Hey! This week is going good!! Indeed, the Sabbath is a blessing!
Something I always tell investigators is that sometimes we don't
understand God's laws. We don't always understand why we shouldn't
work or do our labor one day of the week. But God rested from His
labors on the seventh day, and He is perfectly smart and wise, and
He's commanded us to rest on the seventh day. I've also seen a lot of
the blessings of keeping the Sabbath day Holy, as I've striven to rest
from my labors and hobbies and interests, and to serve others!
Haha, that's awesome! Has he been dating people from the singles ward??
Nice gun eh? Interesting...
So as far as this week, we got another investigator that seems to be
really golden so to speak. He seems to be prepared. He loves to learn
about the scriptures. He's Catholic. Pretty much everyone here is
already part of some religion. It's not like America where a lot of
people are atheist. Any way, he has a deep interest and joy for
spiritual things, which is awesome! His name is K. Every time we
go over, he gives us moi motos. and usually some to bring home haha,
and then we eat them the next morning. Any way, the spirit seems to be
really working with him. As we've been teaching him, his heart has
been opened more, and he's been really receptive to the truth. We're
continuing to invite him to keep the commandments, and he's growing a
lot in his faith! The gospel is a great blessing! I hope he's able to
learn the truth! I know that if he does pray with a sincere heart, and
really works and experiments upon the word, that the Holy Ghost will
bear witness to him of the truthfulness of those things.
The language has also been coming along really well. The gift of
tongues is definitely real!!I remember having some really great feelings from the Holy Ghost in
the MTC, since then I've felt a lot of peace, reassurance, happiness,
and edification from His influence. I've also been learning recently
that truly it's not the choiceness of your words, otherwise they
wouldn't send missionaries foreign. I see that a lot of investigators,
even though I know we don't speak perfectly, they still are happy to
have us over, happy to listen, happy to follow commitments. It's
definitely true that we just need to try to do our best to follow the
spirit and to study the scriptures and other materials. We need to try
to present it clearly, and, one of the things I saw recently under
something like: things you can do to facilitate the spirit working
through you: be humble. I know the church is true. The Lord loves and
provides for all of His children. Haha, missionary work is a blessing
to the missionary. If there were no missionaries, the Lord could just
send angels to tell the people the truth ;) who would probably do a
better job ;) but instead he gives us this experience as missionaries,
to help and serve others, and to see the effects of the gospel more
fully. Have a good week! Love you !! - ELder SEffker

I know that the commandments will bless us.

 I know that missionary work is sooo
important. It's one of the ways we show that we have faith in Him and
in His second coming. I know that it's our duty to prepare the world
and to "gather Israel".
Yep, the island situation is an interesting one. It's crazy how big an
influence america has on the world and on opportunity.
That's funny about the potty training ;) that pretty much sums up our
childhoods. ;) Haha, you'd love Kiribati. They aren't yet accustomed
to the enjoyment of luxury ;) Their life revolves around fishing and
coconut collecting. Nonetheless, they have found some use to some of
these newfangled American things we call luxuries ;) frugality is
second nature to i-Kiribati.
That's awesome to hear about how Scott is growing in service. Service
brings such a joy. We should look for ways we can help others,
especially with the gifts we've been given.
Richard is doing good, teaching him has been a little different,
because most the information he already knows. And so we're trying to
build his faith by committing him to commandments. He's not yet ready
to pray the way we do, and so hopefully he'll react to the spirit that
comes into his life as he follows commandments.
As far as church here, we're a branch right now. With about 60 active
attendants. Our youth is very small right now, because everyone is
attending school at Tarawa. Here's pretty much how it goes: people
finally start arriving and church starts about 40 minutes late (which
sounds pathetic but for some reason that's just how Kiribati works,
something to do with how they used to tell time by the location of the
sun, and so literally every gathering starts exactly 30 minutes to 1
hour after the stated time), we have sacrament, me and my companion
bless it, the bishop and I pass it, and then we move on to the talks.
There are rarely any announcements. 2 speakers speak, I've heard of
branches in Kiribati where the elders speak literally every week, but
here it's only occasionally. After that, we move on to sunday school
(held in the chapel for the adults) or the youth and primary classes
(which are held in the maneaba(big grass hut with grass mats layering
the ground) right outside the chapel). The bishop teaches Sunday
school because he's fluent in english and he's able to read the
manuals, and those with callings teach the others. Then we split into
elders quorum and relief society. There are actually many faithful
members here. Sometimes it's tough because communication is so
limited, but the bishop and his counselors, many of the Elders quorum,
and many of the relief society women are very willing to sacrifice,
and have a strong faith in Christ.
I know that this church is true, and I know that the Lord is watching
over all of His children. I know that when we pray in faith and
sincerity, He will hear and answer us. I know that the spirit
testifies of truth, and that we need study the scriptures and the
words of the living prophet continually. I know that the commandments
will bless us. I hope you all have a great week, thanks for all the
good stories and experiences you've shared about your lives back home.
It's good to hear that everything is going good!

"when there's the faith and the good works, good things happen"

Hey! So kies are more prevalent in Kiribati than couches are in
America. As missionaries, whenever we talk to someone, they lay out a
kie for us to sit on if there's not already one set out. They also
sleep on them, and we sit on them while we eat. Right now we have some
what of a run-down girls' camp cabin, which is very nice. We've got a
water pump, which fills up the water tank, and the shower and toilet
work then, otherwise we shower and flush the toilet with a bucket of
water. The roads are dirt.
Actually, I suprisingly didn't even suffer from dry skin during my MTC
experience, but certainly not here, my hands are never dry because of
the humidity. The food is good, some of it upsets my stomach but I can
see that I'm getting used to it. Haha, actually, a lot of it does, but
I'm pretty strong against stomach pain, I kind of just lug myself up
on my bicycle and start pedalling. Bicycle riding is second nature by
now ;) I could probably ride all day haha. It's certainly a blessing
though. Kinds of food: chicken, fish, sometimes octopus, eel, and sea
turtle. Alway rice, sometimes bread, usually mai(breadfruit) plain,
boiled, or fried. And then sugar water. We can fish, if it's with an
investigator, or on a p-day, or if we absolutely need food, but I
haven't yet. Elder Curren loved to fish, when he was living with us
for Christmas he had like 300 dollars worth of fishing gear strewn all
over his dresser, along with whale bones and other random stuff haha.
But Elder Gilbert doesn't find it too interesting I guess.
That's cool all of the things you've noticed about jackson and jacob.
it's good to hear about all the good that's going on. I love a passage
in PMG: "Heaven is a continuation of the ideal home." I know that the
family and the home are both very important to God. Thanks for your
prayers and experiences. Thanks for your example and also your and
Dad's as parents. I've seen a lot of miracles throughout my mission
and I know that the Lord watches out for us and gives us what we need
as we pray to Him. Thanks again for your alls prayers. Something that
my MTC instructor said was something like: "when there's the faith and
the good works, good things happen" I know that we need to have faith,
and that faith is manifest also by our obedience. Something in gospel
principles goes like:"a farmer wouldn't plant a field if he didn't
believe he'd reap the harvest." I know it's the same with us. As we
read every day, and pray, and as we do service and follow the council
of the prophets, we're showing our faith in the words of Christ, and
we're showing that we believe that as we do those things we're going
to reap a harvest of eternal blessings. I know that God blesses us
throughout this life as we obey willingly. A verse I love is in 1
Nephi 3:6 "Therefore go, my son, and thou shalt be favored of the
Lord, because thou hast not murmured." I know it's important to
continually improve. Thanks for all you all do. Thanks for the
prayers. Have a good week, I love you all! - Elder Seffker

our churches are on good terms

Sooooooo..... this week has been pretty good. Not too much has
happened. I'm in Tabiteuea now though! I've been working here for
about 4 days now. Elders always talk about i-buuki (outer island)
life. And I'd always wondered how it could be that different. Being
here now, I can definitely see the differences. Outer island
missionary work is characterized by a ton more bicycle riding! A lot
more living space and schedule space, cause you don't live with any
other companionships nor do you have any plans with other
companionships... the laundry no longer does itself though, we have to
scrub it by hand ;) and the living conditions are a little bit more
third world. One of the main things that changed is our P-Days. We no
longer have any elder's to compete with for laundry, nor for bikes,
nor for computers, nor do we meet up with them to play sports, in
fact, we don't, because neither of us like sports ;) I already told
you, Elder Gilbert likes Rubik's cube, he's pretty fast. Maybe faster
than me, I'm not sure though... He also likes cards! This P-Day we're
working on his "kie" (grass mat).
A main other difference between tarawa and outer islands is that
people don't try to speak english here as often, and that's why it
help with learning the language, being on outer islands. Because you
have a lot more exposure to the language! I really like it! Any way,
we did have one pretty good experience recently: Me and Elder Gilbert
were teaching this investigator yesterday on Sunday. And during the
lesson her minister came and started doing a sort of ceremony with her
for church. Any way, after the minister was finished, he kind of just
turned to look at us, and my companion started talking to him, getting
to know him a little. He talked about how our churches are on good
terms because we both support the family, and about how we both
believe in Jesus. I was really impressed because by the time when left
there was no tension and we'd had a good talk. Any way, I know the
church is true, I know that when we're obedient we're blessed. I know
that it's important that we continually try to learn more and more
cause that's how the Lord teaches: line upon line, precept upon
precept. I know that it's important to read the scriptures every day,
and to pray often. I know that as we do, the Lord will teach us and
bless us with the things we need in order to be able to live as we
should.
Love y'all! Ti a bo! - Elder Seffker

"sleep of hell"

Hey! This week has been really fun and good!

Soo, the outer island is called Tabiteuea Meang(North). I'm headed down there with my new companion this Thursday, his name is Elder G(he does rubick's cube). Thanks! I think I'll have a great experience also!!!

Yeah that was a great chat that we all had! Nice to hear from you guys as well!!

Nice Sunday experience!

Thanks again for all you do and Dad and for both of yours example!!

Soooo, these past few weeks have been really fun! We've had 7 missionaries cramped in our tiny little house. We've got two beds, and then the rest of the missionaries sleep on the floor, on their kie (/kee-ay/). My old companion Elder H let me borrow his. I've been on the floor for three nights now. So, Elder H new companion, ELder D, arrived about 10 days ago, so I've been working with Elder C a lot recently. Haha, Elder C is awesome! He has two names: D C. No middle name. A couple nights ago he brought home a dog we found on the side of the road, gutted it, cooked it, and ate it. Enough said. Haha, any way, he's taught me a lot. I had somewhat of a quantum leap with the language working with him... A little backstory: when a new missionary is invited to share a scripture, or recite a string of words he already knows, it does very little for that missionaries language development. While I was working with Elder C, he made me teach entire lessons, and tract houses. I've had a lot of good experiences teaching, it's been really good. There are some really great people in Kiribati, and everyone is so friendly. We've had ton of conferences and meetings recently for the mission tour. President H spoke to us, he's the region president. The next day we got to eat dinner at the President of Kiribati's house. It was way fun! And delicious. They had tons of way good food and drinks, and they had cooked a pig on a platter just like you see on medieval movies. Last night we had a devtion with president H again. He's really great, He really stressed just how much is on the line, how important the gospel is. About how we, as missionaries need to go home and be faithful and do everything we are inviting people to do now. Even when trials come. About how our days are limited and we need to take opportunities to repent and change. I really liked his thoughts. I know that it's totally true. If we see that there is a change that needs to be made, something that is distancing us from God, there's no reason to wait. Satan knows that, and one of his temptations is procrastination. I know that NOW is the time to choose to be obedient, and the time to be courageous and bold for righteousness. I know that it truly is a "sleep of hell" to ignore the impact of our choices on our eternal welfare. I know we need to wake up, and deny ourselves of "all ungodliness". President H said "God does not forget his faithful servants" and I know that's true. If we put our trust and desire in Him, He will help us gain eternal life.

Thanks again! Ti a bo! - ELder Seffker

p.s. the pronunciation is going really well now!!! thanks for all of yours prayers, I've seen tons of blessings and miracles!

PS-it's crazy how my mission experience has lined up with a lot of details with my life. Like the live off the wilderness thing, learning a language, learning how to make tons of stuff (like I like to do) like hammocks/grass mats/etc. (haven't actually learned yet, but I'm going to in the near future). The architecture(tent houses) like how I wanted to build one. There's just tons of convenient things here that have evolved through the use of innovative/inventive/ people ha!

Have a good week! Love ya! - Elder Seffker

bring you greater happiness

This week was really good! So we ate dinner at the house of our area's old branch president, His name is T. And the food wasn't ready yet, so we kind of just talked for probably 30 minutes about the Kiribati language, because he's pretty good at english and is still learning. He's super awesome, cause a lot of the people here don't have a ton of ambition. Here in Tarawa, it's a little better, because kids from all over including outer islands come to tarawa to attend Moroni High school, which is an lds school. And at Moroni they are immersed in the English language. All of the teachers have to speak it during every lesson, except for kiribati lessons. Yeah it's kind of funny. The national language here is english... and yet everyone speaks Kiribati and very few know very limited english. I think it's because the government wants the people here to be able to have more options. Like I said, sometimes ambition is scarce, especially on the outer islands, because for most people, the purpose of their life is to collect coconuts every day, sell them for rice, catch fish, and pick breadfruit... You can totally live off the land here. But yeah, me and T talked about Kiribati, it was soooo amazing because I had so many questions about Kiribati pronounciation, and he totally helped me!! And now I feel like I have a better grip on the pronounciation. He also had a lot of questions about english, it's pretty amazing how well he knows english, because for me having learned a different language, I realize how hard english is. Any way, I totally told him thanks and that I'd ask him if I had any more questions. And I also told him to ask me if he had any more questions. I'll try to get some pictures sent soon, but we had a baptism on saturday. It was really great. I'm really working hard to study, I feel like I've developed a greater interest for the pioneer stories. Hahaha, ughhh it's crazy how as I grow up, all the seeds that you, mom and dad, have sown into my childhood begin to sprout and to grow haha. No really though, the pioneers and the people who lived during the time of Joseph Smith are such an example to me! I know that we have to be like the pioneers, we have to stand in holy places and be not moved. I heard a talk recently, something like: "What you do, where you are, and what you see will shape who you become" I love the faith the pioneers had in gathering together as Saints. They truly treasured things of God and not of the world. They understood the importance of service! Siblings: I feel like I didn't understand this most of my childhood, but it's a commandment to serve others. And like all commandments it's going to bring you greater happiness. I feel like the key to living a life worth looking back on others, or worth sharing with others, is to live for others, through service. The principles of the gospel help us to stop worshiping ourselves and to turn to God(Bednar said that I think in an MTC address). Any way, I feel like the pioneers really knew that. They were so industrious and serviceful. They sacrificed so much. I love their example and want to become a modern day pioneer!! Thanks for all your support and examples!! Truly!! Also, it's kind of funny. There was a missionary that served here named Elder S that the missionaries talk about. They say "he knew more words than native Kiribati people", I asked how, they said "he was never content". Haha, they actually wondered if I was related to him when I first got here, because apparently we look alike. But I found out that he is the actor on the mormon message: "Thanks for drinking all the juice!" Hahaha, he's that guy!! Haha, so apparently that was his joke, cause the missionaries drink a lot of juice here ;) Any way, have a good week all! Ti a bo!! I love you all!

- Elder Seffker

peace just to look at the ocean

Sooooo, Kiribati is great. Hahaha, there was once a time on our way to california where we were all packed in the van, and it was "so hot" that I my arm had beads of sweat building up, but yeah, that's basically how it always is here. I've tried some pretty good foods here. Hmmm, te kika(octopus) the skin is very strong and kind of gross but the inside is alright and kind of chewy. Eel tastes like fish, except for the skin which is slimy fat and full of bones, some people like it though.. If you've ever heard of bread fruit they eat it a ton here!! It's almost similar to a potato, in fact they cook it in chips often and it's delicious. There's also a super delicious drink here called kereve, once at Hilary's house we tried some some coconut water I think it was called and it was delicious, well that's basically what kereve is. They drain the sap from coconut trees all day and then mix it with water and sometime sugar. Very Refreshing! Also, they're in a drought right now so most of the rain water is used up. Instead they get water from wells which is very germ filled until you boil it. But it's still kind of gross apparently so they mix sugar and sometime concentrated fruit juice with it. It's pretty good! Pure water is pretty scarce here. The living conditions here are pretty wild. Every one just lives in a bouia mostly, which is pretty much a tent. In fact the living conditions here are pretty similar to camping. For us it's like trailor camping, because we have a shower and bed to come home to each night.  most music is becoming modernized, same as Kiribati. Lots of techno just to Kiribati lyrics, I think they even translate some song into the language! But, we actually got to participate in a culture dance thing, no instruments, just pretty much everyone screaming doing a dance in unison, with a very energetic leader. It's somewhat like a fight/war sort of dance I suppose. Very Powerful!! Literally, it's so crazy to be right in the middle with so much people just kinda screaming words in unison. Very cultural. As far as bugs, it's with much blessing that there are apparently no poisonous animals  or bugs on the island, that I've heard of... There are poisonous fish, but the people know not to eat them, or to feed them to us. I found a cockaroach in my closet the other day. Also we found a lizard in our house, but those are everywhere any way. Just tiny little lizards that eat flies. Hmm, I've seen a crab a few times. Dogs roam free. Pigs are just as prevalent as dogs, but they often tied up, one leg to a tree. It's kinda sad, but yeah they're tied up one legged pretty much 95% of all pigs, and then people kinda just put their garbage around the pig and it eats it. And then when it gets old, they eat it. So yeah, the circle of life for pigs in Kiribati, not to bright but oh well. There's also chickens all over, not tied up, but we have chicken for dinner at people's houses all the time so... Any way, yeah it's nice, we get feed by members almost every night, so it's nice to be able to experience the culture that way. Our house is right by the ocean, it actually brings me a lot of peace just to look at the ocean cause it seems so vast when there's so much water between here and home, but it's such an awesome creation of Heavenly Father's. I know that we need to work hard in this life. That we need to sit down and really determine what our choice is going to be. Whether we're willing to defend the truth even with our life, whether we're going to deny ourselves of ALL ungodliness, or at least be working toward doing so. I know that the reward is sooo much greater than we can even imagine!! His plan is truly a plan of mercy, and as good as even the telestial kingdom is, God truly has prepared a way that we can inherit celestial glory! I know that we truly have to remember what matters... There's going to be a lot of good enticing things in this world, but that we have to be converted to Christ, and nothing else. I'm so grateful for all of your support!! Thanks for the family update! I love you all! - ELder Seffker