Lae and Ujae Island #3 - The beautiful island of Lae

LAE ISLAND!  We finally made it!

Lae Island, oh what a beautiful sight!  Now that's what I call a tropical island!

Nothing can prepare you for the experience of being on a remote Island in the Pacific.  And when I say remote, I mean REMOTE. Nine-hours-by-boat remote.  Many friends and family have been on vacations to exotic places in the Caribbean, South America, and even the South Pacific. They talk about how they experienced the wiles of an exotic tropical island.  Yes, you may have had a tropical vacation, but this does not come close to describing what we experienced on Lae Island.  This island reminded me of the movie "The Other Side of Heaven."   If you haven't seen it, then I recommend you do.  It is based on the true story by John Groberg when he was called to serve a mission in the Tongan Islands in the 1950s.

When you step onto Lae Island you truly take a step back in time.   A place unadulterated by the outside world (for the most part).  A place where there are no resorts, no pools, no air-conditioning, no paved roads, no cars, no refrigeration, no stores, no running water, no ovens, no phones and internet (OK, occasional access at the NTA "office"; more on that later).  It kind of reminded me of living on a perpetual camping trip.  For some, it's not much different than what they have on Ebeye, except there are no stores.  It was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life so far and I can check it off of my list of things to do someday.  Remote island?  Check!

Diana Seremai (front), Sister Tafili, and Sister Becker being towed in to shore on the small boat.  After nine hours on the boat and we are still laughing and having a good time!  It's always a fun time with Sister Tafili (she says she is the female version of Elder Becker! so funny!)

After our nine hour boat ride from Ebeye Island in the Kwajalein Atoll we finally sailed into the Lae Atoll.  The atoll is too shallow for large boats to dock, so we dropped anchor a few hundred yards off shore.  We ferried to the island via small motor boat from our "large" 50 ft. fishing vessel.  As we approached the island our eyes were busily taking in all the sights.  The clear clean water, the white sand, palm trees swaying in the breeze, the scattering of buildings up on shore, and a long line of islanders waiting to greet us on land.  The women were dressed in colorful Marshallese dresses and many of the men and boys were dressed in white shirts, ties and pants.  As we approached shore our ears detected the beautiful melodic Marshallese singing, accompanied by a ukulele. There began our adventure on Lae Island for the next five days.

Welcome to Lae Island!  Now this is what I have dreamed of!  The women and girls were in front singing with flower leis in their hands, and the men and boys in the back of the line.

Elder Becker shaking hands with the children of Lae.

 

Fine looking young men of the Lae Branch waiting to welcome us and shake our hands.

Here I am with my beautiful (and oh so fragrant) flower lei and a fresh coconut to drink.  I don't think I look too bad, if I don't say so myself, after our 9 hr. boat ride! Behind me is the church building and to the right is the Elder's apartment.

Our time on Lae Island ran from Friday night to Tuesday morning, May 23-27, 2014.  Our time was filled with various meetings and a little relaxation thrown in for good measure!  We had our regular Church meetings on Sunday (Sacrament meeting, Primary, Priesthood Meeting), and then we held a fireside, a Family Home Evening, and leadership training.  I visited the local people with the Sister missionaries and we also spent time cleaning up the church membership records.  We also distributed clothing, toys and other goods to the members on Lae.  The men spent most of Monday in a boat to Ujae Atoll with the purpose of opening it up to missionaries (that will be post #4). And then, who can resist walking on the beach looking for shells, playing a game of volleyball, watching them shinny up the trees to collect fresh coconuts, watching the women prepare local fare, or watching them catch a live pig for our dinner?  Nary a dull moment!

Come with me as we stroll through our weekend in pictures.  I hope you enjoy it as much I did!  I will try to explain it a little as we go.  I must warn you, though, this is a LONG post.  There are just too many pictures.

All of our belongings, tools, food, and supplies had to be ferried, a boat load at a time, from our fishing vessel. Including about about a thousand pounds of rice and flour.  These men worked hard!

 After all the supplies were unloaded from the boat, we were fed royally!  They had tables set up in the church building and they served us food in freshly woven baskets made from the palm leaves. OK, now I am living the good life!

Fish, pork, sea clams (front), breadfruit (fixed 2 ways), rice, and fresh coconut milk

Feasting on our dinner as Branch President Phillips welcomes us.

This is about all I could eat (I was still rocking from the waves) .... until they brought me this warm coconut pudding-like goodness (front right).  Heavenly!

All of the cooking happened inside and around the outdoor cooking huts.  This is where all the food was cooked and served.   The food was cooked over a fire primarily stoked by old coconut shells.  The short walls let the air/wind circulate through the hut, while keeping wandering chickens and children out!

cooking hut

Hot chocolate?  No thanks, too hot for me!

Cooking breadfruit in the coals.  They cooked the fruit until it blackened, then they scraped off the blackened skin with broken bits of glass.  Then it was returned to the fire to cook and repeat the process.   Notice the women just sit right on the coral!  They are tough women!

Pres. Kajai and company fixing dinner

with the Elders in the cooking area

fresh catch grill

view from the cooking hut, Chapel on left, Elder's apt and bathrooms

the main road away from "town"

The Kwajalein District, lead by Sister Seremai, brought many items for the members on Lae.  Clothing, toys, sandals, flip-flops, candy, treats, toiletries, sheets, towels, and many other items were all donated by the caring sisters from the District.  These were carefully and systematically distributed to the children and women.

children waiting for their goodies

this little girl cracked me up.  I don't think we were ever able to make her smile.  I don't think she liked our white skin.  Somehow she managed to snag an extra bear as well!

Sis. Seremai reading letters from her preschool children to the children of Lae

sorting the clothes

 It was fun helping Sister Seremai distribute the items.  Everything they received was so appreciated.







We "kicked" the Elders out of their apartment, so this is where Elder Becker and I slept.  I purchased an inflatable mattress for the trip enabling us to get a half decent sleep.  We primarily used the apartment to sleep and to shower.  Every time we went into the apartment there would be little children standing outside trying to get a look at what we were doing.  They would stand and just stare for what seemed like forever until we would shoo them away.  

The Elder's apartment, with slatted glass windows.  That, folks, is island air-conditioning!  The building on the right holds the toilets (only for the Elders) and a storage room. Not sure what Sister Tafili and Elder Becker are doing looking into the bathroom?? Did they spot a spider or something?

The sister missionaries slept in the Primary room, just off the chapel inside the church.  It was a nice and secure place for them to sleep and study.  They also had an inflatable mattress to sleep on since we had purchased one for Pres. and Sister Weir.  Since Weirs couldn't come the sisters gladly slept on it. 

little piggies running around all over!

The water catchment system for the shower.  The green barrel was full of water, then you had to pump a lever (about 100 times) to draw the water up into the small grey barrel.  This fed into the small shower stall inside the apartment.  The water came out of the pipe, similar to water out of a garden hose.  Cool and refreshing!

inside the Elder's apartment

The kitchen.  The Elders have a sink, a couple of drawers for their dishes, a butane hot plate for cooking and a table with 2 chairs for eating and study.  That's about it!

"our" bedroom. wood floors, slatted glass windows, the bed against the wall.

Cleaning up the common area in the morning.  The hut in back was where the Elders slept.  Top picture shows the inside of the hut (made for Young Women meetings) with woven palm mats to sleep on.  The fresh green mats are surprisingly soft and cool.

The sisters were helping to sweep before they took their "bucket" showers.  They opted not to use the "real" shower in the Elder's apartment. tough girls!

A glimpse at some of our meetings.....

waiting for a meeting to start inside the chapel

Priesthood brethren

Primary singing time

Speaking at the Fireside.  James Jelke, left, was our interpreter.

 Saturday night we held a fireside for the Branch.  We have about 95 members of the church on Lae.  There are about 300 people on Lae Island, so about 1/3 of the island attend church.  Several of us visitors from the District were asked to speak and share our testimonies.  Elder Becker and I talked about the temple and our love for the temple.  The other speakers spoke on prophets, the priesthood, the importance of family, and the Book of Mormon.  We each talked for about 15-20 minutes.  Each meeting was a spiritual experience.  The fine leaders of the Lae Branch are doing a wonderful job leading the congregation.

After the fireside we ate a typical late dinner, about 9:30pm.
 
Sunday meetings went as usual, almost as if we were back home attending Sacrament meeting in the states.  We had Sacrament meeting, followed by classes for the Priesthood and the Primary.  The Relief Society women adjourned to the cooking hut where they had to start preparing food for the large group of people.

Beauties on the beach!  Sister Tafili, Thelma Ned, Sister Butler joined by a little islander

shelling fresh coconuts

They love to pose for pictures!  And what an amazing backdrop!

After dinner we visited and played games, and I even joined in the fun, making funny animal sounds and dancing.  They told me I was a pretty good dancer!  Not sure about that, but it was fun! 

the front of the Lae church, with water catchments on either side            

walking on the beach with these beautiful sisters and Elder Becker. (notice my plastic bag for shells!)  I can't walk on a beach and not collect shells!

sailing in the lagoon

the only way to cross was to wade through

walking the beach

We wandered through the rest of the island, escorted by our missionaries.  We visited with members, met new friends, including a doctor, and took in all the sights.

empty airport building

this is the runway for when the planes are flying

medical clinic; they have a doctor, but no medicine

frying breadfruit chips.  Yummy!

new elementary school to open this fall!

current elementary school room

school buildings, old and new

NTA - the only place to make a phone call and get internet access!

The NTA "building"

coconuts drying

basketball court - with solar panels!

Protestant church, the only other church on the island.

 And we were treated to the most beautiful sunset for us to remember Lae by!

 And then it was almost time to go home to Ebeye before we knew it.  But first there were a couple of things to do before we say goodbye to our new found friends.....

Fisrt, they kill a pig for our final dinner......

Then the women sang to us at our farewell Yokwe.  So, touching! I shed tears as they sang their good bye songs

clowning around with our new friends. such wonderful people!

sending us home with lots of new jewelry, all lovingly hand stitched

Farewell to our wonderful friends on Lae!  God be with you til we meet again!  A finer group of people could never be found.  It is so true that no matter where you go in this world you will find true and valiant people who share your same values.  These people have firm testimonies of the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  They have the same faith, as do I, that if we live righteously then we can live once again with our Heavenly Father and with our families.  And when we do, I hope to be there with these fine people once again.  I love you, my friends from Lae.  You will ever be in my heart.

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

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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!