August 26, 2013

Dear Family,

We don't have much time at all today to email: we hiked Mt.
Finkol--the highest mountain in Kosrae--today. It was an incredible
hike, and we all had a really good time. The view at the top was
incredible, as you can see the entire island.

As for the work, we had an incredible experience at church yesterday
as well. We had six non-members attend, with a lot of people who
hadn't been to church in years. It was quite humbling to see our
little chapel filled to capacity with some standing out in the
doorway. What a wonderful thing to see people come and be filled.

I think this is about all the time I have to email. I will be much
more extensive next week. Thank you all for your understanding.

Love,
Elder Gerber

PS--I really liked your letters today, they were really quite
uplifting and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

Dear Family,

It sounds like you have all had a wonderful, cultural experience these
last two weeks. I am so proud of you, Dad, for teaching that
wonderfully religious tour guide about the Restored church. Way to go
Owen and Andy for sticking in there and going to museums and
cathedrals. Maybe you'll look back one day and say, "Wow, that was
neat." Or maybe not. Either way, you'll probably remember that trip
for a long time.

I have had some wonderful moments with God lately. Elder Ferguson was
sick for two days and had to stay in the house, so I read Jesus the
Christ and the Book of Mormon. Jesus the Christ made me feel like a
Bible scholar, but I had to stop after a few hundred pages. The Book
of Mormon, however, sustained me for hours upon hours. Even though we
weren't able to teach people, I really appreciated that time.

I feel really sorry for Sister Mira. She has gone into town so many
times to get married--each time saving up money to get there--and has
kept running into problems, such as gov't work schedules. Hence,
everything has been moved to this coming Saturday for her marriage and
baptism.

We are seeing improvements. Likiaksa and David, our branch mission
leader, are now working on their mission papers. If everything goes
well, they will be the first missionaries out of Kosrae in years. We
are also getting home teaching set up. I think out of everything else,
that will help these people the most.

We had a really good experience yesterday after church. There is a
local custom called "aigani" where people gather at a sick or
afflicted person's home and sing and talk. We had a branch aigani to a
sick sister up in the mountain. It was really nice and there was a
really nice spirit. I was able to speak on hope, and it was a neat
experience.

I have decided that if I ever have any dogs back in the states (which,
if I do, will probably just be for food storage) their names will be
Sring, Fahra, or Mongo. These translate to Itch, Come, and Food.
"Fahra, mongo" is a common phrase which just means, "Come and eat."
So, if I ever have a pair of dogs...(Fahra will probably be safe. I
will raise Mongo on rice, fish and chicken to make it nice a fat for
my um).

Things are going well. I love you all very much. I am so happy to hear
from you every week; I hope everything is going well.

Love,

Elder Gerber