What I've learned and what I love!

Mum,

Well, it’s been another great week!

Going to Onotoa was way fun and it has been a good week.  We went out there Tuesday and we got back on Saturday.  We originally went out there to help the missionaries find a bunch of sweet people until we found out that the island was going to be closing (as far as having missionaries) so we pretty much helped the branch just get organized (the unit that isn't actually a branch) and so hopefully the members will continue to go to church there without the missionaries.

So I will attempt to write on how I have changed on my mission. The basic things are:  I do my wash by myself all the time, I can cook rice and fish, and I can speak Kiribati.  I know how to set up home teaching in a ward.  I am much more patient and I feel like I am more humble.   I am no longer lazy.  I work from the morning until night time without taking a nap during the day (that is a miracle). 

I remember when I first left on my mission I had no desire to preach the gospel;  I have to admit that I went on a mission because it is a commandment for us to go.  But I can honestly say that I love being in Kiribati, bringing people to Christ; it brings such happiness to families and individuals that nothing else can.  I am ready to come back and work hard in the church and in a job to help people grow.

Well, that wasn't very much, but anything else you would like to know I can just let you know in a week when I get back.  I won't be emailing next week so I will just see you in the airport!  Love you mom! Thank you so much for all you have done for me while being out here.  The support from you and Dad have helped me so much, so thank you so much.  Have a great week!  See you next Monday!

Elder Dinsdale

Short and Sweet

Mauri mum,

This week has been great and we have had a decent amount of time to teach which is good.  We have also been really busy doing a bunch of other stuff, but it has been a really good week.  

Kianteiti (one of our recent converts) just got his oldest son who is super less active to come to church last Sunday!  So that is super sweet.  Hopefully little by little his kids and his wife will be able to join the church and go to the temple.

We have a new senior couple Elder and Sister Belens.  They are really cool.  We also have 2 additional senior couples coming in today which will help out a lot!!  I am sure they will be good.

There were 2 new Sister Missionaries that came in the other day but no new Elders.  They won’t be coming until July 27^th.

We have a new mission office, (I don't know if I have told you that yet) and it is pretty sweet.  We don't have to ask to go into someone’s house to use the computer/mini office.  Now we have our own key and we can do our stuff whenever we need.

Not too many crazy stories this week that is sweet.

Elder Ellis and I head out to the Island Onotoa tomorrow!  I am pretty excited for that, my last outer island.  After that I will come back and just keep working till the end!

Well, have a great week!

Elder Dinsdale

Sunbeam Preschool

Mauri,

     This week has been real good.  Missionary work is just going as good as ever. These last couple weeks one of my biggest focuses is on trying to help all of my recent converts get calling or responsibilities so that when I leave here they will stay active. We have also been pushing the home and visiting teaching so hopefully that will help keep the activity rate up.         

We have a bunch of people we are teaching...  A couple investigators that we have been working with came to church yesterday so that was sweet.  Nawere and Tourakai came so that was sweet too!  Tourakai is the husband of the lady with the preschool. They told me the other day that they are going to have a goodbye party for me at their preschool with the teachers there.  She also told me that  she is going to give me a bunch of cool Kiribati stuff (which I have already paid her for) so that should be really fun.  They also asked a bit ago what we think the preschool should be named and we suggested Sunbeam preschool, and we taught the them the song ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam’ and they loved it!  So their preschool is now Sunbeam Preschool.  It is pretty awesome and it even has a sign that has the name on it.

We had a way great lesson with Tourakai and we just talked about how important his testimony is. (He has a testimony but his dad hates the church and tells him that he cannot join the church) .  As we were teaching him and his wife they just took the lesson so well.  He realized how important his testimony is and when the lesson got over he had a smoke right next to him and he just gave it to me and told me to take it that he didn't want to smoke.  It was way sweet and awesome but the problem was, he gave me a smoke!  So I just put it in my pocket and planned to get rid of it.  I wanted to make sure nobody would ever use it, but I didn't know where to get rid of it.  We were at one of our people's baptisms later that day and I reached into my pocket to try and find the chalk and realized that I still had a smoke in my pocket!  (For some background information you taught me to never touch smokes or anything so I felt horrible just having it with me) so me and Elder Ellis went and found a place and buried it.   So... Yeah that was a really cool experience.  I have never had an investigator give me a smoke to get rid of.  Pretty sweet!

President Larkin said that for a final party we can have one in the chapel and the people in the ward can come.  So we are going to have a recent convert fireside for a goodbye party where the people saying the prayers, leading the music, speaking and bearing testimony will all be recent converts.  I think that will be way sweet because hopefully the ward will better fellowship them as they see them in the fireside. I am pretty stoked.

Next week we go to Onotoa so that should be pretty sweet!  I will be here for P-Day and then the day after I will leave so I will talk to you next week. Have a great week!

But I hope you have a great week,

Elder Dinsdale

PS You asked what I wanted you to prepare for my return.  Prepare.. Hmmm... Food?  That is probably it. Food is good to prepare, thanks mom.

Steak is way good, but I have told myself the first meal I want is Arby’s.  That was my last meal and that will be my first.  After that whatever meal works but I just want to eat some Arby’s

Teaching others is one of the many things I love about Missionary Life!!

Of course he took my picture as I took his!!

Just a little dinner!!

Happy Baptism Day!!

Investigators getting married!!  Great Day!!

Who would have thought I would be a barber?

Just chilling with a few of the Sister Missionaries!!

Nothing is better than seeing a family enter the waters of baptism!!

Yep a everyday event with a pig laying around!!

Kiribati kids are the best!!

P-day fun!!  I am still a Ninja!!

Teaching couples is the best!!

Just one of the many spiders here!!

Life as a missionary is GREAT!!

Last meal before entering the MTC at Arby's!!

Making a gardern and lots of pictures!!!

Mauri,

I am doing really good out here this week.  I just love being a missionary!!   I didn't travel at all this last week and we won't for another week or two.  Our next trip will be to Onotoa on June 27^th.   We go June 27th and we will be coming back July 1st.  That will probably be my last trip to an outer island for a long time.  I have heard it is pretty sweet though so I am excited.

One of our investigators just got interviewed for baptism and another should be interviewed this Saturday so I am pretty excited.  One of our recent converts Tenimarebu passed the sacrament for his first time yesterday so that was super sweet.  He is 13 but he looks like he is 7 or 8.  He is a super great kid though.  His mom got baptized with him and his dad is now active again in the church so that is pretty sweet.

Another cool story that happened this week has to do with a less active guy named Bainrebu.  He is super cool; he just doesn't come to church.  He joined the church a really long time ago, he went to school in Tonga before Moroni High School was made and he has been to a bunch of places around the world.  I remember visiting him in July of last year when I worked here and since November of when I started to work here again until now.  I always seem to be telling him to come to church. Well, he came yesterday!   He has been pretty inactive for the last 10 or more years, so it was super sweet to see him at church!

Last week for service we went and made a garden at this one member’s house.  We got some good dirt and put it in his garden and then we made a little rock wall to keep dirt from falling in it and after we put a fishing net all around it so kids won't get it.  It looked pretty sweet and it was really fun to do.

The next transfer has been finalized and so we announced it and it should be good.  All the Elders from my intake are coming in from Kiritimati this Thursday so it will be fun to see them. Other than that not much crazy has gone on. You have now sent me an email so I will probably respond to questions that you have send. Have a great week though!

Time has gone really fast for me.   I have been in Tarawa since November and  I feel like time is just flying.   Administration is pretty fun, but sometimes we miss going out and just being a part of the team.  I love doing both things though and am learning a lot.  It would be nice for time not to go so fast though,

Have a great week

Elder Dinsdale

Digging out a well!!

Elder Harrison (MY MTC companion) and me in Tarawa!!