Week in Tarawa

Mauri everyone!

It's been a great week in Tarawa. It's always nice to spend a little time again having electricity, air conditioning (which is freezing now), and of course ice cream. I've just been living in the missionary apartment in Bikenibeu, going on splits with the elders there.

I just met my new companion today, Elder Jubeck. He was in the intake just after mine, which means this will be my first time being the senior companion. We'll be flying back out to Nikunau this next Wednesday. Haven't had the chance to talk to him much yet, but he seems like a great guy, and we should have a good time in Nikunau together.

I also was privileged to be able to Skype with my family today. Those going out to outer islands Skype were allowed to early. It was a blessing to have the chance to see them again.

Hope everything is going well back in America! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Elder Baker and I with some young women we helped with tutoring for exams

 Elder Baker and I before leaving Nikunau

 Erevin and Seguine looking into our hut after church

Baptism I attended in Tarawa

Changes Coming

Mauri!

This past week was pretty normal, but this next week is going to be
very eventful. I just found out today that Elder Baker is getting
transferred. I have to fly out with him in two days (the 26th). I'll
be staying in Tarawa until my flight back to Nikunau, likely the
following Monday, with my new companion. I've had a great time with
Elder Baker and I'm sad we had so little time together. But I also
know the Lord has a plan for me, and I'm excited to see how things
turn out.

Not really a lot of noteworthy things that happened this past week. We
have Game Night every Friday night for the youth, and this past one
had a big turn out. It's basically just dancing the whole time to
whatever music Kiribati people think sounds good. And before anyone
asks, yes, I did dance when asked, as obligated by the culture. I've
actually learned to get out of my comfort zone more when dancing since
coming to Kiribati. Not something I thought I'd learn on a mission.

Other than that, not much has really happened. I should have a lot
more to share in the coming weeks.

I tangiringkami! Thank you for all your love and support! I love
hearing from you guys!

Elder Schoeny

(Sorry, the internet kept dying so I didn't have time to upload pictures.)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!

We had a great Easter over here. The Saturday before we had a
picnic/bootaki (a bootaki is basically a Kiribati party). There was
dancing, singing, games, and lots of food. Elder Baker and I setup a
little Easter egg scavenger hunt for the little kids using empty
coconut shells which we duct taped closed with cheap chinese lollipops
inside. Easter egg hunts are an American thing, so they had never done
it before, but they loved it. We played some volleyball and of course
Kiribati Sorry! with the members.

We also had a great experience with some new investigators. We got
them from a referral from members who live nearby. Let me tell you
they were prepared. The family was so happy to see us. The father kept
telling us how we were always welcome in their home and how we were on
the Lord's errand. The mother just had the biggest smile on her face.
In a later lesson with them, they told us they had seen a video about
Joseph Smith, but they didn't understand it because it was in English.
They showed it to us so we could help explain, and it turned out to be
the Restoration DVD. I'm looking forward to future lessons with them.

I hope you all enjoyed your Easter Sunday! It's always important to
remember how Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. He truly loves us and
He died and was resurrected so that we can live again. I know of the
enabling power of the Atonement and am so happy that I'm able to help
others become healed through His eternal sacrifice.

I love you all and wish you the best!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Elder Baker climbing a coconut tree

 Elder Baker and I after a rainstorm

 The kids at the start of the Easter ben hunt

The kids after they found their Easter ben

More rain and more cargo

Mauri!

In case you're wondering, I'm emailing on Tuesday because Nikunau had
a public holiday yesterday, so there was no one working at the
internet cafe. I found out that our mission president apparently
allows us to email on another day if for some reason we can't email on
Monday.

This past week was a pretty good week. It's started raining here more
than it has in a year or so, which is nice, because rain water tastes
a lot better than campfire-boiled water. We have only gotten dumped on
twice so far, so that's good. We also got pretty lucky with cargo.
Nikunau is one of the last islands that the cargo ship goes to, so
when it finally comes, we basically just get the leftovers. That cargo
then runs out fairly quickly, and we have to wait for the next cargo
ship to come the next month. (In comparison, Butaritari had a cargo
ship come every week.) Our cargo ship came the week before I arrived.
We got lucky, though, because another cargo ship just came today, and
it's a big one.

Our P-day yesterday was pretty fun. We went on a 'hike' with other
member kids through the woods near the lakes of Nikunau. That was a
lot of fun drinking moimoto (green coconuts) and knocking down dead
coconut trees.

We also had several opportunities for service this week with members,
mainly cleaning up their forests. We just pile up fallen branches and
stuff into a pile to burn it. We also helped harvest coconut tree
branches, which they use for the flooring of their huts.

So we actually aren't getting the branch organized this week. The
person coming to set it up, his flight got rescheduled, so not sure
when it will actually happen. The work is going great here. It's
always a blessing being able to see the gospel of Jesus Christ touch
those we teach.

Thank you all! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Sorry no pictures this week. I tried but they would not upload.

First Week in Nikunau!

Mauri!

It's been a great first week here in Nikunau! The members here are
amazing, considering the island has only been open to the Church for
about two years. A branch is being organized here in a few weeks,
which is really exciting! Thanks to a camping thermometer my family
sent me, I can now tell what temperatures I'm living in. It's a lot
hotter here than Butaritari, with highs reaching usually about 110
degrees in the sun, 95 degrees in the shade. Lows usually get no lower
than 80 degrees, which feels surprisingly nice to me now. Other than
the weather, the culture and the accent are pretty different from the
North, but not enough that it'll be hard to adjust. (Butaritari is
part of the northern islands, Nikunau is part of the south).

A lot of this past week has been getting to know members and
investigators. They threw together a little mini bootaki (Kiribati
party) for me the evening of the day I arrived. We also had a bootaki
this last Saturday celebrating the two year anniversary of when the
first elders arrived in Nikunau. They spoiled us with a lot of good
food from Tarawa and the recent cargo. Nikunau doesn't get much cargo,
so once it runs out, we'll be living off of mostly just rice (and
fish, as long as gas doesn't run out for boats), at least until the
next cargo ship comes. Not much of a concern for me, though. I'll
happily eat anything.

We also had a really cool experience with a new investigator. We went
to a house, hoping to get directions to a referral we had. The lady
there had thought only Mormons could listen to the missionaries, and
seeing that we were trying to get to a non-member, she asked why we
didn't teach her. We scheduled an appointment with her, and when we
taught her, she was just soaking everything up. Having introduced
ourselves, we asked if she had any questions, and she was just like,
"Why are there so many religions? Which one is the true one?" Long
story short, we ended up giving her a Book of Mormon in the first
lesson, and she gave us food and then started reading it while we ate.

I'm so excited to be working out here in Nikunau, especially at such a
critical point in time for the Church here. I know the Gospel is true
and have seen how much happiness and change it can bring. I can't wait
to share that message with a new people on a new island.

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

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Elder Bataua and I shortly before we got separated for transfers.

 Member teenage girls dancing as part of the 2-year anniversary

bootaki for the opening of the Church in Nikunau

 A Nikunau sunset

The Nikunau missionary home, living true Kiribati style. We with a

family of members