Bureaucracy at it's Best

 Most of our week was spent trying to get a convection oven that is used to make prosthetics out of customs and on it's way to the hospital on Kiritimati Island. It was donated by LDS charities and has been sitting at the dock here on Tarawa for almost a year.  So we got all the paperwork we needed (or so we thought), and went to Betio to where the port authorities were located. Met with a man there who spoke every little English and he told us we needed another document and that we could get it from Tamwango. He gave us directions and drew us a map to his house.  So we followed his directions and ended up at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energy (MISE). Someone there told us we were close and gave us better directions along with his email address.  Hurray!  It is now after 5:00 and all government offices are closed. So we went home and email the man.  He was very prompt in returning our email which is not normal here in Kiribati. But what he said we needed to do didn't make sense to us. So we tried again to find his office. We ended up in the wrong place again but a very nice man who just happened to know him (everybody knows everybody here) got in his car and had us follow him to Tamwango's home. We NEVER would have found it. This young man works out of his home and he was very helpful.  He couldn't give us the document but told us how to get it. We needed to go back to the port authorities and get an invoice to give to the Ministry of Finance. So off we go back to the port authorities. Spoke to their accounting department. They wouldn't give us the invoice but they gave us the information on the invoice. (Whatever). We then go to the Ministry of Finance. They took a copy of all our paperwork and said they would have to speak to their supervisor and get back to us. They will email us on Tuesday.  So we wait until Tuesday when this saga will continue. 

Waiting in the port authorities lobby

We are still working on getting the School of Nursing a computer server for their network. But Moroni High School had an old server rack they weren't using. So we got them a rack.  

Obviously, seat belts are not a thing here.

Funny story:  Picture this: It is 9:30 pm on a peaceful Sunday evening when we hear a blood curdling scream come from next door where the young sister missionaries live. Then another scream right after that. I go knock on their door. No answer. Knock again, still no answer. Check the door, it is locked.  Knock again very loudly. They sheepishly answer the door while laughing.  I ask if everything is alright,  Then the flood gates open: "There's a lizard on the ceiling! I tried to kill it with my shoe, but it's tail fell off and it just keeps looking at me!!!" I calmly ask if they would like Elder Redmond to come get it off the ceiling. They said yes please.  Together we got the Gecko off the ceiling and put him outside in the bushes. We go back home and laugh about it the rest of the night. 

I didn't take any pictures in the Sister's apartment so this is not THE lizard. But they are very common here. And I don't mind having them in my apartment because they are harmless and eat spiders.