Life is more joyful when heaped with gratitude!

😇 Let's start off with a little gratitude this week!  Our APs are truly amazing Elders and humans!  They have a very unique role in our mission that requires a lot of faith and endurance.  They travel with our mission leaders every transfer to Zone Conferences, go on exchanges on every island, train, make airport runs every transfer for the Elders, assist the mission leaders, and constantly bear testimony in word and deed.  Their energy and spirit is infectious!  We are so grateful to have them and get to serve with them.  

Elder Parker

Unfortunately, we had to say Au Revoir to Elder Parker who heads back to the French side for his last transfer.  He's also helped us with all of our "tech," so I hope Elders Hunt & Roberts know how to answer all of our "senior" questions concerning all the tech! Elder Hunt will be training this transfer before he will be heading out for his last transfer! We’ve come to really love  them!  We welcomed Elder Robert’s as our new AP from the French side.  He’s also super awesome, so we look forward to getting to know him better!

Elder Hunt

We survived transfer week!  Our travel/immigration coordinator is  in coordinating travel so transfers happen smoothly in our mission.  It takes us almost a full week and a lot of  to get people where they need to be on these islands!  Sometimes that even requires taking a ferry from the English side to the French side and catching planes etc.  I had the great privilege to go with Sister Stoffers to the airport 5 times this week to pick up and drop off the sister missionaries!  It was so great to meet face to face with those we hadn’t had the opportunity to meet yet, but already had an overwhelming love  for them.  We truly have amazing missionaries! 

Elder Hansen, Sisters Cruz & Bodily heading to Grenada
Elders VanWagoner & Roberts doing Elder drop off

Sister Cleverly & Elder Durfey heading to St. Lucia
Elders Hunt & Roberts for the Elder drop-off

Our Barbados ZL, Elder Motley got transferred as well to St. Vincent so we welcomed Elder Osmond this week back to Barbados . Elders Motley &  VanWagonner baptized the last 2 members of the Grant family this week making that the first full family of 6 in a long while here on Barbados to join the church and make covenants with their Heavenly Father!  Precious.  Doug & I often imagine that this is what Ammon and the mothers of the strippling warriors must have felt like.  Such a privilege to be with them!

FHE with Elders Motley & Parker before heading to St. Vincent & Guadelupe

We had a great senior couple chat on Zoom this week.  It was awesome to be with them for the hour or so we met.  These couples are doing so many amazing things on these islands: branch presidents, counselors in presidencies, temple prep teachers, Covenant path teachers, working with members, family history classes, all while supporting our young missionaries on their islands.  I was in  awe of them and a little jealous!  Their sacrifices are so appreciated and needed to help these little islands grow in their knowledge and testimony of our Savior and his gospel!  It was wonderful to spend that time with them AND it was such a blessing to have the technology to make that happen!

We welcomed 2 new missionaries to our English side on Friday!  They arrived exhausted from the Provo MTC and the Fiji mission.  We did a 2 day orientation with them in the office before one of them flew out to his assignment on island of St. Vincent.  Saturday morning they got to witness their first baptism!  

After a full week, we relaxed a few hours on Dover Beach.  There are sooo many beautiful beaches here, all of which are public!  We sat and watched as turtles played in the surf  right in front of us.  They are fun to watch! One of the many perks of senior mission life! Oh and you get to keep your companion the entire time and no transfers!

Had my 2nd driving lesson.  Drove to and from church, navigating several roundabouts and narrows!  Still not completely comfortable, but didn’t hit anything with my left mirror and didn’t go in a gully!  Seriously if you saw these things…. My brain is getting used to completely opposite driving!  

More good news is that we will be increasing our mission size by 10 missionaries starting in January!  This means that worldwide we have an increasing number of young missionaries desiring to serve our Heavenly Father in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ!  In this crazy world, what could be better than flooding His vineyard with the good Word!  Not just young missionaries but senior couples as well, so if you want to join us in the Caribbean, we have 2-3 French assignments upcoming as well as St. Martin in June!  Come join us in spreading the good news!

Though life looks glamorous living on an island, we do miss family!  My girls are super great about sending grandbaby pics for us to enjoy, which is another gratitude post!  Just can't resist them!

Halloween and fall aren't big celebrations here.  Halloween is often considered too satanic or pagan by the locals.  Also, there really isn't a fall here, so there's that!  I'm just appreciating them vicariously through my grands eyes!

Life is better with sandy toes!