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