Assigned to labor with Elder Powell until January 2, 2017. New companion is Elder Fonseca. Nonouti is one of the longest islands in the Kiribati Region and has many people attending church, but no formal organized branch or ward. We are hoping this will change very soon. It is the 3rd largest island, just north of Tabiteuea and south of Tarawa. At it's highest elevation, it is just over 9 and a half feet above sea level and half a mile wide on average.
Yep, that's the runway on Nonouti.
This is the oldest and largest mwanabea in the Kiribati region. Many cultural celebrations are held here.
Photo courtesy of Fly Water Travel
About the food: You can see the seaworms here. They are the things on the stick that look like... worms... they are actually kind of tasty... like a mix between beef jerky and fish but chewier and kinda squishy sometimes... really squishy and not like beef jerky if not yet dried out in the sun." - Elder Powell
About living conditions: Q. What do you sleep on? Do you have a mattress? Mat? Do you sleep okay at night? A. "Well I sleep on, a woven mat from pandanas tree. It is not thick pretty much like sleeping on a slab of cardboard. So that you don't feel the coconut palm slats underneath you. I'll try and add a pic. But ya I usually sleep pretty well at night. Mostly just because I come home dead tired at night. I could probably sleep pretty well on a bed of thorns most nights. :) When I first came out to Buki I struggled a lot more but if definitely settled in. I can only imagine how crazy it will be to sleep on a real bed when I get home... or go into Tarawa!" - Elder Powell
This atoll is long and skinny from Abamakoro at the North end to Temotu at the South. The coral reef that completes the island to the west creates a kind of lagoon making it perfect ideal for fishing. There were approximately 2683 people living on Nonouti in 2010. It is sprinkled with rocks and sandbanks. A cleft in the reefs near the middle, only allows access to ships of less than a thousand tons. The northern part of the island is cut off by several passages, forming a series of islets that is very difficult to reach. Canoes can only reach the shores on high tides. The lagoon waters ebb a long way, uncovering blindingly white beaches.
About the Grandmas that help them so much: "I have a couple grandma's here in Nonouti. Tearabi is super helpful, she does our wash, cooks our food on Thursday nights, and we play sorry at her house on p-days. She is really nice and a faithful member. Marebu is another one who is great. She always feeds us all the time and gives us papaya and teaches us Kiribati dances. Then there is Taaraita. She is younger but she helps us so much! She and her family are great. She gave an awesome talk in sacrament meeting for us last week and we also live on her husband's property so they are way good about keeping the house up and stuff. Anyway... just some help we get out here in Kiribati! its a lot and I love them all so much!" -Elder Powell
Helpful things to send to missionaries on this island:
raspberry lemonade - 2 ltr packets (like Crystal Light...because the water tastes really bad!)packaged potato soups, mashed potatoes or something like that to just add water, heat and eat, mac and cheese packs, cheese (canned or Velveeta), candy, fruit like apple sauce, dried apples, mangoes, pineapple, raisins or craisins, chewy chips ahoy, cereal, fruit snacks, instant oatmeal packets, granola bars, peanut butter, pens, toilet paper, extra zip drives for pictures, bleach tablets