Bishop's Garden

Elder Rasmussen, Elder Youngberg: Building the Teaching Mwaneaba

On Sat. Sept. 28 we joined the Eita 2^nd ward in their walk-a-thon. We thought it started at 7am but come to find out they actually began at 6am. So we had Elder Bush take us down to the Bishop’s Garden where we met up with them. It’s about a 15 min. drive by car. Remember the road is bad so it really wasn’t that far; maybe 6 kilometers.  Elder Youngberg has been working extremely hard to complete the structures in the garden before they are released in April. The first building was the shade house, then they built a teaching mwaneaba.  Next will be a composting bin, bathrooms with composting toliets, and finally a large mwaneaba as a meeting place.  They were able to use the wood from the old Temwaiku chapel to construct the teaching mwaneaba. 

Tioramia showing how to sew on the thatched roof
made of pandanus leaves. 

Once we had all gathered we cleaned around the area where some construction is going on. It didn’t take long when you have that many people working together. Many hands make light work. When finished we began our walk back to the high school. It took us about an hour and forty minutes. The bishop made sure we had plenty of water because even at that early hour it was getting hot. With all the smells of wood burning for their meals and all the beautiful foliage it did remind us of a camping trip.

Clean up

Every little boy loves a pile of dirt!

Moving the wood pile

Walk back: Highest point on the island; 4 ft elevation

By the time we made it back we were soaked with sweat. However, it was fun to be with the saints of the Eita 2^nd ward. This ward makes sure there is always some activity planned or in progress.

Next Week: Teaching mwaneaba complete

Cutting some cabbage