I work with people all day, so we can just share the day! Thank you
all for the birthday wishes and love. I Had a great birthday weekend.
My companion secretly told people that we were going to visit that it
was my birthday. So I got cake and a mini party on Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday! On my actual birthday I only ever remembered that it was
my birthday when I saw the date on my watch or my companion told
people. I guess it's called getting lost in the work. I love it here,
and the work is going great.
Church on sunday is kind of interesting. The church is just starting
here, so the senior companion (so Elder Smith) is the branch president
for the church on the island. We personally have to run church for it
to happen. So we hold it in 3 places. First way up at the farthest
north part of the island. We start at 9 (8 oclock Kiribati time). Then
bike down and meet up with a truck that picks up everyone in the
middle of the island (it can't go all the way up north because the
road is broken). Then after that we bike down south and hold it again
for everyone out of range for the car. We need the car so that
everyone has the opportunity to go to church. As it is we usually
finish a little after 7.
The story is that this week we started
trying to have 2 trucks. One for everyone south and another to go from
the north, then they'll meet in the middle. Since it is new of course
everything didn't go perfectly. Turns out that our new car has a
broken battery. So the driver and us Elders pushed the car out on to
the road, then up onto a small hill (actually a bridge) then pushed it
down trying to jump start it. We tried once with no success, then we
waited for more people to come. 5 guys in their 20s and one lady in
her 40s came to help (actually the lady was there to catch a free
ride, but she helped too). Now there were 8 of us guys pushing the car
up the mini hill and down trying to get the engine to start. The car
moved really easy with all the help, but everytime we pushed it down
and the engine didn't start the lady would shout, 'Rest Yourselves!!'
Then everyone would find shade and rest for 3ish minutes then try
again. It took us 4 tries then the engine finally started. We ended up
starting church an hour and a half late, but it was so funny to me.
'Rest Yourselves!!' I ended up making it into a spiritual thought for
my talk in church. When there are more hands the work goes easier.
Life is always an adventure, but great fun!
Working with Elder Smith is really fun. He has a great knowledge of
the scriptures and shares them all the time. He is what I would call a
scriptorian, which is someone that I have wanted to be since I was
little. Just a person that knows the scriptures really well. I haven't
met a missionary here like him and it encourages me to study and
memorize lots of scriptures too. We don't get quite as much study time
as I would like, but I'm working on it. Sometimes I feel like a
doctor. Someone has a concern with quitting smoking, or being shy to
come to church, or says that they are too lazy to read scriptures, or
has a question about their religions beliefs, or about the proper
nature of prayer, or any of a bunch of things we quickly turn to a
scripture to share. Also lessons are fun, sometimes when we have to
teach a different lesson, or give a spiritual thought we start with
one scripture and basically do a huge scripture chain with new
scriptures following the spirit. Lessons, and all of the work, is lots
of fun. Even more so when following the Holy Ghost. I love the work
and hope all is well in America.
Love
Elder Morley
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