Finally got a baptism!

Mauri!

It's going to be a very sad but exciting last week here in Butaritari. Several families have wanted to hold farewell dinners for me, and there's also one planned for the entire unit the night before I leave. Though it should be fun, it's also going to make it harder to leave.

We finally got a baptism this past Saturday! Elder Osborne and I originally started teaching Teniiti shortly before we left. By the time she was getting close to baptism, school started, so she was always busy and we could never find time to see her. When we first started teaching her, she asked us how quickly she could be baptized, so she was really determined to join the church from the beginning. But the time finally came, and it was amazing seeing the joy on her face.

Yesterday was my last Sunday here, so I took some group pictures with those whom I would be seeing for the last time. The feeling of leaving a second home is just starting to kick in, so hopefully I'm not too much of a mess by the end of the week haha.

Not really much else to report on. My next email should be chock full of new and exciting stuff, so look forward to that. You can also look forward to seeing my new haircut from this morning, because I kinda messed up...

Thank you for all your love and support! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 A WWII memorial in front of the one of the Butaritari primary schools.

 The statue of the memorial

 Teniiti and I just after her baptism

Group picture with the members in Kuma (pronounced koo-meh)