April 2015 - Visit to Fono, etc.

Several weeks after the typhoon we made a trip to the island of Fono.  This island is the closest island to the main island of Chuuk and we arrived there in 20 minutes by boat.  Below is an area outside the missionary apartment where they have church.  Fono has only had missionaries less than a year and has a small "group" that meet here.

Here is a "traditional" house that we passed by.  I think it was rebuilt after the typhoon. 

I wouldn't have wanted to be in this house during the typhoon.  

Lots of trees are still down around the islands, blocking the normal paths.

These missionaries showed us around the beautiful island.

This is what Fono looks like as we left by boat.  The water is very clear.

The island in the distance is Weno, the main island of Chuuk and the place we live.

Here are the missionaries gathered again for a zone conference.

  

 When lunch was passed out, they all sat on the floor and ate with their fingers as is the custom in Chuuk.

Work is continuing to clear the debris of Typhoon Maysak.  Everyday we can smell smoke from the burning wood and leaves.

When you look at this mountain, called "the Octopus,"  you may be able to see how thin the line of trees along the top edges are after the typhoon. 

We had a few celebrations this month:  Elder and Sister Hardy's anniversary

 and Sister Reed's birthday

  

And several other missionary birthdays:

One morning when we went out to jog, we realized we were locked out of our apartment.  The only way to get back in was to walk to the church in Moen and get a key.  So we enjoyed the walk.  With the roads the way they are in Chuuk we walked there in 35 minutes.  It takes us 25 minutes by car!

During our walk we saw a monument we had never seen before.  It is to the Japanese and Chuukese who lost their lives here during World War II (when Chuuk was called "Truk").

We are learning a lot about World War II as we have served in this mission and also in Japan.  We have been blessed to live our lives mostly in a time of peace.  We pray for continued peace in our lives and that there may be more peace in the world.  We know that true peace comes through the gospel of Jesus Christ and that is why we try to share it.  

Typhoon Maysak - part 2

There were many homes destroyed, but fortunately only 2 people lost their lives. One person was hit by a piece of roof that was flying.  We saw many pieces of roof high up in trees after the storm.  

 These houses were demolished.

 Here are some of the local fruits (papaya and Mangoes) that were destroyed.

This is our neighbor's house.  The roof is gone.  The building in the background is our apartment building.  A large breadfruit tree also fell in their yard but is not shown here.

 The church boar dock was blown away with only some of the pilings left.  Following are some more damaged homes.

 In the middle of this, we had car trouble.  One of the Elders pictured helped us figure out how to fix it. We are in the middle of downtown.

About a week after the storm we had electricity again at the laundromat.  Two of the missionary apartments were destroyed and many of them had a lot of wet and muddy clothes.

 Tired after working hard to help others, these missionaries relax a few minutes.

Elder Eliason joined other missionaries to help clear the roads.  Gradually neighbors and others helped.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the first responder.  On April 6 we helped unload 1000 fifty-pound bags of rice and hundreds of cases of ramen to be distributed to church members and others.  In all 75,000 lbs. of food was delivered.  Also various tools such as chain saws, tarps, water filters, etc., were donated.

It will take a long time for the food supply to recover.  Many people are still sleeping in crowded conditions.  The extra moisture and debris on the ground has made more mosquitos than usual, bringing more discomfort to those without shelter.  It has been a hard time for many people.  But we are inspired by their resilience and their faith in hard times.  Families take in other families.  Neighbors help neighbors.  We love the people here and pray for them.

Typhoon Maysak - part 1

Watching out our window

On Sunday, March 29, we had a large rainstorm. We were wondering if people would come to church in the storm.  I looked online to see what the weather looked like and saw the satellite image of a tropical storm directly over Chuuk.  This was our first warning that we would have a Category 5 typhoon.  (We stayed home.)

After 1 1/2 hours of fierce wind and rain from the south, it stopped raining and became calm.  We went to the top of our building to see what we could see of the damage.  Our neighbors lost their awning.  We could see into yards on both sides of our apartment building where homes were missing roofs.  We did not realize that we were in the "eye of the storm" but wondered if it was so.  People were outside picking mangoes and breadfruit from the trees that had fallen.  

After another 1 1/2 hours, it suddenly started to blow and rain again--this time from the north.  The second half of the typhoon was the strongest.  The houses on each side of us lost their roofs or were completely blown flat.

I took this picture of the tree below before the typhoon.  It was huge and had a massive trunk that included many vines, etc. (Notice the car driving under.  It was like driving through a tunnel). The next picture shows it on the ground after the storm.

After the storm.

The next pictures will show some of the damage.  They lost 98% of their natural food which they depend on heavily.

Many homes were also damaged or completely blown away.

 The next day we had a tsunami warning because of an earthquake in Papua New Guinea so we climbed up this hill.  I think the lagoon protected us because the tsunami did not materialize.  You can see down to the ocean.  With so many trees down we can see homes and things we never saw before because of the heavy vegetation.

We lost power during the storm and didn't get it again for about a week.  Fortunately our apartment building had a generator which they ran a few hours each day to keep our refrigerators somewhat cold and a little light.  The electricity also allowed running water so we would fill up all our containers and take showers during those hours.  Many people here live without electricity or running water all the time.

See next post.

March - "In like a lamb and out like a lion"

One of these Elders finished his mission and went home this month.  Since there are only about 26 Elders in Chuuk, they become very close friends to each other.

 

This month we visited home-bound people on Weno, Romanum, and also on the Island of Tonoas.  

This woman has a large family group who live on top of a mountain.  When we first visited she could not walk.

 Here she is walking a few weeks later!

This little baby was born at home in a small rustic dwelling.

The next few pictures are of our visit to Romanum.  We took a boat, then climbed the mountain and trekked through the jungle to visit homebound sick people there.  

  This woman needed surgery but was afraid.  We helped her get the needed care.  We have come to love her and her husband through this experience.

  We pass many homes like this as we hiked through the jungle of Romanum.  

  Many of the people here need physical therapy.  We encourage certain exercises which help them.

Here is another little baby born at home on Romanum.

We returned home soaking wet after the boat ride.

Here are some scenes from our visit to Tonoas (Island) 

 Below is the outdoor kitchen for the home above.

 Boys playing at the church in Tonoas.

We had a visit from our family history senior couple in Guam.  They are working hard to help people do their family history

.Someone asked to see what our apartment and daily activity places were like.  Here are some pictures of our apartment:

Living room

Kitchen

Bedroom

We also have an office room.

Here is the Chuuk Hospital.  We work in the out-patient clinic in this building. 

The calendar below is typical of wall posters in many places. We are enjoying the free and open expression of religious faith here.  The people seem to have faith in God and in prayer and are not shy about expressing it.

 

This is a picture of downtown Weno, the main island of Chuuk.  Many people come in from other islands at the boat dock on the right to buy and sell.

Some children having a good time--

Look at this amazing tree with all its hanging vines.  We felt like we were driving through a tunnel.  The next blog will show what happened to this tree in the typhoon.