This week we were invited to the Moroni High School and Service Center Christmas Social. I know, another party, it seems we have a party a week at least.
Elder and Sister Thorne were invited to give the Christmas message. Sister Thorne talked about the simple message that it is better to give than receive. She shared a story of when she was a child and the act of giving of oneself to others.
We were all asked to sing two Hymns as well as a karaoke song. Luckily the Couples (us, Thornes, and Ogborn) went first. We sang our two Hymns, (off key) but we didn't have a Karaoke song prepared (not that any of us could sing Karaoke anyway), so we lip synced to White Christmas by the Drifters. It was fun, our mic was a flashlight and when you had the mic, you sang. The audience thought it was a scream.
This the School Admin staff, an instant choir. How they sing here is amazing. They all gather, one person (women with her hand raised) sings the first bar to get the pitch..ie. "Silent Night, Holy Night", then says "1 2 3 sing..they all sing in perfect harmony, like it would take a choir weeks of practice.
Our Stake President Tune.
The gang. Elder Ogborn, Brother and Sister Thorne, Elder and Sister Bonnemort, and Sister Ogborn. Sister Ogborn made the hats.
One Karaoke group. Sister Bonnemort joined in to sing Dancing Queen among others. They love ABBA.
Service Day. The Ogborns are here on a Welfare mission. They have about five projects that the Church just funded. One of them is to provide water to the restrooms at the Airport. The restrooms are located across a dirt parking lot from the terminal. Not your American Terminal, just a two room building, one for departures, and one for arrivals. They asked us on Friday night if we would like to come and help clean up the airport. Our Bishop has an alumni group from Moroni High that was coming also. We said yes, and the next morning when the Bishop asked who would clean the restrooms, Sisters Bonnemort and Ogborn said they would. Well that meant that the Elders (me and Elder Ogborn) tagged along. There were six toilets and a trough for the men. I don't believe these restrooms had been cleaned in years and had no water for that long also. But we began cleaning. The only water was a well outside that we used a paint can on a twine to bale the water. When the twine broke, but we made a backup twine out of some tubing in the car trunk. We spent two hours on the restroom, came home and showered. Clothes, shoes when right into the washer. The Alumni group has adopted the Airport and will keep it clean (trash and restrooms) for a year. The Bishop hopes to add other groups along the way to help instill the motto..MY TRASH...MY RESPONSIBILITY. Kind of like our adopt a highway program in America.
Sister Ogborn with her happy face
Sister Bonnemort at the well
Our mop bucket
We had another baptism that we attended on Saturday. Before each baptism, the font has to be cleaned. It is a hard job....and things are found......
This is Sister Barlow and Sister Gardner after they took care (killed) of the creature in the font
The Island might be small, but the spiders are big!!!
Even after death...it still is BIG
Sister Gardner, Reeteti, and Sister Rebeta.
Elder Anderson Baptizing Aia Bwabetito Maaika
Elder Anderson Baptizing Tim. Tim is the husband of Florence who works in the Service Center. They have been married for 23 years...this was a special day for her family. Tim is the last in the family to be baptized.
Sister Bonnemort wanted a picture of the font green water....nature at its best.
Amazing! We really do take things for granted. That toilet was beyond anything I have seen or had to use. I have heard that the Polynesian people sing beautifully. I am reading a book by President Monson and he talks about that island people and their beauty and their singing.
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