Mauri,
Thanks for the email. It was good to hear that Carrington (Scott’s
companion that has since returned home) still wants to be an islander. He is a good man. I really loved working with
him out here. It was good advice to let
him know to bring food though. That is
always helpful on the outer islands.
I appreciated the message
you shared with me from your ward conference on sacrifice and if we value ourselves
by the stuff we acquire. One thing I
have noticed in Kiribati is that you really don't need stuff to live. I have
lived for months with just 1 plate, 1 spoon, 1 cup, 1 pan, and 1 grass mat to
sleep on. Honestly though you can have a great life with very little stuff. The
other thing I have noticed here in Kiribati though is how much good you can do
if you do have a lot of stuff. There are so many people you can help and
support if you use stuff wisely. God gives us stuff for a reason, so we can do good
things with it. If you gain money or possessions for other reasons than to do good
then we are not using the things God gives us in the way that we should.
This week has been really
good! All of us in our house got pretty sick throughout the week though but we are
feeling better now! (Well I feel good so.. I guess that is good for me).
A cool experience about
helping the church grow out here in Kiribati happened this last week when we
went to our rescue. This week for the
rescue our Stake President assigned some people and families that they would go
rescue and then become their home teachers. We had the opportunity to go lead
Autin (a man just recently activated this year) and our recent convert
Kianteiti to the house of a less active guy and his wife and kid which we are
having lessons with. I just felt so good walking away from that house as their
new home teachers. I was so happy to
have others with me as well that were now talking to that family.
Another cool thing
happened last Saturday when Autin had the opportunity to baptize the mother and
son of the less active father (who hasn't been to church in years). He came to church
on Sunday and watched his wife and kid get confirmed. It was just super cool to
watch.
In our mission we really
are trying to focus on teaching families and helping people grow as families. Honestly family is one of the most important
things ever. There is so much support that can be given in a family that cannot
be given anywhere else.
Things are just going
really good out here in Tarawa. We had one of our investigators tell her
parents about her having lessons and they told her they did not approve. But
she is older and living with a return missionary and she just told us she was going
to be baptized anyways.
The Gospel is the most
important thing. If we lose friends, family, things or anything for this
lifetime because we choose to follow Jesus Christ we will receive much more in
the life to come.
I will share a quote from Gordon
B Hinckley that says something like life is not just meant to be endured, but
it is meant to be enjoyed. I hope you
all have a great week!!
Elder Dinsdale
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