HONIARA 5 K

We have been walking with a friend, Judy, for about a year now.  She is the secretary of the Rotary Club.  Each year the club sponsors a 5 K run/walk the Monday after Easter.  Judy invited Cheryle to join her in the walk this year.  It was 92 degrees and 75%  humidity when the race began at 9 am.

Judy, Ann, and Cheryle stopping to say hello as they walked past our house.

 

 

Even though it was hot and hilly, Cheryle had a great time walking with her Solomon Island friends.  Her first race in 2 years.

VISTORS!

When we received our mission call, our friends, Dan and Jeannie Evans, promised us that they would come to visit us.  They came last week and we had such fun showing them what our life is like here. 

 

 

Every morning they got up at 5:30 am to walk with us and Judy, our walking partner, here in the Solomons.  Dan took this picture.

 

 

We visited the United States WWII memorial

 

 

Black Sands beach at the west end of the Island

 

 

 

 

 

Hunting for shells and coral

 

Catching a wave!

 

 

 Looking for Jeannie's lost flip flop

 

Soo many shells, soo many waves, oh, soo wet!!

 

Sisters having lots of fun!!

 

 

Mangrove trees growing right in the ocean

 

Beautiful view of Savo Island

 

Dugout canoe on the beach

 

 

Dan and Ken folding the wing of a WWII Wildcat fighter at the outdoor Vilu Museum

 

 

 Checking out the Browning 50 caliber machine guns in the wing of the Cobra fighter

 

 

We were just in time for the dolphin show while we ate lunch at the Kokonut Cafe

 

 

 A day at the oil palm plantations with gold ridge in the background

 

 

 

Worker harvesting palm oil pods with a knife at the end of a 40 foot pole 

 

 

 

Harvested palm oil pods ready to be picked up and hauled to the processing plant

 

 

Red beach

 

 

 

Shopping for jewelery at the Main Market

 

 

 

 

Early at the market before the crowds arrive

 

 

 

All too soon, it was time to fill out declaration cards for the flight home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What great friends we have, who sacrificed their time and money to come all the way here to visit us. 

 

We had such a fun week!!

 

THANKS, DAN & JEANNIE

 

 

WILLIAMS AND THE WOMENS DAY BREAKFAST

Elder and Sister Williams, Church auditors assigned to the Vanuatu, Port Vila Mission, stayed with us for a week while they completed the Branch and District audits. 

 

Elder and Sister Williams are from the Seattle area, and have been in the mission for just 6 weeks.  They have already visited many of the Vanuatu islands and completed audits there.

They are very adventurous, energetic, and hard working.

 

One rainy day we drove them out to the West end of Guadalcanal. 

 
Rivers were brown with mud and full to their banks.

 

Several families of pigs along the road

 

 We saw the only cows on the island. The Solomon Island Government is trying to establish a herd.

 

This Solomon Island woman is carrying her produce to market.

 

 

Sister Williams taking a photo of our pineapple salesman.

 

 

The "non sign" to the open air VILU WWII museum.

 

The actual sign at the museum about a mile off the main road.

 

Elder Williams is a pilot and he really enjoyed seeing all of the WWII aircraft.

 

 

 

On Thursday, while the Williams were here, there was a "World Women's Day" breakfast held at the Mendana Hotel.  The church sponsored a table. Sister Williams, 8 RS sisters, and Cheryle attended.  It was a great event where women of the Solomons Islands were honored for their contributions to the nation.

 

 

 

 

The ladies were especially happy with their bags.  They contained a t-shirt and a mug.

 

 

 

The Williams were such thoughtful, good guests.

We loved having them stay with us while they were here in the Solomons.

We feel like we have found another brother and sister!

It's amazing how the Lord has blessed us with many new friends on our mission.

P-13 Fees

The Solomon Islands do not have free education.  Each student's tuition must be paid by their families or they cannot attend school.  The people are very poor and many many children do not attend school.  A generous donor has provided school tuition funds for children here who are active and faithful in the Church.  Parents are required to pay as much as they can, so that they will have an investment in  their children's education, and the donor will pay the remainder.  In 2012 and again in 2013 we had the blessing to see that these funds were paid to the schools.  We have just completed the assignment for 2013 of visiting 18 schools and delivering the fees for 70 students.  We feel privileged and blessed to be a part of this process.

The path to Mbua Valley School is carved into the mountain.

Very good balance is required to go up or down these "stairs".

Steps to Shamma School.  These are concrete, but no two are the same rise or run.
One step may be 3 inches high and the next 14 inches high

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Panatina School requires two sets of steps, no physical education class required here!

Most of the schools are located on top of the mountain, or at the bottom of a gully.  POURING rain and deep mud, were obstacles faced and overcome.  It's a blessing we have the 4x4 Land Cruiser or we could never have completed this work.


 


VISITORS, VERY NEEDED SERVICE PROJECT, AND VALENTINES

 

The last week of January we hosted a senior missionary couple who serve in our mission.   The Mortensens, Reed and Diana, are assigned to serve in Port Vila.  They are from Astoria, Oregon.  Elder Mortensen is 1st counselor in the mission presidency.  We met them briefly when we visited Port Vila in October last year and this visit gave us the opportunity to become very good friends.  Their visit was specifically to train the Priesthood leaders in preparing families to go to the temple in Fiji.

During the week we showed them the sites of Guadalcanal. 

 

Elder and Sister Mortensen on the Black Sand Beach at Selwyn College

 

 

 

Native Solomon Islander with her pikinini

 

WWII caterpillar abandoned on the beach near Savo Island

 

 



  It was rainy most of the week which made the vegetation brighter and the scenery more beautiful than normal as we drove west from Honiara.

We visited the outdoor museum of WWII relics

Cheryle and I are standing by a wing from a crashed B-17

 

An amazing butterfly also visiting the museum

 

 

 The rusty steel parts in the wing of this crashed WWII fighter plane, are two Browning 50 caliber machine guns

 

Our day ended at the American WWII Memorial in Honiara

 

Saturday, the Mortensens held training from 9 am to 4:30.  Our assignment was to prepare and serve lunch in our living room for 20 people and clean up while they finished the training.

We prepared rice, with pork and pumpkin gravy, vegetables, and fruit. For desert we served home made cake with ice cream.

 

 

Saturday,  February 9th, 100 youth and young adults of the Honiara District

provided a very much needed service project at the White River School.

They cut grass, cleaned up rubbish, trimmed bushes, and cleaned out drains.

All ten Elders participated as well.

 

 

 

Elder Bacon raking, Elder Tuisalanga in the red shirt, and Fiona Sauseru in the black ball cap with many of the youth 

 

Elder AhChing

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Ifuna'au Sr.

 

Elder Sione & 2 young men

 

 

 

Betty Masuru, a YW leader bagging grass

Trimming bushes

 

 

Cheryle made pies for Ken to celebrate Valentines Day.  He could not have been happier.

 

Berry, Pumpkin, and Chocolate, Wow!!

Three happy Elders
(Elder Bacon and Elder AhChing live in our compound)