Ran Allim!
Ok, I'm going to answer your questions right now.... The birthday was good, I made two pans of apple crisp for breakfast and everyone dominated it! The Chuukese class at church somehow found out that it was my birthday so they all sang to me.... I love that class! There were 34 people at the class this past Sunday once again meaning that if you count all the Chuukese kids running around we're pushing 80 Chuukese probably more at church.... That's half the branch!! Later that day Cheech, one of my good Chuuk pwipwi's here in Guam gave me some tuna sasimi (that's raw tuna which is the bomb and a half!!) So I dominated that and called it good!! I did get the box that you sent, thank you so much for sending that dictionary I really appreciate it. Thanks for celebrating my birthday back there in Utah... I bet it was hoppin!
I'm doing good on the answering questions phase right now.... A typical day is pretty much just like any other missionaries day. The only thing a little different is that we have meetings with President Dowdle every week (if we both are in town), we go to departing missionary dinners, we conduct Orientation for new missionaries, we plan and conduct Zone Leader Council, and any other random things that President wants us to do and.............. we travel the islands! ha Other than that stuff not much really. We proselyte pretty much the same hours as all missionaries. Being Zone Leader in Chuuk is much much much more hectic than being an AP. Zone Leaders in Chuuk solve crime! To be honest, I loved being ZL more than AP because it was like I was on the front lines with all the missionaries. I loved it! AP is less hands on with the missionaries, which I do miss. I love working with other missionaries........... and Chuukese (of course).
There is a group of 10 missionaries coming in today and tomorrow and so we will be orienting them on Thursday... I'm pumped about that! Brand new missionaries look so cute and innocent! ha I can't believe that I ever looked like them! ha I'm pretty stoked about it! Especially because I had this sweet idea, and we're going to bring in a projector and do a high tech Power Point Presentation. Orientation had always been known as super boring and I was not going to put up with that, so now we're going to blow everyone's mind with pictures and videos and all sorts of stuff! I'm so pumped about it!!!!
I am 3/4 handicapped right now and there are thousands of missionaries in the office talking to me right now and I can't concentrate or think of anything else to say. Oh yeah, transfers are this week. Sandvik is going back to Pohnpei and Elder Cohlmere is going to be the one who kills me off.ha
Ok I love your faces off! Ai tong ngenikemi esap much, ese tongeni kuch, iwe mei jok pwan ekis nennan uuch!
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak!
Elter Wells "ITO"
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Another Baptism
Neolawas Allim!
Another week gone, man it's flying now! ha Thanks for getting a hold of Elder Sorenson's mom he is so pumped about it!
We had a baptism last week! Erevin Benjamin. Another Chuukese!!! He's 15 years old, although he looks 18, and he's the son of a mom and dad that we just recently helped come back to church! He's a stud! He wants to come teaching with us everyday and he already came with us last night! He's great! One of my favorite things to do is is visit a recent convert the Monday after the convert has been baptized and received the Holy Ghost. I love seeing them that Monday back at their house and see the visible difference in their appearance! It is clear that the Holy Ghost has taken up residence in them and it ,literally, lights them up. They are different people and that might be my favorite part of all! I love it!! And my whole desire when they reach that point is to help them keep it going!
There was another Chuukese woman that was baptized with him! I translated her baptismal interview and she had the sweetest most sincere spirit about her. I know I may be bias, but Chuukese carry a sweet spirit with them, it's discernable sitting down and teaching a lesson with them how much they revere God. God and religion is woven so thickly into their culture that it shows in most everything they do. I think that's amazing! Even those not of our faith are "different" from the majority here in Guam because they honestly want to do God's will, and having that desire changes them and makes their whole life style different. I love it!! I think that for that fact alone is the reason so many Chuukese are baptized.
Last year there were 78 baptisms in Chuuk (the most in 8 years), about half of the baptisms in Guam last year were Chuukese, a portion of Pohnpei's baptisms were Chuukese, and in Yap all outer island Yapese have the same customs and culture as Chuukese (Yap just wanted to claim them) and the majority of Yap's baptisms were those people! I know there was at least a couple Chuukese baptized in Kosrae and Saipan last year. I've told you all before but Chuukese are the greatest! Just the other day Elder Sandvik and I had an experience that proved that point again.
We had a bunch of free time to go "finding" (tracting). 3 hours to be exact and I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. ha We had been in it for about 2 hours, just loving life, when we knocked on a door that opened to me hearing a bunch of Chuukese music! I got pumped!! I started talking in Chuukese and we were in the door in about 10 seconds. We sat down and they were offering us ice cold drinks. We had a wonderful lesson with lot's of good questions and they agreed to pray and have us come back. As soon as we were done they brought out plates and called to eat "Sa monga!" We sat down with huge plates of rice and turkey tail and we were talking and joking like we'd been friends for years! We talked all about Chuuk and their families (who I knew) all about anything Chuukese. After we were done eating they brought out packages of cookies, bottled water, bottled juice and anything else they could find to give us before we left. We left with smiles from ear to ear and me looking at Elder Sandvik and saying: "Chuukese are the best... or what?" He agreed (which is a big deal because he served in Pohnpei and pohnpeians don't like Chuukese). Yeah I love Chuukese so much it's almost ridiculous! ha
I love you all that much too, don't worry! Sorry after typing that story all I can think of is Chuuk thoughts so I'll end if off. Love you all take care!
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak!
Elder Wells "ITO"
Another week gone, man it's flying now! ha Thanks for getting a hold of Elder Sorenson's mom he is so pumped about it!
We had a baptism last week! Erevin Benjamin. Another Chuukese!!! He's 15 years old, although he looks 18, and he's the son of a mom and dad that we just recently helped come back to church! He's a stud! He wants to come teaching with us everyday and he already came with us last night! He's great! One of my favorite things to do is is visit a recent convert the Monday after the convert has been baptized and received the Holy Ghost. I love seeing them that Monday back at their house and see the visible difference in their appearance! It is clear that the Holy Ghost has taken up residence in them and it ,literally, lights them up. They are different people and that might be my favorite part of all! I love it!! And my whole desire when they reach that point is to help them keep it going!
There was another Chuukese woman that was baptized with him! I translated her baptismal interview and she had the sweetest most sincere spirit about her. I know I may be bias, but Chuukese carry a sweet spirit with them, it's discernable sitting down and teaching a lesson with them how much they revere God. God and religion is woven so thickly into their culture that it shows in most everything they do. I think that's amazing! Even those not of our faith are "different" from the majority here in Guam because they honestly want to do God's will, and having that desire changes them and makes their whole life style different. I love it!! I think that for that fact alone is the reason so many Chuukese are baptized.
Last year there were 78 baptisms in Chuuk (the most in 8 years), about half of the baptisms in Guam last year were Chuukese, a portion of Pohnpei's baptisms were Chuukese, and in Yap all outer island Yapese have the same customs and culture as Chuukese (Yap just wanted to claim them) and the majority of Yap's baptisms were those people! I know there was at least a couple Chuukese baptized in Kosrae and Saipan last year. I've told you all before but Chuukese are the greatest! Just the other day Elder Sandvik and I had an experience that proved that point again.
We had a bunch of free time to go "finding" (tracting). 3 hours to be exact and I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. ha We had been in it for about 2 hours, just loving life, when we knocked on a door that opened to me hearing a bunch of Chuukese music! I got pumped!! I started talking in Chuukese and we were in the door in about 10 seconds. We sat down and they were offering us ice cold drinks. We had a wonderful lesson with lot's of good questions and they agreed to pray and have us come back. As soon as we were done they brought out plates and called to eat "Sa monga!" We sat down with huge plates of rice and turkey tail and we were talking and joking like we'd been friends for years! We talked all about Chuuk and their families (who I knew) all about anything Chuukese. After we were done eating they brought out packages of cookies, bottled water, bottled juice and anything else they could find to give us before we left. We left with smiles from ear to ear and me looking at Elder Sandvik and saying: "Chuukese are the best... or what?" He agreed (which is a big deal because he served in Pohnpei and pohnpeians don't like Chuukese). Yeah I love Chuukese so much it's almost ridiculous! ha
I love you all that much too, don't worry! Sorry after typing that story all I can think of is Chuuk thoughts so I'll end if off. Love you all take care!
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak!
Elder Wells "ITO"
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Translation, Palau and an Apostle in Chuuk!
4/13/10
Ran Allim Ami!
I gotta tell Zach that you are the best sibling writer in the family. Yep, no question about it. Where are you at in the Book of Mormon Zach, you better not be behind man!
Thanks for getting everything and sending that stuff mom. I went to the Translation department today and filled out the rest of that paper. I think, but I'm not sure, they're going to give me some test in English now and then a test in Chuukese... something like that. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all set up while I'm here so it will be super smooth when I get home. It's interesting, the translation department for all the languages in this mission is located in Guam so there are a few translators that work in the actual building (none for Chuuk) but the great majority work from the United States in coordination with the translation department in Salt Lake. It is something that requires a computer and it works around your own time which, like you said dad, works great for a schedule with swimming. I'm pumped to do it mostly because there are more Chuukese than any of the other islands and they know the least English out of all the islands so it definitely can do a ton of good I'm down for anything to help out my Chuukese pwipwi's. If I get everything set up over here President DeValle(head of translation) could have me trained in the program that they use and after that anything he asks you to translate you work on it. He said it's mostly Church Manuals (there's like two translated ha) First Presidency and Relief Society Messages and a few other things on the side. But that seems to be the majority. I talked to President Dowdle about translation and he was pumped about me doing it because he says that he requests stuff to be translated all the time but the Chuukese translation can't do it because they only have three consistent people and so they do the bare minimum, but when he found out Elder Sorensen and I wanted to translate he got way pumped because then he could get a ton more Chuukese material translated and published. Apparently there's been one returned missionary for the past five years that has done the bulk of Chuukese translation and at times he's the only one. Everyone on Guam knows about translation stuff and when they hear me speaking Chuukese at church they always talk to me about doing translation. There was a fireside more than two months ago where I translated for a couple of speakers and I had at least five different people at General Conference come up to me and compliment me on my Chuukese and how I sounded like a Chuukese person way back at the fireside. I'm always like: "Thanks" but then I'm thinking: "you're Chamorro you don't know Chuukese" or "you're Pohnpeian you didn't have a clue what I was saying". There were a couple of non-Chuukese kids who looked at me, afraid, and then turn to their parents and say: "There's that Chuukese guy." ha ha.
Ok, sorry about that whole thing. The rest of the trip was great! Palau was a part of the FSM but separated and became it's only Republic and is doing really really well. It's really really nice and I guess it's a popular place for celebrities to go visit. Palauan is a crazy language and the missionaries try to learn it but they struggle. Most everyone knows English so the drive to learn the language isn't all there. They always teach in English except for Elder B who knows the most Paluan. I went with him and I told him I didn't want to hear one thing in English from him.... He did great and I was surprised at how well he did. I guess there has been only two or three missionaries who have learned Palaun enough to teach all the lessons. Elder B got through the first lesson three times and I think he took courage after he did that and got excited to really go after the language and tackle it. I think he'll be one that will teach all the lessons in Palaun. Palauns all know English but it's not good English, it's poor and so teaching them in a poor 2nd language it's hard to tap into the emotions of the people. Hopefully it works out. Palauns and Yapese are the most similar looking. They are both really really dark and really really short. I thought I was in Jamaica at times they were so dark. The missionaries were doing great and it was fun to work with them all. I would have to say my favorite island after Chuuk would be Yap or Kosrae. Yap because the outer islanders are really just Chuukese, and Kosrae is just nice. The next time we leave island I'll be going back to CHUUK!!! I'm going to be able to make it back for the dedication of the Mwan Chapel!!!!!! And guess who I'll be going with? You know how Elder Christopherson is coming to Guam, well.... he had a nephew back in the day that served a mission in Chuuk, and he wants to go check it out! So he'll be going to Chuuk and he'll actually dedicate the Mwan chapel as well! That is so cool!!! An Apostle going to Chuuk!!! That's insane! He's only coming to Guam and Chuuk, man Chuuk is so cool! Now I'm started on a Chuuk jimboree I better end soon or you'll get 30 more lines of Chuuk! ha
Since Elder Sorensen is in Chuuk and doesn't have e-mail............. I have his mom's phone number....... He said that she would be up for getting him all signed up if she knew about it. The other guys are here on Guam and I told them about it. They can hook it up with their parents. Her name is........ I can't remember..........Sister Sorensen? ha Sorry I would e-mail her but he can't remember her e-mail address.
General Conference was way good! The talk you liked dad was definitely a good one. The priesthood session in general was outstanding! It was cool to watch all of general conference!
Ok I think I forgot like 36 things I wanted to tell you all but I can't remember them any more!! I'll probably remember as soon as I leave the office! ha
Ua fakkun ennetin unusan tongeikemi!!!!! "I really truly wholey love you guys!!!!!"
Don't die
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak
Elder Wells "Ito"
Ran Allim Ami!
I gotta tell Zach that you are the best sibling writer in the family. Yep, no question about it. Where are you at in the Book of Mormon Zach, you better not be behind man!
Thanks for getting everything and sending that stuff mom. I went to the Translation department today and filled out the rest of that paper. I think, but I'm not sure, they're going to give me some test in English now and then a test in Chuukese... something like that. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all set up while I'm here so it will be super smooth when I get home. It's interesting, the translation department for all the languages in this mission is located in Guam so there are a few translators that work in the actual building (none for Chuuk) but the great majority work from the United States in coordination with the translation department in Salt Lake. It is something that requires a computer and it works around your own time which, like you said dad, works great for a schedule with swimming. I'm pumped to do it mostly because there are more Chuukese than any of the other islands and they know the least English out of all the islands so it definitely can do a ton of good I'm down for anything to help out my Chuukese pwipwi's. If I get everything set up over here President DeValle(head of translation) could have me trained in the program that they use and after that anything he asks you to translate you work on it. He said it's mostly Church Manuals (there's like two translated ha) First Presidency and Relief Society Messages and a few other things on the side. But that seems to be the majority. I talked to President Dowdle about translation and he was pumped about me doing it because he says that he requests stuff to be translated all the time but the Chuukese translation can't do it because they only have three consistent people and so they do the bare minimum, but when he found out Elder Sorensen and I wanted to translate he got way pumped because then he could get a ton more Chuukese material translated and published. Apparently there's been one returned missionary for the past five years that has done the bulk of Chuukese translation and at times he's the only one. Everyone on Guam knows about translation stuff and when they hear me speaking Chuukese at church they always talk to me about doing translation. There was a fireside more than two months ago where I translated for a couple of speakers and I had at least five different people at General Conference come up to me and compliment me on my Chuukese and how I sounded like a Chuukese person way back at the fireside. I'm always like: "Thanks" but then I'm thinking: "you're Chamorro you don't know Chuukese" or "you're Pohnpeian you didn't have a clue what I was saying". There were a couple of non-Chuukese kids who looked at me, afraid, and then turn to their parents and say: "There's that Chuukese guy." ha ha.
Ok, sorry about that whole thing. The rest of the trip was great! Palau was a part of the FSM but separated and became it's only Republic and is doing really really well. It's really really nice and I guess it's a popular place for celebrities to go visit. Palauan is a crazy language and the missionaries try to learn it but they struggle. Most everyone knows English so the drive to learn the language isn't all there. They always teach in English except for Elder B who knows the most Paluan. I went with him and I told him I didn't want to hear one thing in English from him.... He did great and I was surprised at how well he did. I guess there has been only two or three missionaries who have learned Palaun enough to teach all the lessons. Elder B got through the first lesson three times and I think he took courage after he did that and got excited to really go after the language and tackle it. I think he'll be one that will teach all the lessons in Palaun. Palauns all know English but it's not good English, it's poor and so teaching them in a poor 2nd language it's hard to tap into the emotions of the people. Hopefully it works out. Palauns and Yapese are the most similar looking. They are both really really dark and really really short. I thought I was in Jamaica at times they were so dark. The missionaries were doing great and it was fun to work with them all. I would have to say my favorite island after Chuuk would be Yap or Kosrae. Yap because the outer islanders are really just Chuukese, and Kosrae is just nice. The next time we leave island I'll be going back to CHUUK!!! I'm going to be able to make it back for the dedication of the Mwan Chapel!!!!!! And guess who I'll be going with? You know how Elder Christopherson is coming to Guam, well.... he had a nephew back in the day that served a mission in Chuuk, and he wants to go check it out! So he'll be going to Chuuk and he'll actually dedicate the Mwan chapel as well! That is so cool!!! An Apostle going to Chuuk!!! That's insane! He's only coming to Guam and Chuuk, man Chuuk is so cool! Now I'm started on a Chuuk jimboree I better end soon or you'll get 30 more lines of Chuuk! ha
Since Elder Sorensen is in Chuuk and doesn't have e-mail............. I have his mom's phone number....... He said that she would be up for getting him all signed up if she knew about it. The other guys are here on Guam and I told them about it. They can hook it up with their parents. Her name is........ I can't remember..........Sister Sorensen? ha Sorry I would e-mail her but he can't remember her e-mail address.
General Conference was way good! The talk you liked dad was definitely a good one. The priesthood session in general was outstanding! It was cool to watch all of general conference!
Ok I think I forgot like 36 things I wanted to tell you all but I can't remember them any more!! I'll probably remember as soon as I leave the office! ha
Ua fakkun ennetin unusan tongeikemi!!!!! "I really truly wholey love you guys!!!!!"
Don't die
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak
Elder Wells "Ito"
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Yap is Crazy
4/5/10
Ran Allim!!
Thanks mom you're stud! This is random, but you know my pillow with all of you on it? Yeah well everytime an elder sees it they always think that mom is like my older sister or something! When I tell them it's my mom they always comment on how young mom looks, but you all already knew that right? ha And I must say dad that you still look great which is a bonus for me because you know the whole what your mom looks like is how the daughter will turn out and how the dad looks like is how the son will turn out, well I'm in for sure with such great looking parents! Whatever girl sees how good looking my parents are will want to marry me before even seeing me! ha
Ok mom here is my driver license #. Anything else let me know. Thanks again for doing all that you're amazing! I have a question. Do I have a bank account #? If I do could you possibly e-mail that to me. President Devalle needs that information so he can get me hooked up to the translation department. Before I leave they're going to get me trained on the computer program they use so that I can go home and get started. Elder Sorensen first name is Colby. The other two talked to me about it and I was like for sure pwipwis and there names are Mitchell Hatch, and Chandler Walpole. I hope they'll get on it.
I'm in Yap right now and they have internet that works pretty darn good! We don't have a lot of time so I'll hit you all up with the news of the trip when I get back. Yap is crazy! The people are way different than Chuukese! But they have outer island Yapese that live on Yap and they live exactly like Chuukese! Their language is closer to Chuukese and I could understand them when they spoke to me! The outer Yap islands are way close to the outer islands of Chuuk and Chuuk in general. They're nothing like the main island Yapese and Yapese and the outer islanders don't really like each other so I think that they should just become part of Chuuk! Palau is the last place in the mission that I haven't been to but of the islands that I've been to they should just call this the Chuuk mission because Chuukese are everywhere! There was a Yapese guy that was talking to me yesterday and he said that Chuukese are like the Philipino's and the Mexicans... they're everywhere!! ha I think that is an exaggeration but it's pretty close! Chuukese are the bomb!
There are almost as many outer island Yapese as there are Yapese on this island and since their languages aren't close at all (they're hardly related) it's a struggle in church. We went to church here and it was all in English, it was good they have a very nice chapel here and all the missionary houses are all very nice! It's been super fun and we'll be flying out to Palau tonight at 10:00 pm. Short night. We'll be back in Guam this friday!
Peace I gotta go!
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak!!
Ran Allim!!
Thanks mom you're stud! This is random, but you know my pillow with all of you on it? Yeah well everytime an elder sees it they always think that mom is like my older sister or something! When I tell them it's my mom they always comment on how young mom looks, but you all already knew that right? ha And I must say dad that you still look great which is a bonus for me because you know the whole what your mom looks like is how the daughter will turn out and how the dad looks like is how the son will turn out, well I'm in for sure with such great looking parents! Whatever girl sees how good looking my parents are will want to marry me before even seeing me! ha
Ok mom here is my driver license #. Anything else let me know. Thanks again for doing all that you're amazing! I have a question. Do I have a bank account #? If I do could you possibly e-mail that to me. President Devalle needs that information so he can get me hooked up to the translation department. Before I leave they're going to get me trained on the computer program they use so that I can go home and get started. Elder Sorensen first name is Colby. The other two talked to me about it and I was like for sure pwipwis and there names are Mitchell Hatch, and Chandler Walpole. I hope they'll get on it.
I'm in Yap right now and they have internet that works pretty darn good! We don't have a lot of time so I'll hit you all up with the news of the trip when I get back. Yap is crazy! The people are way different than Chuukese! But they have outer island Yapese that live on Yap and they live exactly like Chuukese! Their language is closer to Chuukese and I could understand them when they spoke to me! The outer Yap islands are way close to the outer islands of Chuuk and Chuuk in general. They're nothing like the main island Yapese and Yapese and the outer islanders don't really like each other so I think that they should just become part of Chuuk! Palau is the last place in the mission that I haven't been to but of the islands that I've been to they should just call this the Chuuk mission because Chuukese are everywhere! There was a Yapese guy that was talking to me yesterday and he said that Chuukese are like the Philipino's and the Mexicans... they're everywhere!! ha I think that is an exaggeration but it's pretty close! Chuukese are the bomb!
There are almost as many outer island Yapese as there are Yapese on this island and since their languages aren't close at all (they're hardly related) it's a struggle in church. We went to church here and it was all in English, it was good they have a very nice chapel here and all the missionary houses are all very nice! It's been super fun and we'll be flying out to Palau tonight at 10:00 pm. Short night. We'll be back in Guam this friday!
Peace I gotta go!
Tong Ennet fiti Jaiwak!!
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