May 19, 2012

Saturday Greetings from the DR!


(Hi peeps! So there was a change with the schedule this week with the election stuff tomorrow. On Thursday the elders told us that we would be emailing and shopping for food on Saturday morning and working Saturday afternoon and then going to church on Sunday for Sacrament Meeting, since that is all they are having, and then staying in the house all day Sunday and all day Monday.)
Greetings from election central in downtown Santo Domingo!  It´s been a rainy Saturday here, but actually not crazy with the election stuff.  On Thursday and Friday afternoon there was kind of a caravan going on in the neighborhood, one day for one candidate and one day for the other. The assistants called on Thursday and told us to stay away from all of it since there was stuff going on in our area. There were tons of cars and people and even fireworks at night but nothing to be alarmed about. I was glad that I didn´t wear purple on Thursday since that was the color of the party that was in town that day. J Today has been normal and I think they aren´t allowed to do stuff today. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring but our neighborhood is pretty quiet usually so we will see. I am actually kind of glad to have 2 days in the house to relax a little bit. We are not to leave until we get a call from the elders. So it´s kind of like a mission lockdown. J I think our president is being extra cautious, so don´t worry. We are supposed to organize the area book on Sunday and then do a deep clean of the house on Monday. I also have a list of things I want to do which includes lots of letter writing, decorating my planner for next transfer (a Father´s Day theme), napping and maybe watching some church videos I bought last time I was at the temple. I bought some snacks too today to enjoy over election weekend. (The only thing that could make it better besides being with you would be my laptop or a TV to watch the election results.)  So things are good here in Gazcue. Hermana Lopez went out with us this week which was fun. She said Tanner is doing well in El Salvador, that his Spanish is very good, and that he is training again...small world. When we were walking home one night this week, a white van pulled over towards us and guess who was in it....my stake president from Mendoza and his daughter. She got out of the car and hugged me and I talked to them for a minute. They said they saw us walking up from the palace and turned around to come talk to me. They are a great family and it was so fun seeing them. Also when we were at our district meeting, my bishop from Mendoza walked through the hall. I didn´t get to talk to him but we just waved at each other and it was fun seeing a familiar face. I enjoy being close to the office and seeing the Eickbushes and getting mail when we are there. We were waiting for Hermana Lopez to meet us at the church so I decided to see if my English scripture case had finally come in. It hadn´t, but the next day during lunch, Hermana Eickbush called me to tell me they had come in. She also asked me if my name was Lenny, and I was kind of caught off guard and said no that it was a nickname. Of course she had just put a letter in our zone box from dear old Chessy. I figured it had to be from her since she would be the only one to write Lenny on the envelope. J The Eickbushes were telling me that they didn´t have water at their apartment because the pump broke. They had to come get water from the office and then heat it up on their stove to take a bath. There´s nothing like being a missionary in the DR...good times!  Luckily this was the first time in a year that this had happened for them since they are a senior couple. J I also saw president in the office and we talked for a minute and he asked how my sister was.  Then I talked to Hermana Hernandez a few minutes later and she asked how my sister was. They really are sweet and it is nice when people ask about Lexxy.  It is crazy it is almost June. Soon the mission will just be a memory just like BYU-H. Can you believe it has been 5 years since I graduated from high school?  Weird!  It seems like yesterday but then when I think about what we´ve done in the meantime it seems like a long time ago. On Monday I forgot to mention that I saw a Tiburon for the first time here in the DR which was cool. It was white and had a big ugly spoiler on the back but it was fun seeing my car here. I hope my real car is recovering from the skunk incident you mentioned in our phone call. J Also, on the way home from the grocery store on Monday on the radio they were playing, Hallelujah, but with Spanish words. I got a kick out of that as you can imagine. On Tuesday we walked past the US Embassy and the flag was at half-staff. I asked one of the office elders if he knew why and he didn´t so maybe you could fill me in on that. I had a dream about coming home this week and it was weird. I am pretty sure Robin Dalton picked me up at the airport and then I went and said hello to Brittany at their house. Then I came to our house. You guys were just hanging out and were sort of excited to see me, but it was weird and funny since you were all just at the house hanging around. I imagine my arrival will be a little different in real life with lots of hugs and Dominican kisses. J ...good times. Sorry I wasn´t able to let you know about the switch in email days, but just know I am happy and healthy and doing well and love you soooooo much. I hope Max´s baptism went well and that you have had a great Saturday. My time is up here, so I better go. I will email you next Monday which should be the 28th. See you in 6 months from tomorrow. Yay!!!!!!  I love you!  I will let you know how the election stuff turns out. Love you a bazillion my forever family. -ejc

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