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