February 10, 2014

Dear Family,

Happy Valentines Day to you all. I don't know what day it's on, but I
assume that it's soon based off of what you wrote. I think it's an
accomplishment for me to know that it is February right now and that
yesterday was Sunday. ;)

So Elder Vesikula is back from Guam, safe and sound. Turns out all he
had were kidney stones. He got held in Guam because the flight left
early Monday morning, and the scanning machine wasn't up until Monday
afternoon. And then he passed them that night. Said they were like
rockets. But he did get to spend a lot of time with Elder Jeppesen in
Guam. He's getting pretty close to going home. He's only got one more
transfer left.

Kennard and his family are doing good. They are reading the Book of
Mormon as best as they can, and we are working on getting Kennard a
pair of glasses.

We have also started seeing Jimmy. He has been living in Pohnpei for
the last 15 years or so, and was taught by the Zone leaders there. He
is a super smart guy, and really likes the church. We have taught him
a few times now, and he believes the church is true and that he needs
to be baptized. The problems that is presented to him is that his dad
will kick him and his family out of the house if they get baptized,
and he's trying to get a job in the school systems and
government--which are corrupt to the point that if you are not
Protestant, you can't get in. So we read him the Book of Mormon
version of the Sermon on the Mount and Mosiah 2:45. The Spirit was
able to testify pretty strongly, and it was nice to use Christ's exact
words to explain what he needed to do. He knows what's right now, and
it will really come down to him making a hard choice. I expect him to
make the right choice.

The Curtis couple got here last week and we have been having fun
getting to know them. They are going to be great. They are working
pretty hard on learning the language and interacting with people.
Elder Curtis is the son of an opera instructor, so there is even more
singing going on than usual. He is having a blast. They are
experiencing a bit of a culture shock, but are adjusting beautifully.

We were able to take Sister Maria with us teaching yesterday, and it
was fantastic. It was so obvious to see just how much the gospel means
to her, and how much God has taken care of her and her family. It is
great to see the people that stay active through years of persecution,
because their faith has become unshaken and they are not ashamed of
Christ.

I can't tell you all how happy it makes me to hear about how well you
are all doing. The letters from Owen and Andy are great because they
tell me about what and how they're doing. I am constantly blown away
by them. Leslie and Jesse are off on adventures, singing with Koreans,
and Kennedy and Kyle are moving off to smart-people land. To quote the
father from the movie "Legacy", "The Lord has blessed us." (We make
fun of that line all the time).

President Mecham will be coming next week for a visit. He is scoping
out the area for the sisters. We will see what happens. It is always
great to get a visit from him.

I love you all very much. I am doing very well.

Love,
Elder Gerber