Week 13 in the D.R.

Week 13 in the D.R.

 
August 18, Sunday

            We attended the Piantiti Ward. Many of the senior missionaries and church employees attend the ward. They have Sacrament Meeting in Spanish but have an English translation for the non-Spanish speakers. They also have an English Sunday School. We enjoyed attending the ward. In the afternoon after lunch, we walked a couple of miles on the Malecon, the street by the ocean. In the afternoon there is a pleasant breeze off the ocean and the water is so pretty blue.

August 19, Monday

            We had signed up for a tour to the Church camp at Bonao with the temple missionaries. We left the Casa at 10 am and rode in a guagua or bus to the camp. The Moreles meet us and showed us around the camp. The camp is big enough to accommodate 600 youth and their leaders. We had lunch at a nice restaurant in Bonao and then returned back to the MTC. Joy and I were investigators for the young missionaries. We returned home after spending a fun day with the senior missionaries from the temple.

Cabins at Bonao Camp

 

August 20, Tuesday

            We returned to work in the office after being off for four days. We spent the day preparing for our meeting with the humanitarian missionaries on Wednesday. We had prepared a list of all 132 open projects in the Caribbean and the budget and expenditures for each project. Tuesday night I worked with Sister Arias on entering the bishop’s orders into the computer.

 August 21, Wednesday

             Joy and I met with the humanitarian missionaries from the Dominican Republic, the Public Relations specialist, our boss Julio Acosta, and the Murdocks from Jamaica and Brother Berthony from Haiti by telephone. We met for two hours discussing the various projects and discussing humanitarian principles and procedures. After the meeting in the morning, we went to lunch with the Ruckers, Dunfords, and the Cuernots. The Cuernots are from Paris and are leaving for home next week so we treated them to lunch.

August 22, Thursday

            We left at 7:30 am to go to Higuey in eastern Dominican Republic. We went with the Haws to attend a vision clinic presented by Dra. Diaz. The meeting was scheduled to start at 10 am but she called and said she couldn’t come until 12 noon. She finally arrived at 1:00 pm and made her presentation on vision. The group that had come to hear her waited 3 hours to hear her presentation. After the meeting, we drove one hour to the Cuevas Maravillas and took a tour of the cave. The cave was beautiful and we had an hour tour with an English speaking guide. We then drove another two hours to our apartment. When we arrived, I spent an hour teaching a new couple how to process bishop’s orders in the computer.



 

Crismons and Haws at Cuevas Marravillosas

 





August 23, Friday

             We spent the day in the office. We worked on several projects and then left the office around 2 pm. We went shopping at Price Smart and then returned home to attend the temple. We were in a session with the senior missionary couple from St. Lucia that had brought three women to the temple for the first time. We enjoyed the session with these special sisters from St. Lucia.

 August 24, Saturday

            In the morning we drove over to the park by the temple and walked around the park for about one hour. We returned to the apartment and then got ready to travel with the Haws to San Jose de Ocoa to a closing ceremony. The church had donated equipment to ADR, a non-profit rehabilitation center in the city. They had purchased stationary bikes, exercise equipment, and a couple of electronic devises. The ceremony was to celebrate the closure of the project. After the closing ceremony, we went over to the church where the Haws made a presentation to several church members about food projects that the church sponsors. On our way home, we purchased several mangos from a street vendor and for dinner Joy made us mango-pineapple smoothies.

Exercise equipment donated to ADR

 

Elder Haws giving members seeds to start gardens

 



 





Week 12 in the D.R.

Week 12 in the D.R.

August 11, Sunday

            We got up early and rode with the Haws out to Monte Plata Branch. We attended the three meetings and then sat through a meeting with the ward council. Elder Haws talked to the group about their chicken raising projects. After the meeting a young man approached me to see if I could help him with his tuition. He wanted 200 pesos or $5. I gave him the 200 pesos and he left happy. We drove over to see the one chicken coup that the branch had built. We took a couple of pictures and then took one of the young members back to the city with us.

Joy and the Haws in the new chicken coup

 

August 12, Monday

            We spent the morning packing 50 more kitchen kits. We had now completed packing 250 kitchen kits. We spent the balance of the day working in the office. We returned home early to eat a snack and then went to Spanish lessons at the MTC. After two hours of Spanish, we spent an hour listening to two sister missionaries from the Phillipines and two Elders from the USA. We attended FHE in the Casa where I showed the presentation Joy had made of her art and then she passed out a painting for each couple. The senior missionaries were very appreciative of Joy’s thoughtfulness. We also said goodbye to the Cuernots, Reeses and the Pichardos.

 August 13, Tuesday

             We attended the morning devotional and heard Elder Civic of the Area Presidency speak  to us.  We worked on preparing for our meeting with the humanitarian missionaries next week. We returned home early and spent the evening in our apartment.

August 14, Wednesday

            I spent the day entering the bishop’s storehouse order into the computer. There was a problem with the order of the items on the computer, so Julio rearranged the order so that it was consistent with the order forms. Joy worked on identifying all the humanitarian projects in the Caribbean for our meeting on the 20^th.         

August 15, Thursday

            We spent the day working on entering the rest of the Bishop Storehouse orders and preparing for our meeting on the 20^th August. We spent the evening helping with the Bishop’s storehouse.

 August 16, Friday

             The office was closed since it was a national holiday. It was the 150^th anniversary of the Dia de la Restuaracion. We decided to spend the day visiting local attractions. We toured the National Botanical Gardens in the morning and then had lunch at McDonalds. After lunch we toured the Faro de Colon, a monument to Christopher Columbus. His body was supposedly enshrined in the building. We returned home in the afternoon and then attended a session in the temple. We arrived home around 8 pm.

Faro de Colon

 

 

August 17, Saturday

            We met the Ruckers at the temple parking lot and then road with them to Salcedo to visit the museum dedicated to the three Mirabel sisters that were killed by Presidente Trujillo in 1960. They were protesting his almost 30 year reign as the president of the Dominican Republic, when he had them killed. Six months after their death, Trujillo was assassinated.  The museum was their childhood home and had been restored back to the 1960s. After touring the museum, we drove back to Bonao and had lunch at a fine restaurant. We then toured the art gallery dedicated to Candido Bido, the Dominican modern artist. We return in the afternoon after a very interesting and delightful day with the Ruckers.

Candido Bido Museum in Bonoa

 

Joy and Jim at Mirabel Museum in Salcedo

 

 

 

 

 

 


























































 


 

Week 11 in the D.R.

Week 11 in the D.R.

 We made it back to the Dominican Republic on Saturday, August 3. We are now settled in and doing our missionary work. A summary of our week is attached.

August 2, Friday, and August 3, Saturday

            Jody, Jill and Indie drove Joy and I to the Salt Lake City airport.  We said our goodbyes and boarded our plane for New York City. The plane left at 12 midnight and flew four hours to JFK airport. We changed planes in New York and flew to Santo Domingo. We landed at 12 noon and the Ruckers were there to meet us. They helped us with our bags and then drove into the city. We had a late lunch at Johnny Rockets and then the Ruckers took us to the office to get our car. We then drove back to our apartment. We spent the balance of the day putting our things away and doing a little grocery shopping. We retired early.

August 4, Sunday

            We walked over to the Gascue Ward with the Haws to attend church. It was Fast Sunday and we heard many of the local saints bare their testimonies. Elder Martinez of the Area Authority Seventy was in attendance. We were invited over to the Dunfords for dinner. We had a great meal with them and then returned to our apartment.

August 5, Monday

            We spent most of the day getting our computers to work and getting oriented to our surroundings. Many of the employees came by and welcomed us back to the office. We returned home early and walked over to the Clinica Abreu to see if we could get a refund on the deposit they required for Joy’s hospitalization. To our surprise they wrote us a check for 80,000 pesos or $2,000. We were pleasantly surprised by their quick response. We then went to family home evening at Sister Hyde’s apartment in the Casa. We also had a chance to talk to our friends the Wegeners and many other missionary couples.

August 6, Tuesday

            We spent the day in the office. We were told that food was coming to the Bishop’s Storehouse and that on Thursday there would be an inventory taken of the food in the storehouse.  We left the office early to cash our refund check. We went to the bank but they would not cash it because it was made out to Elder Crismon. We returned to the Clinic and they said they would reissue the check on Wednesday. We walked home and found that the Bishop’s Storehouse was full of food. In fact they had added eight new items to the storehouse and now we had 21 items.

August 7, Wednesday

            We started the day off doing a quick inventory of the items in the Bishop’s Storehouse. We spent about one hour on the project and then drove to the office. Joy prepared some bills for payment and I spent the day reviewing projects. We left early again and stopped at the Clinica Abreu to pick up our check. After waiting one half hour, they gave us our check and we went next door to the bank to cash the check. After a little wait, they cashed our check and then Joy and I walked three blocks home with 80,000 pesos in my pocket.  We ate dinner and then tried to watch a movie on Netflix but it was raining hard and we lost internet connection. We played cards and went to bed.

August 8, Thursday

               We got an early start on the day. We went down to the storehouse and completed a quick inventory of the food. At 9 am the Reyes came with a group from the office to do an official inventory. So Joy and I went to the office to get ready to fill the kitchen kits.



Joy inventorying the food in the Bishop’s Warehouse

We went to lunch with the Dunfords and Ruckers and then returned to office. We spent the balance of the day packing kitchen kits. We packed 140 kits and then called it a day. We returned home exhausted.

August 9, Friday

            We went to work again filling kitchen kits. We finishing packing the final items in the 140 kits and then filled 60 more. By early afternoon, we had completed the packing of 200 kitchen kits. We still had enough items left to pack 50 more so we made arrangements to do that on Monday morning. We returned home, and got ready to go to the temple with the Haws. We arrived at the temple and found that they had removed our clothing from our locker. By the time we found our clothing it was too late to go on a session so Joy and I did some initiatories. We then went to dinner with the Haws. We arrived home about 9 pm.

 

Haws, Ruckers, Dunfords, and Crismons filling kitchen kits

 

 



 

Finished product, 200 kitchen kits

 

August 10, Saturday

            We got up at our usual time and decided to go walking in the park by the Temple. We enjoyed walking around the park and we surprised at the amount of work they had done on the park. They had put in new roads, exercise equipment, and planted several gardens. The park was beautiful. We drove over to McDonalds and had breakfast and then drove to Price Smart to purchase some grocery items. We then went shopping at La Sirena and Plaza Lama. We drove around the park by our office and then had lunch at Taco Bell. We returned home after lunch and spent a quiet afternoon and evening at our apartment while it rained.

 

 

Week 10 Not in the mission field

Week 10 – Not in the mission field
 
May 13, Monday

            We arrived at the Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, FL. at 2 am Monday morning. We waited and waited until 8 pm when the doctor was able to do the surgery. The surgery went well and the doctor was able to replace the head of the femur and attach it to the leg. I left the hospital at 10:30 pm before she came out of the anesthesia. I checked into my motel and about an hour later the nurse called me to tell me all was fine. Joy talked to me and she seemed to be upbeat, but isn't that Joy.
 

Joy in medevac plane

May 14, Tuesday

            Joy was in a two person room and the lady in the bed next to hers had a stoke before she entered the hospital. She was not responding to treatment so the family decided to transfer her to hospice. While they were making arrangements to have her moved, she died. So Joy and I watched the family mourn the loss of their mother and grandmother. The lady’s son was a black preacher and they had been praying for her most of the morning.  Joy shared with them her experience of losing her mother. It was a special time and a very bonding time between two families struggling with adversity. We were both thankful for a comforting Savior and a loving Heavenly Father. 

 May 15, Wednesday

           Joy is doing well. She has been up most of the day setting in a chair. The pain from the surgery is decreasing and she feels stronger almost by the hour. We were a little disappointed that she didn't get moved to the rehab center yet. Our insurance company hasn't authorized it because we are out of our area of coverage. Hopefully they will approve her rehab tomorrow. I have been staying in a motel about one mile from the hospital. I take a bus part way and then walk the other half of the way.  

 

Joy and the flowers her children sent her

May16, Thursday

            Joy waited the whole day to see if she would be moved to the rehab center. After I made a call the church insurance, arrangements were made to transport Joy to the Memorial Regional South Hospital that has a rehab center. She got settled in by 7:30 so I let and walked to my hotel room.

 

Before and After x-rays

May 17, Friday

            I took the bus to the Target Store and bought me a pair of levis and Joy a pair of exercise pants to get her something to ware for her physical therapy. She walked around the gym and returned to the room. My brother, Jerry and his wife, Elaine came at 1 pm and they took me to lunch at the Boston Market restaurant. We then drove over to the new Fort Lauderdale temple and took pictures of the structure. The outside was mostly finished but they were still finishing the interior. We drove back to the hospital and Jerry and Elaine went home. I left the hospital at 6 pm and walked back to the motel.

New Fort Lauderdale Temple

May 18, Saturday

               In the morning, I took the bus to the Hollywood Beach. The beach was beautiful and the sky was a little overcast which made it a little cooler. I swam for a few minutes and then laid on the beach and read a novel for about one hour. I had lunch at a small stand and then returned to the motel. I showered and went over to the Rehab center to see Joy. She was cheerful even though she had three hours of therapy. We played cards and then she talked to the Wegeners and Jody by telephone. In the evening, I rode the bus back to the motel and spent a quiet night reading my novel and watching TV.

 

Joy wishing she had one of the Church wheelchairs

Very Eventful Week 9 in the D.R.

Very Eventful Week 9 in the DR

May 6, Monday

               Joy and I took Tom Bourke with us to the Area Office and worked on the container for about one hour. We sorted toys and filled a box with 100 toys and loaded the box into our car and drove to the Haitian Batey to deliver the toys. The school didn’t open until the afternoon, so we put the toys in the school for the teacher to distribute. We walked over and saw Jorge locked in his cage. Tom talked to his mother about getting help for him. She was agreeable to getting help and then we drove back to the office. The missionaries came from the MTC to help us inventory the container. We completed the inventory in one hour.

Tom and Haitian mother talking about Jorge being locked in a cage

Inside our emergency container – Over 500 hygiene kits

May 7, Tuesday

               Elder Haws was sick with an infected toe so Joy and I went with Sister Haws to Santo Domingo Stake offices where Sister Haws reported to a member of the stake presidency on the projects they were working on. After the meeting, we met with President Oliveros and discussed a few issues with him on the Bishop’s Storehouse. He listened to our concerns and then said he had 3 bishops that could use some clothing for their wards. That evening one of the bishops came and picked up two bales of clothing.

May 8, Wednesday

               Elder Haws was still under the weather, so Joy and I were elected to pick up our wheelchair Specialist, Steve Spencer and his wife Ann at the airport. We met them at noon and then dropped them off at the Marriott on our way to the office. In the evening we picked them up at the hotel and brought them over to Bishop’s Storehouse and had dinner with them. Bennie Lillie, our boss, also joined us. We had a good visit and we drove them back to the hotel after dinner.

 

May 9, Thursday

               We made our second trip to the airport in two days to pick up our second specialist, Dell Felix. He came in at 12 noon and we drove him to his hotel. We picked up Edith and the Spencers and met with Carlos Zamata at ADR to coordinate the wheelchair training that was to start the next morning. We had a two hour meeting and then we dropped Edith off at her apartment. We picked up the Spencers and Dell and took them to dinner at Adrian Tropical Restaurant overlooking the ocean.

May 10, Friday

               I got up early and drove Edith, the Spencers and Dell to ADR to start their training. I went back to the apartment and picked up Joy. We went into the office until 3 pm and then we left to go to the temple. We had four new Haitian missionaries and two Suriname missionaries come to the temple to receive their endowments. Also coming to the temple were three returned missionaries that came from the USA to attend the endowment session of one of their converts.

May 11, Saturday

               The Wegeners picked us up at 9 am and we drove to Los Tres Ojos National Park in east Santo Domingo. Los Tres Ojos consist of three underground lakes and one other lake that are part of a large underground river system in the Dominican Republic. We had to take a boat from one lake to another and then back. The underwater lakes were beautiful. We left the park after a couple of hours and drove to Juan Dolio where we had lunch. We changed into our swimming suits and then swam in the ocean for about one and one half hours. The water was warm and the sky was beautiful. The weather couldn’t have been more beautiful. We returned home and went shopping at the local grocery store. 

 

The Crismons and Wegeners at Los Tres Ojos N.P.

May 12, Sunday, Not so happy Mother’s Day

            Joy and I got up early to walk to the Metro to attend church with the Wegeners. We got one block from our apartment when Joy tripped and broke her hip. Our guard and two neighbors helped me carry Joy to the car and I took her to meet with the Area Medical Advisor, Dr. Walker. He sent us to the emergency room. The x-rays confirmed she had broken her hip. I spent most of the day arranging for a plane to fly us back to the states. We arrived in Fort Lauderdale at 2 am Monday. At 8 pm the doctor was able to do the surgery. The surgery went well and the doctor was able to replace the ball and attach it to the leg. I left the hospital at 10:30 pm before she came out of the anesthesia. I checked into my motel and about an hour later the nurse called me to tell me all was fine. Joy talked to me and she seemed to be upbeat, but isn't that Joy.

She definitely had an eventful Mother’s Day.

Joy on medivac plane