Dear Family,
I really enjoyed reading your letter today. I don't ever really feel
that far away from you all. I think that God is able to bridge any
distance between people, no matter how few times they actually get to
talk to each other.
We had a wonderful Fast Sunday yesterday as well. I have noticed that
when I fast, my emotions come a little closer to the surface (for
better or for worse). We didn't have that many people show up at
church, and I was pretty depressed to begin with. As the meeting
progressed, I was having a difficult time feeling the Spirit. Then, as
we were singing the closing hymn, I heard the voices of those faithful
members; maybe truly heard them for the first time. I couldn't finish
the hymn. Truly, wherever two or three are gathered together in Jesus'
name, He is in the midst of them.
I have seen some amazing things happen this last week. We have been
working with the Branch President's daughter. When President was
baptized a few years ago, she was adamantly opposed to the church.
Then the rest of her family started getting baptized, and she softened
a little bit. She got back from college in Pohnpey a few weeks ago,
and we have been trying to meet with her for a while now. We have had
some wonderful opportunities to share the gospel with her at church,
as she has been attending with her family every once in a while, but
we had never been able to teach her on a personal basis. Then, last
Wednesday, she told her parents that she wants to be baptized. We have
taught her the first lesson already and she is preparing to be
baptized this coming Saturday.
Also, Ninac Mira is doing extremely well. She is devotedly coming to
church and is very excited to get married and then baptized. She has
made arrangements to get to the hospital today to get their physicals.
She should be baptized within the month. She has had the missionaries
meeting with her for years now, and it is incredible to see her
finally doing the things that she needs to do to receive the blessings
of the Gospel in this life.
As for thunder and lightning, Kosrae doesn't get much. However, when
we do, it scares the people half to death. We had a pretty big
lightning storm the other day, and people were coming up to us and
asking if it was the end of the world. That is how rare it is. The
bright side of this was that the night before, it seemed that everyone
and their cousins were all smoking together. We were able to subtly
suggest that the thunder may or may not have been God's response to
such behavior:) Hahaha to be perfectly honest, I hadn't seen much
lightning for so long that I got a little nervous myself.
Things are going very well. I am very happy and healthy. President
Mecham is coming in today for a Zone Conference, and those are always
a treat. I know that what I am teaching people is true more strongly
than I did last week. Thank you so much for being more than just a
biological family, but brothers, sisters, and parents; as well as
brother-in-laws and nephews. I love you all.
Love,
Elder Gerber
Friday, July 19, 2013
June 30, 2013
Dear Family:)
I always love the letters, but this last one was especially good:) I
was so happy to hear about all the wonderful things that you are all
doing. The boys are growing up, and I guess that I never thought that
I wouldn't be around to see it. Thank goodness for the miracle of
emails.
Hahaha do you really want to know what I brought back in my suitcase?
Pop-tarts, cereal, granola bars, pancake mix, and brownie mix. That
was it. But, it was all in bulk, and came to almost exactly 50 pounds,
so it all worked out wonderfully (I was able to roll all of my clothes
and other stuff up into my carry ons). It has been pretty great:)
Elder Ferguson and I are doing well. It is a completely new experience
for both of us. He does a lot of speaking in English right now--which
means that I do a lot of translating right now--but we have been able
to see a lot of people, and I can see a lot of people are really
preparing to get baptized.
We have been working with a lady, Ninac Mira, ever since before I came
to this area. She is living with a member, but they're not married
yet. She really wants to get baptized, and we are really working on
getting her married, then baptized. We got them reading the scriptures
together every night, and praying together every night. Now, we are
getting them to get their physicals. They didn't have any money to get
them, so we told them to start making us some local food that we can
buy from them (we figured that that was in accordance to the rules).
So, she should be getting baptized within the next month or so.
We just had Brother McFarland and his wife come visit the island. Bro.
McF. served here from 2006-2008, and was fortunate enough to come
back. It was fun to talk with them at church and see them interact
with members that he had taught.
We took a trip to the Wiya Bird Cave today. That was pretty cool, and
the views were incredible. It was back in the Lelu area, and I was
able to see some people that I knew there and we had a great time.
Afterwards, we played some great local-style football on the beach.
I laughed a little bit when I read that Mom and Elder Ferguson's
mother were emailing. I don't think that he is acclimated to Kosraean
Missionary food yet. We went shopping today and it was a whole
different experience. I don't think I'm going to be eating
rice-hotdogs (an old Utwe favorite) for a while. Thanks for getting us
a food package;)
We do, in fact, have an air-con unit in our room. Our house is nice,
just really, really small. I think that our entire house could fit on
our wood floor in the living room. But, since it is just the two of
us, it is more than enough.
As for the 4th of July, Kosrae doesn't really celebrate it anymore.
There was a time when they were more associated with the US; but their
status has changed. There is actually a little bit of an anti-American
feeling now, mostly because the contract with the States is running
out; this includes less and less money coming from the gov't. But, for
the most part, Kosraeans really want to go to the States.
I do have some bad news. We will no longer be on bicycles when the
next boat arrives (probably sometime in August): we are getting a car.
I was very sad to hear this, but it will be a lot more effective.
There have been a lot of instances where we have to really pick and
choose who we would see, based on time. Now, we will be able to teach
a lot more people. And, on a brighter note, we will finally be able to
ditch the helmets:)
I am healthy and happy. Things are going well, and I am expecting good
things. Burnis is still doing really well, and we are still seeing him
quite a bit.
I love you all a whole lot.
Love,
Elder Gerber
I always love the letters, but this last one was especially good:) I
was so happy to hear about all the wonderful things that you are all
doing. The boys are growing up, and I guess that I never thought that
I wouldn't be around to see it. Thank goodness for the miracle of
emails.
Hahaha do you really want to know what I brought back in my suitcase?
Pop-tarts, cereal, granola bars, pancake mix, and brownie mix. That
was it. But, it was all in bulk, and came to almost exactly 50 pounds,
so it all worked out wonderfully (I was able to roll all of my clothes
and other stuff up into my carry ons). It has been pretty great:)
Elder Ferguson and I are doing well. It is a completely new experience
for both of us. He does a lot of speaking in English right now--which
means that I do a lot of translating right now--but we have been able
to see a lot of people, and I can see a lot of people are really
preparing to get baptized.
We have been working with a lady, Ninac Mira, ever since before I came
to this area. She is living with a member, but they're not married
yet. She really wants to get baptized, and we are really working on
getting her married, then baptized. We got them reading the scriptures
together every night, and praying together every night. Now, we are
getting them to get their physicals. They didn't have any money to get
them, so we told them to start making us some local food that we can
buy from them (we figured that that was in accordance to the rules).
So, she should be getting baptized within the next month or so.
We just had Brother McFarland and his wife come visit the island. Bro.
McF. served here from 2006-2008, and was fortunate enough to come
back. It was fun to talk with them at church and see them interact
with members that he had taught.
We took a trip to the Wiya Bird Cave today. That was pretty cool, and
the views were incredible. It was back in the Lelu area, and I was
able to see some people that I knew there and we had a great time.
Afterwards, we played some great local-style football on the beach.
I laughed a little bit when I read that Mom and Elder Ferguson's
mother were emailing. I don't think that he is acclimated to Kosraean
Missionary food yet. We went shopping today and it was a whole
different experience. I don't think I'm going to be eating
rice-hotdogs (an old Utwe favorite) for a while. Thanks for getting us
a food package;)
We do, in fact, have an air-con unit in our room. Our house is nice,
just really, really small. I think that our entire house could fit on
our wood floor in the living room. But, since it is just the two of
us, it is more than enough.
As for the 4th of July, Kosrae doesn't really celebrate it anymore.
There was a time when they were more associated with the US; but their
status has changed. There is actually a little bit of an anti-American
feeling now, mostly because the contract with the States is running
out; this includes less and less money coming from the gov't. But, for
the most part, Kosraeans really want to go to the States.
I do have some bad news. We will no longer be on bicycles when the
next boat arrives (probably sometime in August): we are getting a car.
I was very sad to hear this, but it will be a lot more effective.
There have been a lot of instances where we have to really pick and
choose who we would see, based on time. Now, we will be able to teach
a lot more people. And, on a brighter note, we will finally be able to
ditch the helmets:)
I am healthy and happy. Things are going well, and I am expecting good
things. Burnis is still doing really well, and we are still seeing him
quite a bit.
I love you all a whole lot.
Love,
Elder Gerber
June 23, 2013
Dear Family,
So it sounds like you know that I am now training. Hahaha yes, we
found out last Monday night around 10:30, and then were on the plane
that next morning. I hadn't experienced homesickness until that first
night in Guam; I wanted to go back to my house in Kosrae so badly;)
Guam is decidedly NOT an island. It felt like we were in California,
and Elder Jeppeson, Elder Land, and I were all freaking out. There
were soooo many cars and people, and the cars were going super fast
(there were actually white lines on the road and stop lights and other
such outrageous traffic devices). Then they took us to the mall for
dinner and to get some stuff. I just about had a panic attack.
However, I was able to stock up on some good old American food to
bring back with us. I filled up an entire suitcase with just food.
We'll see how long that lasts. We just got back Friday afternoon.
Anyway, Elder Ferguson is a great missionary. He is from Orem, and is
a cross-country mountain biker. We have been having fun on our GTs. It
is odd teaching somebody the language. I was really surprised to see
really just how much I actually had learned. Actually, Elder Ferguson
took 5 years of French. So, his Kosraean sounds kind of like how I
imagined Grandma Gerber speaking it;)
This week actually has just been huge. Brother Burnis just got
baptized last Saturday. We were able to have a really nice service
with an ocean baptism. Elder Despain (now currently Zone Leader in
Lelu) was able to baptize him, and I was blessed to be able to stand
in the water and witness. It has been absolutely wonderful to see this
man go from being an addict to having a celestial glow about him. He
really understands what we teach him. I was asking him how he felt
after his baptism, and he told me his heart was about to explode. It
was a very sweet experience and I am looking forward to seeing him
continue to progress.
The sad news is that Elder Land is now serving on Guam. He is also
training and a District Leader, and has a promise from Pres. Mecham
that he will be able to finish his mission on Kosrae.
Also, Elder Conejero was transferred to Saipan. I'm really going to
miss him. He is a new Zone Leader over there, and they are really
lucky to have him.
I'm super happy to hear about the garden. That stinks though about the
squirrels. Maybe Owen and Andy can figure out a way to keep the peas
safe.
Owen! I heard that you went on a YM camp. I remember the last one that
I went to. It was pretty fun, but they kept on having activities that
were super high up in the air--some of which included jumping off of
high things in the air. I remember I didn't even try one of them. The
ropes course killed me and I got stuck probably a hundred times. I
hope you didn't have to endure that, but if you did, know that I am
very happy that you didn't fall and die. It sounds like you and Andy
are doing well in Karate. I'm super proud of you guys. You are both
learning super good stuff there, and I'm excited to see you guys when
I'm done:)
Fun story for the day: there is a really sweet old sister that was
recently baptized who makes crafts. She just brought me a woven fan
the other day (which is super cool looking) that has a picture of the
Sleeping Lady and the caption, "Sleeping Lady Kosrae." It was super
nice of her, and I love it. But, I was looking a little closer at it
today, and realized that it actually reads, "Sleeping Laddy." I love
that woman:)
I've been excited about this area ever since I got here, but now I'm
getting even more so. I think that we are going to see a lot of big
things happen, and I am trying to get ready for them.
Thanks for the picture, it was super nice:) And, I did get the
package. Perfect Mom:) Thanks a lot:) I hope that you know that you're
the best.
Love,
Elder Gerber
So it sounds like you know that I am now training. Hahaha yes, we
found out last Monday night around 10:30, and then were on the plane
that next morning. I hadn't experienced homesickness until that first
night in Guam; I wanted to go back to my house in Kosrae so badly;)
Guam is decidedly NOT an island. It felt like we were in California,
and Elder Jeppeson, Elder Land, and I were all freaking out. There
were soooo many cars and people, and the cars were going super fast
(there were actually white lines on the road and stop lights and other
such outrageous traffic devices). Then they took us to the mall for
dinner and to get some stuff. I just about had a panic attack.
However, I was able to stock up on some good old American food to
bring back with us. I filled up an entire suitcase with just food.
We'll see how long that lasts. We just got back Friday afternoon.
Anyway, Elder Ferguson is a great missionary. He is from Orem, and is
a cross-country mountain biker. We have been having fun on our GTs. It
is odd teaching somebody the language. I was really surprised to see
really just how much I actually had learned. Actually, Elder Ferguson
took 5 years of French. So, his Kosraean sounds kind of like how I
imagined Grandma Gerber speaking it;)
This week actually has just been huge. Brother Burnis just got
baptized last Saturday. We were able to have a really nice service
with an ocean baptism. Elder Despain (now currently Zone Leader in
Lelu) was able to baptize him, and I was blessed to be able to stand
in the water and witness. It has been absolutely wonderful to see this
man go from being an addict to having a celestial glow about him. He
really understands what we teach him. I was asking him how he felt
after his baptism, and he told me his heart was about to explode. It
was a very sweet experience and I am looking forward to seeing him
continue to progress.
The sad news is that Elder Land is now serving on Guam. He is also
training and a District Leader, and has a promise from Pres. Mecham
that he will be able to finish his mission on Kosrae.
Also, Elder Conejero was transferred to Saipan. I'm really going to
miss him. He is a new Zone Leader over there, and they are really
lucky to have him.
I'm super happy to hear about the garden. That stinks though about the
squirrels. Maybe Owen and Andy can figure out a way to keep the peas
safe.
Owen! I heard that you went on a YM camp. I remember the last one that
I went to. It was pretty fun, but they kept on having activities that
were super high up in the air--some of which included jumping off of
high things in the air. I remember I didn't even try one of them. The
ropes course killed me and I got stuck probably a hundred times. I
hope you didn't have to endure that, but if you did, know that I am
very happy that you didn't fall and die. It sounds like you and Andy
are doing well in Karate. I'm super proud of you guys. You are both
learning super good stuff there, and I'm excited to see you guys when
I'm done:)
Fun story for the day: there is a really sweet old sister that was
recently baptized who makes crafts. She just brought me a woven fan
the other day (which is super cool looking) that has a picture of the
Sleeping Lady and the caption, "Sleeping Lady Kosrae." It was super
nice of her, and I love it. But, I was looking a little closer at it
today, and realized that it actually reads, "Sleeping Laddy." I love
that woman:)
I've been excited about this area ever since I got here, but now I'm
getting even more so. I think that we are going to see a lot of big
things happen, and I am trying to get ready for them.
Thanks for the picture, it was super nice:) And, I did get the
package. Perfect Mom:) Thanks a lot:) I hope that you know that you're
the best.
Love,
Elder Gerber
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