Last night we noticed that our internet was off. I asked Brian if payment was due and he didn't think so as we did not have our internet connected until July 9. Just to make sure, he looked at the agreement that we signed and it said that payment was due on the 28 of each month. The first thing we did this morning was go to the "FLOW" office to pay our bill. Brian walked up to the counter and said that he was there to repent. That got a few laughs. Anyway, they hadn't turned off our internet, we just had to reset our box because it wasn't working right. We did pay two months in advance just for peace of mind.
Afterwards, we left for Lime Hall as we had made arrangements for Wayne to wash our truck. On Monday we ran into the sisters and Brian asked them where they get their truck washed and they mentioned Wayne. It gives him extra money and it helps pay for his taxi to get to church. The sisters pay him $5.00 to wash the outside. Since we were planning on meeting up with him anyway, we thought this would be a great idea. We met Wayne by the water pipe that is in front of the cemetery. I really wanted to take a picture of the cemetery but there were other people there and I didn't want to show disrespect to their dead so I decided to wait. They bury the dead above ground and it is interesting to see the array of cement boxes of varying shapes and sizes. While Wayne was washing the truck, people would come to the water pipe to fill up their containers. There is a lot of water underground but some of the people do not have a way to get it to their homes. When it rains, they collect water in barrels so that they have a supply on hand. It is very dry right now. Kingston got rain today and with the cloud cover, I thought for sure we would get some rain but so far we have not. One man at the water pipe struck up a conversation with us. He said the government would like us to believe it is climate change, but God is in charge and He knows what He is doing. It was fun to talk to him. There are a lot of good Christian people here.
When Wayne was finished with the truck, we gave him $10.00 and a ride to his house. He did a great job. We later found out that Elder Hall (we replaced he and his wife) had been paying him $15.00. Wayne is the member who makes the wicker furniture. He is 44 but he looks like he is in his 30's. He dropped out of school when he was 14. He reads to us from the Book of Mormon and we help him with the words that he cannot figure out. I asked him about comprehension. He told me that he will read a verse over and over again until he understands what it is saying. After we finished reading with him, we took him back to the water pipe to fill up some containers and then we headed back home. Wayne has been a member for 7 months.
Thursday, 31 July 2014
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Interesting day in Ocho
Yesterday was P-day. Usually we do laundry but Blossom didn't come into the office so we couldn't get coins for the laundry room and the laundry room was closed because Blossom wasn't there. Brian worked on the ward list trying to put members into the different areas that cover our branch. I did a lot of reading. I finished the seminary handbook and read in my scriptures. We did go to the store since we were out of bread and a few other items. During the night, Brian could smell smoke. It was coming from outside but we never could figure out where.
Today we hurried to put in some wash before we met up with President Lester. He wanted us to go to the house that he had leased with his mom so that he could dedicate the property. He had the sisters follow us.
We had a prayer and he had us all bear our testimonies and then he said the prayer. The house is huge and I am not sure what he is going to do with that much house but he feels like he needs to leave his other home because of the two fires that his neighbor started. I think watching his home burn to the ground twice really traumatized him and it is depressing for him to be there. His new home has been vacant for 10 years. I am sure in it's time it was beautiful. The termites are having a hay day and there are wasp nests all over the place. It has potential and he has thought about renting half of it. I look at the house and think of the thousands of dollars it would take to fix it up but a lot of people here don't think like us. They are happy to have a roof on their head and they are satisfied with less. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of beautiful homes here, but the majority of the people here have very little.
The sisters drove back and we dropped President Lester off at the bank and then went home for lunch and threw another batch of laundry in. I bought what I thought was laundry detergent gel packs but upon looking further, after having done the wash, they were laundry boosters and I still needed to add laundry detergent to them. "Duh" We were suppose to meet up with the elders at 2:00 and the clothes weren't completely dry so we had clothes hanging all over the apartment.
The elders took us to 4 less active members. They have all been members for quite awhile. We had a good visit. I have been showing a video called "Pure and Simple Faith" to the less active and active members. I think it really touches them. I am so glad I have my ipad for this purpose. The ipad also has all the seminary videos on it so that will really be helpful when I start teaching. Anyway, one of the members that we met has his own lumber shop in his yard. I should have taken a picture. He was working on some window frames and he is a self taught "jack of all trades." He does great work. One of his biggest problems in termites. They are all over this island. He had someone give him a down payment on some windows and it was two years before the people finally picked them up and termites had started to get into the wood. We really enjoyed visiting with him. I did see him at church on Sunday. The elders have been working with these members trying to get them more active. We were suppose to visit one more house with the elders but President Lester called and asked us to take him to Brother Barbegies home. We dropped the elders off at their appointment and we were going to pick them up on the way back but it was about a 30 minute trip to Brother Barbegies and we must have visited for an hour with he and his wife. He is in the branch presidency and President Lester needed his signature on something. They were all speaking Patwah so I missed about half of the conversation. Anyway, the elders started home without us. We didn't get home until 8:45. This was one night I was glad I had leftovers.
Today we hurried to put in some wash before we met up with President Lester. He wanted us to go to the house that he had leased with his mom so that he could dedicate the property. He had the sisters follow us.
We had a prayer and he had us all bear our testimonies and then he said the prayer. The house is huge and I am not sure what he is going to do with that much house but he feels like he needs to leave his other home because of the two fires that his neighbor started. I think watching his home burn to the ground twice really traumatized him and it is depressing for him to be there. His new home has been vacant for 10 years. I am sure in it's time it was beautiful. The termites are having a hay day and there are wasp nests all over the place. It has potential and he has thought about renting half of it. I look at the house and think of the thousands of dollars it would take to fix it up but a lot of people here don't think like us. They are happy to have a roof on their head and they are satisfied with less. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of beautiful homes here, but the majority of the people here have very little.
The sisters drove back and we dropped President Lester off at the bank and then went home for lunch and threw another batch of laundry in. I bought what I thought was laundry detergent gel packs but upon looking further, after having done the wash, they were laundry boosters and I still needed to add laundry detergent to them. "Duh" We were suppose to meet up with the elders at 2:00 and the clothes weren't completely dry so we had clothes hanging all over the apartment.
The elders took us to 4 less active members. They have all been members for quite awhile. We had a good visit. I have been showing a video called "Pure and Simple Faith" to the less active and active members. I think it really touches them. I am so glad I have my ipad for this purpose. The ipad also has all the seminary videos on it so that will really be helpful when I start teaching. Anyway, one of the members that we met has his own lumber shop in his yard. I should have taken a picture. He was working on some window frames and he is a self taught "jack of all trades." He does great work. One of his biggest problems in termites. They are all over this island. He had someone give him a down payment on some windows and it was two years before the people finally picked them up and termites had started to get into the wood. We really enjoyed visiting with him. I did see him at church on Sunday. The elders have been working with these members trying to get them more active. We were suppose to visit one more house with the elders but President Lester called and asked us to take him to Brother Barbegies home. We dropped the elders off at their appointment and we were going to pick them up on the way back but it was about a 30 minute trip to Brother Barbegies and we must have visited for an hour with he and his wife. He is in the branch presidency and President Lester needed his signature on something. They were all speaking Patwah so I missed about half of the conversation. Anyway, the elders started home without us. We didn't get home until 8:45. This was one night I was glad I had leftovers.
Brian, the sisters and President Lester standing in front of his new home. |
Sisters picking mangos from President Lester's mango tree |
Sunday, 27 July 2014
Baptism in Ocho Rios
The plans for this morning were to begin the baptism at 8:00 a.m. We were there on time as Brain was asked to give the talk on baptism. We were waiting for everyone to get there when the elders got a call from President Lester asking that someone pick him up. Since we were the only ones there with a car we took off hoping that we would remember how to get to his house. Our first mistake was relying on the GPS. We got so far and then the GPS said navigate off road. There were three different dirt roads that we could take - so we got lost. One young man tried to show us where to go but I was a little nervous because in the back of my mind I was thinking, "We have a truck - he could be leading us into a trap". We started to back away and then he came down with his friend and asked us the number for the person. It did not match the number that he had so we just thanked him and went back the way we came and called the elders to tell them we were lost. I guess I wouldn't have worried so much because he seemed really nice but our branch president's taxi cab driver was killed a couple of weeks ago and whoever did it took his car.
After the talks were given, we headed to the beach for the baptism. We were really hoping to get there before the beach got busy but there were people already there. Despite the onlookers, it really was nice to see the missionary and the convert standing in the ocean dressed in white. The young convert seemed really happy. Brian drove the branch president and the missionaries and the convert back to the branch while I drove with the sisters to our apartment so I could pick up some bread for the sacrament.
There have been times when I think, "is it doing any good to visit the less active? Maybe we should just concentrate on the active branch and the new converts." Today one of the members who we stopped to see on the way back from zone meeting, who hasn't been coming for a long time, walked into sacrament meeting. I was so surprised and happy to see her.. I guess you never know who will come so you just keep seeking them out. Maybe that was the Lord's way of telling me not to give up on the less active-all of his children are important to him. When we were having our missionary correlation meeting on Tuesday night, a young man who was converted over a year ago and then just stopped coming, walked in and started talking to us. He told us that he got busy with his job so he couldn't come but lately every time he turns around, he sees the missionaries. He saw that as a sign that he needed to come back. We invited him to come this Sunday and he was there. He even showed up for the baptism. I hope he keeps coming. It is hard to see them fall away when you know the gospel can bless their lives. For some, it is distance and no money for taxi yet, there is a sister in Port Antonio that walks with her kids two hours to church and then turns around after church and walks another two hours home.
We visited with some of the members after church and then took President Lester and Rohan out to Highgate to visit a 28 year old who was once the branch clerk and was very active in the branch. His mother died a while back and I guess he became very depressed and ended up in the hospital. We had a nice visit with him. He is living with his grandmother and is still fighting the depression. Highgate is an hour away so by the time we dropped off President Lester and Rohan, it was almost 5:30. It was hot when we got back into the apartment so I fixed an apple juice, mango, and banana smoothie and then fixed pancakes and eggs for dinner.
Backing up a little - we went to Port Antonio Friday afternoon after visiting with Humphries. We figured that we could just get one of the hotels that we had previously gone too. Not so! They were both full so we figured we would have to drive all the way back to Ocho that night. We went with the missionaries to see Shaneeza. She offered to feed us dinner. We had a nice visit with her. Her sister and 3 nieces and one nephew are visiting her from Guyana. She is so interesting to talk to. There was an inn in front of her house and we asked her if it was expensive. She thought we could get a room for about $40 or $50. When they find out you are American, they raise the price but they did have a vacancy and we got the room for about $59. That has been the cheapest so far. The room was really nice but there was plastic on the mattress to keep it clean.The plastic makes you sweat but we had air so it was okay. We could hear the traffic on the road and the roosters at 4:00 in the morning so we really didn't get a very good nights sleep but I was grateful we didn't have to drive back to Ocho in the dark. Shaneeza asked us to come over for hot chocolate in the morning so we did and visited with her until we left to pick up the elders. We ended up driving back to Shaneeza's so that the elders could give her sister the missionary discussions. She asked us to stay for lunch and we had fish and a rice dish. Even though Shaneeza is from Guyana, she is Indian (India) background. She was from the BaHai faith before she joined the church. As a child, her mother taught her not to beg but to work hard. She is one of 13 children. She went to Jamaica to do service for 5 years and ended up staying. She has been there for over 14 years and has a 7 year old daughter. She believes that you should share what you have and that you do not need a lot of material possessions to make you happy. She will be a real asset to the Port Antonio Branch. After lunch we took the elders back into town. We were going to visit a sister in the branch but ended up picking up the other two elders and taking them to a bike shop to get a tube for Elder Lee's bike since his other tube was not fixable. The four elders ended up visiting the sister and we headed back to Ocho as Brian had two talks to prepare.
After the talks were given, we headed to the beach for the baptism. We were really hoping to get there before the beach got busy but there were people already there. Despite the onlookers, it really was nice to see the missionary and the convert standing in the ocean dressed in white. The young convert seemed really happy. Brian drove the branch president and the missionaries and the convert back to the branch while I drove with the sisters to our apartment so I could pick up some bread for the sacrament.
There have been times when I think, "is it doing any good to visit the less active? Maybe we should just concentrate on the active branch and the new converts." Today one of the members who we stopped to see on the way back from zone meeting, who hasn't been coming for a long time, walked into sacrament meeting. I was so surprised and happy to see her.. I guess you never know who will come so you just keep seeking them out. Maybe that was the Lord's way of telling me not to give up on the less active-all of his children are important to him. When we were having our missionary correlation meeting on Tuesday night, a young man who was converted over a year ago and then just stopped coming, walked in and started talking to us. He told us that he got busy with his job so he couldn't come but lately every time he turns around, he sees the missionaries. He saw that as a sign that he needed to come back. We invited him to come this Sunday and he was there. He even showed up for the baptism. I hope he keeps coming. It is hard to see them fall away when you know the gospel can bless their lives. For some, it is distance and no money for taxi yet, there is a sister in Port Antonio that walks with her kids two hours to church and then turns around after church and walks another two hours home.
We visited with some of the members after church and then took President Lester and Rohan out to Highgate to visit a 28 year old who was once the branch clerk and was very active in the branch. His mother died a while back and I guess he became very depressed and ended up in the hospital. We had a nice visit with him. He is living with his grandmother and is still fighting the depression. Highgate is an hour away so by the time we dropped off President Lester and Rohan, it was almost 5:30. It was hot when we got back into the apartment so I fixed an apple juice, mango, and banana smoothie and then fixed pancakes and eggs for dinner.
Backing up a little - we went to Port Antonio Friday afternoon after visiting with Humphries. We figured that we could just get one of the hotels that we had previously gone too. Not so! They were both full so we figured we would have to drive all the way back to Ocho that night. We went with the missionaries to see Shaneeza. She offered to feed us dinner. We had a nice visit with her. Her sister and 3 nieces and one nephew are visiting her from Guyana. She is so interesting to talk to. There was an inn in front of her house and we asked her if it was expensive. She thought we could get a room for about $40 or $50. When they find out you are American, they raise the price but they did have a vacancy and we got the room for about $59. That has been the cheapest so far. The room was really nice but there was plastic on the mattress to keep it clean.The plastic makes you sweat but we had air so it was okay. We could hear the traffic on the road and the roosters at 4:00 in the morning so we really didn't get a very good nights sleep but I was grateful we didn't have to drive back to Ocho in the dark. Shaneeza asked us to come over for hot chocolate in the morning so we did and visited with her until we left to pick up the elders. We ended up driving back to Shaneeza's so that the elders could give her sister the missionary discussions. She asked us to stay for lunch and we had fish and a rice dish. Even though Shaneeza is from Guyana, she is Indian (India) background. She was from the BaHai faith before she joined the church. As a child, her mother taught her not to beg but to work hard. She is one of 13 children. She went to Jamaica to do service for 5 years and ended up staying. She has been there for over 14 years and has a 7 year old daughter. She believes that you should share what you have and that you do not need a lot of material possessions to make you happy. She will be a real asset to the Port Antonio Branch. After lunch we took the elders back into town. We were going to visit a sister in the branch but ended up picking up the other two elders and taking them to a bike shop to get a tube for Elder Lee's bike since his other tube was not fixable. The four elders ended up visiting the sister and we headed back to Ocho as Brian had two talks to prepare.
Elder Hall and Elder Egan with Brother Dixon |
Hotel room in Port Antonio |
Thursday, 24 July 2014
Another day in Ocho
Today, Brian worked on putting an area map together and getting ready for his Sunday school lesson on Sunday. It is the Primary program in Ocho this week and I am excited to see how that goes. I spent most of the day studying. I have been trying to read the seminary handbook before seminary starts. I also spent time in the scriptures and Preach my Gospel.
Tonight we ventured out on our own and made a trip over to Lime Hall to see W. Fortunately, his address was in the GPS. I am not sure how long he has been a member but he has been coming to church every Sunday. A week ago we visited him with P L. W is the member who is so good with creating wicker furniture. We visited with him for a few minutes and then he went into the house to get his Book of Mormon and he started to read to us. He read the prayers for the sacrament very well. He could not read when he was contacted by the missionaries but he told us that as he has tried to read the Book of Mormon, he has learned how to read. He would read and then Brian would explain what he was reading. The sisters that were working with him when he started investigating the church wrote on the inside cover of his Book of Mormon before they left. He could not read what they wrote. He can now read it. I know he is being blessed for his efforts. He tries to read every day. We told him that we would come as often as we can to help him. We showed him a video off the ipad on faith and then we left. We tried to figure out where Humphrey lives because he also lives in Lime Hall but when we called him he wasn't going to be home for another 45 minutes so we told him we would call tomorrow.
When we got home I fixed dinner and Brian defrosted the refrigerator freezer. This is the second time in the 2 1/2 weeks that we have been here that the freezer needed defrosting. Tomorrow we will be going to Port Antonio.
Tonight we ventured out on our own and made a trip over to Lime Hall to see W. Fortunately, his address was in the GPS. I am not sure how long he has been a member but he has been coming to church every Sunday. A week ago we visited him with P L. W is the member who is so good with creating wicker furniture. We visited with him for a few minutes and then he went into the house to get his Book of Mormon and he started to read to us. He read the prayers for the sacrament very well. He could not read when he was contacted by the missionaries but he told us that as he has tried to read the Book of Mormon, he has learned how to read. He would read and then Brian would explain what he was reading. The sisters that were working with him when he started investigating the church wrote on the inside cover of his Book of Mormon before they left. He could not read what they wrote. He can now read it. I know he is being blessed for his efforts. He tries to read every day. We told him that we would come as often as we can to help him. We showed him a video off the ipad on faith and then we left. We tried to figure out where Humphrey lives because he also lives in Lime Hall but when we called him he wasn't going to be home for another 45 minutes so we told him we would call tomorrow.
When we got home I fixed dinner and Brian defrosted the refrigerator freezer. This is the second time in the 2 1/2 weeks that we have been here that the freezer needed defrosting. Tomorrow we will be going to Port Antonio.
W standing in front of the home that he built. |
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Zone meeting in Montego Bay
I didn't do a post for Monday and Tuesday because Monday was P-day and besides laundry, grocery shopping and waiting in line at the bank for almost an hour, we really didn't accomplish a great deal. I did get to spend a lot of time in the scriptures and the seminary handbook so that was a real plus. Tuesday we were hoping to spend some time with the sister missionaries but they have not been too successful in lining up appointments because the less active really don't want a visit and the members are busy. They were somewhat discouraged last night when we met with President Lester for a missionary correlation meeting. We have to depend on them to show us where people live.
Today was zone meeting. I asked the sisters what time we should be ready to go and they suggested 7:30. I invited them over for breakfast so that they could park their truck here and we could all leave together. The Ocho Rios branch covers two parrishes - St. Anns and St. Marys. and the sisters can really rack up the miles with visits. Normally they would drive and we would take the elders but they keep running out of miles.
I saw a side of Jamaica that I really hadn't seen yet. The road to Montego Bay is very nice. It is more like a divided highway. Montego Bay has an airport and it is also a very popular spot for cruise ships. We saw three ships on our way to zone meeting. There are also some pretty plush resorts along the way. It is a much better place to fly into than Kingston. I love driving along the coast. The ocean is so beautiful and you can't beat the air conditioning in the truck when you have a two hour drive ahead of you. You can really tell that they cater to the tourists.
Zone meeting was amazing. I was impressed with the quality of missionaries we have in this zone. One of the elders we met, an Elder Fowlks, told us he was from Gilbert, AZ. Brian asked him what school he attended and when he said Higley High, he asked him if he knew Joselyn and Jacki and he said that he use to hang out with them sometimes. Small world. It was fun to meet the elders in this zone. The only three sisters that we have in the zone are the Ocho sisters.
One thing that has amazed me is how easy I can stay awake when Brian is driving and when I am in meetings. It has been a blessing for me.
After zone meeting, we went to Burger King with the sisters and then headed back towards Ocho. We stopped to visit an inactive sister in Discovery Bay. She joined the church in Florida, but when she returned to Jamaica, she lost interest in attending church. I think it was hard for her to go from an active ward to a small branch. We invited her to come back. She gave us each a mango as we left. I must admit that I have developed a taste for Mangos. They are so good when they are picked fresh from the tree. We then visited Sister Noble. She has been coming to church. She hasn't been able to bring her children because she can't afford the taxi fare for all of them but she is making an effort to come. Her husband is out of work and they live in very humble circumstances. We then visited an older sister who lives alone and is completely inactive. He husband was once a branch president but 15 years ago he drowned. She is probably in her 80's and the branch is quite a distance from her home so she has been attending another church. (I think she goes to the Seventh Day Adventist church) We showed her a video clip from the ipad. She loved it. I could tell that she was very touched. We always sing a song, say an opening and closing prayer and leave a message when we visit members. I really enjoy visiting the members. It was around 7:45 when we got home. I made a mango, banana and pineapple juice smoothie. It tasted so good- especially after walking into a hot apartment. Blossom, the lady who looks after the condos, informed me that our water would be turned off from 7 am to 7 pm. I am glad I have some water stored. Jamaica needs rain!!
Today was zone meeting. I asked the sisters what time we should be ready to go and they suggested 7:30. I invited them over for breakfast so that they could park their truck here and we could all leave together. The Ocho Rios branch covers two parrishes - St. Anns and St. Marys. and the sisters can really rack up the miles with visits. Normally they would drive and we would take the elders but they keep running out of miles.
I saw a side of Jamaica that I really hadn't seen yet. The road to Montego Bay is very nice. It is more like a divided highway. Montego Bay has an airport and it is also a very popular spot for cruise ships. We saw three ships on our way to zone meeting. There are also some pretty plush resorts along the way. It is a much better place to fly into than Kingston. I love driving along the coast. The ocean is so beautiful and you can't beat the air conditioning in the truck when you have a two hour drive ahead of you. You can really tell that they cater to the tourists.
Zone meeting was amazing. I was impressed with the quality of missionaries we have in this zone. One of the elders we met, an Elder Fowlks, told us he was from Gilbert, AZ. Brian asked him what school he attended and when he said Higley High, he asked him if he knew Joselyn and Jacki and he said that he use to hang out with them sometimes. Small world. It was fun to meet the elders in this zone. The only three sisters that we have in the zone are the Ocho sisters.
Sister Bailey, Sister Walker, and Sister Judd in front of the Montego Bay Chapel |
Elder Fowlks and his companion at zone meeting |
One thing that has amazed me is how easy I can stay awake when Brian is driving and when I am in meetings. It has been a blessing for me.
After zone meeting, we went to Burger King with the sisters and then headed back towards Ocho. We stopped to visit an inactive sister in Discovery Bay. She joined the church in Florida, but when she returned to Jamaica, she lost interest in attending church. I think it was hard for her to go from an active ward to a small branch. We invited her to come back. She gave us each a mango as we left. I must admit that I have developed a taste for Mangos. They are so good when they are picked fresh from the tree. We then visited Sister Noble. She has been coming to church. She hasn't been able to bring her children because she can't afford the taxi fare for all of them but she is making an effort to come. Her husband is out of work and they live in very humble circumstances. We then visited an older sister who lives alone and is completely inactive. He husband was once a branch president but 15 years ago he drowned. She is probably in her 80's and the branch is quite a distance from her home so she has been attending another church. (I think she goes to the Seventh Day Adventist church) We showed her a video clip from the ipad. She loved it. I could tell that she was very touched. We always sing a song, say an opening and closing prayer and leave a message when we visit members. I really enjoy visiting the members. It was around 7:45 when we got home. I made a mango, banana and pineapple juice smoothie. It tasted so good- especially after walking into a hot apartment. Blossom, the lady who looks after the condos, informed me that our water would be turned off from 7 am to 7 pm. I am glad I have some water stored. Jamaica needs rain!!
Elder Hardy and the Ocho Sisters at Burger King |
Sunday, 20 July 2014
Another trip to Port Antonio
We left Ocho Rios around 12:30 and headed for Port Antonio. The elders had a service project that they wanted to use the truck for. We also wanted to attend the branch for Sunday services as we had not had a chance to do that. Upon arrival we decided to try a new hotel. It was cheaper and we liked the location but the bed wasn't as comfortable and the breakfast they provided was not as good as the Hotel Tim Bamboo. While we were checking in, two of the elders called us and they needed to be picked up because the derailer on one of the bikes broke and they were some distance from their apartment. They had visited a sister who lives back in the hills and ended up doing a service project for her. The timing and location couldn't have been better. On our way back to the apartment, one of the other elders had called because his tire had become flat. By the time we got to the apartment, we had four bikes in our truck and four elders in the back seat. We have 3 Jamaican elders and one American elder serving in Port Antonio. They are great! The elders changed their clothes and we headed for our first service project. Upon arrival, we climbed a trail that led to a small makeshift hut. The family is moving to another location that is by the wife's mother. We picked up corrugated tin and some boards and then delivered them to the father of the family. We then stopped at another member's home and moved some dirt off the road so that they could use it for making some cement slabs. I have learned that you can do some amazing things with very little.
After our projects, we dropped the elders off and headed for our hotel so that Brian could shower. Two of the elders had arranged for us to do some visiting. You would not believe the roads we drove on. I was grateful for a truck and a motorcycle would have been better. I can see why the elders ride bikes because it is much easier to navigate the town. They will be in such great shape when they finish their missions. Our first contact was not home so we walked up the road and talked to one inactive member and her non-member relative that lived next door. We then visited with Brother James and his non-member son who is having the discussions
. Brother James is the branch mission leader. He is the one who lost four of his toes due to diabetes. After driving the elders home at 9:30, we went back to our hotel.
Sunday morning we drove to the branch for our 3 hour block. Before Sacrament meeting was over, the place was filled to capacity. Both Brian and I were asked to bear our testimonies. The talks given were really good. I decided to visit Primary. The room was small and it was also filled to capacity. They do not have a keyboard in the room so we just sang an opening and closing song. They give a lesson first and then do sharing time. They also played a game with the children which they seemed to really enjoy. The children signed their names to a card for a little boy that got hit by a car in front of the school. After the block, we asked the elders if there was anything they needed for us to do, but they were going to be involved with meetings so we decided to head back to Ocho.
After our projects, we dropped the elders off and headed for our hotel so that Brian could shower. Two of the elders had arranged for us to do some visiting. You would not believe the roads we drove on. I was grateful for a truck and a motorcycle would have been better. I can see why the elders ride bikes because it is much easier to navigate the town. They will be in such great shape when they finish their missions. Our first contact was not home so we walked up the road and talked to one inactive member and her non-member relative that lived next door. We then visited with Brother James and his non-member son who is having the discussions
The Port Antonio Elder's apartment |
Loading tin and lumber for the service project |
Picking up Elder Humphries and Elder Danvers |
Removing dirt off the road for a member in the Branch |
Sunday morning we drove to the branch for our 3 hour block. Before Sacrament meeting was over, the place was filled to capacity. Both Brian and I were asked to bear our testimonies. The talks given were really good. I decided to visit Primary. The room was small and it was also filled to capacity. They do not have a keyboard in the room so we just sang an opening and closing song. They give a lesson first and then do sharing time. They also played a game with the children which they seemed to really enjoy. The children signed their names to a card for a little boy that got hit by a car in front of the school. After the block, we asked the elders if there was anything they needed for us to do, but they were going to be involved with meetings so we decided to head back to Ocho.
Some of the Primary children in the Port Antonio Branch |
Friday, 18 July 2014
Highgate
Yesterday we visited Highgate. The sisters called and wanted to know if we would like to go with them and we jumped at the chance since we have not visited that area, mainly because we don't know where anyone lives. There used to be a branch it Highgate but it was dissolved. Unfortunately, these people live an hour from the Ocho Branch and most of them have to travel by taxi. If they bring their children with them, it becomes very expensive. One of the sisters that we visited is very poor. I am not sure how she survives. Her daughter died of cancer so she is raising her two grandchildren. Her grandson is only 14 and he was kicked out of school for smoking pot. She is very worried about him. She tries to come to church once a month if she can save up enough money for a taxi. The older sister lives with her children but does not come to church. We usually visit for a while, sing a hymn with them, have a prayer and give them a message. Their lives are so hard! We encourage them and try to give them words of comfort, and then close with prayer. Sisters in Jamaica do not visit teach. The concept is very foreign to them. They could bring a lot of comfort to each other if they would implement this program in their lives.
We also visited with the second counselor in the branch presidency and his wife. They are an older couple and he is retired Jamaican military. They have a nice home. They gave us a little history of the Highgate Branch. She used to be the Relief Society president and he was a branch president. As we were getting ready to leave, she offered us a Mango drink. Talk about good. They have a farm in the back of their home where they grow root crops and bananas and mangos. They sell them and use them for food. They are a very nice couple.
We also visited with the second counselor in the branch presidency and his wife. They are an older couple and he is retired Jamaican military. They have a nice home. They gave us a little history of the Highgate Branch. She used to be the Relief Society president and he was a branch president. As we were getting ready to leave, she offered us a Mango drink. Talk about good. They have a farm in the back of their home where they grow root crops and bananas and mangos. They sell them and use them for food. They are a very nice couple.
We had to hurry back so we could get our truck and the sister's truck inspected. The office elders had a brother from the area office in the Dominican Republic there to inspect them. As it was, we were about 15 minutes late getting back.
Today we visited with Sister L and her daughters M and E. We had a great visit and they gave us some history on Ocho. They have been long time members. This was our second visit to their home. We hadn't met E and that was the main reason we went. We were hoping her daughters would be there. I really enjoy visiting with them. Sister L had eye surgery and it left her blind in one eye. She has a catarac on the other eye and so she have a very difficult time seeing. She also has diabetes and that doesn't help with her eye problem.
We stopped at the grocery store to buy a few things and then headed home for lunch. We had an appointment at 6:00 in Galina with a member that use to be the branch president in Highgate. He is inactive but wants his children to be baptized so we will probably have the sisters work with them. He was very pleasant to talk to and he knows the church is true. He just needs to get his life in order. I hope he will come back.
Tomorrow we are heading for Port Antonio. We will stay the night and attend church in that branch.
Wednesday, 16 July 2014
Visits with President Lester
Because we are going to Port Antonio this weekend, we decided not to make the trip into Port Antonio for district meeting. We wanted to make some visits in the morning but we found that most people work and they usually want to see you around 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. I called President Lester to see if he wanted to make some visits so that he could show us where some of the members live and he agreed to 4:00. I told him we would pick him up. I should have taken a picture of the road to his place. The sister missionaries got us to the turn off and then we started travelling on a dirt road that led us through a beautiful tropical ravine. They told us it was the first house on the right and we drove past one area that we thought could be his but we just kept going and finally came to it. His son, P, was standing outside the gate waiting for us. He introduced us to his two dogs, Whitey and Browny. While his dad was showering, he showed us the chicken coops that the humanitarian aid had helped them build. He showed us a very fat chicken that he hoped his father would fry up for his birthday. There were a bunch of little chicks that they were raising plus some laying hens but the weather is too hot for them to lay right now. He told us that Whitey likes chicken so they keep the coop locked. Whitey also likes to eat cats.
P L caught his neighbor stealing from him over a year ago. He confronted his neighbor and in return his neighbor burned P L's house down. He had just put on a new roof after the fire when the neighbor burned it again. The neighbor is now in prison. He saved enough money to buy half of a roof and the branch helped him put it on. He is trying to save for the other half. He does not own a car and he has to get a taxi anytime he wants to travel. He sells eggs and plants. His plants are beautiful. Where he lives is quite a bit cooler than the rest of Ocho. He told us that it has been hotter than usual and that they are in a drought. He collects the rain water that runs off his roof to water the plants.
P L showed us the way to an inactive family's home. It was decent compared to some I have seen. On the way to the house, we could see people with water containers getting water out of a pipe that comes from a well or spring. When we stopped at the house a young girl met us at the gate. You always call on your cell phone to see if someone is home or you call to them at the gate. The wife was just getting ready to leave for Canada in the morning with her son but she invited us in. Her husband was home so we were able to visit with both of them. I am not sure they really wanted to see us but they invited us in. She was very active when she lived in Canada. They haven't been coming for two years now. They told us we could come back.
After we left their house, we parked the car and walked to W M home. We have seen him at church and he is working towards getting the Melchizedek Priesthood. He is such a great member. He showed us the wicker headboard that he had made from start to finish in about 6 hours. He has been doing wicker since he was 14. It was incredible. He gathers the wicker from around his house and dries it and then weaves it.. I wish I had a way to get some home. He makes all kinds of furniture. The pictures do not do it justice. He had some huge speakers on his front porch. He loves music but he no longer uses the speakers,etc. for a job. He told us that he built his home. I tried to take a picture but it was too dark. I will have to get a picture next time we are there. Both he and the family we met live in Lime Hollow. It is over by St. Ann's Bay and the road is very windy as it goes up into the mountains. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to their homes. I understand that it actually gets pretty cool up there at night. I feel guilty when I think how much I have and they have so little. Some of the people in Kingston can go two or three days without eating because they do not have money to buy food. We have so much to be grateful for!
After we left W's home we drove P L and P back to the church. Across from the church is a Burger King and I knew P would be hungry because the President had some work to do at the church so we treated them to Burger King before left. We got home about 8:30.
P L caught his neighbor stealing from him over a year ago. He confronted his neighbor and in return his neighbor burned P L's house down. He had just put on a new roof after the fire when the neighbor burned it again. The neighbor is now in prison. He saved enough money to buy half of a roof and the branch helped him put it on. He is trying to save for the other half. He does not own a car and he has to get a taxi anytime he wants to travel. He sells eggs and plants. His plants are beautiful. Where he lives is quite a bit cooler than the rest of Ocho. He told us that it has been hotter than usual and that they are in a drought. He collects the rain water that runs off his roof to water the plants.
P L showed us the way to an inactive family's home. It was decent compared to some I have seen. On the way to the house, we could see people with water containers getting water out of a pipe that comes from a well or spring. When we stopped at the house a young girl met us at the gate. You always call on your cell phone to see if someone is home or you call to them at the gate. The wife was just getting ready to leave for Canada in the morning with her son but she invited us in. Her husband was home so we were able to visit with both of them. I am not sure they really wanted to see us but they invited us in. She was very active when she lived in Canada. They haven't been coming for two years now. They told us we could come back.
After we left their house, we parked the car and walked to W M home. We have seen him at church and he is working towards getting the Melchizedek Priesthood. He is such a great member. He showed us the wicker headboard that he had made from start to finish in about 6 hours. He has been doing wicker since he was 14. It was incredible. He gathers the wicker from around his house and dries it and then weaves it.. I wish I had a way to get some home. He makes all kinds of furniture. The pictures do not do it justice. He had some huge speakers on his front porch. He loves music but he no longer uses the speakers,etc. for a job. He told us that he built his home. I tried to take a picture but it was too dark. I will have to get a picture next time we are there. Both he and the family we met live in Lime Hollow. It is over by St. Ann's Bay and the road is very windy as it goes up into the mountains. It took us about 20 minutes to drive to their homes. I understand that it actually gets pretty cool up there at night. I feel guilty when I think how much I have and they have so little. Some of the people in Kingston can go two or three days without eating because they do not have money to buy food. We have so much to be grateful for!
After we left W's home we drove P L and P back to the church. Across from the church is a Burger King and I knew P would be hungry because the President had some work to do at the church so we treated them to Burger King before left. We got home about 8:30.
Back in our living room. |
President L's home. His son P is standing outside the home. |
P and P Lstanding next to the wicker headboard that Wayne McKenszie made. |
Wayne McKenszie standing next to the headboard that he made. |
Tuesday, 15 July 2014
Pictures from Jamaica
View from our patio. |
Our bathroom. |
Our kitchen |
Elder and Sister Vance and Brother and Sister Murdock |
Shaneza's baptizm in Port Antonio |
Elder Hardy standing outside of Hotel Tim Bamboo |
Branch meetinghouse in Port Antonio |
P day in Kingston
Monday is Preparation day for us. We washed our clothes in the morning after Blossom open the laundry room. I set the washer on Whites but no water came out. I found out that there is only one water temperature and that is cold. After we finished the laundry we ate lunch and headed for Kingston.
I really do hate that drive but their is air conditioning in the truck so that is a real plus. I never worry about your father falling asleep because it is too scary to drive that road and you have to be alert at all times. I find myself even staying awake.
We drove to the mission office. The Vance's were there along with the Murdocks. We had an appointment with President Brown at 4:00 so we just visited with everyone and got a little more information about Ocho and Port Antonio from Sister Hall. We mentioned some of the members that we had met at the social in Port Antonio and she preceded to show us some pictures of the conditions some of them live in. One of the sisters just had a new baby. She has a set of twins also and one other child. When Hurrican Annie swept over Jamaica a few years back, her house was blown away. She collected what corrigated tin she could recover and put up a few walls and covered the rest of the hut with a plastic tarp. She is still living like that. She has a make shift kitchen out side. It rains quite frequently there. Her husband is trying to build them a new place but he drank his last paycheck and that happens quite frequently. Another man who is single and is my age (the one that Brian described as looking like he lived in the Australian bush) sleeps on a door that is covered by a tarp. He is a wood carver and tries to sell his carvings but there are a lot of craftsmen so sometimes he can go for 3 days without food. He is a faithful brother when it comes to the gospel. It makes me feel like a spoiled brat when I complain that my refrigerator is not working properly.
We had a wonderful interview with President Brown. He is native Jamaican and really knows his people. You can really feel the spirit in his presence. He has such hope for the church in Jamaica and he is hoping that with the increase of Elders and Sisters that are serving from the island, the church will have the power to keep growing. He is not only over all the missionaries assigned to Jamaica but he is also incharge of all the Jamaiican missionaaries that are being called.
We probably have over 200 priesthood holders in Ocho and its surrounding areas but right now we have two active Melchizedek priesthood holders and 5 or 6 active Aaronic priesthood attending. He asked if I would teach Seminary and Brian would teach Institute. You can imagine what was going through my mind! I would only teach once a week in the afternoon and the rest of the week the students would do home study. He also wants us to attend the zone meetings and at least two district meetings a month. Zone meeting is two hours away and one of the district meetings is held in Port Antonio which is another two hours in the opposite direction. We will also be attending that branch in Port Antonio two Sundays a week. The president assures me that we will be able to find the homes that we need to go to. I felt somewhat overwhelmed as I left his office but I know this is the Lord's work and we are on his errand so it will be alright.
We drove with President Brown to his home for family home evening. All the couple missionaries meet at his home once a month. The Halls gave a great lesson on prayer. The Browns have 4 children and Sister Brown is expecting. We spent the night at the Murdocks. The Vances spent the night with Sister Wigi who lives upstairs from the Murdocks. The Vances took us to the mission office so that we could pick up our truck. The office elders had taken our truck to the dealer for it's 1,000 mile service.
We drove back to Ocho and arrived around noon. We looked at two - two bedroom apartments but for the money they want, we probably will stay here. The refrigerator repairman came back to check our refrigerator. We defrosted the freezer because of the ice buildup. It has only been a week since it was turned on. We will see what happens.
The mission office provided us water filters for our apartment and the elders and sisters serving here. We were hoping to deliver them but they were going to be out late. Brian did get ours installed and it will be nice not to have to buy bottled water.
I really do hate that drive but their is air conditioning in the truck so that is a real plus. I never worry about your father falling asleep because it is too scary to drive that road and you have to be alert at all times. I find myself even staying awake.
We drove to the mission office. The Vance's were there along with the Murdocks. We had an appointment with President Brown at 4:00 so we just visited with everyone and got a little more information about Ocho and Port Antonio from Sister Hall. We mentioned some of the members that we had met at the social in Port Antonio and she preceded to show us some pictures of the conditions some of them live in. One of the sisters just had a new baby. She has a set of twins also and one other child. When Hurrican Annie swept over Jamaica a few years back, her house was blown away. She collected what corrigated tin she could recover and put up a few walls and covered the rest of the hut with a plastic tarp. She is still living like that. She has a make shift kitchen out side. It rains quite frequently there. Her husband is trying to build them a new place but he drank his last paycheck and that happens quite frequently. Another man who is single and is my age (the one that Brian described as looking like he lived in the Australian bush) sleeps on a door that is covered by a tarp. He is a wood carver and tries to sell his carvings but there are a lot of craftsmen so sometimes he can go for 3 days without food. He is a faithful brother when it comes to the gospel. It makes me feel like a spoiled brat when I complain that my refrigerator is not working properly.
We had a wonderful interview with President Brown. He is native Jamaican and really knows his people. You can really feel the spirit in his presence. He has such hope for the church in Jamaica and he is hoping that with the increase of Elders and Sisters that are serving from the island, the church will have the power to keep growing. He is not only over all the missionaries assigned to Jamaica but he is also incharge of all the Jamaiican missionaaries that are being called.
We probably have over 200 priesthood holders in Ocho and its surrounding areas but right now we have two active Melchizedek priesthood holders and 5 or 6 active Aaronic priesthood attending. He asked if I would teach Seminary and Brian would teach Institute. You can imagine what was going through my mind! I would only teach once a week in the afternoon and the rest of the week the students would do home study. He also wants us to attend the zone meetings and at least two district meetings a month. Zone meeting is two hours away and one of the district meetings is held in Port Antonio which is another two hours in the opposite direction. We will also be attending that branch in Port Antonio two Sundays a week. The president assures me that we will be able to find the homes that we need to go to. I felt somewhat overwhelmed as I left his office but I know this is the Lord's work and we are on his errand so it will be alright.
We drove with President Brown to his home for family home evening. All the couple missionaries meet at his home once a month. The Halls gave a great lesson on prayer. The Browns have 4 children and Sister Brown is expecting. We spent the night at the Murdocks. The Vances spent the night with Sister Wigi who lives upstairs from the Murdocks. The Vances took us to the mission office so that we could pick up our truck. The office elders had taken our truck to the dealer for it's 1,000 mile service.
We drove back to Ocho and arrived around noon. We looked at two - two bedroom apartments but for the money they want, we probably will stay here. The refrigerator repairman came back to check our refrigerator. We defrosted the freezer because of the ice buildup. It has only been a week since it was turned on. We will see what happens.
The mission office provided us water filters for our apartment and the elders and sisters serving here. We were hoping to deliver them but they were going to be out late. Brian did get ours installed and it will be nice not to have to buy bottled water.
Sunday, 13 July 2014
We are here!
After a very inspiring week at the MTC, we arrived in Jamaica around 7:00 pm on Saturday. Before we landed, we were given a customs document to enter the country. Brian was given a paper at the MTC showing the address we were suppose to list as our residence. Unfortunately, we had the address for the island of Turks. (1st red flag) Because our last day at the MTC was July 4 (holliday and post office closed), we did not have our work permit authorization papers. (2nd red flag). Needless to say, we were in the customs office for 2 hours. We called travel services to get President Brown's cell phone number and he was able to go to the office and fax over the work permit. President and Sister Brown picked us up and delivered us to the Murdocks (another missionary couple) to spend the night.
Sunday we drove to Ocho Rios to attend the Sunday services with the Murdocks.. We will be living in Ocho Rios. It is a two hour drive from Kingston. Elder Murdock drove. Sister Murdock showed me how to navigate the GPS. It was a good thing that they accompanied us or we would never have made it to Ocho Rios. Even now, after making the trip twice, I worry about making it back to Kingston on our own.
It was fast and testimony meeting in the branch and I was impressed with the members. Elder Hall taught the
gospel essentials class and did a great job. My biggest concern was remembering the names of the members. The Relief Society president taught the lesson and encouraged the sisters to fellowship the new converts and those members who are not coming. Most of the members do not have cars and some of the members live as far as an hour from here. The Murdocks were going to show us our apartment but they left the keys in their truck so they showed us where we would be staying and then we went down to the pool area and ate the sandwiches that she had packed for the trip. Brother Murdock had Brian drive back. Considering that they drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is on right side of the car, Brian did pretty good. However, I was glad to get back to Kingston and I was dreading the drive back to Ocho the next day.
Monday morning we headed to the mission office to turn in our passports and pick up our phone and other essentials. We then drove to Price Mart (Jamaica's Costco) to get a few items. From there it was onto Ocho.
Sunday we drove to Ocho Rios to attend the Sunday services with the Murdocks.. We will be living in Ocho Rios. It is a two hour drive from Kingston. Elder Murdock drove. Sister Murdock showed me how to navigate the GPS. It was a good thing that they accompanied us or we would never have made it to Ocho Rios. Even now, after making the trip twice, I worry about making it back to Kingston on our own.
It was fast and testimony meeting in the branch and I was impressed with the members. Elder Hall taught the
gospel essentials class and did a great job. My biggest concern was remembering the names of the members. The Relief Society president taught the lesson and encouraged the sisters to fellowship the new converts and those members who are not coming. Most of the members do not have cars and some of the members live as far as an hour from here. The Murdocks were going to show us our apartment but they left the keys in their truck so they showed us where we would be staying and then we went down to the pool area and ate the sandwiches that she had packed for the trip. Brother Murdock had Brian drive back. Considering that they drive on the opposite side of the road and the steering wheel is on right side of the car, Brian did pretty good. However, I was glad to get back to Kingston and I was dreading the drive back to Ocho the next day.
Monday morning we headed to the mission office to turn in our passports and pick up our phone and other essentials. We then drove to Price Mart (Jamaica's Costco) to get a few items. From there it was onto Ocho.
Life in Ocho Rios
Most Sacrament meetings start at 10:00 am in Jamaica. A few buildings have two wards or branches but our branch is very small. We meet in the second floor of a commercial building (a very small building) next to the grocery store. There are lots of fans and some air conditioning but not enough to cool the place to Elder Hardy's satisfaction. We are starting to learn a few names and connect them to faces but it is not always easy - especially when you are working with two branches. Brian and I were both asked to bear our testimonies and I said the opening prayer and right before priesthood meeting, Brian was asked to teach the lesson. The Relief Society president would rather the missionaries did not participate as they want their members to so we just keep quiet. They did ask me to show them how one of the songs sounded since we don't have a keyboard player. That was a little intimidating as I tried to sing the first verse. One darling little girl has discovered that I have gum and Altoids so she heads right for me when we walk in. I just might have to stalk up because she also wants one for her 3 brothers. The children are so cute!!!!
After church, we had missionary correlation meeting which was very helpful. President Lester, the branch president, wants us to teach the temple prep class. Between the two branches we have enough to keep us busy for a long time. We are hoping the sister missionaries will call us so that we can visit one of the less active sisters. They help us navigate the roads around here.
A little bit about our life here so far.
The Murdocks drove to Ocho with us on Monday. We stopped at a Jerk Center for lunch and we treated them to Jerk Chicken. It was very good. We will do that again. The Murdocks have been very helpful in getting us settled and acquainted with the area. After we unloaded our luggage and some boxes of items left from the last missionaries to leave, we went with the Murdocks to get a tax number so that we could connect the internet. We then went to "FLOW". They are the internet provider and we were able to sign up for internet service for about $31 a month. After we left "FLOW", we dropped off Murdocks at their car and proceeded to start unpacking. We turned on the air in our bedroom but it was not adequate enough to cool the living room and kitchen. We were grateful for the fan. There are no screens on the windows in the living room and bedroom so if you don't want mosquitoes, you leave the windows closed. Needless to say, we felt like we were in a sauna. We were able to get everything unpacked on Monday.
Tuesday we did some grocery shopping in the morning and then waited for the refrigerator repairman and the "FLOW" installer to get here. It was after 3:00 when they finally got finished.
Wednesday we went to the district meeting and got acquainted with the Sisters and Elders in our district. They are great! Later in the afternoon we went visiting with the sisters and they introduced us to an elderly sister who is blind and has diabetes. She has been a member for quite some time. We had prayer, sang, and one of the sisters gave a lesson. It was great. We then went to a sister that is suffering from cancer. I could tell that she was in a lot of pain. The sister missionaries made her a mango smoothie and then we left. We headed for the Highgate area and visited with a member that has five children and lives in a small house about the size of my mom's little house in her back yard. I think this sister's house was smaller than that. There was a nice breeze coming off the ocean for which we were grateful. We had a great visit with her. It was about 9:00 when we finished. We traveled back in the dark which is a little scary since people like to walk in the roads and the drivers here are crazy. It was nice to be doing something worthwhile and we were grateful to the sisters for orienting us.
Food is expensive here and I find myself having to be a little creative. I also feel like I need to soak all my produce in a Clorox bath of 1/2 tsp. Clorox to 1 gallon of water for 15 - 30 minutes depending on what I am soaking. I even soak the bananas as they say they taste better when you do. They don't have a lot in the way of greens so no more green smoothies for me. We have resorted to almond milk and bananas in our protein smoothies. When we run out of the powder we brought, we will probably resort to oatmeal and eggs. Peanut butter and tuna are our main lunch meal and we are grateful for the pears and apples that we can buy. We did buy some mangoes from a man in the parking lot and made an apple juice, banana, and mango smoothie which was very good. Sister Murdock told us about that drink.
I have grown accustomed to our apartment. It feels like home even though we might be moving because they want all the missionaries to pay the same rent of $1350.00 and our rent plus utilities are $900.00. I guess if we are going to pay that much, they want us to get something that is in that price range. So far, we have not been able to find anything.
I will be very happy when we know where all the members live and can navigate this place on our own.
After church, we had missionary correlation meeting which was very helpful. President Lester, the branch president, wants us to teach the temple prep class. Between the two branches we have enough to keep us busy for a long time. We are hoping the sister missionaries will call us so that we can visit one of the less active sisters. They help us navigate the roads around here.
A little bit about our life here so far.
The Murdocks drove to Ocho with us on Monday. We stopped at a Jerk Center for lunch and we treated them to Jerk Chicken. It was very good. We will do that again. The Murdocks have been very helpful in getting us settled and acquainted with the area. After we unloaded our luggage and some boxes of items left from the last missionaries to leave, we went with the Murdocks to get a tax number so that we could connect the internet. We then went to "FLOW". They are the internet provider and we were able to sign up for internet service for about $31 a month. After we left "FLOW", we dropped off Murdocks at their car and proceeded to start unpacking. We turned on the air in our bedroom but it was not adequate enough to cool the living room and kitchen. We were grateful for the fan. There are no screens on the windows in the living room and bedroom so if you don't want mosquitoes, you leave the windows closed. Needless to say, we felt like we were in a sauna. We were able to get everything unpacked on Monday.
Tuesday we did some grocery shopping in the morning and then waited for the refrigerator repairman and the "FLOW" installer to get here. It was after 3:00 when they finally got finished.
Wednesday we went to the district meeting and got acquainted with the Sisters and Elders in our district. They are great! Later in the afternoon we went visiting with the sisters and they introduced us to an elderly sister who is blind and has diabetes. She has been a member for quite some time. We had prayer, sang, and one of the sisters gave a lesson. It was great. We then went to a sister that is suffering from cancer. I could tell that she was in a lot of pain. The sister missionaries made her a mango smoothie and then we left. We headed for the Highgate area and visited with a member that has five children and lives in a small house about the size of my mom's little house in her back yard. I think this sister's house was smaller than that. There was a nice breeze coming off the ocean for which we were grateful. We had a great visit with her. It was about 9:00 when we finished. We traveled back in the dark which is a little scary since people like to walk in the roads and the drivers here are crazy. It was nice to be doing something worthwhile and we were grateful to the sisters for orienting us.
Food is expensive here and I find myself having to be a little creative. I also feel like I need to soak all my produce in a Clorox bath of 1/2 tsp. Clorox to 1 gallon of water for 15 - 30 minutes depending on what I am soaking. I even soak the bananas as they say they taste better when you do. They don't have a lot in the way of greens so no more green smoothies for me. We have resorted to almond milk and bananas in our protein smoothies. When we run out of the powder we brought, we will probably resort to oatmeal and eggs. Peanut butter and tuna are our main lunch meal and we are grateful for the pears and apples that we can buy. We did buy some mangoes from a man in the parking lot and made an apple juice, banana, and mango smoothie which was very good. Sister Murdock told us about that drink.
I have grown accustomed to our apartment. It feels like home even though we might be moving because they want all the missionaries to pay the same rent of $1350.00 and our rent plus utilities are $900.00. I guess if we are going to pay that much, they want us to get something that is in that price range. So far, we have not been able to find anything.
I will be very happy when we know where all the members live and can navigate this place on our own.
Saturday, 12 July 2014
A visit to Port Antonio
I am going to do a little catch up with this post.
Friday we decided that we would travel to Port Antonio and spend the night because we had a 7:00 baptism to attend on Saturday morning. We had originally thought to leave at 5:00 am Saturday morning but because we were unfamiliar with the roads, we decided to travel in the day for which we were grateful.
We arranged for a hotel room ($86) on line not knowing what to expect when we got there. The drive was beautiful as we drove along the coast for part of the time. When we pulled into Port Antonio and couldn't find the street on the GPS, I thought, "This should be interesting." There is only one Main Street through town and on the way we saw our church building. I called the Elders to let them know we were here and they said they would meet us at the church. The street to the hotel was a few blocks up the road so we turned right and there is was - Hotel Tim Bamboo. (The Elders had told us that we might want to consider that hotel.) We checked in and found the room to be clean. I would stay there again. They offered us a complimentary breakfast and gave us a menu to choose from. We chose an vegetable omelet with hashbrowns, toast, and orange juice. We also chose the time that we would be eating it. After checking in, we drove to the church to meet with the Elders.
The church building is old and they had three men there painting and repairing it. The workers were members and the church had hired them to do the work. We left with the Elders so they could show us where on the ocean the baptism would take place. They also said that we would meet at the church at 6:00 am for the talks. We accompanied the Elders to visit with two less active men. They have such great potential. One of the men we visited has been a member all his life and wants his 9 year old son baptized but he is not active. We met his parents and they are very active and have been members for a long time.
Every Friday night the branch president, who is one of the Elders, opens the church so that the members can visit with him about their concerns. The members look at this also as a social so they gather to play games. The most popular game is dominoes but they play it differently than we do. It was fun to watch them. We met some very nice people. I shook hands with one guy who I thought was a member but he was just pedling items off the street. He had come into the church yard and he started showing me his stuff. I could not understand him. Patwah is very hard to understand, especially if they say it fast. Most of them do unless they are talking to us.
Today we went to the church at 6:00 am and two of the Elders took us to brother James home so that we could give him a ride to the church. He is older and has diabetes. They had to take 4 toes off on one of his feet. He is a wonderful man. When we arrived back at the church, some of the members had started to congregate. They are happy and funny and very casual in their dress. Dad played the keyboard and the talks were given and they everyone was going to walk to the beach. The poor sister getting baptized was very hesitant to walk to the beach in the jumpsuit. It was too big for her. I told her we would give her a ride for which she was very grateful.
She was of the Muslim faith and is very well schooled. We will meet with her again as she has a lot of questions.
After the baptism, we decided to go back to Ocho. We will attend church in Port Antonio next week. The branch president (Jamaican Elder) has only been there three weeks so he is trying to navigate the ward so that he can help us find the members.
I will send pictures when I figure out how to do it.
Friday we decided that we would travel to Port Antonio and spend the night because we had a 7:00 baptism to attend on Saturday morning. We had originally thought to leave at 5:00 am Saturday morning but because we were unfamiliar with the roads, we decided to travel in the day for which we were grateful.
We arranged for a hotel room ($86) on line not knowing what to expect when we got there. The drive was beautiful as we drove along the coast for part of the time. When we pulled into Port Antonio and couldn't find the street on the GPS, I thought, "This should be interesting." There is only one Main Street through town and on the way we saw our church building. I called the Elders to let them know we were here and they said they would meet us at the church. The street to the hotel was a few blocks up the road so we turned right and there is was - Hotel Tim Bamboo. (The Elders had told us that we might want to consider that hotel.) We checked in and found the room to be clean. I would stay there again. They offered us a complimentary breakfast and gave us a menu to choose from. We chose an vegetable omelet with hashbrowns, toast, and orange juice. We also chose the time that we would be eating it. After checking in, we drove to the church to meet with the Elders.
The church building is old and they had three men there painting and repairing it. The workers were members and the church had hired them to do the work. We left with the Elders so they could show us where on the ocean the baptism would take place. They also said that we would meet at the church at 6:00 am for the talks. We accompanied the Elders to visit with two less active men. They have such great potential. One of the men we visited has been a member all his life and wants his 9 year old son baptized but he is not active. We met his parents and they are very active and have been members for a long time.
Every Friday night the branch president, who is one of the Elders, opens the church so that the members can visit with him about their concerns. The members look at this also as a social so they gather to play games. The most popular game is dominoes but they play it differently than we do. It was fun to watch them. We met some very nice people. I shook hands with one guy who I thought was a member but he was just pedling items off the street. He had come into the church yard and he started showing me his stuff. I could not understand him. Patwah is very hard to understand, especially if they say it fast. Most of them do unless they are talking to us.
Today we went to the church at 6:00 am and two of the Elders took us to brother James home so that we could give him a ride to the church. He is older and has diabetes. They had to take 4 toes off on one of his feet. He is a wonderful man. When we arrived back at the church, some of the members had started to congregate. They are happy and funny and very casual in their dress. Dad played the keyboard and the talks were given and they everyone was going to walk to the beach. The poor sister getting baptized was very hesitant to walk to the beach in the jumpsuit. It was too big for her. I told her we would give her a ride for which she was very grateful.
She was of the Muslim faith and is very well schooled. We will meet with her again as she has a lot of questions.
After the baptism, we decided to go back to Ocho. We will attend church in Port Antonio next week. The branch president (Jamaican Elder) has only been there three weeks so he is trying to navigate the ward so that he can help us find the members.
I will send pictures when I figure out how to do it.
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