We are all aware of the destructive forces in nature such as tornados, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanos, etc. But there is also a very tiny insect that can cause some serious damage. Here in the islands there is the termite that destroys anything in its path that is made out of wood. It does not take long for this little insect to bring about its nasty destructive efforts. We have learned that there are termites that come up from the ground as well as termites that have wings and can fly. There are many homes here with a flat cement room because the pitched roofs have all been destroyed by this insect.
Our beautiful Chapel here in Lelu was built and dedicated just 4 years ago in 2008. It is a lovely building, probably the nicest one here on the island. One day as we were helping set up chairs in the Chapel we noticed that the wood used to decorate the front of the choir loft and the Sacrament table had some water stains on it. Later we were informed that it was not water damage but the beginning of termite damage.
A few months later we got a called from our facilities manager asking us to come and take some pictures at the church for him. It turned out that during the night the cabinets in the library had fallen off the wall. Now what could possibly have caused this---TERMITES!! The cabinets were disintegrating from the inside out. Some of the doors only had the laminate facing left on them and all the wood was gone.
The termites had even started eating the books that were on the shelves. The entire library was a loss except that the family history computer that was housed there was spared. When the upper shelves fell they did not hit the computer and it was then rescued and removed to a safer spot. They thought that the wood they used was supposed to be protected from termites, but not in this building. Such a tragedy. 
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