May 27, 2014, We Just Got Back From Lae...I Think I've Found Paradise

Greetings

We just got back from Lae about 2 hours ago.  Holy P cow.  I think I've found paradise.  It was so beautiful.  The atoll is so small that you can see all of the islands when you stand on the lagoon side.  There was a beautiful sunset one night.  I'll have to send photos next week. 

The boat ride was fine on the way there, but coming back the waves were bigger and the front of the boat kept bouncing up because we didn't have as much weight as before (we took a whole bunch of rice and supplies to the people on Lae since they've been low on food because a boat hasn't come in a long time).  I've discovered I get a little sea sick, but not as badly as most of the people on the boat did.  Luckily I slept on the floor of the boat coming back today but I got soaked from water splashing.  I don't think I want to go on any more 9 hour boat rides again.

The members in Lae were so nice.  They greeted us when we got there with flower necklaces and crowns and then we had a feast in the chapel which is just a 100 yards or so from the beach (on the lagoon side).  We ate fish, sea clams, kwanjen ma (smoked breadfruit), and a whole bunch of other yummy Marshallese food.  I'll tell you more about the trip tomorrow or next week.  Tafili and I might run down to NTA tomorrow and email for a little bit even though it isn't our P day. 

I just found out this evening that I'm leaving Ebeye next Wednesday.  I'm sad but I knew it was going to happen soon.  I'm mostly sad to leave the members.  I think our investigators are tired of seeing my face.  But!  Kamina and Mickey, the ones that got married a couple of weekends ago, are getting baptized this Saturday! We arranged everything so they could get interviewed while we were gone and we found out that they're ready for this Saturday.  I'm excited to see them get baptized before I go.

Tootles,

Ellen

Editorial comment: The senior missionary couple on Ebeye, the Beckers, that Ellen writes about, wrote a three part segment on the trip to Lae in their blog. There are some nice pictures of Sister Butler on their blog. You can find their accounts here: Lae Part 1, Lae Part 2, Lae Part 3