Life in Tarawa

A local roadside store. There are several of these in each village.




Restaurant Row.  A few of the restaurants available. 




A local fish market.




The airport.  Not exactly the strictest airport security.  I am sitting in the passenger side of the car.




A couple girls enjoying their homemade swing. 






A lone fisherman.




YM/YW class under a tree outside of Church house.




Primary classroom outside of church.



The Elders outside the Ward Church house. After Sacrament meeting the congregation goes to Sunday School classes outside. Adults stay inside.





A neat baptism.  The tide had gone out so they had to walk out a LONG way to get deep enough.




About another 100ft to go!


Mission accomplished!  Happy day!

World War 2 Sites in Tarawa

Betio Village. Site of WWII battle




There's even a toll booth




WW II Bunker in Betio




Ammo dumps




Some kind of bunker, WW II

We've Moved!

We've said goodbye to our sweet Island of Majuro.



Saying goodbye to some of my favorite Elders on the Majuro side -  the AP Elders Rareba amd Elder Waqatairewa.  These two Elders are great and it was so hard to say good-bye to them... both will be gone when we return to Majuro.  They have touched our lives forever we hope to see them again some day.

Elders Faalonga and Stoker.  Elder Faalonga will forever be in my heart. This young man will go far and will someday be a leader in the Church.  Because of our friendship I am a better and more thoughtful person.  Elder Stoker went to Cyrpus High and knows all the places in our past. What a great Elder, we will see him again in Utah.  

And now we're one of the locals of Tarawa.  We are having a great time on this remote little island in the Pacific. We have been here almost two weeks and it has gone very fast



Some of the local housing.



Where I get my great bananas.



The Island's phone booth or lack thereof.



A local island church (not one of ours).



This is where groups of homeless people live.



How the people in the homeless shelters hang their clothing.



The Tarawa hospital.



The Hospital ambulance.




And now some pictures of our new home.


I've been cleaning it for the last week, washing walls, floors, doors and just about everything.  I have rearranged furniture and hung some pictures.  I have put computers together and hooked them up to printers (4 total). 



Home sweet home.



Living room and dining room.



Our backyard.  Quite a view huh!



My back patio.



The other view of our living room.



The view out of our front windows.



Steve is showing off my tiny little stove.  It is so cute, but it only can fit a single muffin tin.  How can I cook a turkey for Thanksgiving?  You have to light it, and then when the carbon dioxide alarm goes off you turn the stove off.  I just made some muffins and just when they got done the alarm went off.  To top it off, I have to learn how to cook in centigrade!







Me hanging clothes on the line:  I realyl enjoy being right next to the ocean but it seems that things are always wet.  It take almost all day to do what we could in a couple of hours in the states

We have enjoyed not having to go to the office in Majuro everday, and instead just being at home doing

what we need to do here.  Although it is Grand Central because our apartment doubles as the Mission office

and missionaries are always dropping in for this or that. 

I do miss everybody at Majuro but I am loving this island and the people and how it really feels like a Island in the Pacific.  Everyday you see people out with their nets trying to catch fish.  What an adventure!

Lately....

A few pictures from life around here in the Marshall Islands.



We love all the beauriful flowers that bloom on the trees all over the Island







Island cooking...



...and the dogs wait so patiently for their dinner



And Dad love this sign.... every time we pass it we think of any government office



Our dog friend Max. We helped him out after he was hurt with a few sleeping pills and some stitches.



Dad standing on the Pier





and the road way...... they have to build it up so the ocean does not flood the road


Last week we spent a week in Ebeye (a different island than where we live).  We did a zone conference and Steve checked out the Hospital







Shopping Mall in Ebeye.



Hotel Ebeye - where we stayed



Couch in the entrance of the hotel



Views out the Hotel window and pictures of the streets. The above picture shows a few of the tin roofs held down with rock and/or heavy debris.







The boat ride from the military base and yes I had 3 subway sandwich and the best plates of fries and a real fountain drink
and bought a dress for a $1.39 and it is real cute ( I hope)







The baptism was done just offshore in the lagoon. The witnesses just took off their shoes, rolled up their pants legs, and waded in.

Pres. Shaw will be transferring us to a different island for a few months. The island is called Tarawa. It will be quite different than our life in Majura. We are living in luxury now compared to what things will be like there. But it will be an experience of a lifetime!