Sunday 8 February 2015

We don't get a regular "P-Day" (preparation day) like the young missionaries....

..instead, as the Mission Office staff we fit in with whatever needs to be done. Usually, like yesterday, we have Saturdays off to clean house, wash clothes, etc. However, the Financial Secretary and his wife still often have to handle emergencies such as missionaries losing their bank cards, on weekends...there are about 170 missionaries in the West Indies Mission.
On Sundays I'm involved in music in the local wards. Today I really enjoyed going to Primary in Sangre Grande (pronounced "Sandy Grandy") - there were 6 children there today, altho soon cute little 8 year old David got tired of singing (and holding my music book page so it wouldn't blow in the breeze, b/c the louvered windows were open) and he took off to go play outside instead.
The Primary children learned the new song called "I Know That My Savior Loves Me". It says: "a long time ago in a beautiful place, children were gathered round Jesus..." then the 2nd verse continues "Now I am here in a beautiful place" and while playing the keyboard I added "in Trinidad", having no idea that the other senior missionary lady had printed out a picture of Trinidad for her visual aid! We were both on the same track; it made us (and the kids) smile...
These kids sing beautifully, not very loud, but right on key, not sharp like I heard in Africa; and not flat like I'm used to at home! I found the song a little bit hard to learn when practising it here in the apartment, but I'm really getting to like it now: "I know He lives; I will follow faithfully. My heart I give to Him, I know that my Savior loves me."
About the weather: The humidity is always high here; when you buy envelopes, the flaps are already stuck shut; and if weed seeds land on power lines, they continue to grow up there...but I've seen very little "rain" yet like we get at home - mostly, the sky has just "misted"so far- but it's not the rainy season yet. Local people complain about the mists, but I enjoy the unexpected warmth of the rain...
About shopping/money: This week my companion and I got a ride to PriceSmart, the Costco-type big box store about half an hour away. It's right beside a ScotiaBank! and I've also seen the RBC (Royal Bank) logo several times....Canadians are well respected here - it seems almost everyone has relatives in Canada, usually in Ontario, but sometimes in Calgary; and I also met a man from Okotoks, Alberta who used to work here in the oil and gas sector who returns to Trinidad often to visit friends.
At home, we call Costco "the $200 store" (revised up from "the $100 store" of past years) - but here I spent $1000! Really. That's because the Trinidad currency - called TT's  (meaning Trinidad and Tobago dollars) is devalued to the point that $200 Canadian buys $1000 TT's.
Copper-colored TT pennies litter the ground by the local grocery store; no one bothers with them; as they are worth only 1/5th of our Canadian penny, which no one bothered with either (so the government retired Cdn pennies recently). I've also found 10 and 25 cent pieces lying around. I wonder if it's the same in the less prosperous areas of the city?
Apparently in the South American country of Guyana (which is also in our mission), a new senior missionary couple spent $48,000 on their first grocery order! which was one cart full...as the local money is devalued even worse there....
I hear glimpses of what's going on with the Canadian dollar, and I have some sympathy....
About family: I am thinking of Grant's dad Rex Miller tonight, as he turns 94 tomorrow
(on Feb. 9th). Wish I could be there to share DQ chicken fingers and fries with him and say Happy Birthday. I'm going to send an email to a friend, who will take it over and read it to him. A card in the mail would probably get there about the time I get home in July...although we haven't tested that out yet - the only package I've sent (to my older sister) hasn't arrived yet. It's also the birthday of my youngest sister tomorrow. Thank heavens for the internet - Facebook/FaceTime and email - and a MagicJack for the phone - it's not like the "olden days" when you felt far, far away when you were far away - it's great to feel so connected. It has totally changed the world for the better, in my opinion. Mind you, us senior missionaries get very "relaxed rules" about contacting family...and we also get naps!




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