Week 54 in Tarawa

Last Sunday evening a group of 5 elders came by to see if I had heard the BYU - UCLA football score.  I said I hadn't but would look it up.  When I went to the KSL.com game center, there was about 1 minute left in the game, with BYU on the UCLA 42 yard line trailing by 1 point.  Of course they had to stay to see if another Hail Mary pass or even a field goal would save the day.  Alas, it was not to be.  I'm glad they didn't come by today, or they would have been really disappointed with the BYU - Michigan score.

Sisters Sumner and Alldredge decided to help out the family that was baptized a week ago by giving them some clothing.  I think it was just an excuse to go shopping.  In any case, they found some nice things which they will give them soon, along with some practical things like rice and laundry detergent.

The TALL lab is getting really busy again with the October 1st deadline for BYUH applications for Spring Semester 2016 looming.  This is where we spend our Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m.

We did a little shopping on Wednesday, and found some fresh vegetables at Moel's in Betio.  We didn't realize until we got to the checkout counter that this lovely head of cauliflower would cost $31.50.  With the $18.50 head of broccoli we also purchased, we spent $50 AUD (about $37 U.S.) for two pieces of fresh, but rare, vegetables.  It shows how desperate we are for fresh veggies, and how expensive food is here.

On Friday, our mission president called a meeting for all the missionaries on Tarawa.  We didn't have to go, but wanted to be there to hear him and Sister Weir share their messages.  We were really glad we went.  President Weir spoke about Christ's appearance to the Nephites.  Christ, after testifying of Himself and having the 2500 people come forward and touch his hands and feet, repeatedly spoke of baptism and its importance.  It was good to remember the real reason we are serving here as missionaries: bringing souls unto Christ.  This picture shows how some of the missionaries arrived to our meeting.  In the U.S., we'd have a heart attack seeing them riding in the back of a pickup truck.  The elders kindly let the sisters ride inside, but truth be told, the sisters would just as soon have ridden in the back, too.

Saturday morning we went with a group of teachers and students on a "clean-a-thon".  We picked up trash along the main road for about a mile on either side of Moroni High School's campus.  We discovered some new muscles afterward that we hadn't used in a while.  This activity is part of Teacher's Week, and provides a way for teachers to give service to the community.  It also helps clean up the island for the coming visit of the Prince of Monaco.

We stayed on the road, but the students went down to clean the beaches.  All in all, we filled about 30 bags like the ones Sister Sumner is holding in the previous picture.

Saturday afternoon we attended a baptism held right before the Stake Music Festival. There were several members of a family and some single converts.  What a beautiful sight to see their bright and happy faces as they entered the baptismal font.  Elder Sumner was asked to play the piano, which made us late for our next event.

We had just been here a week last year when the Stake Song Festival was held, so this is our second time to attend this event. This is one of the truly great events they have here.  The whole family is involved and there were more people participating than sometimes attend church on Sunday. The music is beautiful. They sang one hymn in English, then one in Kiribati. Then they sang a fun, non-religious song which really spotlighted their love of music and hamming it up.  Every night for the past week, as we walked across campus, we could hear them practicing in the chapel, the choir room, the baking room and sometimes even the basketball court.

It was perfect evening for the event.  The clouds were pink and fluffy with no sign of the torrential rains we had experienced all week.  There was a cool breeze blowing and you can see the full moon in the picture (not to  be confused with the lights on the court).

 We were asked to be judges (big surprise!).  This year we had time to prepare a rubric. This time, also, we knew the two other judges, one is a teacher at the school, and the other has judged other events with us.  It's hard to judge, every ward sings their hearts out but some have access to more professional help.  Moroni was the unanimous winner.  They sang a beautiful hymn called "Keiake" (a Kiribati translation of an old hymn called "Weary Not") and an adaptation of "Country Roads" which they called "Ocean Waves." They were really well performed.

This is one of the wards performing. Notice the children in the front left.

One last picture, we loved the red and white costumes of this group.

In church today, we finally got a new bishop.  Our former bishop, Bishop Banemone, was called as a counselor in the stake presidency several months ago. Our new bishop is Popeieta who is a math teacher at Moroni High School.  He was first counselor to Bishop Banemone.  Our new first counselor is the old second counselor, Teaka, who is our school's IT manager. Our new second counselor is Katokita who works at the I-Mart in Bikenibeu.

I was asked to teach today's "Teachings for our Times" priesthood lesson.  It was deeply moving to once again study Elder Holland's talk from last October's General Conference, "Are We Not All Beggars".  Poverty surrounds us on Tarawa, and we sometimes wonder if we should be doing more to help.  As Elder Holland taught in his talk, we follow the Savior's counsel to "do what we can."  We also fast on the first Sunday of each month and contribute a generous fast offering which goes specifically to help the poor and needy.  We feel the spirit prompt us from time to time to offer help to certain people here as well as to our own family members.  We look forward in our retirement to giving away our material things and to blessing the lives of our children, grand children, and great grand children with material, spiritual, and emotional support.  That will be our next mission before we go on another full-time church mission.

Week 53 in Tarawa

It's hard to believe we've been here one whole year already.  The time has truly flown on wings of lightning.  This past week the electricity has gone out quite regularly around 7:15 a.m., about the time Sister Sumner usually finishes drying her hair.  One morning, however, it went out just as she was getting out of the shower.  This picture, that I took without her knowledge, shows how she dries her hair in the sun and ocean breezes when there's no electricity to power her hair drier.  You might think this very romantic, but it's just another way to deal with life in Kiribati.

This past Thursday, as we were setting up our classroom right after school, Lita, our principal, announced a tsunami warning and told everyone to go home.  Although there has never been a tsunami in Kiribati, everyone dutifully went home.  So we packed up our equipment and also went home.  From what we've read, atoll islands like Tarawa are not usually affected by tsunamis because they are so small and are at the tip of undersea mountains with very steep sides.  The tsunami essentially slides around us, which is OK with us since there is no high ground to escape to here.

This past week one of our elders was flown in from an outer island because of a serious infection on his ankle.  He nearly waited too long before notifying our mission nurse, but even so, he had to have surgery to remove much of the infection.  One of our AP's is staying in the hospital with him, sleeping on a mat on the concrete floor.  One of the Lord's tender mercies: these two elders grew up together, went to school together, played on sports teams together, and their families were good friends.  When you're confined to a somewhat scary place like a hospital in Kiribati, it's nice to have the reassurance of a good friend.

I had never been to the hospital here before.  I could scarcely believe my eyes.  Cats, dogs, crabs, and rats roam freely in and around the halls and grounds.  The deterioration of the facility is sad. Although medical care is free, I wouldn't want to see this happen to our health system in the U.S.

While staying at the hospital, patients are responsible for providing their own bedding.  The hospital does provide food, however, just not a table to eat it on.  The food, while fine by local standards, is not very appealing to western tastes.  We brought some western style food to the elders, for which they were very grateful.

Sister Alldredge, our mission nurse, brought in another pair of elders because one of them needed to have a mole removed and biopsied.  Judging by their smiles, you'd think they were going to Disneyland.

Despite our misgivings about our hospital, it is located on a beautiful site right on the ocean.  Actually, just about every place here is located on a beautiful site right on the ocean!  It is, after all, a very small island.

Last year, when we first arrived, we were told it was the dry season in late summer and fall. We remember how dusty everything was. This year has been an anomaly because of all the rain.  As a result, we have gotten lots of wonderful rainbows.  This one arched a full 180 degrees over the school's Maneaba.

Here's the other end of that same rainbow that Sister Sumner couldn't resist taking pictures of.  I suppose the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow is under water.

As we were driving to attend a baptism at the Temaiku Chapel Saturday, we had to pull over to make way for a house (actually a buila) coming down the road.  We had seen this before, but had never had the chance to take a picture.  Now you know we are telling the truth when we tell you we see houses coming down the road.

We actually attended two baptisms this weekend.  The first was in Bikenibeu where the sisters taught a young man who was baptized on Friday afternoon.

The second baptism was at Temaiku, where three young people were baptized.  We like to attend baptisms to remember the true purpose for our being here: to bring souls unto Christ.

We love to see the children of Kiribati.  They are so beautiful, and have such winning smiles, although this picture doesn't show that very well.  The boy on the left, who was about to be baptized, brought chairs for us to sit on as we looked out over the ocean from the Maneaba cultural hall behind the chapel.

This is the view from the Maneaba cultural hall mentioned above.  We will miss being so close to the ocean when we return to Utah.  We never seem to tire of watching and hearing the breakers roll in.

We took this picture last night to prove that the Lord really does watch out for his missionaries.  Saturday morning I moaned to Sister Sumner that we had only enough Skippy Super Crunch Peanut Butter for one more sandwich.  When you're out of peanut butter, you're out of food, I always say.  Anyway, on the way home from the baptism Saturday evening, even though we didn't really have anything we needed to buy in the way of groceries, we decided to stop at the Imart store to see if they had any freshly popped popcorn.  Lo and behold, a miracle!!  They had Skippy Super Crunch peanut butter, which they had been out of for months.  No, they didn't have any popcorn.  I bought three jars and Sister Alldredge bought one jar.  At a consumption rate of 2 months per jar, I figure I'll have enough Skippy Super Crunch to last until the end of our mission.  The Lord truly blesses those who serve Him. ;-)

Week 52 in Tarawa

 

On Tuesday, September 8th, we had a farewell get together for Tani and Leilani Lasike.  They have been active in our ward since before we came, but now they're returning home to New Zealand.  We had a wonderful beach barbeque with them about 6 weeks ago.  They will be missed in the ward.

 

On Thursday, September 10th we prepared a welcoming meal for the new elders and sister who arrived from the MTC in Provo.  This was our first time helping with an intake, as it's called.  What a wonderful enthusiastic spirit they brought with them.   They loved the spaghetti Sisters Sumner and Alldredge prepared, but we could tell they were dead tired from their long journey.  We were impressed that they already knew the language so well.

While we were at the intake meal, the school had a fashion show to celebrate TVET (Technical Vocational Education and Training) week. Several of the faculty and administrative staff were the models, but the clothing was all sewn by students.

Other TVET activities included cake baking,

Construction,













Agriculture, including raising chickens for egg farming,

and sewing, which was one of the more popular exhibits.  Most of the things on display were for sale, and everything sold out very quickly.  We are always amazed at what the student are able to do with so little.

The reason all the exhibits were indoors this year was that it rained all day, and not just a little bit.  It poured all day, which is very unusual for this time of year.  We had to laugh when we say this student washing her hair in the rain water coming off the roof.

The final event of the week was a TVET beauty contest, with representatives from each TVET area vying for student votes.  The teachers came out wear sashes, and after a short talk about their TVET area had to demonstrate a talent.  Most demonstrated dancing,

 

but the cooking representative hilariously demonstrated how to get fat very quickly by cooking.

 

Miss TVET kept the students laughing with her antics.

But the one that got the most laughs was when one of the male teachers came out as Miss TVET!

This week was made extra special by the arrival of a care package.  This is only the 3rd box we've had sent to us because they're so expensive.  This box cost $86 to send.  You can see why fragile items do not survive the journey.  However, the treats contained therein seemed worth it to us.  In addition to the items we asked to be sent, Becca snuck in some of Sister Sumner's favorite grapefruit gummy candy.  Even simple things can become appreciated when one is so far away from home.  I am already drooling to taste the Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce.



On a final note, we had Sister Pasina and Sister Rourou for dinner Friday evening.  After eating, they always present a spiritual thought.  Sister Pasina touched our hearts as she related an experience her father had with obeying the Law of Tithing.  Her family was going through difficult financial times, and her dad had to make a decision to pay tithing or buy food.  He decided to pay tithing on Sunday.  Monday evening, when she and the family sat down for dinner, the children asked where the food was.  The dad said that they should say a prayer first.  After the prayer, he explained that there was no money to buy food because he had paid his tithing.  The family was preparing to go to bed hungry when there was a knock at the door.  Their bishop was there with a large tray of food and explained that they had had a family gathering and he had been impressed to gather all the left over food and take to their family.  He didn't know that they were going hungry.  After telling us her story, we told of our experiences as a dirt poor young married couple.  We had had a similar experience when a neighbor, Lewis Pope, brought us a box of food.  While we are not always blessed so immediately for obedience, but firmly believe and testify that the Lord knows our needs and he knows our hearts.  As we do our best to follow Him, He will watch over us for good.

 

Week 51 in Tarawa

Sorry we didn't publish our blog on our usual schedule.  We had several unplanned things come up Sunday morning, afternoon, and evening.  In the morning, we received a visit from Tioromaia, Iutita, and their 7 month old daughter, Gloria Richard.  This picture shows me giving Gloria her very first piano lesson.  She had never touched a piano before, and it was obvious she was delighted.  Once she figured out how to make sounds by pushing the keys, she pushed my hands away when I tried to play along with her.

 Later that afternoon, while Sister Sumner was cooking for the sister missionaries' dinner that evening, Tioromaia came over so I could help him with the conference talk on which he was to base his high council talk, Elder Nelson's talk "Call the Sabbath a Delight.  Then we had Sister Tiatia and Sister Pasina over for dinner.  It wasn't our dinner sign up date, but we noticed that morning that no one had signed up for Sunday.  Once again, we've had a busy week.




Monday and Tuesday Sister Sumner and I presented discussions on the Seminary and Institute training talks given in Salt Lake in August. These next two pictures show some of the discussions involving our teachers hamming it up.  Boutara is playing the guitar while singing a song she made up about SIOP.

 

Titeebwa, on the far left, had everybody cracking up with her antics.

I always get asked to be a recorder.  The teachers were amazingly frank about the lists of things they are not doing that they should be doing, like coming to school on time.

We had a gigantic visitor in our kitchen this past week.

Well, OK.  He wasn't so gigantic after all.  We actually were glad he was just a cute little feller.

 

We had a regional youth conference on the school campus this past week.  It went very well until the closing dance on Friday evening.  Right in the middle of the dance, a heavy rainstorm suddenly hit.  At first everyone scattered to take shelter, but within a few minutes, everyone was back on the basketball court dancing in the rain.  This is a sight we would never see in the U.S.

With all the rain we've been having, the delicate pink flowers that make up the Moroni H.S. emblem were in full bloom again.  We hadn't seen these since last spring.











Finally, while we were in the S & I training last Monday, the Elders and Sisters went on a P-day hike to Broken Bridge.  In this picture they are pretending to be jumping off the bridge.  Fortunately, no missionaries were soaked in the filming of this picture.
One last thought from our S&I training. As we seek to come closer to our Savior, we should often ask ourselves these 2 questions:
1.  What am I doing that I need to stop doing?
2.  What am I not doing that I need to start doing?  We pray our mission is blessing us to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ.