Hi everyone! We love you! Happy Birthday Jolynn! Heard you had snow! Aunt Janet said in Alaska where Kendall is, they had some snow last week.
We won't get snow here. There has been a hurricane passing through on the way to Jamaica or east coast, --lots of water, the streets are flooded in some places, rain coming in our apartment (especially where there is no door in the back), no power this morning and no water for shower. The Elders, Reeder and Batista came and showed us how to turn on the generator, the batteries hadn't been charged because of disuse, but when they left we had electricity for lights, the fridge worked, and water to pump up to our apartment (this is the sort-of-clean water). The water we drink Dad carries up the stairs in blue plastic 5 gal. jugs. Each jug costs 30 pesos or 60-75 cents in American money.
Hope you are all fine, doing great, etc. We love you!!
Oh, I want to tell you about Ramona the cleaning lady. She sort of sulked in her the first few weeks we were here. We would smile, give her cookies if we were eating lunch, etc. One day she was washing the glass of the office divider door with a scrunched newspaper and a bucket of water! I saw my grandma cleaning like that 50 years ago! When we went to the store, I bought Windex and paper towels. When she came the next time, I sprayed the glass and showed her how to clean it with a paper towel, then handed her the cleaning stuff. She was amazed and seemed grateful and placed the Windex and towels in the cupboard by the safe, instead of the back room. About this same time the mission President's wife, Hermana Rodriguez came and told us and the officer elders that the office wasn't being cleaned. Then she told just Jim and I that it wasn't being cleaned and it would be our responsibility. That she should come 3 times a week, clean and clean etc. Then she told me in her best English, "Sister Schmidt. Men don't care about the cleaning. It is your responsibility to see that the office is cleaned!" The office elders said they wouldn't worry about it, that the Mission President's wife and Ramona have always butted heads.
But I worried, So, I got Dad to explain that she needs to come 3 times a week, I showed her with motions that we needed the windows cleaned, the desks and table tops wiped off, the floor mopped, etc. Anyway, she was really mad! She spoke a stream of Spanish that neither Dad nor I could understand, and she stormed out of here. We told the office elders and they said not to worry. The next day, Ramona came early, and didn't speak a word. She went to work though, and mopped each room, rolled up a carpet piece in the foyer and left with it. Anyway, she scrubbed walls and floors and windows all day. The next day when we arrived, she was even washing the foyer with a hose from outside! She washed the walls and the rock work in the entrance, hung out the plastic flowers to dry in the sun, then placed them back in the rock work (decorations kind of like gravel with fake flowers in and stonework on the walls--I was worried about all the water inside, but it seemed to dry out). Anyway, that was last week, she cleaned every day. We praised her, tried to say "muy bueno or muy bonita or buen hecho." She would smile and keep cleaning.
This Monday when the Pres. wife came, I said Ramona cleaned very hard. She was pleased and said she could tell. On Tuesday, Ramona cut a coconut from a palm tree in the yard, came upstairs and offered us coconut juice. On Wednesday she brought us the coconut pieces to take home! -- My Dad, Grandpa used to say, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."
We love you, keep up the good work with your families, jobs, and church. We are so proud of you and brag you up to everyone!!! We bought a picture frame and hung up a 8 x 10 picture of the whole group of you! We look at it fondly!
Love, Mom & Dad
