Week of Sept 25, 2011

25 September, 2011 - WARD CONFERENCE WEEK

Ward Service Project - Most of the Ward
are students from Moroni High School

Today was Ward Conference, the talks at Sacrament meeting were very good.  The Bishop spoke as well as the Ward Relief Society President, Elder John Tune - who just returned from a mission in Sacramental, California bore his testimony.  The final speaker was Pres. Tune, the stake president.  All the talks were excellent.  Saturday evening we attended a baptism for a young man and young lady.  The baptism was very spiritual once it finally started (it was an hour late, because the missionaries had problems getting there.  The young man was in his early twenties and as part of the service he and his sister sang a song.  They had very good voices, he also bore his testimony as did the other sister who was being baptized.  The services were in Kirbati, so we only understood some of it, but the Spirit was present in abundance.  There was a good turnout of family and young adults to support them.  I think they might both converts are from part member families.

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Elder Thorne and the Ogborns leading songs at the
service project.

Yesterday we went with the youth on a service project to clean up the area by the causeway outside of Betro (the site of the Battle of Tarawa).  The youth left about 5:30 am in 4 flat bed pickups.  There were over 50 students in the second pickup (including those sitting on the cab of the roof.  They drove about 10 miles to the area where they were to clean up.  There were no trash bags, so the trash was stacked up in piles about every 100 feet for over a mile or more.  Eventually they ended up in a park that borders the ocean on both sides for breakfast and lunch.

They arrived at the park about 8:30 am expecting breakfast, which finally arrived at 10 am.

We tried to entertaining them for a while singing old camp and scout songs but eventually we ran our of ideas, so the students all did their own things.  Right after breakfast three students began cooking chicken over an open fire with a large grill.  The fuel used was copra which is compressed coconuts until it becomes like ground up charcoal, only it comes in a sack and looks like gooey mud but it burns very well.  There is a factory on the island owned by the Taiwanese that produces by products from coconuts. They cooked a very large cooler of chicken legs.  It took about 4 hours to cook it all, but they stayed with it and it tasted very good.  With a couple large dutch ovens I could have sped up the process, but it was interesting to see how it was cooked on the island

Cooking Chicken Legs on a large grill using copra from
coconuts as the fuel

While we were waiting for breakfast to arrive, one of the adult supervisors borrowed our van to go back to Moroni High to see why the food hadn’t arrived.  As soon as he got in the van, students started jumping in the van, in the back and every where.  The van which had 3 bench seats ended up with 27 students in the van as it drove away.

Another beautiful sunset from our yard

Sister Thorne's picture of a sea urchin and of her toes 

A pretty flower that grow on trees near the ocean

Interesting root structure on some pandanus trees near the ocean

       Going back to the missionary work: Sister Thorne taught her institute classes. She meets with the same group of students on Thursdays for two hours, during that time she teaches two different lessons. Then repeats the same lessons on Thursdays with a different group of students. She also taught the Gospel Doctrine class. She spends much time preparing and is an excellent teacher.

        I held my first college class on Wednesday - over all it went OK, but the projector and my computer were having issues with each other as I tried to show a powerpoint lesson. The class was able to see most of the slides, but it was a good example of how not to use technology. I hope we can work out the bugs before the class on Wednesday. When you are technology impaired it becomes a challenge.

        I also found out the class by Brother Yerman from New Zealand was teach over the internet and phone bridge encountered several technological and scheduling issues. The original plan was that we would facilitate the course but instead he asked if the ITEP couples would teach it. The class also lasts for two hours and will be on Thursdays, so I will teach twice a week now. Brother Yerman will meet with us each Friday to discuss what need to be taught the following week. He has provided a syllabus and some video clips for the class. They are breaking in a couple of "greenies" really fast to the work.

        The Michigan Test, which is used to test students knowledge of English will be the third week in November. We are responsible to administer the test to approximately 100 students. Sign up for the test will start this week and we will provide some study sessions where students can take practice tests. A score of 75 is required for students to go to BYU Hawaii so it is very important to them.

         It was like Christmas this week, five flat mail packages arrived. Three of which we sent and two which Carrie sent which included some letters, some dried cranberries, jerkey and almonds. It was a nice surprise. We were told to bring a lot of mosquito repellant, sunburn lotion and other things. So far we haven’t seen only a few mosquitos and we work indoors most of the time so we have only used the sunburn lotion once. We will probably give it to the Elders working in the outer islands.

Signing off until next update!!

Elder and Sister Thorne at the MTC in Provo pointing at the map showing where Tarawa, Kiribati is located.  We were at the MTC for two weeks, because they were remodeling some of the dormitories we stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Provo.  The first week of training was on "Preach my Gospel".  We were trained in small groups by recently returned young missionaries  The second week Monday thru Wednesday was S&I (Seminary and Institute).  The training was excellent by seminary and institute teachers.  Thursday and Friday we went the Church office building in Salt Lake to receive Perpetual Education Fund training.  We didn't know about the PEF training until we got to the MTC, so we had to do laundry and the time for packing was cut two days short when we returned to Richfield.

View of Auckland from our 16th floor room in the Spencer Hotel  

We stayed six days in New Zealand  at the Area Office for ITEP training.  New Zealand is a beautiful green country.We were there in the winter, so we can only imagine what spring would be like.

The beautiful New Zealand Temple in Hamilton.  

Unfortunately it was closed for cleaning when we visited it.  

We are staying at the Spencer Hotel in Takapuna Beach - near Auckland.  We have a great view of Auckland from our sixteenth floor room.  It is about two blocks away from the LDS church office for the South Pacific, where we have been receiving our ITEP (International Teacher Education Training) from Elder and Sister Ronnenkamp, Brother Bruce Yerman, and Brother Wayne Mauer the director of Seminary and Institutes in the South Pacific.  Brother Yerman’s father won a gold medal in the Olympic in the 4 by 100 relay many years ago.  The South Pacific Area Presidency is also housed in the building.   

       
The training is primarily focused on working with Moroni High School staff to build their capacity and deliver education courses through BYU Hawaii so they can obtain their teaching certificates and/or bachelor degrees.  Yesterday we had a Skype call with John Bailey, the Dean of Education and Seminary and Institutes (S&I) at BYU Hawaii.  We met him a few weeks ago at the ITEP reunion in Logan.  He is part Mauri and is very bright but really “laid back.”  His wife is full Mauri, she was also at the reunion.

      
After our training yesterday we drove to the top of an extinct volcano overlooking Auckland and the Pacific Ocean.  It was a great view, Janis was able to get some great pictures.  Today is Saturday and we are going with the Ronnenkamps to Hamilton to see the Temple and the Church College.  Unfortunately the temple is closed for cleaning for two weeks so we will be unable to do a session.  We look forward to driving through the country side.

      
We just returned from Hamilton where we saw the beautiful New Zealand Temple, the Church College, and the visitor center.  It is winter here, but the flowers are in bloom and the country side is green every where you look.  The temple was closed for cleaning but we were able to go to the visitors center and talk with the missionaries and couple assigned there.  We also walked around the temple grounds it was beautiful.  As we traveled the dairy farms and rolling hills went on and on.  It was winter there but everything was still green and flowers were in bloom, what a beautiful country.  

       
The rolling hills are mostly dairy farms and other agriculture crops.  It was a wonderful outing.      On the way back we stopped at a mall and ate in the food court and later stopped for “Tip Top” ice cream cone made locally (very delicious).  Tomorrow we will drive about 40 miles to church where the Ronnenkamps have been asked to attend.  It was a very enjoyable day.

       
We are staying in a wealthy part of town with many stores, restaurants, and other businesses.  The first night here we New Zealand Lamb.  It was very good.  Last night we ate at a Thai restaurant.  Janis likes some noodle dishes at a small take home (called take away in New Zealand).  She must like it we have eaten there twice in three days. There are some interesting phrases in NZ: an ice cooler is a chilly bin; take out food is take away; the elevator in the hotel is called a lift; skim milk is trim milk; just to name a few.

      
We have been trying to get enough Australian currency (about $3000) before we leave for Tarawa to pay the rent for three months, because we can only get $200 at a time and each transaction costs $6.00.  We can only with draw $500 per card per day from the ATMs so it is a multi day task.  Then we will need to take the New Zealand currency to the bank and exchange it for Australian.

       
Sunday were drove about 40 miles to the North to attend Church with the Ronnenkamps in the Ward they were assigned to attend.  It was a smaller chapel but the Spirit was there in abundance.  The Bishop was a very large man who played professional rugby for 17 years with South Africa.

        
On Monday we completed our ITEP training and did laundry and packed our bags.  The training we received during the six days was very valuable in helping us understand our assignment in teaching the teachers and working with students and school administration.

The hotel we stayed at in Fiji

Tuesday we went to the airport to catch a 1:00 PM flight to Nadi, Fiji on Air Pacific.  Fortunately we go there in plenty of time because our carry on bags were weighed and were to heavy so we had to repack.  They only allow 22 Kilos or 50 pounds per passenger, so we ended up paying nearly $700 extra for our baggage.  The Church will reimburse us.  We also had to pay $120.00 in Los Angeles for our extra suit cases.

      
We finally landed in Fiji and cleared customs and checked in our hotel.  The one Fiji clerk whispered to me there was some missionaries from the Marshall Islands.  Did I know a Thomas Shaw.  I told her it was our mission president, she quietly told me he was in room 207.  So when we got to the room I called and Sister Shaw answered and invited us to join them for supper.  There was an Elder Kittering from Indiana and Elder and Sister Burton who were all traveling to Tarawa for a Zone Conference.  Dr. Burton is the Pacific Area physician so he travels to meet with the missionaries to educate them on health issues and treat any health problems.  They flew out a day before us, so we will see them when we arrive Thursday. 

       
The first night in Fiji Pres. and Sister Shaw were staying in the same hotel so we went to supper with them and got introduced.  We had wondered when we would be able to meet them.  They flew to Tarawa the day before us for a Zone Conference.

         
President Shaw worked the Utah Air National Guard for 37 years with the last two with the National Guard Bureau in Washington D.C.  They served a mission in Spain in the temple and upon returning to West Valley to live after a short time they were called as a Mission President and only had three weeks to report to the MTC for training.  The previous mission presidents daughter was in a serious car accident and eventually they were released early to care for her. We stayed at a hotel in Fiji, the flowers and trees in the inner court were beautiful.

We took a tour of a Fijian village, it was interesting with ladies 

 at the entrance selling all kinds of homemade Fijian artifacts

Wednesday we went on a tour to a Fijian Village.  We saw some spectacular scenery overlooking the ocean and then went to the village.  It was interesting but woman doing the tour spoke so softly your mother couldn’t hear let alone an old deft duffer like me.  

        
We then went to the former estate of Raymond Burr of Perry Mason fame.  He had planted hundreds of varieties of orchids as part of a rain forest near the coast.  For being winter in Fiji the flowers trees and every thing was green and luscious.  We walked around on a wooden path.  Into a rain forest where the trees and vegetation were extremely beautiful.  The water ponds had small fish in them and the trees had some interesting shapes and varieties.  The tour was somewhat pricey but it gave us a view of Fiji that makes one want to return.  I can’t imagine the beauty in the spring after viewing the winter vegetation.  We had to be at the airport by 2:30 am on Thursday to catch our 4:30 am flight.  So we sat around for a few hours trying to kill time.

Raymond Burr of Perry Mason fame, while living in Fiji planted hundreds of different varieties of Orchids as part of a beautiful rain forest.  The flowers and vegetation were stunning.

 Elder Thorne standing in the large roots of a rain forest tree, 

thinking man would I like to have some of this wood to make bowls out of.

 The plant on the left is interesting, what it is we have no idea 

but it sure was unique

More interesting  plants, trees, and flowers.  There is no doubt we want to return to Fiji 

and spend a lot more time visiting this beautiful country.

TARAWA AT LAST

This is our new home for the next 17 months, 
it is modest but is very comfortable with air conditioning.

View of the ocean from our back porch, which is only about 30 feet to the sea wall.  

We hear the waves crashing against the rocks as the high tide comes in every three hours.  Hearing the waves is very relaxing, maybe it will help me be more laid back.  Don't worry, Be happy!

Another view of the ocean from our back fence at low tide. 

 It is a beautiful view and a very peaceful

Every evening the sunsets are spectacular and nature
gives us a treat, which is candy for the eyes.

This is the coconut tree in the front yard, 

the coconuts are about ready to be harvested.  

The coconuts are inside a green outer layer about 3 inches thick.  You have to take a large butcher knife to hack though the outer skin to find the coconut inside.  But the taste is worth the effort.

We stopped at the school briefly to introduce our selves and see our office there.  The principal Lita and her vice principal are attending a principals conference in Samoa.  We did meet her briefly at the airport.  She was departing on the same plane we were on.

On Friday we attended a zone conference at the stake center with Pres. and Sister Shaw.  Elder and Sister Burton who we met in the area office were also there.  Dr. Burton is the medical advisor for the South Pacific area.  There were about 24 Elders and 4 Sister missionaries on Kiribati who were there.  It was fun to meet and visit with them.  We were asked to bare our testimonies along with some of the Elders and Sisters.  The training was primarily out of the missionary hand book.  

In the afternoon we went with Elder and Sister Ogborn from Orem to Beitro to get our drivers licenses and to shop for groceries.  All the horror stories about not being able to buy this and that have proved untrue or perhaps the boat had recently landed because there were many fruits and vegetables and many other things we heard you could get there.  The Ogborns picked us up at the airport and invited us to their house for supper.

Later Friday evening all the senior couples went to a restaurant “Mary’s” for a late supper.   It was a long drive there.  We had traveled the same road three times that day.  The roads are narrow and there are kids playing near the edge of the road day and night.  It will be an adventure driving here.  The couples at supper were Pres. and Sister Shaw, The Ogborns, The Burtons, The Christensens (he is an oral surgeon and will be the temporary medical contact until a new couple arrive.  The other couple is the current nurse and her husband who are traveling back to the Marshall Islands.

Lita (the principal) told the acting principal and the school counselor Mary and one other teacher to give us the royal treatment in welcoming us to kiribati.  So first of all the gave some beautiful flower lei's and then took us to lunch at the Chineese (that is how they spelled it) restaurant.  The lunch was served family style with each of us ordering one dish.  The food was very good. Imagine our surprise when we saw a picture of the Salt Lake Temple on the wall and other temples on other walls.  We were told that the owners are LDS and it is the favorite place for the elders to eat.  We went to the end of the island by the airport where the acting principal is a branch president.  On the way traffic was stopped because the Secretary of the United Nations was visiting.  There was a large caravan with many police and security with him.

The week we arrived school was out for the week because the second semester had just ended.  So they held a 4 day youth conference on campus.  The students enjoyed extraneous dancing.  School is out this week for the semester break so the students are having a youth conference.  The all slept out last night all over the campus including our back lawn.  They got up at 5:00 am for a sunrise devotional.  So when we got up to walk this morning students were every where.  This afternoon they had a talent show on the soccer field.  It was all impromptu where large groups of students would go out and sit in a large circle and then one would get up and dance and then point to another who would then perform.  Some were traditional dances but most were just silly type of dances including some modified break dancing.  The students would cheer and laugh and have a really good time.

There were workshops, service projects cleaning up the campus.  Early morning testimony meetings and late night dances.  Most of it took place on the tennis court which is only a few yards from our house.  So the music was loud and continuous.  With no television and electronic devices the students have learned to make their own fun.  Kind of like when some of us pre-TV generation enjoyed.

Tuesday we went to Beitro (the site of the Battle of Tarawa) to get my Kiribati Drives License.  The person at was still at lunch so we went grocery shopping with the Ogborns.  When we finally got there we filled our a form, our picture was taken and then we went to another room where our license was printed.  I drove home which was somewhat stressful driving on the wrong side of the road with a stick shift, which I had to shift with my left hand.  The turn signals are on the right side of the steering wheel, so the first several times I tried to signal the windshield wipers came on.  Eventually I got the hang of it.  


Driving is very unique, with large speed bumps every quarter mile or so.  The road is narrow and there are pot holes every where.  Kids and adults are walking and playing along the edge of the road or on the road, so you have to stay alert.  Traffic is quite busy and there isn’t any room for error with the approaching traffic.  Toyota is the only automobile dealer on the island, so about every vehicle is a Toyota.  Most of them are 8 passenger vans or large long bed pickups with flat beds.  Usually there are three to ten passengers sitting in the back of the trucks.  It is a wonder more accidents with fatalities don’t occur.

       
There is only one road the length of the islands.  There are three islands connected by causeways so the road is about 40 miles long. We have gone to the bank twice to try to set up an account.  Someone has to approve it and he was in meetings again today, so they are supposed to call us when approval occurs.  When you get to the bank you take a number (like Baskin and Robins) and then have to wait for 30 to 60 minutes to see a teller or other bank helper.  There is only one bank on the island so customer-service is not a high priority.

        
Elder McCullough from Fiji is an area seventy spoke to the youth and will speak again tomorrow.  We have to walk early and get ready because the school administrators have a devotional each morning at 8 am.  We finally got our air conditioner in our living room and office recharged.  Now Sister Thorne nearly freezes to death and brings her sweater to the office and I think it feels great.

       
Sister Thorne has been preparing to teach a D&C institute class next week and I am beginning to make preparations to teach a college course.  I have the syllabus but no textbook or other materials.  The Ronnenkamps are in Samoa at a principals conference until next Wednesday so we have been unable to communicate with them regarding our need for a teachers manual.

       
We attended Stake Leadership and the Adult Session at Stake Conference.  AT both sessions all the speakers spoke in the native language for Kiribati.  I think it is called Gilbertese.  Anyway I didn’t understand much of what was said.  Finally some of the full-time missionaries sat behind us and translated for us what was being said.  There was a good Spirit present in the meetings.  The general session is today at 10 am.  Again we only got part of the messages through interpretation.  During Pres. Tune talk the heavens opening with a great downpour of rain.  With the sound hitting the tin roof and people sitting out side scattering for shelter it was very difficult to hear, so the Elders were unable to interpret what he said.  We would love to have a copy of his talk so we could know what he said.

        
We were able to talk with each of our children and their families by using “magic jack” hooked to our computer.  Technology is wonderful in allowing us to communicate with our kids and grandkids.  Janis is going to teach an institute class on the Doctrine and Covenants this Wednesday and then repeat the same lesson at a different location on Thursday.  I have completed a preliminary syllabus for the Foundations of Education class I hope to begin teaching in a few weeks.  We are waiting approval from the Ronnenkamps and BYU Hawaii.  The people who need to approve it are at a principals conference in Somoa.  So hopefully early this week they will return and provide approval to teach the class.

      
I got an email from Steve Ward who attended the 50 year class reunion at Box Elder.  He said there were about 137 in attendance.  There have been 40 classmates die since we graduated.  It would have been nice to attend but I am glad we are serving here in Tarawa.  We are still waiting for the packages we mailed from Richfield before we left.  It has been over 5 weeks so hopefully they will arrive soon.  

       
School will be back in session tomorrow (Monday), we will attend the faculty meeting tomorrow at 7:45.  Lita, the principal will be back to school on Wednesday.   However on the flight back she found out there was a meeting for all principals from Tarawa, so now she won't be back in school till the following Wednesday.

Students enjoying the shade by the tennis court by our home

       
We attended Stake Leadership and the Adult Session at Stake Conference.  AT both sessions all the speakers spoke in the native language for Kiribati.  I think it is called Gilbertese.  Anyway I didn’t understand much of what was said.  Finally some of the full-time missionaries sat behind us and translated for us what was being said.  There was a good Spirit present in the meetings.  The general session is today at 10 am.  Again we only got part of the messages through interpretation.  During Pres. Tune talk the heavens opening with a great downpour of rain.  With the sound hitting the tin roof and people sitting out side scattering for shelter it was very difficult to hear, so the Elders were unable to interpret what he said.  We would love to have a copy of his talk so we could know what he said.

     
 We were able to talk with each of our children and their families by using “magic jack” hooked to our computer.  Technology is wonderful in allowing us to communicate with our kids and grandkids.  Janis is going to teach an institute class on the Doctrine and Covenants this Wednesday and then repeat the same lesson at a different location on Thursday.  I have completed a preliminary syllabus for the Foundations of Education class I hope to begin teaching in a few weeks.  We are waiting approval from the Ronnenkamps and BYU Hawaii.  The people who need to approve it are at a principals conference in Somoa.  So hopefully early this week they will return and provide approval to teach the class.

Coconuts high in the tree

After the game, Brother Ogborn (one of the Humanitarian Missionaries) showed us how to get a coconut from the green oblong ones growing on a tree in our yard.  He took a  butcher knife and began hacking and peeling away the outer portion, eventually we found a small coconut in the center.  He showed us how to poke a hole in the end and drink some of the juice, by first blowing in the hole and then some juice would drip in our mouths.  Then he cracked the coconut in half and we were able to eat the coconut inside.  It was very good.  He also told us about how to prepare bread fruit but that will be done on a later date.

      
 I learned more about the ecology here.  We have a triple filtering system for any water we drink or use for cooking.  There is a fresh water pocket a few feet under the ground which sits above salt water.  The rain keeps the fresh water layer supplied, during dry times the salt water would be drawn up to the taps and is not drinkable.  So we have several bottles of clean water stored all over in our apartment for emergencies.  Fortunately it has rained a great deal the past few weeks.  When it rains it is really a downpour, several inches each hour.  The rainy season is from October to April so it will be interesting to see how much we get then.

Moroni High school has four wings of classrooms in a U shape.  The school is made of white blocks and is well maintained, it includes a chapel where our ward meets.  It is the only English speaking ward in the two stakes in Kiribati.  All the students wear a blue uniform and look very sharp.  Most are trim and fit, the young ladies are very pretty and the young men handsome.  The love to play basketball, soccer, and just goof around in their free time.  In many ways they are similar to American teenagers but without access to television and electronic devices they have learned to socialize and make their own fun.  It is refreshing to watch.

        
Currently there are two other missionary couple besides ourselves.  The Ogborn’s are from Orem and are serving a humanitarian mission.  The Christensen’s are from Murray, he is an oral surgeon and they are serving temporary as the area nurse or first contact for medical issues.  They also inspect the missionary apartment and are the eyes and ears for the mission president in Kiribati.  When a new medical couple is called they will return to Majuro in the Marshall Islands and work in the mission office.  One of the missionaries had a tooth that was cutting his cheek so Elder Christensen used what available dental tools he had.  The missionaries eyes got very big when he pulled out a Dremel tool with a small grinder to fix the problem.  But it worked OK and the missionaries problem is fixed.  It will make a great story when he returns and talks with other dentists.

        
Most of the students don’t wear shoes or sandals even when they play basketball on the cement court.  Even in Church you see many students and adults not wearing shoes.  Sister Thorne taught gospel doctrine class today and did a good job.  It will be my turn next Sunday.  Next Sunday is Ward Conference so they have activity every day leading up to it.  Monday night is family home evening, it sounds like we will have some students coming to our house even though we haven’t been called.  Tuesday is a combined activity in Mutual, Wednesday is movie night, Thursday has another activity which I can’t remember, Friday is Game night, and Saturday is a service project and a picnic.  Sunday is Ward Conference with a fireside in the evening.  Church is quite laid back.  It starts 10 to 15 minutes late, there isn’t a piano or an organ, so everyone sings A Cappella and besides that there are no hymn books in the chapel unless you bring your own.  But everyone sings with gusto in their broken English it is a joy to hear them sing with such enthusiasm