Gulfstream G-19/Castaways

This is the Gulfstream G-19 that came yesterday from Hawaii. We wanted a little action so we went out and took a look. It was a very nice looking airplane with two RollsRoyce engines. It will take four and a half hours to fly to Hawaii but you would ride in comfort. As we were leaving the airport the postmistress and relief society president said that she heard over radio Kiribati before she came to the airport that Taiwan had given the government $3,000,000 and that Air Pacific would resume flights shortly. If that is true then I guess the runway may not have been the problem. The government not paying their bill is more likely. Oh well, it's something to talk about.
We are still here. Alive, well and still liking it. It appears that I will have to go to Fanning Island to do some training so the area office can get quarterly reports, tithing reports, etc. from the branch that was organized on Fanning and then through a series of circumstances it has been very difficult to give them the support that they need. It appears that the second counselor in the branch presidency on Fanning has decided that the Word of Wisdom doesn't apply to him and that his smoking and making and selling the local alcoholic beverage is just fine. We will have to have a little talk about that. 20 plus hours in a converted WWll landing craft up there and then half again that long coming back against the current. Sister Patten has declined my invitation for an ocean voyage so I will take a set of missionaries and the first counselor in the Christmas branch presidency. The first counselor from Fanning came last week to get parts for his truck. (one of eight vehicles on Fanning island) His name is Maiaa and is an amazing man. 60 years old and looks like Charles Atlas. We had a nice visit about Fanning's needs. One good thing is that I can bring back some island bananas which we love. Maiaa brought us a couple of fresh fish this morning. Sister Patten was so excited she sent me right outside to clean and prepare them for lunch. (NOT) Maiaa says that I'll have to eat fish, fish, fish, and then more fish when I get up there. Also breadfruit, papaya and bananas. The island bananas are the little ones and are so good.

Well, the house smells a little fishy, not too bad. Actually he had just caught the fish and so they were very fresh. I really am not a fish eater, at least not the fish here but Elder Patten enjoys them and so he gets to eat them. We wrote a long dissertation last weekend for the blog and copied and cut and then lost it somewhere. So we will just tell you what is new and hope we remember all the important news. If the Pres. gives the okay, Elder Patten will go to Fanning Island with the people he mentioned above. I am not looking forward to having him gone for at least 10 days (if the boat goes and comes on some kind is schedule) because there will be no communication. No email, of course, no telephone so I will just have to pray that he gets there safely and gets back before too long. I will be okay, two of our missionaries will be here and there are plenty of people around. The young single adults come over often and visit with us. I enjoy being with them, especially Lisa who is a RM. She went to California San Bernardino mission, she speaks English well and is Americanized. She told me she didn't want to come home from her mission. She is coming over tomorrow and we are going to teach her how to bake bread. She is trying to get into BYU Hawaii for winter semester and so we hope to see her again while we are all in Hawaii, if that is the part of Hawaii we are in. You all would love her a lot and feel right at home with her. The nights will be long but there is no fear on this island of crime. The missionaries are within 15 feet of our home, I will just try to stay busy and will probably do a lot of writing to all of you. How do you like our little kitchen? Pretty cute huh! We had written all about the culture here in the blog that we lost. It is so different from what we are used to. They carry the traditions of their Fathers down and down through the generations. Some are so unnecessary and cause problems. We have tried to teach them about the Lord's culture and some get it and some get half of it but hang on to what they have been taught and then get all mixed up. Our sister RM that came home a few months ago has made some bad choices. We were with her in Marjuro and so hoped that when she got home to Kiritimati Island she would be a strong influence with the young people here. Her Mother is strong Catholic and has complete control over our little sister's life. We have spent time with her warning her of how Satan will work on her a step at a time until he gets her away from the church. She looked like she was listening but then little by little she did as her Mother wanted her to do. First she was moved to her Uncles home ( a catholic missionary) which is in London and away from where we live. She used to be able to walk to our house and see us. Then her Mother saw that she got a job at the St.Francis high school teaching ( know that she has only had a high school education and at Moroni high school of course.) Now that put her in a position to attend mass and participate in all the catholic rituals again. Next we heard that she was engaged to a catholic teacher who is 12 years older that she is. Needless to say, we don't see her at church much any more. We have talked to many Mormon women on the island who married Catholic men and are not allowed to attend church anymore, "If I come to church, there will be problems in our home." Part of the culture here is that the weaker people simply can't or won't stand up to their parents and say "I am a member of the LDS church now and that is the church I will go to" They are afraid of what people will say about them and that their family will disown them. Until the people learn to let go of the old traditions and culture of the people here, many may join the church but not remain in it. Our little sister missionary's mother is strong in the catholic church and carries a lot of power. She was more than happy to let the church educate her daughter and send her on a mission so she would be trained enough to be of help in the catholic church. Elder Patten has a strong belief that while he is here and has the authority, he will not send children to Moroni H.S. who do not come from LDS families or from families who won't support them in their beliefs. Pres. Bleak is behind him 100% and so even if some of the kids don't score as high as others on the entrance exam., all things must be considered and the ones who will have a chance to remain strong and build the kingdom here on Christmas Island will have the opportunity to be educated at Moroni. You may remember that we had a reunion of Moroni Graduates a few months ago and out of all of the people that came, only about 10 or 15 were still active in the church, including returned missionaries. When we get home we will tell you of all the traditions that we have learned about. We have respect for their ways but some of them really get in our way.
Monday evening, we went with the missionaries to the home of some investigators, a great family that will soon be baptised. He called us because he said that "bad things are happening in his home" he felt that Satan was trying to scare him and keep him from joining the church. There is a lot of black magic live and well on this island. We blessed his home and bore our testimony to him and as soon as we can get them married they will be baptised. He teaches at the elementary school here and speaks English well. He will be a great asset to the Branch. There is a lot of anti-Mormon literature and movies on the island that the KPC and Catholic church are showing to their youth and we get some hateful looks from some of the people. They have said that we are the "evil church". We think the adversary is working really hard here because we now have 4 missionaries out in full force and our sister branch missionaries are out there too working hard. Another thing we are doing here is to make sure that we don't send out missionaries that are not trained from Kiritimati Island. Every Thursday evening our missionaries meet with them and train them from the Preach My Gospel manual. They are working two by two through out the island and people have noticed them and have mentioned that "there is something different about those girls." They call them "super" girls.
All in all its all good. As our New Zealand and Australian missionaries would say "no worries". Elder Patten and I go with Pres. Henry and Sister Henry each week to visit less actives and invite them to church. We pick them up on Sundays in the van because many live too far to walk. We have had good success with them and pray that they will come long enough to remain active. There is a little grandma who is probably not too much older than I am but looks very old. She has a go-tee on her chin and Elder Patten says its her badge of honor. She is all bent over but will come with us to church and partake of the Sacrament. We have been told that when an imatong (white person) comes to visit them, it is an honor and so we need to visit as many as we can and get them back to church.
Our missionaries are so faithful and dedicated and work hard for the Lord and will have success because they carry the spirit with them. They have decided they need to "work out" so they made bar-bells by pouring cement into a bucket with a pvc pipe in the center of it and then hooking it onto another pipe. They are really proud of themselves and it works for them, that is until one end of the barbell falls on their foot and we have to charter a plane to remove them from the island. Elder Patten tells me occasionally that he knows right where a rusty nail is that he can step on anytime he wants to leave.
Well, we love you all and will write more later. Take care and say your prayers.