April 1, 2013

dear family:)

happy easter to you all:) i must admit, it's a little disappointing when good friday is more celebrated than easter; but it was still good to remember Jesus Christ in a special way.

i have been transferred to the utwe area with elder despain from wx. we are on bicycles and it has been a fun little change. i took a video while biking a little bit to give you all an idea of what it's like:)

i now serve in the utwe branch. it is a lot smaller than the lelu branch, and about 75% of the congregation are small children. it is very noisy. i really enjoyed it. the missionaries were given the opportunity to speak yesterday, and it was a very nice way to start off in a new branch.

it is a little disappointing to stop seeing the lelu investigators and their progression, but i have committed to give all my attention to my new area as directed by the white handbook. however, it is a good change and i am excited for this transfer.

we are working with burnias. he is showing his faith in Jesus Christ and has almost completely given up betlenut (from 10+ pieces a day to 1 or 2) and has almost given up drinking. he was scheduled to be baptized this coming saturday, but we felt that to help him prepare, we would extend it by another week. he was a little disappointed, but i think that it will really help him understand the importance of baptism and the life he will need to live. this man is incredible and is so close to being ready to make his first covenant. every time we visit with him, he gives us food. last time, he gave us a huge bag of cucumbers. i have to add that the island cucumbers are the ones you can pick off the vine and just start munching on. i have very high hopes for this man.

we are also working with a young guy, likiaksa. his mother is a recent convert and is one of the strongest members in the branch. he has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and is reading it every day. he comes to church just about every week, and is planning on serving a mission. as far as we can see, the only thing keeping him from baptism is betelnut and drinking. he doesn't chew or drink very often, but he is a people pleaser and his friends will just give him nuts or a drink. but, he is trying hard, and i firmly believe that he will be ready before may.

i have been practicing slicing open a coconut with my big knife, and was ready to make a video to show the world how good i was. and then, i did the worst job of opening the thing than i have ever done. so, you can all have a good laugh when the card gets to you guys (i still haven't sent it. im going to try to fill it up first).

in answer to dad's question about chinese candy, no. we don't get much from china at all. everything comes from either the u.s., japan, or the phillipines. the u.s. and japan are obligated to help these islands out due to wwii and the phillipines are just conveniently close. but i have been eating some "local candy." i don't know if you ever cracked open a coconut after it sprouted and ate the fluffy inside, the shell, and the stalk. it is absolutely delicious. they also have what they call "ice srmet" which is the fluffy coconut stuff i mentioned earlier, sugar, milk, shredded coconut; all mixed together and stuck in a freezer. it is fantastic.

i've been able to have some wonderful experiences during lessons and have learned very powerful lessons on boldness.

 i pray for you and for the rest of the family several times a day. thank you for letting me know the results:) thank you for your prayers as well. they are more welcome than any physical gift you could send.

so the wonderful thing about kosraeans is that they understand how to enjoy themselves. this is very evident when you look at their calendars: there is a holiday of some sort at least every 2 or 3 weeks where they all take a day off. today, for example, is culture day. this is a very wonderful thing and i am very happy that they are concerned about keeping their culture alive. however, this also means that the post office is closed. hence, all the letters i meant to send today will have to be postponed for yet another week.

i am having the best time of my life here in kosrae and am seeing miracles. i am a little sad that i will most likely be leaving this island before my mission ends. thank you, family, for everything you do, and for being the people that you are. i love you a lot more than i knew, and am still finding out just how much i love you.

love,

Elder Gerber