Date
May 1, 2019
Area
St. Lucia
Companion
1 May 2019 Letter from the Boggs
Yesterday, we went to a local school to talk to the principal about a document to help a young person get their birth certificate. I was apprehensive. After all, we are not the parents or guardian… just people trying to help. I didn’t even know what the proposed letter was about, but they did. The reception was so positive. We didn’t need to say much. As soon as she heard that one of her students has an opportunity to go to a conference in Barbados this summer and have a positive experience, instructions were given for a letter to be typed up for her stamp and signature. This good woman shared some personal experiences with and concern for the student then shared some broader concerns for the student body. Many of the students do not have one or more parents (as in they are deceased.) Many students do not have regular access to food or help with their schoolwork. There were successes as well as concerns. Huge successes… such as some children coming into the secondary school on a pre-primer reading level and the child ending the year on a grade 2 level. As we sat in the office waiting area… there was a young teacher expressing concerns for 2 students and hopes she had prepared them enough for exams. An older teacher calling in students and checking their phone numbers because she had not been able to reach anyone at home. The janitor came in to share that a certain student was being mocked. In and out they came… students and staff. I confess I started feeling rather emotional. Education was my working world. I love working with students and other educators. To listen to and observe the staff was touching.
I was schooled later in the day. We were visiting the home of an older man who has an amazing garden. He delights to give us fruits and vegetables to share with people in need. Soon after we arrived and sat together on the porch, his neighbor/relative came and started harvesting what became a bin of mangos from our friend’s tree. Our friend chastised him and told him to stop. The younger man was very rude, well… more like belligerent. I took pictures of the guy and told our friend if he wanted to report him, the pictures were on my phone. This good man, a newly ordained elder in the branch, just shook his head and said that he would not respond in anger, that he just would not respond because God has been good to him and he wants to forgive others. He turned his back on the man and we proceeded to discuss the scriptures. Wow! I am a missionary and yet my knee-jerk response was to be vexed with the fellow for stealing. I still have so much to learn about meekness. We delivered three bags of his garden produce to three homes. Tomatoes, golden apple, mango, celery and “edu” (a starchy root vegetable.) I hope they will take the time to thank him.
Lorin and I met a woman on the street last week. We started chatting about the slogan on her tee shirt, why we were in the neighborhood and ended up setting a time to come talk with her. Lorin and I went back later and had a great visit. We shared a message and in talking with her realized she is a perfect fit for the new self-reliance classes that are starting here- specifically the one on growing a business. (She has a little shop and wants to earn enough to buy a safer house.) We invited her to come to church for the presentation about the classes. She came and enjoyed herself. Today we popped by to see if she needed any help with the My Path to Self-Reliance booklet. She has three weeks to complete it and is already almost done. In fact, she only had one question. We met several of her kids as well as her boyfriend (who we invited to the class as well.) This sweet woman just glows. She is one of those positive people who are so comfortable to be around that you can’t help but feel good. The kids are fun. They asked so we had a conversation about why our Caucasian skin has freckles/spots. (Two words- Sun Damage) The girl was giggling when I told her my belly doesn’t have any freckles because it never sees the sun! We agreed that her moms’ brown skin doesn’t have any spots, it is all one even color. I love kids. They are without guile. They were showing off their reading skills and asking me if I can do magic tricks. One of the boys is friends with another local boy we gave reading glasses to. He was with him at the time. When he told me that, his brother asked if we would have any for him. He said he has trouble seeing his papers and books at school. We will take some tomorrow. Hopefully, we find a pair in our shrinking supply to fit him. Many are hot pink or some other wild girly design. No Lucian male teenager would be caught wearing them. In fact, most of the women don’t want a wild design either. They like the classic brown or black frames.
Tomorrow we are taking the Nish’s (new Barbados Bridgetown Mission humanitarian missionaries) to meet some potential local partners who can use donations to serve their clientele. Later we are going to training in Castries that doesn’t end until 8 pm. We must be back there before 7 am so we are going to crash in the empty missionary apartment. (I really, really hope they washed the sheets before they left.) On Friday, we will split up. Lorin will drop me off at the birth certificate office and he will go to the car dealership. I’m going to be getting a corrected birth certificate for one of the boys and then turn in his passport application. Should be interesting… I’ve been told to go in as they open at 8 am and if I sit there, the birth certificate will be ready by 1 pm. That is usually how long we sit at the car dealer so it is no big deal.
Life is good. Hoping this finds you well.
Love, Sister Boggs (aka Francie)