Stopping in the Dominican Republic

On Monday, January 17, we spent twelve hours in the air on 3 planes to travel from Salt Lake City, by way of Dallas and Miami before we finally arrived in the Dominican Republic. In Santo Domingo, a city of 3 million people, we participated in 2 additional days of training on the Perpetual Education Fund before heading to our final destination in Trinidad.

The DR is considered a 3rd world country due to widespread poverty. However, it has some amazing natural beauty, including unique flowers and trees and a splendid shoreline. The people are friendly and helpful. The city's skyline is filled with high rise buildings and the church is beginning to have a real presence here with 10 stakes, dozens of branches and a beautiful temple on a hill overlooking the city.

The most interesting memories of our time in the DR include toilets which don't always flush, frequent power outages, and driving city streets where there are no rules!!! No kidding . . . no one stops at stop signs or street lights. Drivers turn left from the far right lane . . . right from the far left lane and everyone takes whatever place on the road where they can stick the nose of their car. The biggest . . . or the most aggressive driver always wins! Driving in Santo Domingo can best be described as a cross between bumper cars at a county fair and a national game of “chicken” involving every driver on the road. This is one experience you have to have for yourself, because there really is no way to describe it in words. I kept my eyes closed much of the time, because driving in Santo Domingo is what we used to describe as an “E-ticket” ride at Disneyland!!!