Life in Barbados: September 11-18th
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| Colors of Barbados |
. P-day this week was cut short by an assignment which is okay by us if we are needed; however, we were able to snag a few hours on Saturday morning to enjoy the beach. As we were sitting at Carlisle Bay staring out at the turquoise blue waters, I closed my 
eyes and felt the moment: The gentle sound of the waves lapping in the background, the sun 
shining on my face warming my skin, and the wind gently rocking the flaps of our sky blue beach umbrella. The moment was joyful, exhilarating, and peaceful. It was a tender mercy from Heavenly Father that confirmed once again that we are where He needs us to be and doing His work. It may look different than we anticipated, but the sacrifice is being accepted. View to Shipwreck over Carlisle Bay We checked off a bucket list item for Sister Newell who left today after serving 23 months here in Barbados as the Financial Secretary. The senior sisters went up to Harrison’s Cave. This is an underground cavern that extends about 200 feet under with natural springs, waterfalls, and the stalagmites & stalactites formations. It was so interesting. Much like Luray Caverns in Virginia, but a little more humid. Afterwards, we toured the aviary with beautiful birds.
Another tender mercy of the week was on our way to the cave, we blew a tire. As we limped up the hill into a rural post office parking lot, we met a group of postal workers on mopeds pointing at our flat tire. They turned around to ask if they could help. They changed our tire in 10 minutes and had us on our way on to our adventure!
As we are learning and exploring Barbados, we found a cool connection between South Carolina and Barbados. My hometown in South Carolina is actually located in Colleton County. I bought this book and am learning that Sir John Colleton, one of the proprietors of the Carolinas, was from Barbados and is actually buried here on Barbados. There is a Colleton House somewhere on this island. I hope to find both before leaving. There are other fun connections of development, architecture, and history that we are learning as we are working through reading this treasure we found this week.
We helped chaperone a YSA/Youth activity at the mission home on Saturday. We had a great turn out. Last time there were only 3. It’s difficult getting people to activities without providing rides, because no one has cars and with 3 branches across the island it’s too hard to walk. As we watch the sacrifices of the members to come to church each Sunday, it is humbling to watch the widow’s mite played out every week with their worship.
Sunday, we had a wonderful Sacrament meeting with fervent testimonies by two sisters to focus our lives on Jesus Christ and how they gained their testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They had amazing stories of faith and finding the gospel. One spoke of her and her husband's conversion in England and how they came to Barbados years later. We marvel at their resilience and testimonies here. Heavenly Father is teaching us through them. We love them!
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| Oisten's Fish Market: Bucket list item ✔ |
Sunday evening, we had a departure dinner at the mission home. Our mission leaders are back from the French side for a few days before they continue onto the English side for Zone conferences. Sister Stoffers put together an awesome video from Sister Newell's time here and we enjoyed a lovely last supper together as senior missionaries. She will be missed.
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| (L-R) Fullers, Rogers, Stoffers, Bickmores, Newell, Kirkhams, Ellis |
Side note: When we were packing to come to Barbados, I must admit I was having the hardest time determining shoes to bring. I was told to bring shoes you can get wet and don't mind sand in your toes. Crocs and Reefs are the absolute best! Many of the missionaries wear Chacos (except on Sunday). My Chacos are heavy and I honestly couldn't put one more pair of shoes in my bag. Doug already teased me about the amount of shoes I was taking, so I left my Tevas & Chacos home in a bag that I secretly packed for Sydney to bring to me in December. When we went to the beach or just walked around on p-day, I silently wished for those sandals. It was a little thing, a convenience thing, and not a real need. I can make due. Fast forward, if you recall, I mentioned a clothing swap a few weeks back that we did for the 3 branches. In one of the bags was shoes. We laid out the shoes on a table and there was an orange pair of Chacos in the mix. Surely I thought that one of the Bajans would pick those immediately. Fast forward as we were cleaning and bagging up the remaining items to take to the Salvation Army after the Swap, those Chacos were one of the only pairs of shoes left on the table. I asked all that were there if anyone wanted those sandals to which all replied no. I asked if it would be okay if I tried them on to see what size they were to which everyone said "Go ahead!" They fit like Cinderella's slippers. I couldn't believe it. I asked if anyone would mind if I kept those instead of sending them to the Salvation Army, which no one cared! I am now the owner of a pair of Chacos that answered a tiny prayer of my heart. Is God in the details of our lives? YES! He is definitely in the details and cares about us individually, even down to our sandy toes!
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