Hi family and friends! You are missed very much! We wouldn't leave you except for our love of the Lord!
Last Sunday we were in the back of the room at the CCM (MTC) where there are 40 elders, some in an English room and some in a Spanish room when the announement was made to extend missionary calls to Elders age 18, and Sisters age 19. Everyone was so excited! They could have come a year earlier!!! We sat with the MTC President and his wife, the Glaziers, the auditor for the Caribbean and his wife, the Ruckers, the health specialist for the Caribbean and his wife the Shaver's and the Executive Secretary and his wife, the Buttons. Most of these have assignments to serve in the temple next door during the week as well.
On Monday the office elders and us and the AP's meet, and then the zone leaders and others come in to meet with the President. We told him we had brought some cookies and pop to share with the elders after the meetings, he that was good, because it was one of the AP's last time, Elder Mejias. So that was a good idea to bring treats. (We'd brought them the day before so they could be refrigerated.) Then just as we were pouring the pop, the mission president's wife showed up, Hermana Rodriguez. She was delighted. She said, "It's my birthday", course she said it in Spanish! (smile) That was a home run!
On Tuesday we were in front of the MTC with our car and the elders two trucks and the senior couple who does membership support in the South, the Browns from West Jordan. The new missionaries just finishing the MTC were loaded in our trucks (10--2 sisters held up in Miami would come the next day. We drove them to a chapel where the Mission President Pres. Rodriguez greeted them and Hermana Rodriguez gave them health training. We assisted by smiling, passing out the packets we'd prepared, weighing the missionaries, taking their blood pressure and taking their pictures with the Pres and wife. Then we helped serve up a lunch, chicken, rice, salad, and cookie (more like a pancake, I think it is mashed platano--kind of like a banana.
Then we left of go to the President's house to eat our welcome dinner with the 10 elders and 2 sisters going home. The President had been interviewing them the final time when we arrived, then we all sat down to dinner, chicken, rice, salad, and lasagna (the President's wife was so excited--she asked the missionaries what they thought of the lasagna. (These were all served in big foil trays made somewhere and brought in, as was the meal earlier. Hey, they like lasagna, I can make that. Then we all loaded up the go to the temple to do a session. After, we dropped the elders at the office to bunk with the office elders and AP's in the basement and the sisters somewhere else. During the night, the AP's and office (only the two Americans can drive. Their companions, native Spanish speakers assist.
The next day Jim and I went to the post office by ourselves--the only one in the country I guess. We take the letters from the missionaries to be mailed (we lick stamps to go on), and the cost is subtracted from each missionaries credit card. Then we pick up packages from the customs office. A native Dominican picked up our packages without saying a word and put them on a cart. Jim and I could have carried them. So he followed us out to the car and Jim tipped him. Somebody said it gives more people jobs? who knows. They do the same thing in the grocery store, and seem offended if you don't let them put them in your car.
The next day we went to the temple with the elders from the office, we dressed in white and then pulled the elders and sisters temple clothes in their size and laid them out in piles with their name on for 2 zones going to the temple the next day. We then handed them out the following day, and stayed for the session. The mission President led the session and his wife helped the few sisters. They are set apart temple workers. It was pretty amazing to see the President leading his missionaries. We helped with the prayer, since there are very few couples in most of the sessions. In the 3 weeks we've been here, and we are supposed to go to the temple since we live in temple housing, we have been 9 of the 14 days, and 2 days we went and it was closed or it would have been 11. This is besides going back and forth to the office (35 minutes each way) learning the roads, finding the stores, and going to 4 Spanish classes which are way over my head!!
Yesterday, Saturday a lot of the senior couples went north of the island and took a boat to a national park. We went also. We rode in 3 mini vans, ate lunch under grass roofs, and waded in the gorgeous water. The national park consisted of 57 small islands, with two inhabited by brown pelicans and huge black birds with a red bubble on their chests, also two small caves where they said Indian Chief Caonabo and his wife Anacaona (two streets by the office) hide out when they were hiding from Columbus. Columbus first landed here in the Dominican Republic and the natives attacked him after a while. Anyway, we hiked through the caves with flashlights and saw some petroglyphs that may have been made by them. Anyway, it was great--20 people were on the boat and the Caribbean sea was gorgeous.
Today, we followed a couple the Browns who are almost ready to go home (they have a son that just started teaching at BYU-I.) to the branch we are assigned to attend, Nizoa about 45 minutes from the temple. There were about 40 people in Sacrament Meeting, 7 in Relief Society, 10 in Sunday School. We wandered through hilly country with lots of palms mixed in natural brush and tree, lots of little shacks and little cement building made from cinderblocks. There were lots of people out, on motorcycles, running here and people on foot, carrying umbrellas, or containers on their heads, sitting around in yards, kids playing etc. some going to a Catholic church, the plaster painted pink, we went down little lanes, saw a sign that said Nizoa, then more lanes, more houses, more dilapidated cars or trucks or motorcycles trying to get past us on the one lane street. Finally, a beautiful little white cement chapel surrounded by wrought iron fences was in view. We pulled in, we were the only car when we arrived, and one of two cars when we left. The people (a mix of Spanish, Indian and Black Jim says) are beautiful, neat and clean and colorful for the sisters and clean, pressed white shirts for all the men and boys. It was so amazing. I said my "holas, como estas?" and "Buenos dias" and smiled. Jim speaks a lot and can talk with people. Course, Relief Society was first and I was on my own. Two sister missionaries who we had met are assigned here too, so there were 3 hermanas from the US and 4 Dominicans in Relief Society. In Sacrament Meeting it was fast day (we had ours at the MTC on conference Sunday) but I bore my testimony in my very limited Spanish. It was scary, but what was I expected to do. The other missionaries followed me. I said, "Buenos dias Hermanos y Hermanas, yo soy Hermana Schmidt. Mi esposo y yo somos de los Estados Unidos. I'm glad to be here (Jim taught me that on the way over, but I can't remember it now.) Yo quiro compartir mi testimonio con ustedes. Yo se Dios vive. Yo se Jesucristo is El Hijio de dios, El Salvador de mundo. Yo se Jose Smith es un profeta y Tomas S. Monson es un profeta de hoy. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen." What a challenge for me!!!
Anyway, you are all smarter than me! Wish you were here!
Lots of Love,
Susan & Jim
