Feliz Navidad! Merry
Christmas
Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, December 2012
Is it Christmas time
already? It’s hard to imagine Christmas when it is 84 degrees with 67%
humidity. It has “cooled” down some. In fact, we can open our windows each
night and let a little of the 74 degrees in. It actually feels cool. What is
going to happen when we arrive home from our mission in the dead of winter? We
are not looking forward to that.
Now for the family stuff—
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| Anna Rose, Chistiaan, Emiline, and William |
Anna Rose and Christiaan welcomed a new baby boy in
April. What a treat it was for Emiline to have a baby brother. She
loves “baby William” to pieces. Of course, he loves her right back.
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| Emiline and first snow |
We just
hope that love continues after he learns to walk and get into things.
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| Little William |
William
has bright red/orange Andersen hair and a smile that encompasses his entire
face. He is just a happy, happy baby.
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| Hailey, Joseph, and baby Clark |
Hailey and Joseph had
their first in October. Because they had just moved to Verona, Wisconsin, where
Joseph began working for Epic, Joanne went to help Hailey with the baby. It was
fortunate that she did go as Hailey had some complications.
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| Hailey and Clark |
Baby boy Clark
entered the world kicking and screaming. He has since calmed down a bit, sleeps
through the night, and loves his mother immensely.
We enjoy talking to both
daughters via Skype. We thank Heavenly Father for Skype and technology. For couple
missionaries, we can visit with family members whenever, which is a good thing.
Each week—or sometimes even more often—when we visit with Anna Rose and Hailey,
we can see how the babies grow. Unfortunately, we cannot reach through the
screen and kiss their cute little cheeks. Emiline and William like talking to
us; Clark just stares at the screen—remember, he is just two months old and
very adorable.
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| LaWane, John, and Nicole |
John, LaWane, and Nicole Boltz, Joanne’s brother and
his family, came to visit over Thanksgiving. They brought down hearing aids,
items for school kits, and clothes for some humanitarian projects.
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| The Hunters and the Boltz Family at the hospital |
We
took the hearing aids to a hospital that serves the poor.
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| Walky, her mother, grandmother, niece and nephew, LaWane, and Nicole |
Some of the clothes
went to a young woman in Consuelo, the branch we used to attend. She
received her mission call to Mexico and needed clothes. The other clothes will
go the Mission Training Center (Centro de
Capacitación Misional—CCM) here the DR; and the school supplies will go to
a school. Many of our Latino and Haitian missionaries do not have many clothes
when they arrive. Thanks to John, LaWane, and Nicole, many of them will now
have a few extra clothes to take back to their missions.
Now for the mission stuff—
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| Elder and Hermana Hammon with some sister missionaries in the CCM |
We have been serving as Welfare Specialists in the
Caribbean Area Welfare Office and living in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic for the past almost 17 months. We have had life-changing experiences.
We have been able to travel to Trinidad, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica to train
Priesthood and Relief Society leaders on welfare principles, councils, and the
Addiction Recovery Program.
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| Elder y Hermana Hammon and Dr. and Sister Christiansen, vision specialist from SLC |
Also, we accompanied
Dr. and Sister Christiansen, a vision specialist from Salt Lake City, to St.
Kitts, Dominica, and Antigua on a fact-finding humanitarian vision trip. What a
wonderful trip that was to meet with ophthalmologists, hospitals, and other
vision specialists on those islands to see what they need to take care of the
poor.
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| Elder and Sister Hammon with member from St. Kitts |
Most of our welfare
training has been here in the DR. We love visiting with leaders about welfare
principles. We also have been doing a few firesides. We did one for a young
single adult group and then it began to expand. The last fireside we gave was
for parents in one of the stakes here in Santo Domingo.
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| Clase de Español |
Darrel teaches a Spanish class on Mondays and Thursday
afternoons. He also tutors two Church employees in English. Plus, he serves as
a counselor in the CCM presidency.
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| Santo Domingo Temple |
We have a beautiful temple in Santo Domingo. We work in there on Friday evenings,
truly one of the best experiences we have enjoyed.
Overall, we are having
an incredible experience and keeping very busy. We enjoy being on the Lord’s errand
and acting as instruments in His hands. Lamentablemente,
we are scheduled to return to the USA on January 25, 2013. The time continues
to fly by.
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| Hermana y Elder Hammon by Poinsetta tree |
Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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| Sunrise in Bayahibe |
What a wonderful service. Great people.
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