Welcome Home!!

He's Home!!! We are so very grateful to have him back!!!

Hi From Tarawa!

(Elders Openshaw, McCormick, Seguine, and Davis. All but Openshaw go home next transfer and he goes home in May.)

Hi from Tarawa! I got in fine obviously, I only have a matter of days left now and I feel it, its crazy. How are you all??

My new comp is Jeff Johnson. We're working well together - he's totally shell-shocked. Good guy though. He loves working on the language so I can certainly help with that. Johnson taught a full lesson on the gospel on his own all from memory. Pretty good work after 2 days companionship study with me. He'll be great. 

(About speaking English again after so many months...) OH MY GOSH ZLs picked me up and I felt like an idiot! I seriously genuinely no exaggeration had such a hard time making small talk, I could hardly speak it was so crazy. Pulufana is our zone leader by the way, it was so fun to see him again and he's doing great.

Our house is dirty but nice. we have electricity and running water (via a hose turned on outside) and we even have a shabby aircon in the room we sleep in. Its paradise to me, but its not actually too nice. Dinners on Tarawa are uncanny though and there was like 150 people at church Sunday. Temwaiku is not a bad place. My last baptism will be on the 14th, we have a good investigator ready to interview this week.

We still bike in the sun but Tarawa is SO different from two years ago. I would venture to say it's nice now... the new road makes a WORLD of difference, like, they can have trash trucks drive places now so that the whole island is clean. A little infrastructure goes a long way, and people here are starting to take pride in no longer being dirty. Tarawa is WAY nice now actually. I really like it here.

It is such a waste to have a tropical island that no one wants to go to when there's no reason for it. Its really been nice to see the improvement. When we got here two years ago I thought I was entering a war zone, like refugees and such. But now its super nice. Part of that is definitely perspective, but still, its in the right direction here.

Yeah, so I'm the DL for these last few weeks. I think I give one district meeting before I go home. We have zone meeting this week and then maybe another.

Saying goodbye to Nikunau was so sad. I wrote like 15 pages in my journal, you'll just have to read it in a few days, I can't get it all out and a portion wouldn't be enough.

Also, news from Elder Tiaon... one of our members on Nikunau, Tearaoi, who is Tanentoa's wife... she gave birth last week and it's a baby boy! AND it is named SEGUINE! whaaaaaaaaat hahaha!

Can you believe that? So forever now on Nikunau, there is a baby boy named Seguine out there hahahaha the legend lives on I suppose.

(We asked if he got to see President Weir.) I did, he left the day after I got in, but I had our farewell dinner with him and Sis Weir and Davis and McCormick from our intake, and Openshaw was there as Davis' comp. It was super fun - we had burritos. Pres shared the talk "The first great commandment" by Elder Holland to us, and told us that we had all worked miracles, and reminded us that in 3Ne 8:1, there is an important doctrine that a prerequisite to working a miracle is being cleansed from iniquity every whit. He talked about how proud of us he was and he helped us realize that we really had changed the world for so many people. He talked about Nikunau and got choked up mentioning his visit. I love the man, he's great. We had a testimony meeting and I started in English and butchered it and switched to Kiribati halfway through (it was so so so bad speaking English)

For our interview, it was just a basic temple recommend interview, nothing extra, we didn't have time. He just said, "Go to the temple with this recommend and any answer you get there is better than what I could do for you." So those are wise words I guess.

Just said goodbye to Davis and Openshaw. I love those guys. They're going to Christmas to do AP work. 

I have to go now! I love you all, catch you all later!

love dal

*Here is what Elder Morley wrote about taking Dallin's place on Nikunau. Much of what has happened on Nikunau is a fulfillment of the blessing he received when he was set apart as a missionary. At the beginning of his mission it was hard for him to imagine that he would be so loved by these people and love them so much back. But as you can see, he truly is a brother to them. What a blessing it has been to watch.

"Elder Tiaon is AMAZING. It looks like he may be my favorite companion thus far. He is new so still has the new missionary fire. Plus he is completely willing to give his all to this work. He wants complete obedience and really understands how this work works. He is so cool. He's also super funny. People asked if Elder Seguine had left. He would respond, yes, didn't you hear the rain last night? Because a real storm was coming out of His and the member's eyes! Side note. It was really tender watching him get on the plane. He has such a beautiful connection with these members. He was the first to bring them the truth and they are forever grateful to him. This morning a baby boy was born and they named it Seguine after him so that his name will be remembered on Nikunau."