Christmas is a busy time around here so I hope I remember all of the happenings. We have been working hard in our new office. One funny! When we walked into the new office the first morning. Elder Coleman said, "How was the commute?" (Jokingly because it is about 30 steps from our apartment door to the back door of the office.) Ed said, "Whoa, I'm not quite awake, I need the drive in the traffic to get the adrenalin going." We all had a good laugh.

Ed and I had the special opportunity to take Elder Vinas and his wife Christina to the airport. They are spending Christmas with their daughter and husband. Both are inspiring examples to all.

On Tuesday night we went to the Colonial Zone for dinner. We dined at a very nice place sitting outdoors on a plaza among buildings hundreds of years old. We walked by the oldest Cathedral in the western hemisphere built back in Columbus's time. We need to go back to explore some more. We went with the Mehrs. They are here as public affairs missionaries. We really enjoyed their company.

On Wednesday we began our training to be ordinance workers at the temple. We were taken on a tour of it to show us the physical workings and our responsibilities as workers as well as studied a little. We are looking forward to the experience.

Christmas Eve we were invited with senior couples to the Berkley's for a dinner. It was a great turkey dinner with all the trimmings. After, we went back to the Casa and had cookies with the elders from the MTC (CCM) They sang to us and then we shared cookies. What a wonderful group of young men. It was a bright spot to be with them.

Christmas day a group of senior missionaries delivered quilts and personal hygiene kits to an assisted living home for the aged. It was run by Catholic Nuns. We sang Christmas Hymns for part of their Christmas Mass and Program. It was a huge place with all kinds of needs to be met, very humbling.

In the evening, we all met at the Temple President's home for dinner. The parties here were all nice but the thing that we loved most was the visits with each of our sons and their wives on Skype. It was so fun to see them. The hardest thing was hanging up. I just wanted to reach through and give them all a hug. Ryan thoughtfully called as the children were opening presents so we could enjoy that part as well. Thanks so much. Hope all had a memorable, peace-filled Christmas.

Our second week in the Dominican Republic came with many changes. The Jones left Thursday night. We moved to the new Area Presidency Offices and Ed began to feel better. The Area Presidency and their wives took the Joneses and us to dinner at a nice restaurant in honor of the completion of the Jones' time here and our welcome. The restaurant was El Meson de la Cava. When you enter, there is a spiral staircase going down, opening into a beautiful room which happens to be in a cavern...very interesting, very good food, and most of all very good company. Wednesday was our last trip to the area office to work. Even though the traffic is crazy, I will miss seeing the street vendors, the city streets with the various open-air shops, half-built balconies, and horse-drawn fruit carts and even the potholes and uncovered manholes in the street. It is all so much a part of the culture. Most of all I will miss the people that work at the area office. They are some of the finest people on earth. Without exception, they are kind, helpful and happy.

I am not sure I mentiond that Ed had a bad cold the first week and was just getting over it when he had back spasms that laid him low for a couple of days, luckily it was Saturday and Sunday. He had a blessing and was able to return to work on Monday and has progressively gotten better.However, last Sunday I decided to drive to the church myself. Understanding it was Sunday morning with less traffic. I took the route that everyone had said but no one gave me the last turn so I wandered the streets within 100 feet of it and never did find the church so I came home sad but proud I had the courage to try the driving thing in the DR.

Tonight we had a men's choir (10 men) give the Casa a Christmas Program. Not sure I have ever heard anything so simple and beautiful. Alexis, the assistant in our office was a part of the group. It was acapella. It is still hard to get a grasp that it is Christmas time when there is no snow and family. Not to mention 80 degrees, palm trees, and flowers everywhere.

The Joneses had a motto, "Work hard, play harder." I am not sure we are quite that much on the play side but our weekends do seem to fill up. We actually walked to a very good pizza place on Friday night called Pizzarelli. It was an adventure. I am not sure which is more dangerous, the traffic or the hanging utility wires.

Saturday morning, we went to the temple It is a beautiful temple, large, beautiful grounds, and rivals the beauty of any around the world. Saturday night we did go to a food court for dinner and then to the latest Narnia movie with 5 other missionary couples. Okay so this mission is not like Ed's first one. The movie is considered a Spanish lesson with the captions in the show. Right!!?

Church today was nice. Again such nice people and I was more outgoing than the last week. I have figured that you can say with a smile, "Bien" or "Muy bien" most of the time and you are appropriate. (I know I am simplifying things, but everyone is so nice they help you with the rest if you just try a little.)

We have been here one week now and so much has happened. Everything is new to us and there is so much to know. The Joneses have been so very kind and helpful in this transition. Elder Jones is the current executive secretary to the Area Presidency here in the Caribbean Area. They have carefully planned our orientation, creating a book of helpful procedures, instructions, and helpful information.

The Colemans picked us up at the airport. Elder Coleman is in the First Quorum of the Seventy and a Counselor in the Area Presidency. He and Judy are friends from Pleasant View so many years ago. It was so good to see familiar smiles after a long flight and an unfamiliar country. It was very kind of them.

We went to church in the Piantini Ward on Sunday. I learned to say "Como esta" and "Muy bien" Ed on the other hand, made many new friends there. We had dinner with the Area Dr. and his wife, Elder and Sister Kilgore, from Washington.

We got up early went to the bank and shopped at Nacionel, the supermarket here . After, we went to the Christmas devotional for the Area Employees. Elder Coleman spoke. Following the devotional, we had our first authentic Dominican meal. I cannot complain. It was very good. I love the eggplant lasagne.

Tuesday was a wake-up when we headed to the office with the Jones. THE TRAFFIC!!! It really is like playing chicken with cars, it reminds me of playing bumper cars only they seldom actually hit, miraculously. The drivers do everything that would cause road rage in America but it doesn't here. The cars are honking all the time either warning you they are coming or that you aren't moving fast enough for their liking but that is it, no yelling and screaming, no mean jestures. It is all amazing how it works. On the other hand, you may only go 5 miles in one hour and no one follows rules, lights or lines. It is all a little baffling. Enough on traffic....for today.

At the office we met the Area Presidency and most of the Area employees. Never has there been so many nice people in one place. All speak English and most speak it very well, however, they are willing to take the time to help others (like, me, Jayne) speak Spanish whenever possible. We spent most of the week learning the procedures and responsibilities of our new jobs and we have three more days to learn the rest. The hard part of all of this is that the long time employee assistant to the Presidency is in the hospital and will be out until May. She really is the one that knows how everything in the office works. She is expecting a baby and is having complications. A new assistant was hired and he started Monday along with us. Ed said to him, "How do you say in Spanish. "The blind leading the blind."? Alex, the new employee, thought that was pretty funny. I won't go into all of the responsibilities because that could get a little lengthy and more than a bit boring to read about, however, the work is not boring. Interesting developments are happening all the time.

The Joneses have also oriented us on all of the other essentials like good restaruants, banks, grocery stores, and yesterday they showed us a nice beach about an hour away. It was fun. The water was a little rough for here. (Not bad at all). We snorkled and dove for shells. We ate at an excellent place right across the street from the beach. The ocean water is warm here.

MTC

Although this was meant to be the first posting. It wasn't-------We have to say, the MTC is awesome and the Senior Missionaries are treated with special care. The young sisters and elders are all so polite, respectful, and kind. The Spanish tutors were excellent. I wish we still had access but as Sister Bair, the temple matron here was told, "You are going to make lots of mistakes. It is best you start now." The MTC religious instructors were also exceptional. Our District consisted of Elder and Sister Rix heading on their second mission. The first one was in South Africa. This one will be in Uganda. The Pearsons and Vollmars were from Idaho and were heading to Texas and California respectively. Vollmars had already served a mission in Pennsylvania. The number of missionaries headed out on their second, third, and fourth missions were surprising. Idaho seems to be the state harvesting the most senior missionaries. We learned so much in the MTC and enjoyed soaking up the spirit offered there. The food was good but it is a good thing we only stayed 4 days or you might have had to roll us out of the place.

Special thanks to Don & Chris Rognon for taking us down to the MTC and for Mike and Gwen Evans for taking us to the airport at 3 in the morning.