We arrived here early evening on a Monday night. Luckily, we brought some new sheets with us so we could change the bed and go to sleep after our long red eye flight. The apartment was a mess, it stunk, we couldn't find anything, and when we laid down for bed, the power went off. I was overly tired and started bawling. It was just too much! But after a rest, we have been happily on the run ever since.
Our first week back was very different from the first week when we were new missionaries. We spent the week gathering our apartment and kitchen supplies from the church, and from members. The landlord previously sent in a cleaning crew and they cleared the mold in the bathrooms, but they didn't clean the cupboards, fridge and other places. We worked hard washing all the bedding and drapes, wiping out the cupboards and trying to get the moldy smell out. The craziest form of mold was on our wooden rolling pin. It was covered with a layer of light brown dusty mold. It was one of the worst moldy things. it was kind of funny looking.
When we were new missionaries, I was hesitant to throw out anything from previous missionaries. Not so this time, We have made several trips to the garbage bin. It feels good to get rid of the accumulated clutter!
It was a fun week of surprising people. The battery was dead in our car when we first arrived, so we rented a car, purchased a new battery and stopped at the grocery store to buy some soda to clean the terminals. Next to the grocery store is a jewelry store where an investigator works, so we walked over and surprised him. It was a sweet reunion and he came to church today!
At the hardware store, we were greeted with hugs from the manager and clerk who were so happy we were back. Our friend at the bakery was so happy to see us and remembered Kaitlin and asked if she were back too. The postal worker even gave us a hello and a smile. None of them are members, just friends we have made along the way. Of course, when we went to Kmart the clerks were still disinterested and annoyed with us. Some things never change.
The island is beautiful and green. That is the advantage of living in a jungle. There are still downed, brown trees along the roads, but the jungle growth is covering them up. There are still power lines down on the road that you drive over, but power crews from the states are doing an amazing job getting the power going again. There are lots fewer traffic signals now than before the hurricane. Those may take years to replace. It is fun that we can see more as we drive along now since there is less growth than before.
We still have an annoying rooster or two that starts crowing around 4;30 AM, but there are fewer chickens walking around. We are hoping they blew away to a deserted island. There are also fewer iguanas. The winds were hard on all aspects of the island except for the wild cats. There are still as many of them as before. They must have hung on for dear life with their sharp claws.
Because our apartment was emptied of food, we ate out a lot this week. It is interesting that the menus to restaurants we used to go to are abbreviated versions. There isn't as much choice. But they are open!!! The grocery stores have plenty of food, but the shelves aren't as well stocked as before. Our new normal will be to make our meal menus at the grocery store instead of home. We will learn to eat what they have.
It was wonderful to go to church today. The members are so glad to have missionaries back. I have said before that the hurricanes leveled the island, but they also leveled the branch. We have a lot of work ahead of us to get members back to church and find new members to strengthen the branch. The first time we came here was by assignment. This time we returned by choice. The members know that and appreciate it.
It feels like we never left. Our three months at home evaporated this week into a sweet memory. Just tonight Elder DeMille kept going to the fridge and saying, "isn't it amazing that we have a fridge? Fridges are so wonderful!" Even though the apartment seemed smaller than ever when we returned, it also seems amazing because it has electricity, fans and a room air conditioner. We feel spoiled beyond spoiled.
We flew directly to St. Croix, so our mission president and his wife flew over and stayed on our island Friday through Sunday to be with us and give us direction. As we visited, so many experiences and memories of our hurricane time came spilling out. We share so much with them that no one else can understand. it was a sweet experience to share together some of the things we had bottled up. Also, it was fun to hear their perspective of events that affected us. We truly love and appreciate them. Remember, they just arrived a couple of months before the hurricanes. Their whole mission experience will be unique to most other mission presidents. They are an amazing couple and we really love and admire them.
We are excited to begin teaching and emphasizing the Book of Mormon again. We love it more than we can say and know it holds the keys to Heavenly Father's plan to our return. We are grateful for President Monson and his time as prophet. We were able to hear only a portion of his daughter's talk at his funeral before the internet died.We look forward to stopping work on Tuesday and listening to the announcement of the new prophet.
We love all of you. We love our wonderful family who took such loving care of us when we were home and who continue to help us now that we are back. We are grateful for dear friends who listened and cried with us and welcomed us back for a time. We know that our six months will go by quickly. We also know that it will feel better to return home when it is over and maybe we can settle in better this time.
The gospel is true. We feel so grateful to have a second chance at being a missionary!
Lots of love,
Elder and Sister DeMille
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