Attending Church on Vacation: Aruba

Everyone needs a vacation! We all need a break from the busy lives that we lead. A chance to rejuvenate. Get away from all of our responsibilities. Pretend if only for a moment that there aren't science fair projects to get done, bills to pay, kids to run from music lessons to sport practices, deadlines at work.... My wife and I actually do a really good job disconnecting from the "Normal" world that we live in when we are on vacation. One of the things we don't take a vacation from is our religion.

Benefits of Church on Vacation

Okay, I know you are thinking this is going to be preachy, but many that know us know that our religion is part of who we are. So one of the things we always do is go to church on Sunday. Not only do we get a spiritual booster shot, we get to enjoy the company of people in the place we are visiting. Because we have something in common with these people, our belief in Jesus Christ and his Gospel, we quickly make friends and have something to share. We have never had a bad experience doing this. Just the opposite. Many times we have found some connection, albeit sometimes a very distant connection with someone there.

Finding the Church in Aruba

There are great resources on LDS tools, the meeting house locator (https://www.lds.org/maps/meetinghouses/)  to find where churches are and when they hold church. So if you have a smart phone or even a computer, you can quickly find out where and when church is held. You can also find out what language the meetings are held in. This was very handy in Aruba because they speak 4 languages on the small island. Papiamento, Dutch, English, and Spanish.  We had two choices. A branch in Oranjestad (Spanish/Papiamento) or in San Nicolas (English). We chose the English speaking branch in the town of San Nicolas. It was about a 20 minute drive from our hotel in Oranjestad. 

Strange looks from the tourist

We got dressed in our Sunday best and headed down from our hotel room through the lobby. A lobby filled with vacationers in their swimsuits and beach gear ready for another sunny day on the beach. To say we had strange looks from people is an understatement. We had several questions from people on where we were going. Many people asked us where the wedding was being held. We just mentioned that we where headed to Church. You should have seen their looks. Some were  "good for you", others gave a look of confusion. Anyway, we used it as a small missionary moment. We hopped in the car and headed south on the 10 mile drive to the other side of the island. It was another beautiful day in Aruba.

Every Branch has its own Culture

Every time we have gone to church on vacation we always find something unique and special about the wards or branches that we go to. The San Nicolas Aruba branch was no different. We walked into a branch building which we quickly learned used to be a house at one time. It is a cute building that you could tell had several great branch activities and you could feel a closeness of the members of the branch. We looked at pictures on the the wall of their branch activities, baptisms and a missionary plaque of a missionary recently sent out from the branch to the Paris France mission.  We took our seats in the makeshift chapel which was mostly just chairs (enough for 40 people) in what used to be a family room in the house.

Before the Sacrament meeting started, we were greeted by the branch president, several other members of the branch and the missionaries. Of course we have a soft spot for the missionaries because Dallin is out on his mission. They were a very friendly congregation and we felt right at home. We also met another couple that were there on vacation as well. They where from Utah and were there on a get away from life just like us. (Great minds think alike).

Bi-lingual Church

The San Nicolas Aruba Branch is an interesting branch because their meetings are in English and Spanish. We found this out from talking to the missionaries. They told us that Sacrament meeting would be in English and Spanish. All of the announcements would be given in both languages and then there would be a Spanish talk and an English talk. The Elders and some members of the ward would translate to people that only spoke one or the other languages. Most people in Aruba speak 3 or more languages so the only translating I saw being down was to us on the other couple there from Utah.

Music Loud and Reverent

Anytime you go to another ward or branch you always find a big difference in the musicality of the congregation. We have been in some wards that sang so quietly you could only hear the organ, others you could not hear the organ at all. As we started the first hymn we were shocked at how loud this small branch of 30 people sang. It was awe-inspiring. When they sang the hymns you felt they really meant what they sang. It was loud yet reverent at the same time. You could really feel the closeness and spirituality of the branch. What would it be like if all of the wards/branches in the Church sang like this small branch in Aruba, with conviction, reverence and volume.

The music was also sung in both English and Spanish at the same time. So they always annouced the hymns numbers in Spanish and English. It was very interesting hearing the hymns sung in two languages at the same time.

Surprise connection

With every trip Paige and I take we always find some kind of connection. This of course is even
more prevalent at church. Well we found that there is an Elder Sheppard (Paige's maiden name) in Aruba. It is such a small name in the Church so they started looking at how they are related. They did not find a connection but of course being true Sheppards they hit it off great.

What a great trip and a great experience. I can't wait for our next trip and to find new people to talk to and learn more about how the Gospel is influencing their lives.

DWP

PS.
This trip inspired Paige to create a new product for her shop. Daisy Blossom Creations.