Serving at the Itibong Church land

Mauri,

Things have been going really good here!  Being an AP is pretty fun, lots of different things we are doing but it is still really fun.  We have to plan for the upcoming Zone Conference and we are supposed to train the Zone Leaders as well as help set up the branches on the different outer islands.  We also plan orientation for the new missionaries and other random things like that.  It is pretty busy but good!  We still teach a little bit each day.  Some days we have like 5 or so lessons we can get, other days we don't have time to teach any lessons.  But it depends on the day!  I am enjoying it though.

We also have tickets to Tabiteuea so we will be out there from May 9th till May 13th!  As you remember this was my last ‘OUTER ISLAND’ area, so I am super stoked to go back out there again.

I have a few experiences to tell you about this week.   

The other night we were walking to a house and we walked next to the Itibong (the 7th day) church and we saw this lady cutting grass so we asked if we could help.  She said yes so we started cutting grass and helping her.  We talked a little bit and asked if we could come back the next day to help.  So the next day we came back with 4 of us Elders and we cleaned the 7th Day Adventists land.  We cut grass and swept up the leaves and a bunch of random stuff.  Then we went into their pavilion and ate some food that they gave us.  I feel like it was a really good thing to help out and to improve relationships.  So that was fun.   

Another experience that happened last week, we were walking along and we saw some lady selling some Kiribati broom things and so I asked how much they were and they were only 3 dollars.  So I thought, hey, I should buy one of these.  So I did!  I bought a broom and then had nothing to do with it.  So we tracked to some random house and started talking to them.  One person invited us in so we went in and offered them the broom and they said sure!  After that we talked, asked them for lessons and they were up to have lessons.  So that was way sweet!  Their names are Iakobwa and Kekeia and they are a pretty sweet couple that have never had lessons before.   

Another way cool story, we had Stake Conference this last week!  We have been really trying to get everyone ready for the Melchizedek  Priesthood.   We ended up having 10 people from our ward get the Melchizedek Priesthood.  It was way sweet!  Utara, Raotibeta, Kianteiti and a couple other people that just recently joined the church as well as some other people just got the Melchizedek Priesthood.  So that was super exciting!

Honestly over all it was a really fun week.  I love just serving the Lord.  There is no greater work than Missionary work.  It surprises me how much happier people are by living the gospel.  Even people that are pretty happy in the first place find more happiness.  They just get so much happier by doing what the Lord wants them to do.  And I am happy to help them do so!!

Well, I hope you have an amazing week! Keep doing good stuff!

Elder Dinsdale

PS My companion (Elder Ellis) says hello as well.