Yes, it has been another week in this ever growing warmer paradise. I drink water, and sunscreen is a daily skin ritual. No worries. My tan lines grow ever clearer against the white skin that is perpetually protected.
So, you are all doing well? I hope so. Oh, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kari dearest – it is her birthday here today, but I hope the day today for her tomorrow (if that makes an ounce of sense) is glorious. I am posting a small package home today filled with some birthday cards, the camera card and some pictures. You should get it sometime in the next two to three weeks, although one of the elders told me that his mom just received a letter that he sent to her in April. I hope my package doesn’t experience the same voyage time.
This week was great! I just love this mission – so much! It has been 6 months in three days! Wow. Last night we were down at the Rivière Salée building practicing some songs with the district for a Christmas concert. Afterwards Soeur Seiko saw her older sister (Soeur Seiko sees her family a lot of the time here, since they’re on the same island). Her sister served in Fiji and one of her old companions, Sister Crow, from Canada came to visit her. Soeur Leavitt and I talked to her for a while since she didn’t speak much French. I asked if she knew an Elder Shaw from her mission in Fiji (it was 4 years ago for her) and she said yes. Once again, what a small, Mormon world. She commenced in telling us how she still thought of her mission and missed it every day. She said that for two years after coming home that she would just burst into tears weekly because she missed it so much. Foreshadowing? I hope not.
This week many experiences were, well, experienced. On Tuesday I had to teach a lesson at our district meeting – I am such a fan at applying the scripture stories to life right now. There are so many things we can learn through the Book of Mormon and I try to ask myself every time I read a chapter, “why was this included?” “Why is this story here and what do I need to understand from it?” I hope you do the same.
On Tuesday afternoon we had a lesson with our progressing investigator Lorenza. We watched the Restoration DVD and though she was distracted by her baby at the beginning she was into the second half. It was an enriching experience. I cannot stymie the tears that come to my eyes when I watched that DVD and think of the humble boy Joseph, called to be the prophet of the restoration of the eternal Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so clear and true to me.
We ate at the famille Ahuroa's that night. Soeur Ahuroa has the strongest character of anyone I have ever met. I cannot explain her justly in the written word, but I assure you that I will have many a story to recount featuring the one and only Soeur Mohia Ahuroa when I come home.
On Thursday we taught a Madame Sejo with a member and we watched the Restoration DVD again. It didn’t have quite the same effect as it did the time with Lorenza. Madame Sejo is very Protestant, and afterward she told us that the Jehovah’s Witnesses have the same film and asked which church it really belonged to. Then she talked to us about false prophets and asked us to go home and reflect about what she was telling us. Soeur Seiko and I bore our testimonies of the reality of Joseph Smith as a prophet called by God and of Jesus Christ as our Savior. I knew she was trying to rattle us and shake our faith and beliefs, but does she really think that someone who has travelled across the world to spend 24/7 doing this work is weak in faith and testimony? Not in this case. It made me think of Jacob and Sherem - how Jacob’s faith could not be shaken despite the cunning and clever words of Sherem; how he bore powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and let that be his final stance.
On Thursday we cleaned the home of a neighbor of ours (Mamie DeGrellon) who is very old and very, very alone. Her’s is a sad story, but I don’t have time to tell it at present. She is entirely uninterested with our Gospel message, but she is sick and alone and in need of some smiling faces and listening ears. We were able, at one visit, to find out the birth and death dates of her husband, her birthdate, and their marriage date. This will be put to good use at a future time. Anyway, just know that when we started cleaning her house that we were nearly attacked by all the cockroaches and insects that emerged from the nooks and crannies. It wasn’t pleasant. Something must truly be dirty if you have to clean fungus off a bar of soap.
The rest of the week was filled with other events: It rained on Friday which cleared away a bit of the heat, there was a baptism and a fireside at our branch building on Saturday (with refreshments, of course), and Sunday was a calm Sabbath.
I love you all very much! Have a good week and don’t forget to put prayer and scripture study first in your lives. Just follow the counsel of Jacob: “O be wise, what more can I say.”
Love,
Soeur Cummins
P.S. General Conference is soon! Oui!
happy birthday, soeur Ahuroa
