Barahona is about 1 hour South of Azua and has a population of about 140,000 people. The climate between here and there is arid but there is a lot of plantanes and other produce in the more firtle valleys. As you get to Barahona it starts to look a like like Hawaii. Coconut trees and the ocean. I got to go there twice this week. One time was planned ahead and the other was a surprise both were great trips. The first time was to take an investigator who was born in Haiti to the Haiti embassy so he can apply for a birth certificate so he can get a marriage license so he can get married so he and his wife can get baptized. I tried to use google maps to find the embassy but it lead us to a vacant lot and a big house next to it. When we went back into town we asked a motoconcho ( a driver of a motorcycle taxi, they know where everything is ) and he pointe the direction. We finally asked another motoconcho. He was a member of the church and told us to follow him. He lead us back to the big house next to the empty lot. It turned out the big house is the embassy. Everything was locked but google maps had a phone number. When we called to ask when they are open, they said they are open. As it turns out they had another location. We had no idea where it was while we were on the phone we flagged down a random guy on a motorcycle and he lead us across town (10 min). I offered to pay him. He just told us he was happy to help. To end the story. The people in the embassy were amazingly nice and we will have a birth certificate in about 10 days.
I got a call form one of the assistants today asking if I could take a missionary to his home in Barahona. He has been serving in Mexico city and has had some serious health problems and can't stay on his mission. He told me his story as traveled. He has 8 brothers and sisters. His mother and sister are the only other members in his family and they are less active (really inactive). I just want to say there is nothing more touching than watching a mother hug her returned missionary son. I 'd drive to Barahona any day to see it again.
Another highlight of this week was a trip to the Junta Central Electoral to get a marriage license for a great family with 5 kids. They are going to get married next week and then baptized the week after. Hermana Borup and I keep commenting on how we feel like we have known them for a long time. When we went to the office to get the license things didn't go real smooth like what always happens in government offices. They would just shrug their shoulders and look at each other a smile or laugh a little and then just patiently wait until things worked out. Marriage licenses are about $80 which can really be a big burden to most families here. He is a fisherman and she is a stay at home mom. They could only afford part of the expense and our son-in-law's mother donated the rest. They are very grateful. And they will be a great addition to the church here in Azua.
We moved 2 house for missionaries this week. One of the new houses is combining two different houses and will be a much better place, safer, cleaner and more room. It is here in Azua. The house is in San Juan. We are opening a new house in a new area, so I drove to San Juan to buy all the things that go into a new home. Beds, Stove, Refridgerator, washing machine microwave etc all total 78,000 DOP ($1600). Seems like a lot doesn't it. Things aren't cheap here!
We had a couple of dinner appointments this week. One was with a recent convert. We invited him over to our house. He had a blast, And he ate a lot!. He's a single guy and all of his family lives in Santo Domingo. He lives in a home that is about 8ft x 10 ft. He works as a bouncer in clubs on the weekend but has some great changes in his life. He is all personality. Our other appointment was at the Branch President and family. They were very gracious. The food was amazing. We had a great time getting to know his family.
We are spending more and more time teaching and visiting investigators and less active members. We're not sure if our Spanish is getting better or if we are just more willing talk more with our bad Spanish. People are very kind and very helpful. The thing we both enjoy the most is inviting people to come to Christ by accepting challenges to repent and move closer to Christ in some small way. Sometimes the challenge is big like preparing to get baptized sometimes it's just asking them to read or pray or both. It's really fun to stand as a representative of Christ and do what we feel He would do because we know it's an invitation to increased happiness.
We love mission work! We hope you are doing great.
Your friends
Hermana Y Elder Borup
We love this family! here they are with 2 of their 5 children.
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