The Campo

We love it when we get out of the city to go visit missionaries in the campo. It’s how we imagined the DR.

Softie

 Presidente could not resist when this young man asked if President would be the one to perform his baptism. The members were in shock. Better not risk any heart attacks in the future.

Zone ozama

We just combined two zones into one to correspond with the stake boundaries. It's much easier that way.

All the zones (ten) prepared skits/songs for our Christmas celebration. They were darling!!

Feliz Navid

The hermanas made ties for everyone (119) and I made aprons for all the hermanas (41).

The elders all changed to the new ties.

We only have one missionary from Europe. He is from the Netherlands. (Picture below.)

Subway Preaching

And we thought our missionaries had a lot of courage!

Safe and Sound

This is one if the guards that stands inside the iron gate in front of our apartment 24-7. He’s really a teddy bear when you get to know him.

Contacting on the Metro

Such a Kind Gift

Christmas Trees

The Christmas trees here are very pretty. Boy instead of a star or an angel they put a bouquet on top. The florists must have come up with this tradition.

Last Stake Conference of the Year

This stake reserved the front row of the chapel for investigators and had a display of materials available for all visitors. This missionary is helping an investigator sing the hymns.

Trapped

That’s what I get for climbing fences in my Sunday shoes.

Must Be Christmas!

In case anyone’s wondering, a lot of mail is arriving just fine!!

Our District

Presidente Smith is the district president too and these hermanas from our district invited us to attend the temple with them on Saturday.

Chauffers

I have wondered for months why these men sit in the parking garage of our apartment doing nothing all day. It turns out they are here to drive you in your own car around the city.  Tells you how challenging it is to drive here.

Mid amigos en la misión

No one told us all to wear pink.

Purple Christmas Lights?

Do they have purple Christmas lights in the United States? Either I missed it or they're new this year.

Mission Tour

We just spent three wonderful days with elder and sister Gonzales   They taught the missionaries and they taught us. Hermana Gonzales is a wonderful actor and is great at role plays!

Just Like the Dominicans

Our missionaries have learned how to handle the heat. They throw a towel over their shoulder and it stays there all day so they can dry off.

Feeding the Masses

Our dia de acion de gracias here where they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving but our missionaries were delighted with my weak attempt to provide a Thanksgiving dinner for them.

We've Arrived!

My shoes now look like a real missionary and our car now looks like a real Dominican’s.

Waiting in Standstill Traffic Forever

Here in the D.R. time doesn’t exist. You can wait all day long for your residency and never get called. It’s why people show up whenever they please to baptisms, to lessons, to church...  not sure if I can adjust to this cultural phenomenon?

The Opposite of Trunky!l

This Hermana in her last transfer:

-arranged for a special sacrament meeting dedicated to missionary work

-had the bishop extend invitations to us to speak

-found music for this song and asked me to accompany her, her companion and the bishop while they sang

-had 12 investigators in church

-arranged a blitz after church with the members

-printed these separadores for each member.

Just the Elders

This zone with no hermanas is practicing a song that they will perform at a Nocha Blanca.

Talented Missionaries

Here's a link to a video of some missionaries singing: https://youtu.be/Xjc32wjS6EM

Teaching with the Missionaries

I joined a blitz yesterday to help missionaries in one of the areas contact new investigators. It was so much fun and really successful!

Looking a bit like Elder Nelson

Stake Choir

I always think it’s precious that the choirs here like to look like a choir.

Shhhh, It's a Surprise!

My darling hermanas are learning a new skill and spending their P-day in service.

Out and About

This is why we our missionaries are not allowed to eat on the streets!

This young man is 12 years old and was baptized this weekend. He asked to have his picture taken with me.



Drawing the missionaries.

The Scariest Thing...

The scariest thing I have done since arriving in the mission: playing the piano in front of an apostle, his wife, and all the area authorities and their wives. -- Hermana Smith

After Three Days of Raining

These dear young men. The rain doesn’t stop them. They don’t use umbrellas; they get soaked and they keep going. Every street is a mud puddle, and their pants look like they’ve been painting :) 

The Rapplees

We work closely with the Rapplees, the temple president and his wife, because we take various missionaries to the temple 20 times a year. The Rapplees were the very first members of the church here in the Dominican Republic.

The Ideal Baptism

The members spoke and performed the baptisms. The bishop conducted. The organization presidents were there to welcome the converts into the church.

Primary Program

The Primary program

The shoes of the elder playing the piano.

After we were the concluding speakers in the primary program, we were invited to teach primary. I should have listened to Mikan and tied my hair up. They couldn't stop touching it. 

Elder Cook's Messages

Today Elder Cook was in Santiago and the meeting was broadcast to all of us here in the Dominican Republic.  It was absolutely one of the highlight days of my mission so far.  What a humble prophet he is!  I never expected to be inspired the way I was today.

The first thing that impressed me was when he related the experience of building the Kirtland Temple.  I have always known the women broke their china to add to the sparkle of the walls, but it meant something deeper to me today.  The walls really didn’t need their china.  The temple would be built without the china.  The sisters needed to break their china to add to the temple walls.  Their china was a symbol of the fine things of the world and the fact that they broke their china symbolized their willingness to give up worldly things.  The fact that they gave the china to enhance the temple symbolized the importance of heavenly things.  We are working hard here in this mission to be consecrated and that means putting the things of the world aside, not caring, not worrying about material things or what’s happening at home, but focusing on the work and the things of God.  What a beautiful symbol Elder Cook shared with us today.

Another thing that impressed me was his message about the converts our missionaries are finding.  He spoke of the gathering of Israel and how we are to find the elect.  I realized the investigators here are the elect.  They are those who have been prepared.  That’s why they have such soft hearts.  That’s why they are so willing to listen to the gospel.  They are a chosen people and we need to remember this when we teach them.   We need to remember that The Lord has prepared them, and that is why they are ready to hear the truth.  They are open-hearted, open-minded and we need to treat them with the respect and reverence they are due.  We need to bear solemn testimony in the discussions, not a rote, habitual testimony, but a testimony born of the spirit.