Random Thoughts

Photo of all the missionaries from Kiribati at the September Zone Conference.  Sitting in the middle of the photo is Elder Pearson and Elder Wakolo along with Pres. and Sister Davis of the Fiji Temple and President and Sister Shaw.  All the missionaries from the outer islands and even Christmas Island were flown to Tarawa to attend Zone Conference and Stake Conference.  More about the zone conference is in an earlier post on this site.

Language Barriers

One of the challenges for students and staff in learning a second language is vocabulary.  Lita (the principal of Moroni) is emphasizing the importance of teaching academic vocabulary as part of each lesson.  

President Tune related a humorous story which illustrates this point.  A few years ago there was as Tsunami warning in the Pacific.  So the Tarawa Police Department radioed the police in the outer islands.  The police went from door to door telling the people there was a Tsunami warning around 3 pm for the island.  Most of the island people did not know what the word Tsunami meant.  They thought it was the name of a ship bringing supplies to the island, so they all went to the ocean to wait for the tsunami ship. 

When it did not arrive at 3 pm, the people were upset, saying, "did the Tsunami ship take our supplies to Christmas Island instead of bringing them here."  Fortunately, the Tsunami did not hit the island or the story would have been tragic instead of humorous.

There were a couple of major communication problems first, there was no training for the people on what a tsunami was and that they should go to higher ground, not to the ocean.  Second, if they had just said, there is a "big wave" coming the people would have understood.  

Good Riddance to the Bats - 

A few weeks ago our daughter Carrie went into our home and it was full of bats.  She called an exterminator who removed about 100 bats from different places in the house.  The next evening, she and Kevin went to our house at dusk and saw around 300 bats fly from our chimney.

It appears Carrie and Kevin have got rid of the bats, at least, we hope so. With Halloween coming up at the end of October it would have been a good decoration, especially if they flew out the front door when it was opened for trick-or-treaters.  Perhaps the bats have moved to a new location and some one else can have fun with them.  We have enough challenges here with rats eating the internet wires.

Treating Spiritual Failure as a Catastrophic Event

Recently, I saw an education web seminar advertised with the title: "What if a school treated a student failure as a catastrophic event?"  This is an interesting concept that could have many applications. 

What if a ward or branch treated failure of an young man to be ordained at the appropriate age or a young women not attending or being advanced in primary or young women as a catastrophic event?  Or a man not being ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood when they turn 18 or not serve a mission at age 19?

When a major catastrophic event occurs - such as a large earth quake, flood, tsunami, tornado, or other natural disaster - an immediate response brings a multitude of resources together to alleviate the suffering from the disaster.  People leave what the are doing a go to the aid of the victims. 

From an eternal perspective, is not a spiritual failure as important or more important.  Should not all the resources possible from a ward focus on the serious failure of an individual?  Is that not the purpose of Ward Councils, Priesthood quorums, class presidencies and the teachers and advisers?

Another Busy Week

Brother Bruce Yerman, area director of Seminaries and Institutes in the Pacific, visited Moroni High a week ago.  Brother Yerman works out of New Zealand and his duties are similar to a Superintendent over the Church Schools in the Pacific.  He arrived at 8:00 am on Monday and met with the teachers for professional development later that morning.  During his stay he also observed many classrooms.  He was very complementary on the things he saw while at Moroni.  On Tuesday evening Lita, Mary, Bro. Yerman and Sister Thorne and I went to supper at a Chinese restaurant.  It was an enjoyable evening.

Wednesday evening the students put on a performance for Brother Yerman.  The music and drama department performed several musical selections and there were three different plays that were written and performed by the students.  The event took place in the cultural hall, because there was no stage with curtains, students stood on chairs and held up a long piece of fabric which served as a curtain during the performances.  

Moroni won first place with their  musical groups and the plays also received high awards during the Independence Week where all the high schools in Tarawa  competed.

This group won first place at the national music festival held during Independence Week this past July.   The man in the middle is their teacher and the rest are students.

This video clip shows one of the numbers they performed for 

Brother Yerman and others in attendance

The first play was about a mother who sent her two students to College in Fiji.  During their time away, they grew too independent and forgot their mother and would not write her or even take telephone calls from her.  As a result she died of a broken heart, and then the prodigal sons returned and were very sorry on how they treated their mother.

The second play the students wrote and performed was kind of a "Cinderella" tragedy.  A father finds a young baby while fishing and brings her home to his wife and other daughter.  The mother and daughter never accept her and after the father dies she is treated like a servant.  She is rejected by other students at school and is made a social outcast.

A new boys enrolls in school and wants to befriend her but peer pressure keeps him at a distance for a few weeks.  Finally he asks the unpopular girl to a school dance and they have a great time and begin to fall in love.  But her mother, step sister and other still treat her as an outcast.  As a result she dies.  Then the mother, sister and all the students feel very sorry and weep over her lifeless body as it lies in state.  The new boy is especially heartbroken.

The father finding the baby and bringing it home

Students not accepting the girl at school

 This is a scene from the play only one girl at school befriends the "Cinderella" girl, while all the students will have nothing to do with her.  Note the curtain in the background, people learn to improvise in the islands.

 The repentant step mother weeps over her dead step daughter who has passed away and is sorrowful for how she has treated her

  

The students enjoyed performing and did a good job.  I am not sure why the plays dwelt on death and sorrow but never the less the evening was enjoyable.   Each Wednesday is club day and every student must choose a club in which to participate whether it is academics, sports, speech, drama, music, or from several other choices.  The important thing is that they get to choose and be successful.  

Parents and students really enjoyed watching the performance of these Moroni students as they sang, danced, and acted.  Of course a traditional large meal was also part of the evening.

 "Sandwatch" Club another 1st Place Winner

One of the other clubs on campus is the "Sandwatch" club which has about 40 different nations with school clubs.  One of the goals of the club is to keep the beaches clean and attractive. Last week was Sandwatch week at MHS and the Moroni's club called the "Beach Warriors" won first place in the school competition in Tarawa.  One of the activities was to see which school could collect the most bags of rubbish along the beaches.  This was another successful activity where students experienced personal satisfaction from doing service

Another Dance Festival

Friday evening we attended the Tarawa West Dance festival with the other senior couples and President and Sister Shaw.  It was well attended and each ward had many adults and children performed different traditional Kiribati dances

Zone Conference

President and Sister Shaw are here for a short visit (Thursday to Monday).  While here they said goodbye to four elders and Elder and Sister Ogborn who have or soon will soon complete their missions.  Saturday morning a Zone Conference was held and the missionaries were taught by President and Sister Shaw.  It was a short meeting because another zone conference was held last month when Elder Pearson was here.  Additional training was provided for the new district and zone leaders and for trainers who will be getting new missionaries next week.

The next Zone Conference will be in November around Thanksgiving time

President Shaw teaching and challenging  the Missionaries at Zone Conference 

 As a special request by Sister Ogborn, she asked that the missionaries 
sing the Mission Song - one more time before they complete their mission

The Majuro Marshall Island mission song was in an earlier post, but many of the missionaries have changed since that video was posted.

More Singing and Dancing and a Tragic Death

Students and staff at Moroni High School often welcome special guests using some of the tradition dances and songs with a few modern twists.   They love to sing and dance and have a lot of fun practicing and performing.  

The video clips are from a few months ago performed for guests Leo a principal of a school in Samoa, Folau an assistant area school director from Tonga (former principal of Liahona Middle School), and the Derek an accountant from the Philippines.  An earlier post in this blog talk more about their visit

Traditional Dance to welcome special guests to the Moroni High School campus - performed by students in the cultural hall.  At the end of the dance a floral garland is placed on the head of the guests

This performance illustrates an I-Kiribati man using some very creative dance steps combining traditional with a modern twist to court a young lady (or is the young lady courting him?  You be the judge!)

A traditional I-Kiribati Dance performed by Moroni High School students as a welcome to guests from Tonga and Samoa.  Students in the front - are wearing traditional dress

**********************************

The Tragic Passing of Brother Teraoi Mwea

Last Friday - September 7, 2012 - we attended a training session and social for teachers and other church employees at the Tarawa West stake center.  It is a beautiful chapel next to the ocean with a marvelous view of the Tarawa atolls.  One of the activities the people really enjoyed was tie dying.  The ladies would take white cloth about 3 yards long and fold it in various ways and then soak it in different colored dyes and then spread it out on the ground to dry.  Many beautiful designs emerged from checkered patterns, shapes like sea shells, multicolored circles and other designs.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the activity.  Unfortunately, we did not bring our camera to take photos.

Next one of the physical education teachers at another school led the group in aerobic exercises.  People were enjoying the various moves and then they did some sitting exercises.  Then Brother Teraoi Mwea who lives a few houses from us led another round of aerobic steps to music.  Everyone was having a great time and really enjoying themselves, when suddenly he collapsed.  Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.  He was transported to the hospital which was near by.  He died of an apparent heart attack.  He was only 38 years old, a father of 4 children and several other adopted and foster children who live in their home.  His wife is Rosila, the vice principal of Moroni High School.  Bro. Mwea was a large physical man about 6' 2''  and has been involved in athletics most of his life.  He served as the tennis coach for the young children who come to the Moroni tennis court every morning and evening and play for hours each day.

Because their are no mortuaries on the island, the funeral and burial usually occur within 24 hours.  Bro. Mwea's body was brought from the hospital to the maneaba on the Moroni campus and placed on some large tables while an all night wake was held.  Friends and family members visited, sang songs, and spend all night in the maneaba with the body.  A wooden coffin was purchased where he was placed.  Unfortunately the sides of the coffin were not tall enough, so another one had to be made during the night.  It too was also not tall enough so they had to remodel part of it.  This delayed the funeral for nearly two hours.

The funeral was held on Saturday and scheduled to start at noon but was delayed because of the problem with the coffin.  It was a nice service.  Two of his teenage children spoke and a daughter gave the prayer.  His wife Rosila also spoke which must have been difficult but she held her composure very well.  Their son that spoke is deacon age and the daughter is mia maid age.  The services were in Kiribati so we understood little of what was said but the Spirit was there in abundance.  Bro. Mwea's younger brother spoke as did Lita, Pres. Tune and the new stake president.

Following the services the body was placed in a large truck and the pall bearers and others rode to the family home where he was buried in their yard.  Life expectancy in the islands is short, heart ailments, diabetes and other diseases which could be treated with appropriate medical care are prevalent on the island.  During the past few months a Bishop and a counselor in the stake presidency have died of heart problems (both of them were in there late 40's).  Most men do not expect to live long after reaching 50 or 60 years of age.

Our heart felt sympathy goes out to Rosila and her young family.

I-Kiribati Singing and Dancing

There has been no school this week, it is the end of the 2nd semester.  School will resume on Tuesday September 11th.  Because most of the students were off campus and the computer labs were shut down, we finally had a strong enough Internet signal to down load some of the videos we have taken during the past few months.

The first one is of the celebration of President Monson's birthday.  It starts out somewhat slow but then you hear the traditional I-Kiribati birthday greeting.  The other video's are of traditional Kiribati dances that were performed for Elder Pearson of the 70 and Area Presidency.  The performing groups are the Eita 1st Ward and one of the branches that won first and second place in the Stake Musical Festival held a few months ago.   

It was dark when the dances were performed on the outdoor basketball court, so they are not a clear as we would have liked.  The videos were taken with an I-PAD so there is no zoom and when we posted them on the blog, it doesn't allow you to show the full screen.

But, they do give you a view of some of the traditional I-Kiribati singing and Dancing.  The traditional costumes are all made of local natural plants and flowers, often the day of the actual performance.  Traditional skills are an important part of the I-Kiribati culture that is being preserved.  At Moroni High they offer a class in Kiribati Studies, which includes many of the traditional skills.

Moroni Students singing Happy Birthday to Pres. Monson

The grass skirts are crafted locally by members of the Wards and Branches

The lava lava's worn by the men are woven very tightly and then pounded with mallets.  When they slap their hands against them it makes a loud clapping sound which is part of the traditional dances.  The men sitting around the drum sing and chant as the dances are performed.  The drum is a large square box approximately 5 x 5 feet, made of two layers of plywood to make a loud sound as the men hit their hands on it in unison's