Visit to Mauritius 30th April - 9th May 2005
Mauritius is no longer the quiet island we visited 12 years ago with pot-holed roads and sleepy villages. Quatre-Bornes, where the ecclesial hall is situated, is a vibrant town with significant traffic jams, and traffic lights and the road from the airport to the capital, Port Louis is now a freeway, M1 no less! But the smoking buses still hog the road down to Flic en Flac. Quite a contrast to the magnificent beauty of the island.
Michael was very sad with the new road from Q.B. to Flic en Flac. All the switchbacks have been ironed out and the sugar cane fields moved far enough back from the road to stop the water sprinklers from dousing an unsuspecting passenger!
We arrived late on Friday April 30th minus Michael’s luggage. Next day, Bro Jean Claude Topize met us outside the old meeting room in Quatre Bornes and we followed his motorized bike to the present hall which was only a few bricks high in 1993.
The ecclesia now numbers approx 25. The Saturday afternoon Bible Class was the first of three held each week and was well attended by the brothers and sisters and their children. Michael gave the first talk in the series of four on Phases of Life and the meeting was rounded off by two hymns sung with gusto. One of our main reasons for visiting Mauritius again was to contact some interested friends, Jean Maurice and Esther Prosper who had come to know of us and the gospel message from being on the Bible Basics web site. Their details were passed on to us and the ecclesia by Bro Duncan Heaster. They are a delightful couple who both work in IT.
On Sunday evening after the enjoyable meeting of remembrance, Jean Claude, Bluette and the Prospers joined us for dinner where we got to know each other better. Our friends were able to attend the Tuesday Bible class along with three other members of their family. Wednesday evening, Jean Maurice and Esther joined us for dinner and we had an animated discussion
on life after death, heaven going, hell and the grave and Satan. After the meal we went to the room and discussed the nature of the Lord Jesus which was one of the points Jean Maurice had difficulty with.
On the Tuesday before the Bible class, we spent a happy hour or two with Bro. Lilkan and Sis. Santa Ancharaz at their home. Their daughter Brenda was there too and we chatted about their health problems, life in Mauritius and the ecclesia. Michael was able to help Lilkan with a computer problem which left our brother a happy man!
We were scheduled to have a chat with Bro Herold La France, still the Recording Brother, before the Bible class on Thursday but with others arriving very early not much was discussed. The Prospers were able to attend once more though they brought their one year old son Matthew along who voiced his displeasure most of the meeting while Michael talked on the third Phase of Life – Fellowship
That evening, Herold led us to Bro Harry Bhagal’s and after much calling he eventually came out to see us. We had been trying to contact Harry without success so he gave us another number and on Friday we phoned hoping to set up a meeting, but this number proved to be discontinued as well. Sadly we were unable to chat to Harry who has not been attending meetings for quite a long time and needs encouragement.
Friday afternoon we popped in to see Lilkan and Santa again, specifically to give Lilkan a CD with some Bible programmes he could use for his interested friends and private Bible study. This gave me a chance to practice my creaky French on Brenda and Santa.
Next was a visit to Port Louis to meet all of Esther’s family at her parents’ home. They do seem to be a very well knit family and as several of the members have tagged along at the bible classes there is hope that more of the family would respond to personal classes. Father, Cyril, is a Pentecostal pastor and quite a character with some very unusual theories on biblical numerics but does not believe in many traditional Pentecostal beliefs.
On Saturday we were at the hall for the last in the series on Phases of life – Death. The attendance was low as many only finish work at 1.30 – 2pm. Afterwards, Bro.Jean Claude led us up to his home where we had an excellent evening with the Topize family and dinner rounded off with Chinese Grass Jelly and Ice Cream. We briefly met his brother Patrick.
The Sunday meeting was at 10am and the Prospers managed to attend again. Hopefully they will continue attending when we are gone and build up a good relationship with the brothers and sisters. Bro Herold and Sis Lalita La France came with us after the meeting on a trip across the island to see the Jhureea family in Poste de Flac. Last time we saw them, they were in the throes of house alterations but now their main home is established and daughter Dorothy is running a fresh chicken business on the premises with her cousin Geraldine. We did not meet son Joshue who works on a golf course.
It was good to have this time with them and renew the bonds of our fellowship; they remain strong in the faith and are planning an extension to their home to house a meeting room for the ecclesia. Bro. Herold and Lalita visit them once a month and that certainly helps their faith in spite of their relative isolation.All too soon the visit was at an end but we hope to return again much sooner than before God willing and enjoy the warmth of the fellowship of the happy and busy ecclesia.
Sis Vanessa Floyd (South Africa)
