Hna. Johnson and I had to go into work this morning for several hours. I had a few odds and ends in the office to finish but Hna. Johnson had the petty cash to reconcile as well as the weekly “reembolsos” for the missionaries. All of which had to be done today before we could leave for our trip to Puerta Plata on the north side of the island with Jared & Tere.
When we finished in the mission office we went back to our apartment, ate lunch, packed and were on the road by 1:00pm. Our first stop was at the grocery store “Jumbo” for snacks and supplies. Next we went to “The Pastry” shop to buy snacks and conference bread for our trip to Puerta Plata.
It rained on us as soon as we left the capital and continued to rain all the way to Puerta Plata. It was a shame that there were so many clouds and visibility was so bad, we really wanted to show Jared and Tere how beautiful the country side is in the central and northern parts of the Dominican Republic.
It did stop raining while we were in the town of La Vega. La Vega is about two hours north of Santo Domingo and is the home of our mission President, Pres. Almonte. It is also the home of one of our missionaries, Elder David Almonte who is not related to Pres. Almonte. When Elder Almonte heard that we would be driving through La Vega he asked us if he would deliver his mail to his parents for him. Of course we were delighted to say yes. He gave us their address, cell & Home phone numbers. He also gave us directions and even e-mailed me a map to his house. I even used “Google Earth” to see exactly where I was going.
In spite of all the maps and directions we were lost in the maze of small streets in La Vega looking for Elder Almonte’s home. As a last resort I was considering phoning him for more directions when we experienced another one of those “Tender Mercies”. Right then we spotted two young men in white shirts and ties with black name tags walking down the street. It was a miracle that they should show up just at that moment. We were saved, they knew the Almonte’s and took us to their house without any difficulty.
We delivered Elder Almonte’s mail to his parents and his mother gave us a large bag full of goodies for him. We visited for about 15 minutes. We enjoyed talking to the Almonte’s about their son, (our adopted son). Elder Almonte is such a dedicated missionary and hard worker. His parents are rightfully very proud of their son.
We finally arrived in Puerta Plata after being on the road for about 5 hours, almost all in the rain. It didn’t stop raining unto after 8:00 in the evening. But we made it safe and sound to the “Barcelo” hotel in Puerta Plata. After checking in we were off to the dinner buffet. It was really good. There were 6 different serving areas, each with its own different entrées. There was so much food prepared it was hard to choose between the different selections. We all liked it a lot, we were all stuffed.
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