Sunday, October 15, 2017

We had a pretty quiet, non-stressful week. We stayed in the Kingston area and were able to accomplish a good amount of office work. We finally were able to have some communication with the Area Welfare Services Specialists in the Area offices. They have been occupied with disaster relief coordination for weeks, so we were glad to be able to talk with them. We truly appreciate their help and pray for them always. They have so many responsibilities as they over see all the welfare services activities all over the Caribbean. 

We're grateful for our little piece of the Caribbean for which we have responsibility. No comparison! And we are very thankful that all the big storms missed Jamaica this hurricane season. 

As we've mentioned in previous blog posts, one of our areas of responsibility is facilitating the Wheelchair Major Initiative here. Just a quick explanation: LDS Charities sends shipments of wheelchairs to Jamaica. Once the chairs arrive, they become the property of the Salvation Army who partners with LDS Charities in this and many other humanitarian efforts. We had an extensive blog post back in July about the latest shipment of chairs and all the training and clinics held in connection.

This week we did something totally new as part of this initiative. We are tasked with finding and  interviewing 10% of  the recipients of chairs from each shipment. The previous shipment arrived in the summer of 2015. Somehow, none of the follow-up was accomplished for those recipients, so we have been asked to complete the interviews for that shipment too. We have names, phone numbers, and addresses, but unfortunately much of this information is no longer up-to-date. Well, we always like a chance to do some sleuthing. One of the things were able to find out was a location where a group of recipients live here in Kingston. We visited the location wondering why there were so many recipients with addresses on the same street. We found a nice little independent living community sponsored by a nearby rehabilitation facility. At least one resident living in each home is disabled. We were able to speak to some of the residents and set up a time to come back to conduct the brief interviews. We received a warm welcome when we returned Wednesday afternoon. One of the residents helped us find all the others and introduced us as we met the new people. We really appreciated his help. 

Our new friends

  

  

  

We really enjoyed the short time we were able to spend with these delightful people. They were so friendly to us, and their Christ-like attitude was inspiring. This community is located in a somewhat volatile part of Kingston, but we felt very safe, and we were glad to witness the residents concern for each other. 

We were able to see all but one recipient who was out of town. Our visit ended with one of the residents a CD of him singing with his gospel group. We were told they had been an internationally acclaimed group. He even wanted us to have the album jacket to the original LP; he's in the middle of the painting on the cover.  

  

  

Before we left, we had a chance to talk with just these two fine men. In that brief conversation a Gospel principal was shared. We spoke of the amazing blessing it will be when someday we all meet again and will be able to walk hand in hand into the eternities. 

We were also able to locate another group at the parish infirmary in Spanish Town, but unfortunately many of the recipients have since passed on. We have an appointment to go back this week to see the few recipients who are still living and using the chairs. 

Buddy's turn: As Debbie wrote earlier, we have been able to stay in Kingston and work in our office for most of the week. We truly have been busy. Monday we began the official process of project origination by entering the data that we have compiled for two humanitarian projects into the church's humanitarian computer program. We have been working for some time to gather all of the needed information for these projects. One is with a parish infirmary in the northwest coast city of Lucea, and the other is with a Kingston NGO (Non Governmental Organization) helping the blind and visually impaired. There are three more potential projects that we are hoping to add before years end. 

We keenly feel the passage of time and desire to lengthen our stride to accomplish all that we can. It is almost unbelievable to think that we are under nine months to go. There is so much to do. We have come to love these people and desire to assist all that we can. 

Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf. This is the Savior's work. He is at the helm. We find great joy in being instruments in His hands to bless the lives of His brothers and sisters.

With love, until next time.....