Umu

The Sisters presented a Samoan cookout  - an Umu - at the Welch's house on Monday for our District P Day gathering.  They are ward members who live in the Sister's area.  Brother Welch is American and his wife is from an island near Fiji.  They have a son who left our ward a few weeks ago to go to Australia on a mission.  Once we had finished the cooking and eating we took a group picture to send to Elder Welch.

It took hours to heat the rocks and prepare the chicken and pig that was wrapped in foil and put into the underground oven once it was hot enough.  Brothers Welch and Ferejen prepared the meat for the outdoor oven and Sister F prepared and steamed banana tamales for our desert.   The foil packets of meat were covered with piles of crunched banana leaves and then blankets and smoked for a couple of hours.  In the meantime, we wrote letters to our departing  Elder Allred and played Apples to Apples.

The food was worth the wait, especially the meat.  In this oven was ribs and chicken, breadfuit and bananas which were also roasted.  Elder Jones and I are still working on acquiring a taste for these foods.

They also prepared a really great drink that I will try to make when we are home.  It was made from a ripe, juicy watermelon that was shredded with a fork into a large bowl.  Coconut milk and sugar were added.  Yummy!  They called it Otai.

"...and God saw that it was good."

More happenings in February

Here we have a FHE in February which the Sisters planned.  It got a little crazy, but, hey! we got to know each other.....which was nice since most of the people there had just wandered into the house to see what was going on.  Dad is in the "circle of trust" next to his buddy Jonathan.  This activity actually followed a very nice lesson about how even though we are different from each other in many ways, Heavenly Father loves us all. 

Missionaries at the zoo on "P" Day.  Everyone looks pretty good and the Elders aren't even making "Hafa Adai" signs with their hands or anything. 
At the transfer 6 weeks ago a couple of our missionaries changed.  Here is who's working together in Saipan since January 19th and will be together till at least mid April:  Elder Meldrum, Elder Cook, Sister Ika, Sister Tuileto'a, Joneses, Elder Rokodakunivosa (Roko), and Elder Allred.  We will post some of the other zoo characters later. 

These two wonderful sisters that live in the same house always have the missionaries over for lunch whenever there is a transfer.  We have been invited to these lunches and enjoy the Filipino food that they make, but mostly, today we enjoyed their testimonies of faith and trust in Heavenly Father.  They probably really can not afford to feed others, because everything they earn at the store they work at goes to their families.  But the Lord always makes a way for them to care for themselves and to share what they do have, and they do so with such cheer.   Ophelia, in the yellow shirt has 4 grown children in the Philippines who receive all her wages since none of them can find work there.  Amy, in white, has a daughter in Hawaii with mission papers in and is supporting her.  We realize how blessed we are to have the income to support us and that we are blessed to be able to serve a mission as seniors.  We love blending hearts and faith with the good brothers and sisters in Saipan that we're coming to know. 

Happenings in February

2012 is the 100th year anniversary of the Seminary program in the Church.  I wish that all the youth who were at the commemoration program this evening were in these pictures.  There are about 30 faithful kids who come every school morning.  But I had to hurry and take the photos with whoever ran to the refreshment table after the broadcast because they were anxious to have cake and ice cream!  Serving refreshments with me is Sister Conner and Sister Robinson, Seminary teachers.  The broadcast we saw was of the meeting held at the Conference Center in January with Boyd K. Packer as the main speaker.  We received a CD of it a few weeks later. 
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February 29th was missionary transfers. No missionary in Saipan was transferred to another island with this transfer.  The 6 young missionaries in Saipan have been exceeding the goals for lessons taught and member-present at lessons. Baptisms are coming along almost every week. We were all glad that such great work was not interrupted with transfers We are glad we can help in baptism lessons and in doing what we can to help at the baptisms themselves. Here are pictures of baptisms in February and there more are scheduled for March.
The first picture is of Ragee Paulis. He is the young man in the center of the photo in black - of course he wore white to be baptized in and the missionaries are going to start teaching the value of wearing church clothes to church starting with their baptisms.

The second picture was a baptism on February 26th with three young people.  They are Jerilynn Paulis - next to Sister Jones, then Jerika Sekool and her brother (or cousin, it's hard to keep cousins and siblings straight) Jersey Sekool.  We got to know Jerika and Jersey better at a fabulous Family Home Evening last month presented by Sisters Ika and Tuileto'a.  It was outside someone's house in the area of Saipan called Kagman.  I felt like I was at mutual camp under the stars doing role plays and games and feeling the Spirit of the Gospel.  I was in a "family" with Jersey and Jerika putting on a skit of the "sower" found in Matthew 13:3-9 and the seed being planted in good ground.  Elder Jones (Dad) was in a "family" with Jonathan (Ilene's son), Elias Ferejan and others. Their seeds fell by the way-side.   I will try to get pictures of this FHE from the sisters. 

Children of Many Cultures

The first two pictures are in the parking lot of our apartment complex......the "playground" for these little Filipino children and their mothers. The place isn't beautiful, but the children are. And the mothers have become good friends to me. I love thinking of our grandchildren at home when I watch the children play and talk to them, but it makes me miss ours more!

The next picture is in a Primary class with newly wed teachers Brother and Sister Fransico (Mico and Frennie). Bishop Esplin asked us if we would help train the Primary workers and I have spent a couple of weeks with this class. Mico has been a member of the Church for less than a year, but they are such good teachers because they prepare well, and are enjoying learning with the children. The children are Eli Labana, Kiana Suda, Taylor Steadman and Jason Villegas.

We went with Elders Cook and Meldrum and ward mission leader Roy Dolon to hold a FHE for this little family in the next photo. The mother is Institute age and we invited aer to come back to church and to our class. She said she wants to but the biggest problem on the island is the lack of transportation. So we are working on that for her. She is in blue and her boys are all next to her. We think they were each a different island culture, even though one of them has a Japanese name. They really enjoyed the lesson on "Love One Another."

The next 3 pictures are from the part of the Island called Kagman, It is very "jungley" and pretty. While we waited for mom to show up for the appointment, Elder Jones showed the children scripture pictures on the iPad. When mom arrived, she had 3 or 4 more children with her. Her name is Marsha Peter and we invited her to come back to Church. Her boyfriend, the father of all these children opposes her coming. This family of many children are Chuukese.

Look at this picturesque little house. We wouldn't know how they all fit in it except for the experiences we've been having visiting many small homes for families similar to this.

 

These children represent the many cultures living on the island of Saipan. There are Chamarros and Carolinians from Saipan and Guam. There are also many Filipinos, Chuukese, Kosraens, Pohnpeins, Yapese, Palauans.

People have also settled here from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Russia. Also many Americans. Quite a mix of nationalities seeking the warm tropical weather and the laid back, simple life of the islands. 

A Missionary P Day Outing

We went to Bonsai and Suicide Cliffs and Bird Island with our young Elders and Sisters.  It was our second time to this northern-most part of the Island and we marvel at it's beauty and significance.   We really enjoyed spending time with these great missionaries  relaxing together for a few hours.  Dad loves the remarkable colors of the ocean here and I caught him in a reflective mood as he watches the waves and swirls of blues and whites.

Baptism Day for Tori Cepeda

Baptism of Tori Cepeda

Here are some pictures of the baptism of a dear girl that we have had a chance to help teach and have been close to as she made the decision to join the Church.  She is one who read the Book of Mormon and asked alot of questions to help her learn, and once she started coming to Church, she never missed anything. Tori has attended our institute each week since she has been investigating the Church so we felt we have contributed a little to her testimony and knowledge of the Gospel.  Alot of people have excuses for not coming to Church, and Tori could use anyone of them, but she does not.  And we see her growing stronger in her faith and more beautiful with the Gospel lighting her countenance every time we see her.

 As missionaries, we are all glad for new friends that come to support new members.  We will leave eventually, but ward members will stay and help newly baptized people get used to being a member of the LDS Church.

In the picture at the door we have Jie Jie Garrett, Christina Curulla and Bianca Espinosa joining the missionaries for a picture.  Little Briana Espinosa is holding Jie Jie's hand and Clark Hochhalter who's sitting at the door is here with his mother Heather who's inside playing the piano.  In the room she sits by her Dad, a member and the rest of her family who are not.
I was honored to give the talk on receiving the Holy Ghost and Elder Jones confirmed her with that gift the next day in Church.