Wellness Centre

Diabetes is the number 1 health issue in the South Pacific.  We found this Diabetes Wellness Centre that is working to teach people how to reverse diabetes through proper diet and exercise.  They also teach their clients how to grow vegetables and the Centre has a kitchen that produces healthy meals.  We've eaten at the Centre twice and really like the food.

The Centre grows different crops between the buildings at the hospital.  Crops include things like chinese cabbage, radish, kale, eggplant, tomatoes, melons, mustard greens and squash.

This is one of their gardeners.

They are experimenting with different ways to grow crops.  This is the start of a hydroponic garden.  It is taking condensation from the hospital air conditioner to water the plants.

The Centre even has some mango trees started.

Family Home Evening

For family home evening, we drove out to Laura Beach on the west coast of the island. We had a BBQ serving tin foil dinners.  What a beautiful evening.

From what we hear, this is the nicest beach on the island, during low tide you can walk on on the coral for about 400 feet.

Another view of the beach

 They have many interesting looking trees on the island. These trees are huge and have enormous trunks.  They provide good shade during the heat of the day.

  Another picture of the sunset with Rhonda in the back ground,  also with us was Nurse Smith, and Elder and Sister Gardner.

Elder Gardner taught us how to remove the animal in side the shells we picked up.  Before we learned this trick we would have to put the shell on the balcony and let them dry out.

Home away from home

This is the backside of our apartment.  We are currently on the third floor but will be moving into the top apartment on the right hopefully in the next week.

This is the view from our apartment towards the ocean.

Taken from top of the sea wall beside our apartment

The front of the mission office in our apartment complex.

Training in New Zealand

 Elder Gary and Sister Susan Winters were our trainers in New Zealand. We will work with them throughout our mission.  Gary worked for more than 33 years with the Church Humanitarian Department and has so much knowledge to share with us.  We appreciate their ongoing support.

The Winters toured us around Auckland on our last day and treated us like royalty.

 Tom and I walked down to a beach a few minutes from our Auckland hotel room.

 This is what they have to do to trees in New Zealand when it gets cold!!  Not really.

Rhonda had to have her picture taken in front of this enormous tree outside Auckland.

First Week on Marshall Island

 Our first week on theMarshall Islands, outside Ajeltake LDS church facing the ocean.  We are part of the Majuro Stake, there are five Chapels on the island, six wards and our branch at Ajeltake.

 Ajeltake is about 12 miles from our apartment and is about an hour drive as the speed limit is only 25 to 30 mph and they have lots of speed bumps, chickens and people walking on the road.

 







The banana are a smaller and more sweet-tasting variety.

Rhonda is pointing them out to you just in case you can't see them

We were part of a group of 69 senior missionary couples who trained together at the Missionary Training Centre (MTC) in Provo, Utah.  Here we are as part of the group.

Here are the four senior couples who were trained specifically in Welfare services, the first group trained in a new format.  Notice Elder Crooks, far left, is not smiling in any pictures taken at the MTC as he had an emergency dental surgery after biting into a french fry!  Next to Elder Crooks and I are Elder and Sister Summers who went to Jamaica (Ya' Mon!!) and then Elder and Sister John who went to Belarus and finally Elder and Sister Hacking who are in Mexico City.  Small world!  We met Elder Hacking's brother Grant about 15 years ago on a cruise out of Puerto Rico.