Trip to Tarawa week before last

Drue and I have been here on the main island of Tarawa since Wednesday late
afternoon.  We will fly 'home' to Abemama on Sunday (tomorrow) afternoon.
We came here to shop for some needed things.

We're staying at the same motel we were at when we arrived last month.  It
didn't look like much then;  but looks wonderful to us now after our three
weeks of 'camping' on the outer island.  How quickly one's perspective
changes!  The a/c is glorious;  as is the shower.  We ate an apple and an
orange today:  heavenly!

It's Sabbath as we are a day ahead.  We went to a small, youth oriented
church to the north of the island with two I-Kiribati friends.  Their
singing is phenomenal;  and as is their custom here, we, the Imatangs
(foreigners) were asked to 'take the service'.  Drue and I shared how God
has led us throughout our lives, and how we ended up here in Kiribati.  They
seemed to appreciate it.  We stayed for a potluck afterwards.  We stick to
well heated foods such as rice (and Dal) and fresh coconut water (from the
immature coconut).  Everyone here eats meat, as their diet is so limited.
So far, we've done well as vegetarians.

This afternoon, we went to the Taiwan Technical Center's demonstration
gardens.  The Taiwanese have really done the islands a service by growing
seedlings, distributing them, and teaching people how to compost, garden,
and cook fresh vegetables not indigenous to the area.  Even out at Kauma
H.S. where we're located, the school has a very decent garden growing
'cabbage':  which looks more like a type of lettuce;  'pumpkin':  which
looks more like a large squash of some type;  and a long 'bean':  which
looks like a cucumber, but is eaten differently.  The garden isn't huge, but
one of the teachers, a Solomon islander, who also teaches English, has quite
a green thumb, and has grown the above things to occasionally supplement the
student's diet.

We've been given 'cabbage' twice, and the 'pumpkin' twice, and the beans
'twice'.  You can't imagine how absolutely wonderful it is to have something
fresh.  They are real treasures.  We were given a breadfruit (which makes
delicious 'chips':  french fried pieces), but now the breadfruit season is
over for a few months.  A type of native fruit grows on the trees called
Pandanus.  The leaves of the tree are used to make thatch for the roofs.
Our roof is thatch.  I don't particularly relish the fruit, but it is
greatly loved by the locals.  There are some 'paw paws' (papayas) which grow
here.  Unfortunately, Drue and I are not keen on papayas yet.

Back to the Taiwan Technical Gardens:  the man in charge, Jeff, from Taiwan,
graciously gave me some seeds to try my hand at gardening out at Kauma.  I
hope to have some success.  He was growing corn and tomatoes, among other
wonders!

Drue and I bought a tabletop gas (Propane) two burner stove.  I've been
cooking on a one burner Kerosene stove top that is temperamental, makes the
pans black and sooty, and that frequently burns the bottom of my food when
cooking it.  Currently the island of Abemema is out of propane, but we were
assured by the company here that supplies fuel that ten large cannisters
were soon to be shipped to the outer island of Abemema.

We bought two single, foam type mattresses for our sleeping 'kia kia':  a
raised traditional porch like structure, with a thatched roof, open sides,
and tied-together  coconut palm midriffs for the floor.  We've been sleeping
in it almost since day one, using our mosquito net for walls, and our therma
rests on the floor for a mattress.  It is much cooler than in the
traditional house.  The trade winds are generally strong on the oceanside
where we are, and we are practically sleeping under the stars, on the beach.
The surf is loud, and Drue is still having a hard time getting used to it.
I use my earplugs, as always, which helps.

We bought electrical switch plates, fluorescent bulbs, 4 1/2 gallons of
engine oil for the boat.  In addition, we bought a rice maker, and
rubbermaid type storage containers.  We bought some food, including two
precious carrots, three onions, an avocado, and the apples we have already
eaten.

Everything is extremely expensive here:  must be the cost of shipping it in,
plus the markup.  God provided us with some local students who are SDA's who
we bumped into down near the wharf as they were about to set sail to Abemama
to give a concert.  They were traveling lightly;  and they took three boxes
of ours along for which we only had to pay $11.50 in freight charges.  If we
had taken the items as excess freight on the plane tomorrow, the cost would
have been $2.60 per pound.

It's going to be hard to go back out in some ways:  mostly because there is
no place to go to get cool;  and the food choices are so limited.  But
Abemama is very peaceful, quiet, beautiful, and clean;  and the people are
so friendly and fun loving.  Tomorrow, Sunday evening, will be the end of
the year FEAST, something we have been told to 'not miss'.  We'll report
more on those happenings later.

We know are connected to the school's electrical service which gives us
lights two hours morning and two hours in the evening when the generator is
on.  It also provides power those four hours daily to the small chest
freezer base camp has.  This is enough to make it cool for functioning as a
fridge.  Yea:  progress!!