October 31, 2013

October 31, 2013

I can’t believe that the end of October has come, also can’t believe that at home the weather is getting cooler because it is getting hotter here.  I took my umbrella today not to keep the rain off, but to keep the sun off.  The breeze that is usually constant here only cools us when we are in the shade.  The sun is starting to feel very hot to bare skin.  It was 93 with 85% humidity.

We took a quick trip to Vava`u on Tuesday, came back Wednesday.  It was a good trip though.  We felt like we got a lot done with the TVET teachers there.  They really are a good group of people but we found some things that surprised and saddened us.  The TVET teachers have not had a budget to work with for 2 years, so that means no supplies to teach classes other than what would be supplied by the school which isn’t much.  Little things like band saw blades, welding rods, thread for the sewing machines, pins, needles.  The board of education is stressing the need for increased education, but somehow hasn’t allotted money for the things the teachers need to teach.  Now this may be a broad statement that may not be true, but we are sure trying to find out what is happening with the supplies the teachers need.  It seems kind of counterproductive to try to teach without the necessary tools.  However, through personal experience, we know that it takes a terribly long time to get anything sent to the south Pacific.  Steve ordered band saw blades nearly 2 months ago and nobody seems to know where they are, if they have been ordered or even in stock.  It is really hard trying to keep ahead of the need.  The teachers, however, are eager to learn, are taking the classes they need to get their certifications and working hard.  They want us to move to Vava`u to teach them.  We can’t do that but we can suggest that Vava`u gets an ITEP couple plus a TVET couple.  The people are really eager and want help. The need for senior missionaries is critical at this point in time.  There are lots of good people here helping but we need more.  I think we all feel the pressure of not being able to do everything that we see needs to be done.  We really do love the people and are enjoying our time with them.  Vava`u was beautiful; we enjoyed being close to the sea and seeing all the sail boats in the harbor.  One of the teachers who lives there told us, they were getting ready to leave because the hurricane season starts in December so they get out of this part of the world.  He also stated that sometimes, there are no hurricanes, just a lot of rainy weather, so we don’t know what to plan on.

Last night, we went to dinner with the Dentist and his wife, Brent and Diane Williams, who have finished their mission and left this afternoon.  We went to a Chinese restaurant that was super good.  We have all mentioned that the longer you are here, the food gets better.  Maybe we were all extra hungry, but I really enjoyed the meal.  It could have been the fact that I didn’t need to cook.  The evening out was lots of fun, we laughed a lot.  The Williams gave us several items they had purchased during their time here, a real rolling pin, a fry pan, a flat screen TV and her sewing supplies.  I was pretty excited to see the sewing stuff, the TV will be a little easier to watch than our computer but we haven’t watched much TV, so I don’t know if it will make that much of a difference.  We will miss them, they were pretty fun and kept things moving.  Brent loved to tease, Diane loved to cook.  She made the best rolls, to die for, the recipe from one of the favorite restaurants that I can’t remember the name of.  Texas Roadhouse….Fathers editing here!

Tonight is Halloween, and these kids are pretty funny.  They don’t knock on the door, they wait for us to come out of the house, then sing, Trick or Treat, Trick or Treat, will you give us something sweet to eat.  The mom’s and the kids went all out on their costumes.  We got a lot of pictures which I think Steve has already posted.  After we finished with the trick or treaters, we went to the temple where we had  a really neat experience with  a lady who was coming to the temple for the first time.  The witness couple must have been relatives who were so excited, I think maybe as much as she was.  It was such a special experience.  It was hard to go to sleep after we got back because it really was a special experience. 

This week has been a busy, kind of discouraging week.  However we have accomplished a lot, we feel like we know what we are doing finally, but it’s hard to get everything done.  We don’t have the energy we had when we were younger, so at times we think we could have done more much earlier in our lives.  But, that doesn’t always work, having to work and raise a family, and earn enough even to serve.  So pray for us to have the energy and the mental capacity to do all the things we need and want to do.  Love and miss you all,  Dad and Mom