Soeur Holt was able to spend time with three of her companions this week as Soeurs Hootini and Hansen came for exchanges from Martinique. It also happened to be Soeur Hootini’s birthday while she was in Guadeloupe. . On Wednesday evening Soeur Hootini and I walked home, when we were 200 m away from the house I blindfolded her so that the other 2 and the balloons and glow sticks and cake could all be a huge surprise.

We sang happy birthday in Creole, Tahitian, French and English!! so much fun!!… That evening we literally got complaints from our neighbours that we were being to loud, oops sorry, we are just being young!! It is so nice to hear of the friendships that Soeur Holt is developing and the love they share. We have noticed the volume of noise in our house has dropped since she’s been away, four sisters combined were bound to create some trouble! We are just imagining their embarrassment at being asked to quieten down a little bit!

Serving again with Soeur T is a thrill for Soeur Holt, but it also gives them an opportunity to relive old times. P-day last week, the other sisters then came to pick us up because their car is nicer and safer than ours. We headed to the zoo, Soeur T and I had to giggle because a year later there we were again with the same companion, I loved the zoo and I left Soeur T with my camera that is why you have so many photos!

Soeur Holt spent most of exchange with Soeur Hootini- Soeur T and I had mqde the decision that it would be better to separate the Tahitians this exchange!! haha. We grabbed some bokits before I was dropped off with Soeur Hootini to teach whilst the other two contacted. We talked about how we have a loving Heavenly Father. We then went contacting- Soeur Hootini is such a great example of diligence and consecration- she understands her purpose so perfectly and feels such a deep love for the people of the Antilles she has a light around her and the people notice.

During a teaching situation with one of our friends who is struggling with health problems Soeur Hootini testified powerfully using personal experiences that blew both the investigator and I away. She shared part of her heart and we could feel the integrity and sincerity.

Friday was  a slightly earlier start to get Soeur Hootini and Soeur Hansen off on the plane, when we arrived home we got a call that the Elders were coming with Soeur Layne for apartment inspections- not fair after an exchange and 4 sisters living together for 2 days!! We passed and even shared our lunch with the uninvited!

One afternoon we picked up Soeur Desire to teach a young man again- his sister joined in and we again introduced the Book of Mormon. We got stuck in traffic before visiting a lady we have been teaching- she opened up to us about how she is worried about her son who is being bullied at school. We spoke about the blessing that the Gospel gives directly to families and encouraged them to pray as a family morning and evening.

Couple of other bits: Contacting in the market at St. Rose we met the gentleman in the picture 93 wow!! Still as handsome as ever!!

 

Also a police lady who was super kind even though we thought she was going to tell us off for being there! Contacting that evening led us to a super cool young mother who is 29 and had a huge faith in Jesus Christ and loved the Book of Mormon we had shared with her Alma 7.

Wednesday contacting and a heart attack for the Desir family, lunch then we visited Soeur Layne because her husband was on assignment and she has been wanting to do a language study with us for so long!

Sunday was the branch conference and it was the first time I got to sustain our new prophet- a cool experience. I loved the Relief Society lesson- the new teaching method and organisation really work in this branch particularly well. That afternoon some more heart attacks for part member families and lots of contacting then studies the evening. Everywhere was dead because of Carnival.

I read this week in the Liahona (they have started a series of each month they publish a talk from a women from church history) February’s talk was by Rachel H Leatham called dieu me l’a releve… you know me I am all about girl power!! She shared a powerful witness of Christ and the Restoration of the Gospel in her talk given to the overflow of the General Conference in 1908 I think!

I studied Joseph Smith history for the young lady who is preparing for baptism- trying to draw on the comparison between her search and his, I really liked and remarked on the events leading up to the First Vision this time vs 10 – 12

In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it? While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

What is my James 1.5 and how can I help others find theirs?

Verses 13 and 14 reminded me of Alma 32.27 make an experiment upon my words.

Love and miss you all to the moon and back- bisous!!