Elder David y Hna. Pam Johnson

Saturday, September 05, 2009
This is the E-mail Pam sent to her family today.

Hi family!
I just wanted to add some things that I forgot to tell you about and some new things. One of the assistants told us that his first 6 months it was all about soaking up the culture, the next 6 months was refining and really getting the language down, the next 6 months was just really working on preaching the gospel (which he said was his best 6 months) and now that he is leaving at the end of Nov., he said this 6 months he is in now, he just does not want to talk about home for he still wants to work very hard. So, I am in my first 6 months just soaking up the culture. Last Sunday, I was taking a cool rest in the car while Elder Johnson helped a little on setting up for church in Duverge, 2 boys about ages 10-11 walked by the car and each one had a homemade pull toy that I wish I had a camera to take their picture. They had made them out of milk cartons (the milk here is packaged like the milk I get in Logan they only sell shelf milk here) and a juice carton (only one serving size of box). They had thread spools and other round objects for the wheels and sticks, tape, and twine holding everything together. They were taking them down the street which is mainly dirt and rocks and very happy with their toys. I got to thinking that I do not see children playing with manufactured toys. They usually are outside playing in the water ditches, streams or rivers and they do play with sticks and old bike wheel frames, like you see the boy play in the movie Pollyanna. The second point of interest while I was in the car was that I saw a woman coming out of her house and then she went to a wood power pole and she then started feeling with her hand all around the pole. She pulled a piece of wood off and started picking her teeth. It was a little large so she started trimming it down with her teeth, pretty nifty.
I told you all about the conference we were to have with the Caribbean Area Presidency, well, I was a little misinformed. It was a meeting with Elder Anderson (counselor in the presidency) and his wife, Pres. Y Hermana Almonte, the CES couple and us. It was a very intimate meeting and the time was mainly spent just getting to know each other. I was the only non Spanish speaker so David and Sister Anderson translated a lot for me. Elder Anderson asked us what prompted us to go on a mission and Elder Johnson told him that I would have to tell that story. At first I said I would just cry if I did but Elder Anderson looked at me and ask me to please share it. Well, I cried as did he and his sweet wife and the Almonte’s (the spirit works in translating what the language can not). He then went to his scriptures and went to D & C 31:1-6. The last line in verse 5 and all of verse 6, would you all please read it, for it has become very sweet and dear scriptures for me.
Oh, my traffic story for the week, we were on our way to the church’s service center and the temple. And while waiting to make our left turn and mind you we were the front car. We had a motorcycle on our left then 1, then 2, then 3 cars to make a left were in front of us in the middle of the intersection they were a 3 car spread. Then 4, no wait 5, oh, one more for good measure. Six cars and a motorcycle went before us. There is a letter I had just printed off for the new missionaries that are coming in October (yes, I plan early cause you do not know what will come in your day) and one of the points that Hermana Almonte says is that and I quote: “Many Dominicans are not accustomed to taking turns or waiting in line”. I was laughing all the way to our destinations of that quote and our left turn.
Bye for now, we love you.
Xoxoxoxox