Small branch

    We are having a new unique experience being part of a very small branch of the church.  There are 31 names on the membership list; only 5 of them currently attend meetings.  Those five are such wonderful sweet people.  They are so strong and faithful.  They have welcomed us lovingly.  
    We have spent much of our time trying to make contact with the other 26 members. Locating their home or apartment is a major challenge due to house names instead of numbers, and walls blocking view of buildings.  We have found it's best to drive to the general area, find a place to park the car, then walk and look for the home.   We have found a few members, who at least spoke with us at the door and agreed to our coming to visit again.   One man who was baptized a year ago and only active a short time, hesitantly let us in, but we had a pretty good conversation, just getting acquainted; we felt positive about it.  Our progress feels like small baby steps, but we will keep praying for how to touch their hearts and remind them of the love they once felt; that they may remember the truths of the gospel will bless their life, and want to renew their faith in Jesus Christ, their Savior.

     Walking is an adventure all its own.  Many roads have no sidewalks; some have small ones on just one side of the street.

One afternoon the sun came out as we drove north to find an address of a sister.  There were some small grassy fields

and we saw several estates that had large lawns.

It was refreshing to see a pretty open area.

We had difficulty locating the address we needed so we pulled into the driveway to this house to see if someone could help us.  We just loved this cute sign that was posted at the edge :

An older woman was outside of the house so we asked her about the place we were looking for, but she didn't know.  Whenever we get a one-on-one situation with someone, it opens an opportunity to talk about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  So after discussing her pretty yard, etc.  E. Dame started that conversation, but she said she wasn't interested in religion.   Generally that is the response we and the full time Elders hear.  People either say they don't need religion, or say they're atheist. Some say they already have their church.

On another day we had to go to the Housing Authority office, and when we went in the front door there were two young adult age women standing near.  They asked if we were registered to vote. That started a fun conversation of who we were, where we were from, how long and why we're here in Guernsey.  One of the girls had heard about the church because she'd had a friend in school who was now serving a mission in Texas.  It turns out we know of him too.  He is the first young man from the branch of Guernsey to serve a mission. He has been out just about a year.  She said she'd like to learn about the church and we got her phone number to set up a time to visit.  So that is forthcoming.

Last week on a very stormy afternoon, we were driving home when suddenly it started to hail. In a matter of seconds the streets were white, and it thundered on the roof of our car.  Lasting just a few minutes, it turned back to rain as we pulled into our driveway.  This is what was left on the side of the windshield when I got out of the car...

Walls

There are rock walls everywhere: they line the streets, separate house lots, and barricade the ocean waves.  

Some are made of common rock.

Some are high; some are low.

                                         

                                             Some are covered over by lovely green vines.

               
                      Some are made with the blue-gray, and/or pink granite quarried on the island.

Many of the walls have hedges at the top that are neatly trimmed.

And some facing north have bright green, mossy growth.

This is an old granite quarry that is now a water reservoir.

From this point we could see the ocean in the background. 

Home in Guernsey

This is our home... called: La Fontenelle.  Homes have names instead of numbers. 

The front door opens to a large entry space, with the kitchen and dining rooms to the left; to the right is a large sitting room - which is going to be the "chapel" for our Sunday meetings.  The main bedrooms are on the second floor; the Elders are on the top floor.  The lot has ample parking, which is very unusual.  Most homes barely have a spot for one car to pull in off the road.  

The first morning on the island we went to meet some investigators with the Elders.  The streets are narrow, with rock walls right at roads 'edge.  The sun was out a few minutes that morning.  It rains a lot and is windy most of the time, but everything is green and beautiful.

Travel

Saturday Jan. 9th, driving in rain from Portsmouth, northwest toward Yeovil, we saw many open fields like this, divided by hedges rather than fences; and often there were hedges right along the sides of the road as well.  They were all trimmed neatly.   I took this picture as we drove. ( a bit blurry )

One of the little towns we drove through. This shows a row of pretty homes, many connected by a common wall.    We arrived in Yeovil late afternoon and enjoyed a wonderful evening with President Crew and his wife. After attending church on Sunday, Sister Crew provided a lovely meal for us, then we headed back to Portsmouth.  It rained most of the way.

This is one narrow road we traveled on; common to see green vines and other foliage clear to the road edge like this.
We spent Sunday night in Portsmouth again. Next morning, Jan. 11th, we drove to the port and took a ferry to Guernsey Island.  The trip took 7 hours.  We were met at the pier by the full time Elders.

Elder Higham (from Logan, Utah) and Elder Taochy (from Nancy, France).
They crowded into the little car and directed us to the home we'll live in together.