April 2017

General Conference

We had general conference broadcast on the 8th and 9th.  It was so good to sit and understand the speakers and feel of the spirit.  Sunday we met at the chapel anxiously awaiting 10 a.m. so we could to start conference.  And...the power went out.  The power company said it would take about an hour so we went outside to move around.  It was raining but felt good to get outside.  After waiting for 45 minutes, we went back in and Consita led us in singing hymns.  That lasted about 30 minutes.  Still no power.  So there was a closing prayer and we all went back home.  We aren't sure when we'll see Sunday session.

Flooding again

Sunday night, April 9 it rained and rained and rained.  Our phones were on silent so we didn't hear when the branch president called at midnight to say that some members were flooded out again.  Not until this morning did we learn that there had been a cyclone in the Vanuatu area and we were getting some of that storm.

White River Service Project

During the last rain storm, Sister Amon had a small landslide in her backyard. Some banana trees came down with the dirt. So the elder's had a service project to help her clean it up. There were only 5 men that showed up but they had a great time. Eric was amazing as he worked and earned the nickname “dozer” because he could shovel so much dirt.

  

Lau Valley School

This was such an adventure to get to this school. It sits in a valley and has a lot of stairs to get to it. Thanks goodness for the cement stairs and walkway and bridge. It was interesting as we walked to the buildings—the children whispered “white people”. Everyone is so nice to us. And treats us so well. Needless to say, to pay the fees at this school was quite a process because the head mistress wasn't at school and she had the receipt book. So a teacher sent a student running to her house in the village, which was over the bridge and through the jungle but we were assured it would only be 10 minutes. We visited and waited. Finally, the student comes back with a receipt book that is totally full! So he has to go back over the bridge and through the jungle to the headmistresses house he went. (Wait does that remind you of a song???) And we visited and waited. Finally, the student comes back with a receipt book and we were able to pay. When we left, it was lunch time and most of the kids go home for lunch so we followed many as they went over the bridge. Some then headed to their village while some went up the stairs. Of course they were much faster than me at climbing the stairs. They all just kind of hung around us as we climbed.

Water Tank Inspections

We had to inspect waters tanks that the previous couple had put in place before the project could be closed. So it didn't sound too hard to go and look for the tanks and see if they were working. We had one person in each branch help us so we could locate the tanks easier. We started in Honiara branch with Pres. Maseru as our guide. Some of the tanks were easy to get to but others were located down or up a mountain. It amazed us that the tanks were able to be installed in some of the places. Lynn needed some help getting up and down some of the locations, so he used Pres. Maseru as his “4 wheel drive”. In the afternoon, we went to the Burns Creek Branch area and had Clifton help us there. This is a flatter area so most of the tanks were easy to find, we just had to walk through the jungle. The next day, we went to the White River area and had Sister Lausao and Bro. Paia help us locate the tanks.  One of the tanks was located in a flat area that was pretty muddy due to the recent rains.  Lynn made one wrong step and almost ended up face down in the mud.  Luckily, he just got his foot really stuck and muddy.  These tanks were harder to get to because it was so mountainous. There were several that I didn't even attempt going to. One of the roads, Sister Lausao even covered her eyes on this road, was narrow and eroding away. The roads are so steep that we used 4 wheel drive to get up them and then they had big gullies in them from the downpours. Needless to say, it was an adventure. The majority of the tanks were great.  We had two that were not being used and several that had been sold.  We did 33 tanks, which was pretty good and enough to close the project.

Baptisms—Margaret's mother and niece

April 1, Margaret's mother and niece were baptized today. It is amazing to see how one baptism, Ronald, has now brought three other people into the church.

Misitana's oven

We were driving by the Misitana's house after visiting a school and Freeman motioned for us to stop. So we got out and we sat under a tree and visited with his family. Ethel, his wife, is the district relief society president. We then asked to see her oven. They use a “rock” oven—build a fire, put the rocks in, and then put the food on the rocks. It makes me so grateful for a gas oven in our flat.

 

WWII monument

We were heading up the mountain to pay fees at the Barana School, when we saw this star. It is a monument from WWII to signify the last battle with the Japanese.   

 neighbors girls

These little girls are part of the family that lives next door to us. They were outside playing and having so much fun, I couldn't resist taking their picture. It is fun to hear the kids laughing and playing in the evening.  

Zone Conference

April 24 and 25 we had zone conference. It is always fun to see and visit with Pres. & Sister Granger and all of the elders. It was a wonderful 1 ½ days. Pres. Granger asked the sisters, (me, Sister Fuimaono, Sister Granger) to bear their testimonies at the end of the conference. It was a great way to close. 

Fisher Price Toy

We all know the little telephone pull toy that was made by Fisher Price. It is the old fashioned phone with a handset and body with a string attached to pull it. The phone has eyes that move and I am sure it used to make some noise.

The nursery at White River has one of these pull toys. It has seen better days. There is no handset and there is no string to pull. But that toy is one of the favorites of the kids. It is found during sacrament meeting and brought into the room and pushed about, causing some noise.

But today it graduated to better things. Some boys had taken it outside and would sit on it and ride it down the driveway, which is pretty steep. (This reminded me of Chris and Greg and their Tonka trucks that they would ride down the hill in Pleasant Grove.) They had taken an empty plastic bottle, smashed it and put it under their feet so they would be able to go faster.  And at the end of the driveway, where the cement ends there is some grass and weeds, they would end up crashing. They were having the best of fun. I'm sure Fisher Price had no idea that this toy would end up in the Solomon Islands how it would be used but I was truly amazed at how it has lasted though all of the wear and tear on it.