Week 17 in St. Thomas
- Here are two reasons that we love to go to Tortola!!! The cutest faces!
After church in Tortola on Sunday and after going to a teaching appointment with the Elders, we got to have dinner on The Walches boat. They are in Tortola for some boat repairs before they take off to go South to get out of the path of the upcoming hurricanes. We have loved getting to know them and seriously can call them dear friends. We wish them smooth sailing and hope we will see them next January again!
A lot of times you will see little sayings like the one above in very random places. This one was written on a Safari wall: "Keep your lungs clear. The Temple is not yours," along with a scripture reference....(1 Cor. 6:19). A very good summary of that scripture dontyathink?
Just a little picture of me rubbing lotion onto some very worn out hands at Queen Louise on Wednesday.
One of the best things about serving a mission like this, is that there is plenty of time to study the scriptures and to read and listen to
great talks. On Thursday morning I listened to an outstanding BYU Devotional talk by J.B. Haws called: "Wrestling with Comparisons." The talk hadn't been converted to text yet, but when it does, I would really like to study it more. I think one of the things that we all probably do, is compare ourselves with others, and feel that we don't measure up, or that we aren't good enough. The point in his talk was that we really should not compare ourselves with anyone else but ourselves . "The race is against sin, not with each other. We all need to just forget ourselves and serve others. " I know I do the comparing thing, even on the mission, I tend to compare how other senior couples are doing on their missions compared to us, in terms of baptisms and other key indicators. So this talk was especially good to hear this morning. It was kind of a a reality check; If you have a chance to listen, it will be well worth your while.
On Thursday, we went to the Eldra Schulderbrandt Residental Facility to do an activity with the residents there. This is the first time that we have volunteered here, so we just did a little coloring activity so that we could get to know the residents better. This is a facility in the community that houses adults that have special needs. We took the Elders with us and enjoyed a couple of hours of service there. The residents were delightful! So, if any of you have any great ideas for activities to do with them, send them my way ok?
This is Stanley. Elder Garrison and I have been tutoring him every Tuesday for a few weeks now. He is on target to graduate with his High School Diploma through the MBW program, which I mentioned before as being such a wonderful model to help people who are high risk be trained to work and to get their HS Diplomas. We have been working on math and physical science as of late, and I am telling you, our brains get a work out!!!
On Friday, we caught up with Joseph to give him a birthday card and some cookies for his 62nd birthday. He wants to return to Ghana, so next week we are going to take him to Immigration to get his paper work in order. Sometimes we feel more like social workers than missionaries; we are learning so much!
Since it was Mother's Day this week, I couldn't let it pass without paying tribute to my mom. I wish we had a picture of Dick's mom too because both these women were wonderful mothers. Both of them lived much of their lives without their husbands, my dad died at 59 and Dick's dad died at 45 and both my mom and Dick's mom lived to be 91 and 89 respectively. I am sure it wasn't easy all those years being alone, but they both lived those years with dignity and grace. They were always there to cheer us on and to cheer their grandkids on. We are grateful for their love and example.
Being a mom myself has been one of the most defining roles of my life. I have learned all the hardest lessons of life because of my role as a mom. I have spent many hours on my knees praying for some of our kids and worrying about them to where I couldn't even eat. I have spent hundreds of hours cheering them on in various sports and other extracurricular activities. That time seems to have gone by in a twinkling of an eye and today they are all parents themselves and are doing a great job in their roles. Being on a mission like this has definitely made us miss our kids and our grand kids. Not too many days go by that we don't say something about how we miss seeing their games, dance recitals, presentations in school and just being able to sit around the table with them for Sunday dinner; but hopefully we are setting an example to them and sending them a message that we believe in serving others and following Jesus Christ. That, perhaps is the best gift we can give them as parents and grandparents.
Hope you all have a wonderful week. Thanks for your love and prayers.
Dick and Donna
One of the best things about serving a mission like this, is that there is plenty of time to study the scriptures and to read and listen to
great talks. On Thursday morning I listened to an outstanding BYU Devotional talk by J.B. Haws called: "Wrestling with Comparisons." The talk hadn't been converted to text yet, but when it does, I would really like to study it more. I think one of the things that we all probably do, is compare ourselves with others, and feel that we don't measure up, or that we aren't good enough. The point in his talk was that we really should not compare ourselves with anyone else but ourselves . "The race is against sin, not with each other. We all need to just forget ourselves and serve others. " I know I do the comparing thing, even on the mission, I tend to compare how other senior couples are doing on their missions compared to us, in terms of baptisms and other key indicators. So this talk was especially good to hear this morning. It was kind of a a reality check; If you have a chance to listen, it will be well worth your while.
Being a mom myself has been one of the most defining roles of my life. I have learned all the hardest lessons of life because of my role as a mom. I have spent many hours on my knees praying for some of our kids and worrying about them to where I couldn't even eat. I have spent hundreds of hours cheering them on in various sports and other extracurricular activities. That time seems to have gone by in a twinkling of an eye and today they are all parents themselves and are doing a great job in their roles. Being on a mission like this has definitely made us miss our kids and our grand kids. Not too many days go by that we don't say something about how we miss seeing their games, dance recitals, presentations in school and just being able to sit around the table with them for Sunday dinner; but hopefully we are setting an example to them and sending them a message that we believe in serving others and following Jesus Christ. That, perhaps is the best gift we can give them as parents and grandparents.
Hope you all have a wonderful week. Thanks for your love and prayers.
Dick and Donna
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