Crab in the toilet.

I know this is hard to believe, but this is a picture that Sister Perkins took of her toilet.  She said that this was the small crab; one of the other crabs was so large that just a huge claw was coming up from the hole.  It proves with no doubt that the sewer system goes into the ocean.  It would make you think twice about getting up in the night to use the bathroom without turning on the lights.  I asked her how she got it out of there and she said they just used a plunger and sent it right back down the pipe!

This is a place of great contrasts-some things are absolutely gorgeous and other things are completely gross.  It is an experience that can't really be described.  I was sitting in church last week and it was as though I could watch myself from a distance sitting there singing Marshallese hymns, fanning ourselves with a beautiful woven fan and watching the wasps float in and out of the windows. ( The walls are all louvered windows so the whole building opens up to outside.)  It is such a unique experience to be able to sit in church with these diligent people who are profoundly grateful to have Christ's true church.  They express gratitude almost every week to us for leaving our families to share the truth with them.  As I sat there, I was overwhelmed with gratitude to be able to be here for a small time and be a part of this.  What an amazing experience! They have so little and live in the poorest of homes; some of the homes can hardly be called a home, yet they are happy, well adjusted and grateful people.  It is so gratifiying to see the diligent work that many of them are doing to build the church.  We are sending out missionaries from here to go out into the world and when they return, they are a huge help to lead the church and get the programs working as they need to work.  It can be difficult when many of the church manuals and much of the scripture hasn't been translated into Marshallese yet.  The translation department is in a room just above our mission office.  They work hard all day translating(They just finished Conference)  and many of them work very hard in the church too.  President Betti of the Stake Presidency is one of the translators.  I work with him all of the time in getting the missionaries from here to get their papers submitted so they can receive mission calls.  He also teaches Missionary Prep. classes for the whole island along with many other assignments.  The missionaries leaving from here need the basics like sock, pants, etc.  They don't leave with two full suitcases, they leave with a tiny plastic bag of belongings, and they are so excited to go.  They love the missionaries here and they want to be a missionary. 

To quote Dr. Seuss   "Oh the Places You'll Go!"