Well Bob "had" to meet with a couple of employees in the Cook Islands. We don't have schools or a service center there so there are only 3 employees that sometimes get neglected. Miriam came so we took a couple of extra days to do it up right. It was a four hour flight there from Auckland. It was almost 2 of their movies. (Need to see "Lars and the Real Girl"). First highlight was flying over the gorgeous island and seeing the impressive mountain peaks and ridges. Very green and very sharp peaks. That is not common on the islands that we have seen so far, Tahiti was second to it. We wanted to do the cross island trek but chose not to because of the weather. It was a good choice because someone we talked with took 7 hours and it should have been 3 hours. They felt like you needed ropes. It would have been very slippery with the rain.
Oh, maybe we need to talk about Bob's work here first. That is why we came. Bob met with the government agency regarding their retirement plan. Then met with the employees and went over contracts and enrollment forms. Everything went well. Now they are all legal and properly enrolled in their benefit plans. We had a very lovely dinner with them that night where we got to know them and their spouses better. While Bob was in meetings, Miriam had a great time wandering the town, looking at museums, shops, following the beat of the drummers (literally) and have a wonderful morning. (check out the photos for more info)
David Akinoa was kind of our host on this trip. He drove us to and from the airport numerous times. He loaned us his scooter to get around the island. He took us to his home and introduced us to star fruit.(love it) We learned about coconuts, bananas, palm trees and his star fruit. The amazing thing is that all these plants can be planted, grow to maturity and bear fruit in 6 months to a year. We saw lots of pictures of his wonderful family and heard their conversion stories and temple trips. His son is the champion fire dancer several times of the polynesian island games.
The third day we flew to Aitutaki. As you fly in you see numerous small islands surrounded by the most beautiful Lagoon you have seen in your life. Here is where most of "The Other Side of Heaven", "Johnny Lingo" and Survivor were filmed. We were told to get of the plane and ask for Tom. "Everyone knows Tom". We did and found out he was not there but his daughter was. She took us to our cottage on the beach and to our day tour of the Lagoon and other islands. The first island was Honeymoon Island. There we had morning tea consisting of fresh lemonade, homemade doughnuts (scones) and various island fruits. Most of the time when you "have tea" you really don't have tea. We went snorkeling in a wonderful spot. More fish and clams than youhave ever seen. White sandy bottom ocean floor surrounded by the corral. (see pics) We spent a lot of time on the island that survivor was filmed on. Puna (tour guide) wanted to explain what a wonderful financial blessing it was for the whole island. Although now they are in a slump again. We then went to One Foot Island, where we could send postcard and we had a superb meal. Puna's wife and son really had it all for us. (Notice the outhouse with a view in the pics)
Tareta and her four children took us on a tour of the island. Puffy picked us up to take us to her parent's restarant for a traditional meal and island dance show. Boy, do those girls know how to swing their hips. We enjoyed our meal with Repeta (the church employee) and her husband who is a 24 year old branch president. Great fun! After being awoken at 4:30 AM (again) by all the roosters we were greeted by fresh donuts from Repeta. She also gave us 8 pareu. (like sarangs). Here is a great story about Repeta's father and uncle. The island constitution requires that the sabbath be observed. Due to the poor economy the government started allowing Sunday flights to come into the island. The island people were so upset by this that they protested at the airport. Repeta's father and uncle ran out on the runway as the first plane came in. They also placed logs and wood on the runway to prevent planes from landing. They are now banned from flying the only airline that comes onto the island. (Do you think the Ensign would like this story?) Many of the locals feel that their economy is so bad now because of the planes flying on the Sabbath all the time now. Boy did we feel guilty flyiing home to Auckland on their Sunday. By doing so we were able to attend church. NZ is over the time line and our Sunday was the day before (their Saturday) so we got home on our Monday. (can you follow that?)
Back to Roratonga. Cruising around the island on David's scooter was a blast. It rained most days a bit. You would just keep going and in a bit you had dried off. (My hair was a sight though) We saw a wedding taking place on a little island across a lagoon. The bride and her maids were ferried across in a fun decorated boat. We called the Sr. Missionary couple and asked if we could come and visit them in the evening. Because of night blindness they don't drive after 6 pm. They live in the Black Rock Mission Home. We had such a wonderful visit. They are like our heros. They work so very hard. This is their fourth sr. couple mission. They have always been proselyting and loved it. They said that their island was kind of dead because they couldn't get anyting going with the members and the work. But his wife told us that in the last 7 months he has baptized 10 people. He will talk to eveyone and tract all the time. It works for them. Even though they are Senior Missionaries they keep the rules in the white handbook. This has given them success.
We enjoyed the Roratonga market on Sat. morning where we shopped and ate lunch. On Sunday David picked up our bags and had us ride the scooter to church. It started raining on us but we were dry when we got there. (Hair was great again) We followed a scooter to church that had his young child strapped to his back with a sash. When he pulled up to the church we could see that the child was asleep. They aren't really into safety here. No helmets anywhere either. Church was lovely. Going to the airport he invited us to get into the back of his truck and sit on his garden chairs. It was a wonderful trip. Next stop is Korea and Japan for Bob in 3 days. (look at pictures)
