End of a week, End of a month

This picture at the right was taken from one of the three places that we stopped to look at the view of the Caribbean Sea.



Eight of us took a trip to the north end of the island for Bake & Shark. It is a shark sandwich, and the bun is like a scone. This particular shack, Richard's, is the widely recommended one for lunch. Once you get your sandwich that has been freshly cooked, you put on your own toppings, lots of sauces, mustard, ketchup, etc. from which to choose. It was definitely worth the trip!





It is quite a experience to drive on any of the roads in Trinidad, and we hear, on any of the islands. Cars, in any amount, came after the roads were constructed and houses and buildings were already in place along the roads. Cars became more plentiful when petroleum and natural gas became export products. Most of the population uses the buses, taxis, etc.

We had a minor miracle on our trip through the switchbacks in the mountains. We had been following a truck for quite awhile and Elder Greene decided to pass. The truck driver motioned for us to go around and so we started around, only to see a car coming very fast. We quickly passed the truck as the car slowed to let us in, a very close call. Our friends behind us saw it all happen and saw a policeman go around the truck, thinking he was after us. But, no, he pulled the truck over. He, too, must have seen the driver wave us by him! We we unaware of the senerio until we stopped to chat. The Lord looks out for missionaries!

We are still in the dry season, yet, the flowers and trees are beautiful. You can tell it is the dry season. I am looking forward to seeing it all become greener when the rainy season comes. We were in a downpour when we stopped at a small shopping area to have lunch at a great place for sandwiches. The clientèle was different, more affluent, than any place we have been thus far. We will probably go back to the area for tourist items before we leave. We have asked when the rainy season starts and the answer is "who knows, it is leap year."

We live in Valsayn, which is a very nice community by Trini standards. We have walked in the mornings through the neighborhood and see lovely, big, well kept homes. There are 46 apartments in our complex, so when we say we are at 9 Valsayn Villas, everyone knows where we are. One of the other couples live down the street in Camelot, which is another set of apartments. One person doesn't own all the apartments, so it is more like condos, I guess. We have seen some really nice looking apartments close by, but the rent will be out of our price range. We are within a mile or two of the office, which we love.

We always feel rich with lots of 100's in our wallet. They are worth about $17 US. When we shop, everything looks really expensive! We are still getting used to unusual items in the stores and lack of things we are familiar with to eat. We have yet to go to Price Smart (like Costco) and get some of the items we like. I have to prepare dessert for 30 for Wed night, so hopefully our checks arrive soon, then we can find something good there for the missionaries. We have 14 coming and and 12 going home.

We received a letter from one of the men we practiced with for giving the lessons at the MTC. It was sweet of him to write. He served a mission on Angitua several years ago.

We love you all and enjoy your emails.
Mom & Dad