June 2, 2013

Dear Family,

I don't know if I have told you all how great it is to hear from you
so often. It is really a help to me to have a family that, when I
think of them, instead of getting homesick I feel an increased desire
to do my best. Thanks:)

So now that it is June, I am really starting to get into the spirit of
Christmas. We have been listening and singing Christmas songs for the
last week or so. Also, it is really odd not to have a change in
weather for months. I think that might be one of the reasons why time
is going so fast.

This week had a lot of miracles. We had people come to church, people
are reading the Book of Mormon, and people are praying about what we
are teaching them.

We have continued meeting with Bernise, and he is really on track to
baptism this Saturday. He is walking miles to get to church, and is
recognizing the Spirit. Actually, one of the biggest signs of anyone
getting ready to be baptized here is church attendance. Everybody
knows when somebody attends our church; so, when anyone overcomes the
opposition from the members of the other congregations to come to
church, it is a really big deal and they are very committed.

We are continually trying to improve our lesson plans. Right now, we
are working on our commitment to come to church. We are thinking about
focusing on a weekly sacrament to all worthy members; unpaid clergy;
and not only feeling the Holy Ghost, but receiving inspiration as
well. It is really nice to see a steady improvement in people keeping
their commitments after we try and see what is working and what isn't.
One of our main frustrations has come from the language. Giving a
commitment to somebody in English doesn't translate well at all. So we
have been working with a lot of local members to try and figure out
the best and clearest way to commit people to do something. It has
been surprisingly difficult--Kosraeans don't really have a way of
ASKING people to do things; they just tell them to DO them, and that
doesn't really feel very nice when it comes to certain commitments.
But, I think that we have got it just about nailed down;)

We are teaching a really wonderful lady right now, Sister Drina. She
recently joined the Seventh Day Adventists (consequently we have been
making lots of jokes on our own time about weekend dentists) and is
really trying hard to follow the Spirit on what she should do. We have
been having some really nice interchanges with her, and she is willing
to read the Book of Mormon. She will tell us about questions that she
has that she is trying to find the answers to in the Bible--for
example, is faith enough or do we need works as well? or how can she
make sure that she and her family can live together forever. As we
talk with her, I start feeling so sad for those people like her who
are searching so hard for answers in the Bible when the answers
they're looking for are blatantly contained in the Book of Mormon.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I think that the Gospel
of John is one of my favorite books of scripture. I just finished it,
and realized that it would be really nice to swap out the KJV for a
Joseph Smith Translation Version. I don't know if the church has
printed any--or even if they ever will--but it would be nice to have.
(Actually, if it isn't too much of a hassle, if you could put a
pocket-sized Book of Mormon and a pocket-sized New Testament in the
package, that would be wonderful. We have been told that we look
really intimidating with our big backpacks riding around, and we are
trying to improve our relationship with people and have thought about
just carrying a BoM in the shirt pocket and the NT in the pant pocket.
Thanks)

We came across some anti-Mormon literature for the first time this
week. One of our slightly less-active members was given a copy of a
book that talks about the evil tactics of Mormon missionaries. I was
really surprised at the absolute lack of Spirit in the room when he
brought it out. I can't believe that there are actually people that
are that unhappy to the point of writing something like that. However,
we were able to help him overcome his concerns. (I guess it was a plus
that the writer had tried so hard to write sophisticatedly. There were
some phrases that we as native English speakers had difficulty
understanding.)

Anyway, I want you all to know just how happy I am. I have never felt
so good about what I am doing, and have never felt more convicted of
the truthfulness of the Church. I hope that you are all doing super
well and that nothing will get you guys down for very long. I love you
all and pray for you.

Love,

Elder Gerber

ps--thanks for doing such great jobs with your sunday school classes.
I am seeing just how critical it is for youth to have strong teachers
who have the strength of righteous living with them. Keep it up.