We had Turkey and all the trimmings. The Shaws had the Turkeys and Ham sent from Majuro a few months ago. And Sister Christensen's family sent the rest of the trimmings. There is no way these could be purchased in Tarawa, the closest thing would be chicken parts and ham in a can. It was very hot in the room, but we have had trade winds the last few days so the air at least is moving. I was surprised at the little amount of food the Missionaries ate. You always hear that they have bottomless stomachs, but we had 2 turkeys and we had 1 left. I believe the local missionaries didn't know what to think about eating a turkey, and there was a bunch of stuffing left also.
We were able to use the Moroni High School Cafeteria.
Elders in the chow line
Elders Aderl, Mills, Green and Anderson
Elders Bradshaw, Gittens, Norman, and Banks
Sister Ogborn, (our next door Neighbor) Elders Bush and Flynn, Elder Ogborn, and Elder Eneri. Elder Eneri is from Kiribati. His parents just live up the road a spell.
Sister's Rebeta, (local Kiribati), Gardner, Barlow and Valo, (from Papa New Guinea)
Elders Sauaki, Tuihalangingie (yes, that is his last name) and Finau
Elders Tiree, Utimawa, and Tutu
Elder and Sister Ronnencamp (here for a week for the High School) and Elder and Sister Thorne (he teaches High School and she teaches Institute)
Our Mission President and his wife
This week was a busy week. We attended the Moroni High School Seminary Graduation, Institute Graduation, and High School Graduation. All were memorable experiences, especially the singing. Kiribati people are blessed with wonderful voices.
The Seminary Graduation was held in one of the Stake Centers, and all the male students were dressed in White Shirts and ties and the girls were wearing white dresses. It was a cool sight to see them all come in.
Moroni High School was dedicated by L. Tom Perry on August 9, 1996. They are celebrating their 25 anniversary this year. This year over 500 students attended from ages 12-19. They are afforded the opportunity to come here for 7 years, with the 6th year being their formal graduation and the 7th year, taking some college credit courses. This year 75 students graduated.
We were one the front row of the chapel where the High School graduation was held. They marched in to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. We were fed songs that sounded like they had practiced for years. The last song, Light the Fire, was so inspiring. It was a treat, speaking of treats, we now have had the pleasure of partaking of a meal Kiribati style. Everyone brings something. They are delivered hours before the meal, in these colored bowls with tin foil and the name of the dish on the top.
We had roast pig, lobster, rice, sausage, chicken, fish, beef dishes, hard boiled eggs (apparently a must at every dinner), potato, salads.
Here is Shelley with her meal. Notice the pink slice in the foreground. I picked it cause it said "ham", but it wasn't the ham from home. They roast the pigs over a fire, not in the ground as in Hawaii.
After the feast, there was a program, above is the warm-up group. They sang a bunch of American karaoke, including a few ABBA songs. They love American music. There is a little bit of Polynesia music, but I think their influence is a mix of Asian and American.
After the warm-up, all the students entered and were dressed in matching (about 20 kinds) of dresses and the guys in nice shirts. They looked like they were going to a dance. Each girl was escorted by her male partner.
The first act of the night (which started at 430pm and lasted until 1130pm) was the teachers and support staff dancing hula (fast) I don't believe you would see that in Utah....
Next the teachers got all the students and danced about 4 songs. Not something you would see in Utah either...
Next was a chain, with the rest of the evening, a dance for this and a dance for that, with some dances with their parents. There seemed to be no shy students when it came to dancing. They love it!
On Saturday, we had the Ward Christmas Party. Our Ward is the only English speaking ward on the Island, and it is mostly made up of students, with a few families. Every student is assigned a family for Family Home Evening, and we have 8 Students, Tonga, Teakin, Tauaa, Tipeni, Pineta, Tabureka, Teako, Abetai, Buangi. The only one I can remember is Tab, short for Tabureka. We were also told last week that we had to plan a skit for the party. We just met the students last week, so Shelley and I decided to have them sing Grandma Got Run-over by a Reindeer.
Here are some students practicing the song with keyboard
Senior Couples, Sister Thorne, Elder Bonnemort, Brother and Sister Ronnencamp, Elder and Sister Ogborn. I point them out because we were the only people there at 6pm, the start time of the party. At 730pm, we were still the only attendees.
At around 735pm, the food began to arrive....
And....by 830pm, the party began. This is Kiribati time we are told, but I didn't believe that it would be 2 1/2 hours late!
Shelley with her "group" singing. The students had asked if they could do a hula dance in addition to the song. It was a struggle to get through the reindeer song, but Shelley made it happen. (it was apparent they would rather be dancing)
Here are the students doing their hula (fast not Hawaiian style)
For the next 2 hours each family came up and did a skit. The program ended at 1145pm. It was a long night, but all the families and kids had a great time.
So fun to see that you were able to have Thanksgiving Dinner!! What a fun loving group of people. Keep up the good work! What blessings for all.
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