Mauri o!

Mauri o!

Life is great!  Isn't it?!  By definition life is a blessing from God. (See Preach My Gospel, Lesson 1, Section 1: God is Our Loving Heavenly Father) It's pretty amazing, right?  

Anyway,  this week was great.  Lots of good things.  

1.  We were in the office working on transfers, which is an exciting experience in and of its self, when a man that we did not know walked in.  He was holding our car key... I got really confused because we hadn't given our car key away to anyone.  He explained that a child had found it on the ground and brought it to a house.  They pointed over to our  truck, some person recognized that the truck was ours and so they walked into our office and handed us the key.  The Lord watches over us.  He is real and He loves us. He provides us with lots of tender mercies.

2.  Transfers - They are directed by the Spirit.  It is amazing.  This is the Lord's work.  That reminds me: as Elder Fifita and I were talking about  fellowship for our people and also the fellowship for the other missionaries in the mission, and we came up with the phrase that "This is not our work, it is not the ward's work, it is the Lord's work."  It is all the work of the Lord.  Is is His Work and His Glory, we are all just so lucky to be instruments in His hands.

3. I know that the Spirit guides us.  Promptings are real.  This week I have felt great as I followed the Lord's promptings and I have also noticed the regret that comes from not following promptings.  I am coming to realize more and more how REAL the Spirit is.  HE is real.  He is awesome! I leads us to do what is right. He speaks to our minds and our hearts.  We can all be lead by the Holy Ghost.  We are all promised His companionship in our baptismal covenant.

Kobaia and Rengata are doing great. Our ward does daily exercise in the morning. Kobaia has been coming and he looks great. They are a great, happy couple.  They are always together now, before Kobaia started to change, Rengata said very unhappy things to him.  It is great to see the blessings that comes from the gospel.  I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses families.  The family is ordained of God.  It is the most important social unit in time and all eternity. 

For studies, I am going through Chapter 3 in Preach My Gospel and writing down the doctrines for each section.  It helps me understand and apply what I say I believe.  I hope to better study, believe, love, live, and teach the doctrines contained in Preach My Gospel by more thoroughly studying Chapter 3.   I love it, and I recommend it. I am working on developing my faith in each of the doctrines - through prayer and study.  I know that Christ lives.  He is my Redeemer.  He is my Savior. 

I love you all!

Thank you for all that you do!

It's a great day to be a missionary!

Elder Weenig

The Spirit is Real

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

Life Is Great!

Dear Family! (both biological and like spiritually-biological... I guess that is called spiritological.... or something similar) :)

Life is great!  'nough said. :) But really, it is amazing!  I love it!  

Here are the reasons:

1. My companion is Elder Fifita. He is amazing!  I am learning so much from him!  It is spectacular!  He is so optimistic and happy and outgoing!  Every day is fantastic. I am so grateful I have been given the opportunity to work with him. Imagine the perfect missionary and you have pretty much got a good picture of Elder Fifita.

2. The work is great.  We are trying to work more with members. And we are trying to be Preach My Gospel missionaries.. So we just do what Preach My Gospel says and miracles happen.  It is the greatest!  This work is so real.  The world is so ready!   People not only need the gospel, they want the gospel!   Being a missionary is the best thing ever!  Missionary Work is the best!  I love it.  I recommend it to all you all.  Feeling down? Then maybe a little dose of missionary work is just what you need. :)  

3. My family and friends are the greatest!

4.  God is good.  He is real.  He is really there.

One important thing that I studied this week:  we are all sons and daughters of the Most High King. We are good. Satan tries to trick us into thinking otherwise. We are NOT to let him trick us into thinking that we are not good enough or that we are failing or that we are anything other than a loved child of God.  I think that information is the most important. We need only remember our own identity and then life gets so much easier.  We know what to do.  We don't feel stressed.  Yep.  That is a lesson I learned this week, from studies and whatnot.  Love you all! Keep on being the amazing people that you all are!

It's a great day to be a missionary!

Love you all!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Weenig

With Elder Fifita and Elder Hansen (senior couple missionary) in the office

Cactus!  Whoot!  This is the only cactus I have seen on the islands.

Just Do It

Mauri o!!!

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

Elder Toro (in our district) and I at the Bairiki Chapel on a preparation day

Cool plane from WWII that Elder Bataua and I saw when we were on Butaritari

Teaching Bishop how to make snickerdoodle cookies

Work with Elder Fifita

Life is great!  So, this week, my companion, Elder Morphonios, went to an outer island to check on the missionaries there.  So, I had the amazing opportunity to work with Elder Fifita (from Utah)!  He is the greatest!  He works hard and is optimistic and pleasant all the time!  Anyway, this week has been a blast and productive. We worked our area as well as Elder Fifita's area (which is Eita - where Moroni High School is located). We have spent a lot of time working on organizing the upcoming Missionary Leadership Council. 

Both  Ratu and Teoti are progressing well.  I am very happy for them.

It rained a ton last night, so on our way to our lesson, we got drenched.  It was fun. :)

Crazy story:  I was driving a couple of elders to an interview.  On one of the dirt roads, I was passing a car.  (Note: it rained a LOT yesterday)  Anyway, I passed the car... They were being nice and waving me on. I guess I was driving too fast because I hit a puddle and the muddy water went into the cab of the truck and onto the people there and out the other window.  The water also got the people in the bed of the truck.  It even got one of the missionaries in the bed of the truck I was driving... Oops... That was an accident.  We stopped.  They were very nice and forgave us.

Thoughts from my studies this week:  We need to arm ourselves with the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and "The future is as bright as your faith" (Thomas S. Monson).

Life is great!  Keep on being amazing!  Hope you all have a great day!!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Weenig

With Elder Fifita -- drenched after a rainstorm

Oops!  Sorry Elder Gila

Banana Island

Mauri!

This past week, I had the opportunity to go on splits with Elder Bataua to visit the elders serving on the island of Butaritari -- which is known for having a great amount of bananas.  Elder Bataua has family on that island and they gave him three bunches of bananas.  So delicious.  Bananas here are small and delicious! :) It was great.  It also rained there almost the entire time.  It was nice and cool.  Elder Bordinko is one of the elders serving there, he kept saying that "we can learn something new everyday" and he worked very hard.  I liked his thought that we can all learn something new everyday.  Elder Pugliani is the other elder serving there.  I was impressed that as our dinner appointment time was coming up, he used up every moment of time to work.  As we were walking, he said, "Three more houses, that's my goal." I like that he set goals and strove to accomplish them.  That's what I learned from them.

One of our investigators is nei Teoti.  She is great.  We tracted her at her store on the way home from a dinner appointment (our dinners are at about 8:00, so they are our last appointment) and she accepted lessons.  Her husband is a less active.  We plan to teach her the Plan of Salvation tonight. 

This week in my study, I realized that I need to be a closer friend with Christ.  My companion, Elder Morphonios, is amazing and is a great friend.  Having him as my friend is great, and I realized that I want to develop a stronger friendship with Christ.  In the hymn, "I Know that My Redeemer Lives," Christ is described as our friend.  I know He is a friend to me, but I want to be a better friend to him. 

Life is great.  The church is real.  I know that Christ lives.  

Have a spectacular week!

Hurrah for Israel!

Elder Weenig 

Sunset on Butaritari Island

BANANAS!!!

Elder Bataua and I on the airplane from Butaritari to Tarawa

Dinner at a recent convert's house with Elder Morphonios

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Howdy!

Hope you all had a fantastic Fourth of July.  We had a pretty great one.  We had a dinner with the senior couple, the Hansens, that live in our compound.  It was fun.  America is the best. :)  (I say that in a very non-comparative, non-competitive way... :)  )

Life here is going great.  People are great.

We started lessoning with a Fijian woman, Alberta, who lives in our compound.  It is great. She has lessoned with sisters before, when she lived in Vanuatu (another Pacific island). She is interested in finding the truth.  She has a friend, nei Kabwearuru, who brought her to church and helped during our first lesson with her.  It is amazing how much nei Kabwearuru helps to allow for her friend to receive lessons.  It is awesome!  It is a good lesson in member missionary work.  Helping our friends receive the restored gospel is the best thing that we can do for them.

Well, I have been reading talks from the past General Conference this past week.  The talks are all amazing!  I love them.  I read one about sacrifice and that sacrifice makes things sacred.  It makes things important. Heavenly Father sacrificed His Son so that we can return to live with Him again.  It must, therefore, be an extraordinarily sacred and important thing that we strive to live to return to Him, as He gave such an extraordinary sacrifice.

I love you all.  Hope that all is well with you!  Happy Fourth of July. Freedom isn't free - I hope we don't forget the men that died for that, and more importantly, that we don't forget the Man that died for that.  "For men are free to choose... liberty and eternal life through (Christ)" (2 Nephi 2:27)

Have an amazing week!
Hurrah for Israel!
Elder Weenig

Service with Elder Morphonios (From North Carolina) -- we cleared bushes for an investigator.

Sea Worms... They dry them and chew them like gum...

Elder Morphonios and I on Tabiteuea North

This is the hospital... We visited one the of the elders who was sick.
Apparently, while he was sleeping a dog came and licked his foot.... Kinda funny. :)

With Elder Seffker and Elder Jubeck

The American Flag, flown outside of Moroni High School
(Elder Belshe, one of the senior missionaries, asked permission to fly it on the 4th of July. :) )

That hanging thing is a giant shell fish. We saw it at a member's house on Tabiteuea North.  Kinda cool, eh?
(and no, I did not eat it... But I have eaten it cooked before.... when I was in Abemama)

Zone Conference

With Elder Otto inside a bunker in Betio

Our district (Ambo) on a cannon in Betio