Easter Week 2023

Happy Easter!! 

I was anticipating that I would be much more faithful in blogging and journaling while on our mission! However, thus far it has not been the case. I have taken thousands of photos, which seems to be the true way I chronicle events, so that is something! Part of my "problem" is that while we have certain things planned each week, we often have things that come up, just as in our normal life. Some are so-called emergencies, and some are not exactly emergencies but are things which need to be addressed. Our days are actually quite full, and by the time we are back home and have prepared/eaten dinner, I am so tired and ready to crash - and I don't find the energy to write! 

I'll try to catch up! 

Last week on Thursday night was our last temple preparation class which we taught, in a series of 4 classes. We combined several lessons together for most of our classes. We had a record number of people attend - I believe we had 21 altogether! That was fabulous. We had told the class earlier in the week that we would have a surprise for them on this final night. We had arranged with a group called TempleTours.org to participate in a virtual tour of the Washington, D.C. temple (in Spanish!). I was so excited about this. We had an 8:30pm appointment with them, so that we could have our regular class first (and so that everyone would be in attendance, as some of the people are on "island time" and don't always arrive on time!). It turned out great! There were 2 sister missionaries who talked with us about temples and showed us around the Visitor's Center, and then took us outside to see the outside of the actual temple. They explained different things about the temple and answered questions. It was really fun, and I think we all loved it! Elder Ridd and the young missionaries helped with Zooming our tour up on the screen from my iPhone. 

We experienced a miracle earlier in the week in that I was sent a confirmation email from the TempleTours group, and somehow it was deleted from my email. I looked everywhere - trash, spam, other folders, etc. I could not locate it! I was not sure that they would send a second confirmation reminder, and I could not seem to get in touch with an actual human to tell them my concerns or ask for another link. I prayed a lot and then thought to contact my email provider. I sent in a request to send me all my back emails from 4-6 hours before I 'lost' that email. Somehow I was re-sent my information and I located the email and link! It may not seem like much, but it meant a big deal to me! I am grateful for answered prayers! 

On Saturday, we ran out to the Dutch bakery to pick up some baked goods for our Easter lunch on Sunday. We also went over to fill up the car with gas, as everything was closed on Good Friday! We brought home the goodies and then we did our normal volunteer work with the beach clean-up group! We picked up the elders and drove out there for our 9am start. Boy, there was a lot of trash to pick up! It always feels good to clean up the "beach" (giant coral rock beach) - but sad that it has so much garbage. Most of the trash comes to this side of the island from the depths of the sea - since it is rougher on this side of the island. 

We went home to shower (beach clean up makes you smell funny) and then to get ready to do some volunteering at our favorite Pakus di Pruga (flea market which benefits the Animal Shelter). We work there from 1-4pm. We are sad that they will be moving from their location by the first week of May, as the land and building we currently use has been sold to someone. They are looking frantically for a new location, as this market benefits both the animals at the shelter, along with the people who shop there! There are some amazing prices on so many things there...clothing, kitchen ware, appliances, books (Dutch, English, Spanish, German, you-name-it!), and all sorts of things! We hope they find a place soon. In the meantime, we will be packing up items and putting them into a container. The market will run about 4 more weeks and hopefully a new spot will be found soon! 

We had a lovely testimony meeting at church in the morning. At first we thought no one was coming - as there were not a whole lot of people in attendance a few minutes before 9! And then - everyone came, and we had our once-again full house! It was a very sweet meeting. Elder Ridd was asked to bless the Sacrament, which he hasn't done while out here in Bonaire. He said the prayer in English (he could have read the Papiamentu, as he is getting really good at his language studies), and he did a very nice job. It was lovely to sing hymns of joy on Easter Sunday with the other church-goers, and it was really great to hear their testimonies. We don't exactly know what everyone is saying some of the time (we didn't sit right next to anyone who was translating for us this time), but we are understanding more and more. It is often a bit confusing, as people pop between languages quite frequently (sometimes speaking Spanish, sometimes Papiamentu, and sometimes using both interchangeably!). That is interesting! :) 

We had all 4 young missionaries over for Easter lunch on Easter Sunday (April 9). We decided to have Hawaiian Haystacks instead of a traditional ham or such; since the week before we had all been to Aruba and we had helped cook the more traditional dinner for all the missionaries on the ABC Islands! (More on that later). So, we had those (Hawaiian haystacks are basically make-it-yourself bowls, starting with rice, then adding a few ladles of a chicken with gravy mixture atop of that, and then adding all sorts of toppings such as sliced olives, celery, diced bell peppers, shredded cheese, peanuts, pineapple, mandarin oranges, shredded coconut, craisins, green onions, etc). Thanks to Brian, aka Elder Ridd, for his amazing chopping skills!! 

We also had mini cherry cheesecakes that I baked the night before. Whenever we have these, we think of our daughter Joni, since they're one of her specialties! They were yummy. We also had rolls and some sort of nut cake that we bought the day before at the Real Dutch Bakery down the road. We'll just say that while we've loved most everything from this bakery, the nut cake was a little weird. Too many nuts atop of a cake! Brian and I also bought these cute little bunny cookies and ate those ourselves on Saturday. They were just brown flat cookies in the shape of a bunny, with some sort of egg wash/sugar mixture to make them brownish in color. They really grew on us! There were just 2 in the pack, thankfully. Brian, of course, dipped his in milk. :) 

We gave the missionaries a little Easter bag with some goodies in them. How could we not? They can't get any little packages from their families out here, since shipping is uber difficult. We found some treasures from our favorite "Special Store" (the Pakus di Pruga flea market) for the elders - including a Holland soccer jersey and a few ties. The sisters ended up with a few little trinkets like a face mask and some shell earrings from a surf shop, along with some Easter candy for all of them! The Easter candy here is interesting. It is mostly Dutch, of course. I don't think I saw any jellybeans, and for sure did not see any of our favorite Reese's Eggs!! (Which may have saved me adding on a few more pounds). However, I did try making my own version of Reese's by slathering a hollow chocolate egg with just a titch of peanut butter. It was not the same, lol. 

We didn't get to Skype with the kids on Easter as everyone was celebrating. We texted with everyone the day before, so that was fun! 

We went on a hike up to Seru Largu on Good Friday. It was our first hike together up to the giant cross that sits on a hillside, relatively close to our home (I've been once already with the women in our Relief Society group). It's about a 3 mile hike up there from our home. It was a good hike, but a bit rough on the knees! It was a really great day. It is a neat hike up a street that is lined by giant cacti on each side, and we see occasional goats, lots of lizards, and parakeets on the hike. Once you get to the cross, at the top, you can look out over much of Bonaire, and you can even see the cruise ships that are in port. You can also see Klein Bonaire (a little island - literally "Little Bonaire"). We can't wait to go over to Klein Bonaire one day soon. You take a water taxi over, and the snorkeling and diving is supposed to be amazing! Plus, there are loads of sea turtles and fish over there. 

We are so thankful for our Savior and for His sacrifice for us. We are grateful that He is Risen. We always have the opportunity to repent and to come back to Him, no matter what. He has given us the gospel of 2nd chances. I am so thankful to know that because of Him, we all will live again one day, with our families. I am so grateful to have an eternal family that I love so much. It has been very sweet and faith-building to study the scriptures and teach others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we serve the Lord out here on our little island.