Not Going Anywhere

10 February 2014 Uturoa, Raiatea

Transfers are this week. One of us is leaving and it isn’t me. Elder Tumarae will be going to Faa’a which is on the main island of Tahiti, just about in the middle of Papeete. I think I'll be here forever. It was a little surprising, but I'm not going to complain. Our house is the only house outside of the main island that has an air conditioner! And there is still plenty of work for me to do here. Elder Tumarae is sad to go.

My new companion is a Francaise, Elder Demeuoyk. I have no idea how to spell his name but it's something like that. He has been out for a year and doesn’t speak any Tahitian. So it’s good that I’ve been focusing on it for the past few weeks.

We have a baptism scheduled for this Saturday. It is an old mami who has been meeting with the missionaries for a long time. She knows more about the church than many of the members do. Her husband is not a member and refused to give permission for her to be baptized. But miracles happen! He decided to start reading the Book of Mormon with her and after two fasts and lots of prayers, he said yes. She is very excited and we are too.

This is the beach next to the Murae

Last Monday we went on a trip to visit Taputapuatea Marae on Raiatea. We can't go to other islands, but we were going to take a boat with Guillian out to the little motus that surround Raiatea. President said yes, but the Soeurs couldn't come. So we decided to visit the Marae instead. It was a shame, but I guess it would be unfair to leave 'em out. 

These are some of the ancient temple sites overlooking the sea.

Marae are the big stone courtyards and temples the ancient Tahitians built for worship and sacrifice. They are made of volcanic rock. All these sites are relatively close together. You can probably find them on Google maps. These are on the east side of the island, south of where I am in Uturoa. They are the oldest in all Polynesia. Raiatea was the first island to have people on it. 

Super old, eerie, creepy tiki at the site

In fact, the proper name is Ti'i, but I think everyone turns the glottal stop into a "k" 

Here is what it looked like when the explorers first got here. This is on a billboard near it.

This is me in a coconut tree

They are really easy to climb. After climbing, I got us a couple coconuts, which is tricky because you have to change your weight so you are balanced on one hand, and then spin the coconuts with the other without having them drop where you are. 

Here is a stereotypical beach shot. I thought it looked nice. It's a little bit of warmth for everyone that's stuck in the cold right now! 

Elder Molinari