Tuesday, March 2, 2010
* * * * THE FOLLOWING IS AN E-MAIL LETTER FROM HNA. JOHNSON TO HER FAMILY ON TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010 * * * *
Hi family,
Shrek and Donkey have received a new assignment. We have been transferred from serving in Neyba and Duvergé to a Branch here in the capital. Dad will be released from being the Branch President and we will not be traveling such long distances every weekend. Pres. Almonte came into the office on Friday and issued our new assignments. We were in shock. I thought for sure we would be serving there our whole mission. We figured out that we spent a month of Saturdays and a month of Sundays out to the far ends of our mission and that is two months of our total days that we have been here. So, no longer will it take 5 hours to get to church but only 15 minutes. We told President that we will miss our journeys of delivering items to missionaries and he said to go now and then but that we are to have P-days now and he wanted us to do some recreational things. We will not know what to do with a day off, well I take that back, we will find things to do I’m sure.
We were so happy to hear that everyone got together for a family picture. Thanks family, that is such a treasured family tradition that we have. We show off our family calendar to all missionaries who come into the office, everyone enjoys it.
Be happy everyone, we love you and thank you for all your support and love.
Elder y Hermana Johnson
* * * * THE FOLLOWING IS MY CONTRIBUTION TO THE FNL - MARCH 2, 2010 * * * *
Dear Family and Friends,
I do hope you are all keeping up with our mission by logging onto our blog at: davidypam.blogspot.com
Because there is too much going on in our mission to begin to write about it in “The Family News”. But briefly, the highlights in February: We’ve been involved in the relief effort for the Haiti earthquake victims, taken our branch through the Santo Domingo Temple, helped needy families, helped the church’s Humanitarian missionaries distribute wheelchairs, picked up new group of green missionaries from the MTC and sent a whole group of good missionaries home after 2 years, etc.
February, like every other month, has truly been a “Whirlwind Adventure” for Hna. Johnson and I. And we love it. We love the service, we love the people and we love the missionaries we get to work with. They are great. We love our mission president; he is truly an inspired man and a spiritual giant here in the Dominican Republic.
I can’t think of anyplace we’d rather be than right here, right now doing what we’re doing. It’s an honor and a pleasure.
And it’s an honor to have the love and support of each of you back home. We love you and we appreciate your prayers in our behalf. We gain strength from your strength.
Until next month,
Much Love From,
Elder & Hna. Johnson
Friday, March 5, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Today was another day filled with “For the last Time”. We slept in this morning, eat breakfast and packed up everything we normally leave in the Azua house. It’s my guess that Hna. Johnson and I will probably not be back. Oh well, it was a great House/Apt/Office to stay at for the past 7 months. President Almonte told us that it was his intention to cancel the contract and turn it back to the owner in April.
Back in the office Elder Small told us that he will be in the office a while longer. We thought he would be reassigned today but it looks like the President has changed his mind. But then he has to change his mind a lot. The mission assignments and companionships are very fluid; they always seem to be in flux. Since Missionaries get sick or they break rules and require emergency transfers, you can’t count on anything being the way you planned.
We did have a “For the first time” today. Hna. Johnson and I stopped working and left the office by 5:00pm. In our interview with President Almonte he told us our new office hours were going to be from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Now we have a much shorter work week and a much shorter day at work. We aren’t going to know how to act. But Pres. Almonte is definitely an inspired man. We were putting in 80 to 100 hour weeks working and we had no “preparation day” or day off. I’m sure he realized we might get burned out if we kept it us. He also told us to take “Recreation” time away from the office.
Today was another day filled with “For the last Time”. We slept in this morning, eat breakfast and packed up everything we normally leave in the Azua house. It’s my guess that Hna. Johnson and I will probably not be back. Oh well, it was a great House/Apt/Office to stay at for the past 7 months. President Almonte told us that it was his intention to cancel the contract and turn it back to the owner in April.
Back in the office Elder Small told us that he will be in the office a while longer. We thought he would be reassigned today but it looks like the President has changed his mind. But then he has to change his mind a lot. The mission assignments and companionships are very fluid; they always seem to be in flux. Since Missionaries get sick or they break rules and require emergency transfers, you can’t count on anything being the way you planned.
We did have a “For the first time” today. Hna. Johnson and I stopped working and left the office by 5:00pm. In our interview with President Almonte he told us our new office hours were going to be from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Now we have a much shorter work week and a much shorter day at work. We aren’t going to know how to act. But Pres. Almonte is definitely an inspired man. We were putting in 80 to 100 hour weeks working and we had no “preparation day” or day off. I’m sure he realized we might get burned out if we kept it us. He also told us to take “Recreation” time away from the office.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
As we have done so many times in the past we stopped at various apartments of Elders on our way to Duvergé to deliver supplies and mail but this time it was probably for the last time. As we drove I kept saying to myself, that’s interesting, I should take a picture and talk about it in my Mission Journal. I want to remember everything about our trips to Neyba and Duvergé but then I remembered… Oh ya, I did take a picture of that and I did write about it on the blog.
We went to Duvergé and attended Sacrament meeting with the members there first. The Elders had not told anyone that this was our last Sunday and they were very surprised to hear the news. Hna. Johnson was the second to the last speaker. She asked Elder Barrett to come to the front and translate for her. He did a very good job of translating. She got choked up a bit as she bid them all farewell and expressed her love and appreciation to the members of the branch. She concluded with her testimony in Spanish and she did a very good job with that too.
I was the concluding speaker. I spoke about the three purposes of the Saviors life. I took my comments from the General Conference talk by Carlos H. Amado of the Seventy in April conference April 2008, titled “Service, a Divine Quality”. I elaborated on the Savior’s third purpose which was to set the example to all of us in serving our fellow man. Something we all need to learn especially the good people of Duvergé & Neyba as they struggle to grow as a branch and fill positions of responsibility. I also concluded with my testimony and I expressed the love Hna. Johnson and I have for them all.
Next we attended the Sacrament meeting in Neyba and walked in during the final 20 minutes, just in time to be the last two speakers again. We did exactly the same thing in Neyba has we did in Duvergé. The only exception was that Elder Bates translated for Hna. Johnson. It was another tearful farewell for us. The good members of both branches have been a part of our lives for the past 7 months. It is very hard to leave them. We will really miss the members in both branches.
After Sacrament meeting we did the accounting and then had a PEC meeting with Elder Bates, Hno. Francisco Vasquez and Eliu Lebron. We will be leaving the branch in very capable hands. Elder Bates is a little worried though. He told me he called President Almonte yesterday and asked him what was going to happen to the leadership in the Branch. Pres. Almonte told him that next Sunday one of the counselors in the mission Presidency would be attending their Sunday services and be looking for someone to call as the new Branch President. Then he said, “If he doesn’t find anyone, you will be the new Branch President!” After the PEC meeting Elder Bates asked me if he could take the Branch President’s copy of “The General Handbook of Instructions” home with him to study. Yup… Elder Bates is a little worried.
But whoever the Lord chooses for the next Branch President will do a good job. Both branches are strong and growing. Most of the members are active and hard working. And once a man has the mantle of Branch President (or Bishop) placed on him he immediately starts to feel the spirit of the Lord acting in his life, directing the affairs of the Branch and the lives of the members. He also starts to feel the love of the members and feels the impact of their prayers on his behalf. For the last six months it has been an awesome experience for me to be Branch President for just these reasons.
After we left Neyba we went back to Duvergé to pickup Elder Jimenez and Elder Carrasco, the ZL’s, to take them to Tamayo were they will do splits this afternoon. And once again this will be that last time we get to do this. We will really miss our close association with all of the Elder in the Neyba Zone.
Back in Azua we invited the AP’s to eat with us again, like we did last week. We had ham steaks, Mmmm Goood. Yup… another “last time” for Hna. Johnson and I.
As we have done so many times in the past we stopped at various apartments of Elders on our way to Duvergé to deliver supplies and mail but this time it was probably for the last time. As we drove I kept saying to myself, that’s interesting, I should take a picture and talk about it in my Mission Journal. I want to remember everything about our trips to Neyba and Duvergé but then I remembered… Oh ya, I did take a picture of that and I did write about it on the blog.
We went to Duvergé and attended Sacrament meeting with the members there first. The Elders had not told anyone that this was our last Sunday and they were very surprised to hear the news. Hna. Johnson was the second to the last speaker. She asked Elder Barrett to come to the front and translate for her. He did a very good job of translating. She got choked up a bit as she bid them all farewell and expressed her love and appreciation to the members of the branch. She concluded with her testimony in Spanish and she did a very good job with that too.
I was the concluding speaker. I spoke about the three purposes of the Saviors life. I took my comments from the General Conference talk by Carlos H. Amado of the Seventy in April conference April 2008, titled “Service, a Divine Quality”. I elaborated on the Savior’s third purpose which was to set the example to all of us in serving our fellow man. Something we all need to learn especially the good people of Duvergé & Neyba as they struggle to grow as a branch and fill positions of responsibility. I also concluded with my testimony and I expressed the love Hna. Johnson and I have for them all.
Next we attended the Sacrament meeting in Neyba and walked in during the final 20 minutes, just in time to be the last two speakers again. We did exactly the same thing in Neyba has we did in Duvergé. The only exception was that Elder Bates translated for Hna. Johnson. It was another tearful farewell for us. The good members of both branches have been a part of our lives for the past 7 months. It is very hard to leave them. We will really miss the members in both branches.
After Sacrament meeting we did the accounting and then had a PEC meeting with Elder Bates, Hno. Francisco Vasquez and Eliu Lebron. We will be leaving the branch in very capable hands. Elder Bates is a little worried though. He told me he called President Almonte yesterday and asked him what was going to happen to the leadership in the Branch. Pres. Almonte told him that next Sunday one of the counselors in the mission Presidency would be attending their Sunday services and be looking for someone to call as the new Branch President. Then he said, “If he doesn’t find anyone, you will be the new Branch President!” After the PEC meeting Elder Bates asked me if he could take the Branch President’s copy of “The General Handbook of Instructions” home with him to study. Yup… Elder Bates is a little worried.
But whoever the Lord chooses for the next Branch President will do a good job. Both branches are strong and growing. Most of the members are active and hard working. And once a man has the mantle of Branch President (or Bishop) placed on him he immediately starts to feel the spirit of the Lord acting in his life, directing the affairs of the Branch and the lives of the members. He also starts to feel the love of the members and feels the impact of their prayers on his behalf. For the last six months it has been an awesome experience for me to be Branch President for just these reasons.
After we left Neyba we went back to Duvergé to pickup Elder Jimenez and Elder Carrasco, the ZL’s, to take them to Tamayo were they will do splits this afternoon. And once again this will be that last time we get to do this. We will really miss our close association with all of the Elder in the Neyba Zone.
Back in Azua we invited the AP’s to eat with us again, like we did last week. We had ham steaks, Mmmm Goood. Yup… another “last time” for Hna. Johnson and I.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
We went about our usual Saturday morning preparations for our trip to the “South”. We went to the grocery store and did our shopping for the week. I went to Price Smart and did the last minute shopping for all of the Elders in the “South” that we will deliver on our way to Azua. We packed our bags, etc. But this morning seemed a little surreal; knowing it will probably be our last time (at least for the foreseeable future) that we will be doing this. We’ve gone to the Neyba or Duvergé every weekend for the past 7 months; it seemed very strange that this is the last time.
We did have work in the office today too. Hna. Johnson had to be in the office to prepare documents for Elder Cummings before he left with the Capital AP’s. He has to be in the Santo Domingo Airport by 12:30 this afternoon. Elder Cummings is leaving a lot of his personal items in storage in the office. He plans to only be home for a short time and then return to finish the last 6 months of his mission. Pres. Almonte has the same expectation. He has told Hna. Johnson to leave his service status in the mission computer as “Active” and also told her to leave all of his files in “Active” as well as keeping his mission support credit card “Open and Active”.
I also had work in the office to do before we could leave for the “South”. One habitual problem that I deal with is all of the Elders calling me about their support money in their mission credit cards. Since their funds arrived yesterday, all of the missionaries are going to their neighborhood “Cajero” (bank teller machine) to withdraw money. For the past week or more most of them have run out of money and are desperate for next month’s “Apoyo” (support money). There always seems to be dozens of phone calls to solve problems over deductions and reimbursements. It happens every month.
When Hna. Johnson and I finally got away from the office and on the road to the “South” we turned to each other, like we do every week, and said: “Shrek and Donkey, off on Another Whirlwind Adventure” but this time it was probably for the last time.
This week we didn’t have stops in Madre Vieja nor San Cristobal. The office Elders delivered their mail and supplies last Thursday. It was a good thing we didn’t go there. Both communities are planning huge festivals for “Carnival” today. It’s a national holiday in the Dominican Republic; it’s their nation’s independence day. There are going to be parties and drinking everywhere. We are hoping to plan our itinerary so as to miss most of the downtown/party areas.
Although this might be our last time to make regular stops in Azua I hope it isn’t our last time to eat dinner at “La Equiñita” in Azua. I really love the hamburgers there. Even if we aren’t asked to deliver mail to Azua again I think I will find an excuse to come here just so we can stop and eat at “La Esquiñita” from time to time. One such time will be in July when our son, Jared and his wife Tere will come to visit us for 10 days. “La Equiñita” will definitely be on our itinerary.
Another “Last time” event in Azua was the use of the internet there. Hna. Johnson and I have enjoyed having the internet in Azua these last 6 months. Tonight we “Webcam’d” Nathan and Valerie and the grandkids. We also “Webcam’d” Pam’s parents, Jim and Betty Burk. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to see and hear our family far, far away. We were on the webcam for over an hour and a half. It was great.
But one problem we have is the lack of internet in our own apartment in Santo Domingo. The only access to the internet in the capital we have is in the mission office. But we leave work at 6:00pm and that is 3:00pm in Arizona. If we want to webcam our family in the capital we have to go back to the office at 9:00pm. We’ve done it in the past but it makes for a very late night. Now that we won’t have access to the internet in Azua any longer, I think I will have to break down and subscribe to high speed internet service at our apartment now.
We went about our usual Saturday morning preparations for our trip to the “South”. We went to the grocery store and did our shopping for the week. I went to Price Smart and did the last minute shopping for all of the Elders in the “South” that we will deliver on our way to Azua. We packed our bags, etc. But this morning seemed a little surreal; knowing it will probably be our last time (at least for the foreseeable future) that we will be doing this. We’ve gone to the Neyba or Duvergé every weekend for the past 7 months; it seemed very strange that this is the last time.
We did have work in the office today too. Hna. Johnson had to be in the office to prepare documents for Elder Cummings before he left with the Capital AP’s. He has to be in the Santo Domingo Airport by 12:30 this afternoon. Elder Cummings is leaving a lot of his personal items in storage in the office. He plans to only be home for a short time and then return to finish the last 6 months of his mission. Pres. Almonte has the same expectation. He has told Hna. Johnson to leave his service status in the mission computer as “Active” and also told her to leave all of his files in “Active” as well as keeping his mission support credit card “Open and Active”.
I also had work in the office to do before we could leave for the “South”. One habitual problem that I deal with is all of the Elders calling me about their support money in their mission credit cards. Since their funds arrived yesterday, all of the missionaries are going to their neighborhood “Cajero” (bank teller machine) to withdraw money. For the past week or more most of them have run out of money and are desperate for next month’s “Apoyo” (support money). There always seems to be dozens of phone calls to solve problems over deductions and reimbursements. It happens every month.
When Hna. Johnson and I finally got away from the office and on the road to the “South” we turned to each other, like we do every week, and said: “Shrek and Donkey, off on Another Whirlwind Adventure” but this time it was probably for the last time.
This week we didn’t have stops in Madre Vieja nor San Cristobal. The office Elders delivered their mail and supplies last Thursday. It was a good thing we didn’t go there. Both communities are planning huge festivals for “Carnival” today. It’s a national holiday in the Dominican Republic; it’s their nation’s independence day. There are going to be parties and drinking everywhere. We are hoping to plan our itinerary so as to miss most of the downtown/party areas.
Although this might be our last time to make regular stops in Azua I hope it isn’t our last time to eat dinner at “La Equiñita” in Azua. I really love the hamburgers there. Even if we aren’t asked to deliver mail to Azua again I think I will find an excuse to come here just so we can stop and eat at “La Esquiñita” from time to time. One such time will be in July when our son, Jared and his wife Tere will come to visit us for 10 days. “La Equiñita” will definitely be on our itinerary.
Another “Last time” event in Azua was the use of the internet there. Hna. Johnson and I have enjoyed having the internet in Azua these last 6 months. Tonight we “Webcam’d” Nathan and Valerie and the grandkids. We also “Webcam’d” Pam’s parents, Jim and Betty Burk. I can’t tell you how much it means to us to see and hear our family far, far away. We were on the webcam for over an hour and a half. It was great.
But one problem we have is the lack of internet in our own apartment in Santo Domingo. The only access to the internet in the capital we have is in the mission office. But we leave work at 6:00pm and that is 3:00pm in Arizona. If we want to webcam our family in the capital we have to go back to the office at 9:00pm. We’ve done it in the past but it makes for a very late night. Now that we won’t have access to the internet in Azua any longer, I think I will have to break down and subscribe to high speed internet service at our apartment now.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wow, an amazing day in the mission office. I mentioned last Wednesday that there have been so many transfers this week it is almost as if we are having “Translados” all over again. Well…. President Almonte called Hna. Johnson and I into his office today to tell us the next transfer. It was us! We are being transferred from the Neyba/Duvergé branch to a branch here in the capital. We were shocked. Our duties in the office have remained basically the same but we will not be spending so much time away on the weekends.
This coming Sunday we have changed our plans. Instead of only going to Duvergé we will be attending both branches during their Sacrament meetings. I will be speaking and Hna. Johnson will bear her testimony. This will be our farewell to both branches. We will miss them; we’ve grown to love them all. Although I think there might be some opportunities to go back from time to time to visit. On occasion we may be driving to the “South” to deliver supplies, etc. and we might be able to visit our friends then.
Next Sunday will be our last Sunday at the Neyba/Duvergé branch. The following Sunday we will be introduced to the “Los Arroyos” branch in Santo Domingo. In the office we’ve been through 5 “Translados” since we’ve been here. But this is a first one for us personally, our first transfer. Hna. Johnson kept saying things like, “I can’t believe it” or “I’m so excited” or “Is this the way all missionaries feel when they find out they are being transferred?”
Today we received word from Salt Lake City that Elder Cummings is being sent home for more medical test. (See Monday Jan. 25, 2010) He has shown some signs of improvement but earlier this week he had some setbacks plus some of his test results showed there might be a serious problem. Neither he nor his family wanted him to go home but as a precaution he will be flying home tomorrow afternoon. If he recovers soon enough he could return to finish his mission. Hopefully he will.
This afternoon took Elder Cummings, his companion and Elder Colby to close a house and deliver a contract on another house in Haina. Before returning to the office we took Elder Cummings to his apartment in Yeguate so he could pack and get ready for his flight tomorrow. He and his companion will spend tonight in the capital with the office Elders. Elder Cummings is really not happy about having to go home but it will be the best if the doctors in the states can find and fix his problem.
This morning I picked up 15 checks at the CitiBank here in Santo Domingo. They are all due and must be delivered to the apartment “Dueños” on or before the 5th of next month. I picked them us today because several of them must go with us to the “South” and we leave tomorrow. We rent apartments from an additional 40 Dueños but their payments are transferred directly into their personal bank accounts. IMOS makes paying those 40+ Dueños very easy. It’s much better than standing in line at the bank to pick up rent checks.
When I was at the bank Elder Farias, the office Elder from the East mission was there. He was picking up almost 50 checks. They still haven’t converting their Dueños to electronic payment so most of their Dueños have to have their checks hand delivered.
For the past 7 months in the DR I’ve only seen a handful of traffic officers writing tickets to motorist. I would expect them to be writing a lot more considering everyone runs red lights. But they don’t for some reason. However, today Elder Small told us of another ticket that they do write. It’s for talking on a cell phone while driving. He knows this for sure because he got the ticket. While talking to President Almonte at a stop light an officer walked up to his pickup and wrote him up right there on the spot! On Monday Elder Small got out of paying his fine for the minor fender bender he was in. I don’t think he will get out of paying for this ticket though.
Wow, an amazing day in the mission office. I mentioned last Wednesday that there have been so many transfers this week it is almost as if we are having “Translados” all over again. Well…. President Almonte called Hna. Johnson and I into his office today to tell us the next transfer. It was us! We are being transferred from the Neyba/Duvergé branch to a branch here in the capital. We were shocked. Our duties in the office have remained basically the same but we will not be spending so much time away on the weekends.
This coming Sunday we have changed our plans. Instead of only going to Duvergé we will be attending both branches during their Sacrament meetings. I will be speaking and Hna. Johnson will bear her testimony. This will be our farewell to both branches. We will miss them; we’ve grown to love them all. Although I think there might be some opportunities to go back from time to time to visit. On occasion we may be driving to the “South” to deliver supplies, etc. and we might be able to visit our friends then.
Next Sunday will be our last Sunday at the Neyba/Duvergé branch. The following Sunday we will be introduced to the “Los Arroyos” branch in Santo Domingo. In the office we’ve been through 5 “Translados” since we’ve been here. But this is a first one for us personally, our first transfer. Hna. Johnson kept saying things like, “I can’t believe it” or “I’m so excited” or “Is this the way all missionaries feel when they find out they are being transferred?”
Today we received word from Salt Lake City that Elder Cummings is being sent home for more medical test. (See Monday Jan. 25, 2010) He has shown some signs of improvement but earlier this week he had some setbacks plus some of his test results showed there might be a serious problem. Neither he nor his family wanted him to go home but as a precaution he will be flying home tomorrow afternoon. If he recovers soon enough he could return to finish his mission. Hopefully he will.
This afternoon took Elder Cummings, his companion and Elder Colby to close a house and deliver a contract on another house in Haina. Before returning to the office we took Elder Cummings to his apartment in Yeguate so he could pack and get ready for his flight tomorrow. He and his companion will spend tonight in the capital with the office Elders. Elder Cummings is really not happy about having to go home but it will be the best if the doctors in the states can find and fix his problem.
This morning I picked up 15 checks at the CitiBank here in Santo Domingo. They are all due and must be delivered to the apartment “Dueños” on or before the 5th of next month. I picked them us today because several of them must go with us to the “South” and we leave tomorrow. We rent apartments from an additional 40 Dueños but their payments are transferred directly into their personal bank accounts. IMOS makes paying those 40+ Dueños very easy. It’s much better than standing in line at the bank to pick up rent checks.
When I was at the bank Elder Farias, the office Elder from the East mission was there. He was picking up almost 50 checks. They still haven’t converting their Dueños to electronic payment so most of their Dueños have to have their checks hand delivered.
For the past 7 months in the DR I’ve only seen a handful of traffic officers writing tickets to motorist. I would expect them to be writing a lot more considering everyone runs red lights. But they don’t for some reason. However, today Elder Small told us of another ticket that they do write. It’s for talking on a cell phone while driving. He knows this for sure because he got the ticket. While talking to President Almonte at a stop light an officer walked up to his pickup and wrote him up right there on the spot! On Monday Elder Small got out of paying his fine for the minor fender bender he was in. I don’t think he will get out of paying for this ticket though.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Nothing new for Hna. Johnson today in the office. She had mail to sort before I left for the Aduana. She had items to catalog and put into storage for missionaries. But mostly she spent the day hard at work on the office computer doing bookkeeping. It’s neither glamorous nor inspiring; just stuff that someone has to do and do it right. That’s why she’s the mission’s financial Secretary so it gets done right.
For Diligencias (Errands) today I picked up 4 packages at the Aduana (Customs office), mailed a big stack of letters to the states, went to the Temple Store, Centro de Servicio, and several other stops to pay bills. The rest of my day was in the office learning from Elder Small how to input data into IMOS System for the mission apartments, Zones, Districts and companionships. To help me and anyone else after he is gone, Elder Small created a detailed set of instructions on how to investigate, negotiate, write up and close a contract on a new apartment for the mission. It is great and will really help me do that job better when he leaves next Monday.
Nothing new for Hna. Johnson today in the office. She had mail to sort before I left for the Aduana. She had items to catalog and put into storage for missionaries. But mostly she spent the day hard at work on the office computer doing bookkeeping. It’s neither glamorous nor inspiring; just stuff that someone has to do and do it right. That’s why she’s the mission’s financial Secretary so it gets done right.
For Diligencias (Errands) today I picked up 4 packages at the Aduana (Customs office), mailed a big stack of letters to the states, went to the Temple Store, Centro de Servicio, and several other stops to pay bills. The rest of my day was in the office learning from Elder Small how to input data into IMOS System for the mission apartments, Zones, Districts and companionships. To help me and anyone else after he is gone, Elder Small created a detailed set of instructions on how to investigate, negotiate, write up and close a contract on a new apartment for the mission. It is great and will really help me do that job better when he leaves next Monday.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Another busy day in the office. Elder Small taught Hna. Johnson how to input all of the apartment rent info into the IMOS computer system for payment on the first of the month. And speaking of Elder Small, we found out this afternoon that he is being transferred out of the office next week, maybe even by the end of this week. If it’s true, Elder Small won’t have much time to teach Elder Barquero his job with “Dueños” (Landlords). We have also heard that for one reason or another there are a lot of emergency transfers going on this week. By the end of the week half of the transfers that where done last week for the regular “Translado” will be changed all over again. Wow, this is big, really big. It’s almost as if we are having another “Translado” this week instead of 6 weeks from now.
The AP, Elder Caldwell told me that President Almonte is expecting me to take a more active hand in the housing end of the office work. With the emergency transfers it looks like I will have to. Five months ago I was much more involved housing when Elder Bates was in the office. It will be fun spending more time working with Dueño but I’m not sure where I’m going to find the time.
This afternoon I had “Diligencias” to run. My first stop was a government office in downtown Santo Domingo. It was in the office of the minister of public affairs. An Elder that served in the mission 10 years ago has been corresponding with us. He is moving to Canada to go to postgraduate school. He needed a document of “Good Conduct” while he was here. It costs about 10 dollars. I placed the order last week and today the document was ready to be picked up.
Another busy day in the office. Elder Small taught Hna. Johnson how to input all of the apartment rent info into the IMOS computer system for payment on the first of the month. And speaking of Elder Small, we found out this afternoon that he is being transferred out of the office next week, maybe even by the end of this week. If it’s true, Elder Small won’t have much time to teach Elder Barquero his job with “Dueños” (Landlords). We have also heard that for one reason or another there are a lot of emergency transfers going on this week. By the end of the week half of the transfers that where done last week for the regular “Translado” will be changed all over again. Wow, this is big, really big. It’s almost as if we are having another “Translado” this week instead of 6 weeks from now.
The AP, Elder Caldwell told me that President Almonte is expecting me to take a more active hand in the housing end of the office work. With the emergency transfers it looks like I will have to. Five months ago I was much more involved housing when Elder Bates was in the office. It will be fun spending more time working with Dueño but I’m not sure where I’m going to find the time.
This afternoon I had “Diligencias” to run. My first stop was a government office in downtown Santo Domingo. It was in the office of the minister of public affairs. An Elder that served in the mission 10 years ago has been corresponding with us. He is moving to Canada to go to postgraduate school. He needed a document of “Good Conduct” while he was here. It costs about 10 dollars. I placed the order last week and today the document was ready to be picked up.
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