We weren't very thankful, but . . .

There are times when we have to do things we are not thankful for, but we do them and they turn out to be some of our best moments, greatest blessings and most profound learning expereinces.  Several weeks ago, we received word that during the Thanksgiving holida, we would need to be in the Dominican Republic for humanitarian training.  President and Sister Hendricks had already planned a great senior missionary Thanksgiving and my how we wanted to be there.  That's how we approached this thankless trip to the DR.  Oh, it would be a great time to meet with all the other Caribbean humanitarian missionaries and interface with Bennie Lilly our direct supervisor over welfare, but we would have preferred a different week.



Tuesday we traveled from Jamaica to Miami to the Santo Domingo.  It did give us a chance to get a US stamp in our passports.  This was important because Jamaica requires that if you live there for over a year you have to get a country drivers license (which make us eligible for receiving traffice tickets); one little hop to Miami and we're good for another year; problem for us resolved.  One blessing realized from our trip.




Bennie Lilly, Elder and Sister Atkinson, Brother Theodore



We started the training early Wednesday morning and met Elder and Sister Angus (from Vernal) who serve in Guyana/Trinidad/Tobago, Elder and Sister Atkinson (from Alpine) who serve in the Dominican Republic and Brother Bertonie Theodor (from Haiti) who serves in Haiti.  We are the humanitarian corps in the Caribbean.



Training room at Area Offices.  Elder and Sister Angus and Theron's back.

 We were taught from the new Church Handbook of Instructions which contains several significant changes.  Perhaps the most important one is the new guiding principles of the Church.  We all know the - preach the gospel, perfect the saints, redeem the dead, but a fourth principle has been added -- care for the poor and needy.  With this change we learned that welfare councils are done away and ward councils (using all ward leadership) have this responsibility.  It brought our work so much into focus.

We also learned the difference between a bishop's storehouse and the Lord's storehouse.  My immediate reaction to this topic was 'we can't have one of these in Jamaica because we don't have a stake and bishops.'  Little did I know how much we now have to teach on this topic in Jamaica.  Look at D&C 82 and read alll the things that we are to bring to the bishop's storehouse.  I have always lumped 'talents and skills' with material resources, but after our workshop I will no longer think this, as I have now learned that even in places where no physical bishop's storehourse exists, there is the Lord's storehouse; it's stocked with all the talents, skills and testimonies of the members.  Immediately, my thoughts flowed to our food new initiative and that's exactly the way it was organized.  We give all the credit for this direction to the Lord.

In one of our discussions, Brother Theodore from Haiti whos native language is French, asked, 'What is a slum?'  For a brief moment, everyone in the room stopped breathing.  How do you answer this question?  The reference is all in our perspective and background.  He lives in Haiti; they are struggling with adequate housing, food and clean water which are all terms I would use as 'slums' yet to him this is not so.  What a narrow view of life I have.



If we had only attended this one day of training, our time in the DR would have been well spent.  We weren't very thankful to go, but we are indeed thankful now for the change it made in our hearts.

However, the day was not over.  In the early evening, Elder and Sister Coleman of the area presidency (from North Salt Lake) hosted our group to a complete Thanksgiving dinner.  Sister Coleman had baked for a couple of days the pies and turkey.  Sister Almeida (wife of the DTA - Director of Temporal Affairs)contributed part of the food as did Sister Anderson (wife of a member of the area presidency).  What a treat to be in this special home at this thankful time of year.  Thank you Colemans; we love and appreciate them.

Elder and Sister Atkinson (DR) and Brother and Sister Almeida

Elder and Sister Angus (Guyana) and Elder Coleman

Thursday's meetings started with Elder Coleman's weeping testimony of humanitarian work.  He talked about projects and people in Mexico when he was the Area President there.  Marc do you remember the first employment center in Monterrey?  It would have been about the time you served there.  He talked a lot about Monterrey, Mexico which is also a special place in our hearts because our son, Marc, served his mission there. 

Schaefermeyers, Almeidas, Atkinsons, Bennie Lilly, Bertonie Theodore, Angus', Elder and Sister Coleman



There is so much from this day that we will take back and try to implement and teach in Jamaica.  Our hearts are full and thankful.

The most special occurance was attending the Temple on this Thanksgiving Day.  What a special time for us.  It had been 9 months since we were last in the Temple.  That's the longest time we had ever been absent from participating.  If nothing else had happened, this would have been a highlight.



We weren't very thankful, but our hearts were touched, we were taught, we learned, our minds were opened and our attitude changed.  It still would have been wonderful to spend Thanksgiving in Jamaica, or even better at home with family, but this Thanksgiving opportunity will always be a highlight of our mission.

These comments from a talk that President Monson gave in May of 1986 summarize our charge and focus.  We share this and hope you feel his spirit and the spirit of our work:



He was speaking of the welfare program and it's initial purpose, "Our (the Church's) primary purpose was to set up, insofar as it might be possible, a system under which the curse of idleness would be done away with, the evils of a dole abolished, and independence, industry, thrift and self respect be once more established amongst our people.  The aim of the Church is to help the people to help themselves. . . . As we look back through fifty years and reflect on the development of the welfare program, as we look forward to the years ahead, let us remember the place of the priesthood, the role of the Relief Society, and the involvement of the individual.  Help from heaven will be ours."

Then he quotes, "How silently, how silently, The wondrous gift is giv'n!

So God imparts to human heart The blessings of his heav'n.

No ear may hear his coming; But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him, still.  The dear Christ enters in. (Hymn 208)

I had never thought about these words from this song in conjunction with our welfare program, but I am thankful for the new perspective.

Missions are about friendships

Today is "black" Thursday here in Jamaica, well at least for some of us, because Elder and Sister Cheesman left for home.  They had served 18 faithful months in the mission office.  They were creative, fun, efficient, fun, and did we mention had become our very good friends these last 8 1/2  months and they were fun.  We were blessed to have them share our life and work with us during this time.  Cheesmans we love you; we love your testimonies; we wish you the best!  We miss you already.

Sister Gail Cheesman leaving the apartment for the last time.

Shonete Grant of Clarendon Home for the Disabled.

Since companionships are together 24/7 its hard to come home and talk about the events of the day, so we would share our adventures with the Cheesmans.  They claimed their days were pretty routine in the office and so always seemed interested in what we were doing.  When we had tales to tell, we could come back and tell them to our friends.  If they were still here we would tell them about the lizard running through our car today that caused us both to scream like little girls.  They would laugh and Ross would have thrown his head back and say, "Oh, - My,  -Gosh!" 

We would tell them about our plan today to go to Spanish Town, give some hygiene kits to the Clarendon Home for the Disabled, visit Food for the Poor (FFP) and measure wheelchair seats to make a pattern for getting seat cushions made and then be home by noon.  They would be excited to know that our order of ten shipping containers has started to arrive at Food for the Poor and be amazed at the many 100 lb bundles of clothing and the many other items the church is providing to the people of Jamaica.  They would be excited to know that we saw President Smith waiting to pick up two new commercial sewing machines for two sisters in his branch who will be sewing our wheelchair cushions. When we explained that FFP  had an order of supplies for President Blake in Sav-La-Mar that we had to haul to the Spanish Town Building for storage they would understand why we look so sweaty and why our half day job turned into an all day affair that included a few service hours from Elder Peterson and Elder Powell the Zone Leaders in Spanish Town.  Which of course included lunch at Pizza Hut.
These are the things we would tell the Cheesmans, and even though we are always happy to share them with our blog readers and family, we want the Cheesmans' to know that we loved to have their listening ear and their ready smile to keep us encouraged to pursue another day.

Some of the 100 pound bales of clothing that just arrived from SLC

There is a special grandmother in Morgan that will enjoy these pictures of Elder Peterson.  He is a great missionary.



Elder Peterson and Elder Powell - (Elder Peterson is the shorter one)

Now a report on our projects -- the Area Presidency meets on Wednesday to approve projects.  Well, yesterday was Wednesday.  Jamaica had a great day -- Approved were projects for Garland Hall Children's Home in Montego Bay; Brokenhurst Community Center in Mandeville; and YES - the two district Food Initiatives!!!  We are now just one step away from a very large project that we are both excited and scared about.  This is a major initiative and will be the first one under the new guidelines.  Our partner is the Church membership and it will provide chicken, goats, pigs, gardens, and home food storage projects across the two districts.

Yesterday, November 17, was also another big day.  My father turned 80 years old.  Happy Birthday Dad.

A Day in the Life of Our Mission

We haven't done a day in the life for a while now, but today was a day worth noting.  This day was planned yesterday when we received a phone call that a sister from Linstead was in the hospital at Spanish Town and needed a wheelchair.  Okay, time to put our wheelchair assessment procedures into place.  Clearing the delivery of a wheelchair with Food for the Poor, we arranged to pick up Tracy Meddow, our wheelchair monitor and certified wheelchair fitter, to devote her day to assessing Beryl Barrett, our patient.  More about Tracy later, and enough of the background that leads to today, November 11, 2010.

8:30 a.m.:  We leave home to drive to Yallahs, 45 minute drive east of Kingston, to pick up Tracy.

Tracy and Beryl at the hospital.

9:30 a.m.:  Leave Yallahs for Spanish Town -- this is 45 minutes back to Kingston and 35 minutes further west to Spanish Town.  On this drive, we get a call from Susan Moore, Medical Director of Food for the Poor.  She told us that she had received a call from a doctor concerning Vernal McLeggin.  Vernal was measured for a wheelchair at our training, but we couldn't give him the chair because he had a pressure sore.  The doctor said that He was working with Vernal to heal his sores but that the chair Vernal currently had was causing the sores and so he was requesting that Vernal receive the new chair that would fit him properly so he could heal.  Okay we said, not a problem (of course we actually said, "no problem mon").  "Where does he live Susan?"  She thought it was MayPen, about an hour drive west of where we were.  "Can't help him today".
 
11:30 a.m.:  Arrive at Spanish Town Hospital and visit with Beryl.  She is a member with a strong testimony and told us about her conversion -- basically she saw the missionaries walking the streets of Bog Walk and asked them "Whamefo?"  Interpreted means what are you doing here?  They told her and she joined and is one of the few members who is endowed.  Right now, she suffers from endometrial cancer and her entire lower body is swollen, thus the need for a wheelchair.  Tracy proceeds to measure her so we can get the proper size.  The hospital bed she is sitting on isn't ideal to properly measure to determine the size of chair because it's soft and Tracy determines that a 20" wheelchair is needed-- that's a large one.

12:30 p.m.:  Pick up wheelchair from Food for the Poor.  As we drive to the back to pick up the chair, we see a man in a wheelchair who is getting a rough rider chair and as we stop to talk to him we find it is Vernal McLeggin, who actually lives in Spanish Town just 10 minutes from FFP.  He was on his way home with his new wheelchair; he was going to wheel it home from his wheelchair.  So we loaded him and his two chairs and drive him home.  Coincidence?  I don't think so.  We were there at the right time in the right place.  Vernal told us that when he sat in the Rough Rider wheelchair, he was so excited and so at home.  He was very disappointed that he couldn't take it home last week.  His friend here told us that this chair was all he has been talking about.  Today, he has his chair and he is thrilled!  "It is the first time I have sat in a chair and felt at home and comfortable in."

Vernal and his new rough rider.  This is in front of his home. He runs the internet cafe shown just behind him.

Lunch at Angel's Pizza Hut and then to Spanish Town Chapel to pick up some hygiene kits to surprise the staff at Spanish Town Hospital. 

2:00 p.m.:  We arrive at the chapel.  Elder and Sister Herbert and the full-time elders are there.  We visit and load the car --oh, just for good measure we throw in 3 boxes of newborn kits.  Now, back to the hospital to deliver the wheelchair.  We arrive, load the hygiene kits into the wheelchair (hey, we don't want to strain our backs) and push them to the ward.  The nurse of the ward sees us and smiles from ear to ear -- the social worker sees us and says are you the Humanitarian Missionaries?  We have been calling the Preeces for months now.  We have 4 babies on the floor and need diapers.  Do you have any?  Well, let's see, we have those 3 boxes of newborn kits in the car and a few other items.  Go figure -- were we in the right frame of mind or what?  Tracy sits Beryl in the wheelchair and you know what, the chair was too big -- she really needed an 18".  Okay, now what.  As Tracy and I are deciding what to do, Beryl asks me where Elder was; I say he will be here shortly (he was down getting newborn kits).  Then she asks if he would give her a blessing.  Remember the Herberts and full-time missionaries?  Yup, we call them and they tell us they will go get some oil and be there in 15 minutes.  We can't wait until they get here because we have to go back to FFP and get an 18" wheelchair before their warehouse closes

The new wheelchair.

3:30 p.m.:  We arrive back at Food for the Poor, they help us exchange the wheelchair.  We go back to the hospital.  Fit the chair; leave Spanish Town.  The Herberts have just left, the blessing went well.  It all just works out and you know why, because the Lord is in charge and is concerned about each of us individually.

We now drive back to Yallahs, drop off Tracy and then home to Kingston.  Arrive home around 7:00 p.m.

About Tracy.  You may remember the plane crash in Jamaica in December of last year.  She was the missionary returning from Atlanta, Georgia who was on the flight. You may have read her story in the Church News. We heard all the details; learned a lot of her life; saw her magnificent testimony.  That was the best part of the day.  There are days when you are around special people that just make the day a marvelous experience.  Today was such a day.

The best comment of the day was Theron on the way home -- "I can't wait to get back to Utah so I can drive on roads that aren't an obstacle course."  He spends all day looking at the road, dodging potholes dodging cars, and dodging people walking on the road.  It is an obstacle course.  I don't mind; I'm in the passenger seat.

Just a normal traffic day.  Anything goes.

End of the Hurricane Season

After the two weeks of wheelchair training, we were both in somewhat "funky" moods -- well, let's just say we were tired and lazy.  The good news is that it is over - the other good new is that hurricane season is over but the bad news is - there is a hurricane on its way!  So early Sunday morning, President Hendricks directed us to call the branch presidents and have them announce over the pulpit to have members make appropriate preparations for Hurricane Tomas.  Monday, we arranged for a video call between Bennie Lilly, the Area Welfare Manager who lives in the Dominican Republic, us, and President Hendricks.  Tuesday morning found us in the call going over emergency procedures.  We tested the satellite phone, bought a couple of loaves of bread checked our generator, and watched and waited.

The path of Hurricane Tomas

Knowing there wasn't much for us to do; who can re-direct a hurricane. We spent Wednesday and Thursday finishing writing the food initiative project descriptions.  On Friday, we met with President Hendricks and received his official approval of the project.  We are now waiting for Cullimores to talk with Salt Lake to get their unofficial approval before we officially submit it to the area presidency for their official approval before they send it to salt Lake for their official approval.  We officially guarantee you haven't heard the last of this project!  Our final projection is to help over 340 families both LDS and non-LDS, 3 children homes, a reintegration agency, a Mustard Seed Community, and a homeless shelter agency.

Tomas took its time and Thursday night it rained.  Well, let's just say it rained as it normally does, nothing spectacular.  Friday was rainy with breaks of sun.  Saturday was windy (but not as bad as the Uintah Basin) with clear skies.  If this is what a hurricane is like, we'll definitely take it over a tropical depression.  Neala and Elynn's Nicole was only a tropical storm but had 100 times the power of Tomas the Hurricane.  We were prepared (and that's a good thing) but the preparation wasn't worth the outcome.  Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti who continues to go through one devastation after another.  We have a container of emergency supplies and equipment on its way from headquarters but on Friday we were asked if it would be alright to divert it to St. Lucia and we were glad it was loaded and already being shipped.  May they use the supplies to help them clean up and recover.  We are ever thankful that Tomas missed us.  The ground in the mountains is still saturated but our damage is minimal.

The new mission office on 4 Garelli, Kingston 4

The mission office after hurricane Tomas (actually its just the move to a new office)

The Mission Office was moved this week.  The new building will be much nicer, the space use is different but everyone will adapt, and maybe next week they will have the phones working.  This was more tragic than Tomas.  It takes a lot to move an office and set up the new one.  By Friday, they could all sit at a desk and do a little work.  Yup, that's what missions are about; adapting to what needs to be done when it needs to be done.  Thanks for all your prayers about our safety during the non-hurricane.  We declare the 2010 hurricane/tropical storm season officially over.

Someone needs to tell him Hurricane Tomas is over.  He wears everything he owns.

 

"Mormons Hand Out Rough Riders"

That was the title of the Gleaner newspaper article about our wheelchair training and donation.  Although the name Rough Rider is appropriate for the type of chair we are providing, the brand is also used on a small rectangular box kept behind the counter at the pharmacies here in Jamaica -  yep, condoms, and thus the heading will probably improve the readership more than a mundane moniker  such as "LDS Roll Out New Chair".

Getting the chairs ready.  Were we grateful for an air compressor.  This is a Rough Rider chair.

Steve Spencer, PT, teaching the 1st class.

It was April when we started working on the wheelchair project for Jamaica.  We had to convince our partner, Food for the Poor (that didn't take much effort) to participate in the training program which the Church requires for wheelchair distribution.  Once it's decided to do the project, we write the project, get it approved, order the chairs, put all the details together to actually make it happen.  We weren't the only ones working on this, our good friends Kelvyn and Kay Cullimore, the specialists from Salt Lake guided us through the whole thing.  We are grateful for mentors.  The program is taught by physical therapists the Church selects who travel here and conduct 2-days of training and one-day of actually applying what is learned by fitting people for wheelchairs.  Fitting people for a wheelchair you ask?  What's that all about?  It's about preventing life threatening pressure sores and other health risks.  It's about selecting the right type and size of chair to help the person be comfortable and confident, and teaching them how to properly use them and care for them.  We  arranged for about 30 people to come to the training; one-half came Mon, Tues, Wed and one-half came Thurs, Fri, Sat.  The people who were trained fitted 24 people with new wheelchairs on Wednesday and 28 wheelchairs on Saturday.  Those were the paydays for us!  What a wonderful experience.

This is how you use the wrench we gave each student.  At first, she didn't want to be there.

Assessing the patient is critical to understanding the person.

We had great students from 14 different agencies that deal with people with disabilities.  There was one nurse who came grudgingly (no one trained at your facility means no wheelchairs for your facility, so she came).  About one hour into the training, she was one of our best students and could not tell us enough how much she was learning.  That happened over and over with several professionals who attended.  This is a great program and our partner is now distributing wheelchairs to those agencies who have certified fitters. 

Just a few of the stories:
This young man came in with no wheelchair.  He had been shot several months earlier and was now paraplegic.  I watched the fitting and he received one of the "Rough Riders" -- kind of a sports car model wheelchair.  I saw him outside using the chair and saw a young woman watching.  I asked her if she knew him and she told me she was his girlfriend.  The conversation was, 'He looks like he can really use that chair,'  she said, 'It's been a long time since I have seen him smile like that.'  The people in the yellow shirts are the class participants.  Garfield (on the right) uses a wheelchair all the time.  He even received a new one after the training -- fitted just for him.

He is a gunshot victim.

Then, there's the mother who has one arm, no legs, and her chair was literally falling apart.  Look at how her life will be changed.

Nothing stops some people from life.

This man has no legs and he juggles on the street as a way to make some cash.  His old chair had high arms and it was difficult for him to be flexible and juggle.  The streamlined chair with low arms gives him lots of mobility.  I asked if he wanted to have the foot rest removed and he immediately told me, no ma'm, that's for my bag of juggling equipment.

The foot rest will be used for his bags!

The children are extremely sweet.  I could not imagine living in a wheelchair my whole life.  This little gal could not stop smiling.  She came in, in a very small wheelchair.  She has to wheel herself to school over dirt roads.  Wow, what a joy it will be to use this new chair.

On Saturday, October 30, I turned 60 years old.  What a way to spend my birthday -- seeing these people smile, change their lives, and find joy in this program.  These few chairs are only the tip of the iceberg, we had 500 chairs shipped.  The worth of one soul is great in the eyes of the Lord.  Thanks to all who donate to this program.  We'll see whether the headline proves to be an attention getter or not.

Two Rough Riders growing old together.