Hardy's in Jamaica: 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!