Merry Christmas Gonzalo!

 Today we went with the Swapps and McDermids about 1 1/2 hours to the north east to attend sacrament in a small group. We met in a small building with about 20 people. We were asked to bear our testimonies, just enough Spanish for me to do that. Elder Swap speaks well so he used up some of our time. It was humbling to get off the beaten track and see the humility of some of these Saints. A wonderful way to remember our Savior's birth today.




The one room chapel, showing a little weathering.




Cindy with twin twelve year-old sisters, they were that happy too.



Christmas Day in Gonzalo, a typical street.

The Sister second from the left has a son serving in Guatemala, she was baptized recently while he was on his mission.



A functional Chapel, makes us appreciate all we have.



Christmas Eve Dinner with the Mature Missionaries

We had a fine dinner in the cocina of the Casa Huespades, They just tore out the dividing wall in the sitting area this week.  The room is now so open and much brighter. We had lots of good food and retired to the Bair's apartment for singing and desserts. 

Reid Cornish loves to eat, especially desserts.  He was watching a Sister scoop up some ice cream into a disposible glass to take up to someone who couldn't come, and he said "I wonder if the Bairs have some root beer?" I didn't know about the Bair's but I knew I had one upstairs, I told him I would be right back.

It was a joy to watch him enjoy the making and consumption of that Root Beer float.  He was very careful handling everything, and careful not to foam over the root beer.  He is so very special for many reasons, I wish you all could know him.  I think the reason I loved him instantly, is because he reminds me of a phrase from the Temple blessings:  that we will speak no guile.  I may be wrong but he seems to be without guile in all he does.  A sister from Martinique was watching him do this and came to the table to observe, soon they were both eating a root beer float, her first ever.



Opened up dining room in the Casa: Birk,Lecolier,Brown,Low and Cornish Families



Los Pichardo,Hernandez,Castronova and Birk

Mango season

We had mangoes when we first arrived here, but they are out of season now.  A few are just starting to ripen.  When we were out walking last night we started talking to a Dominican re-finishing some furniture at a nice older house.  The conversation turned to mangoes and he plucked a couple small ones for us, we'll have to try again just a little later. 




Mango trees can be very tall, these have a few fruits, a few more weeks and we should have a lot of street vendor mangoes to choose from.



Have you noticed?

Maybe it is just me, or maybe I have been out of the country long enough to see things differently.  I look at the U.S. headlines on AOL or Yahoo and I think: Really, this is us?

Pepper spray on Thanksgiving shoppers, fighting over air jordans, the Kardashians.  Pedophile coaches and teachers, is anyone still playing with a full deck?  Dysfunctional leadership, politicizing everything. Bad is ok, good needs to be in your own home with the shades pulled. 

No wonder our "way" doesn't seem that attractive to many people.

Early to Rise

I got up this morning to watch the Missionaries leave the CCM for their mission assignments.  They are excited to get on to their missions, but a little apprehensive too.  Their Spanish still has a way to go to be able to understand, they will learn quickly.  I do worry about some that seem more anxious, or unmotivated.  Hard to imagine not trying to learn the language but it happens. 

I have had four missionaries go home this month for medical reasons.  One senior man that fell and tore his rotator cuff.  One young Elder that re-tore his ACL playing basketball, the first time was in the Provo MTC and delayed his mission six months.  WEML.  The other two are young Elders with back pain, one struggled for months and wants to stay, I hope he can get it figured out and return.  The second was in the field only weeks and knows he can only get diagnosed and healed at home.  Even though intellectually I know I didn't give anyone their problems, I do feel diminished that they have to go home.  That if I was smarter maybe they would have been more careful, or that I could have made them better. 

These are great young men and women, I will enjoy seeing them over the next year, it is hard to picture them being fluent in Spanish and coming to pick up the greenies at the CCM in six months.



Elder Mecum, Este Mision and Elder Black, Oeste Mision APs wait their new Misioneros.



FHE Christmas light tour


The Senior missionaries drove around Santo Domingo last night to see the lights. The government buildings, parks and bank buildings go in for big light shows. And creches right out on public grounds, can you remember those in the US?

At a bank building.



The National Palace, legislative and administrative offices are here.

Sr. Bair and Cindy at the Bank creche.

In Colonial Plaza near Casa de Colon, you've seen this before.

Creche at the National Palace

We went to a park that is small and surrounded by commercial signs and lights.  It has large animals and they are lit up at Christmas time. 



Peace on earth, good will to men.



Santo Domingo East Mission Christmas Party

Our missionary records lie with the East Mission, though we serve in the whole area.  We went to the mission party yesterday at the Gascue Chapel which is next to the mission office.  The missionaries were in high spirits, it is also transfer week so it was a farewell for about eighteen Elders.  They had a talent show and a play of the Christmas story, both were partially serious and there was lots of laughter.  Sr. Hernandez, the Preident's wife made a huge cake, she worked hard on the plans for the party. 

The missionaries are fun to observe, I had several to talk to about health things.  Some are naive about health and when I talk to them on the phone don't always understand my questions and answer them anyway.  One had back pain, I asked him on the phone if it was in the midline of his back...yes it was.  Yesterday when I saw him he told me it was on the left side, and he placed his hand just over the kidney.  Just a slight change in what causes that kind of pain.  He told me he didn't know what midline was.

Christmas scenes and shopping

We went to the Colonial zone for dinner at a nice restaurant, Pate-Pal, we sat outside and watched the Christmas decorations light up. We were right on a Colonial Plaza across from the Colon home, Christopher's brother and grandson lived here. The restaurant is in a building built in 1505, I was happy to stay outside. The weather is perfect now in the evenings, not hot or humid feeling at all.

Colon home or palace.



Berks,Cindy, Atkinsons, McDermids




Glaziers





Cindy ready to order, one of everything.

 
Today, on Saturday, we walked toward the Colonial Zone and met up with the Atkinsons and McDermids for a trip to the tailors, and shopping including n a Chinatown.  I've never been to a Chinatown that was a step-up from the adjacent neighborhoods and shopping.




Getting measured, this is not my suit but a sample, mine is sill a bolt of cloth.



China statue for Anna to know we are truly in Chinatown.

Sidewalk hair braiding and styling.

Blue Sky Monday

Mision Oeste was on the Temple grounds for pictures today, they are having a conference and missionary Christmas party today.  The sky was so blue I couldn't resist showing you another picture of the Temple:



We live in the Casa Huespades on the right, the Torre to the left has apartments for many of the Area office leaders, we took the picture of the Temple from the 12th floor of that tower.

 It was fun to see all of the issionaries together, we know only a small percentage at this point.  Those from our first CCM group seemed all right.  Here are some pictures of the group on the Temple grounds.

Pres. and Hermana Rodriguez, Browns and Fords



Misionerios Santo Domingo Oeste Mision



Temple views

I took the west side of the Temple the other day, not easy to get it to look as nice as the front.  This afternoon we were able to go up in an apartment tower next to us and take a picture from the 12th floor.  The view around the area was great that high up. 

View from the north on the 12 th floor.

Beisbol

Baseball is the biggest thing here, just think of everyone at a futball game rooting for baseball.  I went to a game with the director of the CCM Hmo. Cuevas and his son, this league is not the best league, but one step down.  Several major league players on each team so double or triple A talent.  It was fun but quite noisy.  The Stadium holds 25,000 when full. 

We like to walk to the coast, the new park there is nice, we went for awhile on Thursday, lots of Christmas lights and people.  I took the sunset for Kate.  The Obama sign I am not sure of, a little street vendor chicken place, not necessarily a good or bad reference.  

Malecon area Park, Dec 2011

Today, Saturday we had a tour of sculpture sites in Santo Domingo with the sculptor and his son, both are sculptors actually.  Jose Rotellini the elder is known for bronze work, his son helps him and has had several of his own commissions as well.  We started on the Ciudad University campus, it is the largest university here with about 25,000 students.  It traces itself to the early 1500's.  We then drove along the MAlecon road, along the coast and finally stopped in the Colonial zone at the birthplace and home of Juan Pablo Duarte, one of the founders of the Republic. 

Jose Rotellini and statue of Juan Pablo Duarte at University

This homeless shack was near an art work on along the coast at St. Geronimo

, an old fortress.

Very interesting to learn how the work is done.

Obispo Rotellini, the son, with his Cleo at the Bella Artes building.

Jose Rotellini brushing some dirt of his Duarte bust in the Coloonial Zone at the Duarte home and museum.

Local Sisters in Colonial Santo Domingo

Have I mentioned this before?



 There are many ingrown toenails in the Dominican, maybe in all missions.  Lots of walking, bad shoes, wet feet and cutting toenails too short or with rounded corners contribute to them. We try soaking, cleaning and lifting up the nails with gauze but often they come to this:



Sorry for the blur, but you can see the red toe, pretty sore for walking 8 miles a day.  This one needs both sides fixed.

 To do this at home just go to u tube and watch a video. You do need some lidocaine for anesthesia and a small clipper. Or just wait until I get home, I think I'll have a pretty big series of cases by then. 

Saturday walk and a new Parque

We like to walk down along the coast to Colonial San Juan, it is probably six or seven miles round trip, so it is for Saturdays.  This week we saw a new park along the sea, it previouly was fenced off but it is now opened up.  There are exercise stations and a beach area, very cool for here, most of the coast is not suitable for recreation here in Santo Domingo.  Now when visitors come they can walk to the beach and get some sun and water.  Or a work  out if they want.



Not a bad spot to have about six blocks away.

I will include this picture of a memorial to the Mirabel sisters, the Butterflies, who spurred the country to overthrough the dictator Trujillo in the mid 60's.  You can look it up as the hisorty of the Dominican Republic is interesting and lots happened not so long ago. 

In the colonial zone there was a demonstration of local buggies, they were being painted and fixed up.  We haven't had the buggy tour around the colonial zone yet, but we will one day.  We passed by a shop that Meg should own. We ran into some missionary friends down there and ended up buying fabric for a suit for me, unfortunately the tailor was not in, so we will have to go back again. My suit is old but it wasn't my idea to switch.  We had a good lunch at a restaurant closer to our Casa, la Dulcerie.  We had fun there, many young people on their phones and chatting, well-to-do and stylish.



Meg wouldn't even have to change the style of clothes.

Our friends, the Atkinsons, live above the Almacen del Obispo, the Bishop's storehouse.  Elder Atkinson does Humanitarian projects and has had the service time of the CCM Elders going into filling these kitchen kits, for people displaced by disasters.  They were cleaned out by flooding here in Santo Domingo in the early fall.