02/22/2015 Kam na bane ni Mauri n te wiiki ae bou!

Hello everyone in this new week!

How's everybody doing? This has been a wonderful week, but after sending pictures I don't have much time. Please excuse the poor spelling that may result...

(See Pictures at the Bottom)

This week we had 3 baptisms. One was a lady who just moved here but was taught everything on Tarawa, so just needed a brief review and an interview. The other two were Beia (Bay yah) and Tiiwini (think Steevie...). Beia was mostly taught before I got here, but I'll tell you his story. He was one of those people that when you told people that you were teaching him, they would laugh at you. 

He was very famous for running in the forest being drunk for days. He was a big scary man. But he started taking lessons shortly after his son died. When they taught him the word of wisdom he immediately prayed for the strength to quit the things that weren't allowed. He then totally turned his life around and became one of those wonderful investigators that you just love, and they love you for helping them change to the better. 

 He, Tiiwini, and the couple on the left in that picture all fit into this category. We try to go to their house for a quick visit, but end up staying for around an hour or so because they want to give us food or chat and we just love them too much. Tiiwini is just a miracle man. He was very anti mormon until we taught him. He was also a super strong Protestant and well known in his congregation for it. This week he was confronted by the Minister of their church personally asking him to come back and said that he was trying to save Tiiwini. 

Tiiwini just told him that he had received a testimony and asked the man to leave. But this wasn't a problem to a man with such strong faith. This week Arenteiti, one of the ones that we love so much and will get baptized in a week, was having trouble with her faith. Her whole family is catholic and have been giving her a hard time. She was talking through her problems with the Branch President's wife, who didn't really respond or have anything helpful. But right then Tiiwini showed up and when he heard her concern, taught her the entire restoration from Christ down to the Book of Mormon. He explained to her the apostasy and our need for a restoration. He has only been taught this once, and this was before he was even confirmed, but his testimony brought her back. He is a miracle and is now one of the strongest members of the ward.

The work is amazing here and I learn everyday!

Love

Elder Morley

These are the pictures of Tiiwini and Beia's Baptism. The first is me baptizing Tiiwini in the Ocean (Lagoon side). The next is of some of my favorite people on the island. The 2 on the left are Anetibwa (Anna see bah) and his wife Arenteiti (a run tace). He was just baptized and changed so much for the church that his catholic wife turned from anti mormon to our strongest investigator (other than Tiiwini). I don;t really know the next guy in the back, but in the front row is Tiiwini, Arenteiti's daughter, Beia, then me. In the back is The unit president and his wife.

Our house, our bikes, our rain tank, and my companion, Elder Miller.

My hair was cut by an over friendly kiribati man. I have gotten my hair cut 4 times on my mission and are usually the moments that I am most homesick for mom. With mom I know exactly what I am going to get and I know that I will be pleased. With other people, especially random kiriabti people I don't quite have that assurance. It has always turned out well though.

This is a picture of the planner cover that got sent to me in the mail. It is woven in the style that kiribati people make their mats for sitting and sleeping on. It did not come with a note, but I am very thankful for the beautiful thoughtful gift.

This is the sign right above the door of our house that makes us really scared in the big storms. Sometimes we'll wake up in the middle of the night in a crazy wind/rain storm and shout, 'This house isn't built to withstand Cyclones!'

On P-days we usually shower on the rain tank, but on this particular day it was raining, so I had my first 'American Shower' that I have had since I came to this island. American defined has 'with a shower head.' Plus I was just to lazy to climb the tank when this was exactly the same thing.

Do you have a safe area to go to during the cyclones?

dad

There aren't cyclones.  David