Monday, January 7, 2013
Christmas Chat with Sam
We got to skype with Sam on Christmas Eve. Everyone was there, and we had so much fun seeing him. That cute kid just would not stop grinning and he seemed so happy. It was so good to talk, and let him see his little nephew, have his brothers play their instruments and feel his wonderful spirit. He has already grown so much, and we loved sharing in his spirit!
January 7, 2012
dear family:)
happy new year nuh sumtahl pa!
it sounds super cold back at the ranch...i remember cold...i think.
i love wearing my fast sunday tie, too. i actually gave andy's to harry george because he felt really bad he didn't have one while he was participating in priesthood ordinances.
story time: so a member died this last week. he was a previous branch president and was really well known and liked. but to put it lightly, funerals here are different. elder conejero and i were told that we needed to go to the funeral. so, we went to the house around 9:15 at night, and there was the dead guy in the middle of the floor with everybody sitting around him. we were given special seats of honor...right next to him. maybe to help you understand a little better, watch the other side of heaven funeral scene. dad will probably know exactly what i mean anyway. also, we were the ones who lifted him up and put him in his coffin. i kind of felt bad when the only scripture verse that really came to mind was, "Let the dead bury the dead..." i have decided that i will never get a job even remotely related to dead bodies:)
the miracle for this week:
elder conejero goes to guam every month for zone leader training, so me and elder despain have been in lelu together for the past couple of days. on saturday, we ran into an apostate member. we were able to teach a lesson about going to church. i was super bold and borderline stubborn with the guy about his needing to come to church. the next day (fast sunday), he not only showed up, but also bore a pretty good testimony. i'll admit, i was pretty scared when he stood up, but it turned out pretty well:)
all of my bugbites have gone away, im one of the two elders here who aren't sick, and things are progressing. things are good:)
oh, i keep finding out im saying things in kosraean wrong, but the beauty of kosraean is that the words all sound similar enough, and there are a couple of different dialects, that people still understand what i'm saying. odd kosraean phrase of the week: yacn acngyacng. in the first vision, joseph smith says "standing above me in the air." yacn means land and acngyacng means windy. does it make sense to an english speaker? no. does it make sense to kosraeans? not sure yet:)
so i am swamped trying to write everybody back. thank you soo much for your letters and gifts. they all came when they were needed, and i really want to write to all of you, so know that i am trying really hard to get those sent. also know that if you think the post office hours in the states are ridiculous, the kosraean post office sometimes decides it doesn't even want to open somedays. so, sometimes, getting a letter sent off is harder than just writing it. i guess im trying to say, "im sorry i haven't sent your letters yet. i will take care of it." :):)
i love you all very much and appreciate you and your examples.
love,
Elder gerber
ps, 39 steps is fantastic. let me know if the play was good or a let down
happy new year nuh sumtahl pa!
it sounds super cold back at the ranch...i remember cold...i think.
i love wearing my fast sunday tie, too. i actually gave andy's to harry george because he felt really bad he didn't have one while he was participating in priesthood ordinances.
story time: so a member died this last week. he was a previous branch president and was really well known and liked. but to put it lightly, funerals here are different. elder conejero and i were told that we needed to go to the funeral. so, we went to the house around 9:15 at night, and there was the dead guy in the middle of the floor with everybody sitting around him. we were given special seats of honor...right next to him. maybe to help you understand a little better, watch the other side of heaven funeral scene. dad will probably know exactly what i mean anyway. also, we were the ones who lifted him up and put him in his coffin. i kind of felt bad when the only scripture verse that really came to mind was, "Let the dead bury the dead..." i have decided that i will never get a job even remotely related to dead bodies:)
the miracle for this week:
elder conejero goes to guam every month for zone leader training, so me and elder despain have been in lelu together for the past couple of days. on saturday, we ran into an apostate member. we were able to teach a lesson about going to church. i was super bold and borderline stubborn with the guy about his needing to come to church. the next day (fast sunday), he not only showed up, but also bore a pretty good testimony. i'll admit, i was pretty scared when he stood up, but it turned out pretty well:)
all of my bugbites have gone away, im one of the two elders here who aren't sick, and things are progressing. things are good:)
oh, i keep finding out im saying things in kosraean wrong, but the beauty of kosraean is that the words all sound similar enough, and there are a couple of different dialects, that people still understand what i'm saying. odd kosraean phrase of the week: yacn acngyacng. in the first vision, joseph smith says "standing above me in the air." yacn means land and acngyacng means windy. does it make sense to an english speaker? no. does it make sense to kosraeans? not sure yet:)
so i am swamped trying to write everybody back. thank you soo much for your letters and gifts. they all came when they were needed, and i really want to write to all of you, so know that i am trying really hard to get those sent. also know that if you think the post office hours in the states are ridiculous, the kosraean post office sometimes decides it doesn't even want to open somedays. so, sometimes, getting a letter sent off is harder than just writing it. i guess im trying to say, "im sorry i haven't sent your letters yet. i will take care of it." :):)
i love you all very much and appreciate you and your examples.
love,
Elder gerber
ps, 39 steps is fantastic. let me know if the play was good or a let down
December 30, 2012
dear everybody:)
this morning elder eldredge stopped by our house before we left and told me i had too much mail and gave me a boatload of letters. without even having to look at who they were from, i apologized to him and said "i'm sorry your family isn't as great as mine." ;) but really, all of the letters i have received are incredible and i am very grateful to all who wrote to me to show support, give advice, boost morale, and wish me happy holidays:) i am trying to write back to each and every one of you, but i only have about 40 min a week to write, so i am trying to just go by order of date received. please be patient with me:)
it is always a little gratifying to one's pride to hear that you were the highlight of someone else's christmas. i treasure that experience as well:) i love you all so much and it was great to see you guys. i loved hearing owen and andy play their instruments and just so they know, they have letters coming eventually. also, it was crazy to see christian again and see how much more of him there is;) it was great to see and talk to ken and kyle and leslie and jesse. really, you all have letters coming, im just not sure when they will arrive.
im glad that my present to the boys was appreciated and used:) oh we threw some soft taro in the oom as well and it was actually pretty good. i still cant palate fafa though (mashed banana, kaki [grated coconut], and taro).
so something that has kind of just happened is that everyday i look for and expect miracles, and then write them down in my journal (or try to write them down in my journal. i at least try to remember them long enough to record them somewhere).
so, the miracle i want to talk about happened on friday: everything that could have gone wrong that morning, went wrong. i realized i didn't have a clean pair of pants to wear, i hadn't slept that night due to a terrible sore throat, i spilled my chicken on the floor, etc. then, right before we were about to go proselyte, i started feeling really sick. sick enough to feel like i wouldn't be able to work. i said yet another prayer and asked for just enough strength to work. then, still feeling awful, we got in the truck. i felt sick all the way to the point where we parked. as soon as i stepped out of the truck and we started walking, i immediately felt better. we taught a lot of people that day and we taught a lot of good lessons.
also, that same day, we were teaching a man when it started raining outside. something that came to mind was that i had been blessed that i would see the elements tamed. so, when we went outside, i kept that blessing in mind. and, the rain stopped around us. it was still raining but we didn't get wet. oh, my crocs got wet, and my hair got a little damp, but other than that, i was dry. for some reason, i wasn't supposed to get wet that day. i wonder if it had anything to do with my sickness. either way, i am grateful for every miracle here and i want everyone at home to know that miracles are very real:)
grandma and grandpa schwendiman have sent me excerpts of spencer's letters and he sounds like he is an incredible missionary. i hope to be able to work as hard as him and be as effective as he is. his letters reminded me of just how similar people are to each other and how the gospel is the same everywhere.
christmas has continued up until today and will end tonight;) with the celebrating, there has been a lot of drinking and drug-doing. it has been incredible to teach at this time. i'm not really sure how to explain it: we will be talking to somebody who we know had been drunk or who is smoking at that moment, and all of the sudden i just hear words come out of my mouth telling that person to repent. and i mean like super bluntly. similar to, "smoking is a sin. that cigarette you are holding is stopping you from enjoying peace." ...i am not a very bold person when it comes to calling people to repentance, but God is.
im trying to write you all so i am cutting this email a little shorter than usual to give me time to keep writing. hopefully you will all get more news through these letters:)
i love you all very much and pray for you. thank you for everything--everything i receive from you guys is treasured:)
love,
Elder Gerber
ps, i would love to get some addresses from the old gang of friends.
this morning elder eldredge stopped by our house before we left and told me i had too much mail and gave me a boatload of letters. without even having to look at who they were from, i apologized to him and said "i'm sorry your family isn't as great as mine." ;) but really, all of the letters i have received are incredible and i am very grateful to all who wrote to me to show support, give advice, boost morale, and wish me happy holidays:) i am trying to write back to each and every one of you, but i only have about 40 min a week to write, so i am trying to just go by order of date received. please be patient with me:)
it is always a little gratifying to one's pride to hear that you were the highlight of someone else's christmas. i treasure that experience as well:) i love you all so much and it was great to see you guys. i loved hearing owen and andy play their instruments and just so they know, they have letters coming eventually. also, it was crazy to see christian again and see how much more of him there is;) it was great to see and talk to ken and kyle and leslie and jesse. really, you all have letters coming, im just not sure when they will arrive.
im glad that my present to the boys was appreciated and used:) oh we threw some soft taro in the oom as well and it was actually pretty good. i still cant palate fafa though (mashed banana, kaki [grated coconut], and taro).
so something that has kind of just happened is that everyday i look for and expect miracles, and then write them down in my journal (or try to write them down in my journal. i at least try to remember them long enough to record them somewhere).
so, the miracle i want to talk about happened on friday: everything that could have gone wrong that morning, went wrong. i realized i didn't have a clean pair of pants to wear, i hadn't slept that night due to a terrible sore throat, i spilled my chicken on the floor, etc. then, right before we were about to go proselyte, i started feeling really sick. sick enough to feel like i wouldn't be able to work. i said yet another prayer and asked for just enough strength to work. then, still feeling awful, we got in the truck. i felt sick all the way to the point where we parked. as soon as i stepped out of the truck and we started walking, i immediately felt better. we taught a lot of people that day and we taught a lot of good lessons.
also, that same day, we were teaching a man when it started raining outside. something that came to mind was that i had been blessed that i would see the elements tamed. so, when we went outside, i kept that blessing in mind. and, the rain stopped around us. it was still raining but we didn't get wet. oh, my crocs got wet, and my hair got a little damp, but other than that, i was dry. for some reason, i wasn't supposed to get wet that day. i wonder if it had anything to do with my sickness. either way, i am grateful for every miracle here and i want everyone at home to know that miracles are very real:)
grandma and grandpa schwendiman have sent me excerpts of spencer's letters and he sounds like he is an incredible missionary. i hope to be able to work as hard as him and be as effective as he is. his letters reminded me of just how similar people are to each other and how the gospel is the same everywhere.
christmas has continued up until today and will end tonight;) with the celebrating, there has been a lot of drinking and drug-doing. it has been incredible to teach at this time. i'm not really sure how to explain it: we will be talking to somebody who we know had been drunk or who is smoking at that moment, and all of the sudden i just hear words come out of my mouth telling that person to repent. and i mean like super bluntly. similar to, "smoking is a sin. that cigarette you are holding is stopping you from enjoying peace." ...i am not a very bold person when it comes to calling people to repentance, but God is.
im trying to write you all so i am cutting this email a little shorter than usual to give me time to keep writing. hopefully you will all get more news through these letters:)
i love you all very much and pray for you. thank you for everything--everything i receive from you guys is treasured:)
love,
Elder Gerber
ps, i would love to get some addresses from the old gang of friends.
December 23, 2012
dear family:)
i got one package from home and it was absolutely perfect. actually, i got it last monday about an hour after i emailed you all. anyway, thank you sooo much for all of it. it was so obviously thought out (dont worry, i got the humor of the solar snowman). i have to admit, i was so excited, i opened it all that day. i love you all so much.
as for the kosraean book of mormon, it is being worked on. last i heard, the translating team was working on 3 Nep, but the editing and confirmation team is only in Mosiah. so there won't be a book of mormon here for another couple of years:(
home sounds like you guys are pretty busy and having a good time:) i am happy to hear you are doing so much together. something missing here on kosrae is good solid family relationships. it might be that since everybody is related somehow or other, they dont consider it to be a big deal. or maybe im just not understanding correctly.
all the elders are staying at our house right now. we got up really early today and went fishing. collectively we caught a grand total of one fish. and it was about 6 inches long. i took a nap:) but we did get some really great pictures. we are working on our oom for tomorrow and have been playing ping pong:)
there are two miracles i want to talk about. they both have happened a few times. the first is we wont be able to find our consecrated oil for a few days; then randomly find it in an obscure pocket. later that day, somebody asks us for a blessing.
the second one is a little more conditional on attitude. i'll be feeling pretty hungry or thirsty. when i keep a good attitude and forget about it, somebody offers us food or water. but if i start feeling like i don't really want to work anymore, that doesn't happen as often.
oh yeah, miracles exist.
so all of our baptisms for christmas have fallen through. the people we were really hoping for, didn't come to church or didn't keep their commitments. the christmas season is really hard here because everyone we want to visit is busy or gone, and everyone else is busy getting drunk.
fun kosraean phrase of the week: bako matohm (literally, shark your face) it means i feel sorry for you. also, atro matohm means your eyeballs, but literally means egg you face. i have had fun saying these to people:)
we have been teaching a girl and she really wants to get baptized, but her mom hasn't been letting her. the odd thing about it is, her mom had a dream where her ancestor came to her and told her to let her daughter get baptized; but the next night a devil (like with horns and stuff) told her not to listen to the missionaries. i guess i am confused because it is so obvious who she should listen to. anyway, i think that given a little more time, she will allow it.
i love you guys so much. i pray for you and hope you are all doing well and are as happy as can possibly be.
love,
Elder Gerber
ps, i have been loving the uke book. i got a uke now too and have been having a good time with it:)
i got one package from home and it was absolutely perfect. actually, i got it last monday about an hour after i emailed you all. anyway, thank you sooo much for all of it. it was so obviously thought out (dont worry, i got the humor of the solar snowman). i have to admit, i was so excited, i opened it all that day. i love you all so much.
as for the kosraean book of mormon, it is being worked on. last i heard, the translating team was working on 3 Nep, but the editing and confirmation team is only in Mosiah. so there won't be a book of mormon here for another couple of years:(
home sounds like you guys are pretty busy and having a good time:) i am happy to hear you are doing so much together. something missing here on kosrae is good solid family relationships. it might be that since everybody is related somehow or other, they dont consider it to be a big deal. or maybe im just not understanding correctly.
all the elders are staying at our house right now. we got up really early today and went fishing. collectively we caught a grand total of one fish. and it was about 6 inches long. i took a nap:) but we did get some really great pictures. we are working on our oom for tomorrow and have been playing ping pong:)
there are two miracles i want to talk about. they both have happened a few times. the first is we wont be able to find our consecrated oil for a few days; then randomly find it in an obscure pocket. later that day, somebody asks us for a blessing.
the second one is a little more conditional on attitude. i'll be feeling pretty hungry or thirsty. when i keep a good attitude and forget about it, somebody offers us food or water. but if i start feeling like i don't really want to work anymore, that doesn't happen as often.
oh yeah, miracles exist.
so all of our baptisms for christmas have fallen through. the people we were really hoping for, didn't come to church or didn't keep their commitments. the christmas season is really hard here because everyone we want to visit is busy or gone, and everyone else is busy getting drunk.
fun kosraean phrase of the week: bako matohm (literally, shark your face) it means i feel sorry for you. also, atro matohm means your eyeballs, but literally means egg you face. i have had fun saying these to people:)
we have been teaching a girl and she really wants to get baptized, but her mom hasn't been letting her. the odd thing about it is, her mom had a dream where her ancestor came to her and told her to let her daughter get baptized; but the next night a devil (like with horns and stuff) told her not to listen to the missionaries. i guess i am confused because it is so obvious who she should listen to. anyway, i think that given a little more time, she will allow it.
i love you guys so much. i pray for you and hope you are all doing well and are as happy as can possibly be.
love,
Elder Gerber
ps, i have been loving the uke book. i got a uke now too and have been having a good time with it:)
December 16, 2012
hello everybody:)
first off, there is no such thing as a letter that is too long, so don't feel pressured to condense anything or leave anything out;)
our plans for christmas is to have a sleepover with the all the elders, get up really early and go fishing, make an oom, and have a small celebration. then we will go to the Eldredge's and call home:) it should be fun
as for kosraean and present, future, and past tenses, there is a slight rule. the word "ac" (pronounced A as in way) means will. so there is a future tense. also, the "dari" means past or done. so there is a past tense. however, the past tense is not used much, and im still not really sure when to use it.
thank you so much for the recipies:) i haven't really got a chance to try them out yet, but i will eventually. the hardest part about cooking here is that we don't really know what's going to be at the stores, and im no cook, so i don't really know what to buy anyway. but i do make pancakes a lot:) and i also found some almond extract here so im going to make something deliciously almond flavored:)
it sounds like the motab concert was great:) im glad you guys got to go. we have been listening a lot to the motab/nat king cole album so i kind of got to experience it;)
i got a guitar the other day. there is a ahsiht (white guy/foreigner) who has a store that we were at and he actually had a gibson. so i picked it up:) it has been really fun and we have been christmas caroling with it.
i also gave my first talk in kosraean yesterday in church. i talked about as members of the church, we need to be good examples. it was about a 5 min talk, but i think everybody understood what i said.
for my missionary script. for the plaque, i really like mosiah 8:18. if it's on the list that would be great:)
there are little miracles here everyday, and most of them when shared wouldn't really seem like a big deal to anyone else, but that is part of the beauty of them: they are personal. a specific miracle that has happened was we were teaching a guy named spencer (by the way, names here are either very simple english names like john, smith, etc.; or, they are names like elsiye, tolpe, conapoo, etc.). anyway we are teaching this guy, and i don't really know what is being said, when elder conejero looks at me and asks if there is anything i want to say. and i said auk (yes) and then went on to talk about keeping the commandments and the results of obeying God, with specific focus on WoW. i talked for about 5 minutes straight in fluent kosraean. when we were finished with the lesson and were walking away, i asked what the lesson had been about and was told it was about the WoW. God knows exactly what people need to hear. we really dont need to speak kosraean well or be good teachers; we just need to be worthy enough to be guided by the Spirit.
this part of the letter is dedicated to everyone who has sent me things via the mail. first off, i want you all to know that i appreciate each and every letter. they are blessings to me and i want to thank you. also, know that due to the christmas season, the mail service is not very fast, so a lot of you have letters coming, but don't be too surprised if they don't make it to you until sometime mid january. also, i have heard that letters mailed on the same day don't always arrive at the same time. but, i love each and every one of you and read your letters often. i am so happy to hear from you all and love reading your notes:)
i caught a lizard the other day and named it Mahana (as in the Johnny Lingo movie). technically it's name was "Mahana Kom Sifung" (Mahana you ugly). i was planning on growing it into the huge monitor lizards here on the island and use her as an object lesson, but i let her go. i think i would have killed her accidentally, so maybe once i learn how better to take care of one, i'll try again. it will not be a pet.
kennedy sent me a letter and told me that i have not described Kosrae very well. so:
the mountains here look like they are very far away, but in fact are just not super tall and are super steep. like if you were to run straight at the mountain, it would be the same as running at a wall.
also, here in lelu, there is a protective coral reef/rock garden around the beach, which means that the water is very calm for about 100 yds out, almost to the point of looking like a lake. the most beautiful lake you have ever seen.
everyone lives within sight of the ocean. there are only a few times where we go somewhere where we can't hear or see it.
there are really cool little birds, and really cool lizards. also, there are big bats. there are a lot of ants, cockroaches, and spiders. chickens and pigs run around the island.
the hard part about describing kosrae is that it is truly indescribable.
i love all of you sooo much and look forward to hearing from you every week. we check the mail a couple times a week, and letters usually take about 6 days to get here, so i also love hearing from you all via paper and pen:)
love,
Elder gerber
first off, there is no such thing as a letter that is too long, so don't feel pressured to condense anything or leave anything out;)
our plans for christmas is to have a sleepover with the all the elders, get up really early and go fishing, make an oom, and have a small celebration. then we will go to the Eldredge's and call home:) it should be fun
as for kosraean and present, future, and past tenses, there is a slight rule. the word "ac" (pronounced A as in way) means will. so there is a future tense. also, the "dari" means past or done. so there is a past tense. however, the past tense is not used much, and im still not really sure when to use it.
thank you so much for the recipies:) i haven't really got a chance to try them out yet, but i will eventually. the hardest part about cooking here is that we don't really know what's going to be at the stores, and im no cook, so i don't really know what to buy anyway. but i do make pancakes a lot:) and i also found some almond extract here so im going to make something deliciously almond flavored:)
it sounds like the motab concert was great:) im glad you guys got to go. we have been listening a lot to the motab/nat king cole album so i kind of got to experience it;)
i got a guitar the other day. there is a ahsiht (white guy/foreigner) who has a store that we were at and he actually had a gibson. so i picked it up:) it has been really fun and we have been christmas caroling with it.
i also gave my first talk in kosraean yesterday in church. i talked about as members of the church, we need to be good examples. it was about a 5 min talk, but i think everybody understood what i said.
for my missionary script. for the plaque, i really like mosiah 8:18. if it's on the list that would be great:)
there are little miracles here everyday, and most of them when shared wouldn't really seem like a big deal to anyone else, but that is part of the beauty of them: they are personal. a specific miracle that has happened was we were teaching a guy named spencer (by the way, names here are either very simple english names like john, smith, etc.; or, they are names like elsiye, tolpe, conapoo, etc.). anyway we are teaching this guy, and i don't really know what is being said, when elder conejero looks at me and asks if there is anything i want to say. and i said auk (yes) and then went on to talk about keeping the commandments and the results of obeying God, with specific focus on WoW. i talked for about 5 minutes straight in fluent kosraean. when we were finished with the lesson and were walking away, i asked what the lesson had been about and was told it was about the WoW. God knows exactly what people need to hear. we really dont need to speak kosraean well or be good teachers; we just need to be worthy enough to be guided by the Spirit.
this part of the letter is dedicated to everyone who has sent me things via the mail. first off, i want you all to know that i appreciate each and every letter. they are blessings to me and i want to thank you. also, know that due to the christmas season, the mail service is not very fast, so a lot of you have letters coming, but don't be too surprised if they don't make it to you until sometime mid january. also, i have heard that letters mailed on the same day don't always arrive at the same time. but, i love each and every one of you and read your letters often. i am so happy to hear from you all and love reading your notes:)
i caught a lizard the other day and named it Mahana (as in the Johnny Lingo movie). technically it's name was "Mahana Kom Sifung" (Mahana you ugly). i was planning on growing it into the huge monitor lizards here on the island and use her as an object lesson, but i let her go. i think i would have killed her accidentally, so maybe once i learn how better to take care of one, i'll try again. it will not be a pet.
kennedy sent me a letter and told me that i have not described Kosrae very well. so:
the mountains here look like they are very far away, but in fact are just not super tall and are super steep. like if you were to run straight at the mountain, it would be the same as running at a wall.
also, here in lelu, there is a protective coral reef/rock garden around the beach, which means that the water is very calm for about 100 yds out, almost to the point of looking like a lake. the most beautiful lake you have ever seen.
everyone lives within sight of the ocean. there are only a few times where we go somewhere where we can't hear or see it.
there are really cool little birds, and really cool lizards. also, there are big bats. there are a lot of ants, cockroaches, and spiders. chickens and pigs run around the island.
the hard part about describing kosrae is that it is truly indescribable.
i love all of you sooo much and look forward to hearing from you every week. we check the mail a couple times a week, and letters usually take about 6 days to get here, so i also love hearing from you all via paper and pen:)
love,
Elder gerber
December 9th, 2012
dear family,
haha yeah the machete is fun. we just got them sharpened yesterday, so we had freshly cut open coconuts for breakfast this morning:)
the schedule is as follows:
-6:00 we get up and exercise
-7:00 breakfast and shower/get dressed for the day
-8:00 personal study (mainly BoM and PMG)
-9:00 companionship study
-10:00 12 week training
-11:00 language study
-12:00 Lunch
-12:30 Proselyting time
actually, i think the main reason i lost so much weight is that we don't eat dinner that often. we usually just work through it. but thank you so much for the recipes! i've made a personal goal to cook more and make more food that we can take with us to snack on in the truck.
the members here vary in strength, as do all wards. so there are a few members that will be able to help harry progress. however, there is a tendency on the island to get offended easily. it is a problem that has caused a lot of inactivity in the church here. we are working with a lot of less actives and there needs to be an attitude adjustment as well as deeper conversion for the church to really grow here. we are seeing higher church attendance since we've been here though so that has been nice to see some results of our efforts.
the christmas season is hard because everybody is out and about and so about all of our appointments fall through (normally we are able to keep 2 or 3 out of about 5 appointments). So we haven't been able to see all of the people we want to. However, we have been teaching a filipino lady. she and elder conejero chatter in tagolog, while i try my hardest to follow the spirit and say simple truths in english when i need to;) she is really progressing well and has a baptismal date for the end of Jan. she is doing all that she needs to do to become converted to the gospel, so we are having a great time teaching her and are excited for her progression.
language study is me and elder conejero. there is a kosraean-english dictionary, but let me explain a little more about the language. there aren't a whole lot of kosraean words. however, that means each word has anywhere from 2 to 5 different meanings (this means that any sentence i say could mean different things based on context). kosraean is also very simply put together. this means it is easy to translate into english, but really hard to translate english into kosraean. for example, to say the premortal existence, we say moul lasr tuhkun kuht isusla or our lives before we were born. in other words, we just kind of describe simply what the complex english words are. this has pros and cons. also, something that is causing me some grief is that there is no tense. everything we say is in a present tense. joseph smith is prophet. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appear to him. and so on and so forth. but, i am getting it. i have found that i do a lot better when i am humble and ask God for help and recognize the help when it comes than when i think that i am really learning the language well and good for me. humility is the key to the gift of tongues.
our scripture study is incredible. we are constantly interrupting each other's study with exclamations of excitement:)
also, little miracles happen every day. for example, i was teaching a less active while on a split with a member who comes with us quite often. it was going fine when my member companion turned to me and said share that scripture with him in the d&c about repentance. i had no idea where that verse was. so i said a very quick prayer and got the impression of 58. so i flipped to section 58 and right there in the middle of the page on verse 42 was the one he asked me for. God is definitely a God of Miracles:):):)
i may have gone a little overboard with the christmas season. i have discovered that i need to decorate for christmas. i found a little tree in the house and set that up, and the eldredges gave us a bag of christmas decorations when they heard i love christmas. so our house is sufficiently decorated:) i have missed the snow, though so will you please enjoy it for me? thanks. also, we have been playing the motab christmas concerts music all the time so i am excited for you guys to go to that:)
ooh, fun kosraean phrase of the week: nga luhngse in srosro fin oom lome, or, i want to jump on your oom (an oom is a type of oven used by the locals). if you say it to someone, it means "i want to marry your daughter." if you specify how many times you want to jump on it, it means the number of daughter (first daughter, second daughter, etc.) i haven't found a time to use this phrase yet.
thank you so much for the advice and the news. i love you guys very much and pray for you everyday. i feel your prayers throughout the day and am very grateful for them.
i love you guys:)
love,
Elder Gerber
haha yeah the machete is fun. we just got them sharpened yesterday, so we had freshly cut open coconuts for breakfast this morning:)
the schedule is as follows:
-6:00 we get up and exercise
-7:00 breakfast and shower/get dressed for the day
-8:00 personal study (mainly BoM and PMG)
-9:00 companionship study
-10:00 12 week training
-11:00 language study
-12:00 Lunch
-12:30 Proselyting time
actually, i think the main reason i lost so much weight is that we don't eat dinner that often. we usually just work through it. but thank you so much for the recipes! i've made a personal goal to cook more and make more food that we can take with us to snack on in the truck.
the members here vary in strength, as do all wards. so there are a few members that will be able to help harry progress. however, there is a tendency on the island to get offended easily. it is a problem that has caused a lot of inactivity in the church here. we are working with a lot of less actives and there needs to be an attitude adjustment as well as deeper conversion for the church to really grow here. we are seeing higher church attendance since we've been here though so that has been nice to see some results of our efforts.
the christmas season is hard because everybody is out and about and so about all of our appointments fall through (normally we are able to keep 2 or 3 out of about 5 appointments). So we haven't been able to see all of the people we want to. However, we have been teaching a filipino lady. she and elder conejero chatter in tagolog, while i try my hardest to follow the spirit and say simple truths in english when i need to;) she is really progressing well and has a baptismal date for the end of Jan. she is doing all that she needs to do to become converted to the gospel, so we are having a great time teaching her and are excited for her progression.
language study is me and elder conejero. there is a kosraean-english dictionary, but let me explain a little more about the language. there aren't a whole lot of kosraean words. however, that means each word has anywhere from 2 to 5 different meanings (this means that any sentence i say could mean different things based on context). kosraean is also very simply put together. this means it is easy to translate into english, but really hard to translate english into kosraean. for example, to say the premortal existence, we say moul lasr tuhkun kuht isusla or our lives before we were born. in other words, we just kind of describe simply what the complex english words are. this has pros and cons. also, something that is causing me some grief is that there is no tense. everything we say is in a present tense. joseph smith is prophet. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appear to him. and so on and so forth. but, i am getting it. i have found that i do a lot better when i am humble and ask God for help and recognize the help when it comes than when i think that i am really learning the language well and good for me. humility is the key to the gift of tongues.
our scripture study is incredible. we are constantly interrupting each other's study with exclamations of excitement:)
also, little miracles happen every day. for example, i was teaching a less active while on a split with a member who comes with us quite often. it was going fine when my member companion turned to me and said share that scripture with him in the d&c about repentance. i had no idea where that verse was. so i said a very quick prayer and got the impression of 58. so i flipped to section 58 and right there in the middle of the page on verse 42 was the one he asked me for. God is definitely a God of Miracles:):):)
i may have gone a little overboard with the christmas season. i have discovered that i need to decorate for christmas. i found a little tree in the house and set that up, and the eldredges gave us a bag of christmas decorations when they heard i love christmas. so our house is sufficiently decorated:) i have missed the snow, though so will you please enjoy it for me? thanks. also, we have been playing the motab christmas concerts music all the time so i am excited for you guys to go to that:)
ooh, fun kosraean phrase of the week: nga luhngse in srosro fin oom lome, or, i want to jump on your oom (an oom is a type of oven used by the locals). if you say it to someone, it means "i want to marry your daughter." if you specify how many times you want to jump on it, it means the number of daughter (first daughter, second daughter, etc.) i haven't found a time to use this phrase yet.
thank you so much for the advice and the news. i love you guys very much and pray for you everyday. i feel your prayers throughout the day and am very grateful for them.
i love you guys:)
love,
Elder Gerber
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
December 3, 2012
Dear Family,
we had a baptism last saturday:):):) brother harry george told us he didn't want to wait any longer than he needed to, and so elder conejero baptized him, and i confirmed him yesterday. it was a really nice experience and he is happier than i have ever seen him before. he asked for a calling and he wants to come teach with us. he is a really good guy:) actually, he called us on friday and told us he didn't want to be baptized and didn't want us to come back. we were really shocked. apparently he had talked to an apostate member and had gotten confused. we talked to one of his member relatives about it, and she called him right then and there. i dont know what she told him, but he called us about an hour later and apologized and recommited to baptism the following day. God answers prayers.
3 Nephi is really fun to teach and im glad you two are enjoying it:) also, the last couple of chapters of Mormon are really good at explaining the gospel.
i sent home a memory card last week, so it should get there pretty soon:) (it doesn't have the baptism pictures, though)
we have been doing a lot of splits with members. this means that i have been leading lessons in Kosraean. right now, i can teach most of the lessons in mostly kosraean, but can't understand what the investigator says back to me. also, since the Book of Mormon hasn't been translated into kosraean yet, we read a verse, then translate it into kosraean. that is something that is pretty hard here. the people can sound out the words, but have no idea what they are reading. so when we ask them to read the BoM, they don't learn. they feel the Spirit which wonderful; but they don't learn what the doctrine is. so we have a larger responsibility to teach them the doctrines of Christ.
the biggest hindrance to the work here is probably the lazy life style here. walking to church is something a lot of members here feel is too much work. the introduction of the automobile to the island of kosrae was probably the last thing these people needed. (about 8 years ago, a road was built that goes around the island. in addition, there are some dirt roads that go closer to the mountain. about a quarter of the people here have cars) so, they figure they deserve a ride to church. and if a ride doesn't come, they don't come to church. we have now decided to show them the "only a stonecutter" movie. hopefully that will help them out;)
we have a lot of people who are interested in listening to us. we are teaching about 45 lessons a week. God blesses us with a lot of teaching opportunities:)
i found pineapples! they are grown here! but they are in extremely high demand, and not a lot of them are grown. one of our investigators gave us a slice and it was one of the best things i have tasted here on the island:) also, i found out limes are grown here as well.
it always makes me super happy to get a letter from home. thank you for all of the jokes, comics, and notes. we check mail every couple of days, so i get them about a week after you send them.
i think i understand dad's aversion to dogs. i never really understood growing up why he was so hesitant to get a dog. i think i know now.
christmas here is a big deal. there are decorations on a few houses and all of the stores. it is really fun. there is also a place here that sells ice cream. we go and have a treat there every once in a while to reward ourselves:)
i have lost 15 lbs since i got here. i don't know why.
i have been avoiding the spam
love,
Elder Gerber
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