"Los Llanos Baptism"

"Los Llanos Baptism"

Elder Darrel. Hammon

Probably nothing is more sweet than to witness a baptism while you are serving. Last Saturday was one of those days.

Elder Cowley, Hermano Romero, y Elder Anderson

We went with the Eickbushes to attend a baptism in their little branch Los Llanos. What an incredible experience! The ride out was forgettable. Actually, it was downright miserable. We took the Boca Chica exit and headed north on a fairly decent road. Before too long, however, the road turned into a gravel road with huge potholes. Brother Eickbush swerved here and there, and there and here.  He did a great job maneuvering around the potholes. He crossed two railroad tracks. If they had been Union Pacific’s, they would have fired the guys who were supposed to keep them up. A whole car could have been swallowed up. In fact, on one of them, Brother Eickbush rubbed the tail end of the car. If he had been going any faster, the bumper would have been removed.

The "font"

                When we arrived, we walked into the capilla or the building that they hold church in. There in the middle of the floor was a swimming pool—a real swimming pool, like the kind you might buy at Sam’s Club to put in your backyard. This one, though, was in the middle of the floor. But it was full of crystal clear water. I don’t know what it took to put it up, but they did it, and it was ready to go way before the baptism.

Los Fernandez

         Many people had come to the baptism. It was nice to meet and greet everyone. Los Fernandez were there with one of their grandchildren, an 10-year-old named Amber. What a delight she is! They are the ones who went through the temple a couple of weeks ago. Last Sunday, Hermano Fernandez was called and set apart as one of the counselors in the branch presidency. He was all smiles and gave us all hugs. He is such a sweet man.

One of the sisters who was at the baptisms for the dead a month ago had brought three of her sisters. None of them is a member. They enjoyed being there. Two of them had children who came with them. They were wonderful women who are dedicated to their families.

                It started almost on time. Presidente Vasquez is one of those excellent branch presidents who likes to move things along in their proper order. The speaker was Elder Anderson and then two members gave testimonies. They all did wonderful jobs. Then came time for the baptism.

Hermano Rafael Romero

Hermano Rafael Romero, age 60+, was going to be baptized. They had to literally pick him up and place him into the font because there weren’t any stairs for him to use. Elder Cowley, a new elder, performed the baptism. Unfortunately, a leg came up the first time. Then, a toe came up the second time. Before we attempted a third try, I talked to Hermano Romero and Elder Cowley. I told Elder Cowley to place his feet into front of Hermano Romero’s feet. I told Hermano Romero to kneel instead of trying to go straight backwards before being baptized. Well, it worked. The third time was the charm—as they say. Hermano was completely immersed.

Some members of Los Llanos Branch

                Presidente Vasquez asked me to say a few words before I prayed, which I did. After the prayer, I congratulated Hermano Romero. It was fun to see him baptized. It was wonderful to be in the branch and meet the people.

Joanne and Sister Eickbush had made some cakes, and they were ever so popular. Before too long, other kids from the neighborhood came running. I don’t know who ran out and told them, but they came, eager to participate in the cake letting. Joanne had found some pumpkin at Nacional and made a pumpkin cake. It was delicious.

                After the cake letting, it was time to empty the font. We began by dipping pails into the water and carrying them outside to dump them. Before too long, they had completely dismantled the pool, and the water gushed out onto the floor, and the sisters were there with brooms to sweep out the water. It was an incredible rush of water out both of the doors. I just stood and watched, bucket in hand, until all of the water had been swept out. I told Presidente Vasquez that if he had a baptism every week, he would have the cleanest chapel in the entire church.

Young people in Los Llanos Branch

                We said our goodbyes. They were sad to see us go. I really like Presidente Vasquez and Los Fernandez. They are good people, trying their hardest to make the branch grow and develop. The ride was a good one. The bumps were still there, but we were riding high from the incredible baptism we had just witnessed.

“The Consuelo Branch”

“The Consuelo Branch”

Elder Darrel L. Hammon

One of the grand opportunities senior missionaries have is to attend small branches in the Church. After talking to President Hernandez, the Santo Domingo East Mission President, and his counselor President Mauricio Munive, we will be going to the Consuelo Branch, a small branch out in the San Pedro District, which is located beyond Boca Chica and Juan Dolio, both resorts on the beach. Instead of heading toward the beach, you head away from the beach. It is about 1.5 hours from our home in Santo Domingo.

Opening to the Consuelo Branch meeting house

Last Sunday was our first visit. We rose early in order to get ready to go to our little Consuelo Branch. We met President Munive who also works at the Area Office in front of our apartment. He was a bit late; so I knew we were going to be late to the meetings. But we began our journey. We followed him down Bolivar to Gomez and then onto to the Autopista. And away we went. He was driving pretty fast, even though there was a bit of rain falling. He got up to 109m kph. I thought that was pretty fast, but we were already 20 minutes late.

We arrived at the branch meeting house around 9:15 p.m., and they hadn’t started priesthood meeting yet. We had probably around ten brethren there, including the missionaries, President Munive, and me. The Branch President is a young man named Gary Montero, who has been home from his mission for about eight years. There were several children there. One little girl by the name of Ana came up to me. She is nine and very cute. All the little girls have long hair, and it has been divided up into little twisted pony tails, bound extremely tight, with bobbles at the ends. To me, it would hurt my head if I had little pony tails wrapped everywhere on my head. They seemed happy though.

Front of the Consuelo Branch building

The Consuelo Branch building is right on one of the streets. During the meetings, motorcycles and other cars race by. Sometimes, I thought the motorcycles revved their motors just a bit more as they passed our doors. We had to leave the doors open just to have some sort of circulation throughout the building. Ceiling fans are the only things that circulate the warm air.

Priesthood and Relief Society came first, then Sunday School, and then Sacrament meeting. The branch president taught the priesthood lesson, and a single mother of four taught the Sunday School lesson. It was pretty good. She had a quick smile. I tried to respond a couple of times. Sacrament was very good. Two of the brethren spoke who had gone to the temple the day before. They both had excellent experiences. Then, President Munive, the concluding speaker, called on Joanne and me to bear our testimonies. I went first. Then, Joanne gave her sweet testimony. Tears welled up in both of our eyes. Someday, she will be able to stand on her own and give her testimony without notes. I know it is difficult for her now, but wait, she will be excellent before the mission is over.

After church, we visited some of the members and the missionaries. We did talk to a young woman by the name of Ana Maria who is about 14-years-old and who really wants to learn to play the piano. We told her about a program the church has for people just like her. We also told her that we would find out about it and let her know next week. It would be wonderful for her to learn how to play. It would enhance her life and her way of thinking and doing business.

Today was our second Sunday at the Consuelo Branch. We left early and drove along the beach until we merged on to the Autopista. The trip was extremely pleasant, not too much traffic this early in the morning and on Sunday. We arrived early and parked in front.

Ana Maria y Samuel

During Sunday School, President Montero approached me and asked that I take him to his house, which I did. Apparently, he left the Duty God and YW medallion at home for two young people named Samuel, age 17, and Ana Maria, age 14. It was heartwarming to see these two young people stand and go to the front. They were both wore incredibly huge smiles. Their parents accompanied them. When President Montero handed these two awards to these two young people, you would have thought he had given them each $10 million. Both bore their testimonies today and told how grateful they were to have earned these awards. To them, completing the assignments was easier because they wanted to do what the Lord wanted them to do. Their testimonies were impressive.

I talked to Samuel and Ana Maria’s mother after the meeting and told her what wonderful young people they are. She just beamed but shared some important counsel. She said parents need to be diligent and vigilant in helping the young people perform their tasks. “It is the parents,” she said, “who can help these young people grow and progress.” What a wonderful mother she is! She just glowed when we spoke to her about her children. You can see she loves them and wants to do what is right. We truly enjoyed visiting with her. On the way home, we noticed that their family stopped by a neighbor’s and was visiting. Ana Maria and her father waved at us as we drove by, Ana Maria still grinning and still holding her medallion close to her. What a pleasant sight!

We are enjoying our time at the Consuelo Branch. These humble people treat us like royalty each Sunday. They make sure they shake our hands and ask how we are doing. We already love them and know there are many who are not active whom we should visit. The Consuelo Branch is working diligently on working toward building a chapel. The Church has already purchased a wonderful piece of property for them. Our hope is they can reach their goal before we leave.

The Banao Encampment: The Church's Gift to the Dominican Republic Saints

"The Banao Encampment: The Church's Gift to the Dominican Republic Saint"

Darrel L. Hammon

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is doing some incredible things around the world, trying to create opportunities for those who don’t have anything. Just like young people in Utah and Idaho, young men and women and their parents in other countries can engage in similar experiences, perhaps a bit different, than their counterparts. Such is the case with young people living in the Dominican Republic (DR).

A bit north of Santo Domingo, the capital of the DR, sits an encampment on 220 acres of lush Dominican countryside, full of green trees, rolling hills, and richly green undergrowth. We traveled as senior missionaries in a very nice, air-conditioned guagua (a bus) on Monday as Hurricane Irene threatened the Caribbean.

We jostled our way through traffic to the countryside called the campo here. The Dominican freeway passed through several towns before we rolled off to the left and onto a country road that split up several fields of rice. One of the DR couples who is serving a temple mission told us the fields were experimental fields, own and operated by the government. They grow several varieties and did testing to develop different types of rice. Plus, they pointed out orange groves and other groves of fruits along the way.

 Soon, we entered a small village and turned left at a little building that had the sign: “Banca Gringo.” This banca sells lottery tickets. We cautiously crossed a gently flowing creek and struggled our way down a narrow road. On each side of the road was a living fence. Tall, thick poles had been planted as fences with wire strung between them. The poles were truly saplings, and small, green limbs spouted out of them—thus a living fence.

Soon, we turned off the road and rolled through a magnificent rock entryway with an iron fence. We had arrived at the Banao Encampment the Church owns near Banao. Elder and Sister Riggs, two senior missionaries from Arizona, greeted us. He didn’t dress like typical missionaries. Rather, a cowboy hat hung just slightly to right of his head. He wore an open checked shirt, Levis, and comfortable work shoes. His mission was not to preach and teach, per se, although he did a lot of that with the volunteers and the youth. Rather, his mission was to convert 220 acres into an encampment for the Church in the heart of the campo, all with volunteers and a few hired locals.  

On the property was an old hacienda, formerly owned by a government attorney who also raised prized, registered sheep. He had previously built beautiful sheds for them. Elder and Sister Riggs had converted these sheds into dormitories for those who came to the property to enjoy and participate in Church activities.

While most were preparing the meal of hotdogs and hamburgers, some of us trundled off to an enclosed “Hurl a Whirl,” a very unique Maypole-looking thing that Elder Riggs had designed and built. It had four extended seats, equally spaced around a pole. Someone pushes the seats in a counter-clock-wise position, basically “winding you up.” Then, they let go, and the “Hurly Whirly” begins to unwind at an alarmingly rapid rate. Now, the dangerous part of the whole process happens to the person who does the pushing. He or she needs to get out of the enclosed arena as fast as they can so he or she won’t get hit. In this case, there isn’t much room between the seats and the enclosed fence. Fortunately, our pushers cleared uneventfully. It unwinds and then begins rewinding by itself. It continues this wind and unwind process until it has run out of winding. Elder Riggs said that the young people can play for hours on this contraption. He had to build a small fence around it to protect the cheering crowds.

We had lunch in one of the small pavilions on the property. Over 27 of us fit nicely on newly-built sturdy picnic tables. Lunch was great! We had hot dogs and hamburgers.

Then Elder Riggs began talking about their last 18 months at the Encampment and all the work that had gone into it. It was a great talk. They have worked extremely hard in accomplishing their many tasks. They had built two pavilions, one of them where we ate and another one just down the path. When we all walked down there after lunch and between rain showers, I was aghast at the size of the second pavilion. It was monstrous. As my dad would have said had he seen it, “You could park a lot of hay here.” Elder Snow, another senior missionary, said the same thing. It had a room full of chairs and tables and its own kitchen. Just before you arrived at the pavilion, there was set of several bathrooms and showers. 

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We also walked with Elder Riggs over to where they had converted the sheep pens into adequate living quarters. Most of them had two bunk beds, each sporting a foam mattress. At the end of one of the living quarters were bathrooms and showers that the local contractors had built. They had tile floors and sinks. Elder Riggs said that recently they had had over 500 youth there on an outing, plus another 120 Relief Society sisters who just showed up to participate in training.

Soon, it was time to leave. It was actually quite sad to leave the gorgeous countryside with its rolling and foliage-covered hills and enter the big city with its rolling waves of people, cars, guaguas, and pollution. The Church made a wise decision by purchasing those 220 acres outside Banao for an encampment so the members of the Church can escape the hustle and bustle, much like we do in Utah and Idaho and other states where the Church has built camps.

The Banao Encampment is truly a place where people can provide service, become intertwined with nature and God’s green earth, feeling secure on dedicated property, with a wonderfully built hacienda on one of the rolling hills, surround by lush greenery, hearing the early morning crows from nearby roosters and the braying of the Brahma-like cattle that roam the countryside, and feeling the spirit the Lord envelop them like the beauty that resides there.

Bienvenidos to the Darrel and Joanne Hammon Caribbean Area/Dominican Republic (DR) Mission Blog!

“Welcome to the Elder Darrel and Sister Joanne Hammon Caribbean Area/Dominican Republic (DR) Mission Blog!”

Darrel and Joanne Hammon

Joanne and I are serving as Welfare Specialist for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Caribbean Area Welfare Office, located in the Dominican Republic, for a period of 18-months. We are currently in the Missionary Training Center, fondly known as the MTC in LDS circles. We arrived on Monday morning. And what a week it has been! Here is just a small flavor of what we are experiencing:

Preach My Gospel—The scriptures and Preach My Gospel are the primary texts at the MTC. Preach My Gospel is an incredible teaching text. Unlike the charlas or the discussion when I served, Preach My Gospel is laid out beautifully. You can obtain the entire text here: http://lds.org/languages/additionalmanuals/preachgospel/PreachMyGospel___00_00_Complete__36617_eng_000.pdf. Before we entered the MTC, Joanne and I read Preach My Gospel from cover to cover and read all of the associated scriptures. Incredible experience! We feel that everyone in the Church should read Preach My Gospel. It explains the gospel in such detail and beauty. You can see why some missionaries call it “scripture.” The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles approved it.

Language Study—Since we are going to the Dominican Republic, we need to know some Spanish. Fortunately, I served in the Chile Concepción and Osorno Missions many years ago. Joanne didn’t. The MTC was kind enough to send us some of the MTC Spanish language curriculum prior to our missions. We have been studying it. At the MTC, Joanne and I are in two different classes, each with four students and a teacher. The teachers are phenomenal. Joanne’s teacher is a young BYU student who served in the Boston; my teacher, also a BYU student, served in Nicaragua. They know Spanish, and it is fun to meet with them on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. y aprender y practicar Español (and learn and practice Spanish). We have learning lots. On Friday night, all of the language students met and had a testimony meeting where you bore your testimony in the language you are learning. It was a wonderfully, spiritual experience. We didn’t understand all of the languages, but we felt and understood the spirit, the universal language.

Teaching Experiences—During the Preach My Gospel sessions, we are learning/re-learning how to teach the gospel. It has been a wonderful, yet scary experience. We have participated in various role-playing activities, including actually teaching two “investigators.” Joanne and I have taught Church groups and classes all of our lives. It is a bit different when you teach Preach My Gospel. There is something about combining the knowledge and the spirit in order to have a spiritual teaching experience. The spirit is what really teaches, and you hope you have some of the spirit when you teach.

Cafeteria—You cannot have an MTC experience without food, and we mean lots of it. The MTC cafeteria is quite large. It feeds over 2,000 missionaries per meal. Usually, there are three stations for each meal. Some meals we have had so far include: fried chicken salad; roast beef, potatoes, and gravy; French toast sticks; oatmeal, loaded with nuts and raisins, honey/brown sugar; taco salads; pizza; hamburgers and French fries; chicken burgers; ice cream; and a host of other yummy things. You can eat as much or as little as you want.  

Overall, we have had a wonderful experience over the past week. The week has flown by. Next week we begin our welfare training. Then, we leave for the DR on Friday morning! We are excited although we don’t feel as ready as we need to be. We suspect, though, that much of our training will happen when we arrive in the DR and meet with the Area Presidency and the Area Welfare Manager. No matter what, we are here to serve the Lord.