Week 37 in Tarawa

Two new "Firsts" this week: ROOT BEER and BANANA SPLITS!  We went shopping after the missionary zone conference, and following a tip from the mission president's wife, we went to an obscure little store behind Mary's Hotel and Restaurant called Slim Price.  Lo and behold, they had 24 cans of Mug Root Beer.  I bought all they had for a dollar a can, but then shared some with the other couples, leaving me with 17 cans of root beer.  As of today I still have 15 cans left.  I have marked on my calendar the 15 days over the next few months when I can once again savor my favorite flavor and make root beer floats.  Life is good!

As for the banana splits, Sister Sumner made a wonderful strawberry topping (we actually had already bought some frozen strawberries), used some Neapolitan ice cream and REAL Hershey's chocolate syrup that we brought from New Zealand, added some sliced local bananas, and VOILA!  When you've gone 9 months or more without such treats, they taste extra, extra specially good.






The zone conference was a special treat because all the senior couple sisters made lasagna.  Boy was that a treat.  We listened to 9 missionaries bear their finally testimonies before leaving for home. One of the missionaries going home is Elder Lowe.  He was the one we mentioned in an earlier blog who was "accidently" sent to an outer island that had never had missionaries before.  They met a man who had been praying for them to come who provided them with a place to stay.  Over the next few months, they baptized enough members to start a branch, so they built a small open Maneaba style chapel.  He didn't know he was being transferred until the airplane showed up.  He didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to many of those he baptized.  He said he was angry at first, but that the spirit leaves when we are angry.  He has accepted the change as the Lord's will for him, and will finish the last few weeks of his mission on Tarawa.  What an inspiration to us and all the other missionaries.

Yesterday, Saturday, May 30th, was the Tarawa East Stake dance festival competition.  Every ward and branch has been preparing for this event for weeks.  This picture shows some sisters preparing the garlands their ward's dancers will wear. 

This is a picture of the opening dance which is used to transfer garlands to the judges and guests of honor.  You'll have to imagine the swaying hips because the videos are just too big to download.

We are ALWAYS asked to be judges at these affairs as if we really knew anything about them.  At least this time we were given a rubric in advance and one native judge who could translate the announcements and program for us so we knew which ward or branch we were judging.  Actually, we've done this often enough that we are almost starting to feel comfortable doing it.

The dancing began around 6 p.m. as the sun was setting and continued until about ten minutes after 11 p.m.  The competition was in two parts: first they had to show the type of dance of an assigned south pacific island.  After a wonderful dinner, part 2 consisted of each ward or branch doing their own interpretation of a traditional mat dance.  The dancers were truly amazing.  Their precision and enthusiasm made it a pleasure for us to watch.

Here you can see the mats that cover them as they are seated in front of us.  You would think that the dance movements would be greatly limited by their lack of mobility, but the movement of their heads, arms, hands, and bodies made for a wonderful presentation.  These mat dances also included amazing singing, chanting, and vigorous body slapping, which had to have hurt!

We hope to take some pictures this coming week to show our normal daily routine.  We don't actually spend all of our time at conferences and cultural events, but our blogs may make it seem that way.

Week 36 in Tarawa

 

We thought this past week would be a slow week since it was the break between the 1st and 2nd trimesters.  However, with Tuesday and Wednesday being the Husband and Wife Retreat, and Friday and Saturday being the Young Men/Young Women campout, we found ourselves quite busy.  This picture was taken near the post office in Bairiki.  It shows what happens if you don't clean out your rain gutters regularly!

Tuesday, for the Husband/Wife Retreat, we did the first presentation titled "Equally Yoked".  It fit very nicely with our theme: "Thee Lift Me and I'll Lift Thee and We'll Ascend Together".  The Cultural Hall was beautifully decorated, but most of the administrators and staff were up all night getting it ready.  We wished they had asked us to help.

This is a close up of how each table was decorated.  The green cloth and plant represented new life, and the white, purity.  The ladders were made by Tereke, our woodshop teacher.  They represent the four ordinances needed to reach the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom.

This picture shows the Cultural Hall just before we started.  Notice how we are always put right in front.

The second day of the Husband/Wife Retreat was spent at the Beach Picnic Park on the east side of Betio. Here you can see actual proof that Sister Sumner really did join in the volleyball game.  Not to brag, but her team won!

The sisters are playing musical chairs.  Sister Sumner didn't dare join this fierce competition.

The men also played musical chairs but were not nearly as aggressive as the women.  Elder Sumner did not join in.

He did, however, compete in the sack race, and despite his advanced age, held his own.

Sister Sumner competed in the balloon popping competition. She had a hard time reaching the chair since it was stacked three high and she can barely reach a single high chair.

Elder Sumner was able to get some pretty good hits despite having to use a cricket bat instead of a good old baseball or softball bat.

We were served a lot of traditional food, but didn't taste the lime coconut raw fish.  After the dancing and singing, the senior missionaries left to do some shopping before it got too late.  We found out the next day that we missed a killer water fight where everyone got soaked.

No Kiribati activity is complete without music, singing, and dancing.  We listened to interesting stories of life on Tarawa during World War II when the Japanese occupied the island.  Many of the people who could get away fled to the outer islands. They watched from the beaches of North Tarawa as the Americans invaded Betio from the Lagoon and ocean sides.  The beach we were on was right next to the Japanese guns and fortifications which are still standing.  The people appreciated the kindness of the Americans after having experience over two years of Japanese cruelty. 

Friday we drove to the east end of Tarawa, to the Maneaba on Buota, close to the Buota chapel and the Buota bridge. Friday afternoon the kids played silly but fun games in the shade of the Maneaba.

Later, they played games on the sandy beach.  This game has two teams trying to capture a stick without being caught before getting back to their team.

The kids really go at it.  You can see the second boy in line, Tebati (pronounced teh-BASE), with his face covered in sand.  Tebati is the Young Men's President, and a talented musician.  He just received his mission call to Cebu, Philippines, and enters the Provo MTC on June 15th.

Friday evening we gathered around what they called a bonfire.  You would have thought it too small to be a bonfire, but it worked fine for them.  We stood around the bonfire, sang hymns and listened to testimonies for about a half hour.

After some singing and dancing in the Maneaba, we called it a night.  Sister Sumner and I slept in the cab of the pickup truck.  The boys slept in the Maneaba on the left side of the truck, and the girls slept in the elementary school classroom in front of the truck.

This was a good but exhausting week.  We look forward to getting back to our usual routine next week. We start EDU 330, Classroom Management on Tuesday, May 26th.

Week 35 in Tarawa

It's Sunday afternoon in Kiribati, and we had been wondering what to write about since we have no pictures to comment on today.

Our answer came in a most remarkable yet typically Kiribati way.  We found out last evening around 8:00 p.m. that there would be an Area Conference broadcast from Salt Lake City today at 9:00 a.m.  So much for Sister Sumner's preparations to teach the Relief Society lesson!

Different sources told us different start times: some said it started at 9:00 a.m., other sources told us 9:30.  It turns out they were both right.  Fortunately, we decided to be safe and plan for the earlier time.  At 8:45, as the IT people were checking broadcast connections, we noticed that the screen was showing 45 minutes to start.  But at 9:00 or so, our Stake Presidency began the meeting in order to take care of some stake business and sustainings.  The Area Conference video presentation started at 9:30.  It is the message of that Area Conference that we wish to share in this blog.

Last Sunday, in our regular Sacrament Meeting we had a special guest speaker: Elder Johansson of the Seventy.  Remarkably, the subject of his address was the same as the subject of the Area Conference.  Maybe it's not so remarkable given that we were told today by former Area President Elder Hamula, that this is a Prophetic Priority that has been the subject of their recent training with the First Presidency.

You're probably wondering what this new, amazing priority is.  Let us remind you of Nephi's words that by small means, the Lord can bring about great things. (1 Ne. 16:29)  This is not a new commandment, but a reminder of a very old one, even one of the ten commandments.  Have you guessed?

"Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labor and do all of thy work,
But the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,thou, nor they son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, not thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Exodus 20:8-12

In Exodus 31:16-17 the Lord said to Moses: "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

All three speakers, Elder Hamula, Sister Burton, and Elder Cook, each spoke on this self-same topic.  There was no question about the theme of this Area Conference.

We were reminded of Elder Nelson's talk "The Sabbath is a Delight", the very last talk of this past April General Conference.  "How do we hallow the Sabbath day: In my much younger years, I studied the work of others who had compiled lists of things to do and things not to do on the Sabbath.  It wasn't until later that I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude of the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father.  With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of do's and don'ts's.  When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, "What sign do I want to give to God?"

As you can tell, we were very moved by the messages we received last week and this week.  Elder Johansson even said, "Do you want a temple in Kiribati?  Keep the Sabbath."  What a powerful message of the importance of this commandment.  We feel that it applies very directly to us. Even as we serve a full time mission, we are reminded that the Sabbath isn't for our pleasure, relaxation, or sleeping.  It is a day to turn our thoughts and hearts more completely to serving our Lord and away from the cares of the world. We feel a strong desire to share that message with you, our family and close friends.

We don't often think of keeping the Sabbath as a covenant, but it is.  We encourage you to consider this carefully and discuss it in your family home evenings.  It is a priority of the Prophet. It is a covenant with the Lord that we do always remember him and strive to keep his commandments.

By the way, we finished reading the Book of Mormon again, today.  How are you doing with your Book of Mormon reading?  That was the topic of the Relief Society lesson Sister Sumner was preparing.  The words of President Ezra Taft Benson still ring in our ears. He said the church as a whole was under condemnation for not reading the Book of Mormon.  Are we helping lift that curse?

We love you and pray for you everyday. Here is another beautiful South Pacific Sunrise for you to enjoy.  Love, Elder and Sister Sumner

 

Week 34 in Tarawa

There were two important events at Moroni High School this past week: road work and Mother's Day.  We were saddened to see the whole row of beautiful coconut palms that lined the front fence of the school taken down.  They will be replanted, but it will take years to restore the graceful beauty they gave to the campus.

In this view, you can see how barren the street now looks.  You can also see the main power line to the school lying on the ground partly in the trench and partly on the sidewalk.  We step over the power line every morning when we go for a walk. It appears they are excavating to make room for another sidewalk parallel to the sidewalk against the fence.  Go figure.

 

Saturday evening a Mother's Day celebration was put on by the Young Men and Young Women of the Moroni Ward.  As is the custom, the guests of honor (the mothers) were lined up across the front to be entertained by the dancers.  Sister Sumner is the fifth mom from the left.

This seated dance is a traditional Kiribati dance accompanied by wonderful acapella singing.

The Young Men performed a vigorous slap and stomp dance reminiscent of the Haka you might be familiar with.  The shouting and chanting is fierce.

After the dancing and singing, a wonderful variety of traditional and western food (for the ematangs) is served.  The guests (the mothers) and senior missionaries are always asked to go first so that the hard working dancers and singers have to eat whatever is left, which is usually plenty.

The very next day, Mother's Day Sunday, we were once again treated, this time to cake and ice cream after church.

As you can plainly see, we had a wonderful Mother's Day.  Many thanks to all who shared such warm and heartfelt wishes to Sister Sumner on Mother's Day.

Just a quick reminder: Father's Day is on June 21st!!  (This message was brought to you by the Kiribati Father's Day Committee - Elder Sumner President)

Week 33 in Tarawa

This past Friday, May 1st, marks the 38th anniversary of Moroni High School.  The students and faculty have been working hard all week preparing for this amazing celebration.  We had been here only one week when we last saw such an event, but now we can really appreciate its significance.
This is one of the seven cakes prepared for the celebration.  It represents the good ship Moroni High School which embarked on its journey 38 years ago.
 

Needless to say, we and the Bogh's were asked to be judges.  The students were divided into 6 houses representing 6 outer islands and 6 different church presidents.  This picture shows the beginning of the marching competition with all 6 teams lined up on the soccer field.  What you can't tell from the picture is the incredible heat and humidity the students were suffering through. We were sweltering in the shade of our canopy, but they were out in the full sun.

Each of the 6 houses built small maneabas representing the styles, customs, and cultures of their 6 islands.  Their use of native materials was amazing to us.  This picture shows teachers and students weaving mats and walls from coconut fronds.  Pandanus and banana leaves were used for other constructions.

As we visited each house for judging, the students gave demonstrations and explanations of their native traditions.  Pacific island cultures are dominated by older males, who make all important decisions for the community. There are rules and traditions governing where guests, children, and women are allowed to sit in the maneabas.

 

 One of the most amazing demonstrations we saw was by this young man who showed us how to split a husked coconut with his bare handed karate chop.  He had to try three times because the piece of concrete on the ground kept breaking before the coconut did.

We wonder how they keep from getting sunburned.  Despite being under a shelter most of the afternoon, Sister Sumner still managed to get a nice sunburn around the back of her neck.

In addition to the maneabas they constructed, each house had a wonderful display of native foods common to their island.  The variety was incredible, although many ematongs (white people) turn up their noses at such food as sea worms and raw fish.

Here's another food display.  The crabs looked yummy to us, but not much else.  Fortunately we were not asked to taste test the food.












This island's display included a bathroom.  The people on this island like privacy.  Most islanders use the ocean as a bathroom.  It saves having to flush and keeps the ematongs from swimming in the water.















Sister Sumner and Elder and Sister Bogh are shown sweating away in the shade as they try to decide which marching, dancing, and house and food displays were the best.  While we did come up with a winner, the scoring was very, very close. Fortunately, we didn't have to judge the athletic competitions in the afternoon.  By then we were near heat exhaustion. The entire event went from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., but they all stayed afterwards to help clean up.  By the time the sun went down, everything you see in these pictures was gone. The students still had enough energy to attend a dance that went until 10 p.m.!

 


 On Saturday, May 2nd, we all went shopping together in Betio and Bairiki, which is a second hot, sweaty day in a row as none of the stores is air conditioned.  As you can see, our cupboards are far from bare. Despite the lack of so many foods here, we do OK for ourselves.  You can see why we have not lost any weight while on our mission.  We even have a nice array of power tools in our kitchen (although Sister Sumner calls them kitchen appliances).

Sunday, May 3rd, we broke our fast with an amazing meal.  We roasted, for the first time here, a whole chicken in the crock pot.  It's hard to believe that chickens actually have white meat since most of the bags of chicken parts we buy here consist entirely of legs, wings, and thighs  The whole chicken was about the size of a large pigeon. We also had home-made rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a chocolate cake with home ground coconut and pecan frosting.
One of the best things I've re-learned on our mission is what a great cook I married!! That's what you get when you marry an 8-cow wife.


This video shows a young man husking a coconut in about 25 seconds.  It took me half an hour to husk my first coconut, but I'll do better next time.  We love the fresh shredded coconut we get using our katoui (a native tool for shredding coconut meat out of the shell).