Sunday, January 10, 2016

January 3rd, 2016: New House, New Companion, New Area

Everything was super new and super cool. My new companion is awesome! His name is Elder Hurst and he is from Layton, Utah and we are actually really similar. We have similar personalities and we really do get along very well. Right now just because we have only been together for a week we are still working out getting our lessons down and really smooth but we have done really solid work and we've had a couple really good lessons already.

So when I came in he had only been in Kitti (Kichi) for 2 weeks before me. So really we've been learning about the area together and we've been finding a lot of good investigators. The missionaries, I won't say who, didn't really work the area to its potential and when we came in they had 4 investigators and 2 referrals. So I left an area that was doing really good and had 5 people on date for baptism the next week to "white-wash" an area. It was hard to leave all of the people that I got to know and love but I can already tell that this new area has so much potential and I know we are going to do great work here. I have a feeling that within 2 weeks we will have quite a few people that will be working towards baptism. I am so excited for this new area. I know it has a lot of potential.

So my new house is actually a lot better than our old house. It is still the 2nd worst on the island but I like it more. It has actual concrete walls and has A/C in the bedroom which we take full advantage of. It also has windows which really are fantastic and keep everything in and noise out. Our last house had plywood and 2x4 for the walls so concrete is a big upgrade. The only thing that is bad about this house is the water. The water pressure is really sketchy and we have to walk down our hill to have someone turn it on for us. Besides that though I love my new house and love the area. The Kitti accent has been interesting to adjust to but for the most part I have gotten used to it. I have really gotten to know most of the members already because there are only 50 people in our branch. I love all the people that I've met so far.

My companion and I really do get along really well. The only thing that has even been a challenge for us is our lessons aren't as smooth as we want them. That's to be expected with missionaries that have never taught together but we have learned fast. He trained 2 Elders before I became his companion and both of them were really, really quiet so he pretty much taught most of the lesson because his companions were so quiet and didn't know the language very well. I have 1 more thing on my mastery and it has been plaguing me for the past couple weeks. I have to memorize all of the "How to begin teaching" bullet points in Pohnpeian and it is really complicated and hard to memorize. But I know that I will get it this week. It's really cool to get to know the locals and be able to talk to them in their own language. Instead of having someone translate for me now I am the translator for some people which is really cool. I have really learned that the more work you put into an area the more success you will have. I really have come to love missionary work and it seems like time is flying by way to fast. It's crazy to think that I will be on Pohnpei for 3 months soon when it seems like I've been here for a week. I have learned so much in such a small amount of time. I love the people here and I love the missionaries here. Elder Hurst and I had a really deep doctrine talk the other night and it was really, really cool to have a super deep talk with someone about super deep things. I love talks like that. I really have come to understand so much on my mission and not just understand things on a mental level but more importantly on a spiritual level. I feel Gods love and I know that His hand is directly involved in this work every day. I'm so glad for all the experiences that I will have on my mission. I hope all is well in snowy Utah! God be with you 'til we meet again.
-Elder Hanson

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