28 November 2012

28 November 2012

 

 

Here's some photos of our big Night of Gala on Friday November 23rd.  This was the first formal party for the students in their new institute building.  They were so excited.  They could never do anything like this in their old digs next door.  After 20 years of that, they deserved this!  The students came decked out in their Sunday best and some in formal attire.

 

       
        This is Yeny Garcia, the President of our Student Council.  She's beautiful, inside and out!








Here's the hall the night before, ready for the beautiful fresh flower centerpieces Sister Breton made.  .

Two of the sister missionaries, Sister Johansen and Sister De los Santos helped us serve.  They were wonderful!

 

 

 

 

Elder P. served the juice.

 

Sister P. cut the cakes...Tres Leche.  Yum!

 

 

We kept the pitchers full of juice and ice on all the tables.  They didn't start eating until 9:30.  The party started at 7:30....very Dominican!  Opening prayer at 8:15, hymn and spiritual thought.  Then juice and dancing, then program, then more dancing...then dinner!  The caterers didn't seem to mind.  (Maybe getting paid by the hour?)  :)

 

 

Here's a few photos from the Douglas's home on Saturday.

 

 

 

Brother Breton's wife and children on the couch next to Bill

President Douglas relaxing..a rare moment for the Mission President.  Brother Fuller next to him.  He and his wife work in the office.

 

 

A wonderful surprise!  We talked Sister Douglas into playing her violin.  Wow!  It was stunning.  She's a concert violinist.  I was in heaven!

 

 

 

 

 

27 November

Guess I am back to ponficating.  I had a dream, or in other words, (quoting from Nephi and Lehi) I had a vision.  I recall, I believe Elder Eyring, stating that he keeps a writing tool at the side of his bed to record any revelation he receives during his sleep, or through dreams. 

Well last night, I had a dream.  I was standing in front of one of the many classes I have taught in the past, feeling the inspiration, the revelation flow through me, helping me present the ideas that Father had given me for that particular class.  I so thoroughly enjoyed being used as an instrument in Father's hands to get HIS ideas across to those who were there.

I remember praying that one day I would be given the opportunity of preaching to many classrooms of people.  I remember telling Father that, that was a dream of mine, and I would really appreciate the chance to teach, and teach more to those who would receive me and learn from the Spirit.

I woke up.  I realized that I have been given the challenge of teaching six lessons this week.  One on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, two on Thursday, and one on Friday.  The regular teachers are being called to a seminar in another city, and thus I get to teach all those classes.  I have been stressing out, or worrying about teaching all six of these classes.  (History of the Church, Prophets of the Church, Eternal Matrimony, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Atonement, and Leadership.)

I plead with my Father that I would remember that special feeling, that excitement, that comfort to know that I would be used as a tool to teach  these young kids these six subjects in the coming four days.  I am writing this Tuesday Morning, and shall report later, after I get to work and start preparing my lessons, with that concept in mind.  If I can use that same feeling I felt long ago teaching Gospel Doctrine or the High Priests, or a myriad of other classes while I prepare and teach these kids, the stress, the worry, the challenge will depart and I shall thoroughly enjoy teaching these six lessons. 

25 November 2012

I have been accused of having no color.  Bonnie records her writing in purple, and then everyone knows that she is going to be writing about colorful things, I presume.  I can accept that.  However, someone has accused me of just being the pontificator.  (Somewhere in the back of my muddled mind is a word that starts out with the pont.... and refers to the pope. )  Does that mean that I write only things that the pope would write.

I figured that those who read my words would, might want to know about what is happening down here with reference to our mission.  So I have hesitated to write any pontious words until I had an interesting, or something that I thought was interesting and would be to others.  But I have been criticized, laughed at, and told that no one wants to read my pontificationing.  So either I stop ponting, or I assume my real identity and put things here that someone may want to read about, not about the mission, the language, the preaching of the gospel, sharing testimony in classes, kids lives changing, changing the world, or being turned into something un-natural...  I just better stick to CRUSHING to death sticks that my wife is in mortal fear of.  (Actually, it did look like a long skinny, mal-nutrition ed cockroach that was in search of some of Bonnie's good cooking...)

The sky is falling, and I am receiving parts of it.  On my head, on my tooth brush, and all around the bathroom.  You see, we have mold or some kind of fungus (maybe this is ponting again???) growing out of the ceiling and dropping every day on my razor, toothbrush, and in the air.  I guess I am breathing it also, Bon says we should get rid of it and try to find out if it is damaging me, and us.  Perhaps that is why I always end up pontificating.  After we rid ourselves of all the mold, fungus and stuff in the air, I may return to.....  But then again, I may.

Maybe it is the color, and I should start writing in color?  And what other color but RED?  Well, I have to evaluate the whole foundation of me and my putting words on paper. 

Maybe I should put something like this:  Pont: and then pontificate.  Then if I don't pont, I can just start writing.
 
PONT:  I love the clouds down here, the problem is, they have electrical wires all over and destroy my view of the clouds.  They roll through every day, big large, white fluffy ones.  They are so beautiful.

Now as I go back and read the above mentioned ponting, I can see that it is boring and that no one would want to read about the clouds down here, right?  I guess I need to do some real soul searching about what I write in this blog.  I just seem addicted to falling into ponting, writing things that no one wants to hear about.  Maybe I need to just pass that duty on to the cock roach hunter I live with.  She hunts em, I flatten them.  Good team, huh?   Next one we see, or she finds, we ought to take a picture of it to verify that it really  is a roach, or a stick, and my saving antics.

I guess you can see that I am suffering from an identify crisis.  Should I be colorful, changing my pontificating, writing style, or what?  Maybe I should do as the whole world does, put it out to the masses, those three who read this blog, and ask them, take a poll?  They  can dictate how, if I should continue to write?

Well it is my turn to leave and let the real  writer write, the purple one, the cock roach hunter take over. 

24 November 2012

It's me...the color commentator.  Another cockroach story.  OK.  I admit I have an unhealthy fear of cockroaches, but this one takes the cake!  Since our fumigation 5 weeks ago, we have had only a couple of the little? devils appear and they have been found upside down and probably dead but we don't wait to find out...Bill just squashes them, since they scare the living daylights out of me.  They're long and black or dark brown and they stand out against the light tile floor.  And so far they've only been on the floor , not on the walls or in my drawers or cupboards, thank heavens.  A couple of days ago there was one at the front door, guarding the exit.  I thought..."I'm trapped.  I'll never be able to leave the apartment.  I called out, "bug man!"  (Billy knows that's his cue so he came with his shoe in one hand and a paper towel in the other.)   He's so brave....my hero!  (He especially likes murdering the dead ones!  Well, this morning, I got out of bed early to get a head start of all my food assignments for Thanksgiving dinner with the Mission President and his wife.  I knelt down and prayed, "Please don't let there be any roaches this morning and if there are, please let them be dead, dead, dead!"  I always walk gingerly around the apartment in the morning because that's when we've found the other roaches.  I peeked in each room as I made my way to the kitchen.  On the way, I spied a long black cockroach  on the floor by the front door again.   "Nooooo....ohhhhh."  I hurried past the living room into the kitchen and then went back to check to make sure it was still there.  At first, it looked like it had moved.  "Ohhhhhh."  Now I have to start thinking about getting on the nearest piece of furniture.  I turned on the light and... whew...it's still there.  I'm trying to be quiet about it because Bill's still asleep.  We were up very late last night at the Institute serving and cleaning up after the big Gala, the formal dinner dance for the kids.  It was wonderful by the way!  (More on that later.)  But Bill was sleeping in while I started the rolls and pies and such and I didn't want to wake him.  He's old you know.  So I kept checking every few minutes to see if the roach had moved and muttering to myself.  I was on high alert for 45 minutes!  Finally, the bug man awoke.  "Oh, sweetie, I'm so glad you're up.  There's another roach by the front door.  I think it's dead, I've been checking on it every few minutes.  I need you!  I'm exhausted!"  So sweet Billy the Bug Man gets his ammunition (his shoe and a big wad of toilet paper) ready.  He goes into the living room.  I'm safely in the kitchen listening for the smack and hearing nothing.  I say, "Do you need the spray...is it dead?"  Silence.  I don't hear a scuffle so apparently  there was neither chase nor skirmish.  "What's happening?"     

Finally, Bill appears around the corner with his tissue wadded up.  "Was it dead, was it dead?"   He reaches out... I back away, "No, I don't want to see it!"  "Look, " he says, pausing for effect.  "It's a stick."  "A stick!  A stick?"  I bring myself to look and sure enough, it's a stick.  Long and black and gnarly and menacing looking.  He said as he carefully approached it, he thought, "Wow, that's big long skinny one.  Can't cook that up for Thanksgiving dinner.  What if it's strong?  Do I need a paper towel?"  But my brave, gallant knight , armed with naught but a flip flop and a tissue, sallied forth and fought that mighty stick dragon!  And won!

But what I want to know is...what's a stupid stick doing by my front door anyway...scaring me to death and taking years off my life!   Hmm...maybe the roach carried it in on its back...oh my goodness...I think I need therapy!  

21 November 2012

Hi all!  Hermana P here.  On this Thanksgiving Eve, we're grateful for so much!  Our family, our friends, each other, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Atonement of our Savior, and for this opportunity to be part of building his kingdom here in the Dominican Republic.  We love our mission, we love being together and we love all of you!  Thank you for being such an important part of our lives.  May you all enjoy your Thanksgiving celebration!

Here's a few photos you'll enjoy.

We are thankful for TP, but we're grateful we don't have to carry stuff on
our heads...I wonder how much Bill could carry though...:) 

 

This is someone's little business...not sure what.  Lemonade anyone?  Capitalism is alive and well!  Just find a tree and set up shop.







We thought we might have to cook up this little guy for Thanksgiving dinner.  The wild chickens are pretty skinny here...have to share the pickin's with the dogs and whatever or whoever else!  

                                              This is definitelly not a Butterball turkey!   



We especially love our YSA's.  They love to have their pictures taken...just like the Primary kids!

 

 






 They love so easily and are so easy to love...
and we do!

18 Novembere 2012

Language:
I served in Mexico from 1968 - 1970.  I learned Spanish.  Since then I have been living the last two years with our son who speaks Spanish in his home.  I thought I knew Spanish as we flew into Santo Domingo to start our mission.

I know Spanish, but I don't know what they speak down here.  They are SLOPPY.  They drop letters, especially the s's and other letters.  (I was in a class with one of them the other day and he was directing those in the class to go to John 17:3.  He put on the board: Jua 17:3.)  I almost laughed.  Our director of the Institute was talking about the obis the other day.  I didn't know what he was saying and asked him.  Then he said, "Oh, the Obispo."  -- which means bishop.  But in his speaking, he says obis. They are always saying;  nosotro,  entonse, buen dia, bueno noche, por pues, etc. 

Then every Monday, B and I sit in a meeting with three other Dominican.  When they want us to know something, they either talk very slowly, or they try to say it in English.  When they ignore us, they speak, sloppily and rapidly.  We don't have any idea what they are saying.  We just sit, smile at each other and wait until they decide that we need to know something.  When we go to different wards and branches, often we sit there and look at each other and wonder what is happening, what they are saying, and afraid that they may ask us a question.  We do pick up a few words here and there, which helps us decide what the message is about, however.  And I can draw on 42 years ago to help also.  But it is totally a challenge.  Perhaps after a few more (16) months we will be able to pick up more about what they are saying.

I find myself starting to pick up the way they talk.  We have been counseled not to do so.  If we start speaking like they do, then  we will destroy our Spanish, the way it is supposed to be spoken.  I heard of an elder from Chile who couldn't understand the other day.  He had to ask the Dominican to speak slower so he too could understand. 

It sure is interesting to be in a country when you can't understand because they speak a different SPANISH.  We can get along, but it isn't because we speak as they do.  Bonnie's lessons, tutoring in the MTC help a bit, but they don't speak as she was taught  Spanish.  We are doing well, at least we speak a language that we can understand each other.

When I teach my two classes each week, I just go slow, speak what I know, saying whatever needs to be said in a myriad of different ways, and I get the message across.  At least they haven't fired me yet. They say that we will both be teaching more come the next semester, starting in January.  Looking forward to it.

No, they do not honor, think about, or pause for Thanksgiving.  Thus we will both be teaching our class on the coming Thursday.  Having a big institute party on Friday.  Then on Saturday, we will probably get with the mission president and eat a few turkey legs, breasts, and even a thigh or two.  So enjoy your Turkey-day, knowing that it is about 88 degres here, hot, hot and hotter.  May get a few rain drops though.  Adio....

I was cooking hot dog for the institute, of course they loved them as I burned them, or at least made them well done.  They like well done here also, but they put mayo rather than mustard on their dogs.

15 November 2012

OK.  My stories.  First...Sunday.  We got very lost trying to find a little church building.  We have a good map and we marked the spot where the church website said it was.  I'm a pretty good guide but after 30 minutes of driving up and down little streets, dead ends, going the wrong way on one-way streets (we're Dominicans!) and with no way to get our directional bearings (we had the map upside down and sideways trying to figure out which way was up!) we were about to give up when we happened onto another little chapel and decided to go there instead.  We got there just in time for a Primary Program.  It was so sweet.  Little tinies bearing their testimonies and a couple of older ones giving talks, all in Spanish even!  I want to do that!  When they sang the closing number with no music...it was a little scary and I must admit I didn't recognize the song until the very end.  It was a typical Dominican version of "When I am Baptised."  They do love to sing but my oh my...any resemblance to the tune we all know was purely coincidental!  Bless their hearts!  After the meeting, we asked what ward it was and lo and behold, we were in the ward we were looking for!  Their building was definitely NOT where the map said it should be...but now we know where it is!  And we found out way out of the maze and back in again just to be sure!  By the time we visit all the barrios, we'll really know the city well.  Here's a picture of the whole Primary after the meeting.

Monday morning, I was working at the computer, sitting on our rolling desk chair, and as I reached for something on the end of the desk and stretched a little too far, my chair rolled right out from under me and the chair flew left and I flew right.  The end result (no pun intended) was my tailbone smashing against our hard tile floor.  Then, my head bounced back and hit the floor, too.  (To add a little insult to injury.) I laid there for a minute and thought, "Hmm, am I bleeding?...no...do I have a concussion? Hmm...OK, name the Supreme Court Justices...let's see...uh...Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Kennedy, Scalia and the women...let's see O'Connor retired, uh...who's that tiny liberal one, oh Ginsburg...and the new ones...well, OK, I couldn't name them all before I fell...right?"  I thought about Bill getting out of the shower and finding me flat on the floor and decided to get up.  I had a big goose egg and a very sore backside.  It's been painful to sit or walk or stand or bend.  But today it's feeling a little better so I think it was just bruised along with my pride.  But I feel the pain of all who have cracked or broken or bruised or otherwise injured their sit-downs.  I tell you what....OW!

As to showering in a bucket...I thought it was fun!  Making memories!  Maybe I'm just a camper at heart but I loved my tea kettle which I always keep full and my bucket and wash cloth.  It beats bathing in a cold stream, don't you know!  So we had been without water for 3 days (only emergency water for 2 of them but last night and this morning with nothing.)  We were told it would probably be this afternoon before they got it turned back on.  My little ironing lady came this morning and when she found out we had no water she immediately called her daughter who immediately called our landlord and he said, "Tell them they'll have it in 10 minutes!"  And we did!  It pays to know good women!  But just think...if we'd waited to shower we would have missed those lasting memories!  Elder P. did not enjoy the journey on that one I'm afraid. :)

Here's a picture of Elder Partridge helping with a little craft project the secretary at the Institute gave us. Oh, don't we just love "fru-fru!"

14 November 2012

It is time to write more, let everyone know that we are still alive and plugging along.  Tonight in my class, during the opening song, Bonnie started to cry, "aha" ing and realizing that we are in a foreign country, listening to these young kids sing praises to God in Spanish.  I was teaching my second class of the day. 

We have been without water the last two days.  It seems that someone forgot to pay the water bill, at least that is what we figure. There is a tank on the roof that supplies us temporary water when the water is turned off, but this time through lack of communication, we don't and won't have water until tomorrow.  It is sort of like that same lack of communication happened about a month ago when someone one turned off our power for about 24 - 36 hours.   With no power, it is surely  hard to sleep with the humidity and heat.

So this morning, we are getting ready to go to the Institute without any water.  We found out that those who set things up for our apartment forgot to sign a contract with the water company, so they turned off our water.  Now we wait.  Since we are in the "Dominican" we may wait a few days for water.  Nice huh?  Bonnie is warming water in a tea kettle, and that is how we shall shower, wash hair and prepare.  Nice, slow, but it works.

I had someone create a "pass-a-long" card for this area, and now I am looking for a cheap printer.  I feel that this will be a great tool for helping the missionary work.  I have to design the back side, but that is in process. 

This is what it will look like.  The flag is of the country.  They are very proud of their country.  When we get the rest of it designed, I will try to remember to send a copy of it. 
I love the clouds in this country. Since we have such small mountains here, they continue to flow through daily, and they are so fluffy, large, bubbling, etc.  I love them.  Maybe one day I will get Bonnie to take some pictures of them.

I showed one of my  classes yesterday a picture of my 20 nietos.  They were very amazed to see so many of them.  Love it, and miss them.   Bonnie will add her two to four cents worth later.

8 November 2012

Just one more comment about the election:  I heard from someone I trust his "take" on the election, and as I have pondered about it, I agree.

The United States is part of this land that is chosen above all others.  It is promised to be the land of promise and many special things will happen here according to Father and His time table for all things.  There are great blessings that await this land.  However, Father cannot give us, or even the people of the United States blessings unless we deserve them.  This brother mentioned that the  United States did not deserve Mitt Romney being the president, for the majority of the residents have chosen wickedness.  Mitt would have been a very distinct blessing to the people of the US, however the majority are not deserving of those blessings.   I tend to agree with that assessment.  Of course, this is just my opinion, and Bonnie says I need to STOP pontificating, or preaching, or doing what I do, so I apologize for my opinions in this regard.  Back to our mission....

7 November 2012

It is over.  Now it is time to move on.  We are not in the US but still have observed the rat race about being the president.  It was interesting to observe the nation, the two running against each other, laugh at the polls, and finally see the results.

Our fair city of Santiago

I was excited to see that possibly there would be a High Priest running the strongest nation in the world, with his motivation being furthering the Kingdom, along with leading our glorious country.  I envisioned the possibilities of furthering missionary work, opening new countries to the gospel, helping in the new missionary plans that are even now going forward, etc.  I was excited.  Then it happened. The pollsters were correct, Romney lost and Obama won.

So now Joseph Smith's statement goes through my mind, (paraphrasing)  "no unhallowed hand can stop the work from going forward...until it has penetrated every ear on the earth..."  I, in my limited view, figured that having President Romney help in that work would be a great big asset in that work.  But again in my limited view, I realize that Father knows what He is doing and the work is progressing without my input.  There are divine reasons why Mitt Romney was not elected president, and perhaps in the coming years we will know some of those reasons.  All is going forward as Father would have it go.  His divine plan for accomplishing His work has not been thwarted, as I first thought, He is in charge, and Mitt was not supposed to win.

(Bonnie gets frustrated when I pontificate, or preach, or just share feelings, but I felt I had to write the above for my own benefit if for nothing else.)

Love the work, and thus back to it, helping our Savior in His purposes for sending us to this place. 

5 November 2012

It's the NTOTTIP girl!  "Never too old to type in purple!"

Wanted to share a miracle with all of you.  Last Wednesday I was discouraged.  My music class the previous week had dwindled down to 5 students.  (We began with 14.)   I thought, 'They're bored silly" (with me trying to explain in broken Spanish just simple musical concepts that are necessary to understanding how to direct.)  It was raining that day though and Bill kept telling me that was the big problem (Dominicans hate the rain), but I had promised them cookies and the 5 who came were delighted.  Still, I felt that I was going nowhere with my teaching.  Bill felt inspired to give me a blessing Thursday morning before my class.  I felt much better and I brought chocolate this time!  I'm not sure if word had spread about treats or what but I had 13 students.  We reviewed what I've been struggling to teach the past 4 week; we had some contests and a little test and some of them actually got 17 out of 20 right!  Voila!  It was fun!  So, I think I have my "groove" back and now we get into the meat of directing, aka...uno, dos, tres, uno, dos, tres and uno, dos, tres, cuatro, etc. etc.
Lots of hands on learning (and waving of arms) for the next 6 weeks and I'm determined to make it fun and simple.  Must rewrite that wordy (especially in Spanish) course manual.  But I'm so grateful for a sweet husband who listened to the spirit and could exercise the power of the Priesthood to calm my heart and give me confidence and courage again.   

Oh, and it was testimony meeting this Sunday and I actually understood more than usual!  Probably because I know so many of those words....but things are looking up! :)  

More....

Garbage tends to pile up on the corners.  Sadly, often we see people picking through it.  The dogs are skinny here because I don't think there's anything edible left for them!


 

If we're in the Third World, who's in the Second?  The Fourth?  Just wondering....





This is a common juxtaposition...between Third World and First.  Push cart meets cell phone.  


Selling shoes and shirts the hard way.

                  The family car...saves on fuel costs!



 Our favorite tree on our way to work. 

You could hide in there!  Something probably does...just not sure I want to know what!

We went to another barrio (ward) Sunday to visit the YSA's.  I popped my head into Primary with my camera and this was the result!  Boy, do the kids love to have their pictures taken!  They kept posing for more.  They were adorablel!  This was the entire Primary plus a few extras who wanted in on the fun. :)

Nothing like these brown faces and big smiles! 







2 November 2012

POPCORN WEEK

Brother Breton mentioned that he wanted us to have popcorn available after every class this week.  (I guess that very few have popcorn down here, for you can't purchase a pop corn popper.  So this is a novelty.)    Well it is Friday and there have been many experiences that I need to report.  There are 17 classes every week, thus seventeen classes that need to be greeted by popcorn as they get out of class. So it was my responsibility to create, make, pop 34 batches of popcorn.  I don't care if I never see another kernal.  We have classes everyday and everyone acts like they have never eaten, and rush  the batch as I present it in the student room.

Some eat, eat, and arrange their schedule to be there when classes are over so they can eat.  We asked one we work with if the students had money to purchase food.  She said that they do, but they save their money to go to movies, and then they are often starving for anything, guess popcorn will suffice if they haven't eaten for a while.  Then of course when the day ends, there are pieces of corn all over and it takes a while to clean up after them.  It is all part of the mission I guess, making millions of colonels of popcorn, then cleaning it up off of the floor.  (You can see I am at a quandary how to spell those little things that pop with heat, called popcorn.) 

I taught a lesson this past week to non members, there were nine of them, and of course the missionaries.  It was fun.  I felt the Spirit bearing witness of the truth.  It was a lesson about Joseph Smith.  Then I had two of the elders thank me over and over again for the lesson, for I know it  touched them also.  I love teaching the gospel, for that is the Spanish I remember and I don't struggle as much to teach a lesson about the gospel. And of course the Spirit is strong, for they are hungry, searching for the truth, and they know not where to find it. 

Don't know if we have shared this or not yet, but the Mission President's wife told us that Salt Lake told them that in three weeks after the Prophets announcement, they received over 12,000 applications of new missionaries.  You can just imagine the more time that goes by, there will be more and more.  I suggest that the number of missionaries right now (about 52,000) will double within six months.  Sister Mission President's wife said that they would be receiving 100 new missionaries in January, they now have 150.  Half of those coming in would be sisters.  I can imagine that the same thing is going on throughout the church, and this is just the beginning.  My MTC contact also reported that they are cutting down the time full time missionaries are at the MTC by two weeks.  Things are moving in the mission field, and we are so blessed to be a part of it. 

When (IF) we get an LDS president of the US, can you imagine how missionary work will expand, with President Romney knowing all about the importance of missionary work.  I would assume that is one of the reasons why the Prophet made the announcement he did in October.  It is time for a BIG push in preaching the gospel. 

Once in a while, I turn to Bonnie, or she turns to me, both with amazed expressions on our face and say in essence the same thing, "Do you realize we are in Dominican Republic, a foreign country?"  It is amazing to live it and then realize it is happening. Father is indeed interested in, and directing things in this area, often through us.  It is so wonderful to pause and see His hand touching, influencing, and buoying up so many of these young kids.  

Things are just starting here, and with more time down here, we will see His hand in many things.  Just last night, I received another piece of inspiration about our duties.  We have much in front of us and "joy" in the service, being tools in His hands to do what He wants done.  We love it.  Thanks for your support.

Bonnie will add her comments to this one, in a different post.