Lucky 13th week in St. Thomas


Monday started off with a bang!  We gobsmacked the Elders in Pickle Ball 4-2.  I had to write that down just in case it doesn't happen again......I wish I would have taken a picture of them doing their push-ups every time they made an error.  it was hysterical.  What a way to start off the week....... later that night when we were getting ready to leave for our Branch Family Home Evening, we locked ourselves out of our apartment, so we were waiting outside for an hour until our landlord came and opened our door.  Now, we have a hide a key, so that won't happen again......

On Tuesdays for a few weeks now, we have been volunteering at a school here on the island behind that door above.  It is called "My Brother's Workshop,"  it is a program that a retired guy on the island started when he saw a need.  He noticed there were a lot of young men just hanging around and after further investigation found out that they hadn't graduated from High School.  So he started a program where they were taught a skill in the morning and attended school in the afternoon.  He now has three training programs going:  a cafe/bakery, a wood shop, and a boat building training program.  They pay them a little bit to work and teach them good habits as far as being an employee as well as a skill and then they go to school in the afternoon and work on an on-line high school.  Most of these students come from hard backgrounds.  There are girls in the program too and adult students as well.    It is a great educational model and we are glad to pitch in and tutor them. The elders have been tutoring Spanish and we have done consumer math, career development and writing skills so far.  We love it!





On Wednesday and Thursday we continued out help at LaRae's house that had been damaged by the hurricanes.  Monday evening our Branch President gets a call from a couple that are here on the island that want to do service for a day.  So he put them in touch with the Walches, who have been heading up the reconstruction on LaRae's house.  So they came to help on Tuesday for the day.  The Powells are custom home builders in the Dallas area and were such a GREAT help!  How did it work that they just happened to be here on the exact day that we needed help on this house???  It was a huge tender mercy and another example to us as to how the Lord is in the details of our lives.  We asked the Powells why they felt that they should do a service day on their vacation, and Scott said that he just felt prompted to find out if there was a need that they could help with..........aMaZinG!!!

                                             Another interesting hat style here on the island....




On Saturday morning our Branch had the baptism of Noah (he turned 8). He is the grandson of our branch President and son of his daughter Lisett and son-in-law, Gabriel.   It was a beautiful morning at Linquist Bay.  Noah is a really special little guy, he is so sensitive and sincere.  It is fun to have him and his family in the Branch.

This is the Duverge Family in our branch.....

Here we are with Elizabeth and Wilson Walch.  After working with them for the past couple of weeks, they have become great friends.  BONUS!  They are from Santa Cruz, so we will most likely see them again.....

This is Denise Forde and her little girl.  They are in our branch too, but will be moving to  Barbados we will miss them.

Hard to believe that it has been a week since general conference.  The talks are already up on the LDS Gospel Library so that we can reread them and study them; for which I am so grateful.  In the past few general conferences, there have been some major announcements and policy changes, so everyone was speculating on what would be announced this time.  Surprise!  No big changes really.  As I have thought about the conference though, I think that what is being asked of us is to change ourselves.  We need to be more loving, kind, accepting and tolerant.  We need to treat others how Christ would have treated them.  We need to live so that we are guided by the spirit.  I know that I have a long ways to go.....but my hope is that I can change from within and become more Christ-like in all that I do,

Have a great week.....
Love,
Dick and Donna

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 15, 2019 at 4:01 AM

    We sure enjoy reading your blog! We'll hangout with ya tomorrow! Flakes

    ReplyDelete

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