Hardy's in Jamaica: Kingston, Ocho, Montego Bay

I thought I had better catch this blog up starting with Thursday.

Sister Noble invited Brian and myself to her graduation from the Sandals resort. She has been doing the church's PEF program in hospitality and is a very good student. She received her first training at the Bahia but was not hired at the end of the 6 week program which is very common here. She should have received a certificate from them but they never gave it to her. After completing her schooling, she applied to Sandals for another six weeks of training. This time she not only received her certificate, but they had a graduation program for all of those who were training. It was a very nice event. One thing I really picked up on was that it was okay to thank God and quote scripture and say an opening prayer without any kind of threat from some organization threatened by that kind of open expression. It was really nice. Jamaica is a Christian country and I hope it stays that way. Sister Noble called us today to tell us that she had been hired on by Sandals.

Friday morning we inspected the sister's apartment and then met the Pearson's at the branch so that Elder Pearson and Brian could finish up the temple recommends. Sister Pearson and myself came back to our apartment and had a really nice visit. When our husbands got back, the Pearson's followed us into Brown's Town so that they could do another interview. We now have six new people with temple recommends. We are excited about their desire to go to the temple. After we were finished in Brown's Town, the Pearsons drove to Negril and we went back to Ocho in time for our Friday night branch activity. We watched Ephaim's rescue. There were not very many there. We are hoping it will pick up.

Saturday I worked on family history for awhile while Brian ran a few errands. When he got back we drove to Bamboo to take some mail to a sister that we had never met. We had a nice visit. She is a young adult and she is looking to get a job. She joined the church in Rio Nueve which is a lot closer to Ocho than Bamboo. When her grandmother died, she moved back to Bamboo and it has been hard for her to afford the taxi fare. We were hoping to get the truck washed on the way back but Wayne must have been doing tile work because he did not pick up his phone.

Sunday after we finished at the branch, we took Sister Thompson and Cindy to Saint Ann's Hospital to visit Sister Llewellan. Marsha and Sister Alexander were also there for a visit. We sang some songs and had a nice visit. As we were about to leave, a man came over and asked us to say a prayer for a lady that was in a bed just down the row from Sister Llewellan. I said a prayer because Brian had stepped out for a minute and then when he came back in he gave her a blessing. We sang a few songs and then Sister Thompson, Marsha, and Sister Alexander quoted a scripture from Psalms. They knew it much better than I did. It was a sweet experience. I always feel good when we are visiting the sick. By the time we got home, it was after 6:00. It was a long day but a good day.

It has been unseasonable hot on the Island. I asked Blossom if it was hotter than usual because our apartment feels more like July of last year. She told me that it was hotter. We do not get a cross breeze in this apartment so we have to depend on the air conditioner in the bedroom to keep the place cool. It is not keeping up with the heat. We needed to make a trip into Kingston on Monday to pick up a check for the Pearsons since we were going to be seeing them in Montego Bay today. Sister Pearson told me on Saturday that there could be a possibility that we may need to pick up two of the elders in Linstead and take them to the doctors office in Kingston. She called us Sunday night to confirm that they still needed to go. We were happy to help out and Brian was especially happy to make a trip down in the air conditioned truck. The truck is the one way he has of coping with the heat. He feels the heat a lot more than I do. We had a nice visit with Elder Iverson and Elder Humphrey. We knew Elder Humphrey before when we were working both Port Antonio and Ocho when we first got here. It was fun to visit with him. He is headed home in July. After dropping them off at the doctor's office we went to the mission office to pick up the check. We visited with Elder and Sister Hall and then headed back to the doctor's office to pick up the elders. From there we went to Pricemart to pick up a few items. We treated the elders to pizza and then headed back to Linstead to drop them off and do an apartment check. When we got back to Ocho, we dropped the groceries off and then went to Progressive to pick up the Ocho Elders so that we could carry them back home with their groceries. It is always nice to get back to Ocho. The traffic in Kingston is not very fun. There are certain intersections where window washers are stationed and if you are at the light for too long, you can always count on getting the window washed even if you tell them no. Of course they expect to be paid. I really don't have a problem with that because I know they need the money.

Today we went to zone meeting in Montego Bay. We took Elder Cox and Elder Gardner with us. The sisters followed in their truck. It was a great meeting. Sister Tuttle and Sister Panado shared some thoughts to start out with. They did a great job. President Brown was there this time along with the Pearsons. It is always nice to have them there and listen to their comments. When the meeting was over, we went to Mega Mart with the sisters so that we could pick up some toasters for the Port Antonio Elders and also the Ocho Elders. The four elders drove the sister's truck to Discovery Bay and then they switched vehicles because the sisters had an appointment in Discovery Bay. We took the four elders back to Ocho and had dinner at Little Tokyo. It is kind of like a Panda Express. The elders and sisters are a plus to our mission. We just love them.

Well, that is our week. It is a joy to serve the Lord here. I am so grateful for my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel.