Update From Fiji

Hi Mom, Dad, Taylor and Cami!

I hope you're having an awesome time. It's currently 11:00 am on Monday morning here, but I think you guys just might be sitting down to watch the Superbowl. Go Broncos!

Wow. I have had the craziest time ever. Where to start? I'm struggling to even remember things, it's been a really crazy blur. Kiribati is nothing like you've ever imagined, I guarantee it. I'm going to give a very honest description of Tarawa, but don't run away or get scared, I'm fine! And I have highlights for the end of the letter :)

Okay here goes: 3rd world does not even begin to describe Tarawa. It is so poor and I was very sad on our drive around the island. Poverty abounds. People live in shacks and huts that they've constructed from sticks, thatch, dirt, plywood, twine, and corrugated metal if they're lucky. Everything is dirty. There are 60,000 people on Tarawa, and it shows. It's a busy busy place. And it is HOT. So so so hot. I could hardly breathe it was so hot. Everyone just sweats all day, and there's nothing that can be done about it. Little kids mostly run around naked because of the heat. Some of them also just don't have the means or the clothes. It's very difficult. People are always sick, with coughs, fevers, sores, cuts that won't heal, anything you could think of. Sanitation is such a problem. There is a huge population problem with wild dogs, and they make messes everywhere. This leads to the sicknesses directly. There is one road on the island which has many bad potholes, so the government fills the potholes with dirt. However, the dirt is not clean because of the dogs (and other animals like pigs). When the dirt goes onto the road, it gets crushed into dust and flung into the air. People always have pinkeye or worse sicknesses from just breathing. It's crazy. Clean water is also a problem. Essentially, no water is really clean. So anything you drink, is not good for you. However, it's a cultural thing that you give drinks to visitors in your house before they leave, because everyone struggles to stay hydrated. So being missionaries, we're visitors in lots of houses. And we HAVE to drink the drink they give us, or else offend the investigator. Let me tell you, I am SO sick. My stomach has been in knots for like five days now. I'll spare the details. Suffice it to say I was in bad shape. To an extent I still am, but apparently it's better to just get adjusted early on, and get used to having some symptoms for the next two years. So I'm just sucking it up, hopefully I develop my superhuman immune system fast. I'm gonna need it!

Okay, still there? Sorry that was a long, sad description. Just wanted to get it down on paper I suppose! The rest of the letter will be happy, I promise. Okay so our time in Tarawa was spent with the Zone Leaders, who were awesome Elders. They WORK. We left the senior couple's house and went to the apartment to drop off our stuff around 12. Then, from 12-7, we taught lessons. 6 lessons in one afternoon, on my first day. My temporary companion, Elder Sias, immediately picked up on the fact that I could teach in Kiribati, so we split content 50/50 after the first lesson. I was teaching for about 20 minutes each of the next 5 lessons, and it was exhausting. No one laughed at me though, and I apparently made sense. In those 6 lessons 2 people accepted a baptism commitment, and I got to give one of them! It was so exciting. The people are absolutely amazing, and they are so willing to learn and accept the Gospel. This was all on Thursday. By the time we went to sleep, Elders Davis, Mattison, McCormick and myself had all been awake for 22 hours, having slept three the night before. Talk about exhaustion. The next morning, we were up at 6:30, and we went to the Senior Couples house to skype with President Weir for an hour or so. He is an amazing guy. He really loves his missionaries, and it meant a lot to know that. What a guy. After that, we had lessons in the afternoon. However, I was SO sick. Davis too. So we stayed in the apartment, which was a furnace in the afternoon. LIke, 98 degrees of a furnace. I just sweated like crazy while being constantly sick. Rough afternoon. Saturday was better though, I wasn't immobile, so I got to go teach lessons again. And, Saturday is BAPTISM DAY. We got to attend a baptism, and 7 people were baptized. It was great. I understood both talks, and it was super interesting. Everyone was crying and so happy. It was so beautiful. It made all the sickness worth it. I know I'm where I need to be. Every mission is a hard mission. Elder Holland gave an address at the MTC that we saw taped, wherein he described that missions are hard of a necessity, because salvation doesn't come cheap. It was an awesome thought. I will say this: My mission is extreme. Every emotion a missionary feels, good/bad, happy/sad, I'm going to get 10 times as powerfully. It's a rollercoaster, and I'm excited to start.

I love you all! Thanks for your support and prayers! I sure need them.

Love,

Dallin

(As you would expect I am tearful for lots of reasons.  No mom wants to hear about their child being in such circumstances, but I am so happy that he is staying focused on his purpose there.  What a blessing that he is able to understand, speak, and teach in the language already.  Lots of prayers on his behalf are appreciated.)