Hold On!

Have I said that mission life is busy? wow! This week was crazy! Really everyday was out of the routine. We were able to experience the other side of transfer week. This week the mission sent home 22 missionaries and received only 6. ( 2 of those missionaries are from the Dominican Republic and are waiting for their visas to go to Brazil) The logistics can be very difficult. Some areas needed to be combined and a couple of houses will need to be closed. The four missionaries that will stay in our mission are going to be great. 2 are from the US one is from DR and one is from Brazil. I can't even imagine what the missionaries are feeling this week.

Tuesday was transfer day. Monday we were given the assignment to pick up 2 Elders at the airport. We were told that one was coming in at 7 pm and one at 11 pm. At 3 Hermana decided to check the incoming schedule to get exact times. She found out that the Elder we thought was coming in at 7 was actually coming in at 3:30. We jumped in our truck and drove straight to the airport. We got there about 2 minutes before he came out of the arrival area. Can I tell you good a missionary looks when you see him in a crowd of others. Wow! Elder Carmago is from Brazil and has been in the MTC in Sao Paulo learning Spanish. Lucky for us he speaks very good English. He spent a year in High School in Texas. We took him home and let him get some sleep before we had to go back to the airport and pick up Elder French. He has been in the MTC in Provo learning Spanish because his Visa wasn't ready for him to come to the MTC here. BY the time we got back it was 12:30 am. We fed him and went to bed.

Sorry for all the detail, I'll try to summarize. Tuesday looked like this: Wake at 5:00 to be at Transfers by 6:15. Instruct new missionaries on how to get supplies and use their support cards. Next there was a bunch of driving missionaries here an there. taking pictures of the new missionaries with their trainers and President and Hemana Nuckols. Then more driving. While I was driving Hermana Borup went to the Temple and a testimony meeting with the out going missionaries. I was discovering the back roads of the DR. By the time we got back together it was 9 or 10. We got straight to bed so we could get to the mission home by 3:00 am to take the out going sisters and their luggage to the airport. The good news is that at 3 in the morning there is no traffic.

That is just a glimpse of our week. Wednesday was still a lot of duties associated with transfers. On Wednesday we went with the assistants to teach a newly baptized family. They are young couple that are going to be a great addition to the ward. They we really happy to have us there. They shared that they have been having some marital problems and thought that it would go away once they were baptized. We talked about the process of conversion and how even the restoration of the gospel was a process. We told them that now that they have made covenants they have more tools to help them be happy but it still takes effort to use those tools. We are going to have a family home evening with them next week. They live very close to us.

Thursday I drove out to Nizao and met with a member with the Elders. We also went to an Elders quorum activity in the Branch. The Branch is full of young single and newly married returned missionaries. It really is a great group. They have served all over South and Central America. They bring a great energy to the Branch.

We finally went for a swim. Yep that's right. missionaries swimming. Yesterday we found a great little beach with calm water. The water was almost uncomfortably warm. Before our swim we visited a city called Bani where they had a Mango Festival. They had displays about mangoes and several farmers selling mangoes. They had mangoes the size of large cantaloupe. We had some street food and Hermana Borup is paying for it today.

Culture lesson of the week. THE DRIVING HERE IS CRAZY!!!!! And I love it! Hermana Borup does not. A few rules: The lines on the road mean NOTHING. Stop signs mean honk! (Don't stop). You can turn any direction from ANY lane. If there is a gap fill it. The only rule of law that seems to be followed is the traffic lights unless you are on a motorcycle. Then no rules apply. You can even ride the wrong direction on a divided highway at night without lights (We have seen this several times). Yet there seems to be a natural flow to it all. The people of the Dominican Republic are fearless. I have seen cars and more often motorcycles turn into traffic without looking at ALL! We are convinced that when children are taught the rules of safety, they are told to go first and go fast and dodge, instead of, stop look both directions and then go when it is safe. You would think that this system of chaos would make for some heated drivers. It all seems to work and people get where they want to go. People use their horns a lot but it's not out of anger. It usually means "look out here I come!" The energy is amazing. It's like driving in Asia except the drivers here are more aggressive.
We love the time we are spending together here.

We are with each other all of the time and love it. We miss our family for sure. We know they understand our desire to serve in this way. They are very supportive. This is a great work. We seen miracles everyday! The Lord is in charge of His work that is for sure!