Home Sweet Home

Many of you have asked about our home.  This is the front of our home.  If you want to purchase it, it has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, spacious kitchen, tile floors, solar hot water, gas cooking, high speed internet, garbage pickup, air conditioned, ocean front.

This is our sports car, a Toyota Corrola, just like home, but the steering wheel on the right.  I'm finally used to getting in the right side to drive, and driving on the left.

Our ocean front patio.  It is nice to sit in the chairs and watch the waves.   The tide is very dramatic, going all the way out to the edge of the reef about 100 yards and coming right up to our patio.  Happens usually 2 times a day, and can wake us up in the night with the crashing waves.  

The office

Nurse Bonnemort's supply drawers

Our spacious kitchen, complete with breadmaker, kitchenaid mixer and mirowave

Our living room, with leather!

We can get fresh fruit here if we are willing to pay for it.  We have to wash them in a bleach solution before eating.  It is all imported, not grown here.  

This past week, we finally got a box of sports equipment that Carol Bergen a friend from IRS sent us.  It took over a month to get here, but this is our Bishop, who is also on the Board of Directors for Sports for Kiribati Children.  I'm sure they will put this to good use.

This week we were shopping in a store and I just happened to notice a electric knife.  I knew it would be great for slicing bread and it is.  Can slice a loaf into 12 slices.  

This is our newest store on the island.  We have watched it come alive from a cider block nothing to this store.  They sell all sorts of stuff, from washing machines, to used clothing.  

THE PLANE...THE PLANE...THE PLANE

Our "ship" finally came in.  We have been waiting for packages that have been stuck on Majuro since the beginning of November.  Due to one thing or another with Air Marshall, dubbed Air Maybe or Air Not at All, it either hasn't flown, or hasn't had room for packages.  But low and behold on February 13, the plane did fly and it brought down about 100 packages.  I got a call from the Zone Leaders and they said they needed another van to fit them all.  It was a happy day...

This is Sister Bonnemort with our share.  I'm embarrassed to say that we received 32 packages or about 1/3 of the shipment.  Thanks to family and friends who just kept sending us stuff, we now are stocked up.  Sister Bonnemort was just going to attempt to make Mayo, when the call came.  Now we have every imaginable food, from rice krispy treats to peanut butter.  

The results of all our friend's and family's labors....full panty

We had so much food, we had to clean of two shelves in our bedroom.  Look at all that canned tuna and chicken!  The only convenience food you can find here is a package of pasta with sauce.  This stuff will save us hours in the kitchen, not to mention $$$.  Thanks to everyone for sending the goods.

Christmas in February...the spent packages....

And Elder goes home.  This is Elder Tutu, pronounced Soosoo.  He has completed his mission and will be returning home (here on Kiribati).  We have the departing missionaries over for a dinner the day before they depart.  It was funny to talk to him, he didn't want to leave the mission and return home (which was just down the road).  

New arriving Elder Fitisemanu from New Zealand.  It was funny, he didn't want to take his backpack off.  He has the coolest accent.  He is Samoan, but grew up in New Zealand, and can't speak a word or Samoan.  

 This is the bridge that leads to Boata, where four of the missionaries serve.  The bridge is just over 2 years old.  Before they had to drive over, but only during low tide.  During high tide the kids love to jump off the bridge.  

             I walked over and asked, do you want your picture taken?  That was all it took as the kid....

did a cannonball jump....