Los Butterflies

Us at the Mirabal Sisters Museum.

Hola all . . .                                         August 30, 2013

Audit report . . . 80% of the Caribbean Area units have started their audits and 65% are finished!  They have a couple more weeks to complete them. 

The experience of visiting The Mirabal Sisters Museum is one of the most interesting we have had.  It is dedicated to the memory of 3 sisters that are heroes in the Dominican Republic.  These women showed great courage as they took a stand against the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo in the underground movement against his regime that represented the Dominican people in their quest for freedom.  "Los Butterflies" was their underground name.  Their story is depicted in the movie "In the Time of the Butterflies."  They died as martyrs November 25, 1960 when an accident was fixed and they were taken to a field and killed.  Trujillo was ultimately assassinated on May 30, 1961.  A fourth sister Dede is still living - she is 87.  She raised her own three children and also the 6 children of her sisters after their death.  The Mirabal family home is now the museum.  Dede often receives guests and school groups at the museum.  There are wonderful manicured grounds with lovely flowers and huge trees around the home that cause it to be an inviting and peaceful place of reflection and full of butterflies!

Obelisk that Trujillo built to himself -
now the people have painted it as a monument
to the Mirabal Sisters.

We left our apartment Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. to pick up Lorenzo Castillo who is one of our bosses in the office finance department.  We were headed 2 and a half hours away to the Sabana de la Mar Branch of the church.  There are many concerns there and not just with the finances.  We can empathasize with these outlying areas having lived in rural Arizona for 33 years.   Wednesday Chuck and Lorenzo went back to try and meet with the Branch President and verify some of the expenses in question - he was not willing to meet with them.  The missionaries took them around to try and talk to some of the people.  It appears this situation will not have a good ending. 

The first ever multi-stake youth conference was held in Haiti last week.  There are 4 stakes of the church in Haiti.  Almost 400 youth attended with 75 leaders that were mostly young single adults.  The site itself was a miracle to obtain - after almost a year of trying to get permission to use the government owned and operated facility.   It was a fantastic opportunity for them to have fun together and feel the spirit of the gospel with their peers.  Only the area presidency went from here - without their wives.

Serving a mission causes us to miss many family events . . . this week it is the 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration for Dick and Nancy.  We know all those gathered will have a great time . . . remembering . . . . XOXOXOXOXOXO

One way to take two cows . . . somewhere - they were alive! 

Rice field workers - beautiful - looks like a pretty daunting task!   

Love you all sooooooo much and pray for/think about you daily!!!!  LOVE, Mom and Dad, Chuck and Vickie, Grandma and Grandpa