Adventures in Paradise 12

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE  12

Kia orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with a new perspective on Christmas and the spirit that we have felt and witnessed here.  This is not a wealthy nation; far from it. But, the wealth of spirit that was evident here was like nothing we have ever seen. Generosity of spirit replaced expensive gifts. Sweetness of spirit overshadowed worry over decorations and elaborate wrappings. The spirit of family togetherness far eclipsed expensive trips or holiday getaways. We might add, also, that we have felt this spirit from our friends and family who are far away in distance, but close to us in  thoughtfulness. We are richer for having you all in our lives. We are also so grateful for the birth of our Savior.

Christmas Eve brought the usual rush, and you have missed quite an experience if you have not been caught in a scooter traffic jam! There was no wrapping paper left on the island, and one can’t just canoe to the next island to buy more. We received presents wrapped in newspaper, plastic bags and old DVD containers. These were all presented to us by our own Elder Santa who was decked out in a Santa hat, one of my pillows and a white plastic shopping bag beard! The gifts were thoughtful and inventive and we loved Christmas morning. The gift of a good time is always given, though the gift of being on time is not valued. Our 9:00 breakfast actually started around 10:30, and we are learning to go with the flow. It seemed that every time I turned around that morning, there was a new person arriving, most of whom I did not know. My favorite surprise guest was Papa Aerepo (Papa meaning grandfather), who just happened to be riding his rusty old bicycle past the house when one of our other guests saw him and invited him to join us. I truly wonder if Papa knew what day it was, let alone what was going on, but he came in barefooted, and found a place at our table. He was grizzled and old and very quiet. He stayed all day and I think that our gift to him was air conditioning! I did wonder, however, if someone somewhere on the island was wondering what ever happened to their grandfather! By the way, did I mention that our breakfast was held outside on our veranda. The island’s gift to us was a balmy Christmas day!

As so often happens, we had people to visit and places to go during the day. As you may recall, we had another feed, er I mean feast, to attend at 1:00 and we had planned to do some caroling later in the afternoon.  Ward and I would leave and say good bye to anyone who was listening.  When returning each time, we would try to guess who might still be at the house. One time we arrived, to find all the drapes drawn, the air conditioner going full blast, and people asleep on our floor and couches while a Christmas dvd played in the background. Ah, yes, the gift of a “cool” Christmas! Upon another return, there were scooters parked on the lawn, left there by the people who had come to swim in our ocean. Still later, after caroling, we arrived to find people helping themselves to another round of ham and leftovers. All the while, Papa Aerepo sat, quietly, enjoying his day.  To be honest, I sometimes, had to remind myself that this was not my home, but the mission home and these strangers had stayed because they felt comfortable, which is exactly what you would wish a guest to feel. I am making a valiant effort to become more generous and accepting of new ways. Our new friends are excellent teachers! This is another one of their gifts to me.  Speaking of  teachers, we were touched when we opened presents left by a young couple that we are instructing. The gift was a set of mugs that said “A+ Teacher” on them.

In last week’s blog, we included photos and a poem about Christmas. We printed off those pictures and wrote the poem on the back and spent part of a day delivering them. People were thrilled and we have found that taking someone’s picture creates an instant bond. We have also found our camera to be an excellent missionary tool, not to mention, great friend maker! Our new friends here are very excited to know that they are now world-famous!

In the spirit of the season, I thought that I would share with you a few of the gifts that were exchanged.  Oh, yes, we did dance around the tree with Elder “Little Grass Shack” leading the way. Yes, I know that you are surprised to hear that he got up in front of the group, being that he is so shy and all, but he did it as his special gift to us. Speaking of Elder show-off, Santa went to the prison craft shop to buy a handmade ukeulele for him. How many of you can say that you went to the prison to do your holiday shopping? The inmates make these out of coconuts. They are hand-carved and painted and are hard to keep in stock. Each uke has the prisoner’s number on it and when their item is sold, they receive part of the proceeds to put on their account so that they can buy candy bars or personal supplies. Santa also brought Ward a hand dyed island shirt made by one of the members. The elders completed his island look by giving him a pair of knock-off green Ray-Bans. Even our unexpected guests received gifts, as our sweet friend, Taina, had thoughtfully bought some “just-in-case” presents. My gift to our merry little group was a snow storm whipped up from the instant snow that we found in our ward Christmas stocking.  Thank you, Marc and Renee!

At the end of the day, just as the sun was setting, we enjoyed a parade of cars and open-bed trucks circling the island. Horns were honking, people were calling to each other, and one group of drummers was very entertaining. This was nothing like the elaborate parades that we have been used to, but it was new and special to us. Again, the spirit of the island was felt in this simple demonstration.

Our ward Christmas stocking was saved until we were alone Christmas evening. After we watched the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional, we slowly opened every card and gift in that stocking. We are touched by the thoughtfulness and creativity of our friends.  We found everything from stockings, to hot chocolate mix, to toothpaste and brushes. There were muffin mixes and maple syrup (Yum) and all kinds of candy that we haven’t seen in some time, including peppermint bark. We smiled at the number of breath mints and wondered if that might be some kind of a hint???  We found a beautiful calendar, post-it tabs, lip gloss, for me, I assume, and a beautifully written framed copy of “And His Name Shall Be Called” Jesus Christ.  There were lovely booklets and homemade cards and sweet letters. It took us almost two hours to open everything and we were touched beyond description. Thank you,  Thank you! Oh, yes, I even saved all the ribbon, wrapping paper and gift bags! 

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard. We feel so blessed to have been a part of Christmas here, and still to be included in yours. As we look ahead to the new year, we wish you good health and good friends.  We thought of you all this morning as we enjoyed a very wintery breakfast of hot chocolate and pancakes with  Log Cabin syrup. The syrup was another surprise in our ward Christmas stocking.We  will raise our cup of cocoa on New Year’s eve  and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Love, Ward and Susan            Elder and Sister Belliston, serving in the Cook Islands

28 December 2010

The Rarotongan Christmas parade   

Twelve drummers drumming

Ward and his Christmas presents. 

Christmas breakfast

Do you think we have enough food?

The ward Christmas stocking is on the left. The rest of the ward gifts are still in the package they came in. 

Papa's bike

Sidewalk sale on Christmas Eve

 Our version of a traffic jam! 

Some of our guests.Papa is sitting down

.

  Ward Christmas stocking loot!

Adventures in Paradise 11

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 11

Kia orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with a focus on  the spirit of Christmas. We have suggested that because there is no snow, or crisp weather, it just didn’t “feel” like Christmas. How could it feel like Christmas when our view consisted of palm trees, coconuts and rootsers on our lawn? What kind of holiday celebration focused on a picnic on the beach, we wondered. We have been reminded through the generosity of others that there is no particular look to the season, but there is an atmosphere here  that is palpable.  The people are happy and the children are excited. It seems that people get a little goofy here, as evidenced by the number of people we have seen riding on scooters while wearing flip flops, sarongs (women) and santa hats. We have seen children dressed up like candy canes and dogs wrapped in tinsel. We come home to find fresh produce on our doorstep and fresh flowers as well. We are trying to make room on our calendar for our invitations and feel blessed that no one wants us to be alone on Christmas. Our belated conclusion is that the Christmas spirit is the same where ever you are as long as you are surrounded by people you love. We are grateful to our Savior for the gifts that he has given us. We have heard the saying that “Wise Men Worship Him Still”.

Our sweet friend, Taina has totally planned our Christmas morning. I mentioned earlier, that we will have to move our massive (3foot) tree to the center of the room so that we can all dance around it before we open presents. She wasn’t clear on whether this was a one-time ritual, covering all the presents that are to be opened or would we have to dance before every present unwrapping? Perhaps the latter should be the case just so that we can work off the breakfast that she has planned. While I admit to being new to menu planning, island style, it still seems that our breakfast is a little over the top. We will start by baking the twenty-five pound ham that flew back from New Zealand with our friends. Taina wondered about having bacon as well, but  I suggested that might be pork-overload, so that was cancelled. Fried eggs and omlettes, crepes, and homemade rolls are also to be included. I might add, here that the islanders think that the American way of having just one main dish per meal is odd and the idea of having only one or two veggies is stranger, still. So, on with the menu.  I hope that you are getting a good mental picture of all of this. Let’s add two or three kinds of fruit, pork and beans on toast and canned spaghetti. Taina suggested that nine  o’clock would be a good time to eat, as we would have time to prepare our stomachs for our next feast scheduled for one! We are all going to roll, or I mean stroll down to the beach with the candy from our Christmas stockings and enjoy the rest of the morning. Oh, yes the beach is part of most everyone’s Christmas plans here.

Ward and I will not be including any more photos of ourselves until well into the new year’s diet plan. Oh, my! Christmas day is to be capped off with a baptism that evening and you already know what that means in terms of refreshments! I am thinking that the  new queen-sized quilt  that I bought will make a lovely new dress!

We were sad to see that many of the large coconut palms that lined the road were being cut down.Why would anyone want to do that? Well, it seems that those coconuts fall onto passing cars, not to mention scooters and are doing major damage, so they had to go. Also in keeping with the subject of landscaping, we find this hard to believe, but no one here uses a lawn mower. They use weed wackers to cut a whole yard! So if you would like to try this method, you will need long protective clothing, some kind of head covering , gloves and goggles. As always, flip flops are the order of the day. In a place where time is not an issue, the idea of spending a whole day cutting the grass is totally acceptable.

Our Salt Lake ward has a tradition of sending a Chirstmas stocking to  each  missionary serving from our ward .Over the years, I have contributed some small item or note to be included in one stocking or another, but I had absolutely no idea of the impact it would make on the missionary who would receive it. Today, Ward and I had the sweet experience of opening our Christmas stocking package. While we do not wish to spoil our surprise, we were stunned to see how many friends thought to include something in our package.The stocking is beautiful and appears to be  hand-made. On the front is a white wooly lamb, with the caption, “Feed My Sheep”.  There is a gold star near the top and not only was the stocking filled with gifts and cards, but the whole package was filled with them  as well.  We look forward to some quiet time together on Christmas when we can read the cards and open our gifts from dear friends. We are so touched by this thoughtfulness.

On Monday, we held a special Family Home Evening with the Femone family. We read the Bible story and watched a dvd of the Nativity. We talked about shepherds and mangers and no room at the inn. After the movie, we dressed all the children up as shepherds and took a photo. I made six loaves of bread and  we served hot bread with butter and jam and hot chocolate. The children learned how to make snowflakes. It was wonderful chaos. One of the young women who attended wants to start lessons with us this week! At the end of the evening, we piled thirteen of them into our van and took them home.We sang Christmas carrols all the way to their house. Oh, yes, we should mention that for this large family, there is no family car; only two motor scooters.

As always, there are more adventures  that we could share, but they will wait, as we have a special Christmas gift for everyone. We found a Santa’s hat  at the house and spent some time asking friends to put it on and let us take their pictures. Please enjoy these photos and our ideas of what would make good Christmas gifts for them.

As always we are happy and trying to work hard. We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. We hope you have a lovely and peaceful holiday and please know that we are with you in spirit.

Love, Ward and Susan      Elder and Sister Belliston, serving in the Cook Islands

It's days before Christmas

On our isle in the sea

Each person is wondering

What will be under the tree!

Clifford loves sunglasses
He's a very big fan
He hopes Santa remembers    
A new pair by Ray-Ban!

Danny's 51 tractor

Still works pretty well

Perhaps Santa might replace it

you never can tell!

Jake sings at the airport

his life is so busy

Santa give him a day off

before he gets dizzy

Tainas at market

The hats hiding her curls

Please oh please Santa

Bring her more Pearls

Geoff feeds us at market

He wont let us pay

He needs a vacation

Santa, what do you say?

For Nick and his family

Their prsent came early

Baby Isabel is their gift

They all love her dearly

Percilla is pregnant

She is hot and quite blue

She wants her old body

Santa,wrap that up too

Tarani Napa's relaxing

Her head looks like a nest

She has three stores at market

Santa, bring her a rest

These women at market

Thought my hat request funny

They said to tell Santa

To just bring them money

This child is from Fiji

She knows Christmas is near

She doesn't care what she gets

As long as Santa comes here!!

Our little shepherds

Are as cute as can be

Santa, please leave them

Under OUR tree!

  

Aissac's all green

from wacking the weeds

 A shiney new lawnmower

is just what he needs!

Eric Short's a mechanic

The work is dirty and hard

Santa, how about a new car

To leave in his yard

So, Merry Christmas to all

From our isle in the sea

Ward says Kia Mataora Taa'u Kiritmiti

and happy New Year from me

Adventures in Paradise 10

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 10

Kia orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with an interesting outlook on this holiday season. Ward and I seem to be caught somewhere between the Christmas story and Gilligan’s Island. Several weeks ago we mentioned, well yes, we bragged, that we would be going to Tahiti for Christmas. Although we love being on our rock (island), we were looking forward to the chance to have a little vacation, as it were, and to see some old friends. We knew that there would be a party, complete with Christmas goodies and stockings for everyone. There would be music, good food, great company and we were looking forward to it all. You might be anticipating by now, that all is not going to go as planned. Last week, our mission president called and said that he was sorry to inform us, but  there was no room at the inn and that we were not going to be rescued! We were told that anticipated rooms did not become available and that the airlines had overbooked the plane. The Skipper and Gilligan (the two young Elders) were going, but the professor and Mary Ann (Susan) were to stay behind. Ah, yes, we are learning not only to expect the unexpected, but to accept it.

On a happier note, many of our friends did escape the island and are now in New Zealand. They have gone to spend time with family and to attend the temple. I think that it is a testament to their faith, that these people who have so little, have each paid about one thousand dollars for a plane ticket! One little family is going to be sealed, a young woman is being married tomorrow, several friends are going for the first time and many others are planning to spend most of their time while in New Zealand doing temple work. Over sixty-five people are making this trip and it was fun to see them off at the airport. Sixty-five may not seem like a lot, until you consider that each of the three branches here has an average of eighty to ninety people in attendance on any given Sunday. We wish them a wonderful trip and holiday.

 Oh, yes, I noticed that many of the travelers were taking empty coolers with them. They are bringing back Kentucky Fried Chicken!!! Ward hopes that he has left enough hints with everyone, that he will be invited to share in the spoils of this trip! We are starting to miss the little things that we so took for granted at home. I would love a tall glass of cold milk. Ward misses Idaho potatoes and sherbet. I was overcome with joy when I found a turkey in the frozen foods section. I held it out to Ward and asked if we couldn’t please take it home with us. I practically dropped that seven pound bird when I saw that they were asking sixty-five dollars for it! We now drop by Prime Foods just to say hello to that little guy! Oh yes, and when you order a burger here with the works, you order a burger the lot. The lot consists of the burger, made of minced meat, onion, cheese, bacon (way undercooked) lettuce, tomato, beetroot (red beet slices) and a fried egg! You order chips with that (fries) and instead of catsup, you are given tomato sauce .Don’t bother ordering a milkshake, as the humidity keeps them from staying thick, and be especially careful with the smoothies, as they are full of seeds!

We had an interesting experience here at the house last week. A friend, who is with the police, called and asked if he and his partner could bring their dog by the mission home to do a little training. We thought that he was talking about using the yard, but instead, they planted drugs through out the house, then brought the dog in to see if he could detect the hiding places. The dog passed with flying colors, and we have included one photo of the dog doing his job as well as one of Ward in handcuffs. Please be sure to share the one of Ward with everyone that you know!  I told him that the next time he is arrested, he should wipe that smile off his face!

We have mentioned before, that the children here are breathtakingly beautiful. While this is true, it can pose a problem for us. Ward was talking to two children at the airport and asked, “ Are you beautiful girls waiting for someone special?” One of the girls turned around to him and  indignantly informed him that he was not a girl but a boy! Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of asking  a woman when her baby is due only to be informed that she is not pregnant. If this has happened to you, then you might understand our situation here. The island tradition is not to cut a small boys hair until he is eight years old or older. This tradition involves family and friends gathering together and each person takes turns cutting off a lock of hair. The hair is then wrapped around paper money and put into a container. That container is then given to the boys family for his future. Sadly, the girls are not allowed to participate in this ceremony, but they at least get to keep their long hair. Ward and I now find ourselves being very careful about how we address the children, as we just never seem to be able to tell the difference. One beautiful little girl that I had noticed several weeks ago, showed up at church in pants and a bow tie last Sunday!

Our mission president came to our island for a little over twenty-four hours last week. We enjoyed meeting with him and having personal interviews. He thanked us for our hard work and told us that he had heard that we were doing good things with the people here. We were thrilled to hear this. He also said that he was happy that we seemed to have managed to avoid the pitfalls that can occur on a mission. I almost asked him what those pitfalls were, but decided that if we hadn’t found them, then we weren’t going to go looking! This  man has almost nine months of his tenure to go and has traveled well over 110,000 air  miles! This is astonishing it itself, but even more so, when you learn that he is only  number three in the South Pacific area  in miles logged by  mission presidents! There are so many little islands in the Pacific Ocean and they are all part of  one mission or another and they all need to be visited. The president  of the Marshall Island mission takes first place in the air miles sweepstakes with a whopping 10,000 air miles per month!

We attended a baptism last Saturday and just planned the program for a young father is wants to be baptized on Christmas day. Aissac is the father of Janice, who you may recall, is the little girl in  the photo from an earlier blog. She is the one with the two ponytails, the red dress and the flower in her ear. We have seen such peace enter Aissac’s life as he has moved away from some of the people and habits that were weighing him down.  He says that he is healthier and happier than he has ever been and we are so grateful to be near him to see this change.

We are reminded this time of year of the abundant lives that we lead. We also realize that our new friends here are grateful for the bounties of their lives as well. Each week someone is assigned to provide flowers for the chapel. This might be a daunting task for some of us at home, but here it is expected that one’s land can provide what is needed. We have included a photo of me holding the flowers from last Sunday’s service. The woman who brought them asked me to take them and enjoy them, which we intend to do! Can you imagine what a bouquet like this would cost at home?

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard. We will not be alone on Christmas. Just the opposite is true. We feel like the most popular kids on the block, as it seems everyone wants to share the holiday with us. As usual, there will be feasting, but this time, it takes place at the beach. You can understand why Santa wears sandals here. Our friend, Taina, tells us that  our Christmas tree at the mission home, is to be moved to the middle of the room so that we can dance around it before opening our presents!  She  has invited people to our home Christmas morning and has planned a menu or feast that you won’t believe. I will leave that for next week. But I will say that I lost count at six courses. Again, we wish you Happy Holidays and joy in the journey. We also invite any of you to put a ticket to Rarotonga under the tree, as we would love to see you!

Love, Ward and Susan     Elder and Sister Belliston serving in the Cook Islands

777 landing and going to New Zealnad with Members for the Temple

Have you ever seen a 777 this close?

Ward under arrest (joke).  Ward and Brother Mautara Cummings

Drug dog found it!

Rain wear

Wigmore Falls a good swimming hole

Blooming tree in front of Mission Home.  We think of this as autumn leaves

Ruth's relatives at her stand with bananas and a fresh coconut ready to drink.  It is goooood!

Susan with Church Flowers

Adventures in Paradise 9

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 9

Kia orana, everyone! Our excellent adventure continues with some helpful information. In this issue, we will address everything from make-up and fashion tips to the island dress code for Santa. As always, there is a serious side to our adventures and we promise to give that side the respect it is due a little later in our letter.

Marie Osmond came to my rescue this week. It is so humid here right now, that make-up literally slides off my face. Believe me when I say that this is not an attractive sight. I remembered how Marie wrote that she kept Sharpies in her make-up bag for make-up emergencies. So I went to the local book store and purchased some black fine line sharpies (having had an unfortunate experience with a magic marker).  That Sharpie works very well as my new eyeliner! The clerk tried to sell me some glitter pens, as well, but I “drew the line” (get it?) at that thought!

The term Papa’a is a general term used in reference to all white people. When people here first started calling us that, I thought that it referred to our age, so I wondered why they did not call me Mama’a. This term translates exactly to “ four layers of clothing”. When the first white missionaries arrived on the island, the natives were stunned to see that these people wore so many layers of clothing. They couldn’t believe that anyone would choose to be so uncomfortable. From that beginning, the term now is more general and refers to any white person or foreigner. It is not meant as an insult, in fact, in many cases, it is meant as a respectful endearment. There are days, here, in this heat , when I understand perfectly the original meaning of that term! And speaking of the heat/humidity, I asked someone how she copes with summer and she said that everyone carries a towel. For what, I wondered. Now we see people everywhere; in church, in stores, on their scooters, in their homes and yards, wearing a towel slung over a shoulder. These are not dainty tea towels or hand towels, but huge bath towels! They are used to mop the sweat and are well-used by the end of the day. In the absence of a towel, a t-shirt will do, and when asked, the young Elders showed us that they used the backside of their ties! Even Santa has had to make a fashion adjustment due to the excessive heat here. We couldn’t hide a smile when Santa appeared at a branch party, wearing a pair of flip-flops. I guess that he is able to cope with the heat and burden of a big beard and a red suit as long as his feet are cool. We have included a photo, just in case you doubt our word on this!

On one last note about fashion, I would like to  share an experience I had this week. We had hiked up to a hillside cabin and were having a nice visit, when a young man (13 or so) rode up on his scooter. He kept pointing at me, shouting something I could not understand. Finally, I realized that he was shouting “Ray-Bans, Ray-Bans”, referring to my sunglasses. I smiled and said .”yes, my son and daughter-in-law” gave them to me as a gift. This young man gave me a thumbs-up sign, said “Cool” and rode away.

We had a sweet Sunday. It was one of those times when you feel that you may be doing something right. Three people that we have been visiting came to church. Each of these members had not been attending church for quite some time. Two had not been to church in several years. Our new friend, Ruth, whom we met when we stopped by her roadside stand, had talked with us about being offended by someone during a church service  a year or so ago. She agreed that the Gospel does not offend, but sometimes the people who believe in it do. She said that she knew this, and that she might come back to church next year. We suggested that this year would be better than next, but she made no promises. Each time we passed her stand, we would stop and visit. Once, we took her picture as she was showing us how to weave a basket from palm fronds. The next time we stopped by, we brought her a copy of that photo. She was thrilled! Sometimes after that, we would just drive by and wave.  Other times on a hot day, we would deliver an ice cream bar. Although we cannot say exactly why Ruth chose to attend church on Sunday, and we can’t know if our becoming her friend made a difference, we do know that the minute that she walked in the door, people were there to welcome her, surround her with love  and to show her how happy they were to see her. At first, my reaction to this was to inwardly say, “Wait, wait, come back and sit with us. We saw you first!” I felt like a mother hen who is watching her chick go off on it’s on. To be honest, I felt left out. Ward reminded me that this is exactly what should have happened. Long after we can no longer make those stops at Ruth’s stand, there will be others there to be supportive. Yes, another lesson learned. After church last Sunday, I told Ward that I felt impressed to visit a certain family .  The mother had stopped by our home to discuss some family matters and the whole family had been on my mind. As we parked at the bottom of the hill and prepared to make the trek to the home, we heard someone calling that they were coming down the hill.  The mother and father appeared around a bend and seemed very excited to see us. As it turned out, the mother said that she had been praying that she could find us that day and almost immediately upon finishing her prayer, she heard our van chugging up the hill to her home!  I know that our Heavenly Father often answers one person’s prayers by employing some other person and it seemed to me that day, that this is what had occurred. We have learned to listen to the promptings and to act on them. We were very grateful to have had this experience.

I received an e-mail this week from a dear friend who lost his teenage son to cancer one year ago this month. This e-mail was his family’s Christmas letter.  In the letter, my friend talks about how much they miss their son, how much their lives have changed and how much they depend on their family, friends and Heavenly Father for support. They refer to John McKay’s death as the day he became their angel. They are marking this

first “Angelversary” by performing his temple work in the Salt Lake Temple. I have their permission to share this with you and  my friend asked  for anyone  who has loved John Mckay to serve in the nearest temple on December 17, the anniversary of his death.  I think that this is a lovely idea and need not be restricted to people who knew John McKay. My love goes out to the Kunz family and they should know that I will be thinking of them more than usual on that day.

We are including the final photos of the vakas as they are finished and ready to be sent  to their new homes. One of them will be going to New Zealand. These have become outrigger canoes and they are beautiful. I hope that you can see the intricate carving and all of the detail on these vessels. We watched as the craftsmen tied the outriggers together with braided coconut fiber and then waterproofed the canoe with coconut oil. We are reminded once, again how valuable the coconut palm is to the existence of the islanders.

We attended two branch Christmas parties last Friday evening and except for the palm trees and Oceanside locations, these parties were much the same as you would find anywhere else during this season. Spirits were high, there were carols to be sung, good food and company to be enjoyed and there always seems to be   a feeling  of anticipation in the air. There was the “surprise” visit from the man in the red suit (wearing flip flops) and the delighted squeals of the children, or on one case, the squeals of absolute terror from one little girl. Oh, yes, then there was the “impromptu” talent show. When the announcer called on the mission couple, you might be able to guess who jumped out of his seat, having already given the sound man a  copy of “Little Grass Shack”. Yes, that’s right, Elder, Oh, No I Couldn’t Possibly, sprang to his feet and before you could say  Mynenea (please be quiet) Ward was doing the “Little Grass Shack”. People tell us that it was the highlight of the evening, which is way more encouragement than he needs!

Oh, yes, we do have the matter of announcing the names of people who participated in our  “Can you pronounce the name of the bus  stop” contest. We thank all those who tried, but sadly, failed to even come close to being correct, and you know who you are. We congratulate Keith Merrill, Nancy Whetman and Teresa Boren, for their excellent and in some cases, creative answers. So, here is the answer and the islands inside joke. We drove by that bus stop for a month, trying in vain to pronounce it correctly. Finally, in desperation, we asked a friend, who basically said that it was the islands way of poking fun at the rest of us. Someone wanting to get in touch with his girlfriend, wrote it several years ago and Rarotongans have been laughing at Papa’as ever since. One hint to us should have been that there is no H or L in the Maori alphabet. So what this sign says is:  Hello Kita, Want To Talk. Now, when we have visitors, we drive them past that stop and try to keep a straight face while they give it their best try!

As always, we are happy and trying to work hard. We already have news to include in our next adventure, so stay tuned. We could not help being a little homesick as we watched the First Presidency’s Christmas Devotional last Sunday. It was a beautiful program, and we found ourselves drawn to the scenes of the lights on

Temple Square

. We wish you joy in the preparations and events of the season. Please remember that you are never far from our thoughts and that we love and miss you all.

Love, Ward and Susan       Elder and Sister Belliston serving in the Cook Islands

Hello Kita, Want to Talk?

Finished Vaka and an unnamed tourist

Beautiful Carvings!

The outrigger part of the vaka

More artful carvings

Our friend, Ruth, making her basket

Santa, AKA President Williams 

One of the happy children

Real cool footwear!

Susan and Luna at the Avarua Party. We are thinking of putting her in our luggage! 

Luna

Adventures in Paradise 8

ADVENTURES IN PARADISE 8

Kia orana, everyone. Our excellent adventure continues with an observation that it’s beginning to look a whole lot like Christmas. Well, to be perfectly honest, it’s beginning to look a whole lot like a Rarotongan Christmas. The only “real” Christmas trees here come out of a box once a year. While it is possible to cut your own tree, you would be pulling up a wispy thing that grows on the beach. While the price would be right, the quality would be lacking. You would have your tree, but its branches would not be able to hold even the smallest decoration. Again, we are learning about how differently people here see this holiday. A tree is optional, as are decorations, as they are expensive and that expense takes away from money that could be spent on family or a feast. Santa and his reindeer do make a stop here, but modestly. Children wake to a sack (this might be a pillowcase or a grocery bag) left at the bottom of their mats or bed. The gifts are left, unwrapped (again, paper is expensive), inside that bag and are not extravagant.  The day is focused around eating (no surprise there) and spending time with family. This is a big family day and the island population will increase greatly, as family members return home for the holidays. We found a small tree in our storage room and had fun setting it up. Taina and I laughed as our two big strong husbands “labored” over a four-foot tree! I found some decorations and a string of lights with a music box attached, so we have been listening to Christmas carols while watching the lights blink! I can’t imagine a Christmas without snow, so I cut out some snowflakes from our printer paper and taped them up to our sliding glass windows. They look lovely framed by the ocean and palm trees!

We were invited to a birthday party and we were touched to meet five family members  and friends who were celebrating their birthdays together. I can’t mention too often how much importance Cook Islanders place on people instead of possessions. I was asked to bake one of the five birthday cakes for the occasion and was frustrated because I did not have access to the usual assortment of cake decorations that I was used to at home. The hostess simply pulled some flowers off the nearest tree and transformed my cake into a thing of beauty! Ah, yes, pay attention to what you have instead of what you don’t have! We sang happy birthday five times and Hip-Hip-Hurrayed after each, then sat down to a feast. The birthday people sat at the head table, and the eldest members of the family all were seated together at another table. In our photo, you will notice the head eis (leis) that the women are wearing. These are meant to denote importance of the person and are given for special occasions. Long eis (leis) are worn for the same reason. After dinner, one of the men, who was celebrating his birthday, took out his harmonica. This was the signal for everyone to hush, and as he began to play, the others started singing Christmas carols.  I was touched with the juxtaposition of the music and the setting. “Jingle Bells” never sounded lovelier than it did under a full moon and palm trees. Oh, yes, we discovered, later, that of the five birthday celebrants, at least two had birthdays in April or May. When I expressed some surprise that it was not really the person’s birthday, I was looked at with a pained expression. What was my point?  Here a birthday can be celebrated any time that you want. Ok, send your gifts right away. I have just moved my May birthday to December. Let’s party!!!!! Some people here have heard that Ward is having a “big birthday” in February. We will see what happens with that!

Oh, before I forget, I wanted to mention that we are all familiar with the beautiful orchids that we find at home in the floral shops. I am one who has been frustrated with how difficult they seem to be to maintain. Here those same orchids grow wild! The eis that are given at the airport are made at home with the flowers growing on the property. I have watched women making these and there are flowers on our property as well. I bought a needle and the special thread required and am going to give it a try for our visitors. It may not be the most attractive ei ever made, but you will know, if you receive one, that it was made with love, as they all are. Again, I am struck with how natural resources are used and nothing much is wasted. Money is not spent, but time and love are.

Every year, at this time, many members, who have saved for a very long time, make a trip to New Zealand to attend the temple. This is a special time for these people and they are so grateful for the opportunity to do this. This year, about fifty people are going. They are leaving next Sunday and will arrive back on our island sometime Christmas day. They consider it an honor to be able to do this and you can appreciate the sacrifice that they are making when you realize that each round-trip ticket is over a thousand dollars! As members, we are all encouraged to keep our temple recommends current. These people are no exception and often they have recommends that are never “used”, as they are not close to a temple, but they consider it a blessing just to be worthy to carry one. One woman asked me how many times a week did members attend the temple at home.  I told her that some attend every week. Others may attend more or less often, but a lot of people that I know attended once a month. She could not believe that with so many temples so close, that we were not all attending every day! Yes, I am learning a difference in perspective. Food for thought, here. Yes? Oh, we wanted to mention that someone in Idaho has set up a fund here for people who are going to the temple for the first time. That fund pays half the travel expenses of anyone who is making that trip! We think that the donor may be a returned missionary who spent time here, but we have no way of knowing. This is such great example of simply doing for someone else, with no thought of recognition.

Just for fun, we are including a photo of a bus stop here on the island. There will be special recognition in next week’s blog for anyone who can correctly pronounce the words written overhead. You are welcome to write out phonetically as you see fit, and we will see who comes the closest correct pronunciation.

Also, we are including more pictures of the vaka carving. The canoes should be finished next week, so we will include those as well. We are amazed at the skill and artistry shown with these. Ward remarked to one of the carvers that this was a lot of work, and that man responded that you should have been here before the advent of chain saws!

As usual, we are happy and trying to work hard. We have met wonderful people who want to be taught and we are doing our best. The people here are so kind to us and we appreciate their generosity. Someone knocked on our door and handed us a huge box of papaya and bananas. We in turn, have to pass some of this along to others, as it is way too much for us, but it’s hard to find people who aren’t already growing the same thing. The young elders, are always thrilled with any kind of food! I have been having cooking lessons with a sixteen-year old girl, who would like to be baptized, but wants to wait for her mother to arrive from Australia. She and her three brothers are living with their grandmother, as her mother is trying to complete school and obtain decent employment. I was stunned when Alisha told me that she hasn’t seen her mother is over two years! This grandmother is raising those four children, ages four to sixteen. There are also this grandmother’s  daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby in the home as well. I’m not sure of the final count, but we think that ten or eleven people all live in that house and the grandmother cooks and cleans for all of them! This is not an unusual circumstance here, as many grandparents find themselves taking on the chief child-rearing responsibilities for their grandchildren. One grandmother told me, why not take the responsibility, as they have the greater experience.

Well, as usual, this is longer than intended. We wish you all a good week and we hope that you are finding pleasure in the preparation for the Christmas holiday. People here would suggest that you should all enjoy the journey. My sixteen-year old friend suggests that Papa Aus  (white people) worry too much. She tells me “Don’t worry sista” and be happy. I think that I will take her advice. We love and miss you all!

Love, Ward and Susan          Elder and Sister Belliston serving in the Cook Islands

Lobb's birthday Party

Head Birthday Table

Singing Happy Birthday

Cutting the Cakes

Playing Harmonica & Singing

Woman in Head Eis

Baby tied on to Mother for a ride

Percilla and Janic Fimone making head eis

  How do you say this?  Submit your answer!

Ward and Christmas Tree.  Notice snow flakes in the window. 

Week two of carving the Vakas

Carving the Vakas

Vakas being made