This week has been fairly uneventful. Lots of Porting. Lots of Porting. And Lots of Porting. However we did get the opportunity to have a couple of wonderful lessons so I can't really complain.
Speaking of complaining....it is SO HOT HERE!! You think you know heat because you've lived in Arizona, and you think you know heat because you've lived in muggy Virginia but then you combine the two and that is La Reunion. Mom, if Googleweather told you that it is 84 degrees it is straight up lying! We have a thermometer built into our car and we've been getting readings of 32, 34 and even 36 degrees. Which are ALL in the 90s. I'm telling you folks it is HOT. Then whenever people talk about the weather and how it is hot, everyone, everyone tells us "La chaleur, il commence". Which means "The heat, it's starting." Starting?! Whewww, you've got to be kidding me! Although luckily, someone informed me that it doesn't actually get hotter in January, it just gets more humid. Oh good. The rain has held off this week, which is unfortunate since that is the explanation for the extreme heat. At least we don't wear pants or ties I guess.
We are gearing up for Christmas season here too. My companions and I have found a "12 Days of Christmas" collection of stories and like to read them each night at dinner. It really seems to help bring the spirit of Christmas. We also found decorations in our apartment so actually have a 3 foot high tree with lights and everything! For the most part though it doesn't really feel like the holiday season because life is going on as normal, plus it's ninety degrees outside everyday and we're sweating through our shirts. This Thursday is the Branch Christmas party and it's supposed to be quite the party! We have invited EVERYONE we know, so hopefully that will pan out. I truly believe that if some of these amis could come and feel the spirit that the church and the ward members have to offer, they would have that strong desire to know more and have that spirit in their lives always. It's this Thursday so I'll let you know how it goes.
Some people here have put up a tree and some lights but not nearly as much as in the US. Mostly everything we do is bigger and over the top (if you can believe that!) so things here in Reunion are a lot more toned down. And the tree is always fake - though I have seen some pine trees growing out here. Interestingly enough, even though some people put fake pine trees in their houses the real Christmas tree in La Reunion is the "Flamboyant" which is this tree with red petals all over it - I'll try and send you a picture. The people here say the color of Christmas is red because of the flamboyant and the letchis.
The work is going sort of slowly since we don't have many amis to see and are porting all the time but that's because you just have to find the right people. Hopefully after this Christmas party we'll see things pick up. My companions and I keep telling ourselves that we are in the "quadrant of miracles" so now it's only a matter of time before we start seeing them.
Soeur Stewart
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