Difficult to Function Without a COMPUTER

I am using a borrowed computer just let everyone know that things are still buzzing here in St. Lucia! I have so many pictures to share and things to talk about, but without my computer, I am dead in the water! I hope to have things up and running in a couple of days. Our son Josh and his wife Karissa are bringing us a new computer as well as a part to fix the other one, so we should not experience this shut down again! But, most important, they are bringing our newest little grand daughter that we have not seen yet! We are so excited! I will have lots of pictures to share very soon! Check back in a couple of days!

A Perfect Child is Baptized

Hurrah for Israel!

We witnessed the most tender moment as Xian's mother, Shermin, our Primary President, bore her testimony and said Xian was such a blessing in her life. She went on to say that he was the best thing that had ever happened to her and that he was all she had! Not so unusual for a mother to say in the United States, but here in St. Lucia, it was one of the very rare times we heard a parent say something positive about their child. We were so touched!

All you have to do is spend a little time with Xian to realize that he is the most perfect child we have met here in St. Lucia! There is something so extraordinary about him, he is kind, thoughtful, very courteous and extremely bright. A complete pleasure to be around!

Elder Cromwell and Elder Breinig excited to be involved in Xian's baptism.

Cam is Xian's Primary Teacher...lucky Cam!

Lucky Xian!!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Transfer Day brought us Elder Cromwell

This is Wendy and Elder Cromwell, all of the Lucian children get so excited to meet the new Missionaries...Elder Cromwell was a good sport and made a great 1st impression.
Elder Cromwell was glad to meet President and Sister De'Beauville, as well as all the other members! He is one of 11 children from Idaho. I am just guessing, but I bet he knows how to work! We are anxious to get acquainted with him.

"Don't Eat Pete" is a hit here in St. Lucia. I am not sure who has more fun, the children or the adults. We play this at every FHE, and they never want to stop!

St. Lucia's Future Missionaries

Here is the future of the church in Castries, St. Lucia.

They are raised by their mothers, seldom even seeing their fathers for the most part,

3 of them do have fathers in their lives.

They love spending time with Elder Sherwood, President De'Beauville and the missionaries...these men are role models to these good hearted young men.

They are striving to obey the commandments against all odds!

Mind Your Manners

The youth were packed in like sardines!

We pack as many as will fit in the cab and away we go, up, down, around and through the streets of Castries. The youth are laughing, talking up a storm and screaming from pain when we go over a speed "HUMP" as they call it here. This is right after Mutual where we had a "Mind Your Manners" activity. The youth did role plays on Church Etiquette, Dating Etiquette and Table Manners. It was great fun to have the youth participate and we all learned how to behave a little better!

The Simply Amazing Cashew Apple

I want to thank Sister Williamson for this picture of a cashew apple. We were so intrigued the first time we saw one and realized that there is just one cashew at the bottom of the apple, and amazed because it takes tons of cashew apples just to fill one can of cashew nuts.
I will savor every bite of a cashew and never take them for granted again!

As Sister's in Zion...

These are a few of the Relief Society Sisters, I have been so involved with the Young Women, little time has gone into helping Relief Society. Now, with Sister Santos as President, we are going to shake things up and make some drastic improvements. The lesson today was given by the 2nd Counselor, Mareleen Joseph, the sister in the green. It was the first time visual aids were used and she quit reading from the manual, looked up and started a discussion 5 different times!!!!! Major improvement!

Making History

Today Sister Santos, the Relief Society President, & I made history as we went out and attempted to do the first Visiting Teaching ever to take place in St. Lucia. We were suppose to visit 3 sisters, one of them had to go to work and was not there. The other two, Virginia and her daughter Thaddea were home but didn't really know why we were there. Sister Santos had set up the appointment and tried to explain why we would be coming. Then I tried to explain to them again. They just looked bewildered!! It will be slow going but we will not give up!

Sister Santos is terrific and has a very positive attitude, she is doing a wonderful job as Relief Society President...I just love her!

Elder Williamson...Extraordinary!

Elder Williamson knows when to be serious.....
and when to have some fun...

...when to pitch in and get things going...

Everyone was given a few props and ten minutes to throw a skit together, Elder Williamson must have cupid on his mind, he instantly came up with a cupid and arrow hitting him and then falling in love with the first woman he saw...even though it was Neil dressed up like an old woman!

He is a very gracious receiver! Fun to do things for someone who really does appreciate it.

Anderson was having a hard time, he was so afraid of the water...Elder Williamson took his time and calmed Anderson enough that he was able to be baptized.

Teddianne thought the water was freezing!!

We have come to love little Teddianne so much! She is such a character

Mary wanted so badly to hug the missionaries, this was the next best thing!

Elder Williamson is the only missionary that Elder Sherwood did not razz all the time!

Elder Davis from Missouri-Elder Sookram from Trinidad-Elder Williamson from Utah

Elder Breinig from Washington...they are all fantastic!

We are in front of the Castries Church Building

Elder Williamson left Tuesday...a huge loss for us! He is so full of energy, fun and has a contagious positive attitude! His million dollar smile won us over the minute we met him! Elder Williamson is bold, but not overbearing, as Alma cautioned his son Shiblon to be. He truly did lift us to new heights, now we just have to keep climbing!

We are very blessed to have Elder Breinig still here and he has taken over his senior role with full force! A totally new Elder Breinig has emerged and we are looking forward to the coming weeks!

Isn't the mission wonderful, we are meeting new Elders all the time and learning so much from each one of them. We feel very blessed!

More of the Market

The market is lined with fruit and vegetables, dasheen, plums, mango's, yams, plantain, bananas, tomatoes, cucumbers etc. Because the surroundings are very dirty, at first I did not buy anything from here, but now I will buy everything! I just clean it good when I get home! The only thing I won't buy is the fish...the smell is so bad...I had to cover my nose just to take this picture! There is another fish market that is much cleaner, that is where we buy delicious Red Snapper, tuna, and Dorado. We live on fresh produce, beans, fish and once in a while, chicken. Haven't had any beef since we have been here and I have not missed it at all!

Ticky Tock and Sand Balls

The Youth taught us how to play two new games at the beach. One is Ticky Tock, it is like Jacks only they play with small rocks. When you lose, the winner gets to slap your hand...it hurts! Let's just say this game is harder than it looks...you start with 6 rocks on the back of your hand, then you toss them all in the air and try to catch them in your hand that is held flat.

The other game is just like a snow ball fight only they use sand balls...I didn't get hit, thank heavens, but all the kids said it hurt like heck when you get hit with a hard sand ball!! They played that up and down the beach for the longest time, running for cover into the ocean. They had the time of their young lives!

I have to say that these kids are tough!

Quiet, Calm Beach

We had a great Beach Bash on Saturday...most everyone can not swim here! So we found this new beach where the water is shallow for a very long way out in the ocean. Perfect for all the non-swimmers here in St. Lucia.