IT'S A SMALL WORLD, AFTER ALL...!

One of the joys of travel is meeting new people. While in Tarawa, awaiting transport back to Abemama, Drue met a fellow “imatang” (Gilbertese for “foreigner”) in the Post Office. Elder Stellmon (and his wife, Sister Stellmon) are Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries working at the beautiful Moroni High School on Tarawa. It turns out they hail from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, and they attended Sunday Services in Worley, Idaho, a tiny town in Benewah County, on the Coeur d’ Alene Indian Reservation. We lived near there, and can picture their house of worship. What fun it was to learn all this and make the connection!

Elder Stellmon was able to help Drue find Eldon Corey and his wife (fellow Mormon missionaries who Gary Morgan wanted us to meet). The Corey’s are bringing a private plane to Tarawa via container and have graciously offered to allow Search For One to send needed supplies to Kiribati in it. While at their mission compound, Drue also met another American missionary couple, the Pippens (?), and gave a ‘sidewalk’ medical consult to one of their sick students.

That evening, the Stellmons (see photo) came to our place of lodging with a surprise care package of homemade baked goods sent by the above three couples. What wonders: bread, sweet rolls, cookies, brownies! We left the next morning for Abemama, hand carrying all the goodies. They helped ‘soften (and sweeten) our landing’ here at SFO base camp (as Drue so aptly put it!) A big THANK YOU to all for your care and kindness!

Back from our Break

We had a very restful three weeks in friendly Fiji. We spent two weeks on the outskirts of the capital city, Suva, on the Trans Pacific Union Mission compound. This is the Union that will receive this past 13th Sabbath Offerings to help relocate Fulton College. We were able to visit the property on which the new college will be built during our week in Nadi. The new location is much more convenient for students (both local and international) as it is just 20 minutes from the International Airport and near local transit lines. I will post a photo of both the union headquarters, and the property site. We are on Tarawa now, with plans to fly back 'home' to Abemama tomorrow. In this new year, and given these troubled times, we feel the need to grow closer to God and His will. May you enjoy His peace, too.

Up Date on "Medical Happenings"

This is Tominiko and his wife in the Tarawa Hospital private ward. Thankfully he was doing better! He was able to bear his weight on the right leg sufficient to walk! He was also able to move his shoulder and arm some. He had slight movement to his finger as well. There can be little doubt that the knife tip went right between two vertebra into the spinal canal. I was certain of this when he commented on all the "water" draining out of the wound! This is not water but cerebral spinal fluid! He also noted that he had numbness to the entire LEFT side of his body from the neck down. Closer exam and questioning revealed that what was missing on the left side was the ability to perceive pain and temperature. He could still feel light touch on the left. This makes perfect sense from a neuro-anatomical point of view and fits with the problems he is having with the muscles on the right side of his body. He was receiving antibiotics through a vein in his arm and I was surely thankful to see that as he runs such a risk of infection that would quickly involve his brian. He is so fortunate to be alive and walking! We had a nice visit and I was thankful for the opportunity to pray for him and his recovery. I will see if he is yet in the hospital when we return to Kiribati.

The woman with the possible appendicitis was discharged from the hospital and is back home now feeling back to normal. Thankfully, she never needed an operation!