A Dream Come True in Nikunau

So...

Apologies for not sending out a letter last week. If I had the chance I would've, but...um...things happened.

Being one who dislikes vague and unspecific answers (see example above), allow me to explain.

For about the past month now my companion and I have been planning a short trip to one of thouter islands called Nikunau. It is the farthest outer island from the main island of Tarawa. It has the most coconut export of any of the outer islands. It is know for having tons of flies. It is also one of the hottest islands.My companion, Elder Miller, was "born" on that island over a year and a half ago. We were very excited to go out there and do some trainings for the Melchizedek Priesthood holders and do some companion exchanges with the elders that work out there. One of them is Elder Jubeck...my MTC companion!

One thing you must understand: Elder Jubeck and I have been dreaming about working together in Nikunau since week one of the MTC... Literally since our second or third days as a missionaries. He has been working in Nikunau for almost seven months now. Regrettably, I was not assigned to work there. But...we finally got a couple days to fulfill our dream!

The plan was to fly out on Monday and come back two days later, on Wednesday. We arrived on Monday as planned. We got to the Elders' house (a grass hut with three walls), unloaded our stuff, and went out to teach. It was a dream come true!

Nikunau is one of the most "out there" outer islands. There are only five villages, and each of them only have a few hundred people in them. In all, there are only around 2000 people on the island. You can bike from end to end in about an hour and a half (trust me...we did it twice a day). The sun is HOT down there! You sweat from about 8:30 in the morning to about 11:30 at night. And it's true...the flies there are incredible. It was like watching the miniature Blue Angles come around when they uncover the bowl of fish at dinner.

Another unique thing about Nikunau is the Southern accent. I promise I will not exaggerate this at all. I had heard stories about it, but I didn't believe them until I got there and heard it for myself. Whenever they talk, they SING! Like, always! It always starts low, slowly rises in pitch to the middle of the sentence, then drops back down towards the end. It makes it really hard to listen to. I actually laughed in our first lesson before I could stop myself. It sounds like something out of a storybook: an tiny tropical island in the Pacific, where the people speak in songs to each other. Just sayin'.

The first couple days went really well. We found a lot of new investigators for the Elders out there and helped with their teaching load. We had bootaki-s (parties, gatherings) every night. We had a huge family home evening with all of the members there (75+) on the first night. It was so fun! It reminded me of my time in Kainaba. The people are so happy and unified. They were so nice to me (even though nobody knew me) and gave us a lot of gifts. It was very fun, very tiring, and very productive couple of days. On Wednesday we headed to the airport, got on the plane, and headed back.

Just kidding! That was the plan. Instead, we showed up at the airport on Wednesday and were told that we couldn't get on the plane. We were very confused. The flight agent out there was not very helpful in explaining the situation. The only thing she told us was that she refused to let us on the plane. She kept yelling at us and seemed very frustrated. She refused to weigh our bags and kept telling us to go away. After talking to a few people, we found out that there were four very sick people on the island that needed to get on and get to the hospital immediately. They took our seats on the plane as well as three other peoples' seats.

Elder Miller and I said a prayer, asking that we could find a way back if it was the Lord's plan. We immediately started talking to everyone else that would be flying. We asked everyone to switch us places. We offered to buy them new tickets for next week. We even asked if we could share a single seat. No luck. When the plane came, we talked to the pilots and asked them if they could somehow get us on. At first, it seemed like our prayers were answered; they were very understanding and helpful. But as they checked the math, it became clear that the plane was already overweight and couldn't take any more. They unloaded some cargo, and took off. Without us. So much for that prayer, right?

WRONG! As the rest of the week went by, it became clear why we stayed. It was all part of the plan. SO many things happened that wouldn't have happened if we weren't there, including:

- Being able to stay for and help run church on Sunday

- finding eleven new investigators, including three families

- getting a family to church that had not been to church for over a year

- tracting into six previously unknown less active members

- being able to do service for the members

- being able to help and investigating family cope with the death of their 21 y/o son (which happened while we were there)

- having dinner with less active families each night

- seeing the faith and unity of the unit out there

- befriending a family of recent converts that needed some help (they ended up killing a $300 pig for our last dinner with them)

- we got amazing tan lines

I think that overall, it was better that we got stuck out there. It was an answer to our prayer, and I hope that it was an answer to others' prayers as well.

We confirmed our tickets 4 additional times with the flight agent (she wasn't too happy to see us), just to be sure. Then, today at 10:30, we jumped on the plane and headed back to Tarawa. And that's the trip!

I do want to take a moment to explain the people out there. They have nothing. They don't have shoes. They sleep on grass mats in houses with no walls. They chop and dry coconuts for $2 a kilo for their living. They fish for their families every day. But they are so, so very happy. I have never seen a happier people. They are so unified! They are unified in their faith in Christ. They have seen the blessings of the gospel in their lives, and it has changed them. They have a special glow, a special aura about them. It's hard to put your finger on what exactly is different, but it's true. And I know it's all because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It brings them together. It strengthens their families. It helps them deal with the hardships of life. It is so beautiful! Even though we live completely different lifestyles in completely different places, I know exactly what they feel. And I am so very grateful to my Heavenly Father for it.

There's so much more I could say, but I don't have time. You'll just have to take me out to lunch or something when I get back, and I'll tell you all about it.

Have a great week!

Elder Barker