Visit to the Parliament Building

A visit to the Parliament Building was arranged by one of the teachers at the school. The Parliament was not in session so no Parliament members were around.

The two triangle shapes on the sides of this building represent  Kiribati sail boats.

Above is a restaurant that we found while touring. The chef, also the manager,  gave us all a drink for free.  That turned out to be good PR.   We came back another day with more missionaries and tried it out.  It was pretty good.  The chef had cooked on a large German Container Ship for the crew.  He does a good job and is a member of the Church.  It is one of our favorite places to eat now.

Visit to the Airport

We went with Elder and Sister Wall to the Airport to send packages and a Bicycle to an outer Island for the Missionaries. While we were there waiting to see if any packages came in from the Marshall Islands, we had dinner at the Titarbakti Cafe. "Ti" in Kiribati has the "S" sound. Sound the name of the cafe out. Do you think four LDS Missionaries should have been there?

We also drove out to Check out an LDS Church, that was nearby, to see what Facilities it has. The area President is coming to Tarawa and will be holding a Zone Conference in that Chapel. The top picture below is "us driving down the airport runway to get to the end where the road goes to the right. Planes only come two or three times a week so the runway is used as a road sometimes. Also there are no landing lights, and it is used by local people to sleep on.

Just more sunsets for fun.

Celebrations

The Stake Cultural Celebration

Dancing and Food

One of the Missionaries from the United States participated with one of the Wards. His name is Elder Smith. He came away with the Prize for the best Dancer.

A First Birthday Celebration

Dancing and Food

Other Celebrations

Shopping

These are pictures of some of our shopping experiences.  Most of the places are run down and could use some paint and better lighting.  After going in some of the grocery stores, you need to wash your hands.  Some places do try to clean a little.  The food prices are extremely high and from what we hear, have about doubled in the last year.  If you want something, you need to purchase it when you see it, because it might not be there again.  If you want it, you pay the price or go without. Sometimes you will see shoes for sale, they may have many pairs of shoes but they are all the same style and size.

Bananas are sold along the side of the road. They a displayed is big bunches. You tell the person which ones you want and how many. They will then cut them loose and hand them to you. The price seems to vary according to the whim of the salesperson and sometimes according to the color of your skin. We seem to be charged just a little more than the local people.

Across the Island to Watch the Sunset

Every once is a while we make the long journey from the Ocean Side of the Island, where we live, to the Lagoon Side of the Island to watch the sunset. Despite the great effort it takes and the dangers we may face, the view is always worth it. The return trip is often the most difficult because we have to travel back in the dark. Who knows what lurks in the  center part of the Island.

These are pictures of what we see.

We actually can walk to the Lagoon side of the Island in 5 minutes or less. And that's at Elder Bogh's 'fast' pace. All we have to do is walk to the front gate of the school which we can see from our front window. Turn left a hundred yards and cross the road which is supposed to be a two lane road, but is not much more than one lane and guess what?  There we are.

Kiribati Taxi

There is only one road that goes the length of South Tarawa. People catch rides with the "Transports" that travel up and down the road. Some of the Transports are covered, some are open. Some are vans and some are actual buses. There seems to be no limit as to the number of passengers that can ride. Sometimes people just walk. There are no sidewalks so they walk at the edge of the road or in the road as vehicles rumble by, splashing water or raising a cloud of dust. It only takes a few hours to go from splashing to dust.

The school has a nice new bus that is used to take students on field trips. It sometimes takes students to and from school. But because of insurance purposes cannot pick up other passengers, so it travels the road with a sign in the window that says "SORRY."

Journey to Abaiang #2

Going south along the island of Abaiang, we went ashore at the home of a member family.

They were very hospitable, preparing coconuts for us. Sister Casita is good friends with the family and brought gifts and other things. The Rasmussens brought a number of books to help the mother set up a preschool.

The family's multi room home is shown here.  Above the man is preparing coconuts for us to drink.

They have rooms for sleeping and visiting.  Above on the lower right side is the kitchen.

The children are holding up their new books.  We have been drinking the water from the coconuts.  In the ceiling you can see a knife and other storage items.

The shoreline and getting ready to return to Tarawa.

We are headed back to the boat for the return trip home.  Everyone has been very hospitable and even sent us home with more coconuts.

Journey to Abaiang

In a small boat named the Riaona (Kiribati for Liahona) we set out into the Ocean for a trip to what is called an outer Island.

We traveled across the Lagoon and around the north end of Tarawa then across the open ocean to the Island of Abaiang. We went with Elder and Sister Wall, Elder and Sister Rasmussen and Sister Casita along with a driver and an assistant. We went to get a Flat ready for two sister missionaries.

This is a picture of Tarawa as we looked back at it. Elder Bogh is on the boat. The Walls are watching as we continue to leave.  We pass this boat just setting on the coral because the tide was out. We had to stop the boat here.

We wade across to the land packing the things which are needed for the Flat.

This is looking down the shoreline.

The flat where the new sister missionaries will be staying is on the left. It is on the same property as the church building shown in the other pictures. The interior of the Church is shown.

  

Some of the neighboring homes are shown below. After we arrived and started working on the Flat, it began to rain.

The senior sisters made curtains for the flat.  We had to use the electricity at the Church as well as at the apartment because it was solar powered with a battery backup on a cloudy day and it was quite limited. You could not use the iron and the sewing machine at the same time.

While the boat was out on the reef the tide kept coming in; so, it was able to get closer to shore. We were able to get in the boat and move down the island to see a family that are members of the church.  This family had a very faith promoting experience.  The father was lost at sea for three months, but later found alive.  Someone from the Church came and took pictures and is writing about it.

This adventure will be continued at a later time.