WWII, A Fire & A Community Celebration

 We took an entire day and spent it with the other senior missionaries touring the island and seeing all the WWII artifacts. In 1942, Japan took occupation of Tarawa. Then in November 1943, the USA attacked and took back the island. It was called the Battle of Tarawa and there have been many books and movies made about this 3 day battle. Many, many lives were lost there. We enjoyed learning more about the history of Tarawa, but the best part of the day was being in the companionship of the other senior missionaries. They are such good people.  We love them all. 

Please forgive the photo dump. But so cool!!
































Memorials:  the one on the left is to the Japanese soldiers
 and the one on the right is to their Korean slaves


Lunch with the senior missionaries. 

Within the last couple of weeks we had 2 separate home fires. In the first home fire, 2 homes were completely destroyed. They had thatched roofs and wood walls. Luckily, no one was hurt. A couple of  young elders were in the area and joined the community to help put the fire out. Unfortunately, they were dependent on well water and buckets. We tried to start an emergency project to help rebuild their homes, but found out that the land was in dispute. Both home owners were claiming the land belonged to them. This happens often because the land has been in the family for generations and they didn't keep any written records when land was sold.  We were unable to help because the church shouldn't get involved in this legal dispute. I feel so bad for the family.  Their bishop is taking care of them. 

The second fire was a 12 unit government housing structure. 6 families were displaced out of their homes and at least one person sustained bad burns.  We were able to get some clothing and cooking equipment for some of the families the night that it happened. And it looks like we will be able to  get a project started for this one. 

This isn't the home from the first fire but it is a typical 
thatched roof home. You can see how quickly the home
would be completely destroyed. 





Pictures of the second fire the day after. 

We also experienced our first "community" celebration. All the other celebrations we've attended were sponsored by government ministries. The only differences in the celebrations were (1) we sat on the ground instead of chairs (4 hours - we were both a little sore), and (2)when it came time to eat, the men and "honored guests" ate first and when they were finished eating, then the women and children ate. It really is a different culture. But please don't worry about it. It was only a 10 minute wait and the children were snacking all the way through the celebration and really weren't that hungry. It is just a way of teaching respect. (3) The food sat out in the heat for all 4 hours. We were careful and didn't eat any of the chicken or fish. Halleluiah! We didn't get sick at all. 



This lady is one of the most amazing people I know. 
Her name is Tungifiti and she is truly the matriarch of the island. 
She is so much fun and I love her!




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