Celebrations in Majuro

As I was sitting in the RS class while quietly listening to the closing prayer spoken in Marshallese, I heard the most beautiful choir of young male singers.  After "amen" was said I walked across the cultural hall to the door to the only room in this church that has AC(not working of course) and in that small room were all the YM men singing.  Not all of the boys had access to a hymn book and the song was being sung in English.  Both times when they sang the chorus the music was priceless and the volume was far reaching. I immediately told them how wonderful they sounded.  After I left, I saw the Bishop walking across the walkway.  I hurriedly told him how magnificent the YM's singing was and suggested that next month when the YW/YM spoke, it would be so great if they could sing.  Bishop Ned smiled and said, "We started singing that song last week.  I'll see what I can do."

As we driving away, the Bishop waved us down.  I rolled down my window and he said that the YM would be singing in Sacrament next Sunday.  I guess that we will be going to both wards again next week.  Can hardly wait!!!

Yes, we just returned from Sacrament Meeting in Delap and the YM did sing SECRET PRAYER.  The harmony was wonderful.  Next week we will try to video them singing in their classroom and share it with you.

The people who work for Tanner in the Wellness Center are very special to us.  They work hard and smile even when life is a challenge. They make so many people happy.

Sister Preston surrounded by good people.

Four roses surrounded by two thorns.

We did a second week of health screening and education at Rita Salvation Army Church.  Many people came and many have high blood sugar and high blood pressure.  So sad. Shra, MoH employee, is sharing the education lesson after the health screening.  Then we have the raffle ticket drawing and the prizes.  Stay + listen to the education = a chance to win!  The strategy works.

Shra is teaching.
Are the people listening?

We did a health screening at the two day Majuro Days celebration in Laura on today, Friday.  Wow!  There were hundreds of people.  Not many were interested in having their vitals taken when the atmosphere was filled with dancing, talking, eating lots of food and celebrating.  We tried. 

As we doing the health screening, I looked across the field and spotted a whole box of See's suckers that was being sold individually.  How could this be?  I pointed it out to Elder Preston.  This good man purchased me one.  

See's suckers in MI.

Our CLP Outreach Team.

Shra and her sixth grandchild
6 months old.  2 lbs. 13 oz at birth.

Louisa, our neighbor from Taiwan,
thought I was doing a video of her.

Laura Elementary School boys performing in the parade.

Float displaying local fruits.

Please enjoy watching these two boys.  I was late
in capturing his flip as he ran off the front of the
truck to the field.

At the end of the parade. A few people entered the field
dancing.

Only the VIPs joined the dancing.

A few more of the VIPs joined the group.

See if you can find the tall Majuro Sheriff from the
state of Washington.

We returned to Laura on Saturday with E/S Doig to see what was happening on the second day of Majuro Celebrations.  It was raining very hard, so the numbers were much smaller.  They did have a 800 meter race by the teenagers and we got to see Elizabeth and her two daughters.

Mat making competition.
People sleep on them.
Use them for rugs.
Hang them on wall for
picture background.

800 Meter race.

Elizabeth and her two daughters, Lillian & Pearlina.
Love this family.

You might have had the opportunity to read about the ferry that sunk in Kiribati, which is a huge part of our mission.  Plywood made government boat was carrying 84,000 lbs. of cobra and 100 people.  The boat is only capable and is legal to transport 50 people.  It sunk leaving only seven survivors.  Death was slow for many. The story is so sad.  If the captain had returned to shore when the passengers begged him to do; had enough life jackets (or any) on board; had any emergency equipment that is supposed to be on all boats to call for help; or only carried the amount of pounds that the boat was to hold, the people would all be here today. 

It was a week before the government in Tarawa even started looking for the boat.  When journalists appeared to share the story that had already been on facebook at the end of the three week ordeal, they were kicked out of the country and their laptops with pictures and notes were deleted.

People can complain about their governments, but all of us should grateful for the good things that happen and do something productive about the things that could be better.  We are so blessed.

Manmade disaster vs. natural disaster:

Cyclone Gita did a lot of damage in Tonga.  Our good friends, Elder and Sister Kapp have kept all of us up to date through the ordeal. Our LDS chapels are the finest buildings in all the Pacific Islands.  Consequently members and many nonmembers found safety inside these well built structures. There were no fatalities and our many young missionaries are working diligently to help clear and reestablish the communities again. So many people from around the world want to do something to help them. The best way to help is to send funds to lds.org, where the money will be spent wisely with no middle money making people.  Elder Kapp has done an excellent job of capturing the damage of this event.  Please visit their blog at /http://kennybecky.blogspot.com/ where the real story is revealed.

As a reminder - WE LOVE YOU!

Elder & Sister Preston

February 14th - feel our love.

We are grateful for the people with whom we work at the Wellness Center and CLP. Elder Preston helped Tanner from the Wellness Center place new billboards about being healthy to be seen by people coming and going in Majuro. 

Building the frame.

Will it fit?

Can you see the LDS Charities Logo?
Third from right.

We were able to purchase a pump to send to the Atoll of Jaluit, so the satellite campus will have fresh running water in the bathroom.  We have been working with a young technology man from the island and the President of CMI. 

The wooden map is called a Stick Chart.

We passed it off to Stevenson and Ruthy this week.  Note that Elder Preston is pointing at Jaluit on the map behind us.

Elder Preston walks over 3 miles every day on the one main highway always facing the man-eating dogs, gas fumed cars, and areas that are often hard to trek because of the amount of water that pours from the skies often every day.  I, on the other hand, walk around our apartment complex to get my miles of walking.  This week I rode bikes with Sisters Seager and Doig as since Elder Doig needed to deliver three bikes to the Sister Trainer Leaders' house.  Off we went and then we walked back to our apartments.  I'm glad that it was just after 6:00AM so there were not too many cars on the road and it had not rained the night before. 

Sister Seager

Sister Doig

Sister Preston

We have a young woman living on Majuro who was called to New Zealand to serve as a missionary for 18 months.  Her visa has still not arrived, so she has been serving in her home country since November 2017. 

Youngest daughter, Creative mom, Sister Preston.

We have had the opportunity to meet her mother through Sister Doig. Sister Doig has been researching for 16 months to find someone who would make her a nativity scene.  So she asked Sister Jeremiah's mother if she would be willing to try to make one, if she provided the patterns  She was willing to try.  We are benefiting from this, too. 

It is a joy to pay this humble woman to make these crafts.  She lives in a very humble home.  We never get out of the car until she comes out of her home because we respect her privacy and don't want her dogs to have us for lunch.  We talk to her outside of her home; show her our desires; pick up our items; often speak through this daughter who translates; and/or pay for our purchases.  We know that she needs to the money.  We all benefit.

For our P-day, we walked on the lagoon side of the island, because Elder Preston was told that there was some great vistas of living coral.  Elder Preston put on his snorkling gear and made an attempt to see it.  He did some interesting living coral in many sizes and shapes. The tide was very low and he had a challenging time getting past all the long stringy green growth.  The view was nice for me, though.

Can't see Elder Preston, but one can see the other atolls
in the far distance.

We were on an errand and Elder Preston spotted a ship by Reimer's Dock.  It added another joy to his P-Day.  Upon investigation we found out that it was Google.com cruise ship that travels all over the world.  It will be docked on this little atoll for three day. 

Three young woman are cleaning the exterior. Two
are from South Africa and one is from NZ.
They are on the job for five months each tour.
Note the helicopter on top!

Google Ship

Elder Preston wishing.

Reality - maybe!  Laura local boat.

We were able to trade our missionary badges for visitors' badges, so we could walk around the dock and take pictures. Note the difference between local boat and Google ship.

We visited the Mum's preschool that was started by Rebecca Winchester, who now is a service missionary and is serving in our mission office, and Elder and Sister Doig who are serving as Self-reliant education missionaries.  The children were just finishing their butterflies.  Rebecca (Becca) and now Sister Winchester is so creative. 

Children love to have their pictures taken.

Becca loves teaching.  She has found
 her calling while her husband
serves as a high court judge in the islands.

Becca and part of her amazing class.

It is so great to see these sweet pre-schoolers having an opportunity to hold scissors, crayons, and/or pencils for the first time and then learn English words and/or sentences.  Their parents are learning, too.  

Some of the parents cannot read.  Great opportunity for the children and a lot of dedicated work from Becca and the Doigs.

Lojkar, my friendly pig.
He doesn't bite, eat garbage or leave a mess.

Every person if honest needs a release button to survive the days, when stress or circumstances might be gathering.  I was sent this for Christmas and it gives me comic relief and at times startles Elder Preston.  (Of course, I don't do it on purpose! hahahaha)

Driving to church this morning, Elder Preston spotted a mama pig and her little piglets.  Unfortunately when I scurried from the car to get some pictures, the shutting of my car door startled them. 

They were crowded together
until I shut the car door.

Mom is moving, too.

Notice that she is looking at the camera.  Likes to pose - Yes?
Or cause damage to my person if I got too close?

Yes this week many are celebrating the theme of "love."
Just so you never forget.  We love you every day, week, and month, which includes Valentine's Day. 
Elder and Sister Preston

Short message for a short month:)

We are creeping into February at snail pace one moment and then the "hare" takes a turn, too.

 This last week has changed enormously because our CLP Outreach Clinics have been tabled for a short period of time and our NCD meetings have not been happening because so many key people have been off island.  We both enjoy being more productive and busy every day.

Before in-takes the senior couples always inspect all missionary apartments. During our inspections we were told that the water wasn't working correctly.  Elder Preston found one of the problems.  Do you think the filter should have been changed according to the schedule?

Yes the black filter used to be white!

On the 1st of February we had an in-take and welcomed two new sister missionaries.  One arrived through the Provo MTC from the country of Tonga and the other from Australia.  Since President and Sister Larkin were in Tarawa, Elder and Sister Seager did the welcoming and the instruction.  They do such an incredible job.  We are so blessed to have them among us working in the office and directing and leading the young missionaries.  

Sisters third and fifth from the right are new from
the Provo MTC.  First from Australia and second
from Tonga. They are with their trainers and STL's
are on the ends.

APs and Zone Leaders join the group.

We three senior sisters got to join, too.

On Saturday morning, after our fish stir-fry demonstration and sharing at Farmer's Market, we hurried home to take all the other senior missionaries to actually see the "Blue Star Fish." 

Our "young" crew after our finds relaxing while Sister
Seager continued to enjoy the water.

  The tide was really low and we found five blue starfish.  Everyone enjoyed the event and it was nice to have it so close to home. Plus we wanted to grab the opportunity before the following happened.

We received this alert from our US Embassy:

Weather Alert – U.S. Embassy Majuro (February 3, 2018)

Location: Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands 

Event: The U.S. National Weather Service in Guam has issued a high surf advisory that major inundation is possible inside the lagoon this evening through Tuesday night.  

Surf along north facing shores will rise today and reach hazardous levels of 8 to 10 feet by this evening. Surf is expected to build further to between 10 to 12 feet by Sunday afternoon.

From this evening to Tuesday evening, MAJOR INUNDATION OF ONE TO TWO FEET is possible, especially during high tides inside the lagoon along north facing shores near the airport eastward to west facing shores near the post office. Minor inundation of less than one foot is also possible along north ocean facing shores of Darrit.

The U.S. National Weather Service, the RMI National Disaster Management Office, and the U.S. Embassy in Majuro will continue to monitor the situation and will send updates as needed.

  

Actions to Take:

·        Avoid venturing near reef lines and exposed beaches, especially along north facing shores. Breaking waves can knock you down, causing serious injuries and rip currents will be life threatening.

·        Take action to protect crops and properties from salt water throughout the weekend.

·        Please be cautious and stay away from flooded roads and shorelines.

·        Keep a safe distance and do not touch downed lines or anything touching the line, such as a tree branch or another person.  Don’t climb utility poles or trees near power lines.  Contact with power lines is a major cause of electricity-related injuries and deaths. 

·        Do not touch anything electrical while you stand in water or while your hands are wet.

·        If high water is approaching your residence, turn off the electricity at the main circuit breaker box. If you don’t know where your main circuit box is, find it now.

·        Unplug appliances and, if possible, move them to a safe area. You may be able to raise some appliances, such as washing machines, onto concrete blocks. Move smaller appliances and home entertainment equipment to a higher area.

The evening of our Starfish searching, we decided to go to Chit Chat with Elder and Sister Doig for some local pizza.  On our way to dinner, we saw some men unloading rice bags from a semi-trailer and placing them in a local business.  How long do you think this will take?

Rice being unloaded from a semi-trailer.

We had a little change of minds after we looked at the place we usually like to sit. We went to Tide Table instead.

The tide was building rapidly behind the Chit Chat
Restaurant.

Our favorite seats were getting covering by the ocean
waves.

We had PII come to spray for termites, but they couldn't find a nest, so they said call us when we saw termites again.  

Replaced or repaired?

While the man was here we showed him the pipe that is behind our toilet and asked if the plumber would think it was bad enough to repair.  He said, "yes."  Hopefully that can happen before the pipe dissolves. 

Hopefully you can jump from one topic to another since there is very little continuity this week.

Inspite of this, please remember how much we love you.

Elder & Sister Preston