Hello to all . . . July 19, 2013
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| Vickie's desk decorated for b-day |
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| Miles at 6 days - what a cutie! |
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY MILES JOHNSON GUNTHER 8lbs. 3 oz. - 21 inches born July 8th my birthday! Thank you for the very thoughtful birthday gift Jera! It was wonderful to have the technology to know in real time the progress of his arrival - such an exciting miracle! Sooooo, boys and redheads surge ahead in our grandchildren count . . . we actually aren't real sure about the redhead but I am going to count it for now! It is so hard to not be around for these special events . . . but they seem to manage fine without us and we are rejoicing in our posterity! Thank you Hancocks for helping the Gunthers! Aching to hold him . . .
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| Stirring the sancocho soup |
We joined one of our assistants Rolando Marte and his family for a celebration of his son's wedding. It was a gathering at his mother's home in San Cristobal about 20 miles out of the city. It was a joyous occasion and they were eating sancocho . . . a stew type pot of meat and vegetables they were cooking in a huge pot over a fire in the backyard. You put some rice in a bowl and pour the sancocho over the rice - tasty! Chuck thought he had some "parts" in his bowl. I took my chocolate cake and that was the food for the day for probably 50 that were there. So, from a 9x13 pan we would usually serve 15 or so . . . well they served everyone from that cake with a good size corner left that Rolando's sister was "saving!" I know Chuck wondered "what's the point" when he saw his one bite portion on his plate! Dominicans don't eat near as many sweets as we do . . . however, the candy sure disappears when I put it out at the office!
On Mondays we have been goingto the MTC and have two sets of three elders that are "teaching" us in Spanish for their training. They are doing sooooo well to be so new and Chuck pushes them pretty hard - can see their brains spinning! It amazes me since I don't seem to grasp language nearly like they do! One of them just graduated high school . . . they are awesome missionaries and fun to be around. They are only here in the MTC 6 weeks!
Tuesday we felt a slight tremor of an earthquake . . . now that sounds scary and I hope a big one doesn't hit . . . but we both noticed it sitting at our desks at the office for just a couple of seconds. It was over before you realized what was going on. Hadn't ever experienced anything like that. It would certainly be unsettling if it happened often.
We left yesterday morning to go to Sabana del Mar with a group of missionaries including the Haws that serve with Humanitarian Services. We went to a hospital that they were exploring a project to help with some needs they are requesting. It was interesting to visit the rooms and be shown the hospital and meet some of the patients. There is such a difference in the quality of care from what we would expect at home. We visited with a new mother that had a small baby laying by her - he was very small. We spent the night in an "interesting" little hotel . . . Elder Haws plans to write a book one day - he says it will be a very short book and the title will be "The Power of Low Expectations!" We decided that would be the name of this little getaway - we had a great time! We also took a boat ride into the "Haitises National Park" - lots of mangrove trees and a couple of caves. It was a really fun day.
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| On the boat in Haitises Park |
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| Just a regular egg to show how big the mangos are! |
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