Sunday, October 24, 2010

Sunday services in the Los Arroyos Branch are taken up by the Primary Nursery two of the three hours of the block. It seems to be all consuming but on the Sundays I don’t teach in the Elders Quorum (like today) I am with Hna. Johnson for both hours so she has some help.



This afternoon we received a phone call from Dr. Kilgore at the “Casa”. This year’s Flu Vaccine has finally arrived and he asked us to drive right over for our inoculation. He has very little time to give all of the Seniors their Flu shots. Today at noon he and Hna. Kilgore just returned from one week long trip and tomorrow morning at 4:30 he has to be at the airport to leave on another.



Dr. Kilgore is the Caribbean Area medical advisor. He just returned from a weeklong tour of two missions that included the Lesser Antilles Islands and even Guyana in South America. Mostly he accompanies the mission Presidents to Zone Conferences where he teaches and trains missionaries on how to stay healthy. He also does some doctoring of missionaries, especially in some of the out-of-the-way places.

While we were at the “Casa” (Temple Accommodation Center) we noticed some very large bird nest in the tops of the palm tree around the Temple. I’ve seen them all over the DR for the past year but I didn’t know what bird made them or their significance.





We learned yesterday at the Museum of Natural History that this is the nest of the “Palm Chat” (Cigua Palmera - Dulus dominicus) which is the national bird of the Dominican Republic. Their nests are very large because the birds are communal and the nest has many compartments inside of it.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Hna. Johnson and I had a very full p-day today. We spent the morning at the National Museum of Natural History in downtown Santo Domingo. We found out about it from some of the other Seniors last Monday night at FHE. We enjoyed our time there even though everything was in Spanish.






Next we were off to buy more “Conde Bags” at the Inka Store at the Mega Centro Mall. While we were at the mall we dropped into the “Ferreteria Americana” (The American Hardware Store) to look for key rings. While we were there we got sidetracked by the Christmas displays. Hna. Johnson really loves Nativity Scenes, she collects them.



Next we went to look for cookie cutters at IKEA here in the capital. The IKEA has only been open for 6 months. This is the first time we’ve eaten lunch there. It was great. Cookie cutters are a rare item in the DR. Hna. Johnson saw an ad for them in last week’s paper at IKEA so we made a point of driving all the way across downtown to find a set. She found them in the Christmas decorations. The cookie cutters are all Christmas.



We made our final stop at Jumbo to do our weekly grocery shopping. Hna. Johnson found another treasure while we were there. Pumpkins for Halloween are not popular here like they are in the states. But we found some at Jumbo and Hna. Johnson was delighted to get one.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Today we received our first “Blog2print” book. It looks great, it turned out better than I had hoped. Three weeks ago I placed the order on line. The book is a compilation of all my Blogspot entries for the first 6 months of our mission. It is 208 full color pages of my personal journal that I upload to the blog every week. I intend to have 2 more printed, six months each for the last year of our mission.



This evening we got word that two of our Hna. Missionaries were robbed. They are OK. The thieves rolled up on a Motor and demanded everything they had. They didn’t show a weapon but insinuated that they had one. They got one of the Hna.’s purses but bystanders saw what was happening and started toward the robbers. They took off without getting the other Hna’s purse.

The Hna’s still had their cell phone so they called for help. This evening the office Elders went over to their house to the Hna’s house to help them “Break in” because their keys were taken.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

I am back to the office from the “Aduana” (Customs package pick-up) with a lot of packages for Missionaries. The Big winner to day was Elder Wendler. As luck would have it he just happens to be here in the office for a week while he recuperates from an amoeba he’s fighting. Of the 11 packages I picked up today, Elder Wendler received 4; what a haul! Elder Wendler told me that his birthday is in November and that is the reason for all of the packages.



Elder Wendler told me that he doesn’t plan to open the packages until his birthday on Nov. 16th. I don’t know if I would have the will power to wait. If it were me, I’d have those packages opened before they hit the counter top of the mission office.

Today we had interviews in the office. President Almonte had several of the areas in the capital come in for interviews.



This afternoon Hna. Johnson and I went to the “Casa” (Temple Accommodation Center) to have our hair cut. We also purchased supplies for the missionaries at the Temple store.



We finished our day by attending an endowment session in the Temple. It was a beautiful session and well attended. Hna. Johnson and I were asked to be the witness couple. I was also asked to be the escort of a brother going through for the first time. His name was Alejandro Fernandez from San Marcos here in the DR. He is 29 years old and single. He said he’s been a member for 4 years and wants to serve a full time mission but he is above the age limit of 26.



We really enjoyed attending the temple and feeling the peace and joy it brings. After a hectic day in the mission office it’s nice to be able to enjoy the “House of the Lord”. Tonight’s session was particularly rewarding because we were asked to help out as the witness couple and with the members attending for the first time.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Part of my office duties include looking after the mission’s fleet of vehicles. There are only 7 vehicles in the fleet, 2 cars, 4 pickups and a van. I keep track of and monitor all of the maintenance on them. This afternoon one of the mission cars was at Delta for its regular 5000 Km service and a brake job. When it was finished the AP’s gave me a ride to Delta so I could pick it up.

I was glad to get the ride from the AP’s. Many times there has been no one for me to ride with and I’ve made the half mile trip on foot. The AP’s were on their way to their proselyting area anyway and it was only a little bit out of their way.



And speaking of proselyting, Elder Wendler was in the mission office all day today getting the rest he’s been ordered to get by Hna. Almonte. He’s really anxious to bet back to his area so he can go back to work but it turns out that he is getting to work after all. Every afternoon at 4:00pm the AP’s stop being AP’s and turn into regular missionaries. And… since Elder Wendler can’t be left alone in the mission office while they are out proselyting he will be accompanying them as a threesome.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

This morning Hna. Johnson and I were off to the Santo Domingo Temple early to set out the Temple clothes for the 18 Elders from the San Juan Zone. They came in from the “South”. The mission areas out there are the furthest from the capital. They were up very early this morning catching the earliest buses in to the capital. Their Temple session started at 10:30 and they all made it into the capital and on time to the Temple.



Hna. Johnson and I were done pulling clothes and out of the Temple 2 hours before the Elders arrived so we didn’t get to see them. We headed over to Centro Floral near the Acropolis Mall on Blvd. Winston Churchill. Hna. Hendricks, wife of the “CCM” (MTC) President, as asked Hna. Johnson to make another silk floral arrangement for the CCM.







We were very surprised to see so much Christmas on display. Hna. Johnson loved it; the whole store was decked out in Christmas. She is already in the mood for Christmas.

This afternoon some of the Elders in the San Juan Zone were in the office to rendezvous with Elder Wendler and his Companion Elder Espinal to catch the last bus this evening for San Juan. Elder Wendler and his companion have been in the mission office for several days. Elder Wendler has been suffering with an amoeba and was having tests done at a local clinic here in the capital. He has been on medication and he says he is feeling better and looks forward to resuming his missionary work.



Elder Wendler and his companion were with the two other Elders from San Juan at the bus depot, they already had their tickets when they got a phone call from Hna. Almonte, the mission President’s wife. She told Elder Wendler not to return to his area in San Juan. She has instructed him to stay in the mission office with the office Elders so he can continue his recuperation for a few more days.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Today was one of those days where everything we planned to do didn’t get done as we were pulled left and right by non emergencies and some real emergencies. Hna. Johnson and I were very busy all day. Hna. Johnson was bombarded all day with phone calls from all over the mission with financial questions and presumed problems. Most of the calls were solved on the spot but a few required a lot of time to research.

My first detour happened when I had to make an emergency run to a clinic to pay for tests for one of our sick Elders. The clinic wouldn’t see the Elder until the fee was paid in advance. When I got there I had to fight with the credit card company’s card swiping machine. When we make purchases using the mission’s credit cards the card swipers only work half of the time.




Next I was off to Centro de Servicio to pick up 20 cases of Book of Mormons. But when I got there they told me their shipment was still held up at the Aduana. It was supposed to be delivered to them on Saturday. The mission has been out of copies of the B of M for three weeks now.

One thing that went as planned was my trip to “The Pastry”. I picked up 65 loaves of “Pan Sobado” (Conference Bread) for the Elders and Hna. at this morning’s Zone Conference at the La Paz chapel.



This evening we went to FHE with the other Seniors. Bro. Svensen gave a wonderful Power Point slide presentation on the universe, “How Great Thou Art” and “If you Could Hie to Kolob”. It was all done with Hubble telescope pictures, it was great.