13 February 2014

But who's counting?  Grandma is!!!  16 Days (and counting)  until she faints in a heap at the airport with joy (gozo) oozing out of her soul, crying tears of gratitude.  Gratitude for returning to our wonderful family and friends. Gratitude for the glorious 18 months being a part of these special, wonderful people in the Dominican Republic.  

Word cannot adequately tell...   We are going to finish this chapter in our life and go into another one.  We know not what this new chapter will bring.  But we are ready.  

Brenda Benedict (a Relief Society President of ours long ago) once told me that near the release of a calling, often Father in Heaven blesses those being released with "bows."  Or in other words, frosting on the cake.  We are seeing bows and frosting in our mission. 

The director of the institute left for a week, and I was asked to teach his classes, or I was given the privilege of teaching more than I usually do each week. What a joy!  I am certainly going to miss the joy of studying and sharing gospel, scriptures, church history, lives of the prophets, and testimony.  What a blessing we have been given.  

There are many bows coming our way.  I am sure there will be many more bows before we start the next chapter of our life.  It is hard to believe that we have been here one year and a half, but it is not. Crazy huh?  (who's counting?)

31 January 2014

December came and went, without snow, but we certainly felt the Spirit of Christmas.  Here are some details and photos of our Institute Christmas Program.

We'll call this, the typical Dominican dress rehearsal.
5:00 sharp.  Not one student was there.  By 5:30, there were a few girls...in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on their makeup.

Prelude began promptly at 7:20...whoops...our program was supposed to begin at 7.  But, hey...we're pleased we're only 20 minutes late.
Performing here, our string trio - violin, viola and cello.  

                          Our narrators, Cesar and Kristy, doing their Spanish version of Music and the Spoken Word.

Hermana Partridge having more fun than she
deserves!

What could be more fun than this?  Serving a mission and getting to lead the choir and congregation and instruments to boot!

               Is this heaven?

The congregation loved joining in...

Sister Douglas and Sister Partridge doing what
they love best!  That's my sweet Daniel (of the many miracles) behind me in the dashing pink tie.

My best sopranos and soloists - Hermana Ewell and Manuela Baez.  My sweet friend Rocio is behind them.

 Arcadio Vargas on viola

The touch of the masters hand...Sister Douglas's
professional touch added so much.  Her family had just arrived from the states...children and grandchildren waiting for her at the Mission Home even as she played.  A great sacrifice of her time and talents at such a busy time.

Sister Ewell sang a beautiful solo...Mary, Sweet and Tender Maiden, in Spanish and English.  So beautiful!  She is also one of my pianists...what would I have done without this good missionary! 

Manuela sang "Look on me this day" from Savior of the World. We used the beautiful accompaniment track available at LDS.org.  It was wonderful!  We also sang Come, Lord Jesus Come...in English, from the same production.    

Get ready, get set...sing!










My amazing men's section, especially that white-haired handsome dude on the back row.  Doesn't he stand out nicely?  Bless his heart, he had been sick for several days before our program with laryngitis and bronchitis, but with a Priesthood blessing and faith and prayers Elder Partridge recovered enough to help the basses stay on pitch. I'm so grateful for his support.   

This is Gemima, one of my Haitian students.  She led the alto section beautifully.

Making memories for years to come.  What a marvelous blessing - to lead this wonderful group of Dominican YSA's in singing praises to our Savior, remembering His birth, honoring Him with word and song, feeling and hearing the angels who helped us and knowing that our gift was accepted and appreciated. 

21, January 2014

Before we get too far removed from the Holidays, a few more musings...

In December, Sister Douglas planned feasts again for all the Zone Conferences.  She had done Thanksgiving feasts with turkey and stuffing casseroles, salads and all the trimmings in November for all the missionaries and since I wasn't available to help much at that time, I wanted to help her as much as I could in December.  I was on salad detail.  So Monday morning it was arise early, get ready for work, have Bill drop me off at the Mission Home, don an apron and start washing lettuce.  The local lettuce has to be washed carefully in Clorox water, rinsed with bottled water, spun in a salad spinner and then dried leaf by leaf the day before the Zone Conference.  We have stacks of towels for drying lettuce.  Quite a process. 

For our largest zone of 106 we washed 33 heads of lettuce, peeled 30 cucumbers, washed and Chloroxed dozens of peppers (of all colors...they're beautiful), and tomatoes...I lost count.  We cut up carrots (thankfully we had carrots from the states so no Chlorox necessary.)  Then we cut up onions and celery for stuffing, peeled 50 lbs. of potatoes for mashed potatoes, cooked 25 turkey breasts and made gallons of gravy.  This was a 2-day process for each Zone Conference. On the day of the conference we cut up the lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and mixed the salad together in massive bowls.  They were garnished with gorgeous large avocados (how I will miss these!)  Then there were mountains of fruit to cut up for massive, and I mean massive fruit salads. Pineapple, papaya, melons, oranges, grapes.  So nice to have these in season all year.  Everything had to be transported to the zone meeting.  

We did this 3 times in 2 weeks and on the last morning of the last conference, when my body alarm went off, I rolled over, looked at the clock and thought of the movie "Groundhog Day."  "Morning campers!  Rise and shine!  It's Groundhog Day!"  It seemed to be happening to me.  The other senior missionary wives, Sister Fagersten and Sister Carroll, both made hundreds of yummy homemade rolls and helped cook turkeys and prepared mashed potatoes.  We got the bright idea after the first conference (actually it was Toni, Sister Douglas's friend here to help her from Utah, who thought of this) to bake potatoes instead of mashing them. Brilliant!  

Sister Douglas's two ovens filled with baked potatoes.  Still a lot of work to Chlorox, scrub and wrap 100 potatoes.  But we did it!

Cutting up celery...yes, I'm having fun!  I think...

Here's a peek at one of the fruit salads.  Now that's a wooden spoon to be reckoned with!

 Stuffing anyone? .  

The missionaries loved getting to have a Christmas feast.

They ate themselves silly.  We had to monitor how much they took so everyone would get fed

Our beloved President Douglas.

And Sister D, equally beloved...she fed them well!

's 

It was a joy to serve the mission and we were grateful to be available to help.  "Groundhog Days" long to be remembered!

12 January 2014 Ocean World Fun!

This "purple" post is long-over-due!  When Missy and Jacob visited in November, we had the great opportunity to go to Ocean World in Puerto Plata.  Missy had worked all summer selling skirts from India to earn enough money for all of us to do the "Dolphin Swim!"   Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined myself doing this.  It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience we'll never forget.  The pictures tell the story!  

Ta Dah!

                 





Wait for them, wait for them.....

                                                                         Grab on....

          And hold on for dear life!

What a rush!

Touchy, feely....cold, smooth and very powerful!

Dance with the dolphins in the pale moonlight...

These guys are lovable...they're doing the Dominican embrace!

       

                         Kissable, too!

Kiss me, bebe!

Superman tricks!...even Grandpa!  Two dolphins under us pushing our feet with their noses! Amazing!

Good form Jacob and Missy!










What an incredible experience!  Thank you Missy!

31 December 2013

When we first arrived, there was one other couple in the mission, and they were going home soon.  They were the Fullers.  They were the Mission Office couple.  We didn't get to know them very well.

One of our first days in the mission, I was talking, in the temple, with one of the Presidency of the Area, Elder Cornish and was lamenting that we were the only senior couple missionaries in this mission, except the Mission President.  I commented that there were about 40 couple in the Santo Domingo Mission, many serving in the temple, and so many others.   He replied, "You have a blessing, being the only couple there.  Your influence can be so much greater, and touch so many more lives since you are the only couple." I learned a lesson.

Last Summer, another couple who was originally assigned to Santo Domingo, arrived to be the second couple in this mission.  Their name is Elder and Sister Wegener.  They are assigned over the Perpetual Education Fund, as well as the Employment side of the mission.  We have grown to love these people.  They really supported us in our robbery, even helped us in acquiring a new computer. They come from Salt Lake, Pepperwood area in Sandy.

The next couple to come was the Fagerstens.  They told the church they didn't want to be an office couple.  They were assigned to a city, La Vega.  In the La Vega area, there are branches, not wards, thus they need the help to strengthen the area to become a stake rather than a district.  So, that is what they are doing.  We have grown to love them also.  These two come from Iowa.

The final arrival of senior missionaries are Elder and Sister Carroll.  They have been assigned to work in the office.  They take care of coordination of things with Salt Lake, the affairs of the mission, and everything else the Mission President needs. They are also a great couple.  This couple comes from Salt Lake Area.

We have grown to love these couples.  They are helping in specific needs of the mission. We all have our own responsibilities and once in a while get together for activities.

As our time grows close, it is sad to relate that Salt Lake  has not called our replacements yet.  They report that it is hard to find couple that speaks Spanish, willing to come down here.  The Institute waited about 18 months senior couple-less before we arrived.  Who knows how long it will take before another Institute couple is called, and arrives here.

25 December 2013

We had the great privilege of being the agents for The Partridge Family Christmas Project this year.  Rather than give gifts to each other, our children sent money to the DR for Christmas.  We gave them a list of ideas and they decided which ones they wanted to help with.  Thanks to Missy for spearheading it all and being in charge of the donations.  Here’s how their generous offerings blessed the lives of some wonderful people in the Dominican Republic this year.

This is Carolina and Omar.  Several months ago, they’re 3 children ages 5, 4 and 18 months were tragically burned to death in a fire in their apartment.  They had left the children alone and locked into their apartment.  It was heart-wrenching.  Since this terrible tragedy, Omar and Carolina were married and Carolina got baptized.  They are anxiously awaiting the time when they can go to the Temple and be sealed to their children.  That's a picture of our family they are holding. 

Omar has some wood-working skills and he has been visiting the Self-Reliance Center here in our building.  He has the dream of starting his own business.  The Wegeners (the PEF missionary couple serving here) have been encouraging him and making a business plan.  Here are some samples of his work.    

With some start-up capital from our family and others, he can now buy sheets of mahogany and other needed supplies.  He has access to some tools.  He's getting orders already and now he has to be taught how to keep intact the start-up fund for repairing or replacing tools and buying supplies.  It's a challenging concept for him but it's the only way he'll be successful in the long-run.  We’re very hopeful that he can with time have a little business that will provide for him and his wife and future children.    

There is no Bishop’s Storehouse in Santiago.   With so many people out of work, there is a great need for a storehouse.  Fast offering funds are limited and the charge to minister to the needs of so many in need is daunting to these very young and new-in-the-church ward and stake leaders.  One Bishop stated his own little storehouse in his ward with donations from members and others.  We shopped for rice, beans, pasta, fish, milk, flour, sugar, oatmeal, etc. and took this to the Bishop.   He was so pleased!  His Relief Society President distributed it immediately to the needy members of their ward.  One day they will figure out how this program really works!

This is 3-year-old Daniro.  He is one of 75 children of 40 families who live in a work camp for sugar cane harvesting.  In the Domincan Republic there are privately owned sugar cane plantations where Haitian workers live and work long hours and they have next to nothing.  We drove to one of these “bateys” (bahtay) this past week.  We  purchased some little toys to give to the children for Christmas.




  






Several other senior couples from Santo Domingo participated along with the Wegener’s daughters who were visiting for Christmas.  They brought with them hygiene kits, newborn kits and school kits as well.  These pictures tell this story better than anything. 

Here the children are lined up to receive their gift packages.  The school teacher (she comes every day from a nearby town and volunteers to teach) organized them by ages.  They sang us a song and we sang Silent Night to them.

Here's there little school.  3 tiny rooms.  They just got a black board this year.

Sweet little ones.  They were so happy to get something for themselves!




 










I fell in love with little Daniro, above.  It took me a long time to get him to smile but it finally happened.  Videos to prove it!  (They'll be available in DropBox soon)

This one had no trouble smiling.  She loved her bear!

The new mom's got newborn kits for their babies.

Elder Partridge won this one's heart.












They live in the most humble circumstances.  There little casas have little or no furniture.

It's not unusual to see women sweeping their dirt floors and porches.





Elder Partridge and Elder Leavitt got to know this 64-year-old man, Mateo.  He has been working in this batey for 10 years.  He's been in the bateys for 32 years.  He works 10 hours a day during the cutting season and earns 25 cents a day.

He washes his clothes in this little stream where the children bathe and also drink this water.  Thankfully they recently built several outhouses for them but until a year ago, they had no place to "go" but in these bushes.

This is sugar cane.  Next time you enjoy the taste of sugar, maybe say a prayer of gratitude that you can buy it so easily.  During the off-season, the mothers here have to decide between clean water and food for their children. The  missionary couples from Santo Domingo were able to put together boxes of rice and beans and oil for each family.  

This was a Christmas long-to-be-remembered.  It has made us pause and think of our abundance and be grateful for so many blessings.  Heavenly Father loves these Haitian people and they are doing their best to make a life here under very difficult circumstances.  We were grateful to be able to offer a little relief for a time....

We were able to be used as His hands because of our wonderful children, their sacrifice, and this wonderful Christmas Season.  THANKS.