Happy 19th Birthday!

Dear Mom, Dad, Taylor and Cami,

I miss you all very much! This has been a very crazy week. Lots of things going on, and lots of busyness. Not even sure where to start at this point!

I did have a birthday, and it was really fun. We had district meeting in the morning, and Sister Anderson (from our senior couple) made a chocolate cake. I was so happy to see real food. We ate the whole thing and it was delicious. There wasn't even frosting, but it was still so good. After that, we ran to the store to buy some mosquito repellent (more on that later - ouch). THEN, there was a birthday miracle. We looked on the shelf at this store we were at, and there were two jars hidden behind some cans. We looked a little more closely, and about fainted: Peanut Butter AND Nutella. Literally, a miracle. It was the best thing I had ever seen. And it cost 35 dollars. Which we gladly spent. So for lunch I had a cake and peanut butter and nutella sandwich. It made me SO happy.

I was thinking about how blessed we are, and I was so grateful for all of you. It's amazing how much and how easily I can take things for granted at home, and I'm trying harder to be grateful for everything. It was just a small testimony to me that there are always things in life we can be grateful for. I am very very grateful for this opportunity, and for all of you.

My birthday continued to be great, we went to Nakala's house for dinner. He is the branch clerk, and he's so nice. Him and his wife just have all the missionaries call them Tamau and Tinau, which is effectively "Dad" and "Mom." They're the best, and I was super grateful. However, Kiribati culture is such that the guest of honor has to wear some kind of flower crown... so I had one that Nakala's niece made. It was so funny. Then, I also had to give a speech! That was hard too, because they wanted to hear everything about my life. It was good practice for teaching I suppose.

Healthwise, I'm starting to be less sick. I am still sick about once a week or so. But other than that I'm doing better. It's good too, because I can NOT afford to lose anymore weight. You know that belt with the ratcheting system? We put it right into the middle when I went to the MTC, and since leaving, I've lost so much weight that my belt has only one more ratchet point left when I tighten it, probably 3 inches difference. I'm a twig, it's probably a good thing this island doesn't have a scale on it. 

I'm also being eaten alive by mosquitoes. I never mentioned it before but it's getting worse. They've moved into our shower, because there's always water there, and because our house is technically outside. So I get eaten alive when I shower, and it's not enjoyable. We're going to work on that today. I just have no idea how to fix that. Pray for mosquito immunity or something, that's the last hope. 

Other than that, our investigator Ueata was baptized this Saturday! He was so ready. What a nice guy. He really wants to do what's right, and he's a great example of faith. He was asked to give a short testimony after he was baptized, and he cried the whole time. It was really touching.

Learning to play rugby was pretty fun! Thankfully missionaries can't play tackle, because my companion is a pro. It's still fun though, and I think I'll get better little by little.

I'll answer a few of Mom's questions now. The shoes I wear the most are the Keens. I look really stupid, but it's that or crocs so I figure it's the lesser of two evils. No, we do not wear socks (and as a result I have weird tiger-stripe tanlines going on on my feet now). The senior missionaries in our area are President and Sister Anderson. Elder Anderson is actually the second counselor in the Mission Presidency, so we're really lucky. He reminds me of Papa, a lot. There are 6 missionaries on the island. 2 Elders in Tabwakea (Elder Paora and I), 2 sisters in London (which is written as Ronton in Kiribati - so dumb it's funny), and 2 elders in Banana. There's also the Senior couple. That's it though, just us 8! I haven't ever tried using my ATM card, the one ATM on the island was broken today so that was a pain. I should have a missionary debit card, but it will take forever to set up so starting in March, my money should just go into Elder Paora's account. We do sit on the floor in all our appointments. It kills my back, and sleeping on the stick mattress doesn't help much. I'm okay though, I'm just getting stronger little by little. We do have chairs in our huts, so that is nice. I don't know how much I weigh (probably a good thing). My clothes fit okay, they're getting really big though! Also best thing ever, I don't have to button my top button on my shirt in this mission and I'm super happy about it :)

My time is up! The internet is slow, I want to make sure there's time for this to send. I love you all! Thank you for your support. I am praying for all of you and I really want to be the best example I can. Let me know any ideas for doing better. I miss you all, I'll see you soon!

Love, Dallin