Christmas and Beyond

Christmas was a wonderful day. Our favorite part was talking with each of our children. We even got some Christmas Eve and Christmas morning photos so we didn't feel left out of the fun of children being excited about opening presents and the joy of family being together and making memories. We opened presents too and loved having new photos and new music and an original DVD to watch. We so appreciate feeling close to our family even when there are many miles to separate us.We had a wonderful Christmas dinner with all of the senior missionaries who live in or near Santo Domingo at the home (big apartment in the patron housing building next to the temple) of the temple president. The mom and two daughters at the table belong to the Santo Domingo East Mission. Their dad is the mission president and the whole family is bilingual. The family history couple are from Mexico and Sister Cairns was born there as well. They put together a wonderful Christmas dinner that we all enjoyed--two kinds of enchiladas, marinated pork, rice, beans, flautas (that is what they called them but they were homemade taquitos to me) and salads along with real salsas and guacamole, flan and sugary fried tortillas for dessert. It was all delicious and made for a very festive time together. Here is a photo of Dad with Elder Bagwell and Elder Babb. They all served in the West Mexican Mission together a very long time ago.
We had two Christmas opportunities this year. Our friend Olgan Sainteluz came to us the week before Christmas. His wife and three children were back in Haiti living with her parents for the birth of her third child. The middle child, a 2 year old little girl, got meningitis and was in a clinic in Haiti with extremely limited care. We gave him enough money to travel to Haiti to bring his daughter back to the Dominican Republic. She was born here and is entitled to medical care. Olgan is in school here, he works at the MTC and volunteers in our PEF call center. He is almost (but unfortunately does not yet have his card) a resident of the DR. He struggles to survive because he can't get a job without residency. The MTC only needs him when they have Hatians there so his income is not steady. He is back now and his daughter is in the hospital here. He said that the doctor told him that it is a miracle she is still alive. We continue to pray that her condition improves, that he can take and pass all of the finals that were given while he was gone and that the process of getting his residency will be finally finished! The Haitians struggle but in spite of (or because of) their difficulties many have amazing faith. The Haitians who come by the bus load to the temple have sacrificed to a level we have no concept of in order to receive their temple blessings. It is a privilege to be in the temple with them, and fun to listen to French when they are the majority. Here is a photo of Olgan:
Our friend, Rosanna, has been working as a volunteer in the Employment Resource Center for months. We hired her to clean our house and pay her well for coming once a week. She left the ERC to take a job but then returned when the business she was working for closed their doors. She comes early and leaves late and gives excellent service for no paycheck. A large department + grocery store has promised her a job in their human resources department when they complete their new location in a month or so. Hopefully that will solve her employment problem. She has been working to help them fill their other 400 openings. The ERC sent over many people recently to take the test to be cashiers and very few passed the test. More non-members than members were hired. We all need to be educated to get good jobs. We are trying to encourage all of the young people here to take advantage of the opportunity to get higher education. Unfortunately many people here are not high school graduates or even literate. We all need to value education more and work throughout our lives to improve our skills and knowledge.Back to Rosanna. She started having headaches several months ago and has been diagnosed as having a brain tumor. She says it is not cancer but it is growing and causing the pain. She took three radiation treatments but stopped for lack of money. She was told she needed six treatments. She has resisted offers of financial help but the pain level is now such that she has given us permission to ask our fellow missionaries to contribute. I think we can raise enough to finish her treatments. We continue to pray that she will know the best thing to do. I am so impressed with her determination to keep volunteering no matter the level of pain. She is there every day, doing all she can to make things better.

For a Christmas gift we offered to take her for a day trip. People with no car and no money do not go anywhere they do not have to go. We told her to bring a friend and we would have a fun day making memories. She chose Sister Cairns and we all had a great day together. The first thing we did was go to the Cueva de las Maravillas. You probably guessed that means Cave of the Marvels. It was beautiful and very interesting. It has been purchased from the government by a private organization and has very well built stairs and railings and lighting and an elevator. A tour guide takes you through and explains the stalactites and stalagmites and rock formations, we saw lots of bats and there are drawings made by the original inhabitants of this island. They are large and simple and look like they were made with a spray can but they assured us that they are original cave paintings. One of the beliefs of the Tainos was that after death a person's head needed to be cut off in order for their spirit to leave the body. Oh, and they were cannibals too. They wouldn't let me take photos in the cave. We drove to the beach in Juan Dolio, then went to La Romana and returned via San Pedro and Boca Chica. We had lunch at Burger King. I took lots of fun photos but I'll only post a couple. Rosanna told us about her conversion. Her mother was Evangelical (that is Spanish, it is also English?) and she went to church all of her life. She never felt completely comfortable there and resisted getting baptized. She mentioned that she wasn't comfortable with how loud and public the prayers were when the whole congregation prayed together. She said that after she was a legal adult she visited a few churches and asked the missionaries when she came across them to tell her about their church. She had the lessons, attended church and asked to be baptized only a couple of weeks later. She said she felt like it was "home" and she was comfortable with the teachings and the people. She has been a faithful member ever since. Her younger brother hassled her but her mother supported her decision to change churches as long as she continued to attend a Christian church. Since then both her mother and her brother have passed away from kidney problems. She never did mention a father. I think the only relative she has is an aunt. I can't imagine not having a big, wonderful family. Thank you to all of you for being a part of mine.These are paper mache masks that will used during Carnival in February. This is a big deal in Spanish speaking countries and usually not a very uplifting celebration.

We visited an artisan center in La Romana. This big chicken and rooster are out in front to attract attention. The rooster is much taller than I am. They make amazing things out of metal and also have a school to teach art skills.

Here is a beach near Juan Dolio:

In Boca Chica we saw these boat racks. This is new to me. Did you know that you could store your boat on a shelf?
We enjoyed our day together and it helped me remember my blessings. As we close one year and begin another one I want to always remember how blessed my life has been and that the Lord is the source of all good things and will help us through the not so good things in our lives.
Thank you for being a good example for me and making this world a better place for all of our brothers and sisters.
Love, Mom/Jeri/Grandma