FAM and FRIENDS <3
This week has FLOWNNNN by-- it's starting to form a trend. However, it's been a great week! I continue to slowly progress in the language and in developing charity and love for these people. How is everyone doing?! To start off this email I need to give a quick S/O to the best sis in the world... Happy birthday tomorrow to my BFF Linds! Always been the best listener and friend in the world. Only one more November 10th and I'll be home... Kinda scary. Everyone be sure to give my gurl Linds some love tomorrow as well as everyday <3
As the subject says... This week I went swimming...again. Sadly, we didn't have any baptisms this week. Let me explain:
Around a month ago a coconut tree fell and hit the Church mwaneaba (used for the Christmas and Easter parties etc.). It fell down, and with Christmas coming up the Elder's Quorum decided that we needed to get started on rebuilding it. It was decided that we were going to go to an "etimwakoro" (deserted little island) close to Tab North on foot at "ora" (low tide) and "koro kai" (cut trees) down for the mwaneaba's pillars. So, on Saturday, we left at 6 in the morning when the truck woke us up outside our house. There were 13 of us total who drove to the edge of the island and walked on foot for an hour or two to this small deserted island. We cut some trees and then were prepared to come back after pounding some coconuts and coconut meat... There was one problem... It was "iabuti" (high tide). Hahah to make a long story short, I spent the next 3 hours in water up to my shoulders in a lot of places making the tiring trek back. For some reason I also thought it appropriate to bring my backpack with my books and everything. We got the trees back by tying them with ropes and coconuts to make them float. Let's just say my hair didn't stay dry... Hahah there were some pretty solid waves that came and took me under.. It was a SLOW process. I FINALLY got to swim and it wasn't all that I had ever hoped it would be :/ jk it was pretty awesome. If anyone is wondering, the water and sand in the middle of the Pacific Ocean feels WONDERFUL. Hope you guys are all enjoying winter and the SNOW LOLZ <3 I'm planning the same service project for this next weekend :')
As far as the rest of this week, it was a lot of the same. The best experience happened in our lesson with Atarake. Atarake has been finished with his lessons for a while and has stopped smoking but didn't feel ready for baptism and especially for receiving the priesthood. He didn't know if he had a testimony. Last week we had a lesson with him where we read in the BOM in 3 Nephi 11. When we met with him this week he told us that when we taught him something pierced his heart. He wants to be able to be with his family forever. When he prayed he felt peace and comfort and now knows that this church is true. He asked when he could be baptized. He is on for this Saturday and we are pretty excited about it ;')
This week we are going to keep working hard and hope that we can continue to find and grow with the people that we have! We are going to stay one more week in Tab North before heading down to Tab South next week for a short 5 day trip. All is GOOOOOOOD (Kiribati Flag Emoji WHAA).
Really Quick Spiritual Thought:
When I opened my call I thought that Kiribati would be perfect. I will be FORCED to be humble (I've always had a problem with pride lolz). This will be SO great to live in a 3rd world country for 2 years and to come back humble. It's really hit me recently when I read the scriptures in Alma 32: 13-16. It says something like "blessed are those who are humbled without being compelled to be humble". That hit me like the coconut tree hittin' the mwaneaba. We can all be humble given our circumstances and no matter where we are. Humility is definitely something I've been trying to improve on... Not just because I live in Kiribati and don't have the best living conditions all the time.
Have an average week!!!!
Elder Parrish
Before high tide
Our humble abode
Chapel
No comments:
Post a Comment