Life in Aruba

We have had a great time this last 6 weeks with wonderful sisters and elders. They look on us as "parents or grandparents". We worked well together and likewise played well together too. There is a picture of the six of us at the beach at the end of our Pday. The sisters had already put their skirts back on. They all played volleyball with about 6 more elders and I had a nice walk along the beach.
The six of us enjoyed the butterfly farm, though our pictures didn't show how beautiful these foreign varieties were. I loved the bright blue ones.
One Pday we were running short on time and still wanted to have time for Baskin Robbins icecream, but two of the bikes had flats.So the sisters volunteered to ride the elders' bikes. That way 4 elders and the 2 bikes that needed to be fixed could go in the sisters' car. The only trouble was that Sister Fair (left) is super short and had trouble getting up on the bike. Sister Reid is on the right.
Elder Teaupa left) and Elder Lehr (right) are really enjoying a special breakfast buffet at the Radisson Hotel. We all splurged and had a breakfast and then had our district meeting on a lawn. The two elders tried to outeat each other. We all had plenty to eat. They had to eat a big lunch at one of the member's homes. I'm glad we didn't have a sandwich until much later that day. Elder Teaupa is from Tonga though he lived in Australia for about 10 years. He will be returning to BYU Hawaii in 2 months. Elder Pietz wants to take a trip to Tonga when we return home.

Christmas in Aruba

Merry Christmas from the Aruban Missionaries. Elder Pietz wanted both pictures of us displayed to show how tall and skinny the cactus are.
I got up early to go to the cliffs along the ocean to watch the sunrise Christmas morning with the elders and sisters. Then we stopped off at the beach so one sister could make sand angels.
For Christmas dinner we made dinner for 21 including all 14 missionaries, so Elder Pietz and another man had to make two round trips about an hour and 15 minutes to pick them up and deliver them back to the far side of the island. We all had a great time. The food was great. We had lots of fun with the missionaries with white elephant gifts. Our phone was used for 8 hours straight for some of them to call home to family. They only talk to family at Christmas and Mother's Day so it was a very special time for them.
Close to us is a neighborhood that for 20 years has planned a decoration of lights. Each year the display changes. Now I think they have sponsors that give some financial support. Not many people put up decorations and if they do, it is usually not elaborate. This display uses marine plywood that can be taken down and reused. There were stairs going up there for people to actually walk to the top. Many people brought their lawn chairs and just sat and enjoyed the lights. The pictures just show a portion of the lights.

Busy Month

Time still went by quickly here even though we were not busy with holiday gift buying and decorating. We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner here in our courtyard and even cooked a turkey. We went to another cave on the island with our elders and sisters. Had great fun with all the missionaries(24) from the three islands-Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao--at our Christmas zone conference. We celebrated at a Japanese restaurant for a lovely luncheon with fun chefs cooking the food for us. We had a nice Christmas program and dinner at church. The elders and sisters are teaching many wonderful people and we are able to go with on many lessons.

Baptisms in Aruba

This past weekend we had a baptism both Ssturday and Sunday mornings at the beach. We had them early at 7:30 so no one else would be on the beach. We had a song, prayer, and talk at the chapel and then caravaned to the ocean. Sunday Dad was able to baptize a wonderful lady who was born in Surinam, grew up in Holland, and then moved here to Aruba about 20 years ago. He then confirmed her during the regular Sacrament meeting.

Another PDay Outing

This past week we went along the coast again and found a beautiful spot. It was a steep climb down and up again and all of us had on just beach sandals (except Dave with his cowboy boots), but that didn't stop the younger ones. We viewed them from the cliff top.

Service Project at the Cemetery

Last Saturday the missionaries and our Branch President and another friend went to help clean up the government cemetery. Most of the cemeteries are owned and maintained by the Catholic Church. This one was totally filled with weeds and trash. The graves are on top of the ground and covered with cement and then tiles. Dave got into a wasps' nest. We were all tired, sore, and hot. All the community did make a small dent in the cleanup, but it needs more work.

EXPLORING CAVES NEAR THE COAST

On preparation day last week we went with the young elders and sisters driving along the coast. You climbed the stairs and went into a cave that had many small caverns in it. Any caves I've ever been in were always cool. However, this cave was super hot and it seemed very short on air. There was a guide who took us through the cave. He was actually there to make sure no one bothered bats or destroyed the stalagmites and stalactites. Luckily I didn't go into the last part because that's where the bats were sleeping during the day.