First month in the Dominican Republic

Dear Family and Friends,

I am trying a new approach with our letters. Let's see if I can blog. Please let me know what you think. The photos can accompany the words and no one has to mess with attachments. Do you like the blog format?

I promised photos so this message will emphasize a look at our new surroundings.


This is the view from our dining room. We are on the 6th floor of a nice apartment building and if I stand up to look out the window I can see the ocean. This view is with a telephoto lens. However there is an even better view from our bedroom:



Yes, that is Moroni. We can see the temple from our apartment. No excuses for us about how hard it is to get to the temple often. The other bedroom window faces the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. It is an attractive brick colored building with a tiled roof and a beautiful tree full of orange flowers in front. We have our computers in the bedroom because it is large and we get a nice cross breeze. If it is too hot, we close the windows and turn on the air conditioning. We are very comfortably situated.

We do not have the black songbird who sang to us in Tenerife but we do have a flock of small green parrots who chatter and squawk to each other as they fly and chase each other in the mornings. It is not a melodious noise but it is fun to watch them dart and swoop and circle the taller buildings. There are at least 15 of them on most days.


I mentioned the cute girls that visited us on the day that our living room furniture was delivered. I haven't seen them since but hope they might visit again. The smallest girl lives next door to us. Their names are Olfelina 8, Evelin 10 and Vialexa 2. They loved looking at your photos and spelling their names with our Scrabble/Take Two tiles.


Here is a closer look at the ocean here in Santo Domingo. There is a major road that follows the coast here in the south. In the city it is called the Malecon (the real name on the signs is Avenida George Washington) It is close to the water. Since the land is solid rock here it seems to work just fine.

We did drive east one Saturday on this road for a an hour or so. We went to San Pedro de Macoris and found the city buzzing with "motors". That is what they call motorcycles and scooters here. If you were a mother you would just die when you see how dangerous it all looks but they are amazingly efficient at getting to where they want to go--quickly, cheaply and carrying more than you can imagine. In the center of the roundabout going into town there is an old train engine and several metal sculptures. The metal sculptures were kind of cool.

But I liked the very big crabs that were crawling up each of the four corners.

There is a real beach here in this town. It has sand and looks like a great place for swimming.





We thought we would take a different route home from this city and ended up way north of where we thought we were. We went to Hato Mayor before we came back down and went home the same way we came. It was a fun drive. But there were lots of pot holes in the road and we wouldn't want to drive that road at night when you couldn't see them. This picture is of one of the more prosperous little "homesteads". Notice the horse in the front yard.




This man rode his horse to the store.

We were invited, along with Pedro who is in charge of the Employment Resource Center. to speak to a meeting of the Stake Presidency, High Council and Bishops of the stake in La Romana which is on the eastern part of our island. Our time was very short in the meeting, so Dad just gave a very brief overview of the program and we handed out more details in written form and answered questions. It seemed like they are anxious to become more involved and had some good questions. We will go back and present a fireside for their youth so they can take advantage of the program. It is so much more than a loan program. The two preparatory classes are great even if a person is not planning on going to school.

We enjoyed our trip there. We stopped at a beautiful building that sells artisan type stuff. Across the street is a metal fabrication place where they make furniture, lamps, wall hangings--lots of amazing things. They invited us to visit the factory but we didn't have time. The store is a also a studio where they hold painting classes and have lots of activities. I really liked some of the things I saw. Good thing they are big and heavy and I can't take them back with me. On the way out I saw some bright painted wooden fish. A wooden fish is more reasonable than a metal bench. Right? I want to go back. Who wants to go with me?




Yesterday we went to Barahona and Bani toward the southwest of our island, again to do training with the employment people. The only problem was that the District President in Barahona had cancelled his meeting because he had to take his sister to the hospital. And the message didn't make it all the way to us. So we left at 8:00AM and went to Barahona. When we finally figured out the problem Pedro and Lissette were embarassed but we enjoyed our morning and were blessed with a miracle as well. We didn't know where the chapel was so had stopped and asked two men who were in a park. They were telling us the directions to get there and then said, "Why don't you talk to that man coming this way. He is a member of your church." Turns out he was a counselor in the District Presidency and told us the President was in Santo Domingo with his ill sister. But we were able to talk with him briefly and give him the printed material we had made to share with the District Presidency and the Branch Presidents. We will go back and hold a fireside with them when they choose a date. So we were able to accomplish most of what we had planned.


My favorite thing on the drive were the blossoming yucca plants. I have never seen orange puffy flowers like these before. I wonder if California yucca plants bloom? I'll bet in another week all of the green will be bright orange.



The second meeting in Bani was still happening so we drove back toward Santo Domingo, found Bani and had time to walk in the park and drive around the town. The Stake President was very nice and promised to call a Stake specialist over employment and education and encourage every ward to do the same. He asked if he could call a woman to this position. Pedro said, of course you can, in fact we find that the women generally do a much better job. Lissette and I smiled. These specialists have access to all of the information and training available in the employment center and it is impressive. They have many employers who call and ask for referrals because they have been pleased with previous hires. There are also lots of training programs available. The government will often teach classes in the chapels for free. I have heard of classes in merchandising, secretarial skills, and sales for example. These specialists also become the person to contact all of their stake's PEF participants and see that they receive help and support from their Priesthood leaders when they need it. The beauty of the program is that the contacts will be made by people who know the participants and can find them local help with whatever they might need to be successful. We have permission for these specialists to use the Family History computer to access the information they need and update the records. It is absolutely amazing to me how many different areas the church is working in to better peoples lives. When all of these separate concerns work together to help the members learn to help themselves and be prepared to reach out to others, we can change the world.



This is an example of the older more modest homes in the town of Bani. (There is an accent on the i so it is "Ban-E".) The wood above the doors and windows has cut outs. They are different on every house and very attractive. Because it is a warm climate they provide ventilation all year round, I guess. Most of the wooden houses are painted bright colors that are cheerful.


Here is the detail on this house.


We feel very blessed to be here. We feel even more blessed to have you all at home keeping the wheels turning and raising the grandchildren. There are a million things going wrong in the world but there are lots of things going very right. Don't forget that the right will win. And all of the most important things will turn out the way they should if we do our part.

Monday night we had our weekly Family Home Evening with the senior missionaries. It was Elder and Sister Mask's turn. They have a big apartment so invited us all to dinner. We had Hawaiian Haystacks and all brought the toppings. Reminded me of Randy's mom, Renee. That is what she served when we first went home with Randy and met her and Don. Tasted great and is perfect for a crowd. Elder Mask is the Area President here and a General Authority. He used the March Ensign on the Savior in his lesson and told about his calling and bore his testimony of Jesus Christ. It was a lovely evening. We hope you all know that we have a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ and that our job here in this life is to come to know him and follow his example. We do not have a copy in English but hope you all do.

We love you all,
Dad and Mom P.