20 December 2009
Is it or isn’t it? Somewhat of a quandary. On Friday we were notified that zone conference scheduled for January 6th and 7th 2010 had been moved to December 16th and 17th. So we arranged to meet with Elder and Sister Treseder in Castries come Monday to make plans for the zone conference meal (at least 40 people to feed) in addition to providing the elders with something they could have for breakfast that morning. Before we could leave Monday morning we got word the conference had been cancelled due to lack of travel arrangements. Then we get notified it will proceed on the 16th and 17th as announced-then another notice it has been cancelled. Sister Treseder finally called the mission office to find out what was happening for sure. We were relieved to know it would be held as originally scheduled in January. But at the same time somewhat saddened when we were informed that our zone had been divided. The islands of Grenada and St Vincent, which had been part of the zone, would now be a zone of their own. One of the delights of zone conference was our association with Elder and Sister Rasmussen and Elder and Sister Wheeler, the senior couples serving on these two islands. They are good people and we will miss our visits and association with them. So instead of zone conference on Tuesday we had a zone meeting connecting with the other islands via the computer for visual and the telephone for audio. From this meeting came a whole new mission criteria for baptism, the key ones being: the candidate must attend church for three consecutive Sundays and stay for the full block, read from the Book of Mormon fourteen consecutive days, teach a Book of Mormon lesson to a referral they have provided, two family home evenings, one with a member present and one on their own. This will reduce the number of baptisms but those that are baptized should be stronger in their commitment to live the commandments and stay active members. It was a singular experience to witness as the missionaries accepted these new baptism standards and proffer their willingness to work harder.
Sister Faux: Greetings from the sunny island of St Lucia! Today is Sunday and it is a bright happy day. We just came home from church and not many people attending again this morning. I counted just before our service began and 21 in attendance. A few came late as usual- about 6 or 7 all kids except one. We are not sure just what the problem is but it is not good. A young man was to receive the priesthood; another man was to give a talk, plus our music leader, all did not come. And another new member wasn’t there as well as our Sunday school teacher. Randy came but he was not happy and spent most of the time on the porch. Makes us feel bad for them and for the branch. Our elders are working daily with the members trying to encourage them. Monday night they have an extra Family Home Evening planned, hoping to help some families.
Elder Faux has told you about the changes in our zone and also we are going to have our district split as well. We will have four elders here and one couple (Faux). So the four elders will not have to travel in the back seat of our little Toyota. That really makes them miserable. It has always been miserable but our large New Zealand elder is a big man so that makes it harder. Could I just tell you what good men they are, we enjoy them very much.
One morning as we walked our three, or almost three mile walk, we passed a house that has a little table out in front. The owner puts some things from his garden on it to sell. He was the one that climbed his neighbor’s tree in the summer and picked me some mangos. Anyway, we bought a small pumpkin, lettuce and some spinach for $14 EC money, which would be not quite $5.00 in our money. He went out into his garden and picked them fresh, except for the pumpkin. It is very good; the pumpkin is a little stringy but tastes fine. On another walk we passed a flight of steps leading up to a house. The owners must think they will never get old. I would not want to hike these steps. We will put a picture up and show you.
In closing:
A Christmas wish we would like to share with all of you for whom we care
Just nice wishes for family and friends so dear a wish for your happiness and your good cheer
This happy holiday season for this precise year finds us far away but our thoughts are clear
We miss each one of our family whom we love and ask Heavenly Father to bless from above
Our friends are like family and we love them so much we wish they had time to just keep in touch
In the snow and cold of the season we find that we pray for your joy and happiness of the best kind
Now we live in a very bright sunny town and on our face you will not find a frown
A mission we serve so we feel of good cheer and in our thoughts we hold each of you dear
The birth of our Savior is the very reason we love to celebrate this happy holiday season
So Merry Christmas to all-may your spirits be bright for certain our Merry Christmas will surely not be white.
Love, From Elder and Sister Faux