Guam Interlude

We were asked to come to Guam for 7 weeks to fill in for the mission nurse until a new one could come.  As "mission nurse" one has responsibility for the health care of all the missionaries in the mission.  (In Chuuk we work in the community and also care for missionaries in Chuuk.)Here is a view of Tumon Bay on Guam.  It is very beautiful on Guam and the weather has been nice.

This couple filled the position of  "mission nurse" and just finished their mission.

When we arrived in Guam it was time for our semi-annual "senior conference."  All the senior missionaries in this mission come to Guam for training.  We had the opportunity to see a few sights together.  This is the monument to Magellan.  Supposedly he landed at Umatac Bay when he sailed around the world and discovered Guam.

The Seniors had the opportunity to go to "Cocos Island," a small island to the south of Guam.  Here we are leaving Guam.

And this is approaching Cocos Island:

On Cocos Island there is "star-shaped sand" which we hunted for on this beach.  The grains of sand are actually little tiny stars.  It was hard to recognize them at first, but amazing to see.  Looking for stars:

Senior Couples:  

Serving on Kosrae:

 This couple works with seminaries and institutes on Chuuk.

Two couples are on Pohnpei, but I only have one picture.

 This couple are teaching Self Reliance on Chuuk.

These missionaries keep the mission office running.

Here are the family history specialists.

This couple supervises seminary and institute classes on Yap.

We had a few cowboys in the group so they taught us some "roping" techniques.  This sister is trying out her skills on the PVC "calf."

 We love baptisms!  

This is our church building in Talisay.

 We took a drive to see some some of the scenery around the island.  This beach is not far from our apartment.

Merizo is a beautiful spot for a baptism in the ocean.  

After the baptism we took a hike along the shore.

When a coconut falls to the ground and is left there, this is what happens--a palm tree grows.

On our hike we saw many kinds of small coral.  It is illegal to collect and keep it, however so I took a picture.

Our hike ended at Umutac Bay.

A picturesque bridge.

This man had a beautiful display of his local fruits that he was selling!

You can see why they call this "bear rock."

We found a beautiful beach at the north end of the island--Ritidian Beach.

 We got to see the leaders in the mission who came to Guam for meetings.  Also we received 13 new missionaries at this time.

These Elders served with us in Chuuk and came for the leadership meetings.

We celebrated the translation of the Book of Mormon into the Chuukese language in Chuuk, but there are lots of Chuukese people on Guam so we did it again.  The Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ-- like the Old Testament and the New Testament.  It is a great blessing and helps many people understand and be closer to Jesus Christ.  Here are some scenes and actors from the pageant.  

A prophet speaks to the people:

 This is one of my favorite scenes--Christ blessing the children:

This man is from Chuuk and has been a strong leader in the church.

Once a year the public is allowed to enter Anderson Air Force Base.  We attended this air show there and saw fighter planes (this one is from Japan),

 Helicopters,

An American fighter plane, 

  a drone,

a transport,

 a bomber (it was huge!)

Here is Clair inside the bomb bay.

Notice the row of fighter planes in the background.

Some missiles:

I believe these are cruise missiles.

This plan refuels other planes in the air.  The tail can eject and is guided (by a pilot in the window on the body of the plane where the man is pointing) to the plane that needs fuel.

A beautiful sunrise on the campus of the University of Guam:

Guam is very important militarily and it was fun to see some of the strengths of the armed forces.  We are proud of our country (the United States)!