Thursday, January 22, 2009

One of those a ha moments

Here we have Elder Hymas sharing one of his gospel "a ha" moments with some of the elders in the neighborhood. He teaches the weekly seminary class to the high school age teens of the branch. It is true that the teacher learns so much more than the students because of the study and preparation. But on this occasion, Elder Hymas figured out some wonderful concept toward the end of the class. And he just had to share it with someone. These elders love to hang out with Scot and soak in the neat ways to apply gospel principles to our every day lives. " Were two or three are gathered in my name, touching on one thing, behold, there I will be in the midst of them." D&C 6:33. They love these informal get togethers. It's times like these, all are edified.

Just another airport run

Every 6 weeks we have a zone conference where about 10-12 missionaries from nearby islands fly to our island for a zone conference. We are the airport shuttle pick up crew. It is a fun day to see these young elders come ready to be inspired, participate in a community service project, eat a nice lunch prepared by sister Hymas and friends to feed about 25, and rub shoulders with their fellow missionaries. It really is a happy time for all of us. Then about every few weeks or months, the elders transfer to other places. This is two of the elders we got to pick up and spend the day with. They are on the serving at the southern end of the island so we do get to see them a few times a month. The beach in the pictures below this one are taken from behind us. Yes, the beach is right across the little street from the airport. The church and living quarters of our elders is on the other side of the airport runway. It makes all these trips to the airport convenient. We are sort of the back up parents to these great young men. We try to support them, but in reality, they are a great blessing in our lives. They have much to teach us old folks.

Thursday, January 15, 2009



After visiting the lighthouse, we strolled along a nearby beach. The girls were showing Elder Hymas how to feel the little clams under the sand with their feet. Try as he might, and he has really soft feet, he couldn't feel them. Between the three of them, they collected over 300 tiny clams. After the count, they dug a big hole in the sand close to the water and dumped them all back. They have little feet that propel them under the sand. They are really fun to watch. Yes the clams, but I meant the girls and Elder Hymas.
We have a little field trip once a month with our little neighbors Mandy and Pheobee. We would take these little primary girls home if we could. This day, we happened to visit a nearby lighthouse. The light keeper let us climb up the lighthouse and see the marvelous view. What a perfect day. I heard somewhere that we should spend everyday with someone who is over 70 or under 5. It gives perspective and helps us enjoy the simple things of life.
Here I am with some of the powerhouse sisters and young women of the branch. This picture was taken after a baptism. We have the dazzling Rosie and her Mom Adrianna, next to them is Sister Santos, our RS. Pres and spanish teacher, (she is from the Dominican Republic) Sister DeBeauville the YW Pres., Marie Joseph a counselor in the RS presidency, me and D'Anne another of our daring YW. I just love these ladies. These are the sisters that bring me joy beyond measure just knowing them. They really take good care of me. I love them to pieces.

Sunday, January 11, 2009



This is one of the many views we experienced from the lighthouse. It was so fun to just sit and watch the boat and cruise ships come into port. We felt like a bird, or what it must be like to look down on our little paradise from heaven. What a great way to clear the head, breathe and enjoy.

We decided to do a little exploring the other day. We discovered this really cool light house that was built in 1914. The lighthouse keeper had an old key and let us climb up inside. We climbed to the top to check out the most wonderful view of the area. We could see up and down the island and as far out to sea as we could see. All airplanes and boats that plan to enter the airport and the harbor must get permission and coordinate their entry with the the harbor master who works at this lighthouse. A must see if you ever come to St. Lucia for a visit. It was really breath taking. Isn't this about the cutest older missionary on the island? He is the light of my life.


Scot and I needed a little R&R the other day, so we went for a little stroll on the beach. It really wasnt our plan, but there happened to be tons of shells laying around that day. I was quite a shell collector in my early years, so we started and just couldn't stop. After collecting all these, we finally did get our walk in. Further down the beach, that particular day, we found all kinds of men catching fish that lived under the sand in a newly drained area on the beach. It was amazing to see, people catching small fish for their dinner. We'll stick to the shells.


Yesterday was Donavan's big day. He was brought into the church by his neighbor, Adrianna. It is soooo much better when members share the gospel with their friends. We really need good men in our branch. We only have a hand full and Donavan will bring so much spirit and energy to our branch. This is one day he will always remember. This is the day he chose to enter into a sacred covenant with the Lord and chose to follow His example. Way to go Donavan!


In the last few days of December, we (group effort) baptised a great young man named Shane. Shane is 15 and loves coming to church, YM/YW and seminary. He has been coming to church for months and no one had asked him if he wanted to be baptised. He thougtht it was about time. We were thrilled to be part of his special day. He is excited to get the priesthood Sunday.