Some additional info about Tarawa.

Tarawa sits just north of the equator in Gilbert Islands chain. It is the capital of the Kiribati Nation.
Below is a map of the different Island Nations in the South Pacific.

The following pictures are from Google Earth that zoom in to the Island of Tarawa which is the capital of Kiribati.

Our island is the star under the words Google Earth

As you can see Tarawa is a long skinny island shaped as a backwards L. It is a coral atoll. The lagoon in the middle is shallow compared to the ocean around it. The high school we will be serving at is between the villages of Bikeman and Bonriki. Our blog header picture is actually a google earth closeup of the high school. It is the large white roofed cluster of buildings. The missionary apartments are the smaller white roofed buildings along the shore.

So as you can see the island is very narrow, widest place is less than a mile. The highest natural point on the island is about 12 ft. We will pray for no tsunamis. We are just north of the equator so the days will be 12 hrs long all year, sunrise at 6 and sunset at 6. Temperatures will be 85 - 90 deg F year round with some days getting into the high 90s. You would think that it rains all the time but they do have long periods of time when there is no rain which poses a problem for fresh water. All food is shipped in on freighters. Most of it is seconds or rejected food out of Australia. There are times when food supplies can become low on the island. The staple local food is fish and coconut. Fish and rice is the common meal on the island. There is very limited fresh fruit and vegetables. So because of all this Susan and I are taking enough vitamin supplements to carry us through our mission.
Health care is also limited on the island. The Church only allows senior couples who are in good health to serve there. Many medical issues that would require a hospital would take days to transport to a hospital in Fiji or Australia since the only way off the island is by boat or plane. The planes only fly out once or maybe twice a week. There is a hospital on the island but the level of medical care is low. So it is best to start with missionaries that have no preexisting conditions. The Church does have Doctors and Nurses that are on medical missions and visit the islands on a regular basis.
Well there you have it, a little info for you to help understand what Susan and I are heading to.