Put on your Sunday clothes...

"Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out

Strut down the street and have your picture took

Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about

That Sunday shine is a certain sign

That you feel as fine as you look!"

(Hello Dolly)

   In my Sunday best today, thinking of Ness who gave me this dress! 

Seeing as today is Sunday I thought I would talk about church here. There is one branch for the whole island. But it's so far to travel for a lot of the members, so there are smaller "districts" (I think that's what they are called) who meet every Sunday at different locations throughout the island. Then on fast Sunday, or the first Sunday of the month, everyone comes to the branch building to meet. Our "district" meets in the branch building every week so we don't have to go to a different location on fast Sundays so that's nice. Our first Sunday here, last Sunday, was fast Sunday so we got to see it with everyone there. It sure is packed! By the end of sacrament meeting it was standing room only. Of course "packed" is relative. Our building isn't actually a church building, it's a house that the church purchased and uses for church. The location is beautiful! It's right on a hill on the beach. You look out and see Grand Anse beach and it's so gorgeous! This is a view from the parking lot:

I'll have to take a picture from the hallway. You literally look out over the beach and there is a breeze that blows in and it feels SO nice. The kids like to go out and look over and see what boats are coming in/out of the area.

This week was much smaller since it wasn't fast Sunday. There are so many opportunities for help in the branch. I am amazed at the dedication of the locals. Most don't have cars and the time and effort it must take them to just get to church is awesome! (Plus those with kids!) They are all so friendly and have solid testimonies. They aren't always as vocal about it, but when they do comment or share something it's SO insightful and very sincere. Not that all comments AREN'T sincere, but a lot of times I feel like our responses are more habit and just the "typical" answers than sincere. I'm guilty of it as well. I've grown up in the church and know all the "right" answers. So even though there wasn't anybody to lead the music in sacrament meeting, anybody to bless the sacrament, or pass the sacrament- initially- people volunteered immediately and where there was a need there was a volunteer. All the kids love my kids as well. They are some of the few "white" kids in the branch and the primary kids just gravitate toward them. The kids are hard for me to understand sometimes, but after a couple of times repeating I usually get what they are trying to say. (I know we are speaking the same language but sometimes it really doesn't seem like it!)

Our branch president is an amazing guy! He is single, only 27 years old, and every time I see him he just looks tired. I don't know how long he's been the branch president but that is SO much responsibility for someone so young. He is apparently the only native Grenadian that has served a full-time mission for the church. He is as solid as they come. The other members of the branch presidency are native as well and they are very new to the structure of the church, but they are solid as well.

Cannon really enjoyed primary today. He said, "I said both prayers and answered ALL the questions." Haha. He's used to a much larger primary (there's only maybe 15 kids in the whole primary) so he likes getting his "turn" more frequently. I love that he loves it and is making new friends!

Hazyl and Ruby make up half the nursery. Josh and I took turns staying in nursery with them. Once they get familiar with it we will leave them, but they had a good time today. There are only two plastic bins of toys for the nursery, each filled with parts of random toys but the kids don't seem to mind too much. I would say they are in desperate need of some new toys but maybe I'm just spoiled and used to the U.S.

On a side note, we have had a couple of crabs in our yard and we were trying to figure out where they came from. Just down the road (seriously a 1 minute drive) is the beach by the road and our neighbor told us that she sees crabs just off the road there all the time. On the way to church I was looking for them and I saw them! So after church I stayed home with the girls and Josh took Cannon down to see if they could find some. About 20 minutes later they came home with this:

Yup! They caught two crabs today! They weren't very big but Josh still cooked them and got the meat out of them. Maybe we'll add them to the scrambled eggs in the morning. Cannon sure thought it was cool how they caught them. As Josh put them in the boiling pot Ruby kept saying "Die! Die" with a concerned look on her face. I'm not sure she liked killing them to eat. Well I'd better head! Until next time!