Mopping Up Moule

Things are just great in the Guadeloupe area. The work is really coming along....and although it sucks because I feel limited as far as the actual teaching goes (due to the language), I feel I'm contributing. We had the sweetest experience for zone conference with Elder Vinas of the Seventy this week. He really was blunt when training the missionaries about what we need to do and how it is to be done. My hand was sore after because of all the notes I took....it seemed like one really long sweet quote. He he did all in English too, which is not his native tongue. He is truly a man called of God and that receives revelation for this area. After zone conference he gave a talk for all the members on Guadeloupe and he left it open to questions. He was understanding the french half the time (and he doesn't speak it), but ya very cool. Things are still going good with Elder Garotta, we are still rocking a sweet diet of fruits, veggies, yogurt, and other awesome fruit. I have been introduced to some very different foods here including this fruit called "fruit of bread" or "fruit a pan". We have some that grow by our apartment. Its kind of like a huge potato. It's good for breakfast with eggs though. I'm loving cooking here, its so crazy seeing what stuff works with what. Who knew that you could make a killer pasta with tuna? So we had a baptism this week of a boy in the branch named William; Elder Garotta did it. It was an awesome experience, and we also set a baptismal date with a 64 year old man Adonai on Friday. He has been taught for a while and was a great ami (friend) of the church! He had read the Bible, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants, and had wanted to wait to get baptized with his wife, Eva , but she had been very stubborn about her baptism. After about a month of waiting for her, he set his date by himself. He had been coming to church and was even going to bare his testimony in church on Sunday. We got a call on Saturday morning, the day after we had taught him and set the date, that he had had a heart attack and passed away that morning while fishing.... I could not believe it. It still feels unreal to me...it got me thinking a whole lot just about how short life is and how we have to be living right at all times so when that day comes we are ready. I know he is being taught and administered to by missionaries in the spirit world We are going to visit Eva tonight. The work is awesome. I can't wait to get your letters, and sorry if my letters are lame. Tell the family hi and I love ya

More Q & A.

Do you live outside of Moule (is that why you have a long walk to the bus stop/church)? Yea, we kinda live on the outskirts of Moule. The plus is we get a pretty decent apartment because its cheaper, but I'd rather trade for a crappier one.

What is the geography of Moule like? Is it hilly? Flat? Moule is very flat, there are hills, but for the most part flat... The other side of the island where the volcano is is the more rocky part. Today for preparation day we went as a Zone to go to a waterfall! It was unreal how amazing it was! I'll be sending pics for sure. But Guadeloupe is beautiful everywhere! I thought I had some sweet pictures of sunsets and stuff, but I have been looking at some other Elders' pictures, and I don't have anything good in comparison!

Are you always near the ocean? Is the coast sandy or rocky? We are mostly by the ocean, but Moule is a big area...our area covers about 1/4 of Guadeloupe, so it does change. I have not even seen it all yet.

Do you have washer/dryer in your apartment? Yes, we have a washer and then we just hang stuff up...luckily I have not ruined any of my clothes yet.

Is your apartment clean? Do you see some weird bugs in it? You would be so proud of me....mom. Ours is the only apartment that is kept in any type of good condition (as far as I have seen). There is a bunch of stuff that's broken, but as far as cleanliness goes its good good

What do you do on P-Days? I have not done anything until today. The first 2 p-days we just read the BOM for a Guadeloupe-wide challenge.