Jan. 16th, 2013
We went to the office today for no good reason. The internet was down the whole time we were there. I did some filing and reading and Alan caught up on his journal. We have got to find a better way! Either we need an office at Liahona or they have got to do something about the internet. Elder and Sister Bean had 5 kids that they were trying to help get PEF loans and they had come from long distances. They weren’t able to accomplish anything either.
Just when we were all about to go crazy, it was time to go to lunch. We took Tara and her husband out to lunch because she will be leaving in a little over a week. We went to the nicest restaurant on the island, The Waterfront. It is fine dinning at a high price, but worth it once in a while for a special occasion. The food is really good. It is a dining experience, so it takes 2 hours to have lunch, but we all really enjoyed it.
At 2:30 we met Sione, and drove to the far side of the island to see his village. They need a new water tank and a stand for it to sit on, so we went out to take some pictures to submit with our project request. It was very interesting to see where he lives and also to see how these water projects work. The whole village is made up of mostly farmers. They live on their little plot of land and farm it. They eat what they grow and sell what they can in order to buy some clothing. They are extremely poor but happy and content with life. These families have lived in this village forever and this is the only life they know. Sione has a job in town and he is trying to make life a little easier for the people of his village. He is a very good man!
By the time we got home we were exhausted. It really drains you when you are out in the heat for very long. We walked a lot in the village and the mosquitoes loved us! I was really glad that we had some left over tinfoil supper that we could eat for supper tonight. I put in a load of wash, ate dinner and then relaxed. I am making a hot pad to give to Tara before she leaves. I gave one to Sister Johnston this afternoon. I wish I had brought more yarn! It’s a nice going away gift, something small and light but also something that they can remember us by.
