Dear Family,
Happy Birthday, Owen:) I got a little teary-eyed when I read about
your becoming a priest. I'm happy.
Halloween is about the same here. There are groups of kids that run
around and really just try and go to where there are white people. We
had some fun with them while we were out and about, but felt kind of
bad for all the kids who wanted to actually knock our door for candy:
our landlord has the two biggest and scariest dogs on Kosrae, and all
the kids are terrified of them.
So, things have been going well. We are teaching some really great
people, and there is a lot of potential. Barry should be able to get
baptized this coming Saturday, with his kids pretty close behind him.
Also, we are working with Edson who can get baptized as soon as he
overcomes a few challenges. I am very excited for the both of them.
Something that we run into quite a bit in this spot of the world is
that we get people who agree with us on everything, but who have been
taught that re-baptism is a sin. It is a little frustrating, but we
have been countering it with a lot of focus on priesthood and the
apostasy. Anyway, we just found out that the same church who teaches
this 're-baptism' nonsense is, in fact, practicing re-baptism. I am a
little miffed at false doctrine.
Actually, whenever we penetrate excuses, it usually boils down to
something like, "My parents are still alive and they'll hate it." or
something similar. There is a slight mob mentality on the island, and
as soon as we are able to swing it over into our favor, the entire
face of Kosrae will change. People like Barry and Edson are the ones
who are going to do it. It is an exciting time to be here.
Reading back a few emails, I would like to make something clear
because it seems that there is a little apprehension on this matter:
whenever I eat a dog, I screen it first. And it has to have been
cooked by someone that I trust. For example, we just ate some of the
best dog I have ever had from a guy who lived in the States for a
while and knows about hygiene and such. I will not eat a dog that I
didn't know before it got cooked.
As for the group, I am ridiculously determined to get it started. It
will happen, and my goal is to get it officially up and running by the
end of the month. We have a meeting tomorrow with the Branch Pres. and
it should be a main topic. We are looking for a spot to meet, and the
District Pres. is leaning pretty heavily toward a public youth
building that is actually a castle. And when I say castle, I mean a
150-200 sq. ft. castle complete with turrets. It is one of the oddest
sights in Malem. We will see...
We got to watch the General Priesthood session yesterday in church. I
don't think that I've ever walked away from a conference feeling
disappointed, but that session was definitely one of my more favorite
ones.
There was a tennis court donated to Kosrae a little while ago, and we
finally went and played there. Thanks, Dad for teaching me to play
tennis.
I am happy and healthy. I love you all very much.
Love,
Elder Gerber
Monday, November 4, 2013
October 28, 2013
Dear Family,
I hope you all know just how special you are, and not just to me. The
longer I'm away from you, the more I realize it (spell-checker is
telling me that realize is spelled with an 's'. Too bad, Mr. Spell!).
I am so proud of all of you, and love hearing about what you are all
doing.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. It wasn't even close to being perfect,
but there were a few things that happened that made up for it. First,
Salik came to church. He's a less-active member that we have been
working with for a little bit. He lives about a two hour's walk from
the chapel. We met with him on Saturday night and committed him to
walk to church. And he did. It was one of those times where I think I
start to feel like Ammon et al, being a little overcome with joy.
Also, there is a family investigating the church that I have taught a
few times in the Utwe area who are now attending church regularly.
Those two things alone made that day a wonderful day in paradise.
As for the group, we have everything sorted out, except for a group
leader. There are two active priesthood holders in our area--one of
them is the District President, and the other is the Branch
clerk/Elder's Quorum Pres./Sunday School Teacher/Ward Missionary. They
bookend the area, and the District President goes to the Lelu Branch.
So, we have a few less-active members that we are working with to get
ready to take the position (see "Salik" in the above paragraph). It is
going to happen soon.
We have been teaching some incredibly kind people. I would go so far
as to say that the nicest people on Kosrae are here in Malem.
I had a cold reality check this week: my trainer finished his mission
last Wednesday. He is now in Manilla, and was able to send me a nice
letter.
I am running out of time due to internet problems. In answer to
questions and comments: those cd's sound great, Dad; I definitely get
your messages, Mom; I could use a few pairs of exercise socks--the
ones I brought are now all worn out; Owen and Andy, you two are my
favorite people and I wish you could be here with me; I am so proud of
each of you for sharing your beliefs; I love you all more than I can
say in an email.
Love,
Elder Gerber
I hope you all know just how special you are, and not just to me. The
longer I'm away from you, the more I realize it (spell-checker is
telling me that realize is spelled with an 's'. Too bad, Mr. Spell!).
I am so proud of all of you, and love hearing about what you are all
doing.
Yesterday was a wonderful day. It wasn't even close to being perfect,
but there were a few things that happened that made up for it. First,
Salik came to church. He's a less-active member that we have been
working with for a little bit. He lives about a two hour's walk from
the chapel. We met with him on Saturday night and committed him to
walk to church. And he did. It was one of those times where I think I
start to feel like Ammon et al, being a little overcome with joy.
Also, there is a family investigating the church that I have taught a
few times in the Utwe area who are now attending church regularly.
Those two things alone made that day a wonderful day in paradise.
As for the group, we have everything sorted out, except for a group
leader. There are two active priesthood holders in our area--one of
them is the District President, and the other is the Branch
clerk/Elder's Quorum Pres./Sunday School Teacher/Ward Missionary. They
bookend the area, and the District President goes to the Lelu Branch.
So, we have a few less-active members that we are working with to get
ready to take the position (see "Salik" in the above paragraph). It is
going to happen soon.
We have been teaching some incredibly kind people. I would go so far
as to say that the nicest people on Kosrae are here in Malem.
I had a cold reality check this week: my trainer finished his mission
last Wednesday. He is now in Manilla, and was able to send me a nice
letter.
I am running out of time due to internet problems. In answer to
questions and comments: those cd's sound great, Dad; I definitely get
your messages, Mom; I could use a few pairs of exercise socks--the
ones I brought are now all worn out; Owen and Andy, you two are my
favorite people and I wish you could be here with me; I am so proud of
each of you for sharing your beliefs; I love you all more than I can
say in an email.
Love,
Elder Gerber
Monday, October 21, 2013
October 20, 2013
Dear Sucu (isn't interesting, I have been on Kosrae for almost a year
and I haven't used that word for "Family" once),
Happy Birthday, Dad.
We were able to watch conference yesterday and Saturday. It was
absolutely wonderful. Nobody was told about it until Wednesday, and
then locations got changed late Friday afternoon, so we were pretty
durned busy running around trying to get people informed. In regards
to people that we are working with, it was a little disappointing.
Nobody made it except for an ancient less-active man. But, I think
that the effects of the conference on him are longer-reaching than any
of us realize.
The Sunday sessions were available in English from an internet
connection in the chapel. I started watching it there, but the
connection kept getting worse and worse, so I ended up going in to the
other room and watching it in Kosraean. It was much more enjoyable
there.
As for the group in Malem, we are still working as hard as we can for
it. We now have President Mecham on-board, and have the full support
and approval of the District Presidency. We are now working with the
Utwe Branch Presidency. Edward is doing well, but is still kind of
struggling with a slight "I'm less-active because I'm less-active"
mentality. A few more times at church and finally receiving the
Priesthood should help him out.
We are working with Barry right now. He has been to church at least
ten times in the past, and is finally kicking his drinking and smoking
habits. He hasn't drank in over two weeks, and has cut down to one
cigarette a day. We are hoping to get him to the point where he could
be baptized next week. His kids are some of the greatest things ever
to happen to Kosrae, and I am planning on getting them all to baptism.
Wonderful family.
I went on an exchange last week down to Utwe, where I had a pretty
unique experience:
We had just finished watching the Restoration movie with Tomik Tomik.
During the movie, a small pig--maybe about six inches tall--started
running around. Now I'm not necessarily a pig-lover, but I do have to
say that it was pretty cute. It was affectionate, let's put it at
that. Anyway, it ran inside the house while I was bearing testimony.
As soon as I said the words, "By the power of the Holy Ghost, I know
that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God," the pig flew screaming
head-first out the door into the middle of our discussion. The
dynamics of that particular lesson changed quite dramatically after
that. Oh well.
As for package items, I am still doing well on white shirts and
garments. I will have to think about it.
Things are going really well. I am healthy and happy, and the
circumstances here are changing. What a wonderful time to be here. I
love you all very much.
Love,
Elder Gerber
and I haven't used that word for "Family" once),
Happy Birthday, Dad.
We were able to watch conference yesterday and Saturday. It was
absolutely wonderful. Nobody was told about it until Wednesday, and
then locations got changed late Friday afternoon, so we were pretty
durned busy running around trying to get people informed. In regards
to people that we are working with, it was a little disappointing.
Nobody made it except for an ancient less-active man. But, I think
that the effects of the conference on him are longer-reaching than any
of us realize.
The Sunday sessions were available in English from an internet
connection in the chapel. I started watching it there, but the
connection kept getting worse and worse, so I ended up going in to the
other room and watching it in Kosraean. It was much more enjoyable
there.
As for the group in Malem, we are still working as hard as we can for
it. We now have President Mecham on-board, and have the full support
and approval of the District Presidency. We are now working with the
Utwe Branch Presidency. Edward is doing well, but is still kind of
struggling with a slight "I'm less-active because I'm less-active"
mentality. A few more times at church and finally receiving the
Priesthood should help him out.
We are working with Barry right now. He has been to church at least
ten times in the past, and is finally kicking his drinking and smoking
habits. He hasn't drank in over two weeks, and has cut down to one
cigarette a day. We are hoping to get him to the point where he could
be baptized next week. His kids are some of the greatest things ever
to happen to Kosrae, and I am planning on getting them all to baptism.
Wonderful family.
I went on an exchange last week down to Utwe, where I had a pretty
unique experience:
We had just finished watching the Restoration movie with Tomik Tomik.
During the movie, a small pig--maybe about six inches tall--started
running around. Now I'm not necessarily a pig-lover, but I do have to
say that it was pretty cute. It was affectionate, let's put it at
that. Anyway, it ran inside the house while I was bearing testimony.
As soon as I said the words, "By the power of the Holy Ghost, I know
that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God," the pig flew screaming
head-first out the door into the middle of our discussion. The
dynamics of that particular lesson changed quite dramatically after
that. Oh well.
As for package items, I am still doing well on white shirts and
garments. I will have to think about it.
Things are going really well. I am healthy and happy, and the
circumstances here are changing. What a wonderful time to be here. I
love you all very much.
Love,
Elder Gerber
Sunday, October 6, 2013
October 6, 2013
Dear Family,
We have been slowly eating the stuff from the last package you sent.
We just finished the brownies today. It has been heavenly.
We are all looking forward to being able to watch Conference hear in
two weeks. It feels like we just watched the April Conference. What a
great thing to be able to have conference twice a year.
Nothing has really changed too much over the last week. Pat is
experiencing some pretty powerful negative pressure from his mom, but
is still doing pretty good. Edward is doing well. He is getting
excited about a group here in Malem. He wants to start a choir as
well, which is something that I have been tossing around for a while.
As soon as the locals get on board with things, they get done. We are
still working with the District President to try and get the
groundwork laid for the group. All of our leaders on the island right
now are converts of 5 years or less, so they are still pretty hesitant
about how to do things. They are incredible examples of how much the
gospel can affect people. It takes people who are at dead ends in
they're lives to being dynamite citizens in the community. I am
constantly awed by these men and their wives as they exercise they're
faith.
I ran over two dogs last week....
We are now working with Ishmael. He is the brother of a really active
member. He is really nice to us, really
likes us to go meet with him, really adamant about his baptism being
enough. We met with him a few days ago, and it was one of those
lessons where you know that the Spirit is the one teaching. I cannot
believe that the Spirit wastes his own time. I really strongly believe
that Ishmael is on his way to baptism and full activity.
...it was a little traumatizing...
Elder Blackwell and I have been really trying hard to find new people
to teach. My philosophy for this area is that I would rather have 1000
failures and 10 successes, than 100 failures and 1 success. So, we are
trying as hard as we can to teach everybody. We have had some
interesting exchanges with some good people. I know that there are
ready people in this area. And sometimes, they are hidden up in the
mountain roads or hidden in plain sight. It would be a wonderful help
if you could ask Heavenly Father in your prayers to help us find
people.
...at least I only killed one of them...
We are teaching a lay minister right now, Lipton (if you thought of
tea or soup, so did I). He is probably on the list of Top 5 Nicest
People on Kosrae. What a wonderful opportunity to teach him. Actually,
our contact with him was orchestrated by God: My first day in this
area, we went to contact Lipton as a referral. We parked at his house,
and I was inspired to lock the keys in the car while it was still
running (yeah, we'll go with "inspired"). He came out and started
looking at us kind of suspiciously, and then finally came over. We
explained the situation and he immediately started trying to help us
break into our own car. Finally, thanks to some ingenuity and some
bamboo, we got in and were able to get the keys. And, we made pretty
fast friends with this man, who agreed to let us come back and teach
him. Great person.
...I have discovered that I don't want to go into the meat grinding business...
It doesn't feel like my birthday, but it is starting to feel a lot
like Christmas. It has been Christmas for the last four months now. If
possible, when you send the memory card, could you put some Christmas
music on it? Thanks.
I love you all very very much and look forward to hearing from you each week.
Love,
Elder Gerber
We have been slowly eating the stuff from the last package you sent.
We just finished the brownies today. It has been heavenly.
We are all looking forward to being able to watch Conference hear in
two weeks. It feels like we just watched the April Conference. What a
great thing to be able to have conference twice a year.
Nothing has really changed too much over the last week. Pat is
experiencing some pretty powerful negative pressure from his mom, but
is still doing pretty good. Edward is doing well. He is getting
excited about a group here in Malem. He wants to start a choir as
well, which is something that I have been tossing around for a while.
As soon as the locals get on board with things, they get done. We are
still working with the District President to try and get the
groundwork laid for the group. All of our leaders on the island right
now are converts of 5 years or less, so they are still pretty hesitant
about how to do things. They are incredible examples of how much the
gospel can affect people. It takes people who are at dead ends in
they're lives to being dynamite citizens in the community. I am
constantly awed by these men and their wives as they exercise they're
faith.
I ran over two dogs last week....
We are now working with Ishmael. He is the brother of a really active
member. He is really nice to us, really
likes us to go meet with him, really adamant about his baptism being
enough. We met with him a few days ago, and it was one of those
lessons where you know that the Spirit is the one teaching. I cannot
believe that the Spirit wastes his own time. I really strongly believe
that Ishmael is on his way to baptism and full activity.
...it was a little traumatizing...
Elder Blackwell and I have been really trying hard to find new people
to teach. My philosophy for this area is that I would rather have 1000
failures and 10 successes, than 100 failures and 1 success. So, we are
trying as hard as we can to teach everybody. We have had some
interesting exchanges with some good people. I know that there are
ready people in this area. And sometimes, they are hidden up in the
mountain roads or hidden in plain sight. It would be a wonderful help
if you could ask Heavenly Father in your prayers to help us find
people.
...at least I only killed one of them...
We are teaching a lay minister right now, Lipton (if you thought of
tea or soup, so did I). He is probably on the list of Top 5 Nicest
People on Kosrae. What a wonderful opportunity to teach him. Actually,
our contact with him was orchestrated by God: My first day in this
area, we went to contact Lipton as a referral. We parked at his house,
and I was inspired to lock the keys in the car while it was still
running (yeah, we'll go with "inspired"). He came out and started
looking at us kind of suspiciously, and then finally came over. We
explained the situation and he immediately started trying to help us
break into our own car. Finally, thanks to some ingenuity and some
bamboo, we got in and were able to get the keys. And, we made pretty
fast friends with this man, who agreed to let us come back and teach
him. Great person.
...I have discovered that I don't want to go into the meat grinding business...
It doesn't feel like my birthday, but it is starting to feel a lot
like Christmas. It has been Christmas for the last four months now. If
possible, when you send the memory card, could you put some Christmas
music on it? Thanks.
I love you all very very much and look forward to hearing from you each week.
Love,
Elder Gerber
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)