Ebon Week 2: February 23, 2015

There are a lot of mosquitos so my legs are covered in bites. Here on Ebon our house is nice and we have a solar plane so we have light but we can't charge anything. Also, the food we have access to is rice, ramen and flour. All is well through there is a to of free time here because not everyone has light so the day ends at 7:00 when it gets dark.

The week started off with me attempting to fish on P-day. I didn't catch anything; I was fishing with line wrapped around a PVC pipe. The ocean here is bright clear blue with white sand beaches and palm trees. It really is paradise.

Work here is a lot harder. The Protestant Church has a strong hold. Ebon was the first of the Marshall Islands with missionaries and to accept Christianity in 1857. Marshall Islands is also a Matriarchal society so wherever the oldest woman in the family goes to church, the rest of the family goes. People can be scared to study because they are somewhat ostracized by the rest of the island.

Wednesday, Elder Wilson and I went down to an island, where on of our investigators is temporarily to harvest coconuts. She decided to cook for us so we basically were with her until we had to go back because of the tide. She cooked us crab, rice, and boiled breadfruit (which is the best kind). It was good, but because we had to cross a few islands we spent like 2 plus hours to get down there and so it ended up being a 6 hour process. What's really cool is she has the boat near her house that a fisherman from Mexico drifted all the way here on. Look up on the news, it's a pretty cool story.

I am doing well. I am currently reading in the New Testament so I am learning a lot more about Jesus and who he is. My knowledge of the gospel continues to grow. Marshallese is good; I understand it most of the time. My grammar and vocab is good but my pronunciation still sucks to it can be hard because some people don't understand or what's worse is is people pretend to understand me. Elder W is good but he kind of treats me too much like a junior companion. Also, he wants to play Yu-Gi-Oh all the time which is lame because he studied all the cards and so I just lose after only a few turns.

Love,

Elder Weenig

Ebon Week 1: February 16, 2015

Mom's Note: Yesterday we received 15 letters from Spencer. He has been serving in the outer island of Ebon and we have not heard from him since his last email the first week of February. We are excited to FINALLY hear how he is doing. He has been writing every week, but the mail service there is nonexistent. We had to wait till the "plane was fixed" and his companion could be transferred to the main island before we received his letters. 

Week One:

Yokwe!

We flew into Ebon Thursday and I am working with Elder "W". W is from Provo and it is the last six months of his mission. He is way nice and cool, just a bit awkward at times.

Wednesday before I left we had combined Zone Conference, which means all of the missionaries in the main island of Majuro attend. The mission does them overtime a group of missionaires go home. This time, after the missionaries departing bore their testimonies, we watched "Meet The Mormons". That was way good. The Mission President and I were casually talking and he told me a story about being over a SEAL team. He's also been in the helicopter business and sold a lot to the Middle East. Zone Conferences are really fun and I was glad I could go before I left.

Thursday morning I flew into Ebon. While I was waiting in the airport, these women found out I was going to Ebon and one woman asked if I could take her child with me. I asked the APs and they just told me "Am Wot Bebe" or "Your Choice" so I flew with the child. They plane was tiny, it only had 10 seats and we landed on a grass field with the smallest part a little over 10 feet. The child slept the whole time and i just gave him to his aunt who was waiting. I exchanged with Elder "S", who was the elder in my intake, and took a boat across the lagoon to the main island, Ebon, Ebon. The atolls here are almost all alike...just a bunch of islands surrounding a lagoon with the bigger ones being most populated. Ebon is tinier than I thought with little more than 300 people on the main part, the majority being children. Basically, there is no one on the island between the ages of 12 and 30. There is no middle school or high school so all the kids go to Jaluit. All of the younger adults go to college or look for jobs in Majuro. The amount of people emigrating from the Marshall Islands is significant due to not enough job opportunities.

Work here in Ebon is much slower. Mostly everyone knows the missionaries and quite a few have already studied the gospel before. It makes it kind of difficult and a lot of time is spent just casually talking. On Sunday, one guy halfway through the lesson we were giving told us he is already a member. It can be a little discouraging.

Our house is also where we hold church. We have 28 people who come which is pretty good but only 8 of them are actually adults. I get to be the Primary teacher which is fun but Marshallese kids can be really annoying.

Ebon is really beautiful and I am excited to be working here and also pick up missionary work.

Love,

Elder Weenig

Off To The Outers: EBON

I will be heading out to the outer island of Ebon this week. I am really excited to go to an outer island but that means no communication and it will be a little like camping. Missionaries who have been to outer islands say it's a nice half way point between missionary work and camping. I will be out for the next 4 months or so and I will not have access to email but I do believe I can receive letters. 

I had a really great week. Currently Elder Angilau are studying with a lot of young couples. It's really cool they're looking for the truth and trying to do what's best for their families. I believe that young families are the people who really need the gospel and the church in their life's and in turn substantially build the church here in the Marshall Islands. One of our investigators,  Jeffrey, who've we just studied with this week alone is doing well. In our third lesson with him he just like told us hey I know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet who can receive commandments today. It's amazing to see the change and some peoples faith change so fast. Quite a significant amount of people who study will just want to study every single day. Others progress a lot slower, but just being able to see the change the gospel and this church in people's life is one of the greatest things. 

Angilau and I have been able to meet with a lot of less actives this week as well. There is quite a bit of less actives here a lot of strong members can just lose their ways and it can be sad. I've seen a lot of people some past bishops and stake leaders just lost in the world. One that we went to go visit after a little small talk I just called him and his wife out basically. I looked at them and I asked "why aren't you guys going to church?" The man just replied "that is a really good question." Then went on to say how he knows the church is true and how he needs to come back. Sometimes being a missionary you just have to be bold and says what needs to be said. All of the Marshallese are Christian and know what's right and wrong so if they're doing something bad you just have to call them out and make them realize what they're doing. Calling someone can be hard because you don't want to come off as rude or like offend them but a lot of times it just needs to be said. A lot of times in missionary work and in life we just have to be straight up with people, however we need to do it with love and they'll understand. 

This church is really great and can really strengthen families and change people's life's. However the Satan works hard on those who knows its true and strong church members. We just have to be strong and stick do our faith. A lot of times keeping the commandments and enduring to the end can be difficult and a lot of times blessings come after what we do is right. I know this church is true and there are a lot of blessings in this church. Love you guys it's going to be hard to not communicate but I am doing to have a lot of cool stories to tell when I get back.

February 2, 2015: PDay in Ejit

This week was really good. We started off the week going to Ejit for p-day, Ejit is a smaller island in the lagoon and which you can wade from the end of the main island to it. It was fun we were getting coconuts and drinking them and also eating yu. Yu is like the inside of the coconut after it hardens it turns into like a sponge like texture. Marshallese people love but I personally think it just tastes like coconut flavored styrofoam. It only takes about 15 minutes to wade to Ejit, and it is in my proselyting area so Angilau were talking about going out there one day. It was really fun and just a good day to start off the week. 

Right now Elder Angilau and I and the other elders in the Rita ward are little by little raising the sea wall at the end of the island. The member's we are raising it for showed us how last year around this time the end of the island flooded a few feet. The crazy thing is that most people don't know what the Marshall Islands is and pretty soon it might disappear. The flooding has a lot to do with global warming and Marshall Islands is slowly sinking. It is weird to actually see the effects of global warming in real life and to be personally affected by it. 

Angilau and I were able to start studying with a guy in English this week. He's from Tuvalu which is half way between Tonga and Samoa. There is quite a bit of other races here there's a lot of Chinese, Filipinos and some people from Kiribati. There are some other white people but all of them either work for another church or teachers. It was nice being able to speak in English and it's cool because most of the foreigners don't really have interest in the Church. One of my investigators for this whole week we've studied will bring me his iPad and ask for me to help him with it. It's funny because he's 25 but he doesn't understand English so he doesn't know how to use it. It's good there's a few people out here with smartphones and so what I've been doing is getting them to download gospel library app. It's really cool because they like how they can read it in Marshallese. I think it's so cool how widespread and diverse the Church has become. 

One of our lessons we were studying with a woman about the Book of Mormon. She's a really solid investigator she will just be waiting for us outside her house every time we come by. As I was telling her about the references she just starts going to scriptures about the restoration in 1st Nephi 15:13-18 that talk about like grafting the branches to the olive tree. It was challenging to explain things already in English but the explain them in Marshallese. Luckily I have an iPod so I will like look up the scriptures and read them in English so I can better understand them. It can be hard because a lot of people expect missionaries to like explain scriptures and other things to them even a lot of church members ask for our help to understand things. 

Another guy that we are studying named Gabriel is doing really well. He used to drink a lot and use beetle nut. Beetle nut is basically this plant you chew to get high but it stains people's teeth bright red.

He's been studying with us and it's really cool to see the changes the gospel is making is his life as well as his girlfriend's and young daughter's. Angilau have seen him from like drinking at night to spending more and more time with his family. It's hard with him because he knows the church is true he's just scared to be baptized because he think he will backslide. Gabriel grew up in the church but was never baptized because his dad who was a former bishop apostatized from the Church. He is scared he will end up like his father and just screw up so it is hard to convince him he needs to be baptized. Little by little we are working on it and it is making a big impact in his life. 

Angilau and I have a lot of good people we are given the opportunity to teach with. A lot of people are very religious and accepting of the gospel. This place is great and full of God fearing people who are ready to accept the restored gospel. I am having a great time. The work can be hard but that's what makes it worth it.

January 25, 2015 Successful but Difficult Week

This week was one of my most successful but also my hardest. Elder Angilau and I ended the week with 34 lessons and had found 6 new investigators. both my and my companions most successful weeks so far on our missions. Elder Angilau is way cool and it's good because he wants to work hard. It's been really cool to see all this success but at the same time I have never felt more homesick or plain fed up then this week. I know I was doing so much good but the whole week I was just negatively thinking how my Marshallese should be better or like I just want to eat American food and not see Marshallese people. I do know that all my negative thoughts are the adversary working hard to prevent good work. I really just had to push myself to finish the week and it's good I am working on changing my thoughts. My situation is a lot better than I think it is. I know I have all of you supporting me back home and I am doing well. I just need to work hard and not think about myself. Hope all is well back home. Love Elder Weenig

January 18th, 2015: Homesick and I May Have a Girlfriend

The beginning of this week was pretty tough. Monday night we had two lessons with people one we studied with this woman and her brother and they kept asking a bunch of questions and things about Joseph Smith and the Church. It was our first times studying so it was pretty tough. They came from an outer island of Kili so they speak insanely fast and I could not understand anything they were saying. Also the other lesson we had Monday night the investigator, a 16 year old girl, was just trying to flirt with my companion and I the whole time and was not paying attention. This week I had a really funny experience where I was like talking to these two 12 year old something girls and one just mumbled in English "you're beautiful" it was really funny and I was trying to not laugh at them the rest of the conversation. Another funny experience is that we studied with a recent convert's friend and her friend the first lesson, we just studied about prayer and the Godhead, when we asked the recent convert to share she goes off "I know Joseph Smith is a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, the Book of Mormon are true." I was thinking that her friend was going to be confused but, when we asked if she had any questions she was like "no I'm good." Another great think is we found out a couple were studying with planned a marriage date but on April 27th. It's good because basically everyone Marshallese person just lives together and I have met very few who are actually married. It can be difficult because we can't baptize a lot of people until they get married first. So I am really happy they have a date but that means they can't get baptized for like another 3 months or so. It was amazing week with a lot of funny experiences. 

Although the week was really great but I  still have bad times. I can sometimes feel homesick and the last thing I want to do is speak to Marshallese people. But it just pushes me to work harder and to try and forget about my own needs. In Alma it tells the story of Alma and his friends' missions. in Alma 28:8 it states "And this is the account of Ammon and his brethren, their journeyings in the land of Nephi, their sufferings in the land, their sorrows, and their afflictions, and their incomprehensible joy, and the reception and safety of the brethren in the land of Jershon. And now may the Lord, the Redeemer of all men, bless their souls forever." Missions can make you have "incomprehensible joy" but there are still times when you feel down. On your mission you kind of develop a bipolar attitude sometimes you're great so happy to be here and other times you just want to go home and sleep all day. Although my mission has been pretty great and I love it I still experience being down. Our mission president said "a missionary that works hard is a happy missionary." I know as I continue to work hard I will see blessings. 

January 11, 2015: Week in The Life of a Missionary

Everything is great out in Majuro. My mission has been pretty great. I'll explain what happens in a basic week for me here. 

Monday: we have our preparation days on this day. This means emailing, grocery shopping, and other basic things. Washing clothes is fun because there is no washing machine. I wash my clothes in a bucket and then hang them on a clothes line. Grocery shopping we'll usually go to one of the major grocery stores. Both grocery stores are owned by Americans so I have access to everything in the states but just somethings can be really expensive like 11 dollars for a thing of cheese. Emailing we go down to the satellite building. Emailing is kind of a pain because they charge you for Internet which is like $5 an hour. P-days activities can be a little boring here because usually the only thing that happens is we'll go to the church building and play basket and volley with all the other missionaries.There are about 30 missionaries working on the main island of Majuro. There are 6 in another major island of Ebeye and then some companion shops in the outer islands adding up to about 50 missionaries. 

Tuesday: is a normal proselyting day so after waking up, studying and eating we will try to leave the house around 11-12 and then return at like 9 at night. The areas in the mission are pretty small so fairly dense. Right now the area we cover is about a mile long but has quite a lot of people. 

Wednesday: we have district meeting every week, our district is made up of two wards with 6 missionaries. Then every beginning of the month we have a zone conference, which is made up of my district and another. Wednesday night the ward does this really cool thing called rescue. Rescue is where all the ward gets together to bring back the less actives to church by just seeing how they are doing. There are quite a bit of less actives here in the Marshall Islands and I found out that about 1 in 6 people are members. Which is crazy to thing because work started here in the early 90's. On the main island of majuro alone there are 7 wards. 

Thursday: is a regular proselyting day 

Friday: is a regular proselyting day 

Saturday: we will try to do a service project in the morning if not it will just be a regular day. If there is a baptism for the district we will all go. 

Sunday: we've tried trying to proselyte before church at one but with not too much success. Sunday is really lazy here all the people just sleep, go to church and watch movies. The majority of people are Christian so there is nothing going on and all the stores are closed. 

   That is my basic week. I really love it here in the Marshall Islands. The people are great a lot of the guys have fades here and play basketball. Women in Marshall only wear dresses and skirts so I haven't seen a woman wear pants in quite a while. All the Marshallese people are really kind and love to feed missionaries which means enormous plates of rice. If we eat at people's houses it is always rice and then it varies between either fish, chicken, spam and sashimi (raw tuna). 

   Other highlights of my week is going on an exchange with a new Elder who got here a few weeks ago. During companionship study we went over the Law of Chastity and the Elder was really awkward about it. He wasn't sure how to teach and like didn't know how to explain it. I told him straight up you just teach "no sex before marriage." After a few times he like finally was able to teach it straight out. I think he felt awkward talking about sex. 

   I am doing really well my language skills are well and the Marshallese people are always impressed. They ask me "how long have you been here?" When I respond with "three months" it is always the same responses. "You're fast at learning Marshallese" or "you really know Marshallese." I love these people and am so happy to be serving here.