Day Two of Meeting

We had sunshine today so we had a few more people to attend. The ferry schedules made our time tight but it should be better tonight. Robert is doing a great job with the lessons.

First Day of our Gospel Meeting

We went over to the church building to finish getting ready for the gospel meeting on Saturday. Robert Martin, the preacher flew in on Thursday. This is Robert painting the podium Lee made. Lee and Robert made another bench and Lee worked on a few door issues. Robert did a great job on the sermons. His voice carries well and he keeps the message simple and easy to understand. Robert has been preaching to the people in the Pacific for many years and he knows how to make it easy for the local people. It rained Sunday and it really cut down on our numbers. Several people got drenched riding to church Sunday morning. We still had pretty good numbers in spite of the rain. We had just under 40 kids and I was too busy to count the adults. This was our Sunday night group and our numbers were down but we are expecting better numbers tonight if it does not rain today.

Ready

Lee and I went to work on the church building to get it ready for the Gospel Meeting yesterday. We rearranged the building materials that are waiting to be used to finish the inside. We cleaned both floors, built two 11 ft. picnic style benches to sit on and a temporary pulpit. Lee mistook his finger for a nail once and almost fell down the stairs. That is usually my job. It was very, very hot. The electricity is on only from 6 pm to 8 am on Gugeegue right now. All the neighborhood babies were fussy from the heat. They were all crying and taking short naps. Water is a big issue on Ebeye and Gugeegue. People travel all the way to Kwajalein to haul back buckets or jugs full of drinking water. Many use rain water they catch that runs off of their tin roofs. Unfortunately we are in the middle of our rainy season and we are 11 plus inches behind.  Considering the heat, lack of water and electricity, it is pretty remarkable. Americans are very blessed. Count your blessings people.

Gospel Meeting

We are holding a Gospel Meeting on Gugeegue with Robert H. Martin, on Sept. 28-Oct 2, 2008. Robert is flying into Kwaj on Thursday. He has held several meetings on different islands in the pacific on his trip. Paul Hester, who was the preacher who built the church building was some how managing to make it to Hawaii with his work and then he was coming to Kwaj for the meeting. Unfortunately those plans fell through. It was disappointing for everyone. Lee and I are going to the church building on Monday to rearrange some of the building supplies that have not been used yet so we can make room for as many chairs as possible down stairs for the meeting. Lee is trying to come up with a way to make a podium for preaching and song leading. It is going to be a challenge getting over to Gugeegue every night but we will do whatever it takes. Please pray the meeting will be a success.

Craft Time

We did our first craft today with the kids. It was one of those paper plate crafts. I belief in the KISS method (keep it simple stupid). When you have such a large range in age it can be very tricky. Some of the kids that were old enough they should have known how to use scissors were lost right off the bat. We finally got the cutting done and it went a lot smoother after that. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of their creations. (sorry)

I'll try again next week.

Thank you to my cousin Liesl Waldrum for sending three boxes of craft supplies with almost none that was a duplicate of what I have already received from other generous helpers.

Sun Rise

Lee gets Sunday and Monday off from work. Today is Monday but when you get old like us you can't sleep late like you did when you was young. We have watched muti sun sets but not a sun rise. We were up anyway so we watched the sun come up. Equally pretty going up or down.

Trailers

Trailers are very important for hauling anything on Kwaj. Just like the bikes, there are all kinds of trailers. This one is to haul kids but a lot of people buy them to haul groceries even though the grocery store delivers your groceries. The rubbermaid type trailers are very popular for not getting your cargo wet. Some trailers are hand made others are bought. Some haul heavy loads, some haul loads of 100 pounds or less. A lot of people have more than one type of trailer.

Bicycles

With no personal cars on the island. Bicycles are very important to getting around. The pink one is mine. Baskets on your bike are a necessity since it is the only way to haul anything around. There is every kind of bicycle you could imagine on Kwaj. The tall handle bars are very popular. They lean on the handlebars with their arms as they pedal. Probably about as close to reclining as you can get without a leg rest. I forgot to get a pic of the three wheeled bikes. I'll try that one another day.

A Bible for Each Child

Thank you to Audrey Mauck and the Edmond Church of Christ young families class once again. We now have given a Bible to each and every child who comes to church with us. The little boy in the front that is holding his Bible up to his head was really proud of his Bible. He managed to get in almost every picture I took showing off his Bible. Sweet little girls and one proud boy. Thank you also to Monica Wiggins and her family for sending some toys, clothes and craft supplies. They love it when you take their picture.