September 29, 2013 Letter
[This week's entry is parts of three little letters that will make sense as you read]
Letter 1:
As far as growth goes, as a Kiribati woman would say, "Sah!" Which means a lot of things,
depending how you use it, but in this case means, "you have no idea." Here's the story from Fanning,
condensed as much as I can for time's sake. Basically, we planned on arriving on Fanning Sunday,
starting our teaching on Monday, and having the people ready for baptism by Saturday. (Ya, it's
fast, but I'll explain why it's ok later.) True to Kiribati form, however, our boat didn't leave until Tuesday, so we
didn't arrive until Thursday. So we ended up teaching like mad, and the plan was to baptize on Monday
morning, and let the branch there confirm the following Sunday. We did that, baptized five people, with
two more who will be baptized by their son once their marriage papers go through. And the
power is about to go out, so I'll send this, and try to type the rest afterward.
Letter 2:
Hallelujah! Just when it looked like I wasn't going to be able to email, the day was saved. If I don't get to email
everybody else, tell them I love them, and I pray for each of you individually every single night. I'll send this to
make sure it gets through, then try to finish the story of Fanning.
Letter 3:
All right. Anyway, Fanning. So we're teaching like crazy, right? Loads of lessons every day, teaching all of those people,
recent converts from last time, and then some new people that wanted lessons. It was crazy. Our baptisms happened
on Monday, according to plan. I was skeptical when Elder Sias told me that we'd be baptizing people after
a week, but these people were prepared. One had stopped "Manging" (drinking alcohol), smoking, and drinking tea in the
last couple months since last time, another was translating a passage from the Doctrine and Covenants into Kiribati
when we arrived for our first lesson, and another was teaching the equivalent of Kiribati release-time seminary,
before he was baptized.
They're all awesome. So it was a good baptism. We found out, however, that we weren't going to
be able to get on the boat for the first trip, and we'd have to wait until Friday. (That turned into Sunday after church.)
At this point, I was really sick. I'd be going along, totally fine, and then all of a sudden have a sharp pain in my gut that
would stay for a couple minutes, then fade away. There were lessons where I would stop talking in the middle of a
sentence and give it back to Elder Sias because it hurt too bad. So to find out that we'd be staying almost a whole week
more? Not my idea of a good time. I had already been super discouraged, and that was kind of the last straw for me. I was pretty
beat down. So I asked for a blessing. Holy crud, blessings are amazing. That blessing helped raise my spirits a lot, and
though I was still sick the rest of the trip, my spirit was lifted.
Anyway, we hadn't had a rest day in a few weeks, so the next day, to raise our spirits, we made spears out of coconut
sticks (such good sticks! Way straight, perfect length, SO awesome) and went crab hunting! We got dang good at
it too. I got to the point where I could hit a 6 inch crab from 15 feet away. Problem is, crabs are tough, and
their backs don't get pierced by wooden tips, so we'd end up either knocking a claw off, that kills them, or
getting in an intense battle where we'd try to flip them over with our spears and stab them in the
mouth, the weak spot in their armour. There was one that was no joke at least a foot wide, and Elder Sias and
I teamed up on him. The final count was Sias 13, Marks 8. But I'll be back in November, and I've got
it down now. :) I've got pics, I'll try to send them home... When I can send pics home...
Anyway, the boat back from Fanning was ridiculous. It's about a 100 ft vessel, real small boat, and we sailed
into a storm. I was going to try to make it without motion sickness pills, just like I had in the calmer seas on our
first trip. I wanted to test my seafaring stomach. I was going to try, and if I got really sick, I'd take a pill. Sias
got out the pills for himself and Elder Anderson, our Senior Elder who came with us, and it turned out there were
only two pills left. So, being the hard-bitten sailor I am, I went without the pills. Like I said, we sailed into the
storm, and about 20 Kiribati people, who were all popping motion sickness pills, threw up along the way. We were all
under a tarp in about 60'X20' of space, and it smelled TERRIBLE. There was one kid who threw up right next to me. But as
for this sailor? Got a bit queasy in the bad parts, but never rightly seasick. That's right, ye scurvy landlubbers! :)
So we got back, all in terrible shape, and there was our mission president waiting on the dock. President Weir is awesome!
Got to talk to him about establishing the church (I'll tell you more about establishing a district next week, don't let me
forget!) Definitely glad to be working under him. Right after we got back, Elder Sias got transferred to Tarawa to be a
Zone Leader. I got a new comp, Elder Puleiku, who's a tongan from South Auckland, and is way cool. But I'm going to be
getting ANOTHER companion next Wednesday, an Elder Wells, who goes home in February. From the sounds of him,
he should be good. I've been sick for the last week, had a cold that I haven't been able to shake.
What's the drug that I'm allergic to?
It's been pretty rough, I've just had to stay home all the time and sleep, and when I've tried to work... It's been bad.
I think I'm on the mend now, but it's just taking a while. I think the problem is the diet here. Pretty much just carbs
and protein. So I'm taking those multivitamins, getting priesthood blessings, and praying! But ya, they want to give
me Amoxicillin. Is that what I'm allergic to?
Wow, I'm amazed I got that much off. I'll send this now, if you could show it to the fam that would be awesome,
and I'll do my best to get to their letters too, but this could die any second, so sorry if it does. Anyway, I love you
all, you're in my prayers, best of luck with everything!
Love,
Elder Marks
Letter 1:
As far as growth goes, as a Kiribati woman would say, "Sah!" Which means a lot of things,
depending how you use it, but in this case means, "you have no idea." Here's the story from Fanning,
condensed as much as I can for time's sake. Basically, we planned on arriving on Fanning Sunday,
starting our teaching on Monday, and having the people ready for baptism by Saturday. (Ya, it's
fast, but I'll explain why it's ok later.) True to Kiribati form, however, our boat didn't leave until Tuesday, so we
didn't arrive until Thursday. So we ended up teaching like mad, and the plan was to baptize on Monday
morning, and let the branch there confirm the following Sunday. We did that, baptized five people, with
two more who will be baptized by their son once their marriage papers go through. And the
power is about to go out, so I'll send this, and try to type the rest afterward.
Letter 2:
Hallelujah! Just when it looked like I wasn't going to be able to email, the day was saved. If I don't get to email
everybody else, tell them I love them, and I pray for each of you individually every single night. I'll send this to
make sure it gets through, then try to finish the story of Fanning.
Letter 3:
All right. Anyway, Fanning. So we're teaching like crazy, right? Loads of lessons every day, teaching all of those people,
recent converts from last time, and then some new people that wanted lessons. It was crazy. Our baptisms happened
on Monday, according to plan. I was skeptical when Elder Sias told me that we'd be baptizing people after
a week, but these people were prepared. One had stopped "Manging" (drinking alcohol), smoking, and drinking tea in the
last couple months since last time, another was translating a passage from the Doctrine and Covenants into Kiribati
when we arrived for our first lesson, and another was teaching the equivalent of Kiribati release-time seminary,
before he was baptized.
They're all awesome. So it was a good baptism. We found out, however, that we weren't going to
be able to get on the boat for the first trip, and we'd have to wait until Friday. (That turned into Sunday after church.)
At this point, I was really sick. I'd be going along, totally fine, and then all of a sudden have a sharp pain in my gut that
would stay for a couple minutes, then fade away. There were lessons where I would stop talking in the middle of a
sentence and give it back to Elder Sias because it hurt too bad. So to find out that we'd be staying almost a whole week
more? Not my idea of a good time. I had already been super discouraged, and that was kind of the last straw for me. I was pretty
beat down. So I asked for a blessing. Holy crud, blessings are amazing. That blessing helped raise my spirits a lot, and
though I was still sick the rest of the trip, my spirit was lifted.
Anyway, we hadn't had a rest day in a few weeks, so the next day, to raise our spirits, we made spears out of coconut
sticks (such good sticks! Way straight, perfect length, SO awesome) and went crab hunting! We got dang good at
it too. I got to the point where I could hit a 6 inch crab from 15 feet away. Problem is, crabs are tough, and
their backs don't get pierced by wooden tips, so we'd end up either knocking a claw off, that kills them, or
getting in an intense battle where we'd try to flip them over with our spears and stab them in the
mouth, the weak spot in their armour. There was one that was no joke at least a foot wide, and Elder Sias and
I teamed up on him. The final count was Sias 13, Marks 8. But I'll be back in November, and I've got
it down now. :) I've got pics, I'll try to send them home... When I can send pics home...
Anyway, the boat back from Fanning was ridiculous. It's about a 100 ft vessel, real small boat, and we sailed
into a storm. I was going to try to make it without motion sickness pills, just like I had in the calmer seas on our
first trip. I wanted to test my seafaring stomach. I was going to try, and if I got really sick, I'd take a pill. Sias
got out the pills for himself and Elder Anderson, our Senior Elder who came with us, and it turned out there were
only two pills left. So, being the hard-bitten sailor I am, I went without the pills. Like I said, we sailed into the
storm, and about 20 Kiribati people, who were all popping motion sickness pills, threw up along the way. We were all
under a tarp in about 60'X20' of space, and it smelled TERRIBLE. There was one kid who threw up right next to me. But as
for this sailor? Got a bit queasy in the bad parts, but never rightly seasick. That's right, ye scurvy landlubbers! :)
So we got back, all in terrible shape, and there was our mission president waiting on the dock. President Weir is awesome!
Got to talk to him about establishing the church (I'll tell you more about establishing a district next week, don't let me
forget!) Definitely glad to be working under him. Right after we got back, Elder Sias got transferred to Tarawa to be a
Zone Leader. I got a new comp, Elder Puleiku, who's a tongan from South Auckland, and is way cool. But I'm going to be
getting ANOTHER companion next Wednesday, an Elder Wells, who goes home in February. From the sounds of him,
he should be good. I've been sick for the last week, had a cold that I haven't been able to shake.
What's the drug that I'm allergic to?
It's been pretty rough, I've just had to stay home all the time and sleep, and when I've tried to work... It's been bad.
I think I'm on the mend now, but it's just taking a while. I think the problem is the diet here. Pretty much just carbs
and protein. So I'm taking those multivitamins, getting priesthood blessings, and praying! But ya, they want to give
me Amoxicillin. Is that what I'm allergic to?
Wow, I'm amazed I got that much off. I'll send this now, if you could show it to the fam that would be awesome,
and I'll do my best to get to their letters too, but this could die any second, so sorry if it does. Anyway, I love you
all, you're in my prayers, best of luck with everything!
Love,
Elder Marks
September 17, 2013 Letter
[Spencer has been gone for two weeks on Fanning Island. He hasn't had a preparation day since returning home, so he just sent a quick e-mail to let us know he's back on Kiritimati Island safe after his boat trip to Fanning. Here are a couple excerpts. I had written him about how my mission in Paris was so different, yet so similar to what he's experiencing.]
Dad,
I was actually thinking about how different our missions are today
too! And funny, I came to the same conclusion. I realized walking
down a dirt trail in Banana that no matter where I'd been called to
serve, the essence of the mission would have been the same. The language
would have been different, the environment different, but at the end of the
day, the things that make a mission a mission would have been totally the
same. Still teaching the gospel, still helping people, inviting them to come
to Christ. It's a great thing.
Funny that you'd ask about my mission president, because he's actually
been here for almost a week! But I just met him today. Had my first
zone conference since the one I had in Fiji, and it was AWESOME. I had
a get-to-know-you interview with him earlier today, but after the zone
conference, I wanted to have one more focused on the work, so I told
him I had some more questions, and he said we could have another
interview tonight. We're building the church here. Elder Sias basically
built Banana Branch from nothing, and my job now is to get
this island set up for a district and eventually a stake. We're
working on setting up a district right now. It's exciting!
As far as my trip, I don't have a ton of time right now, I'll
definitely type more on p-day. And I have some way cool
stories. For now, you should know I got pretty terribly sick, but kept
working, I'm healthy now, and I'm shopping around for a smaller belt. I've
grown a lot as a missionary and as a person, and it was a miserable trip,
but I loved it, and I can't wait to go back in November! :)
So sorry for that teaser, but it's a crazy day (my comp is getting transferred
tomorrow! :( And we got back today, so there's a lot that needs to get
done.) I'm going to try to shoot off quick emails to the rest of the
family! Until Monday, best of luck with everything, I love you lots!
Love,
Elder Marks
Dad,
I was actually thinking about how different our missions are today
too! And funny, I came to the same conclusion. I realized walking
down a dirt trail in Banana that no matter where I'd been called to
serve, the essence of the mission would have been the same. The language
would have been different, the environment different, but at the end of the
day, the things that make a mission a mission would have been totally the
same. Still teaching the gospel, still helping people, inviting them to come
to Christ. It's a great thing.
Funny that you'd ask about my mission president, because he's actually
been here for almost a week! But I just met him today. Had my first
zone conference since the one I had in Fiji, and it was AWESOME. I had
a get-to-know-you interview with him earlier today, but after the zone
conference, I wanted to have one more focused on the work, so I told
him I had some more questions, and he said we could have another
interview tonight. We're building the church here. Elder Sias basically
built Banana Branch from nothing, and my job now is to get
this island set up for a district and eventually a stake. We're
working on setting up a district right now. It's exciting!
As far as my trip, I don't have a ton of time right now, I'll
definitely type more on p-day. And I have some way cool
stories. For now, you should know I got pretty terribly sick, but kept
working, I'm healthy now, and I'm shopping around for a smaller belt. I've
grown a lot as a missionary and as a person, and it was a miserable trip,
but I loved it, and I can't wait to go back in November! :)
So sorry for that teaser, but it's a crazy day (my comp is getting transferred
tomorrow! :( And we got back today, so there's a lot that needs to get
done.) I'm going to try to shoot off quick emails to the rest of the
family! Until Monday, best of luck with everything, I love you lots!
Love,
Elder Marks
September 1, 2013 Letter
[Here's an excerpt from his letter to Greg. This gives you an idea of how Spencer gives loving counsel to
his younger brothers. Does anybody else notice the difference in tone?]
So get this. I'm about to be on a boat, about 100 to 120 ft long.
Like, classic size for a small frigate that runs loops around British
Men of War. We're heading out tonight, sailing the high seas! You and
Justin should totally save up your money so we can buy one when I get
home. :)
As far as what I'm doing... Whelp, I'm a missionary. It's pretty much
the same day in and day out. We teach a ton of lessons, except this
week because of freaking spanish fishing boats (could you send a
torpedo in the next care package?) and a church bootaki (Kiribati
party, and when they party, it's a serious shindig) that took all day
and stole all of our progressing investigators. So... Been a bit of a
rough week, but we're making progress with some people. And we're
about to go to Fanning Island, where we'll be teaching 9 or 10 lessons
every day. The boat was late (hence I'm emailing) so we're going to be
cutting down from 6 days to 4 days of teaching, so it's going to be
CRAMMED. And psycho. And on Monday, after we're done with it all,
we're going to make spears and go crab hunting, which I'm excited for.
(They're the creepiest creatures on the planet, I'll feel much better
after I've killed a few, have some notches in my spear.) I'm still
trying to figure out how to send home pictures, because it's beautiful
here, and I want to show y'all how I'm living!
READ YOUR FREAKING BOOK OF MORMON EVERY DAY!!!
Like, not the "it's ok if you read even just one
verse before you sleep, it's the thought that..." NO!!! YOU'RE DUMB!
(That's directed at whoever said that.) Actually read, actually study,
I've already seen it make a difference in people's lives. So do it.
[Here's the letter for everybody.]
Dear Friends and Family:
Missionary work is awesome! Here's what's going on with the work.
We have one guy named Kairoo (pronounced Cairo.) He was a referral,
and when we walked up to him, he told us that he didn't believe in
God. He told us that he was his god, he got his fish, he built his
house, he got his coconuts, and there was no god that helped him. He
said that his wife asked him where he went after this life, and he
said that it was just over. So we started there. We taught him the
Plan of Salvation, he felt the spirit of the message, and was almost
instantly converted. He used to be a well-known drunkard, he hasn't
touched the stuff in weeks. He's quit tea, almost quit smoking, and
has a goal for quitting that he's beating right now. He prays morning
and night, which he started after our first meeting. He's an amazing
investigator.
The other one I want to talk about is Tirewa (pronounced See ray wah).
She's reading the Book of Mormon, she's prayed about it, and she's
gained a testimony of Joseph Smith. Her problem is that her father in
law is a strong catholic who won't let his son take lessons and won't
let them go to church. Our hope is that as she and her husband improve
their lives, get married, he quits drinking and smoking, that the
father will see that the church is a good influence in their lives.
We're praying for his heart to be softened.
We have 13 progressing investigators right now, more than we can teach
in a day, and more than I have time to talk about right now, but those
are two. I love the work, I love the people, and I love the Lord! I
also hitchhike home every night, and last night rode home on the back
of a pickup truck full of coconuts. Ya, Kiribati is awesome too. :)
Elder Marks
[Here's an excerpt from his letter to me.]
I've gained so much more of a testimony of that book [the Book of Mormon] since being here.
I've seen it make big differences in people's lives already. And you can tell people
that. Tell the [seminary] kids that the whole idea of reading a verse just to say
that they did is better than nothing, but not much, and that it will
make a serious difference in their lives if they actually study. Even
if they don't learn anything new, it invites the spirit into their
lives. That's been one interesting thing about the mission, I've
noticed that when we keep some commandments, we get an added measure
of the Spirit, and the rest become easier. I guess you could say that
to those who have light, more light is added upon them. Nothing like
seeing scripture vindicated before your eyes. :)
[
his younger brothers. Does anybody else notice the difference in tone?]
So get this. I'm about to be on a boat, about 100 to 120 ft long.
Like, classic size for a small frigate that runs loops around British
Men of War. We're heading out tonight, sailing the high seas! You and
Justin should totally save up your money so we can buy one when I get
home. :)
As far as what I'm doing... Whelp, I'm a missionary. It's pretty much
the same day in and day out. We teach a ton of lessons, except this
week because of freaking spanish fishing boats (could you send a
torpedo in the next care package?) and a church bootaki (Kiribati
party, and when they party, it's a serious shindig) that took all day
and stole all of our progressing investigators. So... Been a bit of a
rough week, but we're making progress with some people. And we're
about to go to Fanning Island, where we'll be teaching 9 or 10 lessons
every day. The boat was late (hence I'm emailing) so we're going to be
cutting down from 6 days to 4 days of teaching, so it's going to be
CRAMMED. And psycho. And on Monday, after we're done with it all,
we're going to make spears and go crab hunting, which I'm excited for.
(They're the creepiest creatures on the planet, I'll feel much better
after I've killed a few, have some notches in my spear.) I'm still
trying to figure out how to send home pictures, because it's beautiful
here, and I want to show y'all how I'm living!
READ YOUR FREAKING BOOK OF MORMON EVERY DAY!!!
Like, not the "it's ok if you read even just one
verse before you sleep, it's the thought that..." NO!!! YOU'RE DUMB!
(That's directed at whoever said that.) Actually read, actually study,
I've already seen it make a difference in people's lives. So do it.
[Here's the letter for everybody.]
Dear Friends and Family:
Missionary work is awesome! Here's what's going on with the work.
We have one guy named Kairoo (pronounced Cairo.) He was a referral,
and when we walked up to him, he told us that he didn't believe in
God. He told us that he was his god, he got his fish, he built his
house, he got his coconuts, and there was no god that helped him. He
said that his wife asked him where he went after this life, and he
said that it was just over. So we started there. We taught him the
Plan of Salvation, he felt the spirit of the message, and was almost
instantly converted. He used to be a well-known drunkard, he hasn't
touched the stuff in weeks. He's quit tea, almost quit smoking, and
has a goal for quitting that he's beating right now. He prays morning
and night, which he started after our first meeting. He's an amazing
investigator.
The other one I want to talk about is Tirewa (pronounced See ray wah).
She's reading the Book of Mormon, she's prayed about it, and she's
gained a testimony of Joseph Smith. Her problem is that her father in
law is a strong catholic who won't let his son take lessons and won't
let them go to church. Our hope is that as she and her husband improve
their lives, get married, he quits drinking and smoking, that the
father will see that the church is a good influence in their lives.
We're praying for his heart to be softened.
We have 13 progressing investigators right now, more than we can teach
in a day, and more than I have time to talk about right now, but those
are two. I love the work, I love the people, and I love the Lord! I
also hitchhike home every night, and last night rode home on the back
of a pickup truck full of coconuts. Ya, Kiribati is awesome too. :)
Elder Marks
[Here's an excerpt from his letter to me.]
I've gained so much more of a testimony of that book [the Book of Mormon] since being here.
I've seen it make big differences in people's lives already. And you can tell people
that. Tell the [seminary] kids that the whole idea of reading a verse just to say
that they did is better than nothing, but not much, and that it will
make a serious difference in their lives if they actually study. Even
if they don't learn anything new, it invites the spirit into their
lives. That's been one interesting thing about the mission, I've
noticed that when we keep some commandments, we get an added measure
of the Spirit, and the rest become easier. I guess you could say that
to those who have light, more light is added upon them. Nothing like
seeing scripture vindicated before your eyes. :)
[