Hardy's in Jamaica: 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.