We made it to Tarawa

After 2 1/2 days of flying, and staying in Hawaii, and Fiji, we landed in Tarawa at 7am, just in time to see the sunset from the air

 Our home in Tarawa

 Tarawa from the air

Shelley at the airport

Sunrise over the Pacific on the plane just before our arrival on Tarawa 

Our home for the next 2 years.  This is very comfortable and clean.  There are 9 of these homes along the shore on the campus of Moroni High School.  The Church opened this high school about 20 years ago and students from all over Kiribati come to school.  There are dorms for them to stay.  They have about 400 students.  They will be leaving in 2 weeks for summer break and won't be back until February. 

 A view of the classrooms

A view just outside our door.  Tennis/basketball courts.  They are just learning to play tennis, and have a new tennis couch

Mission or Bust, we passed the MTC

You can't read it, but the door tag says "we have left on our mission"  This is the tag they have you place on your door when you check out. 

It has been an amazing week.  It just got better as the week went by.  I can't describe the feelings Shelley and I had teaching the "investigators".  It was like neither of us were doing the talking.  The setup is this:  The MTC has volunteers who come to be pretend investigators and we teach them a lesson.  First we get to know them, and then we teach them.  We didn't know if they were making up their life story or if it was real.  We have a coach who is watching the teaching on camera and then gives us feedback after.  It was extremely scary and we both felt inadequate to teach a lesson.  Our first lesson was on the restoration of the gospel, and we were given 45 minutes to get-to-know-you and then teach.  A buzzer went off at the time limit.  It was an humbling experience beyond description how you can be in a "make believe" situation and have the spirit be so strong.  The next lesson was on the Plan of Salvation, and again the same set-up and this time the spirit was even stronger.  After we left, our investigator was still on camera and our coach said that she had to go get tissues as she was so emotional, something he had never seen before.  

The day (Friday) ended with a meeting with all the couples and we watched a message from Elder Holland.  We also were afforded the opportunity to share anything about our experience.  Shelley and I were much too emotional to speak, but a few were brave enough to share their thoughts.  One Elder said it best, that he had never been in a place where the Spirit was so strong every day.  He said that sure you get fed at church or studying the scriptures, but to have the Spirit with you 24/7 was an amazing experience.  

We can't believe that we spent just 4 long days with these couples and find that we have made some life long friends.  The spirit of the gospel is strong indeed.  We all have one purpose, to serve the Lord.  

MTC

Well, we have finally made it!  We are on our Mission.  Sunday, we were set apart by our Stake President as full time missionaries. The blessing the Stake President (President Houtz) gave each of us was very comforting. President Houtz told us that he felt a very strong impression to bless me with the health I would need to complete our mission. You can imagine what a load off my mind that was.  In Steve's blessing he was instructed to keep me from working too hard. (That is just another way for Steve to maintain control!)   We drove to the MTC on Monday.  There are around 40 couples in our class, and they are going to serve literally all over the world, but no one is going to the Tarawa but us.   

 As you can see, we are studying intently. Believe it or not, those mugs you see in these pictures actually have water, not Diet Coke in them.  We were the first couple to stay in the newly remodeled Couples Building.  It is just like a hotel, but without a TV or phone.  

This is the famous MTC map.  We are pointing to Tarawa. 

I swear to you it is like there is a legion of Angels over the perimeter of this place.  You feel peaceful all the time even though you are working hard.  Some of the exercises put you out of your comfort zone a little.  Both of us knew most of the gospel material we had to teach to pretend investigators of the church, but neither of us has ever had to verbalize that knowledge to live people!  We have passed all our exercises so far so I guess that means we still get to go to Tarawa.  Friday we get to pretend we are someone that we have always wanted to have the gospel bless their life. We will have another senior missionary couple visit with us to try to clear up any barriers that may be preventing our pretend person from accepting the blessings of the gospel.

Most of the other couples we have been with have been missionaries in the past and have served as bishops, stake presidents, and even in mission presidencies.  We are definitely the rookies, but we seem to be good with the gift of gab and inviting the Spirit of the Holy Ghost into our efforts. We have to exercise now so we'll post you later. (By exercise I mean a long walk before bed.)