Another New Grandson

I tried to call Jill this morning to see how she was doing and she didn't answer.  When she called back she told me how cute he was.  I was so surprised.  I am still waiting to hear what his official name is.  He weighed 6 lbs. and 12 oz. and is 19" tall.  We now have more grandsons than granddaughters.  Jill says he looks a lot like Jonathan did.  I have to agree.  I remember when Jonathan was born that I thought he looked a lot like Todd and I can see Todd in this baby also.

Knowing that we were going to Kingston for the weekend, I decided to make cookies for the FHE that we are going to have with Sister R's family on Sunday.  I turned on the gas oven (I always have to light it with a match) and started working on the cookies.  I could smell gas so I figured it had gone off again.  I turned it off and went to light it again and I heard a loud noise and Brian could see a light in the kitchen.  I was startled  but not hurt.  I guess I was somewhat lucky.  I will know better next time.  I was hesitant to light it again but I did and it seemed to work okay.

 We were pretty much house bound this morning waiting for the air conditioning guy to come.  We are hoping that the owners of the apartment will put air in our living room.  We offered to give them more rent if they would.  Wouldn't you know that the day the air conditioning guy comes is a day when the apartment was cooler.  When he walked in he mentioned that the apartment didn't seem that hot but Brian assured him that it gets really hot in here.  We have had some rain this week so it has cooled down a little.

We went to the craft market today to pick up a machete for Elder Murdock.  I left my purse home so that they wouldn't think I was a serious buyer.  They have some nice wood carvings and I assured them that we would come back when our kids came to town.

Another Week in Ocho Rios

It seems like I am always playing catch up with this blog.

Sunday we had to give talks in church.  I gave mine on tithing and Brian gave his on "Testimonies of the Savior found in 3rd Nephi."  After Sacrament meeting I decided to visit the youth Sunday School class.  We had some investigators in the class.  Rohan thought it would be a good idea to visit the class so that I could get to know some of the kids in my seminary class.  I enjoyed the class and the way the sister who taught it engaged the youth.  After the block, I visited with some of the sisters totally forgetting that I was suppose to be in the correlation meeting. One of the sisters I was visiting with is somewhat less active so I didn't  feel too bad about the missing the meeting.  After church, we dropped off some food for a family and then headed for home to get a bite to eat.  We needed to take some things to Tracy and Rohan so we headed over to their home and then invited them to go with us to see Sister Rose.  She is so close to death.  I am glad they have drugs to help ease the pain.  I think Rohan was surprised to see how much she had gone downhill.  Rohan has only been a member for about 8 or 9 months.  Both he and his wife study a lot and one day I think he will really build up this branch.  He is a  powerhouse when it comes to service and responsibility.  He has taken the youth under his wings along with the other new converts.  It is impressive to see.  When we got back to Traacy and Rohan's home, we showed them "The John Tanner Story" off of my ipad.  They enjoyed it.

Monday was P-day and it rained all day.  It was nice to get the rain.  Brian worked on some power points and I worked on seminary.  The sisters came over so that they could do their e-mails.  I did make some cinnamon rolls but they are a lot heavier when I don't have my Bosch to knead them.

Tuesday we ran out to President Lesters to get a signature and ended up bringing he and Peter into town.
Brian went to the bank with President Lester while I went grocery shopping with Peter.  We then went to see the Llewellans because Ester was there and I wanted to drop some cinnamon rolls and the recipe for them.  We had a very good visit and learned a lot.  We then headed to Brother Barbagees to get a signature.  He wasn't home so we visited with Sister Barbagee for a while and then decided to leave.  As we were turning around to head home, Brother Barbagee came home and we were able to get his signature.  It is more than a half hour to his home so we were happy that we didn't have to make the trip back.  We rushed home and then headed for the branch so Brian could teach temple prep.

It seems like we are always eating around  7:00 or 8:00 every night.  Sometimes we get back from an appointment late in the afternoon so we grab a sandwich and then we are off again and getting home late at night.  I have learned to cook fast and simply.  Kraft Mac and Cheese seems to be my standby if I don't have a lot on hand.  I try to add onions and tomatoes to it to make it a little healthier but I think I have eaten more macaroni and cheese in the last two months then I have eaten in the last two years.  I guess I could also say the same for peanut butter.

Wednesday  Jill called me in the morning and told me she was in labor and was going to the hospital.  I expected to come home from district meeting and have a new grandson.  Not so!  They sent her home.  I invited the sisters over for french toast and then we headed to Port Antonio around 7:30 a.m. We got there a little early so we stopped in to see Shaneeza.  I was happy to see that her sister was still there.  Her sister is heading back home to Guiana on Sunday.  Shaneeza was telling us that she woke up to the chattering of the two birds that they have.  She thought something was trying to get them.  To her surprise, the plug for her fan had caught on fire where it was plugged in.  Had she waited any longer, the sheets that were near the plug  would have caught on fire.  She was feeling quite blessed.  We left for our meeting and when it was over, the sisters threw flour on Elder Lee.  It is a Jamaican custom to pour flour on the person and then egg them or put water on them.  Instead of getting a cake, you become the cake.  On the way home, it started raining.  At one area of the highway, it was raining so hard that we could hardly see the road and the wipers were going full force.  We got home around 2:30.  Wednesday night we drove to Pimento Walk so that we could get to know  Sister Bridgemorhan.  Sister Henry is her mother so we were able to visit with both of them.  We had a great visit and learned a lot about Jamaican customs.  Sister Bridgemorhan served a mission here in Jamaica and then attended school at BYU Idaho.  She would love to teach history here but she hasn't been able to get a position because the government says it is out of money so she works at one of the grocery stores in town.  Sister Henry told us about Jamaican funerals.  After the person dies, the relatives fix a lot of food and people stop by to eat and drink and visit.  The night before the funeral, a band comes to play and everyone drinks and parties all night.It can be a real drain on the finances for the poorer people.  Sister Henry told us that she couldn't afford to cook for everyone when her mother died so she didn't and nobody came.  She did cook the night before but didn't have the band.  She said that a lot of people in the town have decided her way was a good idea.  We got on the subject of funerals because of Sister Rose. We have been wondering what the family will do.

New Granddaughter

Last night at 12:13 Jamaica time, Jenny gave birth to our 44th grandchild.  We are even now with 22 granddaughters and 22 grandsons.  Jill's son will be our tie breaker.  I miss being there to help her.  We skyped tonight and baby Lauryn is beautiful.

Wednesday we traveled to Montego Bay for zone conference.  This was our very first one and we were privileged to have a general authority.  Elder Cornish was our visiting authority and he was very informative and enjoyable to listen to.  It was a treat also to hear from President Brown and his wife and  Sister Cornish.  President Pearson also gave a power point on how a missionary apartment should look.  He did a great job.  After the meeting we went into town so that Sister Walker could visit with her brother.  He has been less active and President Brown gave her permission to talk to him.  We left our apartment at 6:30 and didn't get home that night until 7:15.

Brian was asked to teach the temple preparation class Thursday night so we spent most of the day Thursday working on lesson preparation.  I worked on Seminary.  Brian put most of his lesson on power point and I think that was very helpful to the sister that was taking his class.  We were asked by President Lester to speak in church on Sunday.  I decided to give my talk on the law of tithing.  Brian decided to use some of his talk from the talk that he gave at BYU Hawaii.

Friday we went into Lime Hall so that Wayne could wash our truck.  It really wasn't very dirty but we knew that Wayne probably wouldn't have enough money for his taxi fare for church on Sunday if we didn't get it washed.  The place where we usually wash the car had very little water so we went further down the mountain to the river, which was dry.  The pipe coming out of the ground had water.  It took Wayne about an hour to wash the car.  We were going to give him the second priesthood lesson but the elders called and needed the keys to the branch so we had to leave early.  We picked up a few groceries at the store under the branch while we were waiting for the elders to arrive and then left for home.  We spent the evening working on our talks.

Our first item on the agenda for today was to return to Lime Hall to teach Wayne.  He also had left his cell phone in the car so we needed to get it back to him.  We got a call in the morning from Sister Pearson asking us to pick up some telfa bandages for one of the elders in Linstead.  Elder Biddulph was riding his bike down a hill when the handlebar broke.  He took a nose dive into the ground and ended up with a chipped tooth, stitches and a swollen lip.  We drove to Lime Hall to teach Wayne and then stopped at a pharmacy for supplies and then headed for Linstead.  We got home around 1:30.  We ate lunch, did a little studying and then headed with the sisters to Brother Francis's home to teach a priesthood lesson.  We dropped the sisters off and then decided to visit Sister Martin and Sister Vassiana.  Afterwards we stopped to gas up the truck before heading home for the night.

Water pipe coming out of the ground

Wayne standing in front of our clean truck.  Wayne is 44.

Sister Walker with her brother.  He works as a chef in Montego Bay  and has a very pleasant personality.

Ocho Rios

Sunday, as we walked into the branch,  we were surprised to see President Brown and his family and the Murdocks.  I decided to visit the primary and I spent most of the time in there convincing the two youngest Brown children that they needed to stay.  It must be hard for them to visit different primarys.  It also doesn't help that the room doesn't have air or windows,  and the fan is inadequate.  I used to think it was hot in the chapel but as I walked down the stairs I could definitely feel the difference.  I really like the primary president.  She has two new counselor but I don't know if she is using them yet.  One of her counselors just sat near the back and didn't say anything the whole time.  It was so hot and I really don't think she was enjoying herself.  We sang the songs acapella style as the branch only has one keyboard.  The children learned an Article of Faith and played a guessing game at the end.  We have ages 3-11 all combined together.  You want to train  but it is hard because you don't want to offend anyone either.

We visited with everyone after the block and then headed home.  The Murdocks were going to see President Lester's new home so I called them and invited them for dinner since they had to come back this way before heading to Kingston.  I will really miss them.

Monday was p-day.  We did some laundry and I made cookies for our FHE appointment in Highgate.  Brian ran some errands in town for President Brown.  President Lester called and asked us to pick him up at  his new home so that he could make a trip to the hospital to pick up a prescription for Sister Rose.  When we got there, she told us that her niece had already picked it up so we drove President Lester and his son back to the branch.  The sisters came over around 4:00 and we drove out to Highgate.  We picked up Sister Bennett and drove to Sister Raymond's only to find that she wasn't home.  We waited for awhile, ate cookies and showed Sister Bennett a video clip.  She told us about her conversion six years ago and showed us some pictures.  She is 77 years old.  She handed me a large fruit that she called a pear.  On the way home             I asked the sisters what it was and they told me that it was an avacado.  I had never seen one that big.  It was very light in color.  When we got home I made some guacamole and it almost filled the cereal bowl.

Tuesday we decided to see if we could find some members in Steer Town.  We tried to call a sister but she didn't answer.  We found that she was listed on the GPS so we drove to the area and then asked a few people.  We finally found her. I think she was embarrassed to have us there but we did have a nice visit with her.  We are suppose to call first so we will need to do better in the future. We went into town to check on a few items and then went back to the apartment for lunch.  We had a meeting scheduled with President Lester at his new home.  It is out of the biking area for the elders so we picked them up so they could attend the meeting.  The sisters have a truck so they met us out there.  President Lester was late.  We probably waited for over an hour and he finally came.  He had some big boxes in the taxi and a few sacks.  When his son, Peter, opened the boxes, they were full of chickens.  Most of the chickens were dead.  I think he saved 3 of the 15 or more.  It was pretty sad.  I think it just was too hot for them and they were already dehydrated because they hadn't had enough water.  He had too many stuffed in each box.  The ones that made it had plenty of room in the box.  We did end up having our meeting and then we drove President Lester back to Ocho so he could attend another meeting.  The sisters came over to use our computer as they needed some information for zone conference the next day.  It was another late night for dinner.

Swimming pool where we had the baptism.

This fruit called guinep is in season now and they are very popular.  You bite them open with  your teeth and suck the 1/4 inch of sweet fruit that is around a large seed. 

This is the avacado that Sister Bennett gave to me.  I put it next to the computer mouse  so that you could get an idea of how big it was.

Kingston and Ocho

Last night I caught up my blog.  I went to download the pictures and the internet went off and I lost everything.  Brian suggested that I type my entry into “word” first so that is what I did.  Sorry for the length. 

Monday was our first day to meet the Linstead elders.  We figured this was a good day to check their apartment because we were heading to Kingston for our monthly FHE with President Brown’s family  and the senior couples. On our way to the apartment, we saw the missionaries carrying their bags of groceries so we offered them a ride for which they were grateful.  It started to rain so it was good that we picked them up.  It was fun to visit with them before heading down to Kingston.

The Murdocks are very good to let us spend the night with them so that we don’t have to go home when it is dark.  They are leaving next month for Monroe so I don’t know where we will stay when they leave.  They know Bret Bowcutt's parents.  We visited with them for awhile and then left for President Brown’s home.  President Brown’s family was in charge of FHE this month so he gave the lesson and his wife planned the dinner.  Brian and I will be in charge next month.  After the lesson, all of the missionaries expressed their feelings to the Murdocks.  The Murdocks have introduced most of the missionaries to Jamaica and they have done a super job.  

Tuesday morning we drove to the mission office to wait for the Pearsons to finish their presidency meeting.  Sister Pearson and I are in charge of the lunch for our next zone conference.  They have Elder Cornish coming so the presidency wanted a little more than muffins and juice.  I had asked President Brown the night before if I could be set apart for seminary so he planned to do that after the meeting as well.  We did find out that once you are set apart as a missionary, you do not need to be set apart for any other calling.  He did give me a blessing, however, for which I was grateful.  He also gave Brian a blessing.  After the meeting, we followed the Pearsons to Price Mart so that we could purchase supplies.  We also picked up some sheets for our Port Antonio apartment and some other food items.  We ate lunch at the snack shop inside Price Mart while the butcher was grinding the hamburger for the sloppy joes .  Sister Pearson is a vegetarian and I think she was happy that I volunteered to do the meat.  After Price Mart, we went back to the mission office to pick up our desk and a few other items and then headed back to Ocho.  It was almost 5:30 before we got home.  We were able to catch the new freeway just outside of Linstead and it probably saved us ½ hour.  We were beyond excited to be on that road as the other road is very steep and windy.  I spent the rest of the evening making up the sloppy joe mixture so that I could freeze it.  I don’t trust my refrigerator or freezer to keep the meat cold.  Brian worked on a project for President Brown.

Wednesday morning, Brian got up early to continue working on the assignment.  He worked on the assignment until we left for district meeting at 10:00.  We were running a little late so we told the elders to start without us.  When we got there, President Brown and two of the office elders were there.  Even though we were late, we were glad that we went.  President Brown is very inspiring to listen to.  We visited for awhile after that meeting and then went home for lunch.  We called W to see if he could wash our truck.  We pay him $15 and he does an excellent job.  It helps him with taxi money for church.  While he was washing the car we walked up the path to T’s house.  She had been vacationing in Canada and we were not sure if she was home but we got lucky and she invited us in.  After visiting with her we walked back to the truck and waited for Wayne to finish.  We took him to his house and showed him the video of “Only a Stonecutter.”  I could tell Wayne was really moved to see the dedication of that great brother.  It always inspires me to watch it. 

Thursday I studied and Brian continued to work on the project for President Brown.  I also made a batch of cookies for the baptism that we were going to hold at our pool in the evening.  The baptism for Eli went really well.  W came in a white shirt as he was giving one of the talks.  President L showed up in levis and a t-shirt.  That is very typical here.  Rohan baptized Eli.  Rohan has been a member for about 8 months and this was the first baptism that he has  performed. Rohan’s son turned 8 today but Brian suggested that Rohan wait for the Melchezidek Priesthood so that he could confirm his son.  Rohan loves to study and you would think that he had been a member for a long time.

Friday morning Brian and I went to High Gate to look for some members and visit with some of the members that we have seen before.  Sister B told us that it costs $2,000 ($20 American money) to make a round trip into Ocho.  I can now see why we are not getting those members out to church.  We found a street that contains a lot of High Gate members that we have never seen.  It was getting late so we decided to come back tomorrow with the sisters and check out the area.  By the time we stopped at the store and then fixed dinner, it was almost 9:00.  I might also mention that President Brown informed Brian that he wanted us to only work in Ocho so that we could build up the branch here.  It was hard to call Mr. L and tell him that we couldn’t rent the apartment.   I hope he can rent it out to someone else.  We could be back in Port Antonio in 6 months, but at this point, we really don’t know.   I will also really miss being with the Port Antonio members and elders.

Today we went with the sisters back up to High Gate.  We were able to find three families.  One sister has been a member for a long time.  She has been going to the Seventh Day Adventist church but felt like she was suppose to stay home today. Our directions to find her were, " Down road from where Grandstons used to live, up path by end of cement ditch."  We just started asking at doors and she walked out.  She walked with us to where another family lived and then told us where we could find someone else. She is a lovely lady.  Her daughter is also a member but I could tell that she wasn't too interested in talking to us.    We were traveling up another road asking people if they knew a J A.  After a bunch of people told us that they didn’t know that person, we decided to turn around but there was one more lady that walked out of her driveway and we asked her and she said that Junior was her brother.  Brian asked her a few questions and then she told us that we could come back.  We also stopped in to see Sister R and confirm our family home evening on Monday night.  It is so sad to see so many High Gate people who are inactive because of the distance to Ocho.   On our way back to Ocho we stopped in to see Sister N. After visiting with her, we drove to St. Ann’s hospital to pay a visit to Sister R.  She was in a lot of pain today because of her cancer.  She opted not to have surgery and I think she is just waiting to die.  She is only 41 years old.

Brian offered to treat the sisters to KFC but the line was so long that we decided to get juicy patties instead.  We also went over to the local bakery for a treat and then drove back to our apartment so that the sisters could pick up their car.  It was a good day!

 

I took  my old calender apart and filled in one of our picture frames

Linstead Elders

Elder and Sister Murdock in President Brown's home.

Blessed freeway!

Ocho

Thursday morning we went to Lime Hall to give Wayne a lesson on the priesthood and to help him with his reading.  We met his youngest daughter, Krista, who lives with her mother.  She had a little friend with her named Apple.  It was funny to watch how the girls would help Wayne read.  After we finished at Wayne's, we made a stop at Tanisha's but she was still in Canada.  On the way home we decided to stop at Juici Patties.  They are famous in Jamaica and they are cheap.  They are like a pot pie only really thin and they are shaped like a turnover.  I think they must use a little cornmeal in the flour because they are yellow.  We were told to get the cheese ones that have a little meat in them.  We were also told to get the cocoa bread to go with them.  The elders like to put the pattie in the middle of the bread.  Brian ate his that way but I just wanted the flavor of the pattie so I saved my bread for dinner.  There was a pharmacy by the pattie store so we decided to check it out.  The sisters told us it was like a Walmart.  It was fun to look around but we decided that the little grocery store under our meeting house was probably cheaper.  There were not very many people in the store but they did have a lot of items from the US.  Later that night we met with President Lester to go over some branch business.

Friday we studied for awhile and then went back to Lime Hall to meet with Humphreys.  Brian wanted to give him the priesthood lesson also.  He has been a member for over nine months now and has not missed a day of church.  He is such a great member.  Since he joined the church, he has been blessed to find work.  He used to drive a taxi and he loaned the taxi to a relative and the relative ran out all the water in the car and damaged the engine.  He is trying to get his car back because he only owes $600.00 on it but the bank won't give him a loan because he has only had a job for 6 months and you have to have a job for a year in order to get a loan.  He will probably lose the car.  Jamaicans are very good at putting old cars back in service.  It is too bad that Obama didn't send all his clunkers to Jamaica instead of destroying them.

Friday night we went out with the elders.  We visited an active sister that lives in Pimento Walk.  It was another one of those steep roads up into the mountain side.  We then went to a discussion.  The elders are teaching the daughter of a less active couple.   The mother has ten children and I think she may have only one daughter that is a member.  The father drinks and maybe that is why her parents are not active.  A lot of inactives also say they do not have the money for the taxi fare to go to church and that could be another reason.  Her mother did join us for the discussion.  I was excited to see the daughter at church today.  Her mother did not come with her.

Saturday we spent the day in Spanish Town for CES training.  The Vances and Brother Britten did a great job.  We left Ocho at 7:30 a.m. so that we could be there for the 9:00 a.m. start time.  We finished at 3:00 p.m.  I was feeling a little overwhelmed at all that needs to be done for seminary along with my other missionary responsibilities.  It is discouraging when you know that reaching the one is so important and that you have 18 potential students and only four of those 18 will come.  Most of the students live 30 - 60 minutes away and that means more taxi fare for the parents.

Today we left the house at 9:30 and did not get home until almost 7:15.  Church was great.  Sister Barbagee and Elder Hall gave the talks and they were really good.  We had visitors from California, New Jersey and England. I asked the sister from California how they found us.  The address on the church web site is wrong and the sign that is suppose to hang out side the meeting house blew off.  She told me that the taxi cab driver knew where to take them.  They stayed for the whole meeting.  Their children weren't too happy about that.  Does that sound familiar?  Elder Egan taught the plan of Salvation for Sunday school and we had a lot of participation.

Relief Society was also good on eternal marriage.  We have a lot of single sisters in the ward.  Two of those sisters had been sealed to their husbands in the temple.  I was really wondering what was going on in the heads of some of our less active sisters but the Relief Society president is one of the ones whose eternal marriage ended in divorce and she said that she realized that for her own salvation that she needed to be active regardless of what happened in her life.  I think it was really good for the less active sisters to hear that.

After the block, we visited with the members and then took the sacrament to Sister Llewellan.  President Lester accompanied us.  We than drove to St. Anns Bay to visit Sister Rose, who is in the hospital there.  She is dying of  colon cancer.  Brian and President Lester gave her a blessing.  Sister Rose's sister was there visiting also so we gave her a ride back to Lime Hall so she would not have to pay for a taxi. We took President Lester and Peter home and then  President Lester gave us some rice and eggs to deliver to a family as we made our way back home.  Feeling rather tired when we got home, I was thankful for leftover meatloaf in the refrigerator.

Cemetery in Lime Hall.  The graves are above ground.

Sister Vance giving instruction at the S & I training in Spanish Town

District meeting in Port Antonio

As always, P-day is on Monday.  We invited Elder Egan and Elder Hall to dinner.  Elder Egan is going home  a week from Friday and we wanted to have a farewell dinner for him.  He is from Pocatello, Idaho and is serving as district leader here.  He is a great elder and we will really miss him.  We were asking him about his plans for schooling and he said he was going into mechanical engineering at Utah State.  We told him that our granddaughter was going there also.  His father is in CES.

I tried out my oven for the first time.  I made cookies using a cake mix that we had in the apartment.  They turned out okay so I will try baking in it again.  I gave the elders their choice of  a chicken or beef dish and they chose beef so I made stroganoff.  I thought I had brought some Johnny's seasoning but I forgot so I had to improvise but it turned out alright. After dinner we took the elders to two family home evening appointments that they had planned  with  the L and Tracy and Rohan and Tracy's children.  We had a good time.

Tuesday we went with the sisters to visit a sister in Highgate.  I really like here.  We tried to encourage her to come to church.  We talked to her about showing us where some of the members live and we also told her that we would have a family home evening there if she wanted to invite some of the  members.  She seemed very excited about that.  We will see what happens. The members that live in Highgate think it is too far to come to Ocho and they want their branch back but I don't think that will happen until the members there show their willingness to come to church.  We have heard all kinds of stories of why they closed it.  We heard that one Sunday there wasn't any priesthood holders there so the mission president closed the branch.  We also heard that they were debating which branch to close and Ocho had more tithe payers so they chose to keep the Ocho branch open.

Today we went to district meeting.  The sisters came over for breakfast and we left for Port Antonio around 7:45.  Today was also Jamaica's Independence Day.  A lot of  businesses close for this holiday so the streets and towns were fairly quiet.  It made for a wonderful drive.  After the meeting, Elder Lee, Brain and myself went to KFC to get some chicken for lunch.  It cost us around $36 just for one bucket.  I had made some Spanish rice for the activity that the Port Antonio branch was having but since we needed to get the sisters and elders home and there was no way to heat the rice at the church, we went to the elder's apartment and heated it in the Microwave and took it back to the church so we could eat it with the chicken. Some of the members had started arriving but the elders didn't want to feed the members too early because they will eat and then not stay for the activities.  Even though the members knew we were having a meeting, it was hard for me to enjoy the meal knowing that some of them were probably hungary.  We did not have enough food to feed all of them.  We said our goodbyes to  the branch members who were already at the church and then headed for Ocho.  I felt bad for Sister G's son.  He had come home after spending some time in another city and he left his back pack with all his clothes in the bus while he went to get the money from his mom to pay the bus driver.  When he got back, the bus driver had already left.  Money doesn't come easy to these people so I don't know what they are going to do.  There is not a DI to help them like we have at home.  I so badly wanted to slip her some money but missionaries are encouraged not to do that because it can show favoritism and then where do you stop.  Our mission president also wants them to learn to be self sufficient.  Sometimes it is really hard not to help.

When we got home, we followed the sisters back to their apartment so that we could do an apartment check.  They have a cute little house that they rent.  Sister Walker gave us a plum (nothing like the ones we are use to eating) and some guava to taste.  We picked up the extra mattress that the sisters had and dropped it off to the elders and then headed back to our apartment.  I spent the next hour or more talking with Sister Pearson about the food that we are suppose to purchase for our zone conference coming up in two weeks.  She also gave me a heads up on the food assignments for family home evenings since Brian and I are in charge of the one in September.

We had no desire to go out tonight because we were told that the Jamaicans party all night long in the streets for this holiday.  The streets are overly crowded when it is not a holiday.

Elder Hall and Elder Egan 

Waiting for the parade in Port Antonio

From left: Elder Egan, Elder Humphries, Elder Hall, Sister Austin, Sister Walker, Elder Danvers, Elder Lee, and Elder Beldavis at district meeting

Part of the parade

Cub scouts waiting to join the parade

Port Antonio

Saturday morning we left early for Port Antonio.  When we arrived at the elders apartment, they were not home so we talked to Mr. Lee who is renting us the apartment just below the elders.  It should be cheaper than getting a motel room every time we go to Port Antonio.  The elders had been out doing service since 5:30 in the morning so we waited for Elder Danvers and Elder Beldavis to shower and then we drove them to a couple of less active members homes.  Some of the members live a long distance from Port Antonio and the elders are always happy to catch a ride in our air conditioned truck.  Our first contact wasn't home but the second contact was and the visit was well worth the distance that we had to go.  He loves the church and you could feel it.  He was very active when he lived in Port Antonio but the distance makes it very hard for him to come to church.  We gave him a message and then left.  On the way back to the church, we sang hymns with the elder.  It was very fun.  It is amazing how fast you get attached to these great young men and sisters.  We stopped at the apartment so the elders could pick up their bikes and then we drove to the church to pick up Elder Lee and Elder Humphreys.  They took us to see three more members.  One sister had suffered from a stroke.  Another sister, Sister Small, has been a convert for two years and her faith in Christ was evident. We did see her at church.  The brother that we visited was less active.  We did not see him at church on Sunday.  After dropping off Elder Lee and Elder Humphreys, we drove back home.

Sunday morning we again left for Port Antonio so that we could attend church with the branch.  It was fast and testimony meeting.  It is a totally different experience in these branches.  I hear a lot of  "let us pray" and other protestant terms showing up in their conversations.  One thing I have noticed here, however, is that the Jamaicans are very charitable people.  It is amazing how much I have grown to love them in such a short period of time.  Our newest convert, Shaneeza, taught the gospel essentials class today and she did an excellent job.  She invited us to stop at her home so that she and her sister could share dinner with us after we finished with the elders.

After church, we drove Sister Galloway and her three children back to her home so that we would know how to find her home. She was overjoyed to get a ride.  Every Sunday she leaves her house at 8:00 and walks two hours to get to church. After church, she walks the two hours back home in the heat.  As we were driving to her house, we could see a lot of smoke in that area.  It has been really dry here and we see little fires burning all over this side of the island.  Anyway, we were worried about her house but thankfully the fire was lower in the hills. We could only go part way up the road before we had to park the truck and walk the remainder of the trail.  I never thought I would go hiking on Sunday so this was a first.  We got to see the out house that some of the members from Ocho built for her.  She lives in very humble circumstances but is thrilled to have the gospel in her life.  She and her children walked us back to our truck.  We said our goodbyes and drove back down the dirt road passing the fire truck on our way.

After we left Sister Galloway's home, we went to pick up Elder Lee and Elder Humphreys at the church.  They wanted to visit with Brother Hill,  who does not live very close to the church.  He has been an active member of the church for 30 years.  He is suffering from lung cancer and has not been able to come lately.  His wife belongs to the Seventh Day Adventist church. It was fun to visit with him and his wife.  His doctor told him that drinking cocoa 24/7 is the cause of his illness.  He showed us his cocoa tree and his wife showed me how they open the cocoa pods that grow on the tree.  They dry them out and then heat them in a pan them so they can get the skins off the cocoa.  They mix the cocoa with some water and form a ball.  When the ball dries out, they grate the cocoa into a cup to make cocoa tea or whatever else I guess they use it for.  She offered to make me some but I told her it was fast Sunday and maybe I would try it another time. Upon leaving Brother Hill's home, we dropped the elders off at the church and then stopped for dinner at Shaneeza's.  We did not stay too long as we wanted to head back to Ocho before it got too dark.  We enjoyed the day.

Elder Humphreys sitting on Sister Small's porch overlooking the Blue Mountains

Sister Galloway and three of her children

The outhouse that Elder Hall and 4 Ocho Rios members built for Sister Galloway

Brother Hill standing in front of his cocoa trees

Some of the members in the Port Antonio Branch.  Elder Danvers at the back.