Pushing the Envelope

We're not sure why it seems so difficult to write about our adventures.  It's not that everything has become routine, hardly, it's more like its too hard to write things that make sense to those who have not experienced what we are doing. 

Our "boss" Bennie Lilly (the Area Welfare Manager) from the Dominican Republic visited with us last week, so we had a great time taking him around to visit our projects and future projects.  We visited with the people at Food for the Poor and he was given the tour of the offices, warehouses and grounds.  He was quite impressed.  Food for the Poor builds about 200 homes each month for islanders and Bennie was very interested in getting plans to perhaps use these for a model for houses in the rebuilding of Haiti.

We took Bennie to a project we have been working on that pushed the Humanitarian envelope a little, okay, maybe it pushes it a little-beyond where an envelope should be pushed.  You see, we are not into building buildings.  We can furnish buildings, we can provide equipment, stoves, refrigerators, chairs, computers, washing machines, etc. for use in buildings, but buildings aren't part of what we do.  So I'm sure you see where this is going.  We have a community called Broken Hurst that has been trying to build a community center for several years.  They erected the cinder block walls a few years ago but before they could get them connected at the corners (they pour solid concrete at the corners), a hurricane came through and tore it down.  So, they rebuilt and have the corners in, but no roof, or doors, or windows.  They also want the community center to be a hurricane shelter and thus want a concrete roof, but as we explained to them - We don't build buildings.  Now it gets interesting.  As we turned to leave the building site, I notice a large slab of concrete on a nearby hill side with a large cistern used as a Catchment Basin from which the citizens can come and get water (there is no piped water in this community).  They told us that the community has been growing but the "water system" has not, and with the drought, they have had to pay to have water hauled in.  Well, suddenly the concrete roof (which we can't build) became an addition to the water catchment basin which we can build - remember that envelope?  So, it's a catchment basin with a basement.

Bennie talked about our "creativity" and shook his head a lot, but finally said "let's run it up the flag pole and see what happens" (he likes to say that alot) which means that he will pass it along to the Area Presidency, but he added, "Don't send pictures of the building and be careful how you write it up" (like that was something we hadn't already thought about).  We took that as an endorsement of the project and will get it written up as soon as the community comes back to us with pricing for the job (yes we had already told them to begin working out the details).

You are going to get tired of hearing about the new Family Food Production Initiative, but this is something that is going to occupy a lot of our time and most of our thoughts.  Today, we had a branch conference in our branch (Kingston Branch) and the theme which had been selected several months ago (long before the food initiative was announced) was Self Reliance.  We had a combined Elders/RS meeting and the district President asked the question, "What would you like to do to produce the food that you need for your family?"  After receiving several responses he told them that the Lord had provided the means for them to begin just about any food project they would like to do, including production, storage, and nutrition.  I was asked to speak and fill in the details and background to the initiative.  Following the meeting Shanna had several wonderful comments from members (while I was teaching piano) about how this was an answer to their prayers. They spoke of canning and preserving but had no idea how to do it or even what could be preserved.  It looks like we may be bringing in a load of Mason jars, rings, lids, cold pack canners, pressure cookers, Mylar bags, and heat sealers.  We've also been looking into other storage solutions but they are again, "pushing the envelope" (we've just got to get stronger envelopes).

In Scouting all these years I've been taught how to think outside the box.  But ya know, it's hard to think "outside the box" when you have to stay "inside the envelope".