Week 29 in St. Thomas

Well folks, we have been getting some weather here!  On Sunday evening, we were just sitting down to dinner with some friends and the earth started rolling!  Yup!  An earthquake!  I thought we had left those behind in Cali but apparantely they followed us here!  Then that night it started raining like CRa Zy!  I mean buckets full of rain!  So now, we are having flash flood warnings....never a dull moment!  So on top of that, we have major power outages on this island.  They happen all the time, and they can be for hours and in the case of the last hurricanes, MONTHS!  Praying that the hurricanes skip by the Virgin Islands this year and for a few years or forever.......they deserve a serious break!

We have discovered a new fruit here.....called genips.  You bite into them and the hard outer green layer, it peels away easily and then there is a fiberous peach colored flesh around a pretty big pit.  You kind of just suck on them.  They are good, but the texture is definitely not like anything we have ever tasted.  

On Monday morning we walked the beach early because guess what?  Our air conditioner in our bedroom went out!  Disaster!  Anywho......look at all the heart shaped rocks that I picked up just that morning.....plus a few pieces of sea glass and a very old worn out penny.  Whenever I see heart shaped rocks or shells, it reminds me of a friend and of the LOVE that Heavenly Father has for his children.  
Love this quote and we are always trying to do the things that matter most! It is no easy task. 
Dominos is a big deal here and in Puerto Rico.  So every 
Wednesday we visit the Queen Louise Home for the Elderly and the dominos game is on!  Beulah wins most of the time.....
Wednesday it rained so. hard.  There were water falls in places that used to be just dry dirt.  There was also flash flooding, so we cancelled our English Class until Thursday......sheesh!
Thursday we tried to find some members from our branch that we haven't met yet.  Have I said before how difficult it is to find an address here?  It is insane.  We may have an address like 148-54 Anna's retreat.  So we go to that area and miraculously find the "street" 148 and numbers that follow after that.  So we see 78 and logically think that ok, 54 will be a bit down from that right?  WRONG!  As we proceed, we may see 74, 71, 68 and then out of nowhere 330!  So we ask people along the way, if they may know where 54 is and NO IDEA.  So needless to say, we looked for an hour for two addresses to no avail, but amazingly we did find one address only to find out that they had moved......so off to our new adventure!  It is a process......

So our numbers were down at English class Thursday due to the change in date.  We had a cooking class and made home made pizzas.  None of them had ever made pizza before and it was a hit!  You wouldn't know it by the expression of the darling girl in grey though, she is pregnant and is having  "morming sickness" so we will give her a pass.  Bon Appetit!
Look at this tree growing out of a gutter on an old building in downtorn Charolette Amaelie!  When I looked at that I thought of the saying:  "I think I can" or "Bloom where you are planted!"  Sometimes we are in situations that seem impossible but with the Lord on our side there is always hope.  

This is what the inside of the Genip looks like.....beautiful color and the taste is kinda sweet and kind of tart....wish the pit wasn't so big!  
We spent Saturday and Sunday in Tortola.  We got to visit one of our favorite friends, "Mavis" and Mr France, her husband with the Elders.  She has been learning from the missionaries since 2003......everyone at their own pace right?  We do love her though.  

This is Mavis's front porch.  I told her that it could be in a magazine....just love the yellow stripes!

This was the primary (children's class)  on Sunday in Tortola.  They were the most well-behaved kids and Elder Garrison taught them a great lesson!  We love the Tortola

Well, that is a wrap....another week has come and gone.  Stay strong and steadfast and try to do some good wherever you may be.
Love,
Dick and Donna

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