Ok guys so I'm emailing way early today because this is the only time we will be able to email the whole day out where I am. And I won't be on for very long so I'll make sure to write letters today! I love you all so much.
So I'll pretty much just get down to business right away. Tuesday is the day that president calls out transfer calls. So he individually calls everyone in the mission and tells them whether or not they will be staying. When it was our time for the call, I was freaking out. I got on the phone and president told me that because I have been doing well out on the mission he thought I could really handle a challenge.... That's definitely a scary thing to hear.... He then continued that I was being transfered up to the island of Rabi..... Speaking the Gilbertese (Kiribati) language. Wow I was shocked. I was not only being transfered but I was being switched languages.... Holy cow. My head felt like I was spinning. Learning a language everyday for 4 and a half months then simply just throwing it out for a new one, was just crazy..... But man I was excited and so scared for the challenge! President told me that I would be on this remote island for at least 3 months learning the language, and 3 more teaching it to another elder.
Friday we flew up to Lobassa which is up on the northern Island called Vanua Levu. We drove down and stayed the night in the zone leaders flat. From there we got driven to the spot where the boat would pick us up to take us to Rabi because it is a small island that can only be accessed by small boat. So we waited for like an hour and all of a sudden a small boat pulled up to the shore. My companion was like " alright there it is" and I thought he was kidding... This boat was smaller then a fishing boat. But sure enough that was it... We crossed part of the ocean in this tiny boat across the most crystal blue water in the world like holy cow...... And then we arrived at what will be my home for the next 6 months at least.... So just a little bit about Rabi. From what I know Rabi was given as a gift from the Fijian people to the Kiribati people, so a bunch of people moved from the Kiribati islands over to this island right off of Fiji. There are about 4000 people total on this island and probably ninety nine percent speak Gilbertese, with a few Fijian speakers sprinkled here and there. There are about 20 people who speak broken English, and most don't speak any at all, so wow its been an adventure. Their staple food is fish. (usually raw) which I'm so excited to try today!
So I'll pretty much just get down to business right away. Tuesday is the day that president calls out transfer calls. So he individually calls everyone in the mission and tells them whether or not they will be staying. When it was our time for the call, I was freaking out. I got on the phone and president told me that because I have been doing well out on the mission he thought I could really handle a challenge.... That's definitely a scary thing to hear.... He then continued that I was being transfered up to the island of Rabi..... Speaking the Gilbertese (Kiribati) language. Wow I was shocked. I was not only being transfered but I was being switched languages.... Holy cow. My head felt like I was spinning. Learning a language everyday for 4 and a half months then simply just throwing it out for a new one, was just crazy..... But man I was excited and so scared for the challenge! President told me that I would be on this remote island for at least 3 months learning the language, and 3 more teaching it to another elder.
Friday we flew up to Lobassa which is up on the northern Island called Vanua Levu. We drove down and stayed the night in the zone leaders flat. From there we got driven to the spot where the boat would pick us up to take us to Rabi because it is a small island that can only be accessed by small boat. So we waited for like an hour and all of a sudden a small boat pulled up to the shore. My companion was like " alright there it is" and I thought he was kidding... This boat was smaller then a fishing boat. But sure enough that was it... We crossed part of the ocean in this tiny boat across the most crystal blue water in the world like holy cow...... And then we arrived at what will be my home for the next 6 months at least.... So just a little bit about Rabi. From what I know Rabi was given as a gift from the Fijian people to the Kiribati people, so a bunch of people moved from the Kiribati islands over to this island right off of Fiji. There are about 4000 people total on this island and probably ninety nine percent speak Gilbertese, with a few Fijian speakers sprinkled here and there. There are about 20 people who speak broken English, and most don't speak any at all, so wow its been an adventure. Their staple food is fish. (usually raw) which I'm so excited to try today!
We live in a little box house about 100 yards from the ocean probably the size of my living room at home that's split into three small rooms We shower for the most part out of buckets of water and the power is very unreliable. The water quality is so bad that even though it goes through a filter we have to boil it first. So ya you could say I'm living in the bush. These first few days have been hard but at the same time have been so much fun. It kind of just feels like a long camping trip... haha so crazy! My companion's name is Elder Alonzo, who is this tall Phillipino guy from Chicago. He is the man! The one interesting thing however is that he has only been here for 6 weeks before me, so neither one of us know much at all of the language. We are working 3-4 hours a day to learn it as fast as humanly possible.
The people here are seriously nicer and more fun loving than the Fijians. They are so amazing, and so loving and I just cannot wait to be able to communicate freely with them, because they are so awesome.
Well that's pretty much it for right now because I don't have much time to email, but I tried to squeeze as much information as possible into this short time. I love you all so much, and have no doubt that what I'm doing here is right. This church is true, no matter where you are, and I know that although this is hard, God will support me and help me do what he needs me to do! I love you all!
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