Dried Fish, Dance Moves, and Lots of Biking

This was a good week! Tuesday was a normal day in Tabon te bike and it went well. We had dinner at the branch president's house and he fed us dried fish - taari. It's really tough and smelly and gross and it isn't very clean. When we got home, Elder Pulu had some violent reactions (throwing up and having bad diarrhea and such). I gave him a blessing and some Imodium and he got better. That being said, we let him rest Wednesday.  So we didn't go out to work, and he slept for like 10 hours. It was good, I studied all day. 

Thursday was SO FUN. We got invites to the closing cultural day at the primary school! We were honored guests, and we sat next to the Catholic Father, the Catholic missionary, and the town councilman. All the little kids class 1-6 were split into three teams. And they prepared these bit choir and dance things they had all rehearsed. It was so good! They were so funny. During the choir part, it's like culturally okay that it you "feel it" while you're singing, you leave the singing circle and just bust out some crazy dance moves. For all three teams, during the choir part, every single little boy from class 1 just got up and danced like crazy - absolutely hilarious. All these little kids just going so hard hahaha awesome. 

At the end, all the honored guests had to give a speech - like a 5 minute speech. So I talked about how God loves little kids and how important school is for them and such. They all liked my talk and it was great. Then Friday to Sunday we just became biking machines. We did Borotiam and Tabon te bike both twice in just 2 days. Totals: 82 miles (43 on Sunday), and 21 lessons with 10 new investigators. We had so much biking because on Sunday we worked all three areas. The branch president in Tabon te bike was gone, and he has no counselors/no EQ president/no young men quorums so we literally had to go there and do church, or it won't get done. So we did that Sunday morning, about 20 miles out and back. Then, we caught the end of church in Tuarabu, taught 2 lessons there, then biked out to Borotiam (because Sunday is our day there) which is about 23 round trip. We taught 8 lessons there. Busy day. I was a machine, I'm not even sore. I ate so much protein powder hahaha it was rough. My quads are distinctly differently shaped today from Thursday!  It was craziness. But it was worth it! Great week. 

*We asked about his general health this week and he seems to be doing much better overall:

My arm is healed, I worked on it all last week, this week I hasn't even been a problem, it's 100% healed, not even a scab or anything now. General health, I'm doing alright. My legs are dead (see previous explanation of biking). We also averaged 9.8 mph, so we were basically motorcycles. I still have bleeding gums, but I've been taking some vitamins (they're a women's one a day - hopefully that's okay, that's all I have hahaha). I also got stung by a wasp last night at 2 am right on my right eyebrow, so it's all swollen and my right eye is kind of closed haha other than that I'm doing alright. 

*Questions from Ed: That's amazing level of work.  Very impressive.  Importantly - are you ENJOYING each day?  You are a hard worker - no doubt.  Are you feeling the SPIRIT as you work?  Do you feel like you're making a difference and making a connection with people?

*How's are the members responding to you now that you have been there a month?  Is Pulu's language getting better?  Have you planted any seeds?

*Do you ever have a chance to do service?  Perhaps a service day in each village; it's a good way to invite members and investigators to work together and get to see each other in a different light. 

I am, I like biking. I think being exhausted just forces me to teach by the spirit, I'm too tired to do anything on my own haha I think I'm making a difference. Hopefully I'm making a connection for them. It's always hard to tell, people are too busy being respectful because culturally they have to respect me as a foreigner. I don't know. Either way I think it is working out, people are getting ready for baptism for sure. Members are starting to open up, I got 9 referrals this week. Good sign. 

Pulu is kind of progressing.  He's hitting a wall. He's seeing it's the same every day, we are just exhausted, and it's starting to wear on him. 

Service is hard here, it's culturally not okay to ask someone from outside to help, like they don't like us doing things haha.  They would rather take care of us or do service for us. We did service once for an old lady, and she feeds us like twice a week to "pay us back" so I don't know - it kind of isn't clear to them how service works haha.

* Dallin mentioned that they have been studying Alma 5 in companion study and Ed responded - We just used Alma 5 as our sacrament meeting topic for last week - "What Manner of Men Ought Ye To Be". Those questions are really a good way to figure out what kind of person you are becoming. You can adapt that scripture to be "what manner of missionary ought ye to be". 

*Ed commented about what a fantastic cultural experience to be at the celebration.  The people obviously love/revere children - We wish we could have heard you speak. 

*Are you the only foreigner / white person on the island?

I just read it like 2 days ago, I'm re-reading the Book of Mormon again. Elder Hamula challenged us back in February to read it twice before Christmas. So I'm in Alma 8 my second time through right now. I think I did a good job in the speech. Everyone listened, and I don't think anyone laughed, so I'd say that was good. Yup, I am 100% the only white person on the whole island. Just me!

*Ed asked him if he got the picture of the coke cans he found.  He has always called Dallin "Buddy" since he became a teenager.  It's a joke about how Ed pretends Dallin is his "Best Buddy" and all his friends are automatically Ed's friends.  It's probably only funny to us, but when Ed found these two cans he had to take a picture and send it to Dallin.

I did get the coke cans, a cold can of Coke would be the best right now. Warm filtered rainwater doesn't really quench a thirst. Glad you thought of me :)

I am exhausted. I'm going to take a nap when I get home. I'll try to help Pulu more this week. I'll do my best :) thank you for you support and prayers!  Thanks again, love you all!