Week 67 in Tarawa

This has been a busy week culminating in a wonderful Christmas.  We started out the week by FINALLY putting up some Christmas lights in our front window.  I wouldn't call  it nagging, but Sister Sumner had to remind me several times that Christmas was getting closer every day!

On Monday, December 21st, the Service Center held a "Vendor's Fair".  We hadn't planned on being involved, but several of the choir members came over asking if they could borrow the piano I had borrowed over the school break from the choir room.  After I delivered and set up the piano, they asked if I could play for them.  How can I turn down accompanying Christmas carols the week of Christmas.  Then they asked us if we would like to participate in the Vendor's Fair and join them for lunch afterwards.  That and our Family Home Evening pretty much took up the entire day and evening.

On Tuesday, as I was repairing the broken music stand on the chapel piano again, I heard mewing coming from underneath the pulpit.  I reached under and found this kitten that was quite hungry because the chapel had been locked up and the mother cat had been unable to get in to feed it.

I tried to feed it some cow's milk, but it obviously wanted nothing to do with it.

Finally, I asked the guards to find the momma cat (we call it the cripple cat because it limps on a badly broken hind leg and has only a raw stump of a tail).  After a few sniffs, she picked up the kitten and took it elsewhere on the campus to feed it.

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without Sister Sumner's famous cinnamon twists and English toffee.  We prepared gifts like this for each of the other senior missionaries, including President Weir, who will be here over Christmas.  Sister Weir is resting back at the mission home in Majuro recovering from foot surgery after breaking her foot.

While delivery some of the English toffee and cinnamon twists, we spent too much time visiting.  By the time we returned to our apartment, we found the last batch of cinnamon twists baked just the way I like them!

On Wednesday evening, we got together to stuff Christmas bags with goodies for the young elders and sisters.

On Thursday evening, Christmas Eve, we got together and decorated gingerbread men and brownie Christmas trees.

Elder and Sister Waldron had quite the artist touch with their improvised bags of colored frosting.

We all thought they turned out very professionally.

Our Christmas day started at 7 a.m. with sisters coming over to use our phone and computer to visit with their families on other nearby Pacific islands.  Elders and sisters from the U.S. had to wait until Saturday to make their Skype calls because we are 17 hours ahead of the states.

Sister Sumner put to work some of the sisters who were waiting their turns to call.  She also cooked a few dozen pancakes for breakfast for the hungry sisters as well as 48 hamburgers for the missionary lunch scheduled for noon.

Here we are feeding the hungry elders and sisters.  While there weren't 5000, and we started with more than 2 loaves and 5 fishes, it was still a miracle.

While there was not a single flake of snow, we still had a white Christmas.  In the afternoon of the 24th, we had 14 baptisms.

While it's hard to see in the picture, the breakers rolling in kept knocking the young girl about to be baptized off her feet, so another elder went out to help steady her.

We had quite a crowd of both members and nonmembers come to watch.  This picture shows the unfortunate polluted condition of many of the beaches on Tarawa.

Here's another picture of the elders and sisters enjoying American style hamburgers and macaroni salad for their Christmas lunch.

This is a picture of the senior couples along with our mission president, President Weir, front center.  We were disappointed that the chief organizer of our missionary lunch, our mission nurse, Sister Alldredge, fell ill on Christmas day and missed the lunch.  From left to right in the front row are Sister Jenks, Sister Sumner, President Weir, Sister Olson, and Sister Waldron.  From left to right in the back row are Elder Jenks, Elder Sumner, Elder Olson, and Elder Waldron.

Right after the lunch, I set up my computer and projector and we all watched a movie called Freetown, about some elders in Africa who had to flee for their lives from a civil war.  In this picture, however, we see the results of a "Hunger Games" style water fight.  It was great fun to watch everyone running around like crazy but enjoying getting soaked anyway.

On Sunday, December 27th, I was asked to accompany a musical number at the Bikenibeu 1st Ward.  As it turned out, I played the piano for the whole sacrament meeting, including the Primary program.  While I had no idea it was happening, I think the Lord did, and I was as grateful as they were to be able to provide piano accompaniment.

After our Sacrament Meeting this afternoon, the Moroni Ward had a nice dinner for everyone.  With school being out for the break, we only had about 40 people attend today.

In retrospect, we have had a wonderful Christmas.  While there was only the simplest of gift giving, and no Christmas shopping to speak of, we truly felt the spirit of Christmas.  We felt the love of God manifest by the gift of His only begotten Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  This has been a Christmas we will never forget.