Tawau

Greetings to all -- We just returned from Tawau last night.  We had to make the trip to close on a water project which was just outside Tawau in the village of Qoin (Quinn) Hill.  The church teamed up with the Rotary club of Tawau to bring clean drinking water to a village of about 200 homes.  Previously the village didn't have clean drinking water coming to their homes and had to carry the water from a spring which was quite far away.  On Saturday night we went to a dinner the Rotarian club had. The dinner was to install a new president for the year and also to acknowledge the accomplishments they had in the past year, which included the water project.  It was a very nice dinner.  The in-coming president is of Indian descent so the dinner was Indian food.  All the food was great and not too spicy which I greatly appreciated.  Never have been fond of food which burns going down and coming out.  They presented Ben with a very nice plaque and really acknowledged all the help LDS Charities had given them.

                                          Ben receiving the award from the Rotarian President.
The press was also there so we are looking for the article in the local paper.  I hope we can find one.  The senior couple in Tawau, the Atkinson's, are going to keep their eye out for the paper article.

Sis. Atkinson dancing with the honored guest, the head honcho of the Rotary clubs in the whole area.  He didn't ask me, he asked the better looking of us.  The Atkinson's have 11 children, 9 girls and two boys.  There must have been a lot of PMS in that house!
The Rotary Club arranged the closing ceremony and then informed us when it would be.  They should have consulted with us, but they didn't.  They set it up for Sunday morning, not what we wanted, but we were stuck.  We had to go and represent LDS Charities and the church.  Here are some pictures from the site:

This is the sign on the solar panel structure.  The first name listed to the right of the Rotary symbol is "Latter Day Saint Charities Utah USA.  Everyone should be so proud to be represented by the church here.  And the money for these projects does not come from any tithing or fast funds.  It comes entirely from donations to the Humanitarian department.

The two big water tanks which store the water. Ben is in front in the green LDS Charities shirt.  The man in the blue shirt and light pants on the right is the contractor.  The others are Rotarians.

Ben and Chris Chiew, Rotary president, in front of the tanks.

Rotarian Gary, District Pres. Ling, The Atkinson's, The Read's and the Contractor.
I don't want this blog to be too big byte wise so I will send more pictures later.  So many of the people in the village told us how grateful they are to have clean water coming right to their homes.  They told us their children have not been so sick since they started having clean water.  All the credit for this project goes to the Larson's who were here before us.  They helped develop it and get it off the ground.  We just did the follow-up work, but I am so proud we could be a part of this project and represent the Church.  The church is really doing amazing things here in Malaysia.  Everyone who is a member of the church should feel great pride!  What a difference it has made in so many lives.  Can you imagine never having clean water in your home and having to carry every drop you used from a far away spring?  Can you imagine the joy you would feel when you could just turn on a tap and get a drink that wasn't going to make you or your children sick, or you could even just take a shower in privacy?  I know we shouldn't be proud, but be proud of what the church is doing here and in 160 other countries throughout the world.  I am.  Love to All E/S Read