Bonjour a tous; vous allez bien?
I am SO FAR BEHIND in experiences I want to share with you! It is frustrating because sometimes I have the time to post, but feel it has been too soon. "I'll wait until next week." And then next week comes and there is NO TIME AT ALL, but great moments keep happening and I lament "Nooooooo, now I can't get them all in one post." Tonight's experience is a good one, though a little lengthy, and I am anxious to share it with you.
A while ago in the photo gallery there was a picture of a young family we had to our home for dinner; just the greatest family. We met her at the boulangerie (bakery) where we buy our daily bread. That expression is a reality here. We all buy a baguette EVERY DAY because the next day they are too hard to chew. It is funny...everyone exiting the boulangerie is carrying this long baguette - or maybe thee or four - and two minutes out the door, the end is bitten off. People riding bikes have their baguette sticking out of a backpack, yep, the end is bitten off. We laughed at first, but now...out the door and the end of our baguette has, not one, but two, bites gone. It is just good; what can I say? I digressed. Our friend there and her husband lived in London for five years, so they speak excellent English, and we hit it off right away. Brent always teases her about being so sassy and she gives it right back to him. We gave the sister missionaries her name and they began visiting the family, and so did we, talking informally about the church. We invited them for dinner, but the gospel conversation didn't go anywhere. Time passed; they invited us over for dinner, and Brent told them that we would really like to tell them about why we were here. No pressure, we would still always be friends, but could we teach them about our faith? There was a different feeling in the room; they said, yes, we could begin teaching them, so we set up a Sunday night dinner appointment.
It's winter here, the flu and "gunk" season strikes here too even though the temperature is in the 70's. I came down with my yearly bout of bronchitis, but our week was so full that I really couldn't stay home and by Sunday, I was feeling like pulling the covers over my head. We had to attend church at Le Port and that morning I was thinking, "I probably should cancel tonight's appointment; I don't know if I have the energy for this," but I just had this strong feeling not to. I recalled a talk by Vaughn Featherstone about a missionary appointment he had once when he thought, "I'm so tired tonight (after a long day at work) and I have a cold. I go there and the house is a mess, the kids are noisy, no one really listens to me. I think I will cancel tonight. ' But while in the shower, he felt impressed to "buck up" and keep the appointment. He did, and when he arrived, the front room was immaculate, scriptures placed neatly on the coffee table, no children at home, and the couple waiting for his arrival so they could be taught. You know the rest of the story; it was the night that everything changed. I just kept thinking of that story and knew, somehow that there was a connection to our experience. Time for me to "buck-up," and get ready for the appointment.
The family was one-half hour late for dinner; they had been to a birthday party. Brent had faced an afternoon of challenging phone calls and I could see that he was tired as well and thinking that maybe just a short lesson would suffice, but after dinner, their small daughter snuggled on her mother's lap, quickly went to sleep and Brent started teaching them the Plan of Salvation, the WHOLE plan of salvation. It was the most amazing thing. Probing questions were asked, thoughtful answers given, feelings shared, and "real" interest shown. It was, again, the night that everything changed. Brent gave them the pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation and asked them to read it and write down any questions they might have for our next meeting together. The husband had some questions about Joseph Smith, whom we had touched on briefly. Brent turned to me, "Do we have anything on Joseph Smith in the office?" Miracle of miracles. Two days before, I opened my wardrobe door (nothing here is build in, all free standing) to witness a giant cockroach running towards me on the door. I, of course, put an end to his existence (something I would have been incapable of when we first arrived, but now didn't hesitate). But I was horrified to think that there might be others in my closet. Hot soapy water, rags, disinfectant, the whole works. Everything came out of the wardrobe and the whole thing was carefully cleaned, during which I found some things that a friend from home had sent...including a pamphlet of Joseph Smith's history and testimony in English. I thought, "I will put this in the office; you never know how we might be able to use it even though it is in English, and it is the only pamphlet we have like this." I smiled that Sunday night as I rose from the dinner table, walked exactly to where I had put it, knowing that until two days before I had forgotten it existed. We will see them this week; her aunt died last week so we were unable to meet with them, but I said to her, "Well, you know where your aunt is." She smiled, poked her finger at me and replied, "I know EXACTLY where she is." Thanks to a memory and a cockroach, and the guidance of the spirit in teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Highlight of the week: Bent and I have a new game. We live on the fourth floor of our apartment building. It says that we live on the third floor because the ground floor here doesn't count, but we still have four flights of stairs to climb. There is an elevator, but we only use it when we are carrying something heavy. What happens now is, that every few days, one of us will go to the elevator. The other one smiles, the gauntlet has been thrown down. The elevator button is pushed, and when the door opens, the other person begins running up the stairs. Can the person running make it to the fourth floor before the person in the elevator arrives? It has added a new dimension to coming home!
Lowlight of the week: We were holding a recent convert meeting before District Conference. Of course, some of the people attending had children who were left on their own until the meeting ended. Three little boys were having an especially good time in the big hall where the district meeting was going to be held (we were at one end of that hall), so I got up, walked back to them and gently leaned over and said, "Vous avez besoin d'etre (you have need to be)...and I had no word for quiet; I had never needed that word. I put my fingers to my lips and said "Shush", but they just furrowed their brows and stared at me, not understanding "shush". I made a couple more attempts to find a word and then one of the boys, about eight, looked at me and said, with a little attitude, "Vous avez besoin de dictionaire." (You can translate that!) I thought, " You are mouthy, but you are exactly right!"
PHOTO GALLERY:
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| After a lesson on the Priesthood in our apartment. The young man in the white shorts was recently baptized; so quiet and without church clothes. You should see him now. We walk into church, he is smiling, greets us in a suit, and can't wait to pass the sacrament. We gave him a copy of Preach My Gospel and think he is mission bound. It has been such a life changing blessing for him. |
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| We were with a member family having dinner. I looked behind me and these bananas we just hanging there, so I thought of the photo gallery. |
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| P-day activity with the North District. Our district leader, from Tahiti, really knows how to barbeque; it was delicious. |
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| This elder will be leaving us for home in two more months and he is DETERMINED that his shoes will last until he leaves. The interesting thing is that he is a very talented runner and he and his companion run every morning for almost an hour...in THOSE shoes! I suggested duct tape, but he is afraid that it will make his shoes slippery. I am afraid that he will be running along and they will disintegrate on the trail. You have to hand it to him! |
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| Banan at the Friday market. You can't really tell, but these are only about 3-4 inches long and are they ever good! You get 16 of them for 2 euros. |
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| A friend from the market grating cabbage to sell. The little plastic cups contain fresh ginger. Want to taste something good? Fresh pineapple slices from La Reunion with slivers of fresh ginger mixed in...incredible flavor combination. |
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| We had been out in the marsh area visiting a recent convert couple when we saw this...whatever it was. We had to pull over because we couldn't tell what those balls were - seed pods? - ; it looked so strange. They are bird nests, about the size of a softball, in the top of a really tall tree. It was such an amazing sight. When we got out of the car, we could see these beautiful little yellow birds flying in and out, getting food, bringing it back, going out again. But the best part was the sound they made. We felt like we were in an aviary. |
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| These are not coconuts; they are papaya. We were very anxious for the season, but they are not good here, dry and flavorless. Well, you can't win every time. All the other fruits are the best we have ever tasted. |
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| Elder Heap being Elder Heap. This man approached him and asked, "Are you a minister?" What a blessing each day is...certainly not easy, but a great blessing to be here. | |
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Thank you for your prayers for us. We certainly recognize them and their power in our daily activities here. And for today... thanks for a memory and a cockroach......
With all our love and gratitude for the blessing that we share,
The Castaways
