Mission Call to Temple Square

We received a mission call for Sister Marliza Johnny of the Sapwalap Ward.  Her parents have been investigating the church but have not been baptized.  The family was waiting when we arrived.  These calls come from the First Presidency of the church.  She was very excited to open up her call.  She carefully opened the envelope and read that she was going to the Salt Lake City Temple Square English speaking mission on May 5, 2015.  As far as we know she is the first Pohnpeian to serve on Temple Square.  I took a picture of the cooking area with some of her family.  We told her that we will be seeing her with our grandchildren Marian Alaniz and Grant Hedgpeth when we take them on the annual trip to Temple Square in June, 2016.  How fun to see her there!

Young Single Adult Activity

We attended and assisted (mostly with the cupcakes and ice cream) the young single adult activity on Valentine's Day.  There were nearly 200 in attendance at the Sapwalap Ward building.  The theme was a talent show.  Most of the eleven wards, branches or groups were there and participated.  There was singing, dancing and a skit.  There are two volleyball courts in the parking lot and the youth here love to play and they are very good at it.  We were standing in the shade sweating while they played in the sun and didn't seem affected by the heat.  I guess we aren't quite acclimated yet.

 All of the above youth are returned missionaries.  Ivaloni Aldan is on the right in the picture below and we are assisting her in getting her missionary papers ready to submit.  We have nearly a dozen youth who are getting ready to serve missions.  It is very exciting to watch them prepare.

Our Ship Came In

Everything on the island comes in by cargo ships.  Occasionally, mostly due to stormy seas the ship is late and the shelves in the stores become very empty.  When I went for my morning walk yesterday I noticed that the ship had come in.  In a day or two the shelves will be resupplied, very expensive but available.

Zone Conference-February 2015

Mission President Zarback and his wife came from Guam for zone conference.  All the missionaries on Pohnpei attended at the Panasang chapel.  The senior missionaries prepare the lunch.  We had a great time and were spiritually fed.  These missionaries are so excited to teach the gospel of Christ.

They live in the most humble of circumstances, fighting rats, dogs, pigs and insects and living with no running water but they NEVER complain.  In fact it would be nice if they did complain a little more often so we can correct the issues when possible.

Jungle Umbrellas

Last week we went on a missionary apartment and vehicle inspection around the island.  Coming out of one of the elder's homes we ran across these children walking up the road.  It was raining and the local people just walk into the jungle and cut large banana leaves or other types of leaves and use for umbrellas.  They always gladly pose for pictures.

Peter the Fisherman

This is Peter from the Wone Branch.  He feeds his family from the jungle and the sea.  He uses this bamboo pole to catch fish.  He must wade out through the mud flats and past the mangrove swamps to the ocean where he catches fish using small crabs for bait.

The stick and hook below is what he uses to catch mangrove crabs.  The large crabs live in holes in the muddy bottom around the mangrove trees that line the island.  He puts the hook in the hole and pulls out the crab.  The pole is very sharp on the bottom end and if the crab gets away he spears it with the pole.  Peter is very good at growing fruits but he didn't have any vegetable seeds.  We ordered him a large packet of a variety of seeds and he will soon begin planting.  He cleared out a small area in the jungle for his garden.  He told me that I would be the first to eat out of his garden.  It was very rewarding to see how happy these seeds made him.  He could not have afforded the seeds on his own. Peter has only been a member for a little over a year and has already gone to the temple in Manila. The church has a program that takes people who cannot afford the trip to the Philippines to attend the temple.

Not Your Typical Family Home Evening

 We went to the Wone Branch for Family Home Evening.  These people are so humble and wonderful.  They say that we have been adopted into their family and we feel that way.  We meet in what is called a nahs.  This is a thatched roof open area.  As you can see the family dog had pups and they roam freely under foot.

Two of the girls posed with their pet rooster.  They keep it tied with a string around it's leg.  He seems pretty satisfied being cradled in their arms.  Such cute kids.

Lenda learned how to weave banana leaf dinner plates.  After she finished we used them for the meal.  No leaking on the bottom.  She did a good job but isn't sure she can do it again without help.  We sang songs and several gave their testimonies.  We all shared in a great meal.  Lenda made chocolate cake and naturally that was a hit.  Sis. Furstenau made a big bowl of popcorn and the kids sang "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" before they dove into the bowl.  We had a great time as usual.  It takes a hour to drive out to Wone which is on the opposite end of island from where we live.