The LDS Church in Grenada

I grabbed this from a friend's blog, bu this is a picture of the church here.  And a picture of the view from the nursery.  Not too bad, eh?  Basically, everything happens in the upstairs part of the building, I haven't been downstairs, and not sure if it's even used down there.  Doesn't look like it.  The set up is a Branch, not a Ward, but I guess there's about 18 LDS families/singles going to school at SGU and this is twice as many as have been here before.  Lucky us, we come when there's lots of friends!!  Everyone is in the same boat, so it's fun to relate to so many people.  We start with Primary, then do Sunday School and have Sacrament Meeting last.  Mostly because there's people who come from far away on a bus (or on their own) and sometimes they're a little late getting there.  This way, everyone can be in Sacrament Meeting for sure if they miss anything.  I have to admit, it makes it hard with kids, but we've been twice so far and it will really be manageable.  The only room in the building with A/C is the chapel (probably smaller than the size of half a cultural hall).  The men meet in there, while the women have Relief Society in the kitchen--probably because there's more men.  There are windows, but they're hardly windows.  They've always been open and the bars on the windows are the only thing protecting you from the rain storm that's happening right outside.  :)  It's pretty hot, but there's a really nice ocean breeze that helps a lot.  Since there's not much of a Primary Board, the parents take turns teaching in nursery.  I'm still trying to understand how Primary works here.  Cayden likes it enough, but Addie won't have anything to do with it and is happy as a lark in nursery.  I guess we'll just have to keep trying, but she may be the "extended student" in nursery for a bit.  There are no pianos or keyboards anywhere except the chapel (and it's a keyboard in there), so all the music is a capella.  But the people sing their hearts out and sometimes it seems louder than a whole ward singing!  Even the primary kids sing so loud and confidently, it's pretty amazing to feel their testimonies through music.  They're no Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but they sing with that much heart, it's really been a touching experience for me.

The local people in the Branch are all very nice and usually have a pretty incredible story.  The Relief Society President (at least I think that's her calling) is originally from Africa.  She was telling us about her experience of sacrifice as she was preparing to serve a mission.  She gave up her work that she wouldn't be able to get back and support to go.  Another lady (originally from another country) also told us she gave up her entire opportunity of a teaching career because she went on a mission and didn't take the final test to become an official teacher, and now never will be able to teach.  She went to Oakland, CA on her mission and said she was spit on, had water and urine thrown on her, and yelled at because a black woman was trying to talk to them and teach them something.  She said now she just tutors her children who are all getting good grades and doing well in school, and that is all she really wanted.  I'm interested to see what other stories I learn from the people here.  They only make up about half the branch, if that, but the Spirit is really strong there.  In Relief Society, we recited the R.S. Theme and I was getting choked up and had to stop because the Spirit was so strong.  Just knowing that I'm a part of these incredible women in sisterhood was overwhelming.  We literally come from around the world, yet we were all there for the same reason, and it's like that everywhere else in the world.  We were all the same right then in the Lord's eyes and I really felt how special the women of the world are to Him.  No matter what your story is, you are a daughter of God.  You have the same worth as someone who has every worldly thing and the someone who has nothing.  It made me so happy to be a woman and mother, and especially those roles in His church.  I was reminded of the goodness of people, charity that happens everywhere you look, and the hope we can have even in a world that is screaming despair.  I know this Branch is going to help me build my testimony, as well as my family's.  I have seen the blessings first hand of us following our prayerful decision to come to Grenada.  As Elder Holland said, we truly have been able to see the beauty of life unfold before us as we've trusted our Heavenly Father and didn't cave to the temptation of not doing this.  We are truly blessed.