given from a friend here who DID know what was happening, and, most importantly, needed blessings from Heaven.  When we sat down on the stand and looked out on all the faces that have become so familiar to us and so much a part of our everyday lives, any feelings of fear were immediately replaced with feelings of peace and love.  Fulfilling that assignment was a wonderful blessing and will be a treasured memory as we recall those faces smiling up at us and the love and support we felt from them.  I also have a "snapshot of the heart" from the Sunday session, as I watched Brent bear his testimony, hands outstretched on the pulpit, elbows locked, head cocked a little to the side, trying to contain his emotions, as he, in his own conversational style, bore his witness of what he knew to be true.  It was all so familiar to me; I have seen it happen for years at home, and yet to see it here, spoken in French, possibly for the last time in a formal setting, filled my heart to overflowing.  For me, it was the realization of a line in my Patriarchal blessing that I had always wondered about, and never completely understood; now I did.  When I was fifteen years old, Heavenly Father knew that I would come here and He knew how it would strengthen me.

President Adams conference message contained a thought that was brought strongly to mind as we attended the Primary program in the St. Marie branch this morning.  He said, "When you look at someone, no matter what their circumstances or their past, visualize them dressed in white, prepared to enter the temple.  See them for who they really are."  As we entered the chapel, the children were all seated on the stand... dressed in white.  I don't know how they did it, but eighteen children were dressed in white, the girls in long white dresses with white flowers or bows in their hair, the boys all in white shirts.  As they sang and gave their talks, they RADIATED.  They looked and felt special.  Primary songs have always made me teary,,,yes, I know, it doesn't take much...but the French language has such a beautiful, musical cadence, that a whole meeting of French primary songs was just incredible.  They sang of the temple, which leads me to something I have wanted to talk about for a while now.

Almost every Sunday, Brent signs temple recommends after church.  Many of the members here will only attend the temple once, if ever.  It is something they save for, plan for, wait for, and dream about; the greatest desire of their hearts...literally. The Johannesburg temple is 1,770 miles away and the trip is very expensive...BUT...there is something called the Temple Patron Fund, and that is where all the rest of us come in.  When we fill out our tithing slips, there is a donation line for the Temple Patron fund.  After the members here have done EVERYTHING they can to go to the temple, the church will help subsidize the trip for their initial endowments, a one time trip.  A dream that we can help make happen. A dream we knew you would be interested in assisting with.

Highlight of the week:  Two weeks ago, we had two elders with birthdays, one from the south district and one from the north.  We always celebrate with birthday cakes and ice cream after district meeting, so we had parties two days in a row.  On the following Sunday, the zone leader had to come to the apartment to file vehicle reports on the computer.  It was fast Sunday, they had worked all day, and I knew they wouldn't have eaten, so I told them to plan on dinner.  When they entered the apartment, one of the zone leader's companions (the one who just had the birthday) said, "Sister Heap, is that lasagna I smell?"  "It is Elder; do you like lasagna?"  "Sister Heap, do you know that for as long as I can remember, we have celebrated my birthday with a lasagna dinner?  My family sent me a picture of them eating lasagna on my birthday."  I had cooked a HUGE pan of lasagna; they ate and ate and ate.  I can't count the times he thanked me and kept repeating, "I can't believe I am EATING lasagna!"  (I have only cooked lasagna three times here in sixteen months.)  My heart was so grateful for the unrecognized prompting to fix lasagna; a great young elder, doing his best, was blessed with a little taste of home.  Unbeatable!

Lowlight of the week:  We had decided, with the Adams, that we would not take a major hike on this visit.  They arrived late Wednesday; Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were HUGE days and none of us wanted to be tired, so we collectively said "NO" to anything more than a mild workout.  Early Thursday morning we reached the trailhead at the top of Mafate that led down to the tiny mountain village of La Nouvelle (you remember, established by runaway slaves; only accessible by foot or helicopter).  The view from the top is spectacular - the reason we went up there - and our intentions were to hike down just "a little way" to enjoy that majestic cirque and its beautiful scenery.  No water, no food, no need, just a little hike.  Four and a half hours later we again reached the trailhead after completing the entire hike - down to the village, where we were able to buy a bottle of juice and water, and back.  We should have known we wouldn't stop!!!!!

PHOTO GALLERY:

My weekly indulgence, fresh flowers from the marche.  We can buy a little bunch for one euro; two, or three bunches makes a beautiful arrangement.

The end of the south district's birthday celebration; missionaries working, visiting, and talking things over with Elder Heap.

The birthday boy from the north district.  

After dinner fun with some stalwart members from St Pierre.

A little fuzzy, but the "highlight" lasagna  birthday dinner.  What a delight!

This is just a part of the flower section of the marche.  If you turn to the left, it extends twice as far as this photo, on both sides of the aisle.  Again...my indulgence.

A little of our local flavor.

Looking through the cabbages, (chou); just beyond are the chou choux,. One our favorite foods here is chou choux au gratin. (with cheese)  You have to take a number at the cheese counter.  I once counted eight different varieties of blue cheese alone.

Don't you just love it!  I can't believe I was able to snap this photo with no people.  The aisles are always so crowded.

This has to be one of my mission highlights.  The sisters found Jean tracting, but couldn't teach him because they have to be accompanied by a female adult.  They called and asked if I could go with them on a Friday afternoon.  When we arrived, there was a party going on in the small courtyard in front of his house.  Loud music, loud people.  I wondered if I should even allow the sisters to go in.  We went in the house; he immediately told the party goers to turn down the music and hold down the noise.  I relaxed.  After the lesson, I asked the sisters to schedule me in each week because I never wanted to miss an opportunity to meet with him. Something just clicked with us, and the gospel message resonated with him.  They taught him; I asked them to give me a small part of each lesson.  He was baptized on Saturday morning.

"See them dressed in white; see them for who they really are."

Each day, for all of us, is a gift.  May we gratefully recognize what we have been given.

Love and best wishes from...

The Castaways