Ebeye Trip

We had a great adventure this last weekend.  President Shaw wanted us to see more of the mission so we traveled with him and Sister Shaw to Ebeye.  It was the first time we had gotten of the Island of Majuro since we got here.  We left on Saturday morning and headed for Kwajalean which is the military base in the Marshalls.  Kwaj was beautiful and very American.  It is maticulously manicured and even the military people working there looked sharp and in excellent shape. Since we had several hours before our boat ride on to Ebeye, we strolled around the  grounds and ate at the food court.  We also loaded up on "Subway sandwiches to take to the Mills on Ebeye for our dinner that night.  The ride to Ebeye was fun as we put-putted across the ocean. 

We stayed in the "Ebeye Motel where the Mills live and enjoyed getting to know them.  We were able to attend both branches on Sunday and see some very dedicated wonderful members.  It is so amazing to see the conditions that they live in and yet they don't seem to even know that they are poor.  Many of the houses couldn't even be called a house.  So many of them didn't even have roofs over them, and there is no room between dwellings, infact, we had to walk through a house to get to the Lagoon side of Ebeye for a baptism that we attended.  It was like a narrow cement hallway without a roof.  Clothes were hung along the wall on a clothesline and the floors were just corral rocks about the consistency of gravel.

It was quite a thrilling experience to see my first baptism in the ocean.  It was held on Sunday morning before church.  We met in the church and had a program and then all walked to the Lagoon.  Later that night, the Sister missionaries invited Sister Shaw and me to go to the home of the people who had been baptised that morning and sit in on a lesson that they had planned for the family.  We all sat on the floor in their home which was one of the largest family dwellings that we saw on the island.  It was such a heart warming experience to be there and listen to the Sisters give their lesson in Marshallese.  The greatest thing was that I understood what they said!  In the end they bore their testimonies and asked if we wanted to say a few words.  I decided to bear my testimony to them in Marshalles.  They are always so surprised to find that a "Senior" Missionary is learning the language. This experience was fabulous; I really felt like a missionary and I will never forget how sweet it was.  The Spirit was there so strong and this family is extremely grateful to be baptized .  I can literally see how the Gathering Of Isreal is taking place.  Good, humble people around the world are joining the church and becoming strong, dedicated members.  It is amazing to be a part of this mission!

Ebeye is only a mile long and 400 feet wide at the widest spot and has 22, 000 people!  There is a nice LDS building there and there are two large branches.