Beginning of a new adventure

October 6, 2012

Judy and I have had a few days with little scheduled.  It's funny how when nothing is scheduled that a lot comes along and needs attention, anyway.  We are able to catch up on a few things, tie up some loose ends and do some longer-range planning.  We usually plan at least a week ahead and confirm our plans the night before.  We also have time to update our blog.  The last time was nearly a month ago.
  Elder Dick and Sister Joyce Wells visited us from the area office in Fiji to do training in conducting audits and in general financial procedures for the church wards/branches.  Judy and I got to go with them to help them get where they needed to go for the trainings.

Front row is Bishop Terere and Pres. Maamau.  Other bishoprics are in back for the training.

 We had the Wells attend a senior couples dinner (l to r Elder Ogborn, Val, Judy, Elder & Sister Wells, Elder & Sister Thorne, Sister Ogborn.

 Elder Tuilahangingie and Elder Ulutui had a whole family join the church together.  The mother is a widow with her 4 children in the Buota Branch on the northern end of Tarawa.

 Banking is interesting.  Customers play musical chairs as they wait in line.  Chairs are provided for everyone to sit in while they wait their turn with one of the 3 tellers for cash transactions.  As one customer goes up, everyone gets up and shifts one seat until they come up for their turn.

If we get to the bank at 9:00 a.m. when they open, we don't have to wait, but later in the day and on Fridays, it may take an hour to get your turn.  Judy uses the time to write in her journal or play with kids in line with their parents.

 On the right, you can see the roof of the new chapel being built for the Temwaiku Branch.  They currently meet in a wooden three-room building they built.

 The view from inside the chapel under construction is spectacular.

 This will be the cultural hall, which won't have walls.  Open sides lets the breeze come through and keeps it cooler.  The chapel is attached to this and has walls with windows.

 Judy and I flew on a charter plane to Tabetewea (Tab North) with President Maunga to visit the 2 branches of the church there.  There are only about 6000 people on the island.  It is pretty long and has a lot of open space between villages, with lots of coconut palms.

 Brentia and President Maunga by the 6-passenger plane we flew about an hour and a half in to get there.

The normal transport on the islands is an open truck.  This truck took us the 1-hour ride from the air strip to the Kabuna Branch.  We were late because the plane left an hour late, but they were waiting patiently for us at the air strip, and others at the church for a branch conference.

They had never had a branch conference and didn't know that we were supposed to have sacrament meeting, so a meeting was put together quickly.  Two people were called on to speak before they turned the time to Judy, me and President Maunga to speak.  Following the sacrament meeting, they had a meal prepared for us.  As usual, they had us eat first, then the  men, then the women and children.  That is their custom.

Elder Banks, with Elder Tarobwa, serve both branches on the island.  They live by the chapel at the other branch, though, in Utiroa.

 A causeay bridges a gap between the land on the atoll.

 At right, you can see that they have built a little gate to trap fish in the little lagoon that are brought in by the high tide, making them easier to catch when the tide goes out.

 Between villages looks like this.

 At left is the president of the Kabuna Branch.  He and his clerk (flowered shirt on the right) came to the Utiroa Branch meeting after their meeting so we could conduct an audit. The smiling man on right is Berentia, who came with us to check on projects the church has on the island.

 The Utiroa Branch had another meal for us before we left.  Judy got to speak in their sacrament meeting, along with President Maunga, but I was conducting the audit, so didn't eat with them.

 The women are always so gracious in preparing and serving wonderful food:  usually fish, rice, breadfruit and maybe some chicken.  This time they also had sea turtle, which is a little tastier than chicken. 

 President Maunga (Sam) sits in the corner of the truck.  Elder Tarobwa is left and a counselor in the branch stands on the right.

 The kids are always friendly, but sometimes shy.

 The Utiroa Branch has a nice chapel.  The little building with 2 doors in back is the restroom.  Behind that is the missionaries' flat.

Brentia, a counselor, President Sam, a counselor, Elder Bush

 Bro. Mortekai, a member of the Utiroa branch and a teacher in the local school, ponders a selection of food.  He had to really encourage the people to go ahead and eat before me, since I was still conducting an audit.









President Shaw came for a short few days, during which we had a zone conference.  Sister Bonnemort is trying to get a picture with her IPad of those standing at the front.

Front:  Elder Bush, Elder Norman
2nd row: Elders Anderl,  Butterfield
Sweep of room from L to R:
Elders Whippy, Tuilahangingie, Lewis, Mahe, Ulutui, unknown, Raizor, Elder Thorne, Teira, Sister Thorne.



Ant bites on Judy's ankle below, prompted a reaction on her foot, lower right.

 

Sister Bonnemort, mission nurse, drained the huge blister on top of her foot, which developed while she was speaking to the stake Relief Society in a fireside the night after the bites.

Sunrise on the island of Abemama.  The little hut on the left was a sleeping room I used the 2nd night -- much cooler.

President Maunga (Sam) and I flew on Air Kiribati to Abemama to hold training with the branch of the church.

The plane holds 17 passengers, the runway is gravel, and the plane flies about 2 times/week.

The Abemama branch that met on Sunday: the boy on the far right with blue tie was baptized in the ocean the night before.

The bedroom above was my hotel room the first night, with a mosquito net suspended above the bed.  It is dropped over the mattress at night so you don't worry about bites.  Even with the louvered window open, it was still hot, so I slept in the outdoor buia (shown below, but tilted sideways) the second night.

At right is the hotel shower (left side) and toilet (right side) that required getting a pan of water from the shower to flush.  It was better than just being outside.

Elders Maddy and Ataata live in a little hut built by the maneaba that is used for the church.

The inside of their quarters is pretty simple.  Their mats are on a coral gravel  floor.  Their clothes are either in a suitcase or hung from a cord strung across the ceiling.  They have a small table in one corner on which to position their water filter, which they handpump rainwater through for drinking and cooking.

Below, you see their shower and toilet facilities.  They stand on the concrete slab and have bucket showers.  The concrete commode at right is flushed with a bucket.  The pump for the water is a hand pump outside.

The 13-year-old boy will be baptized next month, following his parents, who joined last month.  The 15- and 17-year old girls are members of the church.

These are the parents of the boy above.  They fed us a great meal, including green peppers and cherry tomatoes they grew.

Back on Tarawa, the two stakes held a youth conference.  They had classes during the day and activities at night.  The kids really enjoyed getting together.  An  American seminary teacher from Fiji came and taught them some games that they really enjoyed.  He spoke to them, also.  His name was Bruce.

Bruce said someone once told him that the mission of the church in the islands can be summed up in 2 words:  Build capacity.