In the next one or two weeks we will wrap up digitizing the
marriage records at the JCE and will begin on the birth records. They have been done up to the 1930's so we
will continue from there.
Saturday we finally made it for a swim in the Caribbean for
the second time. The water is so nice
and warm but there is no surf.
Before going we went to Quisquaya to make some visits trying
to follow up on some of our ideas on helping the members to have a more
prosperous lifestyle. The common food
they eat is fried bananas, rice, beans, yucca. Some families are lucky enough
to have a mango tree in their yard however most families have very little of
any of that. Carlos has thought of a way that the members could begin growing
gardens in their yards. We had a Branch
Council meeting today and the members were very supportive of the idea. On Saturday, Carlos and the young men are
going to go to where there are cattle and collect cow manure. One of the sisters has had training in
preparing garden including making compost.
So they are going to begin composting plus begin growing seeds in little
pots or cups in their homes to transplant.
Everyone is going to work together. The gardens will have to be above
ground because soil is so bad so they will also need to build frames. Because there are limited resources Carlos
was thinking they could weave or bind together branches that are easily
accessible for the frames.
We seem to be in Quisqueya more and more and I'm at last
beginning to feel hope for these great people.
It's all in finding a way to reach their understanding of what one has
to do to change their circumstances. Gifts and giving are nice but that takes
away their self-reliance. They are
self-reliant now but have very little and have grown to accept their way of
living rather then try to change it so of course they appreciate handouts and
even ask for them at times but that will not solve the problem.
I am attaching some photos of a recent funeral. The sister was baptized in December 2011 and
left behind 3 children. She had had
health problems in the past and unfortunately wasn't following some of the
medical advice. The children (she was divorced) are now with the dad and
step-mother. There was no church
service, just a wake-like situation and then a procession to the cemetery.
We are indeed blessed to have the gospel and the peace that
it brings.
Hma. Yturralde
No comments:
Post a Comment