Monday, January 21, 2019

Hey!

Hey Y'all. How y'all doin? This week was another week on the smallest land mass on this earth.

We started out the week with a crazy turn of events. We planned on going to a family home evening. Instead, they told us to teach with the husband and the rest of the family disappeared. The we taught English at a school. It was 4th and 5th grade. The teacher tells us to do something and then leaves and doesn't come back. We play games and teach them good English and then math. They are all really interested in videoing with my camera, also they all believe I am 100 years old.

One experience that happened this week was we were teaching with this older couple and at the end he mentioned he likes the Bible, but doesn't want to change religions. He wants to follow his wife. There were so many things I wanted to say, but the spirit said shut up. So we did. All I said was I know our church is true and left.

Then we got subway from a member that works on the US Army base. SO GOOD.

It is also really not fun when you have 2 dinners right in a row after each other and they both decide to give you 5 lbs of rice. It is so hard to stuff it down, but you have to or it is really rude. Then Elder Orton and I went out on the reef before we went in. It was super low tide that you could walk all the way out to the wave break. We found some sea cucumbers and sea urchins










Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Don't worry everyone, just a flesh wound

Great week. It has been a long time. I got transferred to Ebeye. I am with Elder Orton, someone I was in the MTC with. Love the guy. We have lots of fun. Ebeye is part of the atol of Kwajelein. The island with the US military base on it. There are about 15,000 people on this island of 80 acres of land. Crazy packed.

THe storm was supposed to hit, but we dodges it like a wrench. Also my Christmas call was great. Got to see the family. The whole island is shut down because of the holidays, so that was tough.

Recently I have been learning a lot about Marshallese culture. They have proverbs, but also they have good luck chants called Roro. They use them while sailing or they are just funny.

Kamakutut nejin jimem ke ar tou em enar kake - this is chanted when doing something difficult or lifting a lot of weight. It literally means "give strength to the man that almost killed his mom during birth." Really cool.

Limaro rej tarto lik to ak rejjab lo lepako ej pijak im kwir kon deka - this one is a funny one. It means "the girls are coming from the ocean and don't see the shark pooping and wiping with rocks." People think this one is so funny.

Anyway - until next week.....

Monday, January 7, 2019

No word from the Marshall Islands

No email from Elder Underwood today. Transfers were Thursday, but we don't know where he was transferred. I posted on the mission facebook page asking where he was transferred. Many comments from parents that they haven't heard from their elder either. Comments that a typhoon hit the islands and there was flooding, then Sister Larkin (mission president's wife) commented that he was transferred to Ebeye and their pday is Tuesday. We will hope for an email today. These pics were posted on the facebook page on transfer day. District Conference.