My Monday Morning Walk

I went out of the Temple grounds to walk yesterday, I don't like the park too much so I usually walk around the neighborhood, it is busy with traffic and school kids.  Driver's love their horms here.

Cloudless Santo Domingo Temple

A school wall has a mural with scraps and trash they collected built into it.

The Senior missionary community was all abuzz for this concert.

Elder McDermid cleans up the street across from the Temple every Monday morning.

These pictures were todays sights. The Temple picture shows no clouds, we have moved into our winter pattern, we still have had some rain but usually now it is dry.  It actually is fairly cool in the evening, though the humidity is still high enough during the day to dampen everything but my spirits.

Glad to hear all are safely home from Thanksgiving travels.  Christmas is just around the corner now, we will have some families visiting so it should be fun. The CCM wil be empty for Christmas, but re-load on Dec 27.   

All in a name

An Area medical Adviser serves in a country in which he or she usually doesn't have a medical license.  It is necessary, therefore, to be careful not to practice medicine but to only give advice.  Part of my duties include meeting with missionaries who are sick, so I give them advice.  I am charged also with the health of senior missionaries and mission presidents and their families as needed. 

On the door to my work area I had a sign that said Clinica. Visitors in the Temple housing, la Casa de Huespades, sometimes saw the sign and would bring their sick friends to see me.  I don't mind trying to help personally, but I really don't have much to help them with.  This weekend a good brother from Puerto Rico came with mild congestive heart failure, as did a Sister from Trinidad.  Needless to say, they need more than "medical advice" from me.  I hope they make it safely home.

So I made a new sign, are you impressed?

Santo Domingo Routine

We are back into the Republica Dominicana routine.  We had Thanksgiving dinner with the CCM Elders yesterday and I watched a little Dolphins and Cowboys football last night.  Today we gave our health talk to the Elders, the one we give to each group as they pass through the Centro de Capicitation los Misioneros.  It isn't at all like eighth grade health, when they separate the boys and girls.  This is only about clean food, water, diarrhea and taking care of your toenails.  Most of this group will stay in the Dominican, only four to Puerto Rico and one to Jamaica.  Our water isn't trustworthy, so they must use their filters or use bottled water.  I have been happy this time that no one has been sick in the CCM, last group will be the exception I hope.

We went to a grocery store today called Los Amigos, it has many familiar brands, butter from New Zealand,  and Haagen Daz ice cream.  It didn't seem too expensive and we'll keep it in mind when we are feeling homesick. 

Tony never looked so good.

I did have a little excitement while driving today, after I slid through one intersection as the light changed the traffic cops(Amed) pulled me over, they stand by intersections and jump out in the lane to pull you over.  Anyway, I now have a ticket, he didn't buy my "amarillo" defense, luz rojo was about all I could understand when he talked to me.  I don't know the damage yet, the true punishment will be having to find out where to go and stand in a line or two to pay the fine.  I am hoping it is a warning, because it doesn't give any instructions on going anywhere or how to pay.  There is a building here though, where everyone has to go to pay, so I have a feeling I will be in line there before too long.  It is called the Prisoners Pensione, or something like that. 

Mission visit to Puerto Rico Nov 13- Nov 20, 2011

We made a mission visit to the zone conferences of the Puerto Rico San Juan mission.  We flew to San Juan on Sunday afternoon.  In San Juan we stayed in the mission home with our gracious hosts the Alvarados.  It was great to be around their children. 

Alvarados, McDermids and Cindy at Fuddruckers.  We liked being back in the USA;  the food, brand names and driving were great to be around again.

On Monday we had a Clinic day to review medical and mental health issues with individual missionaries.  Life is better in Puerto Rico for the missionaries, food and water are generally safe and apartments are niceer, often air conditioned and at least screened over the windows. So I didn't see any GI issues, more chronic pain related to injuries, and unusual symptoms difficult to diagnose.  Tuesday was a zone conference and we presented along with the McDermid's.  Wendesday we drove to Ponce and stayed at the Ponce Hilton.  We did have time before leaving on Wednesday to go to Viejo San Juan and walk from Cristobal Fort to El Morro Fort.  The old walls, cannons and stairways are fun to see. 

Cristobal is a fort designed to guard the land
approaches to old San Juan.

Cannon ports give some god views over the old town and water.

El Morro was built by the Spanish to guard the harbor over about 250 years beginning in about 1525. The fort finally fell to foreign invaders for good during the Spanish-American War, in 1898.

In Ponce we had a clinic in the afternoon on Wednesday and had zone conference on Thursday.  We had a late trip back to San Juan Thursday evening.  Then Friday was another zone conference and off to St. Kitt's Friday night for Saturday's Isles of the Sea zone conference.

Pres. Alvarado teaches exercise to the missionaries.

Pres. Alvarado leads birthday singing,
it was his birthday this Monday, 21 Nov.

Cathedral in Ponce Centro, near the famous firehouse and Plaza las Delicias.



Iguana in trees behind Ponce Stake Center





The St. Kitts Chapel is small, but beautiful.  This magnificent Mango tree provides shade and fruit.  Guess who wanted it cut down because regulations say no fruit trees on Church property?




Presdient and Sr. Precious read her mission call, right in front of everybody.  She didn't seem that pleased with the whole thing.



We had a wonderful tour and spiritual experiences.  The mission Spirit is a great one to feel.  New for us to observe so closely. 



A Teeter Week

This week was like the pause at the top of a Teeter-totter, we enjoyed ourselves while waiting to go speeding on into next week.  We are going to Puerto Rico on Sunday, hopefully for one week;  we may need to extend our trip through Monday or Tuesday to get to the conference in St. Kitt's.  The flights for getting all of the island couples and Elders to St. Kitt's are difficult to coordinate. 

I have been getting some slide shows together for our time at the zone conferences, simple topics to help them take care of themselves.  Hydration fluids, managing diarrhea, viral rashes, and taking care of toenails.

My work this week was fairly quiet, calls from West Indies, a few from here and a social outing last night to the Ford's.  The Ford's have been on four missions together, they work in the West Mission office.  The Robert's were also with us, they work on the Perpetual Education Fund, in the Institute building near the University.  We had good conversations and learned more about how things work around here, and elsewhere in the world.

Roberts and Shavers at the Fords apartment.

Temple highlights this week included more work in Spanish, we are actually making progress!  We sometimes don't see each other much once we are at the Temple, but this week we did more together. It is a nice thing to work in the Temple.

Our new Missionaries arrived on Thursday, I haven't had much contact with them yet.  I do have vaccinations for two, one will be English speaking from Guatemala in the West Indies mission and a second from South Africa will arrive today.  He also is English speaking in the West Indies.  I think God puts all Elders where they will grow and bless there lives if obedient, but these two that will go home with fluent English will truly bless their homes and areas someday.

Finally, what did you do for 11:1 am on 11/11/11 ?   Hope you didn't waste this cosmic moment.


Is that gagging I hear?

FHE this week included a silly birthday moment and a beautiful hymn by the missionaries, they were leaving on Tuesday am so it was good to see some of them one last time.



Birthday boy as we sung Happy Birthday.









 

 

Srs. Collette and Hafen held there own very well. Elders Munoz and Atkinson are sitting in the foreground.

Strolling around the Temple has not gotten old yet. 

Time for a transfer

The six-week cycle of missionary life flips a page tomorrow, this batch of CCM missionaries is headed into the field tomorrow.  It seems a long time ago that we had the amoebic dysentery in the CCM and were giving new missionaries their vaccinations. In Clinic today I saw missionaries heading into field transfers needing their feet or bodies tuned up, guess they are headed for the way out boonies.

We are settling in, we are heading for our first Mission visit next week when we head to Puerto Rico and St. Kitts, should be some good pictures from those!


Parking lot Mustang at the grocery store, we have to get our entertainment where we can.



Elder Poulsen and Elder Platt, raring to go into the campo and serve.

Elders eying freedom, tomorrow they get their wish.  Watch what you wish for.

The Temple Christmas creche is up, lighting was being adjusted tonight.

Another week gone

We have had a quick week, Monday was a moderately busy clinic day, and Monday night we had a Halloween party in the cafeteria of the Casa, probably about 30 of us when we all are together.  We had a good potluck and played some games, guessing about M&Ms in a jar and doing a segment of a puzzle.  We even played a little Bingo for candy prizes.  It is fun to get together, some of the couples are more isolated than we are, so they appreciate it even more. 

Tuesday was a good day in the Temple, we had an Indian couple from Tobago come through to be endowed and sealed.  Tobago speaks English so that meant I was valued for a change.  I was able to do alot with them and we stayed for the sealing, they have a boy about 2 that was sealed.  A radiant father and a great spirit for us.  The Temple work would almost be enough for our mission by itself.

Wednesday was our time for Santiago, the drive is getting to be routine, still beautiful and not boring yet.  The mission home is nice there, I didn't have much to do this week but did have an Elder from New Jersey who may need to go home for surgery.  That is too bad, sometimes the Elders don't come back to finish after going home.  He wants to do the surgery here but it is hard to support him afterwords during his recovery time. 

Thursday we were back in the Temple in the morning, that is our busy day with missionaries so it goes fast.  The multiple languages, when we are working close together, can be confusing.  I stick to English for now.

Today we had a few phone calls and walked a few blocks to the American Embassy to meet with the Medical officer there.  Very helpful to me, they have a list of doctors, hospitals and clinics that will be useful.  Herve Poulard is the officer there, he has had an interesting life.  He was born in Haiti and moved fairly young to New York.  He knows several languages and was very friendly.


Morgan feels the first snow in Idaho, 4 Nov 2011

Cindy sent this email after we received the picture of Morgan:

Love the picture, she looks so happy. Did you see the big flake on her head? I had just seen the temp at 32 an hour ago and dad asked if that was the current temp. Guess it was. I am thinking Florida not Idaho. Our temps have fallen to 70-80 but the humidity is still 80 so it is sticky but better sticky than snow. When I got home from my walk this morning dad said we would walk to the US Embassy, about a mile so didn't even bother to take a shower. Within ten minutes of the walk I felt just like I did when I completed the first walk, dripping wet! So guess a shower would have been wasted. If I could just come up with something to do with my hair I wouldn't mind the humidity. Going out to dinner tonight with the group. Last week was so good, wish we would go there again.


We had a nice potluck for FHE. I always enjoy trying the Latin food. It usually isn't anything too crazy. They have some really good desserts with coconut milk. We are planning our Thanksgiving meal, I am bringing croissants. Next week we are going to Puerto Rico and St Kitts for a week. Will do 4 presentations, one clinic day and one fun day. The Mission President was a missionary in the Tampa mission while dad was bishop. He was Spanish speaking so never served in our ward but knew the Naples people. He is really young to be a mission president but is great in a crazy sort of way. Acts like he is still a young missionary. Lots of energy. We will fly next Sunday to the next Sunday. Steve, you are right, they did change the West Indies/Puerto Rico mission boundaries a year or two ago.

We have now met all the 7 mission presidents and their wives. The three in the DR we see on a regular basis, then we have Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Haiti and the West Indies.The President in Haiti is a native and is 34 years old. I wish everyone could spend time with the Haitian saints. They are the most humble, appreciative, polite, reverent people I have met. He invited dad to visit so dad is hoping to get a trip to Haiti sooner rather than later. I would probably stay back with the mental health sister advisor and her husband who is also a mental health advisor would go with dad.

Anna, I bought pomelos yesterday! They are pink and probably not quite as good as the ones we got in Boise but they are still good. I was excited to see them in the store. We can only get the mangoes from roadside vendors but I am willing to pay the dollar for one. They are really good, definitely my favorite fruit. Melons here have no flavor so I think I am done trying melons.

Our trip to the US Embassy was really fun. Lots of security but dad had made contact before we got there and the man we were to meet came to the gate and got us. He was really nice, knowledgeable and interesting. He was a linguist with the Air Force for twenty years. Had lived all around the world. He also is a physician's assistant and has worked for the state dept for the last seven years. In the middle of all the medical exchange, he and dad got into politics and talked for at least half an hour on fixing the world. Anna, he said the state dept would love to hire you with your Mandarin. That would be a far cry from Montessori school.

We have much to thankful for, one day is not enough to celebrate all our blessings.

Love and miss you all, mom
 
So that is the news from the Spanish Lake.  We are enjoying our time and the associations we make here.  I miss all of the family and some of the pets at home.