Awesomeness dominated this week -- my attempt at a more literate way of saying that this week truly was amazing.
One lesson that I learned from this week is that to have success and happiness, I just need to go out and do it. Just do it.... Sounds like a great logo.... like maybe for a sports brand.... :) Anyway, it is so true. I want to be better at speaking the language of Kiribati and just last night I started studying harder. We didn't have a dinner with people, so I used a bit of dinner time to make some flash cards and studied them a bit. It didn't take much time, but it definitely helped me so much! It was great. It is interesting that just a small bit of extra work can provide a lot of motivation.
This week we re-contacted a former investigator -- ten Kakiaman -- and his wife, nei Losalini. They lessoned before for a long time. When we asked them if they had received an answer to their prayers about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, they said they had not received an answer. It was a bit sad to hear that they had been visited so many times and they had not sought an answer through prayer. From my encounter with Kakiaman, I learned the importance of teaching that we need to receive a testimony of the Book of Mormon through the witness of the Spirit. I know that WE ALL need to receive a true witness of the Spirit that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that the Book of Mormon is God's word. I will work on emphasizing that in my future teaching.
I read the talk "Behold the Man" that Elder Uchtdorf gave this past general conference. It is great. Sometimes, it is easy to feel like a failure. However, we will always find peace in Christ. I loved this quote, "So, when you are encompassed by sorrows and grief, behold the Man. When you feel lost or forgotten, behold the Man. When you are despairing, deserted, doubting, damaged, or defeated, behold the Man. He will comfort you. He will heal you and give meaning to your journey. He will pour out His Spirit and fill your heart with exceeding joy." It is a great talk. I recommend it. We can go through the DOTS (delays, opposition, trials, suffering) of life, if we put our trust in Christ. He is always there for us. I know that He is. He is real. He really loves us.
I hope you all have a fantastic week. I love you all!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig
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| Elder Toro (in our district) and I at the Bairiki Chapel on a preparation day |
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| Cool plane from WWII that Elder Bataua and I saw when we were on Butaritari |
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| Teaching Bishop how to make snickerdoodle cookies |
