Howdy!!!!
That is right, I live. Contrary to popular belief, a tsunami did not hit Kiribati and destroy all the missionaries there. We are all doing great! No tsunami, only the death of the internet. So that is good. Things like that apparently happen regularly. For example, the entire country ran out of fuel last week. Luckily our mission president was able to pull a few strings in Fiji and made it so Kiribati has fuel again. Yep. Life is good. The work is great! I have an amazing companion, Elder Kennedy. He is from Evansville, Indiana. And is the best trainer ever! Yep, all the members love him and he works super hard! It is great to learn from him!!! I am grateful for his example. He is tons of fun!
To satisfy curiosity: I am serving on the island of Abemama. Which is called "Frog Island" because it is the only island with frogs. It is also a very large outer island and is very developed (for an outer island). There are a good number of refrigerators, and there is a store that sells apples and ice-cream. Yep. Apparently, this is all luxury. I don't have any other island to compare it to, I just take what my trainer says as true. But moral of this story is: Be grateful for fruit that is readily accessible. Also, be grateful for ice-cream, but that moral need not be said, because who isn't grateful for ice-cream? :)
I have adjusted to eating most of the food. However, Sea worms are my one weakness. :) The bananas are great here. They are like the fourth the size of an American bananas and very flavorful.
We have several people progressing towards baptism: Maritati, Tui, and Karabeia are the most likely to be baptized first. Maritati is a younger tween. He has great support from those that he lives with. It is cool because he was separated from his twin when he was little, and my companion actually taught and baptized his twin on the island of Lanos. Cool, right? Tui is a middle aged man and is always so engaged in the lessons. It is awesome how he will repeat things that he thinks are important and interesting. He is amazing! He is very kind and patient with me as I try to say things to him in Kiribati. Karabeia is a teenager. She is progressing well, but might be moving to Tarawa soon. There are so many awesome people here that I wish I could tell you about!!! They are all so friendly and welcoming. Tikaua, a returned missionary who speaks English - so I actually understand what he is saying, said that Kiribati lives a Zion-like community. Which is true in the sense that they are giving, helpful and respectful. It of course has its own short comings, but it is an amazing place. Any place can be an amazing place, we just have to decide that it is.
We hold a temple class to get people to come to the temple. My favorite couple that attends, Temwakin and Folau (and their child with special needs), get so excited to talk about the temple. We stopped to pick up the computers we use to email from their house, and as we spoke to them, Folau started eagerly asking questions in regards to our last temple class. It was so great to see how excited they are about the temple and the knowledge of the gospel. I think everyone should have that enthusiasm. Especially in relation to temples. I have taken knowledge of the Plan of Salvation for granted, but as President Uchtdorf said in last General Conference, "how great the plan of our Redeemer" and "we walk a path of diamonds, but we scarcely can distinguish them from common stones" (give or take a few words). The gospel is full of diamonds and I think that sometimes we take those diamonds for granted. They are truly beautiful and glorious to behold. I hope we all can develop a greater appreciation for temples, for the words of God, and His beautiful Plan of Salvation.
We also teach on a small island called Abatiku, an island right next to Abemama. In order to get there we ride in a small motorboat. One morning, we thought they were coming an hour later than they did. So we woke up to them honking the horn. We hurriedly packed and changed, and then sprinted to the boat. Another experience on the island of Abatiku is that a minister got mad at us and kicked us out of a person's house. Apparently the person got very mad at the minister and turned the whole island against him (the island has less than 100 people on it). We were accepted very readily after that. :)
For service opportunities, we cut open coconuts and cut down trees with machetes. It is great. Very interesting.:)
Also, one more thought. I recently read, or heard, a talk/scripture/something that went something like this: Faith is either decreasing or it is increasing. It is sooooo true!!! Faith is not stagnant. It is like a plant (some might even say "a little seed"). We must continually water it and care for it. If we don't, it will die. We feed it through service, church, temple work, scriptures, General Conference, kindness, and so much more. I have come to realize how important is to always be feeding my faith to keep it good and strong. That is my invitation to you all. Nurture y'alls faith. It is what I am trying to do in Kiribati. I love you all!
Hope you all have an amazing Christmas, and that we all remember that it is CHRISTmas. I hope we remember the reason for the season; and that while gift giving is great, I hope we remember that the greatest gift of all was already given - Christ. I love you all. I love this season. I love Christ. I hope and pray that Christ is in all of our lives in this Christmas time and every time. :)
Love you all!
Hurrah for Israel!
Merry Christmas!!!!
Elder Weenig
Elder Hayden Weenig has been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Marshall Islands/Kiribati Mission from 2016-2018. This is Hayden's mission blog to share his experiences as he serves the Lord and shares the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people in the Kiribati Islands.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
Abemama
Howdy!! So, I only have like five minutes, so this will be brief.
I am on Abemama. It is the best!!! We have fans in our house - which is half of a cinder block hut.
We have a bucket for a shower.... And we get to filter our water, which is great. :)
Food: water (actually sugar water, they put in sugar to hide the taste), rice, noodles, and fish. I did have bread for one meal. The food is pretty good. Except the canned ham. That is evil....
We run three different sacrament meetings. (About 85 people came this Sunday) So, that is our entire Sunday. It is awesome here. I love it.
Sorry that this is so short, the internet is down except in a building... We are borrowing a worker's computer for a bit.
Thank you for everything. Tell everyone that I love them so much!!!!
I LOVE YOU!!!!
Elder Weenig
![]() |
Waiting to board the plane in Salt Lake City |
Friday, November 11, 2016
Week Six - Final Week at the MTC
HOWDY,
Wow!!! It is going by sooo fast here in the MTC. I will be leaving for Kiribati next Tuesday. So I am getting ready for that. It is all coming up so quickly. I am excited to go out and serve!
Soup box moment: Our new President of the U. S. is a touch (more than a touch) ... different ... but that does not mean that we should not support him. Remember that it is the people of the nation, not the president that dictates that future of our country. "government BY the people, FOR the people, and OF the people" Lots of peoples in that statement! Food for thought.
I know that this gospel is true and real!! Jenny Oaks Baker came to speak to us on Sunday! It was great!!!! She spoke on the power of prayer and how if we seek to be more exactly obedient to the will of the Lord, He will bless us. The Lord has given us everything! The only thing we can give to Him that He hadn't already is our agency. Give our will to His will. I know that He will lead us to do right!!!
I love you all!!! I hope you are loving life! Keep the faith and let's build Zion!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig
![]() |
Brother and Sister Heward - Sister Heward is the seminary secretary at Timpanogos. They are in my branch presidency at the MTC. |
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Week 5 -- Let's Build Zion
Howdy!!!!
I hope that you are all doing well! So this week.. It has been great!!!
Okay, down to business. The gospel is true!
The MTC is crazy. I am learning a lot. We had a Skype TRC (where we teach real people as opposed to role playing people) It went well. I mostly understood what was going on, and I think that the person we were talking to understood us.... It was great!!!
Guess who came to the MTC!!!! You were close. Nice guess. It was PRESIDENT NELSON!!!! (Sorry to all of those that read ahead, so the surprise was ruined for you....) Anyway, it was great to hear from him. He is amazing!!! He talked about how the Lord is hastening the work, and so we must keep the pace. We have much to do - missionaries and members. He said to make sure that we had written the new and everlasting covenant on our hearts - keep it with us always and hold true to it.
Along with that, at a bishop's training conference, Elder Christofferson said that while the world is wicked enough for the Lord to come again (I agree on this point, I mean, just look at this year's election candidates.... :) ), the members of the church are not committed enough to their covenants for Him to come. I really liked that thought. We can become better and as we become more committed to our promises with God, we will be preparing the way for the Lord to come to earth. So, my challenge to you (and to myself as well) is to go and be more committed to the promises that we have already made.
We've got this, we can be the change that corrects the wrongs of the world. All we have to do is change our hearts!
Let's all go out and build Zion!!!! I love you all!!! Keep on being awesome!
Hurrah for Israel!!!
Love,
Elder Weenig
![]() |
With Elder Sagapolu on a field trip to the doctor's office. |

![]() |
P-day sandcastle with Elder Shurtleff |
Friday, October 28, 2016
Halfway Point (MTC)
Howdy Friends and Family,
This week was great, as usual. And my time is brief on the computer, so this e-mail will be too. :)
In shocking news, I got to go on a field trip across the street to the BYU Student Clinic, because my companion hurt his ankle and we needed to get an x-ray. Luckily it was just a sprain and he is healing quickly. The Lord does bless his servants.
Other than the field trip, it was a regular week in the MTC. I reached my halfway point on Wednesday. Exciting.... But crazy. Time flies by fast in the MTC. I have been learning and growing a lot. I have learned that the only way to have a good day or lesson or life is to choose to have it. The day is here, so it is time to seize it! We must make the choice to become better and to have the Spirit, and as we live worthily and humbly, the Lord will bless us to achieve our righteous desires.
K. Brett Nattress came to speak on Tuesday night. He started by asking: "What think ye of Christ?" I love that question - what do I honestly think of Christ. It is a great question to ponder. He then continued to say that Christ has commanded us to be like Him. It is the ultimate goal, so we have much to do. I testify that Christ is perfect and that He loves us perfectly and that through Him we can return to God, to be in a state of perfect righteousness and happiness. I know that He loves us and will support us!
The gospel is real, the church is true to the gospel, the prophets lead the church according to the desires of God. God will support us if we humbly ask Him. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving.
I love you all! Thank you for your prayers, thoughts, and support!
Keep the faith!
Hurrah for Israel!
Love you,
Elder Weenig
![]() |
The map pic |
Friday, October 21, 2016
MTC = Utopia
Howdy friends and family,
Well, I would compare the MTC to a Utopian society. Yet, despite what all of the books on the AP reading list say, this utopia does not end in nuclear warfare. It is great! I have learned a lot and am growing very much!
On Sunday, we had a devotional, Vai Sikahema came to speak to us. He talked about using our influence for good and to bring others to the gospel. I really liked how he said that we could talk to people everywhere and invite them to Christ in both our actions and our words. It was a great talk.
On Tuesday, we had another devotional (if you can't tell, devotionals are my favorite part of the MTC... aside from sand volleyball.... :) ). Lynn G. Robbins and Jan Robbins spoke to us. They said that developing Christ-like attributes is the most important thing that we can do as people and as missionaries. (It is chapter six in Preach My Gospel) I am trying to work on becoming more Christ-like, and I know that through prayer and sincere effort, we can all become more truly like Christ.
The gospel is true. God is real. Christ truly died for us and loves us.
Keep the faith!
Hurrah for Israel!
Love you all!
Elder Weenig
![]() |
Our District |
![]() |
Look who I ran into -- Elder (Kai) Barlow |
![]() |
Laundry time |
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Week Two in the MTC
Howdy friends and family!
I love you all so much! I can definitely feel your prayers uplifting me and sustaining me! I always thought it was weird when people would say that, but it is real. I can be on the verge of mental chaos, when suddenly the Spirit comforts me and the language actually makes sense. It is great!!
The MTC is amazing... Contrary to my thoughts the first couple of days.... :) I have learned so much and I can feel the Holy Spirit so much!!! God uplifts and sustains us here, otherwise there would be no way to make it through. I have learned how to humble myself in sincere prayer and study. I have come to love God as He is our loving Heavenly Father!
Elder David A. Bednar came to speak to us on Tuesday night for a devotional. He taught us how to study and teach. Look for the principle, look for the invitation to act, and then look for the promised blessings - and he said that the promised blessings are really promised to us!!! They will come to pass. Also, I got to sing in the choir. Whoot.
We also got to watch one of Elder Bednar's past devotionals on Sunday. It is called the Character of Christ. He said that the character of Christ is to turn outward, not inward. My mission is not about learning a language or fulfilling a priesthood duty, it is to serve others and truly caring for them. I loved his devotional so much!!! He also said that when we take notes, we should write down the notes that the spirit prompts us with - not just what the speaker is saying. AH, I want to write so much more about his talk, it was amazing!!! However, I am out of time, so I must go.
The church is true, the gospel is real, the prophets will lead us to truth, God loves us, I love Him, and I love you all!!!
I love and pray for you!!!
Hurrah for Israel!
Love,
Elder Weenig
![]() |
A blessing to run into good friends (Maile Fisher and Madalyn Udall) at the Provo Temple (Thanks for the pic Madalyn). |
Friday, October 7, 2016
First Week
Howdy,
I am now in the Provo MTC. It is.... the MTC. It is everything that I expected and yet nothing like what I expected. We have classes and study time from dawn to dusk.... Plus a few hours before and after that..... The language is definitely not English. I have learned a lot considering that it is the first couple of days, for example: I know where my classroom and residence room is.... And yeah.... Also, one thing that I didn't expect, but I guess I should have, is that the people here are human. Weird, right? Like, they breath, make mistakes, and have no idea what the teachers are saying either. So, yep. Go team.
If I were to compare the MTC to anything, it would be boot camp. Which makes sense, because we are the Lord's army. That's all I'm gonna say... LDS boot camp.
My companion is Elder Sagapolu. He is from Taylorsville, Utah. He is very pleasant and nice. We've been getting along great! Our roommates are Elder Anderson and Elder Bolton. It is great because they are all willing to follow the schedule with exactness. It is awesome. We all wake up 30 minutes early (6:00) so that we can beat the rush to the showers. Yep. I have pretty great roommates.
My district: We have seven elders and two sisters. It is great. Our classroom (as well as my residence room) is on the fourth floor. That's right, the top. So, we kind of get a view from our window, but we also have to climb several flights of stairs on a very regular basis. We are in the islander zone. So, there are 6 or 7 languages in our zone. It is pretty cool to have such a diverse spread of languages. Yep.
I hope that you are all having a great week - remember that life is what we make of it. Now, my time draws to a close, so I will end.
Thank you for all of the support and prayers - they are definitely felt.
Love you all!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig
![]() |
With Elder Sagapolu (Taylorsville, UT) |
![]() |
With Elders Anderson, Bolton, and Sagapolu |
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)