Went visiting tonight in Spanish Town. Went to one house, a Sister Chang. First of all we felt lucky to be there alive. The streets are no wider than our alleys and it is like playing dodge ball with the oncoming cars and the potholes. It is scary enough in the daylight but in the night it is treacherous. After we got to the house we were ushered through the house to her bedroom where she and her two adult member daughters were enjoying a few words together. After a few minutes of visiting, we heard yelling in the kitchen and the mother and daughters ran in where her two grown brothers were arguing over a girlfriend. I would have thought nothing of it but the ladies were very upset so it made us know it was serious. One of the sisters literally pulled and pushed her brother into the room where we were and locked the door from the outside. He stood on her bed to a high cupboard and pulled down a miniature machete (they called it a “cutless” and it was about 15 inches long). He came and pounded on the door yelling that he was going to kill him and several other things, much of which we did not understand. He finally found some keys and went out a back door and around to the front. I guess a neighbor had pulled the other brother into his house and locked him in. They use these huge padlocks to secured the metal fences that surround and protect their houses. After a few minutes the ladies came back in to where we were. They were so upset and embarrassed. The mother is just starting to come back to church. I hope this will not hinder her progress. She said the one son will be calm in the morning, but she is not sure what will happen with the other brother. Poor woman....can’t imagine. Elder Herbert asked if at any point I felt threatened and the truth was neither of us did. I only felt sadness that they were so angry with each other and that a mother must endure that pain from her sons.
Temple
Tonight we challenged three people to make any effort needed to go to the temple. At least one wanted to go so very badly. It would be wonderful to have several people ready to go to the temple before we left. One lady has been a member for 24 years. She was baptized in 1986 and has never been to the temple. The church has a fund to help first-time temple goers pay their way to the temple. I am not sure if it is available in the states, but for those in the Caribbean, it is a great blessing. Most that we talk to have never heard of it though. The people here usually go to the Panama temple. The Dominican Republic is much closer. The problem is that there are no direct flights from here to the DR and all flights go through Miami. You must have a Visa to enter the states....even if just getting on another plane for DR. Most here do not have Visas so it is easier to go to Panama. Wish we could take the opportunity to go to both before we left the Caribbean.
Rats and other wild animals
The other night there was this huge rat running across our counter top in the kitchen. (OK. So it was a baby teeny, tiny mouse, but when a wild, ferocious, man eating, rodent comes through your kitchen, let’s see how you describe it!) Mike got the fly swatter (thank goodness for my protector) and shooed him away. We have since put down rat poison, but I think he was too afraid to come back.
Lunch with the senior couples at Port Royal
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