What do you do all day?

Ethan and others have repeatedly asked "What do you do all day on your mission, Oma?"
      WelI, our calling is Member Leadership Support Missionaries. So we do things to help support the Branch President and the members, 
Here are some of the things we do each day. It is always different.
     We arise around 6 AM to go on our walk on the playa. We walk for about an hour depending on who we run in to and the errands we do on the way home. Yesterday we stopped off at the Elder's place to deliver an inner tube for Elder Chub's flat bike tire.   Then we come home and either do the laundry on Tuesdays or Mondays depending on the landlady. and usually on that day we work in the yard to earn our laundry time.
    On Tuesday evenings we have a meeting with the branch mission leader and the missionaries. We discuss ways to help less active members.
     Thursdays we sometimes go to the Zone and District Meeting on Skype when they invite us, because it is all in Spanish and the Elders can't translate for us and participate both very easily.
    Earlier this week we met Magali, another Dutch speaking person we met when we were shopping. She was at the hospital waiting for her doctors  appointment so she said we could tell her about the gospel while she waited.
     In the mornings we read the Book of Mormon. I just finished again, so both Elder VV and I are now I reading it in Spanish and English simultaneously. We study our Sunday School lesson, study Spanish, we write emails, we clean the apartment. The windows are always open and if we are lucky there is a breeze so there is always a fine thin layer of dust on everything.  
     Some mornings we fix our car's flat tire or get a new battery after being stranded. Yesterday I made cupcakes so I could take a treat to Genesis, one of the members of the rama for her birthday. Also some thank you cupcakes to Tropical Car Care, the garage that worked on our leaking oil pan for 8 hours, and then finally gave up and said it couldn't be fixed and so they did not charge us. So we wrote them a note and took cupcakes.
      One day, Lidia, who is a Dutch speaking investigator, called and said she wanted to see us. We had high hopes. When we got there she wanted us to take her to the bank because she is diabetic and on crutches and can't drive or walk very good because of the wound on her foot. 
     Right after that we were on our way to a meeting to help plan fund raising for the youth conference in Curacao in July. btw - one of the things they are going to do is sell iguana bergers at a market in Rincon. So, Saturday is the iguana hunt. Elder VV is so excited!
     Everyday is different. Last week we went to lunch at Marta's house. She is a faithful woman who can't get baptized because she isn't married to the man she has lived with the past 26 years and has 2 grown children with. It is her birthday on Sunday so she wanted to celebrate, by cooking for us all day? Yes, she did. (Some of the cupcakes are for her also). She fed us a traditional Dominican dinner. Rice, potatoes, chicken, fried plantains, salad, and a yummy fruit drink(watermelon and something else). She doesn't speak any English so we have to depend on the Elders to translate.
     We wait in lines to pay the water and gas bills for the Elders or to find out questions for them. ie - What does it take to get married on the island?
      We also go to the store frequently for ingredients for the cookies, cupcakes, and dinners we make for the Elders.
     Well, we are going down to the iglesia in a little while to see what's happening at activity night and Saturday is movie night at the church.
     We feel very blessed to be serving here on the island of Bonaire in a nice apartment, with safe water, with the dollar as our currency, with kind and friendly people, and to never have the worry of getting cold. We love you all and are so blessed by your love and support.
Bye for now, Elder and Sis VV

A Postal Miracle? Or a Cruel Joke?

When we were at the MTC in Provo, I forgot to  get a missionary name badge in Dutch, like Sister VV did.  I learned to covet that magnetic badge of hers...it could be attached on any article of clothing, no pocket required!!.  I want a magnetic badge...... AND in Dutch, not my English badge that needs a pocket to hang on!

There's been a lot to figure out, since we arrived on this pretty isolated island!  It took me until February 24th to figure out HOW to contact the Provo MTC from here and order 2 badges for me......both in Dutch, and 1 has to be magnetic!  Wow! That will be soooooooo cool! Sister VV and I will match badge-wise and I can wear ANY shirt AND my Missionary badge as we take our exercise walk along the harbor every morning!

Weeks have come and weeks have gone. No mail.

I decided to email Provo to verify they really sent them......."yes..on February 25th.......but we can't trace because you didn't ask for DHL".  What's DHL?!

Early on April 1st, after our daily walk along the Playa, we had a 7:30am appointment to get the car serviced. We delivered the car and a mechanic drove us back to the apartment. It was still early, so I decided to trim a couple of bushes. I put the  clippings in the garbage can, which sits in a tidy gated cage, right by the mailbox.

I've often wondered why they have mailboxes here, we've  never seen a mailman or a mail vehicle anywhere on the island since we arrived on January 22nd! 

Anyway, being near the mailbox, I decided to peek through the slot of the locked container. I saw mail! Real mail! With my skinny , brown little fingers I was able to pull out a couple of pieces through the slot.

 One was a brown envelope with my name on it! 

Since it was April Fools, I wondered if this was some cruel trick from the Elders or our landlord since I'd talked often about the day my badges might arrive.

I went into the house and in the presence of Sister VV, carefully opened the envelope with as much ceremony as when we opened our Mission Call letter. 

My Badges!!  And one is magnetic!

Truly a miracle, letters from Utah can really come right to our home on Bonaire! 

-Elder VV

The Atonement

A few weeks ago we had a wonderful opportunity. Unexpectedly at about 4pm we were invited to the 5pm re-baptism of a member of our branch. It was a small group just the family and close friends and as missionaries, we were included.  There was a scramble to find a white tie (Elder VV had that), and white pants but soon we were on our way as part of a little caravan to the beach. It was about 5:30pm so the sun was starting to set. It was a beautiful evening, the breeze was perfect. Songs were sung, and prayers said and I couldn't seem to stop crying at the gift we had of being part of this scene. A  father came back, repented and was forgiven.

Two of the children in his family are in our Sunday School class. We had been learning about the Atonement for the month of March. As I embraced the 16 year old daughter I was able to tell her that this was the miracle of the atonement that we had been talking about in SS class happening right here.

It was so touching and such a sweet tender mercy from the Lord to be able to be there. Repentance and forgiveness through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

After Wonderful Conference

We had a wonderful time at our small chapel listening to all the sessions LIVE!  English in the office and Spanish in the larger room, where our Branch President, had Sister VV and I and Elders Chub and Atkinson tape tin foil on all the windows to darken the room. It took almost a whole box and 1/2 a roll of masking tape.  Only a handful of members joined the 4 of us missionaries on Saturday,  but a pretty good group for the Sunday morning session. We watched it LIVE,  so 2 hours later, Bonaire time.

After the afternoon session, it was 6pm.  After removing all the foil from the windows and removing the sticky tape from the foil, so that Jessica, one of our members, could take it home and re-use it..........  we took the Elders to our apartment for another wonderful Sunday dinner prepared by Sister VV!

Since it was Easter, Sister VV had made some clever Bunny containers to hold some treats she'd prepared for the Elders!

A perfect end to a wonderful weekend! 

We love the Gospel.......we're blessed to be Here!