WEEK 52 Bike stolen, FOOD stolen, umm read til the end!!!

Hey hey what's up!!

 This week was pretty legit. Lots of rejection but fortunately, we got 2 new investigators!! Tomorrow the other elders here on Abemama and us are doing a blitz in our area because we need some help tracking because that's basically all we do, so far to travel on our bikes!  So hopefully that will go well and we can get some more people so we don't have to tract all day every day and get rejected. Abemama south (my area) is like the butt of Abemama and people are pretty rude.

One of our times tracting we sat on this lady's hut because she invites us on. I introduced myself because that's what you do in the culture. Telling them my dad's name is Jason my mom's name is Susie. There's 6 in my family. 2 girls and 4 boys. I'm 19. I'm from Nikunau-and they always laugh so hard.  Then I say just kidding! I'm from America. Then I tell them my talents. I usually switch it up every time but I like saying snowboarding. Sorry (the game because that's like all they play here) then I say " I bwati n the oro ben"(I'm good at cracking coconuts open-everyone does that for money in Kiribati). Then they laugh so hard.  So everything was going good. Then I say do you have any questions for me? And she said yea..e tikiraoi ngkanna kam aki oki(is it OK if you guys don't come back)... Then I said what? Then she said it again.. Hahaha she didn't want us to come back. So somehow I managed to share a quick first lesson and then said if you ever have any Q's let us know.  Or if you would like to talk again let us know.  Then we left!  That is how we do it here! That story basically sums up the work here in the south. Pretty sad!

This last week we went to a birthday and I was the MC (the boss) it was pretty fun. I've never done it for a big party like that b4. It was cool. Someone also caught a shark so we ate that too. Shark is way good. Just like a big fish with hardly any bones..just meat! yummmm food

We had had a picnic with members on Abemama on Saturday. It was also a baptism. Super fun. Played volleyball tug of war, game of Sorry (super popular here), ate bread off strings and a few more.  Us elders were in charge of the program so it was way fun.

Yesterday someone's relatives here came and they are from America. It was really fun talking to Americans and not Australians.  I guess they are staying here for one week. The dad is from Nikunau and mom from Missouri but she's from the peace corps(language business worldwide). But they all live in Washington.

This week also we were at a dinner. And when we started returning we realized that someone stole one of our bikes!  So we went to go find it and a few huts over there it was some drunk guy took it.(stealing from the elders here is  forbidden)  so people in the house said sorry like 100 times.  If we were in Nikunau and that happened that drunk guy would get kicked off the island by the old men (old men have higher authority than anyone on the island). But we found it and started the journey home.

The next night we didn't have a dinner so we were going to cook in the house. Then we realized someone stole our food. Hahaha. So I told all members to hunt this guy down. So we should see this week if they get him. But for now we lock our house!

So now we are here back in central of the island and we stay the night then tomorrow district meeting. Then start the journey back on our bikes! Yea this mission is very humbling. Every day we ride at least like 8 or 9 miles in the burning sun on average. Luckily I have a hat and sunglasses. But yea I'm staying healthy. I work out every day. But its just hard because their is just so little food

This month its been raining more than I've ever seen. Its like a rainy season. But it all just depends. As of lately we get big storms once and the clouds pass over, then the wind changes direction and we get it twice. It happens a lot

Unique about this island: its huge, culture is a little different, they talk dirty here, people aren't as nice as Nikunau.  On Saturday we were asked to attend a cultural party and it was a huge party!  We got back home at 12:00 midnight.  Our president knows how strict the culture is here (in culture you can't leave parties)  so we were kinda trapped.  The next day, Sunday, was a rough one to get through with little sleep and tons of biking.  There are still TONS of mosquitoes and dogs here!

Super excited for mission tour on Aug 10-17! We go back to Tarawa then come back!

The other elders caught a humongous rat in their house this morning and then they drowned it.  They also went to a lunch last week with leaders from other churches and they felt really looked down on.

And yea I'm staying healthy. Shower everyday. Sometimes something dies in our well like a crab and it makes it stink so bad.  So we clean it or pore some bleach in  there. Or I just bathe in the ocean. Next to one water way where the water flows into the lagoon on high tide.

By the way, Yea 11 investigators has taken quite some work. This place is a much harder area for the work than my last that's for sure because people are more rude here.

(We will get our Christmas Skype next week..Christmas in JULY!!!

Sound good about Skype call. I'll call on Monday (here) my p day. Idk what time exactly yet.. Just whenever the member brings his laptop over from the north.

That's crazy that I'm hitting a year. I did not even realize. And I think I'm managing to stay the same weight.. But idk.. No scale.

Yea I love fish! Good because that's all we eat! Hahaha. Yea that eel was crazy! It tried to bite the crap out of my feet. Haha. And I love eating turtle. It tastes so good. And knowing that its so illegal in every other country makes it taste even better!  We cook with fire. They use coconut husks as firewood.

And there's no seasonings here, just salt.  For breakfast we usually eat these super plain breakfast crackers. They have no flavor which blows.  We just kinda eat when we have time.

These past few weeks I've had no shoes because mine broke and I don't need any, because its just sand  everywhere. Mostly everyone is barefoot. So I literally don't own  a pair of sandals hahaha. I have some on Tarawa and I'm going in a couple weeks for mission  tour. So I'll be good till then. 

Americans are so blessed its insane. Even with running water.  Not having to pump it out of a well with a PVC pipe. 

Ahh I forgot to say the other day a bunch of jellyfish washed up next to the house!! Super cool. I was playing with one and got stung on my foot because I stepped on one hahahsha. It stung a little hahaha then it was fine because I peed on my foot hahahaha cool !!!!!!!!!!

Good week tho!

I tangiringkami!

Tiabo!

Elder Bowen