Luna Sea Inn
Bluefields, Jamaica
Last Saturday night, we stayed at a nice little inn right on the southwest coast. Did you catch the pun of the name? We arrived about 5 PM just in time to enjoy a marvelous stormy night. Our hostess said the sea was being very boisterous but to not be scared. Indeed, we were not frightened a bit, in fact, we thought it was wonderful. Our ocean view room was only about 50 feet away from the rocky shoreline, and we could hear the crashing of the waves all night.
We arose early on Sunday to drive about 30 minutes further west to Savanna-la-Mar to attend Church and to participate in a meeting of the Member Welfare Project group there. This group is having a great deal of success raising broiler chickens. During the meeting, each participant had a chance to give an update. We especially appreciated hearing how they were all working together to help one another be successful. That's exactly what we like to see happening.
Our monthly senior missionaries Family Home Luncheon potluck and lesson was held on Monday at the Mission Home. Sister Dennis, an amazing senior missionary from Jamaica, was in charge of the lesson, so she asked each of us to be prepared to share a favorite quote from General Conference. Of course, it was hard to narrow down to one for each of us, but we chose our golden lines from Elder Holland's and Elder Anderson's talks. We all could have talked for hours about all the inspiring talks, and of course, we paid tribute to Elder Hales who passed away at his home during conference. His loving, wise council will be missed.
Elder Robert D. Hales 1994-2017
Our potluck was all Jamaican cuisine - curry goat, rice & peas, stewed peas, callaloo salad, fried bammy, pumpkin soup, steamed bread fruit, banana bread, zucchini bread, and akee & salt fish. (Peas here are beans - kidney, pinto, etc.)
Callaloo is a leafy green that resembles spinach.
It is a staple here, hot and cold.
Bammy is a bread made from the cassava root.
Akee and saltfish is made with akee and, well, fish that's been salted.
Buddy thinks the akee has the consistency of scrambled eggs.
He's not a big fan, and I don't "do" fish at all.
Akee tree and fruit
We finally completed all the purchasing and assembling of 20 cleaning and 20 kitchen kits to store in the emergency container. We hope these never need to be used, but it feels good to have them ready just in case.
This week, we also had our personal interviews with President Pearson, attended part of a District Meeting, drove to and from Yallahs to transport the elders to a doctor's appointment for one of them, and went to Portmore to inspect the sisters' house. These are the types of things we fit into our other activities, and we love it all. We especially like being with the young missionaries whenever we can. Their enthusiasm gives us a boost of energy.
(Heather, Carly, and Emily - notice the cute LuLaRoe dresses.)
We received the go ahead to write up a proposal for another humanitarian project at an infirmary, and we've started doing follow-up interviews with recipients of wheelchairs. Needless to say, we are never bored. No two days are the same, and no two experiences are the same. The best part is being able to interact with so many wonderful people who are also trying their very best to follow the Savior's admonition to love one another.
Until next week...
Love to all.
It is always uplifting to read of your experiences. I was especially happy to read about the successful chicken project as that is the kind of self-sustaining project that will change the member's lives. I also agree with you about the blessing of being with the young missionaries. We will keep you and the other welfare missionaries in our prayers as you go about doing good.
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