Tsunami Warning!

Matthew 24:7 “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.”   February 28 waking up on Sunday morning as usual for meeting we get a phone call from a local elder notifying us that the branch in Guam had called the Majuro missionary home to notify the friends that a major earthquake in Chile had sent Tsunami warnings to the entire south Pacific. We tried to call you Jeremy and settled for an email “meeting has been cancelled”! We helped notify  the friends  from Laura, those living right on the ocean side were told they could go to the Kingdom Hall. The Hall is not on high ground but it is inland—so to speak—at least for Laura, maybe .5mi to ocean a bit further to lagoon. Several friends and families went . We living at island midpoint and with a “cement bunker” home with a second story (good thing we know the neighbors, Jehovah’s witnesses are good at that) decided to stay and be a mid island check point with phone contact and internet access for updates. All are safe and it is now afternoon with no signs of any problems which by recent reports should put us past the “wave”.

The top two pictures were taken today showing stormy sky’s and turbulent seas. This picture of lagoon side actually has a fishing boat (white spot on horizon, next time I will get closer) which is ship wrecked up on the lagoon. It has been abandoned for several years.It is a large 100`feetish’ boat.

Last picture actually taken on another day when the tides were particularly high washing up lots of debris.

NOTICE: Since we are a day ahead of Montana perhaps you all should cancel meeting Sunday. I understand there are some low spots in those Rocky Mountains! However in view of the rest of Mathew 24 and 25 you had better not, someone say’s something about “Keep on the watch!”

High point? Catch! Samson? Meeting!

1.This bridge the locals call the highest point in Majuro which since it is manmade it must have gotten the title years ago when built to connect two atols to complete Majuros’ 30mile stretch. It is at about the 10 mile location. There are now several buildings higher and the paper said the garbage pile at the dump is now the highest point---yuk! Small boats pass here to easy access from the lagoon to the ocean also a fun jump off spot “York bridge style”.

2. Incoming! Catch that coconut dont duck!                     3. Samson brings down our house! Crystal, actually introduced earlier, poses with the Philistines for a cameo to send to mom in Phillipines . 4.Depending on the meeting and if Brother Andy’s bus is full we may have o to 6 passengers to pick up for meeting, if we have’nt mentioned it is almost a 30 min 15mi drive; watch for coconuts, the tuna can can only clear little ones, pot holes about every mile (flat tires at 4) people stroll (“jambo”) on the road, dogs hide for a short chase, chickens run stop turn around run some more . This meeting night was interesting. Just after opening song lights go out. Power outages  quite common on comes a flashlight a few brothers familiar to the drill get the inverter from the magazine counter plug into the power box , start up the other brothers car , hook onto car battery turn off all fans (ooooo not good) turn on one stage light, and all three meetings complete to the finish without a hitch, the car never stalled or ran out of gas. Oh and after the last song ,without music ,on comes the power. Another meeting in Majuro.

Friends, Service and Banana Balls?

1.Lynn at the Laura Hall with l to r Crystal a teenager still in school exemplary in every way and also a translator at meetings for those of us who will need one for “some time”, in front Doda who with her eyes open and a smile she can “ stop traffic”, Grandma Nalon holding down the home while mom Sally is in the Phillipines for health reasons should be home soon.

This is Andy, found the truth in California returned to home Majuro with family to care for sick relatives and has been a pillar in the congregations for many years'. We are on a Bible study  sitting in the yard the Rabelle{foreigner} with titanium knees gets the white lawn chair. Notice the homemade oven being built.  Ribar, tin, plywood, some coconut charcoals, and bake your breadfruit. 

Sitting, not on a shoeshine bench but a “Raniki” bench.  there is a metal grater at the end for shaving the insides of the coconut.  Add bananas from our front yard tree, boil bananas, then mash with coconut and tata, banana balls!  Enno (delicious)!!   Praise Jah you people, our loving creator’s 6:30 show. 

TIDBITS FROM MAJURO

1.  Three Amigos!  On the left is a pandanus (in Marshallese – Bob)  They hang on a small like palm tree about 8 – 20 feet tall.  This Bob lies on the lagoon after erosion and winds knocked over its tree.  These are good to eat.  When they are ripe, there is an orange in the grooves.  You pull off the green knobs and it is like sucking a paint brush!  The brush ends get stuck in your teeth but it tastes good.  Some make a juice out of them but we don’t know how.  Next to the Bob is a small coconut tree starting to grow out of the coconut which you can see is half out of the sand.  You can break open the husk of these that have leaves coming out of them and the middle of the coconut is no longer liquid but a solid.  Kind of like the texture of styrofoam!  They then call it “u”.  It is really delicious and you can just eat it, cook it with vegetables, or they make a drink called “liquod” that they add milk to.  The third amigo is a eroded, washed up coconut shell from the lagoon with eye holes courtesy of the local rat population!  it is surprising how many coconuts on the ground have rat holes in and through them.  Got to pick them up fast! 

2.  A rural home in Laura while out in service.  Notice to the right is a tent!  That is the bedroom and the building in the middle is there main house.  Behind the house is their outdoor kitchen.  This is one of Lynn’s return visits.  You have to take a “Montana dirt road” to get to it.  Except a .10 mile drive vs Montana’s 100 miles!

3.  Different view of our house.  Remember we live in the downstairs.  The red door to the right is the courtyard where one of our bathrooms is.  Notice above the courtyard in the back is our neighbors lanai.  That is over our bedroom.  The tree next to the house is a breadfruit tree which hasn’t produced yet.