Last week Elder Deloy & Hna. Lorna Roberts (Perpetual Education Fund Missionaries) asked Hna. Johnson and I if we could guide them to President Almonte’s cabin in the mountains. They called President Almonte and got his permission to go to the cabin in two weeks with their son and his wife when they come to the DR for a visit. They’ve never been there and so they needed someone to show them the way. We were delighted to take them.
President & Hna. Almonte are so gracious and giving. They go out of their way to offer all they have to the Senior couples. All of the Senior couple serving in the DR have an open invitation to go to their cabin in the mountains anytime they want. Way back in July (See July 31 & Aug. 1st 2009) when Hna. Johnson and I only had a week in the mission field; he took the Larson’s and us to his cabin for 2 days and a night. The Almonte’s are genuinely loving, caring and giving individuals. Twice today he called us on my cell phone to make sure we had found the cabin and that everything was alright.
We left our apartment this morning at 8:40. The drive is beautiful all the way there. The fertile valleys are full of rice patties. The mountains are beautiful in spite of the fact that many trees and the ground cover is brown and look dead from the lack of water. It took us exactly 2 hours and 45 minutes to get there. What I remember most about the drive last time were all the potholes in the road. This time I didn’t think they were so bad… I guess because Elder Roberts was driving!
The cabin was just as I remembered it; big, beautiful and picturesque. It is nestled in a little river valley (Rio Yaque del Norte) only a quarter mile off the main road from Jarabacoa and Nanabao. We took the Roberts on a tour of the whole facility. As we did the tour I counted beds and discovered that the “Cabin” will sleep38 adults comfortably! There are 9 bedrooms and each one has its own bathroom.
Next we went down to the river and took the river walk. The river was flowing just as I remember it but there weren’t nearly as many tropical flowers as last summer. It has been too dry for the past 5 months. When the trade winds change in the Caribbean the rains will return. However that change also brings the hurricane season. But the whole island needs rain. But in spite of the dry conditions the mountains, the cabin and everything there is still beautiful and peaceful. We enjoyed our one day get-away to the President’s cabin.
No comments:
Post a Comment