Miracles for Days

Iokwe!

So, I've definitely spent the majority of my mission so far apologizing for not writing as much as I should. Well, no more! From now on you should get weekly updates from me without gaps of silence for ages. Definitely my bad and I'm making it a new goal to use the entire email time I am allotted and to plan time ahead to make sure I can send a general email and also start responding to the piles of emails you all send.

That being said, I definitely ran out of time this week because of all of the catching up. So, brief updates:

I fractured the index and middle fingers on my left hand. Probably jammed the two knuckles on both fingers too. First time I've ever fractured any bones that I know of. Kind of obnoxious. Especially when the little kids decide to pull on them because I have climbing tape wrapped around them. *rolls eyes*  The story is lame, so we'll just pretend it was a bear attack.

Elder Kilmer on the far right.  His new companion Elder Tetea is on the far left.

My new companion is Elder Tetea! He's from Christmas Island, Kiribati (remember Elder Miller, my MTC companion who was learning Kiribati? Elder Tetea knows him from Kiribati; apparently they met?). He's awesome. However, he's been serving English-speaking this entire time and knows very little Marshallese due to that.

Which leads me into the only miracle that I have time for (but trust that we have had many): I so far have done the majority of the talking when we go to see people, since Elder Tetea can't really contribute yet. Which is a bit of an issue since I can't really understand people, remember? Well, apparently I have been extremely blessed because I've managed to teach a couple lessons almost single-handedly now. One particular lesson, I didn't even get to start before this guy started asking us questions about a particular belief we have (on the Priesthood [side note: this guy really knows the Bible; I was so impressed that I was able to bring up the Levites, Moses, and Aaron and he knew what I was talking about]). He brought up a particular story from the Bible and asked a question on it in relation to what I had talked about. I was hesitant to venture a guess on the topic (I was a little unsure of the answer), especially in a language that I am not too familiar with, since it may be misunderstood, but as I thought for a second, I felt the Spirit impress upon me the answer. I felt understanding come in a way that I can't really describe, but that I recognized and felt was true. I shared my newfound answer with him and was pleased to hear Elder Sitati of the Seventy (a leader in our church) answer the very same question (same story from the Bible mentioned and everything) in the exact same way yesterday (he's been visiting our mission). What a blessing to hear that confirmed for me.

Alright, totally out of time. We're super happy out here and loving life. I love being a missionary. Talk to you all later!

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking


不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit
www.mormon.org