Au Kabanean Reta Aio! (This is My Last Letter!)

Imwain I waaki n te reta aio, te bwanaa ni kamauri nakoimi n te ingabong aei. Tinau, tamau, tariu, mwaneu, unimwane, unaine, ataeinimwane, ataeinaine, raoraou, ao kaain au utu, kam na bane ni mauri!

Nna karaoa te reta aio n taetae ni Kiribati. Kabwara au bure ngkana kam aki oota. Tao ngkana kam kunea te I-Kiribati ikekei, kam kona ni bubutia bwa e na raira te reta aei.

E a roko te bong ae kananokawaki teutana: Au kabanean P-Day. Ma e tikiraoi naba, bwa I a kukurei ni manga kaitibo ma ngkami i Amerika. 

Bon te mwakuri ae nang tamaroa are I a tia ni karaoia ikai i aoni Kiribati. I a tia n noora te bitaki ae korakora are e a tia n reke irou. Bon te aomata ngai ae nang kaokoro nakon are ngke I moan roko. E tiraua te nan bwaai aika I a tia n rinanoia n au tai ni mwakuri ni mitinare. E a korakora riki au koaua iai nakon are mai mwaina. E a korakora riki au tangira ibukiia aomata ni kabane, ai moaraa riki ibukiia kain Kiribati. E a tia naba n rikirake onimakinan Iesu Kristo ma te Atua irou.

E nako raoi te wiiki ae nako. Iai temanna are e bwabetitoaki n te Kaonobong, are Nei Floss. E bon nako raoi ana bwabetito. 12 ana ririki neiere. E kan ira tibuna ni kaina te aro. Ana kaaro a tuai kainna, ma iaon kawaia.

I taku i nanou bwa bon tiaki te koaua bwa N nang kitana Kiribati. E na bo au karaure n te Kauabong. Ao imwiina n te Kaabong, Nna kiba n okira abau. I a nanokawaki bwa I riai ni kitana Kiribati, ma bon au kantaninga bwa I kona ni manga oki n tetaina.

Kam bati n rarabwa ngkami ibukin bwaai ni kabane aika kam a tia ni karaoia ibukiu. Te Atua e na memena irarikimi. I tangiringkami! Tia kaitibo n te oki!

Haha you all would probably like the translation. Wording will probably seem a little weird since it's translated:

Before I start this letter, a voice of greeting to you all this morning. Mom, Dad, my brothers, my sister, my grandparents, old men (that's a compliment), old women (also a compliment), teenage boys, teenage girls, my friends, and my family, you all will hello!

I'll do this letter in the language of Kiribati. Sorry if you don't understand. May if you find a Kiribati person over there, you can ask him to translate this letter.

The day which is sad a little has come: My last P-Day. But it's alright also, because I'm happy to meet again with you all in America.

It is a wonderful work which I have done here on Kiribati. I have seen a mighty change which has happened to me. I am a very different person from when I first came. There are many things which I have gone through in my time as a missionary. My testimony is stronger than before because of it. I have a greater love for all people, especially the people of Kiribati. My faith in Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father has also grown.

Last week went well. There is one person who got baptized on Saturday, Floss, a girl. Her baptism went well. She's 12 years old. She wanted to follow her grandma in joining the church. Her parents haven't joined yet, but on their way.

It doesn't seem like to me that it's true that I'm about to leave Kiribati. My farewell party will be happening on Tuesday. And after it on Thursday, I will fly to return home. I'm sad that I have to leave Kiribati, but my hope is that I can return again sometime.

Thank you all so much for everthing you all have done for me. God be with you all. I love you all! We'll meet again in the return!

Elder Schoeny

Tamnei (Pictures)

Ti angan te unimwane aei Ana Boki Moomon 

(We gave this old man a Book of Mormon)

Ana bwabetito Floss (Ngai, Tito - te tia bwabetito, Floss, ao Elder Ulas) 

(Floss's baptism (Me, Tito - the baptizer, Floss, and Elder Ulas))

Te nan mitinare aika a nangi nako. Imwiin te Kaoti Koaua 

(The missionaries that are leaving soon. After 

Testimony Meeting (with all the missionaries))

Second to Last Email (Who's counting?)

Mauri everyone! Hope everyone's doing great!

So crazy story. Last week, Elder Sablan got back from Nikunau after being out there for a week for Zone Leader business. I was going through his pictures on his camera and saw one of Taabua, one of my recent converts from Ambo. She had told me before that she was moving to Nikunau, but I never knew why. I found out from Elder Sablan that she got sent there by her family for an arranged re-marriage (she had lost her previous husband before Elder Rowsell and I started teaching her). Her new husband was a member of a different religion, the Baha'i, and Taabua wasn't able to go to church because of him. By the great tender mercies of the Lord, the missionaries on Nikunau found them and baptized Taabua's husband. I was literally on cloud nine when I found out. The Lord has a plan!

The work has been picking up again here in Eita. We have a baptism scheduled this upcoming Saturday. She's a 12 year girl who wants to follow in the steps of her grandmother who also stays in her house. Neither of her parents are members, but I can tell they're being prepared by the Lord.

Not much else to say for now. Not many days left, and I'm trying to make the most of it. I just hit me that I only have Sunday left.........scary.

I tangiringkami! Thank you everyone for all the support you've given me throughout the mission!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

  Dinner with President and Sister Larkin. We had enchiladas!!

 Brownies for dessert

Everyone at the dinner

Third to Last Email

Mauri ngkami!

Hope everyone's doing well.

This last week was pretty good. It's been tough having to work two areas, but it's been a good experience. E. Sagapolu finally just found a YSA to work with, so hopefully we'll be able to get the work picking up again in my own area.

I just found out yesterday that I'm having my farewell dinner with President and Sister Larkin tomorrow, so I'm going to be eating some really good food. I'm trying so hard not to think about going home, but everyone keeps on reminding me how much time I have left...haha. I don't want to leave... I love the culture and the people here so much. It's going to be really hard having to leave.

I tangiringkami! Thank you all so much for everything! Tekeraoi te wiiki aei!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Elder Ulas with some parrot fish that we bought to eat 

                        (Fish is so cheap here. A dollar or less per pound)

 Actual ham for a dinner

Service digging post holes with a coconut shell

Kiribati Independence Day Week

Mauri-O!

Hope everyone is doing great!

Last week was a little slow because of Kiribati Independence Day. They celebrate in Bairiki, and it lasts for like a week, so most people weren't home. This upcoming week should be better, though.

Elder Ulas and I are still tackling two areas. Elder Sagapolu just returned from Bikenibeu yesterday, so we're back to a trio. We're hoping that we can find a YSA for Elder Sagapolu to work with so we can visit all of our investigators more often.

Other than that, not much to report on. Elder Ulas and I weren't able to eat the chickens. We didn't have time to cook them so we just gave them to the neighbors. Elder Ulas is planning on shooting down a pigeon, though, so I can kill it and eat it. In his words, you just "twist and pull." Maybe I'll send a video ;) He shot one down last week, and I was going to kill it the next day for dinner, but the neighbor's cat got it before us.

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

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Group service at a member's house

 Me with a small bird that Elder Ulas shot down (not to eat)

 Dinner a couple days ago with members. Actual french fries!

Crazy Week

Mauri everyone!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

So a lot happened this week.

First off, Elder Veresoni, in our district finished, and there's was no elder to replace him, so Elder Sagapolu was assigned to work with us as a trio. His area is in a different ward (Eita 2). We planned everything out just fine, working in each area every other day. Then, an elder from Bikenibeu got sick and had to go to Marshall, so instead of having two trios, they asked Elder Sagapolu to replace the sick elder. Now, Elder Ulas and I are working two areas. It's pretty hectic, but we're making it work.

It also meant that yesterday, we had to stay for 3 sessions of church. Eita 1st at 8am, Moroni Ward (it's an English ward, which was really weird) at 10am, and Eita 2nd at 12pm. Usually we just attend Eita 1st in the morning, but now that we cover another area, we have to attend all 3.

Also, crazy story. So we taught one of the investigators from the other area. His name is Tiotii (pronounced So-see), 19 years old. He has a girlfriend who wants him to get baptized and go on a mission, and she's waiting to send her mission papers until he does. His only problem was coming to church. He's been taught by sisters and elders for 2 years, and he had never come to church. We came to teach him, read in the Book of Mormon with him, and found out his back story. Turns out Elder Ulas has the exact same backstory as him with him and his girlfriend who is currently serving a mission in England. After telling his back story, Tiotii said he would come to church, and he did! All the sisters were freaking out haha.

I've also found out I'm totally not ready to readjust to the American culture. It's so easy for me to small talk in Kiribati, but I found out I completely lost that ability in English talking to some BYU students from America. They asked me where I was from, and I said "America," and they all laughed and said "Of course we know you're from America. What part?" Literally, my first thought was "Kam ataa Virginia?" (Do you know Virginia?) just because I'm so used to saying that to Kiribati people, but I caught myself. I've also realized I still used the word "ngaia" (the equivalent to "ok" "yeah" "alright", that kind of word) when talking to white people. I'm not ready for America.

Thank you all so much for everything! I tangiringkami! Wish me luck on my last few weeks! Sorry for the sudden long email.

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

Our ride down to Temaiku last P-day, we waved them down and 

they were totally happy to give us a ride

 Our ride--a truck full of rice

 Birthday cakes for Elder Veresoni and Sister Latu

Rainy/windy storm outside our house, lasted about 15 minutes

Built a Store

Mauri-O!

Hope everyone is doing well. This past week was great! I'm finally completely healthy from that weird flu I got, so I was able to actually get out and work. The work has been going well. Elder Ulas and I are hoping to get it picking up in the coming weeks, though.

We also had a service last Saturday where several of us elders put a store back together that we took apart the previous week. The lady that owned it moved down the road to the next village, so we helped move her store down to where she now lives. Two weeks ago we brought it over on the back of a truck. Last week we took it apart so we could move it through the trees close to her house. And this past Saturday we put it back together. It was a fun experience.

Zone Conference was last Wednesday. It was fun. Way good food as always. The senior couples do the cooking. Next Zone Conference will be my last, which is scary to think about. I don't want to leave Kiribati. I love it here so much. I'll be trying my hardest to make the most of my last weeks here. I'm not sure if I've told you all, but I'll be flying home on the 10th of August. Wish me luck!

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

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Elder Ulas and I with some chickens we're going to cook Wednesday

 Elder Ulas and I after a service. We put that store behind us back together

Before picture of the store

Nasty Flu

Mauri everyone!

Sorry I wasn't able to email last week. I got hit by a nasty flu, right after getting better from a previous cold. I'm feeling a lot better now, though. I wasn't able to get anything done, last week, since I was lying in bed the entire time. I was the first one to get sick in our apartment, and everyone else is starting to get it.

Hopefully next week's email will be more interesting. Thank you all for everything! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Service from two weeks ago, we helped repair the walls of our 

investigator's bathroom. Before picture

 Me with our investigator Baiteke (left) and a neighborhood member kid (right)

Bathroom after picture

Cold and Another Baptism

Mauri everyone!

Last week was good. I caught a cold and had to stay in the house and rest a couple days, but I'm feeling much better now.

We had another baptism this past Saturday, Alexander. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be there for the majority of his conversion process, but from what I've heard it's a good story. Alexander had joined the Church a long time ago, but went completely inactive. He later started to turn his life around with the help of his wife. They discovered that his baptismal record had been lost back in the '90's, so he had to go through missionary lessons again and get re-baptized. He's way strong now and their whole family comes to church.

Not much else to say. I'm doing well and am enjoying my time here. Thank you all so much for all the love and support! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

Me with Charlie (a member from Nikunau going to Moroni High School) 

and Elder Morphonios, who also served on Nikunau before me

 A hermit crab that found a toothpaste top as a shell

Elder Ulas, Alexander, Pita (baptizer), and me

I'm working in Tarawa

Mauri everyone!

I've made it safely to Tarawa and am now working in the Eita 1st Ward with Elder Ulas from Vanuatu. I've also been assigned as a district leader, which I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of.

It was really sad having to leave Onotoa and not getting to work there for very long. Only about a month and a half. I did make it a little easier, though, since I hadn't gotten to know everyone as much.

Not much else to report on. Work is going well here in Eita. I arrived to a baptism on Saturday, Toanii. Haven't really gotten to know him too well, yet.

Thank you all so much for everything! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 The plane before leaving Onotoa

 The airport on Onotoa

 Service putting up thatch roofing for a house

Toanii's baptism (left to right: me, Toanii's dad, Toanii, Elder Ulas)

Last Week in Onotoa

Mauri everyone!

Hope everyone's doing well! Not really much happened this past week. A
lot of our lessons fell through because of some big bootaki's
(Kiribati parties), none of which we got invited to, so we didn't
really do much. This evening we're having a karaure (farewell
bootaki), so hopefully that'll be fun.

We'll be finding out later this afternoon from the flight agent if the
plane will actually be coming tomorrow to pick us up from Onotoa. I'll
let you all know next week if I made it to Tarawa.

Thank you all for everything! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Scraping the hair off after being burned

  Me with some Tiiben we got for $10 (bread with coconut 

mixed in, it's really dense)

Toromon burning the hair off of a pig to be prepared for a bootaki

Baptism and Big News

Email from last week (14 May 2018) that didn't send:

Mauri everyone!

Hope everything is going well on the other side of the globe. Things are going pretty well out here in Onotoa. We just had a baptism last Saturday! Onotoa hasn't had a baptism in over a year, so the members were pretty excited as well. We hired a truck and brought all the members together for a picnic followed by the baptism. Rootia got baptized, a teenage girl who is the younger sister of Toromon, a recently returned missionary from the Philippines. He had the opportunity to baptize his sister.

Also, speaking of big news, we just got word last week that both Elder Payne and I are getting transferred from Onotoa...that was a shock. We're pretty positive it's because of the plane situation in Kiribati right now. Right now 3 out of Air Kiribati's 4 airplanes are broken down. The only flights now to Onotoa are on Tuesdays, and they're not even consistent each week, only coming every 2-3 weeks. We're also not the only outer island getting closed.

We also don't have a flight time set in stone. Our leaders told us that they'd tell us when we have a firm date, but it's looking to not be until the beginning of June. The flights are pretty backed up because of all the missed days. I'll let you know when we have a set date. Hopefully I can get as much time as I can out of Onotoa before I have to leave.

That's all for this week. Thank you all so much for all the prayers and support! I tangiringkami!

Mauri kain Amerika!

Sorry, last week's email refused to send, so I included it in this email.

We got a set flight date for leaving Onotoa: 29 May. We'll see if that happens, because if the plane doesn't show up, it'll get moved to the week after.

Not much happened this week. We've been trying to help prepare the members and our investigators for when there aren't any elders on Onotoa. No unit leader has been called, so we've assigned someone to temporarily lead church while elders are gone.

We also went to a kabotaeka this past Saturday evening. It's basically the same as an LDS stake dance, but with Kiribati culture mixed in. The girls always ask, and there's never any slow songs. They also have what's called te buti bwaitika. Everyone sits in a big circle and one person dances up to someone else to pass the dance to them, and then they pass it to someone else, and so on.

Thank you all for everything! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Te Kabotaeka

 Rootia's baptism (left to right: Me, Rootia, Toromon, Elder Payne)

The members in Tabuarorae (left to right, front row: Iabeta, Tekobei, 

Me, Tekoba; back row: Ene, Taneaa, Maara, Eetau)

E Kamaiu Te Mwakuri

Mauri tariu ao mwaneu n te bwakantaai aei!

This past week was pretty good. We had combined church yesterday down in Tabuarorae. It was fun getting to see all the members of Onotoa together for a single meeting and the unity they had.

I also had a cool experience at a dinner with members. We were eating with a father and two of his kids, the mother being in Tarawa with their sick baby. Though we had a shortage of time, I felt prompted to read an entire chapter with them, Mosiah 24, about the people of Alma and their miraculous deliverance from the Lamanites. The father afterwards told us of a difficult situation his wife was in in Tarawa. He said he felt like that story was meant for him and he knew that, like the people of Alma, he needn't lose hope, that God would deliver in His own time.

We also had a fun service finding ben (ripe coconut) with Taniera, a young married adult male who lives next to our house. We didn't actually find that much, but we got rained on, so that was nice.

Oh, and about the oven, we're pretty sure it was just the actual owners of the house that took it. Who knows? Maybe it'll turn up in couple weeks.

Thank you all so much for everything! I tangiringkami! Tekeraoi n ami waaki ni kabane!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Riding back north on the truck after church

Biking back from collecting ben

Our Oven Got Stolen

Mauri mauri kain Amerika!

So yeah, our oven got stolen. Well, it wasn't really are oven to start with. It was owned by the owner of the house. All it was was a metal box with a kerosene stove underneath it. We just came back one day and it was gone. Not a big deal, though. We never used it anyway.

Anyways, the work here is going well. It's been gradually improving. Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll see further improvement. We're also hoping for a baptism in a couple weeks.

We were also told to do an exam for Taekan te Aro (religious class) for the JSS (same as middle school). We of course didn't take it that seriously and gave the kids a super easy multiple-choice exam with only three questions. They all got 100s. One of the questions asked if Elder Schoeny was te botonimwane (handsome), te kua (weary), or te riaboro (fiend). They of course all answered correctly with te botonimwane.

Thank you all so much for everything! Even if I can't respond to all of you, I still enjoy hearing how you're doing. I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Me with our front door that fell off (screws are stripped)

 Two of the questions from our JSS exam

Me with Kaan, an old lady we bring the sacrament for, and her 

grandaughter Teraumwemwe, a prospective missionary

Te Karaun

Mauri-O!

This week was pretty good. The work is coming along well. Still rather slow, but it's getting there.

Earlier this morning we went karauning with two young adults, Toromon and Taniera. It was pretty fun, but I got way sunburned. Basically what you do is walk around the lagoon in waist-deep water until you find a place to lay down your fishing net. You then walk a little distance from the net and then chase the fish into the net. We got a fair amount of fish and got to eat them for lunch.

Not much else to report on. Thank you all so much for all your support! I tangiringkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Walking in the lagoon with te karaun

 A small pig running around with a tin can stuck on its head

Me with a fish we caught in te karaun

Things Going Well

Mauri-O!

Things are going well out here in Onotoa. We've been able to pick up several more investigators this past week. They seem pretty solid, so hopefully all goes well with them.

This past Friday we were invited to attend a Cultural Day bootaki held by the JSS (secondary school). It was pretty fun. We mostly just watched JSS kids compete in different Kiribati events, like wrestling, husking coconuts, weaving mats, and making broomsticks. I also learned a new ancient Kiribati game called te Oreano. It's like an interesting cross between bowling and volleyball.

Not much else to report. Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks so much for everything! I tangiringkami! Tekeraoi ngkami!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Te Oreano. They run and then hit the ball just before crossing the center line. The team on the other side has to try to keep it from touching the ground.

 Biking on the causeway on our way to the southernmost village, Taboarorae

Look, Mom! No hands! (These Chinese bicycles are really 

easy to ride without hands)

Sorry, the only way I can send pictures right now is to take pictures of my camera screen...

I'm in Onotoa!

Mauri everyone!

As the subject line says, I've landed safely in an island called Onotoa. My new companion is Elder Payne from Utah. So far, I've adjusted again pretty quickly to the living circumstances here. Back to bucket showers and little nutrition. Our house is good, though. It's a concrete house with actual glass windows and a door.

We have a rather small investigator pool currently, but I'm hoping to build that up during my time here. There's no branch here yet, which means Elder Payne and I are the ones running the Church here. We hold church in 3 different places. On Saturday morning we bike down to Taboarorae, the farthest village down south, about a 1.5 hour bike ride, and work there for the day. We sleep at a member home, hold church there in the morning, and then bike back, holding church in two more places along the way. It was pretty tiring. I haven't biked that much since being in Butaritari over a year ago. Hopefully this will help me get into better shape haha.

I'm looking forward to the coming weeks here in Onotoa. The work is rather slow right now, but I feel like we can get it going during my time here. We just have to find those that have been prepared by the Lord.

Tekeraoi ngkami! I tatangiringkami! Thanks so much for everything.

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Where we sleep

 Another view of the inside of our house. The kid's name is Airom. He's a member

(I'll try to send what pictures I can. We email using a smartphone, so until I get a converter I'll be limited in what pictures I can send.)

Outside of our house

More Baptisms and Leaving Teaoraereke

Mauri everyone!

So big news. I'm getting transferred! The problem is I don't know where. All they're allowed to tell me is that I'm going ibuki (outer island). I'm supposed to fly out sometime this week, most likely tomorrow. If I don't respond next week, it most likely means I don't have internet in my new island.

This past week has been great. We got 5 more baptisms this past Saturday, all of them one family. I love that family so much. They have been such a great example to me and it's been incredible to see the changes that have happened within them over our short time together. It's truly been a blessing to get toknow them. They are so much fun to be around and they all have such strong testimonies of this Church.

Hope everyone enjoyed Easter and General Conference. Kiribati doesn't have conference until the week after. I'll be ibuki, though, so I most likely won't even get to see this session of conference.

Tekeraoi ngkami! I tangiringkami! Happy Easter!

Elder Schoeny

Pictures

 Cracker flavors...not sure what Navy flavor is...

 The cake I made for our baptism

 Teaeka's family getting baptized (left to right: Me, Mwaetaake, 

Teaeka, Taatuu, Teburea, Taataua, and Elder Wilson)

Me with the YSA of our ward, plus some random children