Letter 9/20/2010

Spencer sent a letter a couple of weeks ago telling about his first weeks in Kiribati and the journey there. He started with thier time n Hawaii. When they got to Hawaii. they stayed with some Elders there. Spencer went with one set of Elders to the Bishops house for dinner and then they went to visit a familyin a place called the KTP. They said it is basically the ghetto of Honalulu and there are no white people there, everyone is Polynesian or Micronesian. The only white peopl allowed to go there are the missionaries. As they went in and waited for the family to gather he saw mice running across the floor and said it was very humbling. The family was from Chook in Micronesia so he couldn't understand anything they said. One of the Elders was from Chook so he taught them and Spencer said it was a really cool experience. They left for Fiji the next day at noon. They on Air Pacific, they call themselves the world's friendliest airline and Spencer said it was true. They got a hot meal, drinks and a sandwich later. They stopped on Christmas Island, the airport was only two tiny buildings, then flew on to Fiji. They stayed the night there and left early the next morning for Tarawa. There was a Senior missionary on the flight with him on his way to Tarawa to do missionary work. The airport there was not much bigger than the one on Christmas Island. The Zone Leaders weren't at the airport so they went with the senior missionary to Moroni, the church school where the senior missionaries stay, until the zone leaders got there. They took them back to there flat and a kid brought them some coconuts so they got to drink their first coconuts. He said it was okay. They had lunch with the Phipens, they ate little meatloaves that tasted a lot like Grandma Norton's meatballs so he really liked that. Then they talked with President and Sister Shaw on the computers. The Elders said they might be able to do that on Christmas instead of calling. They went on splits with the ZL's and then met there trainers. They had dinner with a lady they call aunty Fahteli. She teaches at Moroni and spoke english really well. She had a lot of food and it was all good. The next day they had an orientaion with the Zone Leaders. They took them to Batio, the "big city" of Tarawa. The area was just divided so they are in the west half. He shares a flat with his companion and two other missionaries. It is one of the nicer flats in the mission but there is no running water. Their drinking water is rainwater that they filter, for everything else they go out to the well, showers are a bucket and a little cup. He said he hasn't had a problem with any of the conditions there but it does make him appreciate all of the things we take for granted at home. They have a drink called kaevethatthey get from coconut trees that he said is really gross but it is important to their culture so everyone gives it to them. He always drinks it even though he doesnt like it since it is so important to them. He says the people are very kind, welcoming, and patient when he doesn;t understand. He talked about his first baptism, Kakai, and even though he messed up and felt really bad her mom was the first one to come up to him and tell him thank you. He told an experience that they had with some girls they are teaching that had a hard time coming to church. One week these 4 girls said they would come to church and didn't come. The next sunday the Elder's came to their house to walk with them. They were all ready to go but on the way to church one of the girls disappeared because she felt like her clothes were not good enough. But the other 3 came as well as Atuti so they had a really good day. It sounds like he is doing really well and enjoying his mission so far.