Merry Christmas from the Dominican Republic 2007

Dear Family and Friends;

We are looking out of our apartment window at the remnants of subtropical storm Olga, she dumped probably 5-10 inches of rain on Santo Domingo in the last 24 hours. We figured out that that would be the equivalent of about 50-100 inches of snow! Wow, we're glad it doesn't get cold here! We have our tree up (see picture) and we've enjoyed the beginnings of Christmas with the First Presidency's Devotional and our last Family Home Evening with our senior missionary colleagues (Gloria shared a story of a Christmas many years ago where a very kind, and unknown to her, man shared the Christmas spirit with her by loaning her his truck in the middle of the night allowing her to finish delivering newspapers, and then returned her disabled car the next night! We all enjoyed the warmth and love of the story.) I sang "O Holy Night" and others contributed their music , stories or experiences. It was a lovely night together. I think all of us were thinking about our families at the same time.

We have had a wonderful year in the Caribbean. Gloria teaches her English class: English mingled with the Gospel and has had some special missionary experiences. The class loves her and she loves them. She prepares not only her lessons, but also some special treats. Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings was a special night. She is teaching twice a week in December on "The Life of Christ" and will conclude with the Nativity Play on the 20th. She has all of the costumes, scripts for everyone, and will bake sugar cookies for all to decorate and eat or take home after the Play. The class appreciates all she does for them.

We have enjoyed the protection of our Heavenly Father in all of our travels all over the Caribbean again this year. We have seen miracles among the missionaries in their health, in their teaching and among our senior missionary friends. We have appreciated all of the prayers and help that you have extended to us in the course of the year; we feel of your support though you are a long way away. Thanks to all for your love and concern.

We have loved having our children come to visit and take time away from their busy lives to be with us here. Those have been highlights of our year. We've welcomed two new grandsons, born in this year to Jeanel and Bruce, and to Page and Rick. And we are so pleased with Elder Casey Greer, our oldest grandson, who is serving his mission in the Oklahoma Tulsa Spanish Mission.

We have had our marriage blessed with much (24/7) togetherness and have learned many valuable and eternal lessons about ourselves. It has been a year of growth and development.
While we are working on our Spanish (mui dificile!), serving in the temple and doing our teaching and doctoring, we are also contemplating our return to "civilian life" coming up very rapidly in April, that hardly seems possible.

For us, our time has flown by, we've learned more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our commitments and our future. We've learned what is important in life and we've been blessed to share some of that. We hope to learn more as we go forward.

We hope and pray that you will enjoy the blessing of health and hope and happiness in the New Year and wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!!

Love Sister and Elder Otto

Sister and Elder Otto in Guadeloupe at the Sofitel

We had a most fortunate mistake in Guadeloupe. We were booked into what we thought was the Creole Beach Hotel, while the couple we were traveling with were staying close by in the
Sofitel. They had arranged for that by virtue of his also being a travel agent, so they got a very good rate. They didn't think we'd want to afford the Sofitel, so we were booked in the other place. When we drove in to our hotel, the Creole Beach, the gate was closed, we asked why? and were told that it was closed for a month of refurbishment! But we had reservations! Too bad, it's closed! Hmmmmm, what to do? President Robison said he'd ask the Sofitel folks if they would take pity on us in our dilemma. After conversing with them in his excellent French (he served his mission in Paris) he had arranged for a room down the hall from theirs for 50% off the first night and 75% off for the next night. We thought that sounded really good; it turned out to be better than good.

The room was really nice, it looked directly out onto the ocean including an ingenious use of glass in the bathroom and bedroom part, so we had a great view of ocean and the iguanas who enjoyed eating the shrubs right by our deck; Gloria said she saw them on the deck! Later, I counted 18 of them. The food we ate was also excellent, but we weren't limited as were the iguanas to shrubs (I did try the blood sausage for the first and last time.)

The Zone Conference was excellent, the elders spirited and successful in their work, and the counsel and direction from President and Sister Robison inspired.

We had a little swim in the ocean and also the pool the night before we left. The last day was Sunday and we attended the District Conference which was all in French and we received some good translation help from the elders.

As we left the Sofitel, Sister Robison snapped this photo which will remind us of the fortuitous mistake made in our booking. We subsequently learned that we had been booked, not at the Creole Beach Hotel, but the Maison Creole Beach Hotel (it wasn't anything like the Sofitel!)

We flew to St Lucia where we had to spend the night before returning to Trinidad. We stayed a beach front place there and had a marvelous experience with some fishermen which is the subject of another blog.

Kite Boarding!

On the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, there is a beach called La Cabarete, where the winds blow at 15-30 km/h on a regular basis. This makes it ideal for kite boarding. In fact, the World Championships are held there regularly. In the US the best place is apparently on a river in the Northwest where there is a regular wind. This is how it works. The kite boarder has a para chute -like "kite" which he is attached to by wearing a harness. The kite catches the wind and depending upon how the participant uses the wind (he has a surfboard with holders to slip his feet into) to do his tricks. This fellow is in the midst of a flip. Others flew into the air, held up by the kite. We marveled at the aerobatics and ingenuity of the boarders. Incidentally, you can see a fellow in the water who has a yellow video camera. We didn't appreciate this at first, and saw one boarder after another skim across the ocean toward him and then do their flips and twists, sometimes almost hitting him. When he finally got out of the water, he explained that he was filming for UTube and Extreme sports.
You might wonder how to get started in this sport. Lessons are given over several hours. And for $500+ USD you can learn how, the price includes the instruction, the kite and board and the insurance. We asked if that insurance was for the equipment and the body or just the equipment. Sorry, just the equipment.

Casting your Net

Casting your net can be hard work, but, oh!, the rewards!!

One of Top 5 Places to see before you die

At least that's what Oprah says, and I'm not about ready to die.