7/30/2012

A busy Monday... We studied this morning then went to Elder Hammons Spanish class.  We then went to the Shavers apartment to have Scott's Spanish class. An hour later we met with two missionaries upstairs in the CCM to be investigators for them to practice on.  I want to get  a picture of them next week to post. Their Spanish is getting better and it is interesting to watch them grow in presenting the gospel. 
   As soon as we were through there we met down in the kitchen area of the Casa for the farewell of the Fords and their grandson's report on Cuba.  He had spent a month taking two classes in a university there.  There is a branch of the Church - they are sponsored by a Protestant church so they can meet but have to be very careful about what they do.  If someone asks about the church, they can give them information and after attending church for one year they can be baptized.  It was interesting to hear about their government and life in general.  The Fords will surely be missed.  Sister Ford is just a riot - and Elder Ford reminds me of my brother Brent. I think they are from the Bountiful area so we may get to see them again sometime!
   Following that meeting we met in the Casa Sala for an Area Senior Missionary discussion about policies and procedures.  Our apartment does not meet the guidelines for Senior Missionary apartments but since we have been here since before they established the guidelines they will let us stay.  It was such a quiet morning.  Scott told me that when he got up before 6:00am the taxis were all lined up on the street in front of our apartment and a police truck pulled in front of them so none could leave and gave them all tickets for parking in an illegal parking place.  Sure would be nice if we didn't have to listen to them yelling out routes all morning. 

7/29/2012

  It is Father's Day here.  We can only hope that some of these fathers will be better fathers to their children than their fathers have been to them. Scott gave our guards a five minute talk yesterday on how important fathers are in the lives of their children and how they can help change society here by being good husbands and fathers.  They probably think we are crazy!  We love them though and would love to see them find the happiness we have found through living the gospel. (Or at least trying to!)  Sister Low talked in Sacrament meeting and had written her talk in Spanish so she read it all.  It was great because I understood most of it. Sitting in meetings trying to sort out words and what they mean gives me a headache every week. It is slowly getting easier - very slowly it seems to me.
  Traveled to Oriental Stake to do their music lesson.  They had all chosen a favorite song they wanted to lead.  Great for them but for me as the piano player it wasn't so great!  As a whole they sang well but obviously have not been singing with a piano or a chorister who knows how to conduct.  We would start a song and they would be half way through the song before the third measure.  Scott would stop and make them listen to the music and watch the director.  That was probably more beneficial to them than learning how to lead.  It helped us to realize that these lessons are a great way to help them with their singing at the same time they are learning other things.
  I am always fearful we will have some kind of car trouble on these roads but I do believe we are protected in our travels.  Talked to Eli today and they made it home safe.  She said the girls were much better this time.  I'm so glad they were able to spend some time at home and give some life back to our house.
 Someone just rang from downstairs and said they wanted to come up and heat up their food.  It makes me nervous because Scott lets any and every one in.

7/28/2012 Another day, another hair color!

  Today was the day for the big haircut  - we had bought some scissors at Office Depot and hair dye from the grocery store - so we were all set.  Scott wasn't quite so enthusiastic but he was willing and that's all it takes.  He has been such a good sport!  I had told him numerous times that I just wanted it trimmed - half an inch is all.  So he takes out the special comb the girls sent him, parts the hair like he knows what he is doing; and makes his first cut.   I made him cut it in front of the mirror so I could see what he was doing.  Bad idea because his first cut was 1 1/2 inches and by the time I realized that my hair was lyng on the floor and he had to make the hair even so just kept cutting.  So now it is just as short as it was the first time.  However the color is much better and he thought this one was easier to do.  He will never be Diane but at least he is willing!
  We had our music teaching meeting out in Hainamosa  today at 5:00.  It took us 45 minutes to get there so we were a few minutes late.  That is never a problem here as the majority of the people arrive half way through.  They were having an EFY at the Stake Center so there were kids everywhere.  The high councilor over music is a great guy.  He said the kids wait all year for EFY so they can be together with other Mormon kids.  This stake has the choir director who wants his choir to learn to read music.  He wants to learn how to play the piano.  Scott mentioned to him that he should be teaching and he quickly said he would.  So he took over and was teaching stuff that isn't even in our manuals.  Every time he stopped talking to show them something someone in the group would start singing a song and before you knew it the whole group was harmonizing to a Christmas hymn.  Not exactly the direction we were planning but it was fun to listen to them.  This could be a challenge just keeping the group on task!
   It's noisy in the neighborhood again.  Last night the neighbors had a party on their roof "patio" that began with pop and a barbecue and ended with alcohol and them singing along with some screen. So obviously got worse as the night went on.  Tonight it looks like another group of neighbors is having a birthday party for one of their little kids so it isn't quite as loud but they are having a good time!

7/26/2012

    The end of a great day!  We had music lessons with our returned missionaries and all four of them were there.  As time  went on we find that one of them has a beautiful voice and the other two guys harmonize beautifully.  One plays so well by ear but wants to learn how to read music.  One already plays well and but comes to support the others.  The sister missionary is the only one that has a harder time learning. I think they are the ones teaching us!  What a privilege it is to work with them.
   Then we had our Spanish class that Scott teaches.  I have decided he could teach anything whether he knows it or not.  Some of the class members were out of the country so there were just five of us.  That is the best way to learn because it is less formal.  We took Sister Mahon home instead of having her husband wait for her and got stuck in some kind of a traffic jam.  Met Yturraldes in the parking lot so they stopped by to visit.  Sister Ytur ralde reminds me so much of Linda McClellan so it's fun for me to be around her.  Their computer has been down at their family history job so they have had the past two weeks off.  She was a school teacher and has worked up all this stuff for me to study for Spanish and ideas we can use to teach 30 people at a time!  Best get off the computer so Scott can read Fox News....
 Eli and Chris and girls are leaving the ranch tomorrow to go back to Ohio.  I know they will be missed but am so glad they have be able to spend time at home wth the family.  At least being away I won't have to say goodbye to them!!!
  

7/25/012

Five months!  I can hardly believe it has been five months since we left home - at times it feels like five years and at other times just five months.  Everyone says to just look how fast each day passes not how much time you have left.  And each day does pass fast!  There is so much we would like to accomplish and know that is likely not possible. That early morning boarding of the flight to the Dominican could have been years ago it seems so distant.  It was on that flight that I wished we had traveled more so arriving somewhere strange with no idea where we would live,what we would be doing, etc.
   I have spent the whole day studying, practicing the teclado, and feeding the various people Scott has invited in.  The Yturraldes came to scan a document.  Then while I was doing a Spanish exercise on the computer Scott opens the window and starts yelling loudly, "Hey gringos!"  I am sure the neighbors think he is nuts!  He throws candy down to the kids at the taxi stop and the workers when they are eating lunch below our window.  Some of our senior missionary friends were outside by the guagua stop.  He invited them up. The Despains and the Leavits had been out on an excursion in the country and were exhausted and sweat covered. They were grateful for a drink and some brownies.  It was fun to have them here since they have just heard from others about our infamous apartment building. They had to sneak past the guards to get in. I'm sure they looked fairly innocent though.
Scott gave them a ride back to the Casa where they live.  They are both temple missionaries and have two weeks off because the temple is being cleaned. 
    The West Mission assistants to the Pres. called and wanted to go with Scott to this guy up the street who wants to be a Mormon.  He wasn't there at first so they came here and had super then went back.
When they finally found him they sat down and gave him a lesson - only one problem - he was drunk!  Scott was setting downwind from him and could smell the alcohol and said he was slurring his words, etc.  Needless to say, Scott felt badly because he had never seen Juan Paublo drunk.  The missionaries thought he was great and were excited to teach him since he is quite a ways along in the Book of Mormon and has a good understanding of what is happening in the book.  Personally, I just think it's funny!  Most people here have drank all of their lives - why not?  That is their culture.  The government has formed committee to figure out how to cut down on alcohol consumption  in hopes it will help with the crime and violence here. 
 

7/24/2012 Dominican Celebration!

  So all of the fun today wasn't in Utah - we celebrated here too!  We had an early morning breakfast at the Casa with pancakes, sausage links, bacon, eggs, hash browns, juice, and fruit.  Probably the best part was when Sister Snow led us in "Come, Come Ye Saints". All of the sisters were at the front of the room getting the food table ready and the men were in the back cooking, etc.  The sisters were half way through the first verse when the men realized we were singing and joined in.  There was such a stark contrast with them singing that you were suddenly aware of how much the men helped and did during those difficult days of crossing the plains.  Just hearing their voices was reassuring.  This all sounds kind of strange but it was a very special experience.  We are so blessed to have had people who were willing to go through what they did to travel to Utah and establish the gospel there. I would have died along the way or maybe before they even left. 
   Scott got to cook pancakes to his heart's content! That means, of course, that they were all turned over in the order they were put on the griddle!

                                         Elder Hammon, Elder Snow, Elder Rees

 I visited with Sister Cuenot.  She has had four or more of her front  teeth pulled in the last two weeks so she has that "jack-o-lantern" smile.  She said that in France where her husband served as mission president they had only one senior couple.   I asked her about the temple that they announced would be built in Paris and she said there was all kinds of opposition to it being built there.  That's not much of a surprise since Paris is supposed to be such a wicked city.   Here we have almost 30 couples working in different capacities.  It is amazing how much help senior missionary couples are.  I doubt there is a mission in the church that has as many awesome missionary couples as we have her!!
  We had the opportunity to talk with Jan Gailey today.  That was really fun!  We have thought about them so much since their call came.  They will be amazing help in the Congo or wherever they go!

7/23/2012 National Palace

Our day began with the usual exercise, scripture study, and Spanish study.  It got better though as we went with the senior missionary group to the National Palace.  The President does not live here but entertains, meets others; does business here. 

The outside is a typical Dominican look and inside the mahogany woodwork is beautiful.  The mural is a depiction of Columbus discovering the Dominican Republic.  There were three huge rooms that were all beautiful with columns and sculptures, chandeliers, stained glass windows in the ceilings, marble floors.  The first was where the government officials met, the second was a huge ballroom, and the next was a room to greet people for special occasions.  There was also a very large room and table where the workers ate.  The table was 30x10 ft.  Special tours have to be arranged because they don't have them normally.  They told us to take our passports but no one ever asked for them.  We just had to go through airport like security to get in.
    Came home and got our things for Spanish class and went back for Scott's class.  President Glazier had asked us to come and be investigators for the missionaries so we spent an hour or so doing that.  The missionaries had only been here for four days so they were just beginning to understand what they needed to know. 
  We're home for the night - yeah!  Have to be at the Casa at 7:30 in the morning to cook pancakes for a 24th of July party for the senior missionaries.  This heat just zaps the energy out of you!