We are preparing for a 10K race we are going to run in this
weekend so we have been out running for time since we have no idea how far we
are running. So the other day we went to
Devon House and ran around the parking lots and grounds. On Monday we returned to Devon House
grounds. We kept going for 2 hours. Just as we were quitting and getting ready to
go back to our car which we had parked about 3 blocks away this woman came up
to me and started talking. I of course
was still trying to get my body to cooperate and breathe normally again so I
was a little out of it for a second. But
then I realized she was looking for work and was networking with us. She told me her name and the kind of work she
had done and I finally tuned in so I told her we are not employers but if she
had a written document with her information on it I could perhaps give it on to
someone else. So she spent about 5
minutes digging through her bag and did come up with a very professional
resume.
When she came back (she had gone over to a bench several
yards away to go through her bag) I told her we were missionaries and one of
the things we were doing was trying to help people find jobs. The look on her face was great. She recognized the miracle in an instant. It was about 10:00 in the morning, the park
had just opened, and there were no other people around except a few
workers. Why had she gone in the park at
that time? Why did she stop us? How did she stop us at the end or our run
instead of in the middle when we would have been more reluctant to
stop to talk? Maybe it was even
coincidental that she had a resume in her bag.
Maybe it was coincidental that we are working with some employment
things. Her email address was on her
resume and when I sent her the packet of articles Bob has located on
ldsjobs.org I basically bore my testimony to her that the Lord had sent her to
us that morning. That was very much what
she was thinking by the time we finished talking in the park. I complimented her on her appearance and her
resume and the fact that she was already using the most powerful tool for job
seekers—networking.
I have not heard back from her and have no idea if she was
able to find the information on ldsjobs.org but I sure am convinced that Heavenly Father was directing her that morning. There were just too many coincidences to be
anything else. I hope one day to run
into her again. And I sure hope I run
into someone to whom I can hand her resume.
This has been a quiet week as we have all our calls done and
we have everything in line to begin our calls and monthly routine next
week. So on Tues we drove out to Mighty
Gully with the Larsens to pick up the beautiful wood sculpture Bob bought for
our anniversary. It is so beautiful and
the work they do there is really outstanding—we sure wish there was some way of
promoting them and helping them market some of their work. It is really not that expensive but it is
quality work.
This is a gorgeous wood carving showing the China Bumps in the back of the hair.
Our piece is the smaller one--and she is about 10 inches tall.
One of the artists--wish the beautiful grain in this carving showed up better. This iron wood is a beautiful wood naturally.
On Thursday we had the experience of a life time. We (and other senior missionaries) were asked
by the humanitarian missionaries to go see the projects that have been started
in each of our branches. So the Elders
took us up the mountain to Bro Dakins’ house.
He is a counselor in the Elders Quorum in the Branch and he was to take
us to the different projects. He himself
has goats which have been donated which he is trying to raise to sell (for
food) to supplement his living. He has
lost 2 of his 4 goats (one was his only male) so his project is not thriving
yet. But we visited with him and his
wife for at least half an hour. She
stopped her washing which she was doing in front of their house and they showed
us through their house because Bob asked them if they had any damage form the
hurricane. Well yes, they did. They lost half their roof so they are living
in basically 2 rooms. He told me I could
take pictures but I felt it was an invasion so I didn't except to get one of
them in their living room/bed room.
Their house sits on a very steep hill which was difficult to climb in
the shoes I was wearing—very rocky. It
was difficult to even stand outside their house the ground was so steep. She had her wash tubs propped up and shimmed
with rocks and wood.
Anyway, it was a delight to be in their home and humbling to
see the way they live. And they are
happy—and active in the Church even though it takes them about an hour and a
half to get there each week as they have to walk down off the mountain to where
they can catch a bus that takes them to another bus stop.
You can see one of the goats and this is the goat pen. It was damaged in Hurricane Sandy but I am not sure what it would look like if it was repaired. This also gives you an idea of how steep the hillside is where this house is located. This goat pen is about 10-15 yards from the house.
Bro Dakin and his goat.
From inside the Dakin's house. Still under construction. Notice the top left corner--this is the part of the house where the roof was blown off. I wish I could say the blue was the ocean in the distance but it is a tarp on the roof next door.
The Elders left us with Bro Dakin and stopped to talk to his neighbor. I took this from his window.
Brother and Sister Dakin in their living room/bedroom.
After we visited with them Bro Dakin took us to visit
several other families who are working on projects. His own father has chickens but we were not
able to go down into the gully where he lives.
We stood up on the road and he called down to his father and he trudged
up the steep path to meet us. I felt
really bad when I saw his walking stick and shook his arthritic hand and saw
the condition of his worn shoes and realized how old he is. His chicken project is not doing that well
either but he has a good meal once in a while.
These places we went to were not just next door to each
other. They are spread all over this
mountain and the roads are as windy as you can imagine, narrow and full of ruts
and potholes that would ruin a normal car (though there were a few who passed
us on these roads throughout the day).
We saw another chicken project that also is not really thriving though
they have about 20 chickens they are getting ready to sell for Christmas. And maybe they will make enough money to buy
more. But we were not really encouraged
by this project either and were beginning to worry that none are really
thriving until we visited the Relief Society President’s chicken project. Wow.
It was great. She has several
batches of chickens at various stages of development and she has a good market
which she keeps very good books on. Her
chicken coop is well maintained and orderly and she has her process down to a
science that is earning her a good living.
Her husband helps but he also works full time—we did not meet him. The next one we saw is equally well
maintained and managed to the point that it is supporting a couple of
families. They also have a couple of
pigs.
Just a couple of pictures to show the contrasts.
The goat pen built by the humanitarian group behind the house. I think these people abandon both home and goats.
School children in a tiny neighborhood school.
Down in this gully to the right of the blue and gray house is the elder Bro Dakin's tiny house where he raises chickens.
At one place this man asked for a ride in the back of the
truck to the top of the hill. I just sort
of kept driving until Bro Dakin asked me to stop. I told him we could not take people in the
back because of our insurance. While he
was telling the man that, Bob and I looked at each other and told him to tell
the man to get in the truck. The first
thing I noticed as he got in the truck behind me was the smell! He smelled of fresh scrubbing soap! --a very clean and fresh smell I did not
expect on this hot day, in this area with little running water and lots of apparent
dirt! His skin glistened not from sweat
but from being scrubbed clean. I would
not have thought less of him had he smelled of sweat—I do my share of that
here—it was just that the experience was totally unexpected. He turned out to be a friend of Bro Dakin.
Elder Pugmire checking out the chickens.
I hate to tell you what these water jugs are used for where chickens are being raised to sell as broilers.
Two different batches of chickens. When one batch matures a new batch is brought in.
This is quite a nice operation with lots of chickens
and a couple of pigs.
We spent from 11-4 at least winding all over this beautiful
mountain and seeing tiny little shacks and stone or cinder block houses nestled
in these gullies and perched on the rocky hill sides. And all interspersed –usually on the higher
ground are huge lovely and obviously expensive houses. Bro Dakin said they call these little
settlements Ghettos. I did not ask him
to explain the word. He said many of the
homes are occupied by people who just came into the area and built—the land
does not belong to them—it probably belongs to the government. But they just came and started living there
and many have been there for 50 years!
He grew up in this area. The land
where he lives he was very anxious to tell us his mother owned and left to him
and many of his neighbors are relatives.
I would have loved to have taken many pictures but I am so afraid of
offending someone by my curiosity and interest—by which I mean no
disrespect! The area and the mountain was
amazingly beautiful and most of the homes were amazingly poor.
