The tagua nut from a variety of palm tree that grows in Northen South American is used to make jewelry and small sculptures. It is referred to as vegetable ivory and is quite beautiful. This was purchased by the Yosts and shows the process used to create the bird.12/26 We were in the Cólon ward and I thought Sacrament meeting was especially good. Two women spoke. The first about gratitude and the importance of recognizing our blessings rather than focusing on what else we wish we had. The second woman spoke about ¨President Benson's 14 points about the role of a prophet. They both spoke clearly and slowly enough that I could follow almost everything they said. Yea, it only takes three missions to begin to understand.
Again our Gospel Principles class was excellent. I was worried because I didn't see Juan Carlos in Sacrament meeting but he was there all along and sat next to us in class. He gave us a map of Quito with some postcard sized photos inside. How nice of him. All of the senior missionaries came into our class that morning. Lewis said, "We either need more chairs or fewer missionaries." Everybody laughed and they got more chairs. When we went around the room and made introductions he said, "I am in investigator but I count myself one of you." At the end of the meeting Juan Carlos told us that he had had his baptism interview and he will be baptized on New Year's Day. How wonderful! He is an intelligent and thoughtful young man. I hope this is the beginning of his lifelong appreciation for and living the Gospel.
In the elevator Lewis said our Sunday tradition is grilled cheese sandwiches and invited everyone to come have a sandwich. Only Sister Naylor came but we enjoyed her company and took her photo in front of our Christmas tree wearing her Christmas scarf so she can sent it to her family.
12/27 Went to the office. We expected that at 10:00AM or so they would move our desk configuration two feet closer to the window so they could put a dividing wall between us and two stations for the call center. Paola and I are practically back to back now. Good because I am supposed to keep close supervision but bad if we are all trying to talk on the phone at the same time. So we figured it was a great time to go to the Otavalan market that is only about a block away from the office. It is spoken of often by the sisters but I hadn't been there. The Yosts didn't have anything pressing, so they took us. The men petered out after a couple of rows of stalls but Sister Yost and I wanted to see it all. She says she likes to go often and has a monthly budget to spend there. There are about 150 stalls that are crowded together under a roof with narrow aisles between. There is an open space with benches in the middle and that is where the men ended up. It is delightful. There are a million things, many of them beautiful and they are inexpensive - at least compared to what you would pay for a similar item in our country. I didn't try to take photos this time. It is probably not a good idea to flash a camera around. Some of the women are dressed in dark skirts with white blouses embroidered in bright colors with colorful belts that tie around their waists. There was a very cute little girl with her mom and I did ask if I could take her photo. I wanted both of them but she said just her daughter. If you like bags, jewelry, shawls, ponchos, sweaters, blankets, tablecloths, figurines that are made of nuts and look like ivory, leather goods. You name it they have many versions. I did buy a big purse/bag. I like the pattern and the colors and it holds my small umbrella and my purse that Dan and Jenny gave me that has my camera in it and there is an inside pocket for my translator. Lewis bought a tablecloth because our table is covered with glass and he doesn´t like it. We paid $10.00 for my purse and $12.00 for the tablecloth and napkins. Sister Yost and I will be going again. We can't find a set of dominoes anywhere though!
We went back to work and no one had come to move our desks so I worked on my birthday emails and recording the replies I had previously received. At lunch time we went out with the Yosts to a restaurant that we are happy to know about. For $3.00 I got a big piece of very thin beef (tough but tasted good) plus lots of rice and beans. They have a sauce called Ají that looks like thin watery pico de gallo but I liked it a lot and so did Lewis. Lewis got a plate similar to mine but with the addition of two fried eggs. He didn't enjoy the beef much but really liked the rest. His cost $4.00 and we each got a drink as well. We can't afford to eat out every day but at these prices it is hard to complain. After lunch we went to a tall commercial building that the Yosts had never been in. It was very unique in that you enter and you either spiral up or spiral down. There is a ramp that takes you past every store. There is an elevator but the line was long. I thought it was very clever. Every store gets lots of traffic to pass by their window unless they are at the end of the line.
I spent the afternoon going through old files. There were many versions of training and I kept the ones that looked useful and sorted them and threw out the ones that are way outdated. Lots of work has gone into creating things that don't reflect the current state of the program. I hate to throw out stacks of hard work but I'm sure that is what the missionary couple did in our office when we left the Dominican Republic. We all do things in our own way and processes change. I hope we can learn what is most helpful here. We look forward to our training scheduled for January 10th. We are trying to get a handle on the info here and make sure we have the info that the Area wants us to use.
Monday evening is Family Home Evening. It was my turn to give the Spanish lesson and I used some of the info I prepared for our old ESL class in Melba.
12/28 In the office we finally realized that the messages we were getting when we try to call cell phone numbers couldn´t be right. It turns out that there is some error in our office phone system and the people who could fix it are on vacation. So we sent lots of emails but that is not what will get us good marks in SLC. Oh well, I guess we can improve next month. We went out to lunch with the Geldmachers and the Yosts. For three dollars we got a pork chop, lots of lentils and rice with a piece of fried plantain, preceded by a soup with yucca and some meat and vegetables, a juice drink (I liked mine (called maricopa or something like that), the others got juice of tree tomatoes) and chocolate cake for dessert. Oh and there was ají (a creamy orange sauce this time) and a small bowl of popcorn on the table too. Quite a meal for $2.90! I think we liked the previous day´s meal a little bit better because we liked the beans better than the lentils and I liked their ají sauce better.
12/29 Went to work and did birthday emails and Lewis and I went through the priority call lists and he called and I sent emails to those we couldn't reach. The numbers won't look very good but we are making a difference for a few. Lewis got several calls back and I received reply emails. We solved a few problems and made a few friends.
They finished up our office by moving everything closer to the window. Now there is a five foot padded divider between the two of us and the two service center stations. Hopefully that will allow us to supervise and be aware of what is going on but not get lost in the babble of too many conversations at once.
So, oh darn, we had to go home early. We walked to the office store with Yosts. She wanted tissue paper to wrap her nativity set in. It was a kick to explain what we wanted. They brought out bathroom tissue before we found the kind of paper she was looking for. We bought a compass for less than $2.00. Maybe we will get less lost. We had wanted to buy a set of dominoes. We thought that should be easy enough but we can't find any except very tiny ones. The Yosts took us on the Ecovia to Quicentro because there are some toy stores there. The Ecovia is cool. It is often very crowded and pickpockets are a real danger. Elder Vomocil lost his wallet yesterday and didn't even know it until a couple of hours later. They are like two regular buses connected by an accordion folded section that travel in a special lane reserved for them. When they stop at a platform in the middle of the street, the platform doors open and metal flaps come out of the buses to enter on. It costs a quarter to get on and you can go as far as you want. We went six stops to Quicentro. We found the Imaginarium store which is great fun and they did have a set of dominoes but they were all curved so you end up building snake trails and there were no doubles. The regular toy store didn't have any at all. So we failed in finding dominoes but I was very impressed with this mall. It put Boise to shame. Very high end shops and beautifully done. More like the ones in Hawaii on the beach. The food court is open and airy with a translucent roof and on two levels with a TV screen at least 60 feet wide and 15 feet high. Mostly it showed advertising for the stores but we were impressed. We ate at Taco Bell which I'm not anxious to do again but the cost was reasonable. It is a cool place. I want to go back to Quicentro.
At home I got caught up on my computer. My Google Reader is down to zero unread posts for the first time since we left the USA. No more excuses, it is time to get blogging.
This big open area is surrounded by restaurants and stores. They say it is very lively at night and we should stay away after dark but at 7:30 in the morning it is very quiet.
12/30 Now we are legal. We met the missionaries at 8:00 to get our Certificado de Empadronamiento. It is called a Censo. They needed to go to the office first so we waited at home and then went with them to the government office that issues them. We had to go next door to a little gift shop that also provides the needed photos. The lady took the photos, printed them and even put glue on the back so they could be stuck to the big envelope that held all of our documentation. I spend about 5 minutes with an officer while he looked it all over and stamped everything and printed out a card for me. I needed to go to another desk where it was laminated and copied for the missionaries. I didn't have 60 cents on me so a very nice man who was standing there and chatting paid my 60 cents for me. Lewis was being interviewed at the time. We were chatting because one of the officers was explaining that he was a missionary in Quito and used to take others through this process when he worked in the mission office. He told me that Elder Daniel Johnson was his mission president! I explained that he was our Area President in our last mission. Small world. The man who paid for me was another American who was getting his Censo too.
After we finished we went to the office and I finished the sorting and filing. We got as many of the priority calling and contacting done as we could.
We had packed a lunch but going to Kentucky Fried Chicken with the Yosts sounded more appealing. We went to a big two story new KFC. It was busy but there were lots of tables on the second floor with a good view of the busy street below. The chicken was very good and it only cost us $6.00 for the two of us. Too much grease but the chicken strips, french fries, soda and a cookie tasted good. We walked back through a cool park. There was a huge arch with sculptured figures in relief at the top. There was lots of playground equipment that looked more interesting than our parks. The kids had four wheel bikes that looked like cars. Moms could push from behind and the kids could propel themselves as well. There was a row of maybe 50 stalls selling handicrafts. Lewis chatted with one man who explained that he was a member in Otavala and ended up selling Grandpa a red wool jacket with llamas woven in the pattern. It is big enough (which is difficult to find) and cost $22.00. Now we both have something Ecuadorian. I saw some owls painted on small gourds that looked intriguing but it was time to go back to work. Much of their work is very beautiful.
After work we stayed to watch the New Year's tradition. The people make effigies of people to burn. It symbolizes getting rid of old problems and beginning fresh and new again I'm told. But it is a bit startling to watch what looks like a person go up in flames. They made one to represent Efrain - he works in the building and is one of the counselors in the ward we are attending. He looked pleased. I guess it is an honor to be burned to ash. They stuff clothes and put on a mask. It even had very small shoes. They doused it with several cups of gasoline and put a match to it. The missionaries all gathered around. All of the senior missionaries wanted to watch and there were many workers and some older boys as well. We all watched as it looked like a bonfire and then burned down to not very much ash and two charred shoes. They tell me that New Year's day will have black spots all over after the New Years Eve fires. The office is closed tomorrow so that is why this one was early. There are masks for sale at many street corners and whole "people" in some places. All ready to burn. When we got home to our apartment building there is one at the doorway holding a box with a slit in it thanking people for their "colaboracion." They are thanking people for putting money in the box to pay for the effigy. Seems a little gruesome to me but I guess it is one way of "getting a fresh start".
Elder Arellano with the effigy
The man it represents pouring gasoline over the effigy
The missionaries always love a photo op
Lots of us watching in the parking lot.
It burns.
It really burns!
12/31 The office is closed today. Some of the missionaries went in for a few hours but I wanted to work on my computer and get my blog up and running. It was a day of frustration. The internet connection kept falling off and I couldn't even get the blog to accept a photo or the PEF site to bring up the pop up to record my contacts. Bah! I've run all of the spam and anti virus programs and Lewis has changed the settings and nothing has improved. The other missionaries walked around town to see the sights and took lots of photos. We should have gone with them. The blog is still pending.
We went to the New Year's Eve party at the Yosts. We took cornbread to go with the ham and potato soup Sister Yost made and vegetables and dip. Sister Yost also made home made pumpkin pie with squash she bought at the store downstairs. It was delicious. We enjoyed lots of good food again and played Buzz Words. This time the girls won. Elder Hakes was with us because he became ill on Thursday and has been at the Geldmachers since then so he wouldn't share his illness with his three roommates. We also played Blink and dominoes. After our trips to all the stores we could think of to buy dominoes, Sister Yost mentioned our quest to Sister Geldmacher who said they had dominoes in their apartment that they never used and we could have them. Elder Hakes was very good at Blink and Sister Geldmacher won the domino game. We left about 10:00 and the noise of the fireworks woke me up at midnight but only very briefly. We heard reports later that Sister Dresen and Naylor watched until 12:30 or so and Elder Gelmacher had the best view but I enjoyed sleeping.
Elder Geldmacher wearing a mask he bought on the street. Now we know where all the left over Halloween masks go.
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