Lights, camera, action!

On Saturday April 12, 2014 we had a crew taping Daniel about his thoughts on the new Self -Reliance program of the Church. My husband was asked a few questions like: "What does self-reliance mean to you?  etc. It has been a special project here in the DR because we were chosen to be pilots of this program.

 It changed the way employment centers and the Perpetual Education Fund work. It is more complete now and it includes everyone. I love this program and I am very passionate about it. The message is very clear. Self-reliance is the ability, commitment and effort to provide for the spiritual and temporal well-being of ourselves and of our families. As members we are asked to watch over other members who might be in some type of need.

 Bishops and Stake Presidents need to be aware of anyone among us who might need resources in becoming self-reliant so they can endure times of adversity. The idea is that we should all help each other and be more aware of one another. We need to encourage our members in getting a post secondary education or vocational training, learning to work and living within our means and by avoiding debt and saving money for a rainy day. The main idea of becoming self-reliant is to get ourselves on higher ground so that we can lift others in need. Daniel did a great job explaning the program.

Puerto Rico, our other home!

Any time an opportunity presents to go to Puerto Rico, we go. It is a place I keep dear to my heart. It was my home during many months while Daniel was getting his citizenship and it is the people we also have learned to love.

We found out Nadja and José Toro's daughter was getting baptized on March 15th so we arranged to go and also to kill two birds with one stone I changed my interview with Global Entry for the day before on the Friday March 14th. I had a bad experice in Miami on my way to Chile when I came accross Customs and Immigration. The officer that interviewed me was horrible to me. I was treated like some criminal. He was upset that my husband had gone ahead of me because he had global entry and that he felt that because of that, he shouldn't let me in. I am a US citizen for crying out loud! He asked every question imaginable. What do I do, what does my husband do. Why do we spend so much time in the DR etc. and any time I answered he would reply Really? as if I was lieying. It was so nerve wrecking to not know if he was going to let me into the US or not. What a night and day difference when entering the US at the San Juan Puerto Rico airport. They are friendly and treat you with respect there. I was able to get my interview with them even earlier than plan to get it out of the way so I didn't have to come back, that is how super nice they are. How I wish every time we travel to the US, we do it entering Puerto Rico but who knows maybe they are just as mean and I only got lucky when I go there each time.

Trip to El Salvador

Every trip to El Salvador includes going to the beach and eating as many pupusas as one can handle and this time we even had pollo campero at the beach for lunch. The home is a relaxing place my mom and dad built for our family. I am one who thinks it should be sold because it is hardly ever used and the up keep is expensive but my mom does not believe in letting go of things too easy.

Every five years a new President is elected in El Salvador so I wanted to do my civiv duty and at the same time visit my sister and her family and my mom who was also going to travel from Mexico to vote in this election. I was hoping that Salvadorans would make the right choice but it didn't happen. On March 9 2013 The left wind of rebels won again and they will always manage somehow to win every election because once they are in, they change laws to stay in power. The outcome was too close to call even the night after all the votes were counted. Both candidates claimed victory and the loosing candidate wanted a recount because there was some evidence of fraud and that is why we went out to do a "marcha." to no avail. Once it was over, we would accept the results but they never agree in recounting the votes.

 I had just been to Chile to see José Ignacio's grave and wanted very much to see mamá Hilda's grave as well. I didn't know seven people had been buried there. Even a brother of Lolita and Supi. My grandma had bought eight sites to be used by family members. I am amazed there is only one slot left. This is a tender tipic for me but I sometimes wonder where would my mom want to be buried. I asked her one time and she said, wherever I get to die and now she lives with either Mari or Vane so that means is going to be either in Miami or México, who knows. I hope we don't get to worry about that for a long time.

Trip to Santiago, Chile

We had a chance to visit chile in the month of February for a Cluster meeting with Bishop Davies and as always it was wonderful. The first day we got there was Sunday before the meetings so we went out to see Jose Ignacio's grave. He was born on April 7, 1993 and died July 3, 1993. He was 4 days shy of turning three month. Coming to see his grave was something we wanted to do for a long time and there by this mirecle we were in Chile. I can only imagine the sorrow the family must have felt when this happened in that home where Daniel is standing in front of the gate but what is wonderful to know is that he is in heaven with Jesus and that one day Daniel will get to hug him and I will get to meet him. His life is eternal and he knows he is loved.

The following day, on Feb. 27, 2014 we went to the Church's olive farm to take a tour. What we learned from the tour that the demand for olive oil is greatly increasing so it is profitable. The oil has high level of mono-unsaturated fat compared to vegetable oils and people are becoming more aware of all its benefits. Chile has the perfect climate for these type of plants. The farm is non-labor intensive using the latest technology and the state of the art machinery to do almost all the work to harvest. It is also a welfare reserve. Also US and Chile share a free trade agreement. Chile is a country known for not having corruption, friendly to foreign invetment and very secure. I was amazed at how develoop it has become considering that is in Latin America.

The following days on Tuesday and Wednesday we received the training for the DTA's and their respective wives who attended. We shared a little about our children and Bishop Davies talked about the Proclamation to the Family and Christlike leadership. My favorite part has always been when we have a special ladies meeting. Sister Darla Davies prepared a theme of bees and what they represent. We were given the book by M. Russell Ballard. "One Drop at a Time" a message for women. A quote in the book reads: " There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Chirstian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity.

The following day, we checked out of our hotel and again visited the grave. We noticed the flowers we left on Sunday were gone since they clean up and mow the lawn every week so we got another bouquet of flowers. This time we took a knife and a wash towl to clean the dirt from the stone and cut any grass covering the grave.  We left it immaculate and at peace that we had come to see the place this little baby so dear to the family was buried. The stone reads: Jose I. R de Alemeida Bianco 7-4-1993--- 3-7-1993