4/30/2012

  It's a rainy, warm night here.  If we had rained like this at home there would be flooding everywhere.  They are prepared though with their trenches down each side of every road.
It is night and raining - the big kids are outside playing in the rain - laughing and shouting.
 It's not like it is unusual or anything... They are just a happy people.
    Our Spanish class was fun today because we have a new couple in there who know
German, French, and English but not so much Spanish.  Just being in that class makes
you feel like an underachiever. 
     It was "Meet the Newcomers Night" for Family Home Evening.  The Haws, the Despains, the Mahons, and the Cuenots.  Each have such interesting stories about how they came to be here. There are now about 26 couple missionaries here so for all of us to get together in the Temple president's apartment is very crowded - but fun.  These people are just like family and it will be difficult to see most of them leave before us.
     The most touching was the story of the Mahons. A year ago he broke his neck while surfing.  He was alone on his board and hit a rock.  He went under the water and was paralyzed so could not move to help himself.  He said how he went through the dying process of thinking how his wife  would handle things, if he was really ready to die, and finally told the Lord that he was turning his life over to Him - "Your will, not mine, be done".  The next thing he knew someone was slapping him across the face.  They got him to the hospital but no one expected him to survive. The good thing was since he was paralyzed, he could not breathe so did not inhale water.  When he kept living the doctor told his wife that they could do surgery but he would be another Christopher Reeves or they could not do surgery and he would still be a paraplegic.  They finally decided to do the surgery.  He was in the hospital in Costa Rica for six weeks then they came home and moved from Chicago to Huntsville. They had planned on going on a mission before the accident and he was recovering much of his movement so they felt his life had been spared to serve this mission.  Even though his right side is still quite handicapped they put in their papers and here they are.  He still has to have physical therapy every day.  Their testimonies of God's hand in their lives were so touching.
    What has become very apparent to us here is that your whole life really is a preparation to serve. Our choices make a big difference in what ways we can help.  There are so many ways they need help in these countries- our goal is just to help in every way we can.   
  

4/29/2012

It's been a great Sunday.  We took the Ottosons  to Church this morning to the Pientini
Ward.  The chapel was 1/2 full of Americans by starting time and the Dominicans slowly started coming some time after the meeting started - and they start late anyway.  The fun part of going to that ward, besides alot of people speak English, is we know so many of the people.  It is so much easier for me to understand the Americans who speak in Spanish than the Dominicans who speak Spanish.
The Mahons came today.  They are new here and will be working with the CES program.  He was a professional polo player but got hurt while surfing in Costa Rica.  He broke his back and they thought he would be paralyzed for the rest of his life.  She is a striking woman who had to have an apartment with an excercise room - and she obviously has used it.  She plays the flute and violin and says she will teach piano lessons at the Institute here for us.  So that is great! 
    Scott went to a Priesthood Training Meeting with Elder Snow so I was alone for three hours.  Sometimes that is a good thing.  I'm sure it's good for him to have some "man talk time".
I baked some brownies for when he got back and didn't realize that the broiler pan that I had put in to keep the bottom from burning kept the brownie pan tilted down.  So when the buzzer went off here is a third of the pan burned and the other two thirds not cooked because most of the mixture was down at the bottom end of the pan.  So much for baking on Sunday!
   At the meeting Scott said there was a man that played by ear who wants to learn to read music so he can teach.  Scott gave him half of the money he would need to buy a keyboard and told him to earn the rest.  I guess he was amazing.. One more source to help here with the music!
    Elder Eickbush came by tonight with some banana bread.  He and Elder Snow make banana bread then deliver it to many of the senior missionaries.  You just have to smile at life here with the senior missionaries - they are just great. Elder Eickbush was actually a minister for another church when he decided to investigate the church.  Many of these senior missionaries are converts to the church.
    We have a new guard tonight while the other one is sick.  Scott took him down some soup and fruit. He has a wife and two kids and makes $200 a month,  We don't know how they do it.  After a days work many don't have enough money to take the bus back home.  They should have a minimum wage law here!
    Got to talk to Melia and Kelsey today.  I really miss our family at home.  Just have to not dwell on that!  Today coming out of church at the bottom of the stairs this woman looked up and she reminded me so much of Sheri Wright that it took my breath away.  I miss her - but know she is as busy as she can be doing good.  That's just who she is. I hope to be like her someday..
    Election update:  Today I looked out the window and it looked like this huge flag was hanging in the sky.  When I went to another window I could see the airplane pulling the flag for PAPA- who looks like a communist dictator.  The Keith McCord guy looks much better to me. There are always noisy cars going past with loud speakers and sirens for one or the other of the two.
    Elder Snow sent us a picture someone had sent him off the internet of the big brown bear that got hit up by Devil's Slide.  That is a bit unnerving!  Too close to my precious family!!

   
    



   

4/28/2012

    I was thinking it sounds fairly calm outside for a Friday night - then realized it is Saturday night instead.  It is about 9:00 pm here and that is about the time people start coming out.  Just across from us there is a sports bar that attracts many young people on weekend nights. Then we have all of the neighbors outside playing some kind of dominoes on their tables - laughing and talking like they were out in the country where no one could hear.  Life is so different here.  There are no sloppily dressed people no matter what they do, there are no men with pierced earrings, there are no tattoos that we have seen, - just really tight clothes!  There is no one putting down the Mormons or accusing us of being a cult, etc.  The other night at the International Book Fair this man stopped us to say he was an Evangelical minister and he was happy to see us there.  That was a surprise.

   Can't remember if I mentioned the shell pictures we did the other night at Sister Snow's.  I am including a picture in case it gets broken before I get home.  She has tons of shells of different kinds and gallons of glue, hundreds of pictures that were left with her as projects for these people by some of the missionaries that were here before. 
     On Friday Scott and I decided he was going to cut my hair shorter.  I had a little pair of office scissors and a pick - which he thought was quite inadequate.  As I watched my hair falling on the floor when I had just told him to cut a little - I was nervous!  Then he kept pulling it out so it was the same length and it wasn't so he would cut more off.  Needless to say, my hair is about two to three inches long all over my head.  It remands me of when Linda McClellan and I went to Salt Lake and had this guy cut our hair.  By the time we left it was shorter than Scott's. One thing I wanted a picture of was the broom and dustpans they use here.  The broom is always a flat brush and the dust pan is connected to a stick - like the broom but not quite as tall.  You see people sweeping with them everywhere.
   As we were leaving today for PriceMart we saw Louis who was fired from here right after the murder.  Don't know exactly why that was because he seemed to be the only one who worked around here.  He is coming for dinner on Tuesday so that will be fun.  I have a picture of him on the phone but don't know how to get it off.  It was good to see him!
   At Price Mart, which was so crowded you could barely move, we met Pres.Andersen and his wife there so Sister Andersen and I visited while the men stood in line.
    Tomorrow we get to go to an English speaking Sunday School class.  I am really glad even though I have no idea where they are in the lessons.

  

4/25/2012

  We have been here two months today.  I can honestly say it seems like years.  Maybe that is because life is a complete change here from what I have known, other than doing church work!  There are so many people here; you know that many are waiting for the gospel - just finding them is tough.  When Pres. Cornaby said to ask just once if someone was interested and then if not, move on I was shocked.  As we have driven to the different  chapels we realize how hard it is to get to all of these people to find those who are ready.  They are tucked away everywhere!
  I have missed a few days and of course can't remember much of anything.  The police are still bewildered as to who murdered the woman in our apartment building. That is a little unnerving to me but not to Scott who leaves the iron gate unlocked and our door open so he can get some air.  They believe it must have been someone she knew because they don't think he could have gotten through the apartment gate, the locked tower door, her iron gate door and into her apartment door if she had not let him/her in.   That sounds reasonable but you never know.  They talked to Scott yesterday morning about the shot we heard at 4:00 in the morning.  There have been Chinese diplomats over here doing something as they try reenact what happened.  We do have two more guard inside the parking area but one of them looks pretty scary.  Maybe that's why they chose him!
    

4/26/2012

I thought I had saved a blog written two nights ago but can't find it - memory being what it is - this is will probably be short.  On Monday we had Spanish class and FHE.  The FHE consisted of going to the International Book Fair where the church had an exhibit on Family Home Evening.  About six or so couples walked over and through the fair.  It was alot like the Utah State Fair with all kinds of booths selling different things.  Jewelery here is by far the most popular thing to sell. Coco Cola had the cutest booth.  The Church's booth got the most media attention and was by far the best there.
They had two great videos that the missionaries showed.  We walked home with Yturraldes.  It's so good to have someone else living in this building with us - that is someone you know and trust.  She was telling me about some news articles she had found on the Internet about the murder in our apartment. When she sent the link to me it was all about how crime ridden the Dominican Republic is.  How recent past there have been 16 diplomats and tourists killed here.  It's a good thing we are just missionaries!  They have the Chinese government here investigating.
   Scott has lined up four more training meetings for this week so that will be eight of the stakes we have given the training lesson.  All of the meetings that these are taught at are priesthood training
meetings so I am usually the only woman there.  Even though I can understand and speak much more Spanish it isn't nearly enough!!! 
    Tuesday and Wednesday nights were temple nights.  The Ottoson's wanted to go with us on Tuesday so we were two pick them up at 5:30 if they hadn't already walked up to leave the kids with their parents.  I went to buz them and couldn't get anyone to answer.  This guy was standing there trying to get into another apartment but no one answered where he was buzzing either- then the guard came over to see what we were doing. They are pretty cautious these days, which is fine with me.
So we left for the temple and got there to find that the Ottosons were still at home but their buzzer didn't work.  They finally decided we weren't coming and walked or jogged to the temple.  I felt so bad!  It was fun to go to the temple with them.  On Wednesday there was a couple going through for the first time and the missionary who baptized them, his wife, and her mother were there.  They had come from the states somewhere to be here for the sealing so it was a session full of joy!  It is always fun to see other Americans in the temple - or anywhere else for that matter.   The teenagers here seem to be at the temple alot doing baptisms.  Scott went this morning to help Elder Eickbush as one of the sisters in the ward they attend was going through the temple and her sixteen year old sister wanted to come do baptisms.
   Scott had to teach the Spanish class today.  Then he and Elder Snow went out to Alcarrisos Stake to do some training and I went with Sister Snow to their apartment and we made seashell picture frames.  Some missionaries before them left them 60 lbs of shells to do these pictures.
   DeDe wrote and told us that Elma had passed away.  What a sweet woman she is!

4/24/2012

  It's late but I don't want to get another day behind.  Our goal for Monday was to do something with our phone which we would both like to use as a skipping rock!  We aren't sure if it would work if we knew how to work it - the instructions are in Spanish - or not.  It doesn't ring half of the time people are trying to get ahold of us. It says there are messages but when you try to listen to them it won't let you.  It is very frustrating but we didn't get to it taken care of..
   We did go to the International Book Fair here for Family Home Evening with many of the other missionary couples.  The Church had an exhibit on Family Home Evening and it was impressive!

4/22/2012

    I hate to get behind a day or two because I forget the impressions that are so much fun about this place.  On Friday we went to President Andersen's for dinner.  Lets just say that our apartment could fit in their two lovely living rooms!  They are such lovely people - a sweet spirit in their home.  They have a 15 year old son who is living here with them.  After dinner Pres. Anderson played his guitar for us, then he and Spencer, his son, sang and Sister Andersen also accompanied them on the piano.  What insight that was into why music is so important to them.  They are all amazingly talented!  We talked about the music program and they gave us some good ideas.  The Buttons, area office secretary and wife, were also there.  Both the Buttons and the Andersens are from Gilbert, Arizona where Brent is from.  The Andersens knew who Brent and RaNae were.  We arrived home to new guards again - guess the old one was fired for having someone murdered on his watch!
    We have water!!  You never know how much you appreciate something until it is taken away.  Just to be able to wash your hands, shower, do the dishes, wash clothes, cook - so many things we have just taken for granted.  It seems our new well is working; we'll see if it lasts.
    Saturday was another trek to find a ward building.  Each time we go to the outskirts of the city we find more interesting things. We went to the LosAmericas Stake to meet with the Bishops in that Stake to explain the music program.  The church buildings here are the nicest buildings in their areas.  You can be driving through a very seedy part of town and right in the middle is this lovely building - all fenced and gated in of course.
    Today, Sunday, though we drove on roads worse than our range roads!.  We went to the Hianamosa Stake Conference.  Pres. and Sister Bair, and Pres. and Sister Hernandez spoke so that was fun for us.  Especially me because I can understand Spanish speaking English people.  There were many families there with beautiful little children.  At one time there were three little one year old boys on the stand.  No one seems to be very concerned about them and it was fun for me to watch them when I couldn't understand what was going on because I can't understand their language.  They did have a music leader there but no one played until the congregation sang then an elder missionary played and did a great job.  When we left two of the missionaries were coming out and Scott offered them a ride home.  They said it was straight up the street we were on.  Well the farther we went the worse it got and soon we were on a narrow dirt road that only got worse when we came to the broken cement that was supposed to be road.  Then we would wind through the center of town where little shops and houses were joined together and people were all over.  If I don't have ulcers from the driving here, I will be surprised!  Half the time you just have to close your eyes and  pray that you don't get hit.  We did see our first accident today, which involved four cars.  I can't believe we haven't seen one before because every time you are on the road it is suicidal.
     A couple hours later we left for the Osama Stake to meet with their bishops.  Scott is feeling a little more comfortable giving the information but it has been very stressful for him to think he has command of the language good enough to teach anything.  He is doing a great job. 
  We got home in time for Sister Snow's birthday party at the Dunfords.  There were many missionary couples there.  Elder Snow had one of his cowboy poems about his wife ready for us.  He is amazing! 
    Scott and I have been discussing how hair grows faster here.  He has to shave every day and hates it.  Must be the sun!
. It truly is an adventure here.  We love the people we get to work with. They carry an amazing load trying to get the gospel up an going.  They are so nonjudgmental and very kind.  It is a blessing to be here and we just pray we can help in some way. 

4/19/2012

   Yesterday with all of the murder chaos we decided that being without water really isn't that big of a deal!  They think that someone the lady worked with her stabbed - her numerous times.  There was no forced entry and it's hard to believe anyone around here wouldn't lock their doors.  Anyway, it has made it a little tense here because every time we leave and come back there are new and different people wandering through the parking.  You don't know if they are the good people or the bad people! with and without guns.

   Dad's friend that came yesterday and said his company was going to start drilling a well here this weekend actually showed up early this morning with his equipment  and men and worked all day.  Tonight after we got home they pulled the drill up and left so we don't know if they are done or not but this is far from typical behavior here.  We expected it to be sometime next month!  We will see what happens now.  They say that the rainy season here begins in May and the drought should end then.
   Dad had to teach the Spanish class today.  The class loved him - he really is a natural teacher.  Then we went over to the temple.  I think this temple is the calmest place on earth.  There are few people there and those that are are in no hurry.  We will miss this temple when we leave here!
    

4/19/2012

   What an interesting time here!  Police, investigators, new crews swarmed our building trying to figure out what had happened to the woman who was killed here.  They now think it was someone she worked with because there was no forced entry.  Don't now if they have anyone in custody but they added two more armed guards to our apartment building.  It is a little disconcerting to come home from the temple and be met by two more armed guards.  To make it even worse, when we came up to the apartment the water was on but the power went off.  It's the first time I have appreciated those street lights that shine in your window at night.

   The woman worker from here asked if she could clean for us because her family has no food - so she came today to mop.  It is difficult for me to trust her but she does a good job.  The engineer that has become our friend came to tell us that his company was going to drill a well for our building right outside the cement barrier.  Then we should have water !!! 
    We went to the temple again last night and already I am thinking how sad it will be not to be able to go to this temple when we leave.  It is such a beautiful, peaceful place.  Last night there were three couples and two other women.  The couples were senior missionaries that work there so it is wonderful to be able to have all of your friends from here in the temple on a least one of the days we go.  Anyone who lives in the Casa has to work in the temple.  They say Scott and I are their most loyal patrons - that wouldn't be hard!  Temple attendance here is not good.  If we can go three times a week it really helps them, so we try to do that.
   

4/17/2012 Murder in Tower 32

   At four in the morning - the dog across the street was barking ferociously!  Scott and I had awakened to the barking, which is always obnoxious.  We were trying to go back to sleep when we hear this loud "pop".
Even though I'm not very familiar with gun shot sounds, that's what it sounded like to me.  Scott agreed and thought it was either a shotgun or a pistol.  Either way it was very close - since we didn't hear the dog after that, we thought someone had finally shot that irritating dog and went back to sleep.  When Scott went jogging a couple hours later he stopped at the guard building and asked if he had heard the shot.  The guard acted like Scott was crazy; he claimed he hadn't heard a thing.  In the early afternoon, Louis, our favorite handyman here, was mopping down the stairs when he realized that blood was seeping out from under F9's door.  A young Chinese woman. was murdered, they said assasinated - what the exact difference is I don't know.  These apartments are in three different sections.  A&B are in one tower, D&C are in one, and E&F are in another tower.  F9 is just above us.  So there were newsmen, policemen, and forensic people here most of the day.  When we got in the elevator I asked Scott if any of the men checked for blood in our elevator - he said "Where do you think you are, in Miami?  This isn't CSI you know".  The manager of this complex said there is a woman killed here daily by men they live with.  That's the second time we have heard that but didn't think it would be so close to us!  At least it took our minds off the water for a while.
   There was a meeting of the owners of the apartments here last night in the parking lot to discsuss the water - it turned into a two hour shouting match.  We are just hoping that somehow they improve this water situation.  We did have water for 1/2 hour today.  If we keep enough garbage cans and buckets filled with water we can make it for about a day and a half

4/16/2012

   One half hour of water to begin the day!  As soon as we realized it was on I showered while Scott started washing dishes, then he showered while I finished the dishes and got a batch of clothes in the wash " with the vinegar experiment " just as the water went off.  So the clothes are still setting in the vinegar water waiting to be washed.  But it was great to get cleaned up a bit..

  Yesterday as Scott was sitting in the sicker than a dog and the rest of us were in the building, three young girls and a little one year old boy were walking by so he stopped them and they were talking to him when I came out of the church.   I had some gum, of course, so we tried to give them some - they had never seen gum like that and didn't have any idea what it was.  Finally the oldest girl took a piece and chewed it and amiled, then the other two took pieces.  It was a strong mint gum that is shocking when you put it in your mouth so it was fun to watch their faces. You should have seen the smiles on their faces as the strong flavor mellowed out and they figured out how to chew it.  The little boy had fussed all through church and didn't seem to feel very well.  He let me pick him up and it felt like heaven!  I have missed holding my little grandkids so much.

 

faces!  I just wish these pictures of the church created more of the image it really is.  When we went into the 6'x8' primary room the teacher asked if I wanted to see their lights.  The only lights were through these metal blind kind of things. 
  On thing that is interesting here is they have these clocks by the stop lights that tell you how many seconds it will be until the light changes - not that it makes a difference sometimes!
  We are getting together packets of infomation to give the stake music people for their training. Scott is so patiently trying to teach me Spanish.  I would have my hair pulled out by now if I were him but he seems to have more hair than ever.  He was supposed to get it cut today but missed the phone call.  It's so long it is getting this wave in the top and back!  I'm surprised he doesn't go into shock looking in the mirror with all that bushy hair when he usually keeps it so short. There aren't many of the senior missionaries that have much hair on their heads.
   Brother and Sister Despain from Logan got here today to work in the temple.  She said they met someone in the airport, a tall blonde guy in his 40's that said to tell us hello.  Don't know who that could be.
   Brother and Sister Hammon's daughter and her husband are here visiting.  It was a fun Spanish class today trying to decipher the phrases that he had picked up at a talk last night by the mission president.
  When we got home water had run out of the tap, onto the cabinet and down to the floor - which was covered.  Now that is ironic that the water tap was turned on a little because usually there is no water and we come home to an apartment with water all over!  Still don't know just how that happened.

4/15/2012

   What an interesting day!  We left at 7:30 this morning to go with three other couples out to a ward in a small town 11/2 hours away.  I'm going to include as many pictures as I can because it was so interesting to see.  Much more like I imagined the Dominican Republic to be.  Cement, wood pieces, and tin homes.  Roosters crowing outside the door during church, people  riding motos, some on worn out, scrawny horses that looked like the rider should be carrying the horse, the town taxi that looks like an extended golf cart and plays music all around town, clothes hanging from fences, roofs, any surface that was off the ground, open meat markets where they cut pieces off chickens,pigs, goats - those were the recognizable animals.  Men setting around in groups visiting while the women were hanging clothes out.  Sunday is their wash day so they can't make it to church.  I don't know what they wash in or if it is that all of their clothes are dried out in the sun but they have the brightest looking clothes I have ever seen.  They live in these little shacks surrounded by dirt but their clothes look like they just came from the store.  One of the women with us is from here and she says they keep them bright by soaking them in vinegar  for 10 minutes before they wash them.  I doubt many of these people have washers though so there must be something else also.  They plant trees in a row, then string barbed wire along them for fences so they don't have poles, they have trees!  We saw cows, horses, and goats - all sorry looking animals.  So thin their ribs were the only things you could see.  It was sad to see them so poorly taken care of, but the people have nothing to feed them.
     They are so proud of their church which is a small cement building.  They did have two young women there and five primary kids that came in off the street.  Sister Eickbush says most of them are not Mormon but come to have something to do.  There was only one married couple  in the ward.  The rest are women, older kids, and men that were the only members in their families.  There were three women in Relief Society and the teacher didn't know how to read so she had me read - in Espanol no less.  I'm sure the sisters got a kick out of that!  They were nice anyway.  It is wonderful to be among those people and know that they are our brothers and sisters.  Many of the people here feel that the church lifestyle is just too demanding.  They spend alot of time sitting out in front of their houses playing games or visiting - but then, what else do they have to do?  They have none of the technology we have - except for a lucky few who have a cell phone.  Maybe having none of those things makes them the lucky ones because they do what is important  - care for        each other

    Los Llanaos church and area

   We got home to find that we still had no water.  With dishes that haven't been washed for days and toilets that haven't been flushed we decided we have had enough.  If there isn't going to be water we are going to find a different place to live.  Then all of a sudden at 9:30 pm the water came on.  We emptied our garbage liners and filled another two cans up with water.  I ran to the sink to get the dishes washed and made it through the glasses before the water went off again 10 minutes later.

4/14/2012

  What an appreciation for missionaries I have gained!  It just seems so simple to send our boys on missions and all is well - now we know how it really is.  They make learning the language and communicating with people sound so easy.  It is certainly not! 
   We went out to the Area Office today to meet with the Stake Presidents that work there.  Three work there and only one happened to be in but we met with the area facilities manager and talked about how to get keyboards and lesson books into some of these poor wards so it was a successful trip.  I went back to give Dunfords a letter to mail home for us and meanwhile Scott went out to the distribution warehouse - without telling me.  I looked all over for him and finally went into the reception area and hoped he would come out some time.  Funny thing, on the table was a picture book about  Utah and some of the interesting places to visit.  There were things I want to see when we get back!  An hour later my husband finally appeared.
  We haven't had any water since yesterday morning for one hour and heard today that they didn't have any more money to buy water.  Just what that means to us I don't know. Having dirty dishes around most of the time because you have no way to wash them just draws more of those pesky little ants.
Plus they don't have many paper plates here or we would just use them as much as we could and throw them away. 
   Scott was trying to get a vocal on Fox News and couldn't get that to work so the Yturraldes came down to help us.  It ended up even worse so I guess we'll just have to hear the news from them.
   Eli called to Skype so that was a happy end to the day!
   A couple of days ago we had one of the worker women here for lunch and she told us that she worked just 2 hours a day and would come be and mop for ants the next day.  We decided that we would hire her to do some things for us so she could make more money - says she has 6 kids and no husband.  Husbands are few and far between here!  The next day she didn't show up but is out in the guard building all day.  We ran in to her today and she said she would be up at 11:00.  Sometime after 12:00 she showed up without a mop, disinfectant, or bucket.  I'm not sure just what she had in mind but we didn't have any water anyway.  We're not sure what is true and what is not anymore. That seems to be true with alot of the communication around here.
   This afternoon we went shopping with the Snows to a mall  here.  It was fun to see what kinds of things they have here.  Lots of jewelry and shoes for sure!  They took us too a little bakery they go to that has all kinds of interesting looking things.  Their favorite is a bar cookies that looks like, and tastes like pecan pie.
  When we got home Louis met us and said that the signal light on our car was on.  Sure enough, it was, and the car was dead.  Scott finally found jumper cables and got the neighbor to help start the car.  Then he took the car to put gas in it and was picked up on the corner by one of the cops that stands in front of our apartment.  When Scott couldn't find his international drivers license the guy told him since he was a missionary he could go.  What is amazing are the things they do not stop people for...

  Does this look like an accident waiting to happen? You just have to wonder how fresh these eggs are.

So much of the work is done here by hand.  An example is the man we watched hanging from a tall building on a rope ladder painting.  The men above kept a bucket of paint in a big bucket that they sent down to him on a rope when he needed it.  I was relieved when he got closer to the ground!

4/12/2012

   Yesterday was spent drafting  an email to send the stake presidents to see if they have their music high councilmen and music chairmen ready to be trained.  Pres. Andersen says to be patient, patient, patient - and to spend our time studying, exercising, and doing temple work.  Which was nice to hear since that is what we have been doing.  We need to have a native Spanish speaker go through it and see that it makes sense in Spanish then we can get it sent out. 
   We needed to find a notary to get a paper signed.  That was an adventure!  Finally found a woman in the area office who knew where the church sent their legal papers to be notarized.  She sent us a google map of where it was - bless her heart!  Scott went this morning to get that done and actually made it back in less than an hour.  Must have been a good map.  Anyway, she wants some cookies for her efforts so we had to buy a cookie sheet that fit in our little oven.  Looking at the recipes, I realize I don't have anything it takes to bake with because we have not had a working oven until last week.  With no water we try to dirty as few dishes and pans as we can.
    Spent another night at the temple.  Scott was the only man in the session so it seemed very strange to him. It was a peaceful night!
    Today began with an opportunity to spent the morning at a hospital. Scott had a scan done so I sat in the hallway.  Saw lots of people come and go and I came to a startling conclusion  - women do not wear keds here.  Even the cleaning women did not wear any kind of casual tie up she.  After observing hundreds of feet I realize that the foot doctors here must do a great business!  All of the women wear colorful shoes (reminds me of Chris Carrigan) - either high spiky heels or fancy sandals.  Surely their feet must suffer with those heels.  They make a lot of noise on tile floors.  The whole experience makes me realize that it would be a trying  experience being a patient in a hospital where everyone speaks a different language.
    We got home and went shopping before out Spanish class.  Elder Snow feel asleep and the teacher kept calling on him to see how long it would take him to wake up. Not that it's a boring class or anything  - we are all just old students!  He finally did wake up but wasn't aware everyone had been laughing at him for five minutes.  Elder Snow is the technology expert here so he needs rest...
    Following our temple session tonight we visited with the temple president who asked us to come in to his office after the session.  Scott had left his missionary name tag at the temple last night.  Pres. Bair did not know that Scott had picked it up before the session so he was going to give him a bad time because he thought the name tag was in his desk.  So he begins this lecture about how Scott was not a serious missionary because he didn't even have his name tag - so he opens his desk to pull out the name tag and it wasn't there.  He was so disappointed because he was going to make a big deal out of it.  We did visit with him for quite a while and he gave us some advice that is good for everyone.  He said "Don't ever go to the temple without questions".  You will always learn something if you go prepared to learn.

  

4/10/2012

  Wish I could have gotten some pictures today of the parade that went down one of the main streets here with kids in bright red and yellow costumes, men on stilts, men in full body paint, people in yellow shirts, flags waving , music blaring, and drums pounding.  The sight and sound were incredible!  There must have been 200 or more people and they just kept coming.  This in anticipation of their elections next month.  Some of the couples that leave town for church said they had a difficult time getting home on Sunday because the streets were filled with people rallying for their candidate.  I wonder how much worse it will get. It's a good thing they have security people everywhere; it's a bad thing that no one pays any attention to them.  One of the candidates looks just like Keith McCord on the Channel 5 news.  I'm going to include a picture of him because the similarities are amazing to me. 

 It is Alysha's birthday today and the girls are gathering at Melia's for lunch.  That is just one of the special things I miss about not being with my family.  The fun thing though was we got to skype with them so it was kind of like being there. 

4/9/2012

Another day, another bucket shower!  We had the couple downstairs for breakfast.  They have two little kids age one and two so it was great for us.  The husband has lived in Chili for the past three years so they just get together once in awhile on vacations.  Seems like a strange way to live.  He is from Rome, Italy.  When he saw our name tags he seemed to get defensive immediately telling us that their little one year old was baptized into the Catholic Church yesterday.  We talked about how important having a religion that taught values was.  When he realized that we weren't going to bash his religion he wanted to know more about ours.  He couldn't believe we were here working and were not getting paid.  And the thought of having ten kids was unimaginable!  He thought all Mormons had big families but not that big.  The little two year old girl is enrolled in a school where she is learning both Spanish and English. Of course her Dad speaks English - that really helps me.  Anyway when he came and when he left he kissed me on both cheeks and grabbed Scott like he was going to kiss him too - but darn, he didn't. That would have been fun to witness! 
   I have been trying to be brave enough to get my hair cut here.  Everyone goes to someone different
and no one really likes who they go to.  So we decided on the one across from the Temple.  Since Scott has never been in a beauty salon in his life, he wasn't anxious to go but was tired of hearing me complain.  So he was the interpreter - cut more here, not so much there, can you cut it dry, etc, etc.
We waited for 1/2 and hour while some black girls were getting their hair straightened.  They pay lots of money to have that done once a week.  Scott found a girl waiting for her mom to talk to so he did ok.  It's not much fun having to rely on him for things that have to be taken care of by someone who speaks good Spanish.  Who really knows what he tells them??  Anyway it ended up well.  My hair is much shorter and much cooler.
    Had our Spanish class today with Elder Hammon.  Their daughter had a baby tonight so that was exciting for all of us as he was keeping us updated all during the class and family home evening.  The Yturraldes, our neighbors, had Family Home Evening tonight.  It was a BYU broadcast on a leper colony and how the members of three different churches lived and worked together in love and harmony. 
   We stopped at Wendy's on our way home.  Dad said the junior bacon cheeseburger was better here than it is in the US.  Just amazed again at the toenails here!  There is alot of money spent on feet.
They won't have polished fingernails but those toenails are done with amazing detail. 

4/8/2012

   Easter Sunday!  What a special day here.  Our American neighbors, the Ottersons, have three children here while he is going to school and they do not have a car.  He came last night to see if we could give them a ride to church today so we changed our plans and went to the same ward we went to last Sunday.It is a good ward for me because they have an English Sunday School class.  This ward also has an English and a Spanish speaking Primary.  It is fun to see how the kids all interact.  The woman who gave the RS lesson talked on  honoring the church leaders and went into how her brother is the stake president here.  Their mother died when she was 12 and she raised her little brother.  She knew he was special.  It was just a sweet story that I actually understood by heart if not by language!  The Bishop decided he wanted the women to make the sacrament bread so they were signing up for 1  that.
   Brother and Sister Bair had an Easter Dinner and program at their home later today.  Brother Bair told of how he had wondered if Christ had ever been in the Santa Domingo temple and how he received the answer that He had indeed been in  the temple here.  It was a very spiritual meeting with about 20 couples,
  As we walked out of our apartment door with the salad we have made for the dinner, I locked the door from the inside and asked Scott if he had the keys.  Well he thought he did have until we got to the car and he looked in his pocket to find the phone instead of the keys.  So here we are in our parking lot with this great big bowl of salad and can't get in our apartment or the car.  All of the phone numbers we needed were in the apartment. We did have one couples number on our "pretty much worthless" phone so they came from the dinner to get us.  We came home with the Yturaldes who live in our building and he found our landlords number on the Internet.  Eckbert, the landlord, said his mother had a key and he would be here in 35 minutes.  About two hours later he finally showed up - but we were so grateful to be able to get into our apartment.  We hadn't even thought of making another key!

4/7/2012

We are so grateful today is over with! Scott did a great job with our music presentation to the area presidency, seventies, and mission presidents. He talked so slow I was afraid something was wrong with him - only to find out that they had asked him to speak slowly so the interpreters could have time to translate into French and Spanish.  The meeting was held in the Institute building which we hadn't been to.  It is amazing how long it takes to get a couple of miles away on one way roads!
    We shopped at Price Mart then went to the Hammons for a dinner with the new couple for humanitarian in the area.  They are the Haws from Mesa, Arizona.  The Dunfords, Snows, Fergusons, and the Lillies were also there so it was alot of fun.  Elder Snow does cowboy poetry and is amazingly good.  He had some new ones for Scott about the banker and the rancher.
  Brother Ottosson dropped by to see if we were going to the Pianti Ward because he is here with his wife and three children and has no car so wanted a ride to church.  Guess we will go there tomorrow so we can give them a ride.  The fun thing about that ward is it has so any Americans in it - actual lessons in English.  (Actually only Sunday School but at least there is one I can understand)
   

4/6/2012

    It seems weird to have so much time to focus on what we are doing here.  At home our church work was always pleasantly interspersed with family and friends, etc.  Maybe that's why they take senior couples away from home!  What I have realized is I could have prepared myself much better to serve out here.  Senior couples are asked to do so many different things.  For a year before we even talked about going on a mission I  kept feeling like I needed to practice the piano because I would need that skill sometime in the future.  I actually did start practicing a little but not nearly enough.  We have four new couples coming here this month and the two that I have heard about both have had their calls for some time and have been in contact with who they are replacing here so have been able to prepare at home many of the specific things they will be doing.  That is such a great help. 
    Scott is working hard trying to teach me Spanish!  Just when you think you are actually learning something you here a native talk and you can't understand a thing they say.  It is much easier to understand the non-Dominican's Spanish.
   It has been a quiet day here in the apartment.  It is Holy Week here so the kids are all our of school and the stores have all been closed today. I don't know where everyone went but there have been no taxis out side our window and very few buses.  Even the horn-honking traffic has been minimal.
   When we get home Scott needs to open his own cafe.  He always has someone he is feeding.  Tonight it was the two guards - one came up and ate with us (Pedro)  He's 44, non married, has two teenagers.  Louis is my favorite.  He is 21 or so and every time he smiles his whole face lights up.  He and Pedro are around 6 feet tall and neither would weigh much over 100 pounds.  They both look like the pictures we have seen of starving Africans!  I'll have to see if they would let me take a picture of them. 
    Scott has spent the day planning, praying, and worrying about his presentation tomorrow for the area presidency, the seventies and the seven  mission presidents in this area on the music goals for the area.   I've spent much of that time helping him plan, pray, and worry but being very grateful that he is the one giving the presentation!! Thought I'd add another water bottle picture just for fun.
   

4/5/2012

 We've been waiting for the water to come on for long enough to shower so we could go to the temple.You just hate it when you are in the middle of shampoing your hair and the water goes off!  Our friends from upstairs came down around noon to tell us that the owners of this building are planning on digging a well in two weeks so we could have water all of the time.  Just don't know where they will find the space to to that since everything they own is either apartment or cement parking.  And we all know that
their two weeks could mean two months or more!  We heard the water come on and our friends were out of here in a flash so they could shower before it went off again.
  The Area Presidency has been in Salt Lake for Conference and was to come home yesterday but didn't make it until today.  They meet with the area Seventies, Stake Presidents, and Bishops here this weekend and want Scott to take ten minutes to go over our area music plan - so glad not to be him!!  That will be a tremendous help in encouraging the leaders to get their music programs going.  I'm learning alot through this experience that has reinforced to me just how important music is in bringing the spirit to meetings. Here they could certainly use much practice time - like they cut out of Relief Society.  You can be playing along and all of a suddent realize they are four measures ahead of you or two behind.  They haven't had accompaniment to learn the notes or the timing so even when they do have it they don't know how to follow it.  Certainly is a work in progress!  D&C 25:11,12
  We went to the temple last night and when we came out it looked like the heavens had opened and just dumped water.  If it rained like that at home we would have a flood.  More interesting is that 20 minutes after a rain like that you would not even know it rained  The streets are dry and the water runs down the trenches on both sides of the roads (to I don't know where) but it just disappears. 
  Scott ended up teaching the Spanish class today because Elder Hammon  was stuck out of town somewhere - we found out later that he was at a beach!  Some excuse that was....We got to the 6:00 temple session tonight.

4/3/2012

    Conference was uplifting as always. It is such a restful way to have church - I always did think that if the Lord wanted Sunday to be a peaceful day we would have church on TV rather than trying to get kids, lessons, etc ready for church.  We "outside of towners" have sped into Morgan many times to be at church on time.  My family fondly remembers the time we had the truck to come to church in, Scott wasn't with us, and there were eight kids and me in the front of the truck.  They were stacked two deep with the last two laying over the top and on the dashboard.  And people worry about car seats today?! It took us five minutes to unload when we got there, laughing all the way!  It is amazing that so many kids grew up safely under the circumstances they were put in by their parents.  I wouldn't trade those memories for anything  - I have loved having a big family of wonderful kids!
   So many words or wisdom and guidance were shared with us during conference.  To choose just a few of the areas talked about to improve in would make us all better people.  We are so blessed to be able to listen to a loving Father in Heaven's words through his prophets.  No one knows our needs better.
   On Monday we worked on some things we had to have ready for the Area Presidency when they return from conference.  I was so excited to get my Richard Simmons DVD's from home to exercise with.  The music is fun and my family has always just loved Richard Simmons. (not)
   Our Family Home Evening was presented by Pres. Hernandez of the East Mission and his wife.  They did a course on CPR that they have traveled around and presented for the past 8 years.  They are from Puerto Rico and speak an interesting blend of Spanish and English. Wish my EMT kids could have been here because we learned some interesting things when we weren't laughing.   They had a dummy that they took with them that consisted of part of a plastic head and the sternum part of a chest.  It seems almost everything is done a bit differently here!
    Today was shopping day and Scott escaped driving to the outskirts of town by hitching a ride with a friend from the East Mission office.  We finally were able to get some office supplies I need to keep track of our job here.  I thought it was scary riding with Scott - well Brother Eickbush is scarier.  We got there and back without any new dents but I don't know how!  Brother Eickbush told about his amazing conversion to the gospel. 
    We haven't had water again today so decided we would go to McDonalds for supper - thus no dishes.  Wish I could record what it sounds like in there.  If we took our family - all 50 of us - and turned them loose to make all the noise they wanted to - it still would not be as loud as it was in McDonalds.  These people are just very noisy and happy.You would never hear something like this in the US unless a championship team and all of its supporters came in for supper.
      Every time we leave the house Scott finds someone to practice his Spanish with.  I'm learning but get lost pretty easily. It's a beautiful night - breezy and cool.  I think of the pictures Evelyn Stevens sent me of them with two or three feet of snow dressed in winter clothes that allowed you to see six inches of their faces and realize we are blessed to be here!  Come summer we will probably wish we were in Russia.