Ward Activity

Reverence....Very interesting....a lot to learn.

A member got up in church and said he had forgot to prepare a talk. He said with the spirit he knew he could give a good talk anyway. But, he said, he needed a prayer to help him......so he just started praying to begin his talk. So, we thought, he needs to be taught. Well the next week another man got up and begin his talk with another prayer. So we take one step at a time. Most of these members are so new....they just don’t understand.

Sunday we had a wonderful musical number in Sacrament meeting. They sang page 42, Hail to the Brightness of Zion’s Glad Morning. We had six men who had practiced for a few weeks. We had two tenor, two base, and two melody. They sang one verse English and four of Creole. They sang soft and loud at the right places, they came in and ended on cue, and sounded great. At the end the whole audience broke out in applause.

We had our first official ward party the other night. We had a movie (101 Dalmatians) in French. The Ockeys provided sub sandwiches. It was a great evening. We now have an Activities Committee Chairman and a committee. It is fun to see some things coming together.

We are so excited to be getting some white shirts. President Ockey had his son gather several and is sending them. We have several men who would love to have a white shirt to participate in passing and blessing the sacrament. We have encouraged white shirts but can not insist because most cannot afford them.

We have several men who have no home and come in from the bushes to come to church. We can not believe how nice they look. They come clean and neat every week. How they do it, I do not know. We have more and more that are asking for church assistance. One man who was just baptized and came in from the bush to live with another member, now has two friends who want to take the discussions. I hope they are sincere and not just looking for a place to live.

A funny thing happened in priesthood on Sunday. A man stood up and announced that he would give a great prize to the one who brought the most investigators. So Jacques has 12 rounded up to come to church this week. Another man called and told the missionaries he had two who wanted to take the discussions. It will be fun to see what happens. I don’t know what the “Prize” is..... but it better be good. A little unconventional but not very many things work the same here as home.

Our branch president and his wife had their baby. A little boy named Lucas. They are both in Utah where she had the baby. All are doing well. He will be gone for three weeks. Monica won’t be back for two more months.

On P Day we went to explore another part of the island. This mansion was built on the end of the island. Then they dug around it and built a man-made mote. There is an electric bridge that turns and opens for the to drive in the driveway

We are well. Thanks for the continued prayers. Love you all. Elder and Sister Herbert