Rough Week

(Dallin, his companion, and the members of their tiny congregation have been experiencing some pretty severe persecution on Nikunau recently.  He is trying to stay positive. It's baffling to me why other Christian churches would react so negatively to people coming to teach about Jesus Christ and offer service in any way they can. I guess that when you live on such a small island with so few people any change can be scary and people sometimes don't react well in those situations. Dal's email was pretty short yesterday, but overall he sounded good and actually doesn't want to be transferred from Nikunau so that he can stay and make sure his little flock is OK until things settle down.)

We've entered a crucible haha (There is a sensitive situation involving the safety of one of their members which they have been dealing with at all hours of the day and night. It's not appropriate to share, but is causing a great deal of stress and heartache)  Wednesday night we had people from the town kind of slightly attack our house... they were throwing things at our walls, and when we woke up we discovered that it was ripped up pieces of a Book of Mormon. Friday to Sunday, the minster in Muribenua hosted a party in the KUC mwaneaba for all the kids in the town literally titled, "Bring back the kids that ran away to the Mormon." We lucked out, no recent converts attended, but 5 investigators went and after the false information they gave them, they may not want to continue lessons with us. Sunday the kids that attended the bootaki from the minister all were in a group after the church service and they went caroling(?) They visited old people and sang to them. They chose to visit Ivin, our landlord's dad who is old and a member of the KUC, to sing to him RIGHT while we were having our own church service. It was a scene, and Ivin sent them all away. Plus, Teiaaba almost got thrown in jail, because of a lawsuit from his biological mother in Tarawa wanting money from him, but he doesn't even know her.

MESSY. Right now my life is like a horrible soap opera. Also the government offices here decided to not pick us up for our baptism in the car we PAID for. I had to go argue with the Court clerk to get us a ride, but we were 4 hours late. Plus, since Ivin was mad about the singing thing, he attended the elders meeting in the KUC and yelled at the minister. Tiaon cried twice this week. That was the kind of week.

Good news... we baptized Taaboi this week, he is a solid recent convert. He had been clean for 3 weeks now and is so dedicated to loving his family and living the gospel of Jesus Christ. He cried bearing his testimony and I love him so much. He was ready to go fight someone when he heard about our house getting messed with. Stud convert. We still had 36 people at church, we're still alive. I think that we're doing okay given circumstances.

(Ed suggested he might give a lesson on Mosiah 24 where the people of Alma are being persecuted severely. They pray for help and instead of the trials being taken from them they are made stronger so that they can bear them with ease.) I literally spoke on Mosiah 24 yesterday! Tiaon spoke on agency and repentance and forgiveness. we're trying to just be more Christlike and count it as a victory. Hopefully that is enough!

I feel good about the coming week. Problems look like they'll slow down this week, at least the external ones. I doubt they'll keep it up, their events are all run from money and donations and things, and there's only so much
fundraising people are willing to do. I'm glad we built the foundation in our little congregation so thoroughly, because we needed it really badly this week. Still, things are looking up.

Love you all! I have to go, we have a lesson right now. Have a great week

love dal

First Lessons and No Doors

Hi Family! How was your week? We were busy here - we did lots. We went out into the woods a couple mornings this week to cut palm leaves. We cut off the smaller leaves that are perpendicular to the stem, and then the stem stays and it becomes part of a wall to our chapel. right now we're using tin roofing supplies, and the sticks will be a lot cooler.

(Members in the ward had their first week of teaching lessons and fulfilling callings) First lessons were good. we had our sister landlord Tarawaa teach Relief Society and it was fine. They were good, but they were angry with the little kids for not letting them have lessons in peace. I translated the lesson plan out of the book AP's sent us. They sent us an English book, which is useless haha! Translating is tough, especially because its a lesson plan meant for the teacher. But it seemed like it was good. I'll have to do that a couple times a week now, which will be tiring, but worth it. Lesson plans are way different from scriptures or from talks, because you have to think about how the teacher's thoughts will be led versus how they will resultantly lead the class. It's more complex than just the right words. 

We did hear that Elder Packer passed away, how sad! That means that Elder Nelson is the new president of the quorum of the twelve right? L Tom Perry was next in line, but he also passed away.

(I mentioned that I had taught the parable of the talents to my Sunday school class that day and had thought of all the new "island talents" Dallin had acquired while on his mission!) Parable of the talents, good one. I'm trying to come up with lots of actual skill talents here, but most aren't useful in America haha! But the attitudes are more useful than anything I'd say. Island skills. They involve mostly dirty things, hopefully I don't have to ever use most of them haha!

Speaking of, I have gone this entire transfer without opening a door once. There are no doors here. The only doors are on the chapel and the building we internent in, but I have not once physically opened a door in 4 months. That is weird. Now I have a conscious desire to not open doors. I hope that goes away someday. Things are always crazy here. Its tough to fully describe, even things like that. I'm so used to it its hard to realize what is different, even when its so drastic like that. Crazy.

I love you guys we have to go now! We'll catch you guys next week. Have a good one!

love dal

Happy Independence Week

My week was fine, SOOO SLOW but fine in the end. This week looks to be even slower, so we're taking it best we can. I feel fine. Literally, if you drink like three ripe coconuts you automatically feel better. It's instant and its really nice. I'm back on my game again. Tiaon is sick again from something else we ate but I've been good since Tuesday. 

(It's Independence week and there are celebrations going on all over the place.  It makes it really hard to get any teaching done.) The members have been doing their own independence thing at our house, they're essentially there 24/7. We just make sure they have a fun time. I've been studying a lot, and we do teach a few lessons a day
still. The rest of the time i wish my ipod hadn't just passed away sadly :( no more tunes or conference.

We still have a week or two of Tiaon's twelve weeks training left. We practice teaching sometimes. Mostly he's good, we're working on it, and its good for him to gt the chance to see how all the lessons do flow.

(We asked where everyone sleeps if they are all hanging out together.) Haha they just bring their mosquito nets and its essentially the same as their own house, everyone just sleeps on the floor anyways so it doesn't matter if its your floor or someone else's. I will be able to sleep anywhere and in any circumstance when I get home. Sleep is a choice. I'm sure i'll be fine in a bed, i'll just need to purchase firm beds my whole life i think.

I'm staying here this transfer. Openshaw coming in to Tarawa moved things around, so president has no idea where anyone will be really. For now, i'm staying, but there are two mini transfers coming up essentially.
Farley and his intake will have to be in Tarawa in about a month, and then when the intake comes in the beginning of September - who knows.

Investigators are good. One wasn't baptized this week, he was the one who went to the nangkona bar. We had a really good lesson on the lost sheep and the atonement after. He was crying and really took the lesson to heart. He told us that before the lesson he was going to tell us that he didn't want to be baptized anymore, because he thought he wasn't good enough. But now he's back on track, he came to church yesterday and he will be baptized this Saturday or the following depending on if we can get the car hired. Members are okay, new callings really will start next week. There will be several members giving lessons, so we'll see how it goes.

September will be big, because if I don't move in September, there's no point in me ever moving again, because 6 weeks after the September transfer I would only have about 1 month left, not enough to throw me into a new area for real. It'll be September, or never when I move. Who knows.

(We were telling him that Taylor had a rough start to her Humanitarian trip in Paraguay. Her phone was stolen before the trip leaders could collect them to keep them safe and they spent about 12 hours on a bus after two days on a plane the first weekend. They also neglected to provide GF food for her as they promised. All the meals the first weekend were pre-packed because they were sight-seeing and not in Asuncion. She called Ed somehow and was pretty upset, tired, and hungry. He comforted her and reminded her that the real reason she was there was to serve and things would get better as the work project got under way this week. Dallin felt bad for her - he's had more than his share of rough weeks in Kiribati.) Its true that i'm always happiest when we teach 12 lessons in a day. That makes it too busy to care about anything else except for your people, so you really feel like you're in a "service mode." So I think I understand. Hopefully she comes out on the good end of this and she is happy in the end.