GREEN ACRES

Across the street from the St. Georges Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Grande Anse, is a great piece of property affectionately called "GREEN ACRES".  There is a little red and blue home that sits at the back of the hill on the property.  This is the home and garden of Michael Bruno.  Michael is just a tiny guy who wears size 14 shoes and measures about 6 foot 5 inches in height and has a wing span that would rival any condor.  Does he play basketball?  Yep!!!  He's not just tall, he has muscles too!  If you ask him what he wants to do next in his life.......Michael will tell you that he wants to serve the Lord.  Michael has been a terrific help to the full-time missionaries on the island of Grenada.  He has served as a Temporary Missionary twice and has gone out teaching with the missionaries countless times.  Presently, he is the Branch mission leader and attends the weekly District meetings with the missionaries.

 Michael loves to grow "short crops" including lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers and corn.  In an area called Willis, Michael's father, who has passed away, owned a large piece of property where he grew all sorts of fruit trees, cocoa, nutmeg, breadfruit, figs, sweet potaoes, dasheen, or "provisions", as Michael calls them, referring to scripture passages in the Book of Mormon about "provisions". Michael loves to spend time in Willis.....in fact, planting, growing and harvesting has become Michael's passion.  He loves the dirt!

(Sisters Grigg and Smith sitting in Michael's corn patch)

Michael's mom passed away 2 years ago, so Michael and his sister, Samantha live alone in the home on "Green Acres".

Nine years ago, Elders Shipley and Pollard contacted Michael, and along with Brother Gary Cox in the Branch, they began to teach him about the gospel.  A very influential person in Michael's life was the Young Men's President, Dave Orme.  Dave was a medical student, at the time, and was living in Grenada with his wife and young son.  Dave spent time playing soccer, basketball and camping in the Grand Etang with the Young Men in the Branch, dedicating many hours to teaching, loving and serving Michael.  It was Dave who baptized Michael when he was 12 years old and still keeps in contact with him.

This week, the missionaries and members of the Branch did a service project at "Green Acres".  There were remains from Hurricane Ivan still in Michael's yard, which needed cleaning up, so we did just that......we cleaned up.  We put on the churches yellow "Mormon Helping Hands" vests and within 1 hour, had filled a small dump truck full of garbage and made another pile of stuff that was picked up later in the day.  It's amazing what many helping hands can accomplish.

Later that evening, before the sunset, we drove past "Green Acres" and there sat Michael in his yard, among the cucumbers admiring his newly cleaned acreage.  What was going through his mind?  Perhaps thoughts of the hours spent as a child growing up in that well loved yard, maybe he was reflecting on the many blessings which have been given him during his 21 years of life, could it be that he was thinking about the day he was baptized 9 years earlier in the ocean across the street and the wonderful  example of his Young Men's President?  We actually asked him what he was thinking  and his reply was remarkable.  He said "It looks like a sacred place."  And....so it is.  Now it is time for Michael to give back to a Heavenly Father who has blessed him so abundantly.

This week, Michael is scheduled to enter the Mission Training Center (MTC) in the Dominican Republic, where he will serve in the Santo Domingo West Mission for two years.  He is anxious, excited and ready!!!!  We will miss this handsome face and big smile.  Go get 'em Elder!