It's been a little over nine weeks since Elder Weenig was transferred to Tabiteuea South. He hasn't had internet but we have been blessed to receive some letters in the mail. Here are a few updates from those letters:
June 26:
Sorry there is no email, but please know that I love you and that I am praying for you all.
Well, this week was my first week in Tabiteuea South. It is awesome! I have the greatest companion. Elder Peterson from Santaquin, Utah. He was transferred over from the Marshall Islands since a lot of Elders are returning home from the Kiribati islands and we needed more elders. He has picked up the language very quickly. The area is great. Apparently we are getting a branch out here soon. I am very happy to work here. We live in a stick house with a tin roof. It is great! There are papaya trees in our yard so we get to eat papaya. Yum! We work in different villages each day. Lots of biking, but I really enjoy it. For the farthest village we bike and then either canoe or walk through the water.
July 3:
This week has been quite the week. I am learning a lot about the area. There are a great deal of people to get to know. I really enjoy it here. Annako, a ten year old girl, is one that is progressing toward baptism. She is so happy to lesson and has support from her extended family.
Today we went with Peter, who lives near us, to dig for shellfish called "Koikoi". We got a lot. After boiling them to open the shells, we fried them. It was an adventure. I am learning how to quickly build a fire out of coconut husks to cook our food. They turn out to be extraodinarily flammable.
I am learning much more of the language. The gift of tongues is real. I am so grateful for it. Without it, the life of a missionary would be a sad one indeed.
PS: If given the option between fish and shellfish, ALWAYS choose the fish!
July 10:
Well, big news -- Elder Peterson is transferring. He will leave tomorrow. Tears. He is awesome. I am very grateful I was able to work with him. I learned much and really enjoyed it. Anyway, this week was great. We started doing a fifth church meeting for people at a school. They are boarding. Only a few people at each service, but a total 41 people this week. Whoot! We should be getting a branch soon. The paperwork for a new branch was turned in about a month or so ago. On the 4th of July, we tried to light a coconut on fire for fireworks ... didn't work as we had hoped. Happy Birthday, America -- it is really a day to celebrate. America is so blessed. I hope we continue to work to keep it that way. "God Bless America" really is a perfect slogan/motto to have. Well, independence Day for Kiribati is coming up in two days. I am dreading it a bit. Everyone and their coconut tree will be there.... Yep, that will be an adventure.
The people are doing great. Annko will be baptized this Saturday. We are very excited for her. Her grandparents and aunt will give her support, which is great.
July 17:
This week had lots of things happen. Most important of all is that Annako was baptized. I had the opportunity to give her the Holy Ghost on Sunday. Her mom was there when she received the Holy Ghost. I am glad she saw it -- her mom is not a member. She just happened to be at the house we had church so we asked her to sit with us. I am very glad Annako was baptized. I gave a talk on baptism. I realized how amazing our promise (covenant) to the Lord is. If we do as Christ would have us do, always remember Christ, and keep His commandments, we are continually clean and pure. We really do become saints and the Holy Ghost can forever be with us. Amazing! Even more amazing is that if we break our half of the promise, we can still repent and regain the promise as we do so every sacrament meeting.
Torai, the Kiribati independence day, made it so we could not schedule lessons for three days this week, but it turned out to be fine because we were able to use that time to find new people and introduce my new companion to the area. I am working with Elder Dale, the same Elder Dale as the one I worked with in Abemama. He is great!
I really like Tab South. We cook our own dinners on a fire. Mostly just rice, papaya, and canned meat (fish or chicken). Life is awesome here. It has rained everyday, so it has been a nice cool week. I am very grateful for it.
July 24:
Happy Pioneer Day! It was not celebrated here. :) I did not see a single wagon.
Members here are amazing. I believe there are 50-60 members. We usually have 40 at church. It is great. They are all very new to the church, but they try hard. I love them. We are under the Tab North branch. It is less developed than the island of Abemama. I absolutely love it. All the people are extremely kind as well. In Kiribati, there are three zones: West Tarawa, East Tarawa, and Kirimati. On the outer islands, there are no district meetings.
This week was great. We had great lessons. We are putting as many people as we can on to date for baptism. The work is great! I enjoy it.
My study today was on charity. It is the most important attribute to develop. I read Moroni 7:42-48 and also President Monson's talk in April conference called "love, Charity, and Kindness." I substituted my name in place of charity in verse 45. That is my goal, that I can say that of myself. I want to become more charitable. As such, I need to be kinder. I think it is interesting that was his address to us, it was short, but must be very important. Charity is real -- it is our goal.
July 31:
It's been a great week. On Sunday, we taught on the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. We were able to talk with Annako's grandma who has a problem with the word of wisdom and help her work on a plan to slowly decrease the amount she is using. It would be great if she can overcome her problem and be a support to Annoko. As I studied and pondered the word of wisdom, I came to more fully understand the importance of obedience and as to why the Lord gives us commandments. It is so He can protect us from danger, so that He can bless us, and so that we can return to Him. If we break those guidelines, Christ has given us His infinite atonement so that we can clean our "garments in His blood". Speaking of that comparison, I had the thought as I was doing wash. When we sin, we put "blood" on our garments; but also clothes get dirty gradually if we don't truly clean them frequently, dirt and whatever gets on them. I compared that to ourselves getting dirty if we do not continually and consciously try to keep ourselves clean and to things to keep us clean: study scriptures, truly praying, partaking of the sacrament, truly going to church to worship Heavenly Father and member the Lord, Jesus Christ all the time. These things are like the soap and the repenting is like the bleach to cleanse us or our sins when we break the Lord's commands.
Love you! Keep pressing on!
Hurrah for Israel!!
Elder Weenig
