Mauri!
Life is great! I am doing just swell. The Lord has blessed us with an amazing week, so I will do my best to share it with you all.
Our ward is amazing! They are so helpful and involved in missionary work. On Sunday, we had investigators at church. We were able to ask some members to help lead the investigators to their respective classes - including their children to the primary class. The members were more than happy to help. Also, they are starting a morning exercise thing. We went to the first one, this morning. It was great. Bishop Kauea came. He is the best! He is so humble and involved. He knows the people and loves them. Exercising was a fun way to interact with the members. There are families here that are waking up at 5:00 am to do their scripture study as a family before they leave for work. They are blessed for it. We can see the happiness that is in their lives. I know that they are blessed for their obedience to the Lord and their desire to do what is right.
We are working with a man with a drinking problem. We started the LDS Family Services 12 Step Program with him. Bishop Kauea said he will come with us to our lesson with this man, named Kobaia, on Tuesday. We are excited for that. We had a great spiritual experience with Kobaia. We fasted for him (we and his wife, who is a recent convert named Rengata, fasted) on Thursday. That day Elder Fifita felt that we should go to the lesson earlier than we had planned. We arrived and they were both present, and Kobaia was the most sober we had ever seen him. (He was usually very unaware) We lessoned, we all felt the Spirit. Kobaia gave the closing prayer. He shook as he prayed. He has recognized his problem for a long time, but it wasn't until Elder Fifita took the time to sit and talk with him that he had the support he needed to start overcoming the overpowering affects of alcohol. (Elder Fifita stopped to talk with Kobaia the first week that I worked with Elder Fifita. It was amazing to see Elder Fifita's Christlike love [aka charity] for the man that I had overlooked as a hopeless drunk.) Everyone is a child of God. Everyone is loved by Him. Everyone needs the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So many people want the peace and joy that come from the Gospel, but are kept from it, because they know not were to go. Our time with Kobaia was a great spiritual experience. I know that God is real. He has prepared the hearts of His children here in Banraeaba. He truly loves each and every one of His children. He lives.
The Spirit is real! We had two elders working in our area. It was temporary (they were helping us with our area, while we were busy in the office working on the logistics of Mission Tour). As we were contemplating where they should go once it was time for them to be moved out of our area, we decided on an area. We prayed for confirmation that it was the right area, but we felt like it was wrong. I felt a tightness in my chest. Elder Fifita said he felt like we were being held back. So we discussed it and came to the conclusion that they could work in another area (the elders that are in that area were being sent out to an outer island soon). We had overlooked that area before. We prayed about it, and we all felt good about them going to work there. It is amazing. This is the Lord's work. He guides it. We are all lucky to be a part of it.
Another testament of the Spirit: We needed to find a visa waiter. He was supposed to be set apart on last Monday, but the Stake President was not able to get in contact with him. The Lord prepared the way so that the the prospective elder was told by a member of the presidency for the North Tarawa District to go to the service center. He was told that on the very day that we started anxiously looking for him. The Lord prepares the work. He does the work. This is His work. We then had to find the house of this prospective elder (there are no addresses in Kiribati). We said a prayer before we set off. We were lead by the Spirit and were able to quickly find the house. The Lord is aware of us. He helps us. He leads us through the Spirit. The Holy Ghost "will show unto you all things what ye should do." (2 Nephi 32:5)
Note on my companion: Elder Fifita. He has amazing faith. He always asks when we are making decisions what I feel in relation to the Spirit. His example reminds me that we need to rely solely on the Spirit. We have been lead by the Spirit much more this past week than I have ever been in my life. It is amazing. I love working with Elder Fifita. I am grateful for his example. He is a remarkable missionary. He loves others and reaches out to them. He doesn't accept compliments -- he gives the credit all the the Lord. He sees the good in everyone. Whenever we meet someone or pass by someone that he knows, he has something friendly or nice to say about them. I am grateful for his goodness and his willingness to do what is right. I love his ability to follow the promptings of the Spirit. I want to be more like that. I really respect him. I am grateful the Lord has given me this time that I can work with and learn from Elder Fifita.
Love you all! Thank you for all that you do!
It's a great day to be a missionary!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig
