11 April 2010
It is interesting some of the things you are asked to do and you jump right into it regardless of any previous experience or training. You just acquire a manual, start reading, and praying, that you will be up to the assignment. One of the assignments that come to mind first of all is that of conducting a Literacy Class for three adults who have very limited or no reading skills at all. The introduction in the Teacher Manuel in part states: “Readings in this course and its methods were taken from the scriptures and adapted so that anyone who is called to teach may do so-regardless of previous teaching experience. If you can speak English this course will help you teach people who cannot read or write.” So that is encouraging. The course is titled “Ye Shall Have My Words” and taken from Mormon 9:30. We will keep you posted on how well we do in helping these folks gain some reading skills. We were in Castries on Saturday. Sister Treseder had arranged a training meeting for the relief society, young women, and primary presidencies of the Castries Branch and asked Sister Faux to assist her-which she was happy to do. We enjoy being with Elder and Sister Treseder. Prior to them Elder and Sister Collins were in Castries and we had fun times with these good people as well. One of the blessings of our mission has been the opportunity to meet other senior couples- Rasmussen’s from Twin Falls, Idaho, Wheeler’s from Blackfoot, Idaho, Steven’s from Park City, Utah to name to name a few- and feel of their spirit and desire to be of good service.
Sister Faux: Good Monday morning to you. This week is one of our sad weeks as we say goodbye to two of our young elders. Elder Harris is being transferred to Trinidad, and Elder Lundberg to Suriname, Dutch speaking. We have known two other elders (Ash and Muse) that served there as well as Elder Pence, whose mother takes care of our blog. I know they all spoke Dutch, but our elders here tried to explain how at times they speak Dutch mixed with English, I just don’t understand. Elder Lundberg has been here several months so will miss him in addition to taking care of his sewing projects and hearing his stories. Elder Harris will be going home in August about a month early for school. He is a nice young man and we have loved his visits and stories as well. He mended his own pants here at our apartment and did a pretty fair job. He took sewing in High School so he knows a little, I think the only reason he took sewing in school was because his girl friend was a student in the class. Still a girl friend and we hope she is waiting, she could find no one any better. Elder Harris’s sister put a comment on our blog, thank you. Elders Larsen and Barker will be staying here till the end of their mission- the third week in May. We enjoy these young men also; will talk more about them later.
This week has been a week of much needed rain. There have been so many fires because of the drought all through the hills and sides of the road. We went to Castries on Thursday a few days after the rain started and trees all along the way that looked dead a short time ago all had pretty white or pink blossoms on, it was just like a miracle. Saturday we went up again and the dead grass was a beautiful green. Just like the Garden of Eden, or so I think it must have been. The grass, or rather cut weeds, in front or our apartment is quite pretty also. Yesterday when church service started we had 12 people there and 6 of us were missionaries. People here just don’t get outside when it is raining. A few more came later in the meeting so we ended up with about 26. When it rains it cools the temperature down a bit and feels just great.
Last Tuesday was Elder Faux’s 79th birthday. He still is handsome and healthy and we are happy to be able to serve a mission. We spent most of the day with the elders as we went to Ladera, a resort up near Soufriere. We were able to check one room out and it is fun to see. Each room has only three walls, I think I talked about it before, and looks out over the ocean and the Pitons. I am sorry it is out of the missionary budget. We came back and had Pizza so that was a treat. The elders tried to bake a cake but one egg they dropped in the mix was rotten, so great to live in a third world country. So we had no cake. We did have a nice day and I am thankful to have had him as my partner for 58 years.
Yesterday we had a farewell dinner and I had no idea how great a tuna casserole is??? Anyway they seem to enjoy whatever I cook. I am going home thinking I am a wonderful cook so it is good for my self esteem. Well the church is still true and these young missionaries make it even better.
Oh, by the way we received our go home tickets -July 23! How about that! Love, Sister and Elder Faux

5 April 2010 Monday
We had another good zone conference on Monday with just a little change in the agenda. Previously we have had one session, with a break, and then the luncheon at the end of the conference. Today we had a session, then our lunch, then another session. One of the problems of doing it this way, as Elder Faux sees it-and as voiced by Sister Treseder as well, is the challenge of staying awake in the session that follows with a stomach full of food to digest. However we were told President Gamiette planned it this way as he is trying to impress upon the elders the health benefits of eating three key meals per day at regular intervals. With the zone conference being on Monday we provided Subway Sandwiches supplement with potato salad and strawberry short cake- for dessert- which Sister Treseder and Sister Faux prepared. At 8:15 Saturday morning we departed for Riviere Doree for the baptism of Samuel Sinaise. It is about a fifteen minute drive north and the same beach mentioned in our blog a couple of weeks ago for the branch youth activity. Because of a brother drowning in the ocean a couple of years ago Samuel avoids the ocean. Thus Riviere Doree as it has a small quite river that flows into the ocean. But today, for whatever reason, the river looked so grimy and uninviting that President Nicholas wouldn’t even consider it so Samuel ended up being baptized in the ocean after all. Returning from the baptism we prepared the church for Sunday then with the elders when to our apartment to watch the Saturday sessions of General Conference. Sister Faux prepared a pot of chili for an in-between-sessions lunch and then treated the elders to German chocolate cake after the priesthood session. Since the last General Conference an internet line has been installed at the church, but as of yet, no computer. With the line installed we had hopes of connecting a laptop computer to the branch TV so the members could view General Conference for the first time. But we searched in vain for the cord we needed. Sunday morning a branch member mentioned that he had a friend with a projector, and all the connecting cords, which we could borrow. Since it was a forty minute round drive we decided to wait until after church to pick it up and then watch just the last session. Members, and investigators were invited to the viewing and all looked good. The internet line connected to our laptop, the router connected, and the projector set up-already to go. The off/on switch on the wall is turned on and…. we hear a resounding ‘POP’… and the router melts. The transformer we had connected couldn’t carry the load. Thankfully it was the router and not our laptop. By the time we got things back in order at the church, and then to our apartment, and the computer up and running the intermediated hymn was just concluding. Sister Faux also prepared dinner for the elders’ on Sunday-bake potato with sour cream and shredded cheese, a mixed vegetable dish, fruit salad, barbecued chicken, plus the rest of the German chocolate cake for dessert. So it was a busy weekend.
Sister Faux: Today I am feeling like it is was a busy week not just the weekend. I don’t know why we worry so much about the Zone Conference lunch because everything we fix the elders eat it like it really is good and makes us think we can cook. So no matter what- it always makes us happy. We came back alone from zone conference because the elders had a fun day planned for the next day. So it was very peaceful and quiet when we arrived home. Tuesday we started our reading class where we had two members. It worked out well and hopefully we will have success there. If you can think how hard it would be to have four young children, all boys and not even know the alphabet. It seems to me that life would be complicated with that problem. We also started another temple class this past week with two members. One member took the class before and just received her temple recommend but wants to take the class again. She is Jeanette, a very good sister, and the newer member, Celina also a great member. Jeanette is Primary president and Celina is in the Relief Society presidency. It is very much a pleasure to be friends with these two members. Our elders are still working hard and try to please everyone---sometimes that is a hard assignment. We love these you men and enjoy them very much. Elder Harris is from Sandy, Utah and is our District Leader, a very good kind young man. His companion is Elder Lundberg from Logan, Utah. He has a million stories to tell and causes many a laugh each day. Elder Larson is also from Logan and will go home in about 53 days and that makes him happy. Elder Barker is also going home soon and is a dedicated elder. Can’t think of much more for this week---except tomorrow is Elder Faux’s 79th HAPPY BIRTHDAY. So Happy Birthday Elder Faux!!!

30 March 2010

First we need to mention that we have a problem in sending our photos. Our computer elder expert can’t figure what has gone haywire up to now. We took our computer with to zone conference planning to have Elder Stevens, a senior missionary computer specialist assigned to St Marrten’s look at it. But he became ill at the last minute and opted not to come to zone conference so we are still at square one.

Last Monday, preparation day, at the elder’s request, we took them to see the Sulphur Springs near Soufriere. Or at least that was our plan. Branch member Renata Elliott, who lives near Soufriere as well, requested of the elders copies of pictures they had taken at the recent Relief Society Birthday social. They thought since we would be in the area they would put the pictures on a flash drive we could go to her home and download them into her computer. When we reach Soufriere it was noon so we decided we should have lunch before driving on to Renata’s. So we dined at Fedo’s, a little neighborhood eatery in Soufriere. Once at Renata’s, and as the photos were being downloaded, she asked the elders if they would like to stay and join her and her husband, Bob, for dinner when he returned from work later in the day. One elder thought it would be too long of a wait but his concern was barely noticed as the other three readily accepted the invite-Sulphur Springs suddenly forgotten about. So a little later in the day, much sooner than Elder and Sister Faux felt like eating, we sat down to eat again. We took a little portion of everything that was served but it was somewhat difficult because of our noonday meal. When we departed for Vieux Fort both Elder and Sister Faux had churning stomachs plus having to drive ‘that’ highway in the dark. Once at the apartment Elder Faux calmed his stomach with a dose of Tums while Sister Faux unloaded her stomach contents into the toilet.

Sister Faux: I spent the remainder of the week in about that same condition so I accomplished little for the week. I had invited Betherlie, Swancy, Evenella and Boom Boom for lunch on Thursday. Betherlie is having a month vacation, so I did follow through with that little social. I planned on inviting others but just was not up to it. Sister Nicholas did come so I was happy about that. We had a nice afternoon and they enjoyed the American lunch: chicken enchiladas, fruit salad and a vegetable dish, cabbage with sliced carrots cooked together. Also had homemade hot dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. The hot rolls were the favorite. Boom Boom has been sent to live with her mother and that makes us so sad. They ask her father for some money to help with the food and etc and they never received any so they feel they cannot support her. Poor little Boom Boom will be so sad to leave this family and makes us sad as well as the elders. We always wonder what she will grow up to be as she is very smart and a darling personality. Saturday we had a cleaning day at the church to prepare for the visit of Mission President Gamiette and has wife for branch conference. We had four ladies turn out to help plus the elders and one 10 year old girl. They really cleaned the yard as it was very bad. One thing they do is if there are any green bushes or other greenery it is always cut down and piled up in a junk pile. Seems to me it would be better if it just grew and was pretty and green. Sorry I just do not understand everything. Our branch conference was very nice as we had many come that had not been there for such a long time. Sixty two in attendance-which was great-one member I had never met before. We just hope they all keep coming. President Gamiette invited seven members to the podium and share their testimonies and that was good. The primary sang a hymn that Sister Elliott had helped them with and we had a few extra kids that don’t often have a ride come and sing also. I think there were four girls (one was a baby that does not talk but she wanted to be part of it) and four boys. It turned out so nice. Sister Elliott left that Sunday to return back to Canada so we lost our song leader. Shaza, who just celebrated her 10th birthday, was asked to lead the singing. It was so cute and she did a fine job. She does not follow a pattern but beats perfect time to the music and is easy to follow. Of the thousands of sacraments services being held this Sunday, and if we would have had an option to do so, we would not have traded places with anyone. Life here is so interesting. After the Sacrament Service we had lunch prepared by Sister Nicholas, her last assignment before leaving for England later in the day. She is staying for five or six months to have her baby there. Following the meeting and many interviews President Gamiette drove our car, and us, to Castries to be there for zone conference on Monday morning. He drives much faster than Elder Faux but we arrived safe and spent the night at Treseaders. Another good zone conference and the food filled them up once again….So we are tired today. Nice week but sorry about our pictures. Have a great week. Love, Sister and Elder Faux