a little stir crazy

I was fixing rice the other day for dinner. As I stood there rinsing and filling the pan with water then picking the little black bugs out of the rice water I suddenly stopped and said to myself, "self, you have been out here way to long because you don't even think this is unusual."
After a while you just kind of go with the flow. Go ahead and use the well water, it's quicker and I'm sure if we use it for cooking it probably gets hot enough to kill all of the bacteria and bugs. The rain water really doesn't need to be run through the purifier because I haven't seen any little wiggelies in it for awhile. Besides that they are only mosquito larvae. We've gotten so we just eat what's put in front of us and try not to think of how we know it's been prepared.
We are having a YSA get together tonite here at the church. We expect 35 and will have a barbaque per their request. As close as we can get to that will be fried chicken (thighs) we have come to enjoy thighs cause that's all they bring in. Potato salad, baked beans, chocolate cake and we splurged with 2.5 gallons of neopolitan ice cream for $24.50. We rounded up some good boot scooten music and we are going to dance.
On fridays we have started a movie after mutual volleyball. The first week we had ten kids, the second week we had about 20 and last nite we had over 30. We let them play some music and then at 7pm start the show. We love these kids. They don't really have much to look forward to so a little popcorn and candy seems to go a long ways to get next to them. We have even taught them how to put the wrappers into the garbage and put away the chairs.
We have been cooking most of the day except I took an hours break and went fishing for octypus with the branch president. We got four while I was with him and then I came back to kitchen duty. I told Lois that all this cooking was a pretty hard job and she just looked at me with that eye roll that she does so well.
The kit house is looking great. Sister Patten has painted and overseen the painting. (One painter kept re painting the trim that she had finished another color. We will look for linoleum on Monday as the ship from Tarawa has come. You would think they could unload at the dock but nooooooooo the dock wasn't built for most ships so they anchor in the bay and run the cargo in by skiff. We should be ready for some curtains to be put up next week.
Today the workers asked me how I wanted the front door to swing. I told them we wanted the front door to swing into the house and we wanted a screen door on the outside of the front door.
"We can't do that because the screen door has to be on the inside of Kiribati houses. " After further discussion that was leading nowhere I told them to do it how they wanted. The second counselor in the branch presidency was there and said " President Patten, you have to remember that you are not in America."I said thanks Arebonto, I would never have realized that if you hadn't reminded me.
We have come to not have any great expectations when it comes to time, etc. The elders quorum went out to move a man's house a few feet from where it was. That was tuesday and when we were assigned we were told it would be a 10 minute job for ten men. When we arrived it was a frame house with corragated tin all over it and would be a three day job for 50 men.
Was anyone upset? no, they all just laughed, I bought them a strawberry soda and they made arrangements to go back today. We told the owner to take the tin off before today and we would be back. I stopped by last nite and he hadn't done anything. I then went to the elders quorum president and reported that nothing had been done. He said "oh that's alright, we will go and help him take off the tin in the morning." They are just such laid back wonderful people.
I really don't think to many people die of heart attacks over here in the pacific. Diabetes mostly.
Life is good. Lots of things are happening in the mission. We get two new additional elders on the 20th of August. The president told us that lots of things are happening in the mission and reminded us that he had promised Sister Patten that he would only leave us out here at the maximum of nine months. We told him we loved it here and didn't want to be moved anywhere but who knows. At least a new couple would have a great home to live in. I think that is what missions are all about.
We love and miss you all. April, 2009 will be here before we know it.
We found that one of the contractors from Tarawa is married to a Mormon. His father in law is in the bishopric of a Tarawa ward. Sister Patten was all over that. She asked him if he'd ever taken the lessons and he said "yes for FHE" She has him set up with the missionaries to teach him the lessons before they return home on the 13th of August.
The YSA dinner and dance was well attended and a good time was had by all. I cried as I dished up $24.50 worth on neopolitan ice cream. We took some pictures and will post a few asap.