Letter from Elder Meyer: No Kiss when Married a hug instead (Q3). Question 15 is one of my favorite.

Hello Everyone. 

It was great to hear from you. I Love getting your letters. I think that I will send home some pictures and audio this week. 

Dad

There is a really good chapter in the Book of Mormon about Charity. It is in Moroni 7. I really like that chapter. That is really cool that so many youth finished the book. I bet the party and the play war was a lot of fun.

Question 1: When there was that fire on the island, did anyone lose a home? 

Answer: No one lost a home, as far as i know. I know it was very close to a couple people’s home. 

Question 2: How many lessons did you get to teach this week? Was there a favorite one and why?

Answer: We taught 23. My favorite one, I don't know… this was a pretty good week. It could be the one with J*hnny. We had a really good discussion about a couple different things. Tithing, Baptism, Confirmation, Priesthood. It was really good. 

Question 3:   Share again with how people get “married” on the island?  It had something to do with a casual thing like just holding hands? If so, then do people stay “married” or do they change often?

Answer: Okay, when they get locally married they just give their spouses parents a shell. It is called shell money. Then that is it. If they get legally married, in the ceremony they are just holding hands with the President Jim, or someone else, marries them. When they are married, instead of a kiss, it is just a hug. If they are locally married, they get unmarried and married a lot. If it is legal marriage, people don't get unmarried as often. 

Question 4:   Do you ever get to hear things from other missionaries on the other islands? If so, any interesting to share?

Answer: Some things circle around the mission. One thing was my story about going to Yap. That one has made it all around the mission. The most exciting thing going on in the mission would be on Pohnpei. They are going to have a stake very very soon. 

Question 5: If there was anything you could change about the first year of your mission, what would that be and why?

Answer: My style of teaching. Before, I taught how I was trained. Teach the lesson. It was never made super super personal. I am now trying to make them even more personal than before. Help investigators feel more, recognize more. 

Question 6: Do people on the island play any instruments?

Answer: A lot of people play the guitar or the ukulele. 

Question 8: Is there anyone on the island that you have grown to really care about? Someone, or family that you will never forget?

Answer: Yes, there are several. First would be A*gustine and his family. I will never ever forget them. Also, M*rtina, S*m, P*ter, and F*napin. They are a family in the Thool Branch. I have become very close to them. They are planning to move to the states. M*rtina is moving the 28th of this month. Her two sons, S*m and P*ter, will move to the states the same time that I go home next July. As for Grandma F*napin, she is just a wonderful old Yapese lady who has a wonderful testimony of the gospel. 

Question 9: As you’ve been studying/reading the Book of Mormon in Yapese, are you learning anything different than when you read it in English?

Answer: Well, I have a harder time picking out specific doctrine in Yapese, but when I am reading it in Yapese, it is interesting to see how many people someone is talking to. Like when Nephi is talking to Laman and Lemuel. It is very obvious because in Yapese, there is different words for 1 person, 2 people, or 3+ people. 

Question 10: We are eager to hear about who you are teaching. Is there anything they might need that we can get for you.

Answer: Not right now, but there is one person, who could really go somewhere big. I will tell you about him below. His name is V*ncent. If/when he gets baptized, i would like a scripture set for him. 

Question 11: We are watching the movie “Other Side of Heaven.” Remember when Elder Grohberg uses the term “outhouse” instead of “missionary.”  Have you ever done something like that?

Answer: I don’t like that I have done anything quite like that. I have most certainly said words very funny and have them just laugh at me. But I don't think that I have switched a word like that. 

Mom

Congrats on the masters. I know that you will do great on the project! Then you are done. That is great. Yes, on Chuuk a new island just opened up. They are very excited about it. It has not been opened for a very long time. They are all very excited about it. 

Question 12: Describe church yesterday. How many where there?  What you did. Anything unusual or different?

Answer: There was 22 people there. It was very good. We had one investigator there as well. I taught the youth Sunday school class. It was good. I do that almost every week. 

Question 13: When does school start on Yap?

Answer: Well, it depends on when the teachers decide to show up. It should start the beginning of September. 

Question 14: What are you doing on P-day today?

Answer: Well, I am not sure. We will go climb through the jungle or something. 

Question 15: What is your favorite Yap meal that you cook?

Answer: Well, there is not really a Yap meal, it is just islander meal. Really the classic is spam and rice, but I can cook breadfruit, or taro. They are both good, but spam and rice take the cake. 

[note from Dad… never in a billion years would I have imagined Johnny saying these words in sequence, “spam and rice take the cake.” ]

Question 16: Describe a time in the last week when you saw a tender mercy in your life or someone else's.

Answer: Um... I think that it would have to be about V*ncient. We were talking to him and we asked if there is anything we can help him with, he said to preach him the gospel. I will talk about him below. 

Question 17: You seem to count by transfers. How long is a transfer?  How many transfers have you been there?

Answer: A transfer is 6 weeks long. I am on transfer number 10. 

Question 18:  Is it rainy there right now?

Answer: No, not this very second. It could start raining any second though. 

Question 19: Describe a time when you felt the spirit this week?

Answer: Just when i have been teaching. As I teach now, I focus more on the spirit. So I feel it so much more now. They spirit is definitely helping the work here.

Staheli

Hope all is going well still. Things here on Yap are sure going well. Did you ever get published?

Reed

Wow, that stinks dude. I know how much you love school. 

Grandma

How are you doing? How is your garden going? I love getting your letters. They always make be happy. 

To Everyone

Well, the Assistant's to the President came. It was really good. We found a lot of new investigators. I have never had so much success finding in my whole life. We found so many potential investigators. I am so excited about them. One guy, his name is V*ncent. He has no relationship with God. He has been in jail and feels like religion has been pushed on him. We are going to go see him this week. We asked if he needed help, he said to teach him more. He set aside 3 hours to teach him. We are going to go see him this week. He is going to be really great.

We spent a good chunk of the day in one village. We just walked around teaching people. We found several less actives that we are working with now. It was really good. I started talking to this guy. This was a really good week. We have so much potential in the area. My goal for this area is to stop the thinking that it is a slow area. 

Sorry this is a little short, but I need to go.

I love you guys so so much you are the best family in the world. 

Just a one quick thing. I made the mistake of letting a member borrow my camera. She is leaving to the states and wanted to take pictures of the island. Well, I got the camera back and it broke. Do you think that you guys could send another? If you can, could it be waterproof. My camera got wet all the time with me and I don’t want to break another one. You guys are the best ever. 

Also Elder Ramiterre has asked if you guys could order some scriptures for him and send them to me. He said that he would pay for them, but he is from the Philippines and has very little money, so I don't want to take money for him. Do you think that you can order some for him? He would like his name on the front, if you could. K. Ramiterre is what he wants on the front. He said that if you could, he would like the color black and them to be the small set. Smaller than the ones that you bought for me when I left. Also, for them to be separate. The triple and the Holy bible separate. If you guys can do that that would be great.

Thanks a ton

Love you all so so much

Love Elder Meyer