So We Begin In Guadeloupe

On January 22 at 10:00PM we took the MTC shuttle from Provo to SLC for a 1:00AM flight to Atlanta and another flight to Barbados.  Hard to keep the eyes open at that point!  We stayed three nights in a little hotel leftover from 1962 - it was  overlooking a beach - very pink and turquoise ( the hotel not the beach).  We met our mission president and his wife that evening and loved them immediately.  President and Sister Herrington are from Vancouver so they are "not in Kansas anymore" either.  We had dinner in the mission home with them for three evenings.  While in Barbados we attended church in the tiny branch there and received training on our missionary duties ( We also met Senior Sisters Locke and Ray who run the mission office.  By the way, they need help desperately, so if you would like to go on a mission in the beautiful Caribbean - have they got a calling for you!). Tuesday we attended a district meeting and then caught the flight to Guadeloupe.  We actually left the mission for a while as we landed on the island of Dominica to drop off and pick up passengers.  The airstrip was in the jungle with just enough room to take off and land without falling into the ocean ( very Indiana Jonesish).  This was our plane.

The Guadeloupe airport is really nice and it was wonderful to see the young elders in their short sleeve white shirts awaiting our arrival.  After a quick stop at the French Carrefour grocery store ( we are technically in France now) we headed for our apartment.  Whoa - bit of a shock!  It was really a mess with a lot of dirt and black mold growing here and there ( and there and here).  In the morning we began cleaning every surface with Monsieur Propre.  The apartment sat empty for six weeks from the last couple who were here from Tahiti.  After a few days of scrubbing, it is looking pretty good.  We have air con so life is magnifique.  The Guadeloupe office  for this region of the mission is in one of our rooms, so we get to have missionaries popping in a lot. They are really wonderful.  Here are two of them,  Elder Sackley and Elder Savard.

Highlights of the week: Lamentin Branch Missionary Correlation Meeting on someone's porch. At night. In the dark. Sort of in a jungle.  My anti-mosquito spray and I are becoming good friends. The Branch Mission Leader looks like a young Sidney Poitier.  On Saturday, we went to a baptism in Basse-Terre performed in the ocean. We attended church today  and I actually introduced myself and Elder Booth en Francais.  Very scary for me, but the members are delightful and sound like they will put up with us.  During one of our classes, the teacher was presenting a lesson on family preparedness, during which we experienced  a small earthquake.  Great object lesson!   We met Elder Gamiette, the Area Seventy, who attends there. Finally, we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon at the home of President Eclar, the First Counsellor in the Mission Presidency,  and his beautiful family.  

This is the meeting house for Basse-Terre Branch (above).  Lamentin Branch ( below).

Here is a view from our drive back from Basse-Terre.  The island is covered with green tropical mountains, little villages, and  lots of palm and banana trees.  Our apartment is between a business area and  the ocean. The residence complex is called Les Paletuviers.  That means 'mangrove trees', which are common here.  These trees live in salt water - not an easy thing for a tree to do, but they manage to do it and even thrive.  I think they are teaching me that  when I am out of my comfort zone, I can still manage to find ways to feel at peace through the the Spirit.  And even thrive.