Dear Family,
we had a baptism last saturday:):):) brother harry george told us he didn't want to wait any longer than he needed to, and so elder conejero baptized him, and i confirmed him yesterday. it was a really nice experience and he is happier than i have ever seen him before. he asked for a calling and he wants to come teach with us. he is a really good guy:) actually, he called us on friday and told us he didn't want to be baptized and didn't want us to come back. we were really shocked. apparently he had talked to an apostate member and had gotten confused. we talked to one of his member relatives about it, and she called him right then and there. i dont know what she told him, but he called us about an hour later and apologized and recommited to baptism the following day. God answers prayers.
3 Nephi is really fun to teach and im glad you two are enjoying it:) also, the last couple of chapters of Mormon are really good at explaining the gospel.
i sent home a memory card last week, so it should get there pretty soon:) (it doesn't have the baptism pictures, though)
we have been doing a lot of splits with members. this means that i have been leading lessons in Kosraean. right now, i can teach most of the lessons in mostly kosraean, but can't understand what the investigator says back to me. also, since the Book of Mormon hasn't been translated into kosraean yet, we read a verse, then translate it into kosraean. that is something that is pretty hard here. the people can sound out the words, but have no idea what they are reading. so when we ask them to read the BoM, they don't learn. they feel the Spirit which wonderful; but they don't learn what the doctrine is. so we have a larger responsibility to teach them the doctrines of Christ.
the biggest hindrance to the work here is probably the lazy life style here. walking to church is something a lot of members here feel is too much work. the introduction of the automobile to the island of kosrae was probably the last thing these people needed. (about 8 years ago, a road was built that goes around the island. in addition, there are some dirt roads that go closer to the mountain. about a quarter of the people here have cars) so, they figure they deserve a ride to church. and if a ride doesn't come, they don't come to church. we have now decided to show them the "only a stonecutter" movie. hopefully that will help them out;)
we have a lot of people who are interested in listening to us. we are teaching about 45 lessons a week. God blesses us with a lot of teaching opportunities:)
i found pineapples! they are grown here! but they are in extremely high demand, and not a lot of them are grown. one of our investigators gave us a slice and it was one of the best things i have tasted here on the island:) also, i found out limes are grown here as well.
it always makes me super happy to get a letter from home. thank you for all of the jokes, comics, and notes. we check mail every couple of days, so i get them about a week after you send them.
i think i understand dad's aversion to dogs. i never really understood growing up why he was so hesitant to get a dog. i think i know now.
christmas here is a big deal. there are decorations on a few houses and all of the stores. it is really fun. there is also a place here that sells ice cream. we go and have a treat there every once in a while to reward ourselves:)
i have lost 15 lbs since i got here. i don't know why.
i have been avoiding the spam
love,
Elder Gerber
