Week 15 in the D.R.

Week 15 in the D.R.

Sep. 1, Sunday

            We went to church with the Haws to the Piantini Ward. It was fast Sunday and the members bore their testimonies. Our Sunday School class was taught by an employee of the U.S. Embassy. He talked about the succession in the church after Joseph Smith was killed. Joy and I took a walk on the Malecon after dinner.

Sep. 2, Monday

            In the morning, Julio told us about the outbreak of cholera in San Cristobal. The stake president called and wanted us to provide some sanitation supplies for the poor people in the area. Joy and I went to the store and purchased a bucket, Clorox, hand sanitizer, and soap. We took the items to the Director’s meeting and they decided to buy 3,000 sanitation kits to help with the outbreak of cholera. In the evening we had dinner with the Wegeners and Partridges and then went to the MTC to help the young missionaries. It was the last night to help them. The two sisters, Sisters Manalo and Caguimbal are from the Phillipines and Elders Schauerhamer and McCary are from the USA. We took their pictures and wished them the best on their missions. We were in charge of family home evening. Joy showed her Book of Mormon slide show and then the group talked about their testimonies of the Book of Mormon. Joy and I provided the refreshments for the group and then we returned home to our apartment after a full day.

Sisters Caguimbal and Manalo from the Phillipines

Sep. 3, Tuesday

            We went into the office and emailed Jody and Sequoia to wish them happy birthday. We visited with the Dunfords about our upcoming trip to Trinidad. Joy and I were asked to go to Trinidad to teach the senior missionaries how to write up humanitarian projects. We left early to do a little shopping. It takes a couple of two to drive to the various stores and back. It seems to be a half day project.  In the evening, I helped Sister Arias file the Bishop’s orders and boxed up some of the older orders.

Sep. 4, Wednesday

            We went into the office and stayed until early afternoon. There was a hurricane warning in effect for the next day, so we made sure we had the supplies we needed. We were not sure what to expect but we would know the next day.

Sep. 5, Thursday

            We got up and the sky was clear and there was no sign of rain. The storm was scheduled to arrive about 2 pm. We worked in the office in the morning, eat lunch and then left the office early. We wanted to get home before the storm arrived. On our way home, we went shopping for some medical supplies for the Park located across the street from the temple. We bought a blood pressure monitor, an inhaler, some neck braces, some ace bandages and other medical supplies. The storm had been downgraded to a tropical storm by the afternoon so in the evening we went to dinner at the Jade Restaurant for Edith Haw’s birthday. There were ten of us celebrating  her birthday. We had a fun evening out with the senior missionary couples. We returned home and then the storm hit. It rained hard for a while and then the storm passed over. Hurricane Gabrielle missed us.    

Sep. 6, Friday

            We took our medical supplies into the office and ended up taking all the senior missionaries’ blood pressure. Our boss Julio was not in the office so we went shopping at Freddy’s Gift shop in the Colonial Zone. Joy bought some earrings and I bought some cards. We returned back to the office, had lunch and then left early to go to the temple with the Haws. We returned home after the session and Jody Skyped us.

 

Joy getting her blood pressure checked

 Sep, 7, Saurday

            We decided to go walking in the new park in the morning. We then went to the Plaza de Cultura to the Museum of modern art. Joy and I walked through the museum and then toured the Museum of Man in the same park. The art museum was all right and the museum of man told the history of the Dominican Republic. There were many displays of the Tainine Indians, the Spanish Conquistadores and the arrival of the slaves from Africa. We took a few pictures and then went to McDonald’s for lunch. We drove out the Malecon to see the monument to President Trujillo’s death. We stopped at the local farmer’s market and bought mangos, watermelon, and a pineapple. We stopped to see the new fishing piers and while we were there we met Javier Gomez from Cuba. We talked to him about our mission and he told us he was a government employee. We found out that he lives only a block from us on Pasteur Street. We talked about getting together some time to talk about our humanitarian work.

 

Joy at the Museum of Modern Art