Back in our routine

Our Monday morning routine included Skype calls with family, car inspections, and piano lessons, and then we rounded out the afternoon with three hours of games with our amazing missionaries starting with card games then moving to Catchphrase, Scattergories, and charades.

Car inspections

What am I acting out again?

Not that!

Elder Carter is still working to get the air conditioning at the chapel repaired.  He spent time with President Thing, Paul (an electrician), and the power company.  They ran a new line to the chapel, and now we have to test it for 30 days before the facilities management people will order the replacement parts.  We think we’re still a few weeks away from enjoying AC in church again.

Sports Night was amazing with at least 40 people attending.  Several investigators joined us for a breezy Tuesday evening of basketball and socializing and plenty of talk about the Micronesian Games now being held on Pohnpei.  Everyone had a good time!

Waiting for the ball

Still some natural light

Sisters & investigators

Oirei waiting for her turn to play

Mid-air

A few of the crowd

Waiting for a ride

Teruo & friend

We’ve learned that part of this mission, and maybe missions all over the world, includes a lot of baking.  Much of Wednesday and parts of several other days Sister Carter can be found in our apartment kitchen searching for new recipes, proper ingredients, and enough pans to handle all the treats.  She baked several dozen cookies which came in handy as she was asked at the last minute to teach Young Women.  After a quick lesson about how to lead music, the young women enjoyed fresh-baked coconut oatmeal raisin cookies and plenty of laughter, plus now they know how to lead hymns in church.

Elder Murdoch conducted a wonderful district meeting on Thursday afternoon as he taught how to use the Book of Mormon as we invite investigators to be baptized.  The missionaries role-played these techniques in a sweet, humble way.  They are all working diligently to invite all to come unto Christ.

Our Aaronic Priesthood young men and leaders left for an overnight camp at Jerry Knight’s beach Thursday afternoon.  They had a wonderful time in the water, the sand, and the cooler temperatures.  About 3:00 A.M. they all ran for cover as it started to rain bucketfuls of water for hours and hours.  We’re not sure how much rain they saw, but we measured 5 ¼ inches in about 12 hours.

A few of our young men

While the young men were gone, the rest of us stayed for the baptism of Esther Ilt Nemelas Biana Paulis, a cousin of John Jr.  Since he and his family were leaving for the Manila Temple on Friday, we moved the baptism to Thursday night so he could baptize Esther.   The speakers, Diliaur Ngiraked and Silmai Mad, did a wonderful job talking about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then Esther and Sister Ale and Sister Talakai sang “Did You Think to Pray?” accompanied by Elder Striplin. 

Esther

Esther & friends

Sisters singing

Sister Talakai, John Jr., Esther, Sister Ale

John Jr. & Esther

Sister Bevans, Sister Purcell, & investigator

As soon as the baptism was finished we began Summer Cinema in the Primary room.  We started with a crowd of 15, and somehow they were able to eat giant bags of popcorn until only a few salty kernels remained.

This entire week we’ve had plenty of rain, but the true deluge began Friday evening just as the Palauan night market began at the park downtown.  We weren’t too worried about that, but we were concerned about the young single adult activity at 7:15 since a bunch stayed home because of the weather.  Only five joined us at the church for the Micro Mormon Games, but they had a great time competing and earning their medals for games such as Shuffle Lid, Tabletop Football, Penny Toss, Ping Pong Bounce, and Water Relay.  Ice cream sundaes topped off the evening, and somehow we all made it home without floating in the rain soaked streets.

Practicing

Taking aim

Demonstrating

Ball in the cup, ball in the cup

Two can play this game

We can both do it

Body language

Lots of skill

Lots of luck

Almost

Keeping score

Sister Talakai is a natural

Success!

Sister Ale's turn

Water Relay

Sister Carter gives it a try

Tabletop Football

Harder than it looks

Happy Winners!!

Sunday morning we were disappointed with poor attendance—only about 60—in Sacrament Meeting, but the talks about ordinances and covenants were well-prepared and thought-provoking and the choir sang “How Firm a Foundation” to add to the spirit of the meeting.

Sunday evening the missionaries met again at our apartment to enjoy dinner together.  They’re always happy for food, and it’s even more fun when we can share an hour in a relaxed atmosphere.  Afterwards they rush out the door for appointments and we clean up in time to make it to the church for the missionary preparation class.  We love Sundays, and we love our missionaries!

Sister Talakai

Sister Bevans

Elder Striplin, but where's Elder Murdoch?

Sister Ale

Elder Dopp

Elder Malais

Sister Purcell

We were devastated to hear the news about the death of our dear friend Terri Lusk in St. George, Utah.  She was hit by a truck while out jogging on Friday morning and succumbed to her injuries the same day.  Our hearts are broken.  We pray that her sweet husband Ken and six children will rely on their faith in Jesus Christ as they face the trials that lie ahead and that the Holy Ghost will embrace them with the power of his comfort.

We are grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the knowledge that He has a plan for us.  That plan gives us direction, hope, strength, and energy to overcome whatever life throws in our path.  We love the Savior.  We are most blessed because He has given us you, our family and friends!