Second Vacation this Month!

We enjoyed another week’s vacation this month. Dan came without Jenny because she needed to be at work. We missed you Jenny. Beverly and Jessica took a week off from school for their own personal Spring Break. We enjoy a beautiful Spring here in the Dominican Republic during the winter months. Both the Walkers and Dan and Beverly and Jessica were blessed with great beach weather. It didn’t rain and spoil their sunbathing although it wouldn’t impact swimming much.

Our guests wanted to focus on the beach. That is always an excellent choice here. We first went to Juan Dolio, found pretty shells and coral and eased into the snorkeling. Then we decided the next day to drive further to Bayahibe which had been highly recommended. On the way we stopped in La Romana to visit El Artisano. This place originated with one man’s metal art which he sold to make a living. He began with tin cans and tin snips. He gradually built a factory and offered training to youth who needed to turn their lives around. He tells a tale of three boys the police brought to him because they were always getting into trouble. Two became highly skilled and still work in his factory. The other one didn’t want to work and went back to his old life. The factory enjoys working on special projects for the big hotels and for customers around the world. They will take your sketch and turn it into heavy metal art. The factory is on one side of the street and the store and school is on the other. They sell furniture and paintings and metal sculptures and all sorts of crafts. The school is open free of charge to the youth who live in the area. There are also art classes for adults. It is a lovely building with great stuff of many varieties. Lewis is tired of going there but I like it a lot. Beverly trying on a mask that is suitable for "Carnaval" - a big party in Latin American countries near the end of February.

We found what we thought was Bayahibe and lots of hotels but we had trouble finding access to the beach. Finally someone told us to drive to the end of a dirt road and turn right. We did and came to a very lovely beach. Turns out we were in Dominicus but we were very happy to be there. We could rent a beach umbrella and as many lounge chairs as we wanted and the water was as clear as on Catalina Island. It was beautiful. Dan had brought the book Inkheart so I enjoyed relaxing and reading in the shade. The rest of our group splashed and snorkeled and worked on their tans. It was a wonderful day. We decided that we wanted to come back so we looked around for a place to stay. We found a great all inclusive resort and decided to splurge but their reservation desk was closed. They told us to come back the next day and make a reservation when they opened at 9:00 AM. We called at 9:00 while were still traveling and they told us that they were full and had no room for us. Fortunately, we looked around and found a great apartment in Bayahibe we could rent for far less money. A German family has built a small apartment building, lives on the second floor and rents out the rest of the apartments to people on vacation. The restaurant right near the beach in Dominicus had surprisingly good food and we had a great time. At dinnertime we asked around and found the first restaurant built in Bayahibe. It sits on the shoreline with a nice dining room but also there are tables on the sand right next to the water. We watched the sun go down and the waitress spent time and patience talking to us about their community. They have lights shining on the water so we could see small fish swimming just a few feet away. The food was delicious and the setting was wonderful. And I didn't bring my camera. Agh! In Bayahibe and Dominicus we spent lots of time on the beach, took breaks to walk through the gift shops and eat and thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing time.

We also went to the Cueva Maravillosa. This is a very large cave, discovered by a Boy Scout troop early in the 19^th Century which contains Taino paintings. The Tainos were the original inhabitants who welcomed Christopher Columbus to the new world. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long until there was lots of conflict between the two groups and most of the Tainos were killed. We learned that their culture included the belief that the head of a dead person needed to be removed so the spirit could leave the body and be reincarnated. He told us that one group also buried the favorite wife (alive) when the husband was buried. Our guide explained the meaning of some of the symbols (many remain a mystery) and told us that the stalagmites and stalactites grow at the rate of one centimeter every 100 years. As they grow toward one another, some become columns. The cave is protected by the government and a private company has purchased the rights to give tours. They have built stairs, handrails, motion activated lighting and there is even an elevator to take you back to the surface after the tour. They added marble flooring in one huge cavern suitable for formal events. It is beautiful but the guide says that it fills a foot deep with water in heavy rain. It was cool and we could see tree roots snaking across the ceiling. Every once in a while a drip would fall on your head and the walkways were wet. We were told that a damp cave is a live cave and continues to grow. It is home to thousands of bats and was a very interesting place to visit.

Jessica was hit by a bad cold during her vacation but she was a brave soldier and still enjoyed her vacation. Thank you for coming Dan and Beverly. We are grateful that we had time to spend together and lovely places to see. We live in a beautiful world and are happy to be together and experience fun times. Is anyone else able to come?

Don't show the photo below to the children. This is not typical missionary behavior. (After they serve their first mission they will really appreciate their senior missions.)

We did hold a great fireside in Gazcue on Sunday evening. It was wonderful because Yrisenia, the Stake Specialist did such a good job of inviting all of the young people to come and prepared all of the priesthood leaders who spoke. Yea, one person has caught the vision and is doing all she can to help! We still have a long ways to go with other specialists.

The internet has not been functioning since the middle of last week. I hate to be cut off! When this goes up you will know we are connected to the world again. No. We are still frustrated with no internet, but came back to the office at night to blog.

Love, Grandma/Mom/Jeri

February is Vacation Month

We love it when we have to take a vacation! Most of the Idaho Walker family (Randy, Susan, Alyssa, Rachel and Lydia) spent a week with us at the beginning of February. Sarah vacationed with the Evans family. They enjoyed her company but most of the clan spent most of the week with the flu. The week was not a vacation for Nancy. Or the rest of you either I suppose. We had enough fun for you all. The weather was kind, the Walkers were easy to please, and everyone loved the beach.

A Christmas present arrived with the Walkers. Thank you so much for the wonderful book! My favorite subject so beautifully presented. Thank you Nancy for putting it together. I will show it to all of you when we return.

The beach was the favored destination. We live very close to the ocean but a beach with sand where you can enter the water is 45 minutes away. We spent two days, four hours away at the north east corner of our island on the peninsula called Samaná. We went to Las Terrenas and stayed in a rental vacation condo. It was great. There was a beautiful pool with a hot tub and the beach was just across a dirt road. The water was less clear and there were fewer shells than at Juan Dolio but it had palm trees for the girls to climb (harder than they thought) warmer water than California beaches (even in the summer) and a lot less crowded, even though this is the busy season. The Atlantic Ocean is on the north side of our island so now the Walkers have visited both the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. We walked around the town, visited several gift shops, watched a man make peanut brittle, talked to the parrots that were for sale (they didn´t talk back) and bought fresh bread to eat for breakfast. It was a beautiful setting in which to play Dominos and Take 2 and spend time together.

The next morning we went to the small town of Limon and rode horses to see an amazing waterfall. Two men and two boys went with us. I was grateful that they took such good care of us. The two young men rode behind the saddles with Lydia and Alyssa. Lydia would need help during the journey and Alyssa’s horse was able to carry them both. We first rode at the edge of the highway along a steep curve and I was fearful that cars would not be able to see us but we made it safely. Then we rode through a neighborhood of tiny wooden houses and down to the river. Obviously this path is used a great deal by people going to see the waterfall but it was a bit tricky. It was very steep going up and down and very rocky as well as muddy. We crossed the river in two places. I got wet way past my ankles even on horseback. I was glad Lydia had someone with her but everyone did very well. I found that it was impossible to take focused photos on horseback but my camera survived the experience and I have a few shots worth keeping. Grandpa and I declined the last leg of the journey walking down to the face of the waterfall. When they returned I was very glad that I stayed put because the teenager carried everyone across the river except Randy. It was an extremely steep and slippery climb. The two men walked the entire way in their tall rubber boots. I hope they received decent pay for their labor. There are not a lot of jobs available in this area. I suppose it is a good opportunity to make money for their family. The boys said that they go to school in the afternoons. Of course there was an opportunity to purchase souvenirs at the top and Randy bought his girls each a necklace.

Turned out that the favorite beach was the closest to home. The southern side of the island faces the Caribbean Sea. Juan Dolio Beach is where the Arellanos visited as well. We were a bit further east this time and found fewer sea anemones (better for your feet) and more shells (fun to take home and share). No one in our group was interested in fresh seafood but we saw a boat pull up and the man clean and cut his catch. No one came by with horses but we had had our fill of horseback riding at Limon. Danae had shared her snorkeling equipment so everyone could see the underwater sea life and find a few medium sized shells and some broken large shells. We found lots and lots of small shells. The sun was hot and the breeze was cool and the water was refreshing. We went on three different days. Not many beach opportunities are available in Idaho.

We enjoyed visiting the Botanical Gardens in Santo Domingo. We rode a “train” and found that the gardens are pretty extensive. We saw a bride and groom having their photos taken in the Japanese Garden and Alyssa and Rachel did their gymnastic routine for me. They are both brave and strong and coordinated.

The girls were pleased that their Primary teacher on Sunday spoke both English and Spanish. She grew up in Blackfoot with Spanish speaking parents, went to Guatemala as a teacher and married there. His work brought their family to the Dominican Republic last year. One of our first weeks here she was giving a talk in church and had her husband read a scripture for her. I couldn’t understand why someone who sounded like a native Spanish speaker had someone else read for her. She told me later that she never learned the verb forms that are in the scriptures in Spanish and wasn’t sure she would pronounce them correctly. I didn’t know whether I should feel comforted or even more frustrated with Spanish verbs. So Alyssa, Rachel and Lydia got to listen to their class lesson in both English and Spanish so everyone could understand.

When Susan and Randy went to the temple we went to the park across the street. No beautiful lawns in this park, no grass at all, but there are trees with vines strong enough to swing from. I haven't seen jungle vines in a park before. There was also a stage that the girls put to good use with an impromptu play about a brave mouse.

Another thing we enjoyed was going to El Canuco Restaurant. The food is typically Dominican, rice, chicken, pork, bread, fruit. Good but not exciting. But the music and dancing are very fun. There is a drum and a scrapey thing that are traditional instruments. I suppose that it was the Meringue that they were dancing most of the time. The highlight is when one of the girls plants the ball of her foot on the top of the narrow neck of a bottle and the guy spins her around and around and around. It is quite impressive. All of the dancers involve the diners. Lydia loved the dancing and her Dad danced with her for several numbers until the performers wanted a turn and danced with her as well. All of the girls participated and were taught some new dance steps and took turns playing the guira. The drum is called a tombora. We had a great time and stayed long enough to watch the bottle dance for the second time.

We have worked really hard to get stuff done and are ready for our second vacation beginning Sunday evening. We welcome Dan and Beverly and Jessica! Hope they will enjoy their week with us and also go home with good memories of this beautiful country and the lovely people who live here.

Love, Grandma Pettingill

Caribbean Regional Conference

The Caribbean was blessed to have President Henry B. Eyring, Elder David A. Bednar, Elder Neal Anderson of the Presidency of the Seventy and Sylvia Allred of the Relief Society Presidency here in person. They went to Kingston, Jamaica and held the conference in the Spanish Town building where it was broadcast to the 50 Stake/District centers in the 6 languages used here. There are 30 islands and three countries on the South American continent with over 160,000 members here.
We were able to see it in the home of the temple president in English and wives could come to the priesthood session as well. I love it when church is in English. I understood everything the brethern and Sister Allred said but I admit I didn't understand all that was said by the Jamaican brothers asking questions in the priesthood session.

I thought it was better than excellent so I am going to share a few of the notes I took. The Saturday night session was an hour and a half of questions that were answered by the leaders above. They took every question that was asked. What would you have asked a member of the first presidency or an apostle?

Here is my version of a few of the questions:

Q. Why doesn't the church tell our story more effectively through the media?
A. We are trying to do so but we will not be able to get everyone to understand the way we would like them to.

Q. When will all of the Christian churches teach the same doctrine?
A. Never

Q. What does the Lord want Jamaica to do?
A. Be a great example to the few people that you know. Increase your faith. Faith is a principle of action and power. You do not learn spiritual things from what someone says. We learn from the Holy Ghost as we act in accord with truth.

Q. How do we meet the demands of our responsibilities and keep things in balance?
A. Family comes first. Pray with your spouse. Keep out impure thoughts. Take time to ponder and pray. Seek revelation. Be kind.

Q. How do we avoid discouragement when we do not yet have the status of a stake?
A. Describe the dream differently. There is nothing magic about being a stake or having a temple. The object is not a program or an organization. The goal is one more individual, one more family living worthy of the blessings Heavenly Father wants for all of his children.

Q. What is the Priesthood?
A. It is service, it is exercised by serving others. The priesthood can never be used to benefit oneself. We are personally responsible to care for those we are called to serve. We are personally responsible for those we fail to care for that we are called to serve.

Q. Do you have counsel for the current financial crisis?
A. It is and will be the same counsel you have heard for years. Be very careful of debt. We also need to help each other. Be kind. Be generous. Don't become discouraged. God is very aware of each of us and our needs.

Q. How can we help others?
A. The Lord works one by one. Extend invitations. All answers come through the Holy Ghost. The reason the Lord wants us to be united is that it improves our ability to receive revelation and to work together to accomplish good things. Never infringe on someones agency. Be patient. The Lord is always patient with us. He never gives up.

This is the Spanish Town chapel in Jamaica where the conference was held. They put up a huge tent in the parking lot to hold more people as well. See Grandpa in the center of the photo?

Today in the Sunday session, President Johnson, our Area President told of an experience his family had thirty years ago. They had a big problem with contention in their home. Especially between a 12 year old son and an 8 year old daughter. They couldn't get along and the whole family would get involved in the conflicts. They tried everything they could think of to fix the problem and nothing seemed to work. Sister Johnson (her name is LeAnn) decided that they would begin reading the Book of Mormon every morning to at least have some positive to balance the negative. They persevered and it became an important part of the culture of their home. Five years later, when the oldest was 17, he gave a talk in church about their family's practice of reading the scriptures together. He read the quote by President Romney about how "contention will cease" and said that his family had experienced that. The parents looked at each other and realized that it was true. They had been blessed with everything listed in that quotation.

We learned that Sister Allred's husband had been the president of the MTC here in Santo Domingo. She related the story of the people of King Benjamin who made a covenant in response to his famous talk in Mosiah chapters 2-4. In chapter 26 we learn that those who had been small children during the talk were now rejecting the faith of their parents. In order to avoid that sad situation she recommended the principles taught in Proclamation on the Family and the practice of daily family prayers and scripture reading.

Elder Anderson said that when he left Utah on Friday and arrived in Jamaica he felt like he had reversed the journey of Adam and Eve. He said he felt like he landed in the Garden of Eden. He pointed out that no matter how different our life circumstances are we all have similar challenges. He said that he likes to choose a person he thinks is a great example of a particular quality he would like to develop in his own life. He told us about the qualities of faith, diligence and patience. My favorite statement in this talk was that "faith looks forward".

Elder Bednar gave a masterful discourse. I couldn't scribble fast enough to do justice but I learned that we often separate testimony and conversion. He said that testimony can and should lead to conversion and we are never finished with the process. Testimony is a personal knowledge of truth but until we have gone through the process of a change of heart, becoming a new creature, until we "offer our whole soul" we are still working on our own conversion. He reminded us that testimony is not enough to survive the storm coming in our direction. Many with testimonies, people with both spiritual witnesses and resolve did not measure up to their challenges in the past. We do not want to fall and must press forward along the path of conversion. A testimony is not enough.

President Eyring said he wanted to remind us of some important things that will give us confidence along our present journey. He reminded us that we lived with our Father before we came here. We knew his voice and his love. We have already made hard choices before we came here. We rejected the rebellious and followed Jesus Christ. We can do so here in this life as well. We need to remember to 1. be clean, 2. be diligent and 3. be prayerful. We need to be clean in order to hear the Holy Ghost. We need to be diligent and do it now. We must not delay. There is urgency. Do not run faster than you have strength but look to the Lord as our example. President Eyring reminded us that the scriptures teach that prayer is important so we will not faint or be overcome. Without God's help, we will be overcome. We need to ask for help, plead for help. It could be that a prayer at the moment of crisis will be too late. Prayer is more fervent when we pray for others. President Eyring asked us to act now as we will act when we are with our families in the presence of Heavenly Father.

I love that last image. I hope I can be happy and grateful and good for each of you and for all of our Father's children.

Love, Mom, Grandma, Jeri

Remember the Pioneers

Above you can see freshly laundered clothing drying on the rocks in the mountains above Jarabacoa. The plant that you can see in the foreground on the left was called a caster bean by my Dad. He found one in the wash near our home and dug it up and brought it home and planted it in front of the bedroom at the front of the house on Willard Street. I remember my mother looked it up and found out that the seeds and pods were poisonous. Dad didn't think any of us kids would eat them and so it stayed until Dad brought home a manzanita plant with shiny red branches from the desert. Last I remember a lemon tree planted there. (Siblings, do I have that right?)

In Sacrament Meeting today, a young man who just blessed his new baby girl (Sarah Lydia) last Fast Sunday spoke about service. He used the pioneers who crossed the plains in covered wagons as an example of those who never quit and devoted all they had to the cause they believed in. I was a little surprised that he identified with the pioneers more than 150 years ago in the United States.

But it is easy for me to identify with them because of my heritage. I wanted to share part of the story told about my ancestors by Elder M. Russell Ballard. We are not related to him but his great grandmother is my direct ancestor.

This is taken from what he said last May in a single adult conference. He read from the journals of his great-grandparents Henry and Margaret McNeil Ballard. He read how after joining the Church in England at age 17, Henry Ballard made his way to Utah. But upon arriving at the mouth of Emigration Canyon, he was ashamed to enter the Salt Lake Valley in his ragged clothes that didn't cover his body. So he waited until dark to approach a nearby house and beg for clothes. His plea was answered and he was able to enter the valley the next day, thankful to the Lord that he reached his future home in safety.

That's the beginning of the Ballard family in Utah. "No one, I think," said Elder Ballard, "came into this valley any humbler or in more challenging circumstances.

Margaret McNeil joined the Church with her family in Scotland. She wrote in her journal of a time when she was a 10 year old girl and her family was hungry and without food. In front of a small home across a field was a pile of squash, and her mother sent her to beg for some squash for the family to eat. She wrote that the woman who answered the door said, "I knew you were coming. I have been told to give you food." She gave Margaret a fresh loaf of bread and later delivered a cooked meal to the family.

A Dominican Republic pile of squash, the tayota. These must have fallen off of a truck a few days ago. Below is a photo of one squash on the huge vines grown on wires to keep them up off of the ground. They don't taste bad--they don't have much flavor at all.

Elder Ballard said, "So when we talk about hardship or we talk about challenges, or we talk about where we are in our individual lives as we are working our way through this process of mortality, I personally take a great deal of strength from thinking of those that have gone before us and the price that they were willing to pay to establish the Church."

He reminded us that whatever challenges we face "Do not forget who you are. You are sons and daughters of God, our Eternal Father, and He loves you. You can lay any burden that you feel like you are carrying on the shoulders of the Lord Jesus Christ as you internalize the Atonement and let that be real in your lives. Remember what He did in Gethsemane and what He did on Golgotha for you and for me. Then, somehow, some way, the power of heaven gives you the strength to carry on, do the best you can, to move forward, and not to be too concerned about your own personal worries."


We live in such a beautiful world. The pioneers didn't have an ocean to enjoy. Below is the beach at Las Terrenas on the Samaná peninsula.
They did have mountain streams like the one below but impatience (the pink flowers) do not grow wild in Utah.
We love you all,
Be good. We are all pioneers in our own lives. Make it one you will be proud of.
Love, Mom/Jeri/Grandma

Welcome to 2009

On New Year's Eve all of the senior missionaries were invited to the apartment of the Temple President for snacks and a movie. President Harris welcomed all of us and told the group how he had discovered that I was the daughter of his wife's beloved Golden Gleaner teacher. (Back in the olden days that was the name of the Laurel class.) He said one of the first things he learned about his new girlfriend was her appreciation for Alice Jean Morris. She grew up in a less active home and thought my Mom had it all together with her big family. I'm not sure what brought that subject up on the eve of 2009 but I am very proud to be the daughter of my wonderful parents and I do remember my mother talking about Diane. My personal favorite was Marti because she came over to babysit one time. I don't have a specific memory of Diane (don't tell Sister Harris) but she remembers Marti and has kept in contact over the years. You teachers, remember that you have powerful influence. I doubt that my mom realized that her student Diane often thought of her example over the years when raising her own six kids.

We enjoyed good snacks and watched "Father Goose" with Cary Grant and Leslie Caron. The Harris' love old movies and we enjoyed this one. We went home and were fast asleep by the time it was midnight. Old, boring people we are. I understand that in the "great and spacious building" where the East Mission President, the Area President, the DTA (Director of Temporal Affairs) and the CES director lives it was much more lively. The Mission President has three teenage daughters living with them and one visiting from BYU and the Area President had their youngest daughter visiting as well. They were partying long past midnight we were told. This decade seems to be rushing by rather quickly I think.

We had fun going to the Botanical Gardens with the Francoms who live in our building. We should have been going ever since we got here. There is an admission fee but it is a wonderful place to walk, very beautiful and right here in Santo Domingo.

Isn't that a beautiful flower! This is outside in January! It is hot in the summer but delightful in the winter here. The photos Susan sent me of the grandkids playing in the snow in Idaho are sorted chronologically right along with these shots. Quite a contrast.

These two turtles have red stripes along their heads like Edgar's turtles but they are larger and covered with pond scum. There were many turtles and they came over to the bridge to greet us. Next time I guess we should take something to feed them. I wonder what they like to eat?

I was interested in these leaves. This a tree and the leaves look corrugated!

This is Sister Francom in a tree we wish we had for grandchildren to climb. It is huge and perfect for swings and tree houses and climbing. The next photo shows Flat Beverly in this tree. Aunt Beverly is teaching a second grade class this year and they are doing a Flat Stanley project. Each of the children made a drawing of themselves that they mailed to family or friends in another location. They are supposed to take a photo with the drawing and mail it back. One of her students drew a picture of Beverly so she emailed it to me for some adventures. I have just been "photoshopping" her into some my photos but when Susan and Alyssa and Rachel and Lydia come and visit they will each have a Flat Beverly that we will take with us during our adventures. I didn't make one for Randy. Here is Beverly in this same tree and she is scaled much larger than life sized so you can see her:

Don't you wish you had a tree like this in your backyard? Look at this other big, big, big tree we found:

This one is in the Japanese garden and shades the path, part of the pond and a huge area. You can see Elder Francom at the right.

On another subject, I wanted to tell all of our sons-in-law how much we appreciate them. We were having a conversation with Sister Cairns who had 9 children and a husband who felt that all tasks related to children were her responsibility alone. He never helped. She said that she thought she might go "loco" (She always speaks in Spanish because it is more comfortable for her and I need the practice.) before they grew up. I am so grateful that for you, both the Dads and the Moms make children a priority and share both the work and the fun. Raising a family is hard work. While you are doing the tedious, everyday work of cleaning and serving you are also creating new people with unlimited potential. Changing diapers and sharing love, cleaning the kitchen and shaping attitudes, helping with homework and building character. It is hard to realize at the time that the process of doing all the daily work is the same process of teaching, providing an example and inspiring motivation in a new generation. You are doing it all. We are so proud of what you accomplish and proud of the grandchildren we are related to.

I wanted to report that Olgan's daughter is in the hospital here in Santo Domingo and doing much better. With the proper medication she is improving. Rosanna is getting radiation treatments again and is an amazing example of courage and continuing to work and make progress in the face of difficult problems. She has faith and feels that whatever happens will be the Lord's will. I am going to try and never feel sorry for myself. I have a cold and stayed home sneezing and coughing today. She goes to work feeling far worse. But then I am contagious and she is not.

On Sunday a new baby was blessed. Her name is Sarah Lydia ---- ----. I didn't catch the two last names. She has darker skin than any of our grandchildren but is almost as cute. Lewis and I taught the Sunday School lesson. I noticed when we were first married that Dad liked to read the Doctrine and Covenants. I would choose to read the Book of Mormon. I already knew the story, I loved the familiar prophets and was comfortable in that book. I asked him why he liked to read the D&C. He said that he liked reading the Lord's answers to people's real questions and that he found answers there to questions he had too. I thought at the time that perhaps I should look beyond just comfortable and read more for answers. We are blessed to have all of the scriptures as rich sources of answers for our questions. Questions are good. Keep looking for answers. Hope you enjoy learning about the Doctrine and Covenants in Sunday School this year.

Love you all,
Mom/Grandma

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

Getting Ready for Christmas

Margaret Opal Southworth Pettingill died on December 18th at Joyce's home at age 92. Her 93rd birthday would have been on January 16th. Her funeral will be on Tuesday, December 23rd and Richard will be able to be there to represent our family. She was an amazing woman and we all would do well to learn more about what she has accomplished and try to develop our talents and work with the energy and persistence she demonstrated for 92 years. We will miss you very much.


Life is much simpler when you are on a mission. Our gift giving was never very impressive but it is really simple this year. Immediate family have received their envelopes from Shutterfly and will have a 4 x 6 Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Pettingill. So we are ready for Christmas.

We haven't gone shopping in the department stores so we haven't seen much in the way of Christmas decorations. On the outside of some large buildings there are some very impressive displays--as in BIG three dimensional trees and bells and swags and star bursts. Christmas merchandising is not a new concept here.

There is a lovely Christmas tree on the second floor in the Institute building and another in the Area Office building.
The doors on our floor are wrapped in wired ribbon. Below is the elevator to our apartment.This is our neighbors tree as seen by us every time we go in or out of our door. They often have their door open. I'm glad because I'm intrigued by an orange Christmas tree. It is not traditional according to what I am used to, but it is very pretty and goes perfectly with their apartment.

This is our Christmas cache although I now have the decals on the windows so we look festive. We'll leave them up so the Walker girls can rearrange them when they come.

We had a fun "dinner party" a week ago. Sister Cairns is a single sister who works in the temple. She was born in the same city Edgar grew up in but has lived in the USA for most of her life. She helps us one morning a week in the call center and we invited her over to dinner and to teach us how to make enchiladas and Mexican rice. The Francoms came and they had another couple as guests who were being trained on their way to Guyana. We all watched and helped with the dinner preparations, enjoyed getting to know the Whiteheads from eastern Idaho and loved our Mexican dinner complete with a very spicy salsa. We had even found some corn tortillas! Thank you Sister Cairns.

Also last week we went to a choral concert. At the last minute I was wondering why we had agreed to go but I'm so glad we did. Another couple was invited to a choir concert at a stake center and they invited us to go and take them because they didn't know where the building was. Turned out to be very fun. It was not the usual stake choir. It was the national choir of the Dominican Republic and though the sound system was awful (they ended up turning it off) they were great! They sang mostly Christmas music which ranged from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (in English!) to the Hallelujah Chorus. There were also several obviously Dominican numbers with a traditional drum and a scrapey thing. It looks like a round columnar shaped cheese grater with small punched out holes and the man was actually using a pink plastic hair pick with about 12 long teeth to scrape it! The variety in the program and their enthusiasm was very fun. I didn't take my camera because it was in the chapel (but full all the way back through the cultural hall), but I should have. Everyone was taking photos and clapping and having a good old time. It felt like a Christmas celebration!

Rosana organized another party for the volunteers at the Employment Center. This time we all brought food and a CD for the gift exchange. Rosana gave each person an envelope with the name of another volunteer. We read the meaning of the name of each person (very long and involved and quite funny) and then gave them their CD. At the end they all sang Karaoke songs but we sneaked out, not unnoticed--but they already knew we are not the life of the party type.
Rice and chicken are the popular items here. There were three kinds of rice. Every Dominican eats rice at least two times a day. The chicken was very good. There was also green salad and tomatos and some skewers with grapes and ham and green olives and cheese. I brought brownies which were new to several of them. But they decided quickly that they were good to eat and all disappeared very quickly.


Rosana, Sandra, Elizabeth, Sergo and Milagro Saint Hilaire (She is in charge of the literacy program) There were about 20 people in all.

The other thing we did last week was go to the Christmas devotional for the employees. Domingo invited us to go and we heard Elder Johnson (Area President) and Brother Briggs (DTA-Director of Temporal Affairs) give talks and some musical numbers as well. Elder Johnson stressed how important it is to not let other good things replace the reason we celebrate Christmas. He reminded us that the reason for Christmas is to celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and we should not neglect that focus. He said that in their family of six kids they started the tradition of filling a manger with straw in the month of December. Each child was assigned another family member each week in family home evening. Every day, each person was to do a special and secret service. Every time that they did a service they could put a piece of straw in the manger to make a soft comfortable bed for the Christ child who was coming. Putting a doll in the manger and talking about their experiences became an important part of their Christmas celebration. This is President Johnson. His wife's name is Leann.
This is Brother Briggs. He makes Grandpa look short.
There was a lot of scripture reading with President Johnson's talk. This man is reading from his PDA.
Christmas is coming and we are grateful. Grateful for our Savior and for each of you.
Merry Christmas!
Love, Grandma P