Casibari, Carbon Monoxide, Cockroaches | March 20, 2018

April 01, 2018 Lauren 0 Comments

• We had exchanges on Tuesday, so I went to the other sister's area to work with Sister Melendez. It was awesome and their contact area was really far out in the boonies, so we rode our bikes forever on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere with a house every now and then. It was so fun! There were lots of hills and rocks, so I felt like I was mountain biking! (Dallin and Dad, get ready to mountain bike with me when I get back, because I think I found a new hobby). I'll attach pictures. There was tons of cacti, it was really pretty!
• In the middle of the night on a day this week, our carbon monoxide detector started going off. I checked the clock and it was 2 am and Sister Cole were so confused at what was happening, but it was so loud! We went to check it and couldn't get it to turn off. We could only think that it would go off because the battery was low, since we don't have anything in our apartment that gives off CO. We finally got it to turn off, opened the windows of the apartment, said a prayer for safety, and went back to sleep. The next day the senior couple came to check it out and couldn't figure out why it went off...weird!
• Our apartment doesn't usually have bugs, but this week, there were 2 instances of cockroaches! Giant ones, and one of them flew! It was so gross. Luckily, Sister Cole has spent some time living in the South (her dad is in the Air Force), so she is not as scared as I am of those things, and she killed them both. It was disgusting though!
• Sunday, March 18, was Aruba's flag day, and it is a really big holiday for them, kind of like our Independence Day. So there were Aruban flags everywhere. Church even met early to raise the flag and sing the national anthem. It was super fun! Everything was closed yesterday because of that, so that's why we had to email today.
• I also spoke in church that day, this was the second time! I spoke about repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. The microphone wasn't working though, so I basically had to yell my whole talk at the congregation...it went well, I think!
• On Sunday night, our 8pm appointment fell through, and while we were talking to the person that we were supposed to teach (they were telling us they couldn't) there was a dog behind a gate across the street that kept barking and kids that were yelling at laughing. After we finished talking, we walked over to see why the dog was barking (the kids had left by then) and saw a tiny kitten hiding under the car, terrified. The dog wanted to get it so bad, and the kids had been throwing rocks and water at it :( The poor thing was tiny and shaking and so scared. So Sister Cole got it from under the car and we started walking around the neighborhood talking to people we knew and asking if they wanted a cat. After about 3 rejections, we stopped at a member family's house whose 12 year old daughter has a big soft spot for animals. Unfortunately, she is allergic to cats, but they took it and said they knew of friends that have been wanting a cat and would give it to them. It was a crazy but a cool experience!
• We had our district activity yesterday at Casibari. It's a bunch of huge rock formations that got there when Aruba was created from an underground volcano. There are tons of boulders and you can climb to the top and see a lot of Aruba and the ocean. It was super fun and really pretty! I'll attach pictures of that too.
• This week I was reading in Ether and came across Ether 2:24: "For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth." I loved this scripture so much! No matter what life throws at us (the mountain waves), the Lord will always be there to help us come out of "the depths of the sea" as an even stronger person. There is nothing that He can't do, so we have no need to fear the trials and hard things we go through in life! If we are doing all that we can to build our testimony in Him, we will be able to stay firm when those difficult times come. He is there to help us because He loves us!

Middle of nowhere

Sister Melendez and I :)

​​​Surinamese food from a member in the branch...it was so good!

​View from the top of the rocks

​The Aruba district

​Companions! :)