Cultural Experience

What’s Up this Week

We have had a busy week, but that is how we want it.  The weather is the usual boring 85F in the day and 77 at night.  Often, though, there is a breeze, always from the east, and that keeps things nice and cool. Well relatively cool.  People here keep the air conditioners going at about 65F and that is too cold for us.  In fact we sometimes just open the doors to the balcony, shut the bug screen, and turn on the fan.  Sweating is just part of what happens here, so why fight it.

The big event of the week was a visit from President and Sister Alvarado and a group of elders and sisters with a Christmas Fireside of music and word.  But first a word about a program we attended last night.  We took no camera so we have no pictures.  It was the Extravaganza of Lights that is held every year at this time.  One of the YW of the branch invited us specifically because I mentioned that I play the violin and her best friend, Zamora, plays the violin in a government sponsored music education program in Road Town, the capital of BVI.  It would start at 8 pm, she assured us, following the Parade of Lights that would end at the Government Building where the program was to be held.  We wanted to get a good seat, so we arrived at 7:30.  There was a medium-sized tent-type shelter with 50 chairs under it set up in front of a stage.  I asked a lovely young lady carrying a violin case if this is where the performance would be.  She said it was.  I asked another young woman if we could sit under the umbrella.  She said we could.  I asked a little girl if we could sit by her. She smiled and said we could.  There was some Christmas music to a Caribbean twang and thud band playing loudly over the PA system.

Well, 8 o’clock came and there was not a hint that anything would be starting soon.  Okay, this is the way it is done on the Islands.  Island Time.  8:30 came and the recorded music started again for the third time.  There was one song I would like to get a recording of for our annual Patterson Family Favorites collection.  It had a really catchy beat and the Ho! Ho! Ho! was lively. (The name of the song is "How Will Santa Get Here?" sung by King Obstinate.)  The little girl next to me was singing right along with it.  Finally at about 9 pm there was a ruckus on the street and some people wearing Christmas lights came sashaying along the sidewalk.  The Parade of Lights had arrived.  Now we could start what we came to see.  The parade was okay, don’t get me wrong.  We are enjoying another culture here and it is fun to see how they celebrate Christmas.  

The MC was dressed in a red and green clown suit representing the Christmas Joker I suppose.  He tried to be funny and lively, but was largely unsuccessful at both.  We heard a very seductive arrangement of the national anthem, God Save the Queen, played very well on an alto sax.  I think somebody in the back applauded when it was over.  Then they had some 4-year old kids sing the Territorial Song.  I did not understand a word they said (shouted) into the mic, but when they finished there was a very loud cheer from the crowd that had gathered behind the tent where we were seated, but standing for the song.  It was easy to see where their loyalties are.  Then a preacher read a pompous prayer and we were off.  

The first event was a gaggle of 4-year old kids, the same ones that “sang” the Territorial Song.  The sound system was not very good and...well, they are cute kids.  Then came the Community Choir.  They get an “A” for enthusiasm, C- for intonation... well, they enjoyed performing.  Then came another choir with a guitar that nobody played.  Then it was time for the strings to play.  We could see Zamora dressed in a lovely black dress.  The people here do not dress shabbily when they go out in public.  Only the American tourists do that.  We felt comfortable in our shirt-and-tie-and-name-tag uniforms.  We decided we were both very tired and that we would leave after the string number.  It was about 9:45.

By 10:00 the teacher had set up all the chairs and music stands.  The young string players came onto the stage on one side as the other side was filled with young guitar players.  Looked like they were going to play together.  This will be interesting.  The instruments were tuned as well as young students can tune instruments and the downbeat was ceremoniously waved.  Not much sound from the strings, but their bows were moving so something was happening.  There were several random chords coming from one of the guitars.  I think he was sitting by one of the microphones, still trying to tune.  The strings played as if nothing unusual was happening.  They stopped moving their bows so we knew the end of the piece had been reached.  Then they played another number.  I think both were arrangements of some Christmas songs but the syncopated guitar accompaniment didn’t seem to match very well with what the strings were playing.  With a grand upward sweep of the bows signifying the end of the performance the young musicians stood for their applause.  There were loud cheers and clapping from the people all around us.  Either they were relatives, they were being nice, or they don’t hear any better than I do.  

We enjoyed the drive home.  I am glad we went even though the quality was somewhat lower than we had come to expect from beginning string ensembles in Twin Falls.  It was fun to be a part of the cultural celebration of these good people.  They are all kind and considerate and friendly.  There is no anger or social angst.  They accept all as equal and that is that.  I visited with one young man who had long dreadlocks, as many of the men have here.  I asked him how he did it.  He matter-of-factly showed me.  I asked him how long it had taken for his hair to grow out that long.  He said he had not cut it in five years.  The girls and women spend hours doing their hair in all sorts of creative braid and twist arrangements.  These are great people.

I will report on President Alvarado’s visit in the next blog.  Stay tuned.

Tortola Branch Christmas Social

On Saturday afternoon, December 8, 2012, Tortola Branch held the annual Christmas Social.  There were probably about 60 people present, 1/3 of them not Church members.  Everybody was comfortable interacting with each other.  There are no thoughts of race here.  

Brothers from Guyana, Winston & Jose

I grew up in the 1960’s when the ugly race-motivated violence tore America apart.  It was not just in the South, it was all across the land.  

Diane Samuel

I served a mission in South Africa, a hundred years ago, where Apartheid was the ugly law of the land and we were not allowed to teach anyone but those of European (White) ancestry.  Here it is different than even in the US.  People here just associate openly with each other as equals, which is how it is anyway.  An example is Krystin Kalama, the beautiful daughter of Hawaiian parents, and her best friends Samora, a beautiful Black Tortolan, and Sasha, a beautiful White Tortolan.  All three are 14.  

Faith, Samora, Krystin, Sasha

 I am probably the only one who even notices skin color, and that is going away.  We are all equally beloved as children of God.  My heart nearly bursts with love every time I am around any of these people.  So there will be no more comments about skin color from me.

Esther from Haiti

Kendrew, our next young missionary

Terri and Hammie Hill, Snowbirds from Canada

Lisa, soon to be baptized we hope

Tau Kalama

Aukievah Pollard

The branch members and their friends, and even some people who none of us had met before (there were five girls, including these, who came because President Zayas invited their mother to come when he ordered pizza for the seminary class), all showed up with fun and food in mind.  We played some Minute to Win It games, listened to background Christmas music from my iPod, ate wonderful food until we were all stuffed, sang Christmas carols in a Flashmob style, had a manger scene enactment, and watched a recording of the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  Then everyone grabbed a container or two and scooped up what was left of the food to take home for another meal.  There was a lot of very good food, everyone had all they wanted to eat, and when it was all over, there was not a morsel left or thrown away.  Gaye cooked all week for the dinner, including a medium-size turkey, and we brought a few cookies home with us.  Great!  I love it!  I don’t feel a need to eat all the leftovers and all the food went to good use.

Here are some more pictures of people who attended the social.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas in the Islands

I am sitting on our balcony with a nice cool morning sea breeze in my face.  One big cruise ship just went past and an other is coming in.  Now that hurricanes are past and the northern country is enjoying the cold weather of winter the cruise lines are entering their big season.  The local economy enjoys having the visitors come in and spend their money so this is happy time.  It is also happy time because it is entering the Christmas season.

Decorations for Christmas are not a big deal here.  There are a few trees available for more than $100, and they will be lucky to get home without all the needles falling off.  There are more artificial trees than real ones and they are modestly decorated with strings of lights that are half not working.  I like it.  Gaye bought a small tree for our apartment.  I will post it next week.   She also bought a string of lights and put them up in the apartment.  The strand of lights has segments that flash on and off in random order and timing.  I really dislike that kind of random flashing, as most of you know.  So I arrange myself with my back to the lights to I don’t have to try to mentally deal with the random arhythmia.

Early this week we had a visit from President Zayas from PR.  He is in the mission presidency and the area CES coordinator . He came to visit our seminary class.  We spent the day with him and were quite tired at the end of the day.  He is like the Everready Bunny.  He speaks English well, but Spanish is obviously his home language. We learned a lot about teaching and how to get the message of the doctrine from the scriptures from him in his inservice lesson.  Then at the end of the day we took him back out to the airport to fly back home.  He had a little trouble with his ticket so he spent a lot of time talking to the agent at the gate.  She mentioned that his birthdate is the same as her twin daughters (she saw it on his passport).  I wandered over to see how things were going and he immediately engaged me into the conversation with Alice, the agent.  he pointed out that her twins were born on November 12, the same as his birthday.  Well, that got me right into the conversation because that is also my birthday.  So I mentioned that Gaye’s birthday is also in November and is 12 reversed (21 for any of you having difficulty with this story).  He got more excited and said that his wife was also born on November 21!  We talk about blessings or coincidences.  This one is a coincidence. We obtained a copy of the Church Christmas video and took it out to Alice the next evening.  We had a nice conversation with her and her co-worker and wished them Merry Christmas.  They are both from Guyana.  These are nice people here!

Nakisha, member for 6 weeks, keen piano student

Yesterday Gaye taught more piano lessons (she has been teaching every afternoon all week) and I went with the YFTM’s to see about buying another car.  The area offices of the Church are in Dominican Republic, where Spanish is the language.  The message I received was in Spanish, translated by one of our mission office elders. It said the area fleet manager was trying to conclude the purchase of a vehicle in Tortola but he didn’t know the name of the Suzuki dealer.  There is only one in Tortola, so i went there to see if I could get them to fill out the paperwork so they could be paid for the car and we would then have to drive around.  I’ll shorten this story.  The dealership didn’t know what I was talking about, but some heavenly interventions took place and now the dealer and the area office are communicating directly with each other.  It is always nice when parties can talk directly to each other rather than go through a middle man, especially when I am the middle man.  When this is concluded we will have two 2008 Toyota Tacoma’s to sell and two new vehicles.  The office said that the new vehicle is for the couple, not the YFTM’s.  But since we already have a brand new Tacoma I will press hard for us to keep the truck and the YFTM will drive the SUV.  I’m not sure the Suzuki can make it up the hills!

They take their speed bumps seriously here

For Hire!  Any takers?

Ready for the Branch Christmas Social

I’ll post a few photos of the church here and other things in the area and call this one good.  Enjoy your day, and Merry Christmas!

Prayers

December 3, 2012

I do not think it is not just missionaries who have prayers answered, but let me tell you about last night and today.  We had supper with the YFTM last night and had a nice conversation with them.  (They love mom’s cooking, as well they should.  It was the best roast beef I have ever had.)  They are good boys, excellent missionaries.  Elder Ivie coached me on how to approach people about the Gospel.  My mission 100 years ago was in a completely different era and I am finding it necessary to unlearn a lot of things and learn some new ones.  So after our visit Elder Ivie said to pray every day for a missionary experience and you will have some.  This morning I prayed specifically that we would have a missionary experience.

We first met with the YFTM for our weekly business meeting.  Our district leader led a very good discussion about teaching for understanding and how to ask the right questions.  We will try to apply those teachings and we will be better missionaries as we do it.  The meeting lasted about an hour.  Then we let the elders use our computers at the church to write their emails home.  The church has wi-fi so it all works out great.  We gave them until noon to do what they needed to do.  Meanwhile, last night I received a phone call from Elder Hansen.  He and his wife are living on a 40 foot long catamaran and they are on a mission down here.  They go to different islands to photograph church records for the Church Family History Department.  They set up a contract with the different churches, then set up the very sophisticated photographic equipment, make the digital photos and send them to the Family History Department of the Church, and give the churches a copy of their records.  They are from New Jersey but they have a daughter living on St Thomas so they call that their home port and they have been living on their boat for about 10 years.  They have a really interesting story to tell.  Anyway, Elder Hansen called me to tell me that they would be in Tortola today and wondered if we could help them with some transportation issues.  Of course we want to do all we can.

Before our district meeting we took the old truck in to have the oil changed.  It is parked outside our apartment for now so we are responsible for the maintenance. There are unfulfilled promises that it will be sold, but bureaucrats move slowly, even in the Church.  The oil change was scheduled a while ago.  I drove the old 2008 truck to town and mom drove the new one.  We took it to the car store for the service and then had our business meeting.  We had to be in town until the truck was serviced anyway, so we went to immigration and became official residents of BVI, expiring May 1, 2013.  Then we picked up the electric bill that I paid last week (another long story) and went back to the chapel to eat the lunch we packed because we knew we would be staying a long time.  In walked some interesting looking characters with name tags like ours, but they were dressed very casually, like they had been living on a boat or something.  Elder Hansen was wearing a Spanish missionary tag and Sister Hansen wore an English Family History tag. We visited for a few minutes while they told us what they are doing and what they needed help with.  They wanted to take us to lunch because we would be driving them around, so we gave our lunch to the elders and we left with the Hansen’s.

They took us to an Indian place that serves roti. Really it comes from Guyana, where many of the BVI inhabitants, and even members of the Church, originally come from.  It is sort of like a big tortilla with curried meat or potatoes or other veggies and very good chutney, a green salad, and a Sprite.  I had the chicken, mom had the duck, Br Hansen had the shrimp, and Sister Hansen had a veggie.  We will definitely be going back there to eat again.  Then we drove around to get a new motor for their dingy, drove them to the place where they anchored their boat for the next couple of days, and they took us out to their boat.  Mom almost fell into the ocean getting into the boat (another story) but we made it safe and sound. We sat on the boat for an hour or so just visiting about what they are doing, their history, our families, etc.   It was interesting.  The boat is quite wide because of the dual hulls of the catamaran, but it is still sort of like living in a small RV. They have everything they need, but it is rather Spartan in many ways.  They brought us back to the dock and we went to pick up the truck and drove home.

The interesting missionary moments came in the most natural way, but it was not a coincidence.  When we were leaving the lunch place I gave a smile and warm greeting to a lady sitting at one of the tables we passed.  She smiled and said her daughter is a member of the Church.  The daughter lives in Guyana but when she came to visit in October she went to church at our building.  Then she pulled out her phone and in a moment had her daughter on the line.  I spoke with her, she asked about some of the members of the branch, I told her I wanted to invite her mom to come to church, and we said good-by.  I invited the lady to come to the Christmas social on Saturday and to services on Sunday. She said she would try to come, and I think she will try.

When we went with the Hansen’s to pick up the new dingy motor we also went looking for a hat for my bald pate.  Elder Hansen said if I were in the Dominican Republic the medical advisor person there would insist that I wear a hat any time I go outside.  I would love to comply with that, and Kim is sending a couple of baseball hats to us, but I can’t find one that feels good and looks acceptable with my uniform.  So the three of us, minus Elder Hansen, went to some shops looking for hats.  We did not find a suitable one, but in the process we went into a bakery to ask directions.  The fellow there was very friendly and told us where to look for some hats.  Then he introduced himself as Tyler Dawson.  I perked right up.  I have been wanting to meet him because he is a member of the branch and comes from South Africa.  I figured we would have a lot to talk about to get it rolling.  He told me he is a member of the branch, served a mission in South Africa, and is planning on coming to the social on Saturday afternoon.  Was that random?  This is happening too many times to be random.  We will now be stopping in at his bakery a couple of times per week just to maintain contact with him, and to purchase some baked goods.  He has a few kids, too, but I don’t know anything about his wife.

Then on the way home I passed a familiar face on the sidewalk who called out my name.  It was Orlando, baptized in October and one of our piano students.  He is planning on going on a mission as soon as he can, but he has to be in the Church at least one year.  So I pulled over and Orlando and another boy his age hopped in.  They told me where to go and where to turn and we reached the mountain goat trail where I would get into 4WD, but then he said he would walk the last bit.  I said, “I will see you on...” and the other boy answered, “Wednesday”.  Who is he, I asked myself, and then asked Orlando?  This is Shamiel.  He was also baptized about a month ago and has been really keen on being involved in the Church but his mother’s pastor told her this is the church of the devil and we baptize dead people and other nonsense, so she has forbidden him to come.  I think he still has the warmth of testimony in his heart and when he is able to get on his own some oxygen will start the fire going again.  

So I testify that prayers are heard and responded to.  This was not just coincidental or accidental today, just as the “chance” meeting we had with the member on Virgin Gorda last Thursday was not random.  I don’t have all the answers to questions related to prayers, but I do to this one.

PS  This is a photo of our #1 water filter, the brown one, changed every other month, and the #2 filter, changed every 4 months.  It is a really good system that the Church uses for missionaries all over the world.  

A Fasting Feast

Today we attended one of the most powerful, spiritually uplifting testimony meetings of my life.  These people are so humble and sweet.  The EQ president does not have a car, so we pick him and his family up in our truck on the way to church.  They could walk but it is a mile or two and they have some very little kids.  There are usually a few more people that need a ride, too, so we are happy to help. Three of the families in the branch just returned from the temple in Dominican Republic and they can’t stop talking about the trip and how it has changed their lives.

Faith Glasgow

Sister Glasgow is a wonderful example.  Her husband is the counsellor to Frank Kalama in the branch presidency.  There is only one counsellor and no clerk.  They have at least four kids ranging from 18 to 1.  The little girl is named Faith.  Here is why.  During the pregnancy Sister Glasgow found out that she had breast cancer.  She needed surgery and chemo, and the doctors were quite insistent that she terminate the pregnancy.  She refused.  She said today in our meeting that “I am happy.  I have no job, I have no money, but I have the message of Jesus Christ, a son on a mission, I have been to the temple, I have a healthy daughter, I feel good and healthy, and I know God loves me.  I am happy!”  I could not hold back the tears.  In fact, they have another son working on his mission application papers.  She is just one example of several who bore simple and powerful testimony today.  It is an honor to be around them

I never knew non-white skin could come in so many beautiful color combinations.  They are all beautiful. White is rather boring.  Really, they are physically beautiful people, but the glow that comes from their souls lights the place up.  The EQ president is as dark-skinned as people come, but his spirit shines with the Gospel glow.  We pale-faces are accepted without any reservation.  We are just part of the same family. To the young gneration skin color is nothing.  To us of the old generation, June 8, 1978, is one of the most significant days in our lives.  At least it sure is for me.

EQ President Pollard and Daughter

I offered to get a little choir together and President Kalama, the president of the branch, said to go for it.  We will sing Silent Night, just as it comes from the Hymn Book.  It is a simple melody with lovely harmonies and everybody knows the tune.  I thought it would be quite simple to put it together.  There is one 50+ year old lady who has a very deep voice.  She was sitting behind me and singing as low as I sing.  I don’t sing low for a guy, but she was right there with me.  So when I asked who would like to sing in the choir she was a little hesitant but joined in.  It turns out that she can’t read music and she can’t match pitch.  She sings almost an octave and a minor third below the soprano melody line.  Sort of.  I thought she could sing the tenor line but she can’t find that line, either.  So I stand by her and sing the tenor and she sings the diminished parallel third harmony, and it is wonderful.  Most of the other ladies in the branch do fine with the soprano and alto parts.  The men don't want to sing, but the kids do. One of the young missionaries sings the bass.  We will sing next Sunday and it will be heavenly.  Gaye and I only have four months here before we will be transferred and we want to do as much as we can while we are here.

Orlando playing There Is a Green Hill

The piano lessons have taken fire. We have two lessons every day this week and I think most of them will keep going.  This is really exciting.

The kids are getting all juiced up about the Christmas social coming up next Saturday afternoon.  Last week the teens made snowflakes to hang from the ceiling.  Yesterday the primary kids made snowmen and decorated them with glitter.  The sparkles will probably never come completely out of the carpet, but that’s okay.  We are having turkey dinner, playing some games, and then everybody will sit down and watch the Christmas devotional that is being broadcast tonight, but it is too late for us to watch it here (it starts at 6 pm in Salt Lake but we are three hours east of Mountain Time) so we will catch it next Saturday.

Frosty Wearing Big Boots!

Primary Activity Making Snowmen

Cruise Ship in the Rain

Cruise Ship at Night

We had a heavy rain this morning.  It woke us up.  The view out our deck window is never the same twice.  What a place.

Virgin Gorda

President's Personal Vehicle.  : ^ )

November 29, 2012

Our boys

We met the YFTM at the church, drove to the ferry terminal, and rode the boat to Virgin Gorda, another island of the BVI and much smaller than Tortola.  There was a family group over there until a couple of years ago.  The missionaries were not getting much support from the members and then the group leader decided to step out on his wife and family.  So the mission president (before President Alvarado arrived as mission president but while he was the Area Seventy) suddenly pulled out the missionaries and sold or gave all the Church things away and closed the group.  The locals were not consulted or even warned.  The Church was there one day and gone the next.  I am sure there are two sides to the story, though.

On the ferry

That left some bitter feelings with the members.  They are still in the Tortola branch, but now they must ride the ferry over here to attend Sunday meetings.  It is $30 RT per person.  That is prohibitive for the families there.

Our trip was to find as many of those members as we could and invite them to come to Tortola to church.  If they will demonstrate a willingness to make the sacrifice, then we might be able to organize a group on VG again and come over monthly to have a sacrament meeting.  We made connection with four of the families.

The former group leader has run off with another woman and left his wife and two young children to fend for themselves.  He goes to Guyana, where they came from, but when he returns he stays in the same apartment with his wife and kids.  It is awkward for her.  If she leaves the marriage then she will not get any support because she abandoned the marriage, and he will not go ahead with a divorce.  He just tells her to move on with it.  She has a job teaching very young children at a church school there.  I am sure it doesn’t pay enough to provide the stability the family needs.  It is sad.

Sail boats at Virgin Gorda

We rented a car so we could get around, so we drove around the island just to see what is there.  It is a beautiful place with gorgeous beaches and bays and reefs.  Gaye loves to snorkel and she is already making plans to return after we get our hands on some snorkeling gear.  we are accumulating stuff and we are already over the weight limit, so when something comes in something else needs to go out. Anyway, it is very similar to Tortola but much smaller.

We made a couple of appointments to return and visit some of the members, so we had some empty time to fill.  We drove onto an beautifully maintained area that is part of an exclusive hotel.  We found some shade and parked the car and got out for a few minutes.  A maintenance truck drove past and the driver got out and started talking to the elders.  It was one of the members we were trying to contact!  What are the chances of that randomly happening?  We had a good visit for several minutes until his boss drove past and told him to get to work.  Anthony said he misses the Church very much.  He has gone to other churches but they have nothing to offer him.  He is still a member of The Church and knows that this is his church.  I think he holds the Aaronic Priesthood. he was glad to see us and we exchanged email addresses so we can keep in touch with him better.

Savannah Beach.  We need to go snorkeling there.

I did not bring a hat and my head is being exposed to more sunlight than it would like to have.  I put sun screen on to prevent getting too burned and it seemed to help, but I am asking Kim to send me a couple of caps from home.  We will be going to San Juan on December 15 for the annual mission Christmas gathering so we can pick things up there and bring them back with us.  One in and one out, though.

A follow-up note on the piano lessons.  Kryssie, the lovely 14-year-old daughter of President Kalama, has been practicing and is almost ready to play a hymn in sacrament meeting.  The first one the lessons teach and have the students play is “There Is a Green Hill Far Away” because it is played without moving the hands around on the keyboard.  She is really enthused, so we need to teach her and praise her and get her firmly into the program.  If we do nothing else, this will have been worth coming to Tortola.

I am writing this on November 30 early in the morning.  I just looked up and there is a big cruise ship slowly moving through the calm water about 1/4 mile from our apartment.  This is unreal!