F
Irst let us wish everyone a Happy New Year. A year we hope and pray will be a great one. We welcomed in the year 2000 while serving in the Manila Philippines Mission and now we have had the opportunity to welcome a new decade living in Vieux Fort, St Lucia while serving in the West Indies Mission. What might the year 2020 bring…
We had a rather busy week. With Monday being Preparation Day the elders came to the apartment to do their weekly e-mails and enjoy the tasty lunch Sister Faux provided for them-with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. One thing about these meals is you don’t have to wonder what to do with the leftovers. It delights Sister Faux immeasurably see them enjoy her cooking as they do. On Wednesday the missionaries drove down from Castries to attend zone meeting. Zone leader, Elder Rosales, in his usual manner, had a well prepared lesson to present after which we ordered Domino Pizza, delivered to the church, for lunch (don’t know if we have mentioned that Domino Pizza set up shop recently in Vieux Fort and is a gold mine). After lunch Elder and Sister Treseder stayed and spent the afternoon with us sending their missionaries back to Castries by bus. We do enjoy being with these folks and had a delightful afternoon together. Before they left we accepted their invitation to drive to Castries and welcome in the New Year with them. On New Year’s Eve we arrived in Castries around 3:00 p.m. and glad it wasn’t any later as a large portion of the main street through Castries was blocked off for the assembly of food and drink stands for the New Year Celebration. The detour was unmarked so we just had to flounder amid unfamiliar roads until we were able to once again find the street we needed. We had planned to dine out early New Year’s Eve-beat the crowd. But the restaurant of choice was closed preparing for a New Year Eve’s party so we went back to the Treseder’s and enjoyed a meal of barbecued chicken wings and scrimp salad with chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Later in the evening we watch an ‘oldie’ on TV, “Tea for Two” with Doris Day. However, before the 12-o-clock hour Sister Faux and Elder Treseder had gone to bed leaving Sister Treseder and Elder Faux to welcome in 2010.
Sister Faux: Happy New Year! We had a fun time as we went to Castries and stayed over with Elder and Sister Treseder as Elder Faux has mentioned. That night we just watched a movie on TV (couples are allowed to do that) or maybe I should say we watched part of a movie and then I went to bed- too tired. New Years Day we went to lunch at an ocean side restaurant, Spinnakers. For some reason the waves were so high the parking lot was filled with sea water and we had to take off our shoes to walk in. It is all open air- no walls and a really fun place to go. We have been there three times. The waves kept coming up so high that some washed into the restaurant covering the floor with water and sand. It was fun. That night we went with the elders teaching a nice man (Brother William) about becoming an elder next week at Zone Conference. So now we are preparing another meal for zone conference. This time we have only 25 as the zone has been divided so I think that will be easier.
Just a couple of things you might be interested in about this little island. One of their favorite things they love to cook and eat is Macaroni pie. It is just about like macaroni and cheese and it is well liked by most everyone (not me). The weather is now in the Dry Season and so we walk in some places where the grass and bushes have lost their beautiful green color and the leaves look dry. We have had some rain this week and we appreciate it. You never have to worry about being cold when it rains---still hot. Brother Davis Thomas, the clerk in our branch, talks about how he was a Rasta man before joining the church. Rasta men have long dread (?) Locks. Their hair is long, sometimes down the middle of their back, and in braids. The braids are all matted together and you would not want to touch them. Being the Beautician that I am, and I once saw lice in one woman’s hair, it makes me shudder to think of touching them and what you would find. They are interesting. Rasta stands for R-Righteous, A African, S Stand, T Tall and A Alone… as told to me by Brother Thomas. They look like interesting men. We are still enjoying our hard working elders. They go day and night thinking they have someone lined up for baptism and then it falls through. They must get disappointed many times, but just keep on working. Elder Welch has a nice scratch all down the side of his face as he ran into a board fence a few nights ago. They travel in the dark with no light—but they are young. They are good men. I try not to think of them as boys, but sometimes… Well, have a good week and I know the church is still true. Sister Faux and Elder Faux