Grateful

Lately we have been sleeping like a baby.  We wake up every two hours crying!  The mission split is a slow, tedious, and stressful process!  Things weigh on our minds but this morning as I rolled out of bed to say my prayers and my knees hit the small rug, I was grateful.  I had knelt on hard tile for many months before we bought the rug.  I even brought it from Martinique because it is such a comfort.  Today it reminded me to be grateful for small things.

I decided to look for other things I am grateful for.  Here are a few:



I am grateful for this sink strainer that keeps my contacts from going down the drain, and keeps roaches from coming up the drain.  (It has happened!)

I am grateful for this mosquito zapper because we certainly have a few!

I am grateful that we can go for long walks on the beach for our morning exercise,

where we can find half eaten things like this: (What is it?!)

And I am MOST grateful for the eternal friendships we have made.  We got this picture this morning of the newest member of the Occolier family who was born yesterday.  His name is Mathias.  I helped his mother make that blanket and we gave him the little soft toy up in the corner.  It is so nice to know that they still think of us.  We love them all so much.

And we love YOU all so much!  We miss you tons!  We are grateful you are doing so well. Sometimes we get a little misty eyed thinking of you and all we are missing.  We hope that our service here is blessing your lives.  We know it is blessing ours.  Thank you for your love and support.  

Remember to be grateful and remember that we love YOU!

Be a good fixer!

We have been travelling for three weeks and forgot that we needed an adapter for our American electrical items when we went to French Guadeloupe.  I solved the problem by just not washing my hair so I didn't need the blow dryer or the curling iron.  (And it looked like I didn't use them, too!)

Grandpa had to shave, tho, so he was more creative.  He figured out how to take a lamp cord apart and "plug" his razor in to it!  He has always been a good fixer.  He fixes electrical things, and computer things, and car things, and anything that is broken things!  I am so grateful for him!

I hope we can all be fixers, too.  Let's fix anything that needs repenting of or forgiveness for.  We are so blessed to have this gospel and we are so grateful that we can serve a mission!

Remember that we love YOU!

We saw monkey's! (And we weren't looking in a mirror.)

We saw monkeys!  Three of them!  They were walking around the yard where we were staying.  They were eating the fruit of a mango tree.  It was so cool!

Ever since we got to Barbados, we have been looking for them.

When we saw the three monkeys, it reminded me of a popular saying that I was taught as a child.  It was always depicted with a picture of monkeys, like this:

The saying is:  See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

That is good advice, even today!

What kind of evil should we avoid seeing?  Bad pictures or movies are things we should not see!

What kind of evil things should we avoid hearing?  Music with bad words, gossip, people swearing, etc.  Those are all evil things that we can avoid.

What kind of evil things should we avoid saying?  We should not say unkind words, or bully in any way.  We should not gossip or lie.

I think it is very good advice, even today.

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Believe it!  Do it!

Remember that we love YOU!

The Voyager Tree

There is a beautiful tree here that the locals call the Voyager Tree.  When I asked a lady why it was called that, she explained that in olden times, when sailors saw land they would look for this tree.  Quite often, their supplies of water would be very low and they needed fresh water quickly!  Apparently there is a large amount of water stored in the intricate weave of this tree.  The sailors were always grateful to see them and they are still a symbol of hope in the Caribbean today.

We are all voyagers in this life of trial and temptation.  Sometimes things look pretty bleak.  We feel like we are out there all alone on a vast sea and we might not make it to shore.  Have hope!  There is always a solution to every problem!  There is living water just waiting for you to take of it!

We have seen that on our mission.  People who are lost and searching.  Then they find the gospel and how their lives change!  It is a wonderful experience.

Always partake of the living waters.

And remember; we love YOU!

Get Tickled

A while back, some missionaries showed us a very cool plant.  When you "tickle" it's leaves, it closes up!  I don't know if it thinks it's going to capture some kind of food or what, but it is fun to watch.

When a person gets "tickled", they do the opposite.  They open up!  They just enjoy the moment and the people they are with.  We had this experience a few weeks ago with our friends the Bateman's.

I think it's better to open up and allow ourselves to enjoy the good things in life,  Family, friends, faith...those are all things we should open up to and allow ourselves to feel the joy of them.  There is so much joy in family!  There is so much joy in friends!  There is so much joy in having faith in the gospel!

May you always find the joy in every day things and get tickled!

We love YOU!

MLS

When we got our mission call, our assignment said, MLS: Member Leader Support.  I don't feel like we have done to do too much of that in Martinique.  They are strong here.  They have good leadership and things run well.

During our first interview with the Mission President, we asked how we could best fill the responsibility of MLS.  He told us that we would find a way.  He would not give us advice.  He said that every Sr Couple worries about how they will best serve and they always find a way.

I have thought about that a lot.  I don't feel like I have a lot of talents to share.  I'm not a scriptorian and I can't speak the language so I just smile.  As much as possible.  And love them with all my heart.

This past week, two sisters asked me if I could help them.  Tanya, the Branch President's wife, is expecting her second child and wants to sew something for him.  I was able to go to her home and we made a burp cloth and a little toy dinosaur.  She was so happy!

The next day, Tanya and Josette (who are married to brothers) asked me if I could show them how to make cute invites on the computer.  We spent the morning laughing and talking and learning from each other.  They were both excited to learn something new and I learned from them, too!

I guess what I am trying to say is that the Mission President was right.  I do have a few things that I do kind of OK and it is something that others want to learn.  It felt good to be able to share my skills with others so that their families can benefit.

When you go on your (next) missions, share what you know.  What you enjoy.  What you have worked hard to learn.  Then you, too, will be supporting the members and the leaders.  Come to think of it, you can do that right now!  Just by living the gospel every day, we can lift and inspire others.

Always remember that we love YOU!

Friends. Good Friends.

Good Friends.  What does that mean to you?  I think of that term in 2 ways.  One is that you have been friends for a very long time.  For us it is people like the Wards and Ross's and Hayses and Tollestrups and others.  We have a history together and feel comfortable with each other.

The other meaning is they are good.  Good people.  And we are drawn to them because we have similar values and goals.

This week we got to spend some time with the latter kind of friend.  Elder (Steve) and Sister (Paula) Batemen came to see us for a few days.  They go home in two weeks after serving faithfully for 18 months.  We don't know them well.  Even though Steve and Reed served in the same mission in Australia and they over lapped about a year, they didn't know each other then.  They know lots of the same people, but never served together.

We know them now only because we are serving this mission together, 300 miles apart. We had only met them personally for about 5 days.  But they are good.  Good people.  And we like spending time with good people.

I have decided that it doesn't much matter how tall someone is, or how old they are, or what color their skin is.  If they are good, I want to be their friend.  And I want to be good, so I can be their friend.  I hope you feel the same way.  Look for GOOD people.  And make them your friend.

Always remember that we love YOU!  And we are grateful that you are Good People.

The miracle of the noodles

We spent the week in Trinidad learning how to run a mission office.  We also spent a lot of time with our good friends, the Francom's who we came into the mission with.  We watched conference with them for two days. 

On Sunday, Sister Francom started looking for some noodles.  She and Sister Bateman had to make soup the next day for the incoming missionaries.  Sister Bateman is pretty fussy about her cooking and you want her to have the right ingredients!

Sister Francom was worried because she looked everywhere in her cupboards and she knew the stores would not be open on Monday because of the Easter holiday.  She thought she might have to buy them on Sunday!  She said she feared Sister Bateman more than God!

The last speaker in conference spoke on keeping the Sabbath day holy.  Sister Francom decided that she would have to figure something else out for the noodles and she did not go to the store.

The next morning, she looked in her cupboards one more time.  And there in plain sight was a bag of noodles!  A miracle?  We think so!

The Lord really does bless us for keeping the commandments!

Today we had another miracle.  Our friends from Raymond came to visit us!  The Wood's and the Drewry's were on a cruise ship and were here for the day.  We had a wonderful time with them.

 And then we enjoyed a beautiful sunset in Barbados.

Please remember that we love YOU!

It's hard to say good bye

As we look forward to our new adventure in Barbados, we have to say good bye to our old experiences in Martinique.  I don't like good byes.  I prefer see you later's.  We won't see some of these missionaries again for a long time.  We will be losing four of them at the next transfer.  These are really great missionaries.  We love them a lot.

Today we had our last P-day together.  We went to the River Alma. 

Then we went to a water fall

Then we visited a member who weaves baskets out of paper.  She is awesome!

And last, we stopped and looked at the ocean with some of our favorite people!

We love them all.  And we love YOU!

Birthday Gifts

It was my birthday this week!  Birthdays are fun!  It's always nice to be remembered.  This year, I wanted to do something for the branch.  Instead of getting a gift.  I wanted to give a gift.  We ordered 25 hymn books in French.  We took 5 to the group in Trinite and the rest to the branch in Fort de France.  It really felt good to give them something that they will use every week.

Grandpa did give me some small gifts that have great meaning to me.  At first, I couldn't figure out why he gave me these things:

Then I read the inside of the card.  In part, it says,"I appreciate you giving us Martinique and I will do everything I can to give you Barbados."  It made me cry because I know how hard this is going to be, mostly for him!  The rock on the left is coral from the beach in Barbados and the pen and paper punch represent office supplies.  He sure is a good man!

He even made me dinner!

And I made dessert.  It's cinnamon rolls without cinnamon and raisins.  But they do have chocolate chips!

It was a great birthday.  I can't believe I have celebrated two birthdays in the mission field!  There is no better place to be!

We love YOU!

It's not all fun and games

It's not all fun and games in the Caribbean!  This picture is a check list of what I have been doing for the better part of 3 days this week.  Every transfer, I make up a 4 page Word document for each missionary who is going home.  This time there are 17.  It takes me about 4 hours for each missionary from start to finish.  Each document has 8-15 pictures in it and a write up of what they have learned on their mission.  I start a month in advance by emailing them and telling them what is required.  I email them all each week for 3 weeks and then call them when they haven't complied.  I spend a lot of time fixing their pictures.  I want their paper to look nice.  I also do a different kind of paper for each new missionary that comes each transfer.  They only take about an hour to make.  We had 11 this transfer.

It's pretty time consuming and I wish I was out with the missionaries, but I am glad I can do this for the missionaries.

Grandpa doesn't like to sit around and watch me do this, so he goes out with the missionaries.  This time it was with the Zone Leaders.  Elders Lewis and Peterson.  They are wonderful and make our job so much easier!  And as a bonus they bring me chicken and bakes at the end of the day.  (Which is 9:30 pm!)

They climbed a LOT of stairs and Grandpa got pretty tired, but he's a trooper!  We are both glad to be serving a mission together, even during the hard parts.

We hope you are enjoying your callings, too.  Even the tedious, not so fun parts.  It is all worth it in the end.

We love YOU!

The calm before the storm...

We went to Barbados this week to get to know the country a little bit.  We also met the District President and he will be very helpful as we get things rolling.  These pictures are of our morning exercise as we walked along the beach.  The water is so pretty here!  And the beaches are soft and cool.  We wish we could have spent more time on them, but we were busy doing other things.

We are so grateful for this mission!  We look forward to when ALL of you get to serve one!  (Or another one!)

And always remember that we love YOU!

The living tree

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the very south end of the island to a place called St Anne.  It is where many tourists go.  We enjoyed a few hours on the beach (but only found 1 tiny piece of sea glass!)

As we were walking back to the car, we noticed this dead tree stump, with a live tree coming out of it!  Isn't it amazing what God can do?  He takes something that looks totally useless and turns it in to something beautiful and vibrant.

We have been praying that He will do the same thing for us.  When the mission President called us and asked us to take on the new assignment of office couple in Barbados, we both wondered if we would be up to the task.  The President assured us that if we were all called based on how well we could do it right now, none of us would be called to anything!  The Lord takes us the way we are.  We may not look like much to others, they might not see the potential within us.  We may not even see the potential within ourselves.  But the Lord does.  And he knows that he can make a green tree out of us.

Psalms 1:3 - And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Job 14:7 - For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

We are grateful for the faith and trust that God has in us.  That the mission president has in us.  And that you have in us!

Thank you so much for praying for us!  We need it and we pray for you, too.

We love YOU!

And here's a pretty picture of St Anne, Martinique.

Phone call

We got a phone call.  From the Mission President. Last night.  He asked us a question.  He wanted an answer today.  One of us slept like a rock.  The other slept like a baby (woke up every few hours crying).

We made our decision and called him today.  Then I looked at my calendar page for the day.  Seems appropriate!

Call for more info!

Baptism!

We had a baptism on February 28, 2015.  His name is Bryan and he is almost 13.  He has wanted to be baptized for a while but his Mom didn't want him, too.  He has been coming to church and has lots of friends there.  Finally, he asked his mother again, and she said yes!  She signed all the papers and he was baptized!  She wouldn't come to the baptism, tho.  Isn't that sad that he doesn't have any family support?  But it is so awesome that he did the right thing!

I am so grateful that we have a family that supports each other.  We are so blessed to have the gospel in our lives!  We are grateful that you show us love.  We miss you!

And we love YOU!

Tout est bien

Tout est bien.  All is well.  I learned a new phrase this week!  We were singing "Come, Come ye Saints", (in French of course) and this phrase stuck with me.  And things are going well.  We are managing to keep our head above water!  Last week was carnival so there was not a lot we could do for several days.  We all had to stay away from the parades, etc and all the stores were closed so we stayed pretty close to home.  I was grateful that a member, Juliette Doumbia, lent me her sewing machine!  Oh!  How wonderful it is to mend a few things!  I had almost forgotten what it was like to be able to do that!

We had to run some errands downtown and had to kill some time one day so we went to a Mexican restaurant!  Can I just tell you how hard it is to order Mexican food from a French menu?!  It turned out pretty good tho!  We took the one picture just for Kristi & Peter because of the New Mexico connection.  (Can you see it?)

Grandpa wanted me to show you a picture of the outside of the restaurant.  It looked scary to me and I refused to go to it for several months.  It's amazing what hunger will do to a person!

The other day I looked at my shoes and noticed that they are getting pretty worn out.  I wear them almost every day and realized that it had been 11 months since we had left home!  We are so grateful for this opportunity of serving a mission and hope that each one of you will have the same opportunity in your lives!

We hope that "all is well" with each of you.  We pray for you daily and appreciate your love and support.

We love YOU!

Rose Colored Glasses

When we went to the Seniors Conference recently, a new friend gave me these rose colored glasses.  I love them!  If you are unfamiliar with the term, to wear rose colored glasses means you look at things in a happy, optimistic way.  I was glad my new friend thought to give them to me.  I wore them when my other friend was kind enough to cut my hair.  It was so nice of her and so desperately needed!

One of my favorite scriptures is found in D&C 123:17-"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

There are three parts to this scripture that I love.  The first is to be cheerful!  I have never been accused of being too serious (as you all know!), but I have found that being cheerful is always the best approach to problems.  I have had trials and stresses, but by choosing to be cheerful, things seem to go easier.

The second part I like about this scripture is to "stand still".  I am not very good at that.  I think we should all take more time to just be still.  To stay on our knees for a few seconds after the amen and just listen.  To wait patiently for the Lord to answer our prayers.  To understand that not all blessings that we desire will come in the time frame we think it should.  We need to stand still, and wait for the Lord to help us in His time.

The third part is to have "the utmost assurance" (faith) that his arm will be revealed, (His will be done.)  I have looked back on many instances in my life when I thought things should go one way and the Lord had them happen another way.  I am so grateful his way won!

I hope you, too, will look at the world and your lives with rose colored glasses.  Not everything will be perfect, but look for the good things and the good things will increase.

And always remember that we love YOU!