Ocho

I loved conference!  One thing I have noticed being in the mission field is how much the young elders and sisters look forward to conference.  It seems to have more meaning for them now and it gives them a spiritual boost.  We had a pretty good attendance on Sunday but there were still a lot that didn't show up. I thought we would have more because it was Easter Sunday.  There were stores open Sunday that usually are not open.  It seems like Good Friday is more sacred to them than Easter.  Everything was closed on Friday.  Another interesting tradition for Jamaican's at Easter is that they always purchase bun and cheese.  The buns are kind of a spice fruit bun and they like to put canned cheese with it.  The store shelves were loaded with buns and cheese.  I understand that the bun is kind of a take off of the British hot cross buns.

  We had a great lunch between sessions.  Sister Alexander fixed fried chicken, Sister Henry made potato salad, Rohan and Tracy brought salad, and Sister Jackson made rice and peas.  I made brownies and banana cake and also cheesy potatoes.  The members seemed to really enjoy themselves.  It was pretty noisy during the afternoon session with all the children that were there.  I look forward to rehearing the sessions at our apartment.

The Halls came to Ocho on Monday so we went visiting.  We stopped at Sister Nelson's in Port Maria and also Sister Bennet's in Highgate.  Sister Bennet's sister was there also.  We had a great visit with all of these sisters.  I have so much love for them.  We talked about family history at Sister Bennett's.  I was so hoping to find a lot of information on her line but it has dead ended for me so I will need to talk to her further to see what I can find.  We drove back to Ocho and stopped at the Chinese restaurant for lunch.  It was really fun to be with the Halls.  They are a great couple.  They were in Ocho and Port Antonio for four months before us so we know the same people.  After they left we went to Fontana to get a prescription for one of our members but they didn't have what we needed so we had to go to two more pharmacies before we finally got the prescription filled.  We decided that we would make a trip into Brown's Town to drop off Sister's Alexander's pans and utinsils from the Sunday dinner so we headed out but the traffic was bumper to bumper.  By the time we hit St. Ann's Bay, the traffic was no better so we decided to stop at the hospital and visit Sister Llewellyn but she had already gone home so we just turned around and went home.  Monday was also a holiday.  They call it kite flying day and a lot of people fly kites.  Most of the school children are out on Easter break.

Tuesday we made our trip into Brown's Town.  We stopped at Sister Scarlet's house and had a nice visit with Cheryl.  We then drove back to Ocho so that we could help the elders with their groceries.  We stopped in to see Sister Llewellyn at her home.  It is nice to see her out of the hospital.

Wednesday we woke up at 5:00 as we needed to pick up the two Elder Lewis' and take them to Spanish Town for transfers.  The meeting was to start at 10:00 a.m.  I always enjoy being at the transfer meeting because we get to hear from President Brown and Sister Brown and also we get to hear the testimonies of the departing missionaries.  Our sweet Sister Thompson was one of the sisters going home.  I will really miss her.  She was replaced in Ocho by Sister Panado.  Luckily, we got to keep our two elders.  We did not have to go back to Port Antonio with new elders because they didn't have enough incoming elders to replace them so that was a blessing for us.  The sisters followed us back to Ocho.  After we got home, I fixed lunch and then we went to the branch so Brian could work on a few items of branch business.  I spent the rest of the evening working on family history.

Thursday I spent most of the morning working on family history while Brian and the elders worked on the quarterly report.  When Brian got home, we made a trip out to Jasmine's home to pick up a few items for Marge.  We drove home to pick up the cookies I had made for class and Brian's institute materials and then headed for the branch so Brian could teach his institute class.  After class, Brian took me home and he and Rohan went out to see brother Lester - but he wasn't home.

So here it is Friday!  Brian and Rohan made a trip out to brother Lester's this morning. On their way back, they got a flat tire.  After getting the tire fixed they came back to the apartment and I fixed Rohan and Brian a fruit smoothie.  They then left to fix the sister's brakes.

Elder Henderson in the Spanish Town Ward foyer.  The sisters are in the back ground saying their goodbyes.

Loading up trucks and cars after the transfer meeting.

Elder Lewis, Elder Hunt, Elder Lewis, and Elder Muirhead in front of their apartment in Port Antonio.  Elder Muirhead will take over as branch president in Port Antonio.  They are also going to be in our district  so we will be making trips to Port Antonio again.

Brian, Imogene, myself, and Sister Bennett on Sister Bennett's porch.