Leaving Abemama

Howdy Everyone!

Big news:  I am leaving the beautiful island of Abemama.  That is right.  Due to some changes in missionaries, they will only have two elders on Abemama.  So, I have been called in to go work on Tarawa. In a city called Temaiku.  I will be flying off of Abemama this Friday.  I am glad that I have been able to serve here on Abemama. It has been a remarkable experience.  Both physically and spiritually. What I have learned the most from my time on this island is that we need to devote ourselves completely and totally to the Lord. Not just as a missionary, but throughout all of our lives.  It is amazing to see that as we do that, we are blessed abundantly.

Well, this week. It was great.  We had a lot of business items that we had to do.  Plan flights for people to get to Tarawa, do the audit for the branch budget - which, despite taking a long time, was quite fun - other branch business, and yep.  It was fun.  I wish we had more time. Time is definitely of the essence.  I am grateful for the time that I have now to serve the Lord.

One experience from the week was teaching a lady by the name of Baitaua.  She loves the lessons and is very attentive in them.  She listened so well and tried so hard to feel the Spirit's power, it was amazing.  I felt the Spirit so strongly as Elder Dale shared with her the story of Joseph Smith.  She believes. She is amazing.  I hope that we can continue the lessons with her -- her husband is very firm in his own church.

Another experience, not as happy.  We went to visit down south, because there are only three of us on Abemama right now, so we work the whole island again. So, we were in the south, and we visited one of my old investigators.  He had fallen to drinking.  It hurt to see. It is crazy to see the power that the devil has.  He really does all he can to prevent people from being baptized.  The devil has power. But I testify that the Lord has more and we can access his power through faith and pray.

Final experience.  We were visiting a side little village in the forest.  We noticed a person filming us.  We asked why.  He told us that we were the first white people he had seen.  It was pretty cool. I feel honored. :)  Yep, that was a fun encounter.

Well, my spiritual thought for the week is on hope.  Hope is not just a longing for something, it is an expectation.  For example, if we have faith and we obey God's commandments, we hope that we will receive the promised blessings.  It is a hope.  We do not just long for it in a day dream type of way.  We hope for it, we expect it to happen.  It is pretty amazing.  It is having such firm faith, that we expect the blessings or event to occur.  I really like that concept. I hope that I explained it well.  It makes sense in my head.   For a better description read the "Hope" section of Preach My Gospel - it is found in Chapter 6: Christ-like Attributes.

Well, I love you all!  And hope that you all are well! Keep on being amazing! Stay firm in the faith!  Find joy in all things!  I love you and pray for you!

Stand firm!
Enjoy life!
Hurrah for Israel!

Love y'all!
Elder Weenig

At one of our church meetings -- the far south one.  We are in a member's house - Sister Tiria

Elder Jubeck, Elder Dale and I

Joy in All Things

Howdy Y'all!

I hope that all is well back in America - or where ever you all might be. :)  I am doing great! It is always great to be a missionary.  It is because we have the opportunity to give all our time to the Lord. It is amazing!  I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve a mission.

Well,  it has been a good week.  We just got the new schedule for the missionaries.  It is great!  It makes it so we can adjust our schedule more to the needs of the day.  It is nice because there are times that are less productive for proselyting that we can move our study time too.  I am grateful that the Lord provided us with a new way to do our studies.

I learned how to make Breadfruit Soup.  That was amazing.  Yummy and quick.  It was very fun!  I would love to make it all for you when I return.... Someone just needs to plant a coconut tree and a breadfruit tree right now, so that we will have the resources there in America.... :)

People here are amazing!  There are so many that are willing to listen to the gospel.  There is one sister, Maraea, she is progressing very well.  She follows through with all her commitments and she comes back to her house for our appointments.... Most people don't even remember the appointments.  She is amazing!  I am so glad that we have the opportunity to lesson with her!  She is truly amazing!  I am glad for her efforts!

One thing that I think is beautiful about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we can feel joy in all things.  Our trials help us grow, so we should celebrate those.  The commandments are always accompanied with blessings. It is truly amazing!  I have been working on being more joyful. I think that everything that God created -- everything -- is things that he finds joy in.  I think it is important to find joy in everything.  I also believe that Christ was a joyful person.  I added it to the Christlike attributes section of my Preach My Gospel.  I hope that one day I can find joy in all things. Including mosquitoes.... :) 

I love you all so much!   One other awesome story is the story of Captain Moroni and the Standard of Liberty!  It is found in Alma 46. I love that so much!  It is amazing how strong his faith was.  I want faith like his.  Faith and courage in the Lord.

I love you all!  I know this church is true!  I know that God is real and that He loves us!  I love you all!  Thank you for everything!  You are all in my prayers! Keep the faith!

Love you!
Thank you!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig

With Elder Dale (Mesa, Arizona)

Cool shipwreck.  At high tide, it is covered in water.

Octopus that is drying -- luckily, even though we see it everywhere, we
very rarely have to eat octopus.

Sunset

No barber on the island ... so ... I gave myself a haircut. I made a point not to take a picture of the back. :)

Elder Dale and I charging the computer that we use for email

Transfers

Howdy Everyone!

I hope that you all doing well!  You are such fine, great people!  You all deserve to be happy all of the time, and I truly hope and pray that you all are!  One thing that I have been learning to apply is that we decide how happy we want to be and then we act on that. If our happiness is based on external forces, it is not going to last.  The only lasting happiness is the gospel of Christ.  If we decide to follow the teachings of Christ, we will be happy.  I know that it is true.  Hard at times, but true.

Well, this week we had transfers - which was a bit of a fiasco.  We almost didn't have a plane for Elder Kennedy to get off of the island. We had to keep going to the airport to check his flight and whatnot a lot.  But it all worked out.  It was a miracle.  God helps us get through.  He will help us when we do as He wants us to. Elder Kennedy left on Thursday and my new companion came on Friday, so I was able to work with Elder Jubeck and Elder Johnson for a day.  It was great! Yep.  Quite enjoyable.  They are all great elders.

My new companion is. .... drum roll, please .... thank you ... Elder Dale. He is from Mesa, Arizona.  He has worked on Kirimati Island (Christmas Island) for four months.  So, he has been out a bit longer than I, but he is great at speaking the language.  It is very impressive. I hope that I am able to improve to be that great.  We have spent the past few days introducing him to all of our members and investigators.  It has been great!  I am very glad that I get to work with him.

A few facts about Abemama:  Everyone here is Christian, either Catholic or Protestant. I would say that it is an even split between them both.  All the religions do family home evening, which is cool.  Favorite aspect is that they are so giving and kind.  For money, everyone sells coconuts -- they cut them open, dry them and sell them to the government.  The government sells them to big companies -- beauty companies, etc.... Some have large families, it is about the same as Utah.  We ration our Books of Mormon because they are always in short supply... I don't know why that is a thing.... Things mostly shut down once it gets dark, but usually we have a dinner from 7 to 8 and then we bike home from 8 to 9.

Well, one thing I have been thinking a lot about is prayer.  God hears and answers our prayers.  He has commanded us to continually pray - out loud and in our hearts.  (Alma 34:17-28)  I think that that is so amazing! God loves us so much that He wants us to always talk to Him.  Then He gives us blessings for doing it.  It is amazing!  My favorite is that we can pray to overcome the devil - to overcome temptations.  If we stay strong in our prayers to overcome temptation, we will be blessed.  It is amazing! Truly.  Through our prayers for help, we will receive the strength and power to overcome the power of the devil.  (Read Alma 31:10 and the situation around it, it is amazing!)

I love you all!  You are all such great supports to me!  I am so grateful that I get work out here on Abemama, Kiribati.  It is wonderful.  I know that the Lord blesses me and all of you! I love you all and pray for you!  Hope that you are all well!  Keep up the great work!  I hope you all are loving your Zion in America - or where ever else you happen to be. :)

I tangiriko.  Ngkoe, ko bon te tina ae moan te tikiraoi. (I love you. You are truly the greatest.)

Thank you all!
Love you!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig

The cake we made for Elder Kennedy leaving. At Christmas time, I went to a store in Tarawa
called i-Mart.  They have cake mix and icing mix.  So, I brought those to the island.

Our ride to the airport at 4:00 a.m.

Ti a bo, Elder Kennedy.  (Good bye, Elder Kennedy)

With Elder Jubeck.  Eating a rare specimen called ICE CREAM.

A Prayerful Heart

Howdy y'all!!!

I love you all and pray for you each day!  I hope that you are all doing well and are working on building your testimonies each and everyday.  That is something that I am trying to do.  I have learned that if my faith is not increasing, it is decreasing.  So,  I have been trying to follow the advice in Alma 31:10 and pray continually not to fall away.  Continual pray.  It solves so many problems. :)

Well, transfers are this week and this is my last week with Elder Kennedy.  He will be going to Kirimati (Christmas Island).  That will be amazing! I am so happy for him.  He has been an amazing companion! We attended his goodbye picnic, which was a lot of fun.  Volleyball, food, games.... The works. It was a great way to get less actives and investigators excited about church. In fact, there were only two or three families there that are actually active. The rest were less active or investigators.  It was amazing! I will not know who my new companion is until Friday.

Another major event of the week was our Kaongora.  It means "to make listen".  It is a time when all of the people in the city come together and listen to people give speeches - usually about health or something.  So, we gave one on the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. It was great!  A few people seemed interested, we will see if they are more open to our message.  A lot of people here - mostly everyone here - is very shy to go out of the norm, but we hope that they felt the Spirit strongly enough to desire lessons.  They are amazing.

One of our investigators should be getting baptized soon - we just have to wait for the court clerk to come from Tarawa so he can get married.

Sadly, there are no youth programs here.  But the school system has time set aside for religious study each Thursday, so we are going to start doing that when school starts up. :)

Okay, family history work!!!  It is amazing!  I am jealous that you all have the resources to do it!  So, I read a talk that my dad sent to me - he is the greatest, thanks Dad!  And the talk was: "The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn" by David A. Bednar.  It was given in October 2011 General Conference.  In it, he promises such great blessings if we choose to do family history work and take our own ancestors to the temple.  It includes protection against the
adversary, increased testimony, and a deeper conversion in the Lord Jesus Christ!  Which the adversary doesn't want?  It is so easy!  You can do it while snacking on popcorn or something....  But moral of the story is that I testify that family history work is extremely important and that if we do family history work, we are greatly blessed!  Heavenly Father is such a kind father for giving us such simple commandments and then pouring out great blessings.

I love you all!  I know that this church is His church.  It is truly His kingdom on the earth in the latter-days.  I know that we can make a positive difference on the world no matter where we are.  I testify that we can increase our faith through continual prayer - having a prayerful heart and remembering God in all things.  I know God loves me and all of you!

Love you!!!
Keep the faith!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig

P-day deep sea fishing.  I caught nothing -- my luck continues.  But it was fun.  It rained, which felt nice
 I felt cold! Such a novel idea ... cold.... :)

Our ride to Elder Kennedy's goodbye party.

Elder Kennedy and I with Punjas' chocolate chip cookies.  The greatest
cargo in the world!!! Also, scarce, but very good.

Rain! Rain!

Howdy!

Hello to everyone!!! I love you all!!  My p-day was filled with fishing for food, washing clothes in bowls and eating cream crackers .... It was a party. :)

This week was great!  It rained a lot.  It was amazing!  Apparently it was the first big rain in about nine months.  Whoot!  It was great!  It cooled everything off!  I love the cold!  Everyone in the world should be grateful for the cold! :)  Hard to say that to you who are probably freezing right now.... :)

The rain helped with the mosquitoes.  I have learned the reason for mosquitoes is to make us grateful for when we are not being bitten by them. :) I am very grateful for bug spray.

I was able go on splits with Elder Jubeck for three days!!!  He is awesome!  He reminds me a lot of Tyler!  It was awesome.  We were lead by the Spirit so much, it was great!

We are still waiting for a Branch President to be assigned. Until that happens, we will not be able to do much organizing within the branch.  Hopefully next week....

Our hut on the northern part of the island .... It has not progressed...  But we work on it occasionally. It's a slow process ....  But it will get there.  I am very excited for it!  We did chop open coconuts to get money to buy supplies for the hut though.  Coconuts = money. :)

Thank you for everything - your thoughts, prayers, friendship....everything!!! I love you all! 

Thanks!

Keep the faith!
Hurrah for Israel!
Love,
Elder Weenig

Rained ....  more of like an ocean fell from the sky.....  Somehow....

Rain and more rain 

Our fishing hole

With Elder Jubeck

My first catch. This is not the bait. :)  (We are hoping this was a catch and release)

A fishy situation ... Is kissing a fish wrong? I thought so ... But apparently you are supposed to do it to be able to catch more fish .... It is a lie, I didn't catch anymore fish after that ....

Trucks, Leadership and Goals

Howdy y’all!

This week was good.  It went in the blink of an eye.  For church, we hired trucks to bring people from both ends of the island to the center where our branch has a maneaba (pavilion). It was great.  It is our last week doing that because the mission wants the branches to be independent of the missionaries help.  Which is great!  The members here are mostly all new, so they just need to learn how to function the Kingdom of God, so that they can do it without outside aide.  It will be great!

Lesson of the week: Everyone needs to be a leader at some point.  As I have been the new, trainee, I have been the follower.  Following my trainer from lesson to lesson and while I teach, I mostly testify of the truthfulness of my companion's words - I hope they are true, I sometimes don't quite grasp the language completely. ;) But, this past week, due to companionship exchanges, I have had to take a leadership role in showing the new elders around.  It boosted my confidence.  It motivated me in my work.  It was great to be able to successfully meet and teach people.  I felt great!  I loved it!  Anyway, the best way to feel confident is to pray and then to do your best to follow the Spirit. That is what I have learned this past week.

 As a missionary, we focus a lot on goal setting.  It is great.  Another missionary, Elder Johnson, shared this way of goal setting with me, so I figured I would share it will you all:

1. Write down your Vision - overall, big picture of self or project.
2. Write down any obstacles that will prevent you from reaching that vision.  Be specific!
3. Write down SPECIFIC ways to overcome the obstacles.
4. Make a very detailed plan, using SMARTS:
    S - Specific
    M - Measurable
    A - Agreed upon with God (and companion if need be)
    R - Realistic
    T - Time Specific
    S - Stretches you to be better
5. Get to work!  Do it!  Get others to support you in the goal setting and achieving.

Yep,  I thought that was nice and helpful, so I thought I would share it.  Hope it helps at least one of you.

I know that the church is true and that through God we can do all. Through Christ and His Infinite Atonement, we can become greater than we can ever imagine.  I know that my Savior lives and that through Him I can do all things.  I testify of the power of prayer and the power of continually turning our minds and hearts towards God.  I testify that it is real - the gospel is real.  I know it.  I do my best to live it.  I love it.

Love you all!  You are all such remarkable, great people!  I know that you all have such a great influence on those around you!  You have all had a great influence on me!  I know that the world is a crazy place, and that things are crazy back in America, but I know that God sent each of us here at this time to the specific places He sent us, for a reason.  We can do so much in any place that we are in.  We can overcome.  You all can do this!  I love you!

Thank you for everything - your thoughts, prayers, friendship....everything!!! I love you all! Thanks!

The church is true!  Go team!

Love you!
Keep the faith!
Stay strong!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig

The Holy Ghost Testifies Clearly and Perfectly

Howdy,

This week has been great!  Having another set of missionaries on the island is great! Our week has been crazy because we have gone on splits to show them around the island and whatnot.  They will work on the south end of the island and we will work on the north end. We all still live in the same house, which is in the south, until ours is built in the north, so it is very crowded.:)  Also, Elder Kennedy went on a split with Elder Jubeck to Abatiku. (the small island off of Abemama) .  Apparently the entire island wants lessons over there.  It is awesome!!!  I am very glad that all is well over there.  I worked with Elder Johnson. He was great to work with.  It was fun to see his style of teaching.  It is very different from Elder Kennedy's.  It was cool to see the differences and combined them into my own teaching. :)

I was able to go on a split with Elder Jubeck for a day. He is as new as I am, so we had to rely completely on the Spirit.   A lot of our lessons fell through, but our final one was the most amazing thing ever!!!  It was with Tebetikai, a woman that has been cold to lessons in the past. But we were able to teach her and she loved it. She said she had had lessons before, but had not understood them.  But that she understood our lesson. She cried at the end of the lesson and was so happy. :) That is how I know that the Holy Spirit was there. Because she said it was very well explained - but only the Holy Ghost can testify clearly and perfectly to everyone.  He gave her the needed understanding.  I am grateful for that.  It was a wonderful experience.

Another highlight of the week is that we received a pan sent out from Tarawa!  Now we can cook if we don't have a meal provided. Whoot!! We almost always have meals, but it is nice to have the back up. :)

Our investigators are doing well.  A couple, Karabeia (teenage girl) and Tui (middle-age man) are progressing towards baptism.  There are a few that will follow closely after them.  I am happy for them. :)

Thank you for everything! I love you so much and pray for you daily! Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU!!!!

Hurrah for Israel!

Love,
Elder Weenig