This morning we got up early for church. We prayed that we would be able to find where they were. We had seen on the map approximately where it was, and we had called the number in the phone book, but it went to a fax machine. It turns out it was the missionary apartment and they had a fax machine hooked up to the phone. We figured we could find it, so we set out from our hotel in Grande Case to Marigot where we caught a bus to Phillipsburg. We walked around Phillipsburg for a while asking if anyone new about an LDS church.
We found a hotel and called the number and got the fax machine again. We looked up the address from their phone book (it had a more complete address than our French phone book had listed), so we caught another bus to Cul de Sac (Our bus driver took us way out of his way for a little extra pocket change). The driver did not know the street, so he just dropped us off in Cul de Sac and told us to ask someone for more directions.
A girl in a fast food restaurant knew where the missionaries lived. She saw our address written on a paper that said “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”. We walked down a street to what looked like an alley, and found out it was the apartment where the missionaries lived. We got there at 9:00, which is when we thought the meeting started. We asked a neighbor if she knew where they were, and she said that the people who looked like us had left earlier. We could see in the window that they had church material, so we decided to sit on the steps to wait since we didn’t know where to go. We had a prayer that we would be able to find the church, and then started reading scriptures. A young man from Samalia walked by and we just happened to ask him if he knew where the missionaries went to church. We were dressed up and had our missionary badges on.
He said, "Oh, the people who look like you?" He said they had given him one of their cards and written the address of the church on it, and ran home to get it. We were excited again that he could give us more information. We caught a third bus and backtracked some more to Cole Bay to try to find a street called Orange Grove Road. The driver did not know where the road was, so he just dropped us off. We got off the bus and we saw a road sign that was Orange Grove Road! He had dropped us off right at the street we needed but we still didn’t know where church was held. We asked in the gas station right there if they knew where the LDS people met. We still thought we were looking for a store or something that they met in, because they were a branch. The lady in the station said that it was just three buildings down the street, so we walked down and found a chapel!! It was small, one multipurpose room for meetings and activities, but very nice.
We got there 10 minutes before the second meeting was over. They were having a meeting on the word of wisdom out of the Gospel Principals book. There were about 60 people there. They asked us to introduce ourselves. After the meeting a missionary couple came up to greet us. They had been on the island for 4 days and this was their first time meeting with the branch. The former senior missionary couple had left, and the brother had been the branch president, so they did not currently have a president. The first counselor had been deported because of the strange immigration laws on the island (In order to come to the island and get citizenship, you have to be sponsored by a business or start a business, and it's a random pick as to who gets their citizenship awarded and who doesn't.
They have to pay a fee every year to apply and hope that they get it, but most don't. It's cheaper to hire people if they are not a citizen, so most businesses don't sponsor people, and they can rescind it at any time if you leave their employment!) The second counselor was not very familiar with running a branch. They mission couple thought that we were missionaries who had been sent to set them apart! We told them who we were, and they said they did not have any speakers for the combined last meeting, and would we like to speak? We were actually delighted to do so. We had spoken in our ward at home a couple of weeks before about our mission experience, and so we spoke on that. Michael was dynamic and spoke with such conviction and spirit. He spoke about how much the Lord loves every one of us, and how our job is just to proselyte and share that love with others. He has truly caught the missionary spirit and used this gift repeatedly on the island and at home.
There were several members of the ward from the states who are students at the medical facility there. They told us about some cool snorkeling spots. After the meeting we met the missionaries from the Dutch side and the missionaries from the French side. The Dutch missionaries asked us if we could go teaching with them during the week because they were working with a brother who was struggling with an alcohol addiction. We were excited to go with them.
The Colemans, the senior missionaries, invited us to go to dinner with them (since they were not in their apartment yet and had no way to cook) and tour the island since they had not seen it yet either. They bought our dinner for us and we went to Marigot and Phillipsburg and to the old Fort that looked over the whole valley. They are wonderful people with an amazing conversion story. Brother Coleman was in an accident where a young six year old girl was killed. The family of the girl was LDS, and they became best friends with the Colemans and introduced them to the gospel. They joined soon afterwards and continue to be very close to this family. We loved spending time with them.
The Coleman's told us about the ferry to Anguilla Island and about the Booker family who lived there but were the only members on the island. The Bookers were converted on St. Martin and were having trouble paying their tithing. The missionaries promised them that if they paid their tithing they would be blessed financially, so they did. Right after they paid it, the husband was offered a job that paid three times as much on Anquilla Island as a cabinet maker on boats, and they moved. Because of immigration laws, they have to travel to the Dutch side of St. Martin, and instead of costing $16.00 per person to ride the ferry over to the French side and back, it was $260.00, so they were not able to come to church. They are so new in the church it's hard for them to be on their own, and the missionaries are not allowed to go there because the church isn't recognized there yet. We told them we wanted to go and visit them. The Coleman's drove us back to the church to call home so Michael could line up a sub for the temple, then they took us home.
We cooked our first meal at home, pancakes and eggs, and ate on the veranda, then watched a video. It was a great day! We know the reason we came to this island is to prepare us for a full time mission. We feel so comfortable with the members and with the sweet people we have met on the street. It was a miracle that we were able to make it to church, and we never doubted for a minute that the Lord would help us to get there. The blessings we are feeling already on this journey are unspeakable. We know that the depth of bonding that will come in our relationship is exactly what we need right now to aid in our progression.