This week has been amazing. Both Lupe and Diosi were baptized this Saturday as well as 3 others on island. Did a few rescues, started up again with old investigators and made sure we got enough sleep.
So before the plan was for Lupe to be baptized and for Diosi to baptize her. Diosi was baptized a while back and went to the LDS high school, Moroni, in Kiribati. Well we tried to look up his records and were never able to find them so our Branch President suggested he just get baptized again. So it was really cool to see them both able to be baptized. Lupe was given the gift of the Holy Ghost by her brother the 2nd Counselor in the Branch. Tons of members showed up to the baptisms and so very very fun. 2 members from our area as well as one the primary in the 3rd branch a teenage girl in 1st branch and then a pregnant lady that flew in from Lae and got baptized.
Had rescues on both Friday and Sunday. So rescues are going around and visiting less actives and sharing a spiritual message with them inviting them back to church. Friday the sisters, Soromon and I go with one the member families and went and visited those that are less active in the area. We were able to see one the families we visited come to church on Sunday. Then Sunday during the 3rd hour of church all the youth went around and doing rescue with a bunch of young men and women. Following up the Youth Leaders put together a fireside for later that night and a family home evening the next night. Way cool to see their refocus on the Youth, they have recently started doing mutual after a long time of not having it.
Started back up with some of our investigators that had been off island. Renny was one of the teenage kids we study with that just decided to go spend Christmas with his brother in one of the outer islands with not telling one not even his mom. We studied with both him and his brother Joel. Before his brother was way down to study but just wanted to wait until his older sibling got back so we started with both of them and take the older one to seminary in the morning. Another man we study with, Jorbi, came back from being in Majuro for Christmas. He has been back for a week or two but we were hesitant about starting up with him again just because the last time around he was uninterested and mainly study because his girlfriend that's a member wanted him to. I'm very grateful we started back up again with him after the first lesson he just tells us thanks for not giving up on him. Also now he seems much more interested in the gospel and things we share with him. Basically the majority of members have studied with multiple elders before being baptized. So I believe that everyone on island will study at one point so really we need to find and discern the people are ready to accept the restored gospel and act upon their faith.
I often feel that Soromon and I never have enough time. I'm making sure we sleep more because I think I may have been working Soromon too hard. It's good lots of good being down. One of the primary kids we study with is turning 9 Saturday so we'll have him and two other of his friends get baptized then.
So one of the verses I was reading this week really struck me was in 1st Nephi 11:17 "I know God loveth his children; nevertheless I do not know the meaning of all things." That this is from Nephi a prophet who knew he did not understand every aspect of the gospel but he understand the most basic and fundamental principle that we are children of God. God's love for us is incomprehensible; the fact he would send Jesus Christ to the world to provide the path for us to return to him one day. With people we are able to teach and share with I stress the fact that we quite a few things but most importantly we believe in Jesus Christ and families. That just as Joseph Smith started "The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it”
Love you all. Take care and remember God loves you and you are his children.
S. Weenig
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