The missionaries carried the day at church. Bill and I were the Sacrament Meeting speakers, one of the elders taught Sunday School, the other one taught Priesthood meeting and I taught Relief Society. And probably some prayers too.
Milling around after church
Monday started out bad but things improved as the week went on. When we were in town on a misty Monday Bill stumbled on a low curb and fell completely down, scraping his face on the cobblestones. His face was bleeding a little so we walked to the nearest pharmacy and got him cleaned up. All that’s left now is an ugly bruise but it’s fading fast.
The Little Chapel
During the week we visited one of Guernsey’s tourist attractions, the Little Chapel.
“A work of art and a labour of love, the Little Chapel is possibly the smallest chapel in the world. It was built by Brother Déodat who started work in March 1914.”
Inside and out every surface is covered with bits of broken crockery.
click to enlarge
All over the island are cows that have been decorated by various schools or organizations to be auctioned later for charity. The one here at the Little Chapel is so appropriate with it's mosaic of tiles.
We visited a lovely Portuguese widow with the elders; it’s our third time teaching her. She is always so happy to have us visit her home. She really outdid herself this time by giving the elders and us a bag of groceries each. She just kept bringing out things from her refrigerator! Being able to teach her gospel truths and seeing the happiness on her face as she learns is priceless. This is what it’s all about!
Sunday rolled around again. Bill was sustained in Sacrament Meeting and later was set apart as 2nd counselor in the Guernsey Branch presidency. On Saturday, President Furbank of the Poole stake arranged to come to our place to visit with us and interview Bill. He texted that his plane was 4 hours late, so we figured that he wouldn’t be coming at the appointed hour to our place. We were relaxing in the livingroom and at 4 pm the doorbell rang! I was dressed and had my nametag on since we were expecting the elders for dinner at 6 pm. Bill had to leave and put on a white shirt for President Furbank’s visit.
He had some advice for us. Not to be too “American,” in other words not to imply that “this is how we do it in America” and not to take over and build up expectations that can’t be continued after we leave the island. Respect for the leadership is lacking here and we try to model correct behavior, like using their titles and not using first names as many do here.
President Furbank had a laptop computer that he used to set up Bill in the church’s MLS system. When he was through he shut it down and handed it to Bill, who said, “Not me!” Since it’s not a Mac I’m not touching it either. It will be given to the branch president as soon as possible.
2 comments:
I like President Furbank's advice. Also, that is the most beautiful little chapel I have ever seen. It is incredible!
Yes it reminded me a little of how the pioneers broke their china for the temple. He certainly did that as an act of love for his god. The short time you have to serve there will be very beneficial. You will probably never know the all the effects of your service there.
Post a Comment