Lae & Ujae Island #4 - Ujae Island Trip

Sister Becker and I went to Lae Island for five days back in May and I am finally getting around to writing about an additional excursion I took during one of those days to Ujae Island.  The reason for going to Ujae Island was to open it up to missionary work for the church.  A few months ago the District Presidency, High Councilors and me went to see Iroij (King) Mike Kabua, who lives on a small island just a couple miles north of Ebeye.  We needed to get permission to go to Ujae Island and open that island up for LDS Missionaries to proselytize.  One has to get permission from the king of the island in order to go there and do this type of work.  Iroij Mike Kabua was very polite and granted us permission to do what we requested.

After spending the first three days of our five day trip on Lae Island doing church related work it was time to head to Ujae.  The District Presidency, High Councilors, three elders and me (about 17 brethren) woke up at 2:00 AM on Monday, May 26th for our one day trip.  By the time we all got on board the 50 ft. boat and were ready to leave it was 3:00.  The trip to Ujae was rather uneventful.  The stars and moon were so beautiful.  It is amazing when you are out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a dark and clear night how many stars one is able to see.  It reminded me of the beautiful starlit sky at night while camping in the mountains back in Idaho.  It does make one believe what I have heard that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the earth.  What was supposed to be a three hour, 30 mile, boat ride to Ujae in reality took five hours.  It actually did take three hours to get to Ujae from Lae, but what I didn't know is that one has to go past Ujae for another 10 miles before one could find safe passge for the boat into the Ujae Atoll.  It was very sad to see Ujae and then lose sight of that island for one hour before entering the atoll and heading back for one hour to the island. 

All of us brethren had worn comfortable casual clothes while on the boat, but once we reached Ujae we changed into our white shirts, ties, and dress slacks since it was missionary work that we had been asked to do.  Upon arriving at Ujae Island the pilot of the boat had to blow the fog horn in order to get the attention of the people.  Within a few minutes we saw a few men get into a small motor boat and head our way.  It took a few trips to haul all of us to the island along with all of the supplies we had brought.  We took with us gifts of rice (always), ramen, crackers, chicken, etc.  We were greeted by approximately 100 islanders and were adorned with leis around our necks.

Elder Becker pictured here with several of the brethren on the boat as we approach Ujae Island.

 After a three hour boat ride we passed beautiful Ujae Isand on the outside of the atoll and returned two hours later on the inside of Ujae Atoll.

 We approached the shore in a small boat where a few people were waiting to greet us.

After arriving on Ujae Island we followed Brother Joel Jeik and one of his nieces around the island.  Brother Jeik is a High Councilor in the Kwajalein District and was raised on Ujae Island.  He has a few siblings and many other relatives still living here.  His father, who now lives in Nevada, owns a few houses on Ujae and he has offered to rent one of the houses to our two missionary elders once they arrive on the island.  Our main goal in going to Ujae was to visit with a few of the people, let them know that LDS Missionaries would be arriving soon, and find appropriate housing for two elders.

 Typical housing on Ujae island.

 This is a view of Ujae Island on the ocean side of the island.  You will notice that there is very little sand and mostly very shallow corral which makes it impossible to land or unload a boat.  This is why we had to go an hour past the island and find a place to enter the atoll.

 Joel Jeik holding hands with one of his nieces and leading us as we begin our tour of Ujae Island.

 Several of the brethren and a couple of women on the main path.  There are no cars on Ujae.

 Carlson Kilma, Johannes Seremai, and Stimpson Kejai

 Johannes Seremai, Rafael Abaya, unknown islander, and Elder Becker

This is a picture of most of the brethren that went to Ujae Island.

After walking for about 45 minutes from the northwestern end of the island to the southeastern end we reached the area where Brother Jeik's father owned several homes.  Brother Rafael Abaya (Marshall Islands Church Facilites Manager) and I along with the others inspected the first house.   We soon discovered that conditions inside and outside the home were not suitable for elders to live in.  The house itself needed a lot of work, the water catchment for drinking was green, slimey, with no cover and definitely was unsuitable for drinking (even using the church water filtering system that we have), and the outside toilet was a community toilet.  The Church requires that missionaries have their own private restroom facilities.  There was also a large 4 inch spider that had taken up residency in the toilet.  Brother Abaya and I mentioned to Brother Jeik that this house was not going to work and that we would like to look at another house.  He told us that this was the only empty house that his father owned and that there were no others to look at.  We asked him if there was anyone we could possibly talk to on the island that may have a suitable house to rent and he did not know anyone that did.   Brother Abaya and I both talked and came to the conclusion that we had just taken a five hour boat ride to Ujae only to get here and not find a place for elders.  We figured we would just have to report to President Weir (Marshall Islands missionary president) that we had been unsuccessful. 

 The water catchment container at the first house we looked at.  Notice that there is no cover plus the water is green and slimy.  I don't know about you, but I don't think I would drink the water.

  The outside toilet with the large spider that took up residency

We started the discouraging walk back towards the northwestern end of the island with Rafael Abaya and me leading the way.  We had only walked for about five minutes when both Rafa and I stopped and looked on the right side of the path at a small pink house.  We both said look at this nice looking place.  It has nice paint, the interior is clean, it has two bedrooms with a large living room, the restroom outside is only for this house, there is a nice covered cooking area outside, the water catchment container has a cover on it and the water is clean, and finally the patio cover outside would be ideal for church services and meetings until the church grows and a chapel could be built.  We both agreed now if this was the house then there would be no problem having missionaries stay here.  We had no sooner said this when up walks Brother Jeik.  He asked why we had stopped and we explained to him that the house we were looking at right now was the kind of place we were looking for.  He looked at both of us and said, "Okay that is fine.  You can have it to rent for the elders."  We explained to him that it looked like it was already occupied.  He said that it was and that his sister and brother-in-law lived in it.  He proceeded to tell us that they would fix up the one we had previously looked at and that they would move into it and the elders could move into this one.  Neither Rafa or I could believe it.  We tried to explain to Joel that the last thing we wanted to do was to upset people on Ujae and have them spread rumors about the LDS Church and about how mean we were to force people from their homes.   Joel Jeik then told us that he was the eldest sibling in the family and the Marshalleise custom is that the younger siblings have to respect the decisions of the eldest sibling.  Later we also found out that the islanders believe that if they do anything nice for missionaries (or spiritual leader) of any religion then their own lives will be blessed.  We met a little later with Joel's sister and brother-in-law and they both smiled and agreed that they would be more than happy to move.  This event that had just taken place increased my faith and testimony.  The Lord was not going to let us leave Ujae Island without having us complete our mission of finding suitable housing for two elders.

.

 Bill Albert standing under the patio of the house that we are renting for two Ujae Elders.  Standing in the back in the yellow shirt is Joel Jeik's brother-in-law and that is his son standing by Bill Albert.

There is a covered water catchment container next to the right of the patio that will be used for the elder's drinking water.

After having completing our mission of finding suitable housing on Ujae Island for two elders it was time to head back to Lae Island.  We had been on the island for three hours and it was now 11:00 AM.  It took about an hour for us to board the large boat as it took a couple of trips to load everyone using the small motor boat.  We were surprised upon boarding the boat for the return trip to Lae that there were already nine people (also a large live pig) on the boat that had not come with us from Lae.  Come to find out that if a boat arrives on your island and it is going where you want to go then it is okay to get on whether there is room or not.  

The five hour ride back to Lae Island was not nearly as smooth as the ride to Ujae Island earlier in the morning.  Once we left the atoll the weather turned bad.  The wind picked up creating huge waves, some clouds moved in and it rained for a while.  The waves were so large that the front of the boat, where I happened to be seated, would lift up out of the water and slam back down causing water to splash everywhere.  In fact the waves were so large that a couple of the men that were seated in the bow of the boat were lifted off their seats back and onto the floor of the boat.  I then chose to wedge myself between the edge of the boat and the holds in the front of the boat.  I did get wet, but at least I wasn't going to get get thrown out of the boat.  I had taken enough Dramamine before we left Ujae that eventually I was able to fall asleep.  Once we entered the Lae Atoll the lagoon was nice and calm.  It had been a great trip to Ujae and our mission of finding suitable housing for the elders had been accomplished.

 

A picture of the beach and palm trees on the lagoon side of Ujae Island.

 Stimpson Kejai and Elder Becker

Looking back down the path as we are leaving Ujae.

The next morning, May 27th at 8:00 AM we boarded the boat one last time for our nine hour boat ride back home to Ebeye Island.  The return trip had about 47 people on board along with two live pigs and one live chicken. The nine people from Ujae plus some additional people from Lae boarded the boat.  They attempted to get approximately 60 people on board, but that was too many.  We found out later that the occupancy for the boat is not to exceed 25 people, not counting the pigs and chicken.  The weather on the return back was rather calm and the waves were not too bad.  Joel Jeik caught a yellow finned tuna and Carlson Kilma caught a mahi-mahi.  Once the fish was gutted and cut up the people pulled limes out of their pockets and consumed most of the fish right then and there.  Brother Kilma offered Sister Becker and I some of the raw mahi-mahi to eat but we declined and said that we would love to take some home.   He proceeded to cut off a huge piece and gave it to us. We took it to our apartment and cooked (not raw for me) it the next day.  It was by far the best fish I have eaten in my life.  

After being gone from Ebeye for five days Sister Becker and I were so happy to be home.  The trip was one of the best trips we have ever been on in our lives both physically and spiritually.  The beauty of the Pacific Islands and the wonderful friendly people that we met and associated with is difficult to match anywhere in the world.  We have come to love Ebeye and indeed it has become our home.  As we went to bed that night after a long shower, in an air conditioned apartment with running water, and internet (we emailed all of our children and let them know that we had arrived safely back on Ebeye) we said our prayers to Our Heavenly Father and thanked him for the memorable and  safe trip to Lae and Ujae Islands.

As a side note we have already placed two elders on Ujae Island.  Elder Price and Elder Tui'tupou hopped on a boat on June 13th and arrived there the next day.  It is unbelievable that after opening up that island to missionaries only nineteen days earlier we already have missionaries there.  This week we received an email from the missionary office in Majuro that the two elders there are in need of baptismal clothing.  The Lord's work moves along quickly and in the right direction when He wants things done.

Lae and Ujae Island #2 - the boat ride

May 23, 2014 Friday

Here it is! Our means of transportation for our 9 hour trip to Lae! Inside seating was for only the captain and his crew of two.  There is a smaller-than-an airline bathroom through the door on the left. And, yes, before the nine hours was up I did have to cave in and use the facilities.

All ready to go!  With my hat, water bottle, sunscreen, sea sickness bracelets (on my wrists), and pillow encased in plastic.

Friday morning dawned early for us in anticipation of our boat trip to see the beautiful people of the Lae and Ujae Islands.  Our party consisted of Elder Becker and me, the Kwajalein District Presidency, members of the District High Council, two church facilities people, three young missionaries, and a few others (including one small child and a nursing baby!) to bring the total to 29 people.  We had one elder missionary on board that was to switch places with an elder now serving on Lae.  We also had two sister missionaries with us, Sister Butler and Sister Tafili.  After weeks and weeks of asking, reasoning and perhaps nagging, Pres. Weir finally relented to let them go if they worked real hard.  The idea had been bounced around of whether or not it would be feasible to put sister missionaries on an island, and we thought this would be the perfect test!  Needless to say, they were more than ecstatic to go!  And I was delighted to have them as my female companions.  I just love our sisters! 

Me with Sister Butler and Sister Tafili at the dock waiting and ready to load the boat.

The first line of order was to get the boat loaded with all of our belongings and supplies.  The bulk of the goods had been loaded onto the boat the night before.  Our boat is basically a fishing boat, so it has several deep holds that were easily filled up with supplies for the island people.  We had thousands of pounds of rice, flour, and other food, as well as church materials, repair supplies, chairs, clothing and other household items.  The list could go on and on.  We took a large supply of food items to the people on Lae, but we also had to take enough food to feed our crew for five days. There were boxes and coolers placed in every corner and aisle on the boat. And the men so kindly covered the front of the boat with a tarp to help protect us from the elements.

Tying down the tarp on the boat.  It is under this tarp, out of the sun, that many of us stayed for nearly the full nine hours!  Believe me, it was a life saver!

 We said a prayer and our good byes.  Many friends, family, and church members were there to see us off.  We started loading the boat at about 6am that morning and were ready to push off at 8am!  I.was .amazed!  First time we have ever done anything ahead of schedule here!  We generally run on what we call "island time".

Leaving the dock at Ebeye.  Good-bye and farewell for five days!

My little spot on the boat was right up front with my back to the cabin.  There were no chairs for seating, so I had my plastic-encased pillow to sit on, with the wall for my back support.  I had a pretty sweet spot as I could still catch fresh air from the outside, and I was shaded most of the time by the tarp.  I also loaded up on Dramamine so I wouldn't get sea sick.  That worked like a charm along with my motion sickness bracelets!

Relaxing and reading on my iPad which was encased in a ziplock bag to keep dry.  The rest of me certainly was not keeping dry, especially my wind-blown hair.  I can't complain as it actually helped to keep cool.

We headed across the atoll, past Carlos Island, where it is deep enough for boats to safely leave the Kwajalein Atoll.  After about one hour we could see nothing but water, water, and more water.  We were in the middle of the ocean! And we never once saw another boat.  At first it was kind of an unsettling thought, but then I assured myself that I was surrounded with some of the most faithful people in the district, prayers were being said on our behalf, and the captain had a radio!

WHAT TO DO ON A BOAT FOR 9 HOURS?
Ok, time to relax. We are going to be here for a long time.  What does one do on a boat like this for nine hours you ask?  Let's see:  Read (when the boat's not rocking too bad). Sleep (or just sit there in a daze). Sing. Gaze at the water.  Sleep. Read.  Stretch.  Eat.  Play a game.  Fish.  Look for flying fish (yes, Elder Becker did see some).  Read.  Stretch.  Sleep.  Look for land.   I think that's about it.  The loud sound of the boat and the waves made it too loud to carry on much of a conversation, but the Sister's and I did have fun singing hymns and we did play a guessing game.  Some people slept most of the time away, but I'm not prone to sleeping when traveling, even with Dramamine, so I just sat there in a vegetative state for awhile when I couldn't read!  ha, ha.  Lots of time for thinking and self introspection.

My view from where I sat.  I think everyone was sleeping at this point except for me and the little boy!

Singing hymns with Sister Butler. Notice all the coolers and boxes everywhere.

Stretching and taking a picture of the back of the boat.  The large red bag was my back rest.

This little boy's mom was sleeping, so he was entertaining himself with a game.

Pres. Seremai and Carl Kilma in the back fishing.  If you look real close, you can see a line out the back on either side of the picture.  They were successful in catching a yellow fin tuna and a Mahi Mahi, both going and coming. YUM!

Gazing at the ocean and sleeping

Singing hymns with the sisters.

Rafe Abaya and Bill Albert in a daze.

Elder Becker stretched out in the front of the boat with his iPad; Sister Butler in the foreground.

And more chillin!

the only life preserver I ever saw!  Hang on Sister Tafili!  Pres Seremai on top.

supplies all along the side of the boat, too

great group of people!

LAND AHOY!

The one thing that finally brought us alive was to be among the first to sight land.  Oh, what a welcome sight that was!  The only problem with that though, is that it still takes a long, long time to get there once land has been sighted. We watched with rapt attention as the little dot on the horizon grew bigger and bigger and turned into an island. I can't describe how happy that made me feel!  I guess that captain really does know what he's doing!   Then, the hard part, we had to pass Lae Island to get inside the atoll through the only entrance deep enough for the boat to pass.  It's hard to finally see land, and then watch it pass by.  Patience, dear girl!

Viewing Lae Atoll with rapt attention.  We actually had to pass Lae Island (the largest island in the atoll - which always has the same name as the atoll), and go past the land, we so longingly had looked for, until we could turn around and enter the atoll through the pass in the coral reef.

Taking down the tarp in preparation of our arrival.

FERRIED TO LAND
Once inside the atoll they took the tarps off the boat, and we waited for a small boat to ferry us and all our supplies to land.  The water is so shallow, so we dropped anchor a good distance from land out in the lagoon.  And that is where the boat stayed until we left.

Here comes our boat to ferry us to land!

Yay!  Finally on board the small boat!  They wanted the missionaries and the women to be the first ones greeted by the people on Lae.

Oh, what a beautiful sight!  Now that's what I think of when I think of a remote island!  Stunningly beautiful!  And look at that clear water, white sand, and the church building in the background!

Time to get off the boat and meet our welcoming party on the beach!

 Some may say this is a lot of detail for just the boat ride, but I wanted to devote a good amount of time to this because it took so stinking long to get there!  Got that?  Nine hours!  Can you imagine that?  We were on that boat for nine hours, and it didn't take you nine hours to read this!  Ha, ha!  We left at 8 am and arrived on Lae Island at 5pm.  Honestly, I wanted to document our incredible journey, that for me was a journey into the unknown.  

On this trip I was surrounded by so many good people, and I am so grateful to be able to call them friends.  I pray for them daily, and I know they are doing the same for Elder Becker and me.  I couldn't have asked to have traveled with a better group of people.  I love these people with every fiber of my being, and I am grateful to be serving among them in the Marshall Islands.  They were always concerned that I was doing OK or if I needed anything.  Always thinking of others.  I know Our Savior hears and listens to the prayers of these humble people, and I know he is blessing their lives as the gospel is being taught to them in these islands.  My life has been blessed many times over because of these people.  The blessing for me to not be sea sick AT ALL was a miracle and a first in my life.  The blessings just continue.

Next up, Lae blog #3!  Let's see the island and meet the people!  I bet you can't wait!  I can't either.  I can't wait to relive this memory once again.

Lae and Ujae Island #1 - preparing for the trip

Yes, we are still alive and well here on Ebeye!  And busy as ever.  There are so many things I want to write about, but I thought it best to start by documenting our trip to Lae and Ujae Island on May 23- 27, 2014. That's five days of adventure!   There are so many pictures and details to share with you, so thought it best to break it down in sections.  It's been about three weeks since we returned (how time flies!), and we are still talking about our trip.  Hopefully, the pictures have preserved some of the detail that we so soon forget, but even with pictures it is hard to relay the sights, smells, sounds, and feel of the entire experience.  In one word: INCREDIBLE! And a-once-in-a-lifetime-experience.  Ok, I guess that's not one word, but then again, one word cannot really describe this experience.

This trip to Lae Island has pretty much been in the works ever since Elder Becker's first trip to Lae back in October 2013, right after our arrival in the Marshall Islands.  We had barely set foot on Ebeye Island when Pres.Weir asked Elder Becker if he would like to go on a four-day-five-hour boat trip to see the members in the Lae Atoll.  Elder Becker gladly joined the entourage and had an amazing and memorable experience as the leaders in the Kwajalein District taught and trained the members of the church on Lae Island.  The five hour boat ride, however, turned into nine hours, but that didn't seem like too much of a deterrent.  Elder Becker just took lots of Dramamine and slept through most of it!

LAE ISLAND HERE I COME!
This time the trip to Lae Island was going to include ME!  Yippy Skippy!  I wanted to go this time and I was so looking forward to it.  After all, the men can't have all the "fun"!  I had to stay back last time to set up and clean the new apartment, but I wasn't about to be left behind this time.  No way!  But, I knew this time it would be different.  Sister Weir and I were going to fly in the plane and meet the rest of the group as they arrived in the boat.  Easy, peasy.  No boat ride for us women! No sirree!   BIG CHANGE OF PLANS........ 1.)  The small plane was (and still is) down for repairs for Air Marshall ("Air Maybe" as we call it) and no planes were flying to Lae, and 2.) Pres. and Sister Weir had to cancel out at the last minute.  But, the show must go on and we continued preparations, by packing and gathering supplies.

THE MARSHALL ISLANDS

We live close to the middle in the Kwajalein Atoll where Ebeye Island is on the southeast portion of the atoll.  Our boat was to leave Ebeye and travel 100 miles west to Lae Atoll; then 2 days later travel 30 miles northwest to Ujae Atoll.  Each atoll has limited entrances deep enough for the boats to enter the lagoon in the atoll, which adds to the travel time and distance.

PURPOSE OF OUR TRIP
This trip was two-fold.  1.) Conduct leadership training with the members and leaders of the church on Lae Island, and 2.) Open up Ujae Island to missionaries.  Ujae Atoll is another five-hour boat ride past Lae Atoll.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries have never set foot on this island.  The Ujae Atoll has about 600 people on it and it has only one small Protestant church which serves about 30 people.  Ujae has about twice as many people as Lae, and people have been waiting for the missionaries to come.

Some of the Elders waiting to visit Iroij Mike Kabua

. 

PERMISSION TO GO TO UJAE ATOLL
Before we left for Lae, the leaders of the church in the Kwajalein District had to get permission from the Iroij (King) to place missionaries on the island.  Mike Kabua, the King, lives on the island just north of Ebeye.  The meeting was arranged and about 14 members of the District Presidency, High Council, and Elder Becker went bearing gifts.  It is customary to take gifts to the King when making such transactions, so they went bearing gifts carried on their right shoulder (another part of the custom).  These gifts consisted of rice, flour, ramen noodles, and soda pop.  They had an audience with the King. Business was discussed, smiles and handshakes were exchanged, and permission was granted.  Easy enough!  All that pomp and circumstance and we were set to open up a new island with missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We felt like true pioneers.

This fishing boat (the large one) was our means of transportation for about 30 people and all our food and supplies for Lae and Ujae.

I had to buy a hat (which I found on Kwaj) for the sun and wind, and also obtained an ample supply of Dramamine!