Sunday, April 15, 2018

We are in our 21st month of serving in Jamaica and find we are busier than ever. We have so many irons in the fire, as the old adage goes, but we truly prefer it this way. Being busy means more needs of the wonderful people of Jamaican are being met. 

This past week we travelled to Montego Bay and then on to Lucea on the northwest coast to make  additional purchases in connection with the project at the Hanover Infirmary. We made a quick visit to the facility and were pleased to find a recently purchased stove delivered and ready to install. We know this will make a huge difference in the kitchen. 

Hanover Infirmary's new stove

We were also had the opportunity to visit the Golden Age Home a large facility for the aged and disabled here in Kingston to interview seven recent wheelchair recipients.

Golden Age Home

Physical Therapy Clinic

This is one of the most rewarding aspects of the work we do. Our hearts are always touched as we get the chance to interact with amazing people who in the face of so many challenges exhibit such positive and grateful attitudes. 

  

In addition to our humanitarian projects, another fun opportunity we have is inspecting missionaries' apartments. We only had the responsibility to inspect two apartments of sister missionaries up until now, but because there are so few senior missionary couples right now, we are doing the personal inspections of almost all 33 apartments during this transfer. We're tying all this travel in with attending the four Zone Conferences and our other tasks around the island. We learned very quickly the benefit of dove-tailing travel especially to cut down on time and distance. With President and Sister Pearson also nearing the end of their mission, there is need to make sure these inspections are completed before the four of us leave and the mission is placed in the loving, capable hands of the new mission presidency. We're also using these visits to update all the medical/first aid kits for all the companionships. It is a big undertaking, but we really enjoy visiting the missionaries' homes; it's going to be a great couple of weeks.

 We loved seeing one companionship 
keeps track of their investigators and goals.

Be it ever so humble...

...and creative.

We were in Port Antonio on the northwest coast this past weekend for Buddy to do some extensive training of the branch president and the branch council. We fit in a couple of apartment inspections and had a couple of hours to go check out the Blue Lagoon. 

We took a short boat ride into this beautiful lagoon.

Monkey Island

We'd like to go back and spend a little more time in this gorgeous part of the island; that may or may not happen with time growing short. 

So in closing, this isn't a spiritual thought at all, well except maybe about the value of using ones God-given abilities...

Any fans of Shel Silverstein? 

                                             THE SILVER FISH

by Shel Silverstein 

While fishing in the blue lagoon

I caught a lovely silver fish,

And he spoke to me. "My boy," quoth he,

"Please set me free and I'll grant your wish...

A kingdom of wisdom? A palace of gold?

Or all the goodies your fancies can hold?"

So I said, "OK," and I threw him free,

And he swam away and he laughed at me

Whispering my foolish wish

Into a silent sea.

Today I caught that fish again,

That lovely prince of fishes,

And once again he offered me—

If I would only set him free—

Any one of a number of wonderful wishes...

He was delicious!

Until next week...all our love.