Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Talk to you soon from Majuro! - 10-14-2014 (Lae)

Mother!!
Responding to you first before the internet shuts off random!! You are
awesome and the first thing I want you to know is that I'm not hungry!! I
have food enough to eat and be satisfied! It's no chipotle or steak,
but don't you worry about me physically. I am fine!! Second I'd like to
thank Heavenly Father for answering our prayers and being with us
every day of our lives and how much he has blessed you for the service
us missionaries are doing. I love being a missionary and I am working
my hardest right now. I'm excited to go home, and I am working hard to
be the best missionary I can until the end. I thought I would get
progressively lazier as time went on but I am unusually motivated to
work hard and study hard and just finish strong!!

Sorry to hear life is boring compared to Hawaii!!! haha I wish I got
to spend more time there!! You guys had a fun trip and I hope you can
bring that energy home to the wastelands of Minnesota!! haha I'm going
to bring my island happiness back with me that's for sure!! How is
Macey with tennis? and congrats to Matt for looking into our church.
Treat his interest as something precious and pray for the Spirit to
be with him in every missionary opportunity. If he honestly searches
he will truly find. Boy, do I wish all my friends in Minnesota were
down to study and learn more. I hate to distance myself from them but my
mission is changing me so much. I like who I am becoming and want to
continue to grow. Pretty cool I read Jesus the Christ in 2 weeks!! Shows
how much time I have out here to read and study!! It's been awesome.

So for the news... I'm going back to Majuro to train my last transfer!
I should be there in the next 2-3 weeks depending on the plane and the
boat... if there is not a plane I will get on the boat that President is
coming on on the 25th. He is coming to meet with the branch and train
some people and visit. I'm so excited. I don't want the plane to come,
I want to wait and be here when he is here!!! We had another baptism
this last week!! Tom!! He is the son of two formlery less active
members. They are all coming to church and I'm super excited with the
work we have done here!! It's fun to see the success.

We're getting all of our investigators ready to receive the new elders
and plan for the transition to be good. I feel like some of them are
gonna stop studying and it just makes me so sad, I want them to be
strong and they have come so far, I have to just keep hoping that they
will continue with what they are learning. I completely forgot that General
Conference was recently!!! haha I haven't emailed or talked to Majuro
for a couple weeks because the internet is down and  the phone is no
good because it has rained so much... if only you knew how hard it is
to talk to you guys!! and especially how small this island is... haha
its soo tiny but every day I swear that is gets bigger and bigger..
hahaha

Conner is my problem when I get home. I hate to say it but I wasn't a
good example really to him but we have a strong relationship and I
think I will be able to talk some sense into him. I really wanna take
him on a road trip or something to get him out of everything and just
have it be me and him... I think I can really help him and I think my
coming home will be a spiritual experience for him and he will be able
to catch some of the fire I come with. I think he will be fine. please
have more faith and love in him. I know you absolutely love him, but
channel that love and show it more. You can be firm, but do it lovingly.
I'm coming to the rescue soon!!! [Dallin and Conner were very close
growing up and it's been hard for Conner since Dallin left. They were
more like twins than just brothers. I am excited for the day when they
are reunited! MOM]

So yeah I am doing fine!! No worries!! Stressed about having to leave
Lae, especially with the progress I have made and the relationships I
have. They are all just family to me and we all help each other out
and care for each other.. so that's been kinda sad to hear but its
going to be okay. I'm glad to have the opportunity and challenge of
training my last transfer in the mission. I think it is just what I
need. I'm so excited to go home and everyday is closer and closer. I'm
super nervous and I don't know what to expect... especially being on
this island I hope I haven't gotten weird or anything. I will be a
little funny when I get home, especially with the language problems
and my extreme love and drive for missionary work. It'll be good though,
as long as you give me a hug and a thick coat when I get home!! I'm
happy. Sometimes annoyed and frustrated but I'm generally happy and I
love to do what I am doing.

Love you babe and talk to you soon from Majuro!!
Elder Ingalls!

I thought I was gonna die - 9-26-2014 (Lae)

Mommy!!
Good email thanks for all the updates and I'm so glad that you were
able to meet Fesolai!! Still one of my best buds I made on the
mission. I always talked about you guys and he loved hearing about the
Richard and Heather stories so him meeting you was awesome. I always
told him he had to meet my family!! Hopefully it was all good and you
got to take  picture or something with him!

Skydiving?? haha I haven't been in anything higher than a 2 story
building for the last two years I think I might come home and be
scared of heights!! That's so cool hopefully you all got some cool
pictures and stories for me to hear about!! I'm sure getting a lot of
them here that's for sure!!! Did you guys go to the temple while you
guys were there?? Everyone here when I told them you were in Hawaii
they all wanted me to have you guys meet their families! haha There's a
Marshallese ward there!! Did you have Fes speak Marshallese to you
guys? haha he probably forgot it!!

So yeah our cute little investigator Carter got baptized on
Thursday!! Way exciting and he is the man!! He is only 9 years old but
we completed the family and he was sooo happy to be baptized!! He
was walking with us and his friend was drinking coffee and he told his
friend "you drink coffee obviously you don't believe in God" hahahaha
it was the cutest, funniest thing I have ever heard in my life!!! So
funny!!

This morning we just got back from our "campout" on one of the outer
islands. It was a good time. Funny, this is the same as camping to me,
but their camping is extreme!!!! hahaha I don't have time to explain
it all but its like wilderness survival... crazy stuff and what's
crazier is we went on fishing in the 2nd counselors boat which is
maybe 12 feet long with a 40hp engine in the ocean fishing sharks and
tuna... we got caught up in a storm with 10-15 foot waves and that was
probably the scariest thing ever... we were holding on for dear life
and we couldn't see land and we had no idea where we were going...
Tentau and I both had impressions to go in a certain direction and we
eventually found one of the outer islands and we made it back into the
lagoon... I thought I was gonna die... Brother langbata even said he
was super surprise the waves didn't flip us... insane... this typing
it story doesn't explain it as intense as it was!!!

Also this week I've been asking members about their conversion stories
and I wanna write them all down. Still many more to be made! We're
teaching a good amount right now. Completing a lot of families and
teaching the kids of less active members. It's been a good time. I'm
happy with the work I am doing. I'm not eating that well but I'm getting
enough to eat. Working out hard to keep in shape and feel good and
not get sick. The Word of Wisdom isn't just what we should take in our
bodies its also basically God's plans for us to get in shape and lets just
say I have a good amount of the island working out now because of it!!

This week has been fun and I'm glad that you guys had a good trip!!!
Probably didn't sleep on the ground on rocks with a piece of
cardboard, but I'm sure it was a good experience for you guys!! I love
you Mommy and hope to see you soon for Christmas!! Me coming home will
be a good gift! haha we need to take a family picture too!! haha while
I'm tan... okay I love you sugar hope you are well have a good week!!

Elder Ingalls

Lama Fesolai 9-18-2014 (Lae)

Hey if you are still in Hawaii you should go an meet Lama Fesolai at
BYU Hawaii!!! One of my best friends on the mission!!! look him up on
facebook or something! You have to meet him!!! the coolest kid ever!!!!
I gave him your email. Make it happen!!!

[We actually did meet him! It was purely by accident! We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center for the dinner and show and afterwards, Logan wanted to get his picture taken with one of the ladies (or a bunch of the ladies!) We went around looking for some, but there weren't too many around since it was raining. Finally he found one who was talking to two guys. Logan asked her for a picture with her and this guy asked us where we were from. We told him, "Minnesota" then he asked us what our last name was, "Ingalls" we said. Then he said, "Dallin!" we were shocked!!! It turned out that he had just returned home from his mission in the Marshall Islands and that he loved having Dallin as a companion! I asked him if Dallin was behaving and he smugly replied that, of course he was, but the smirk on his face let me know that Dallin is still Dallin wherever he goes! Then he made sure to tell me that he was, indeed, being obedient and that he's a really great missionary too! Whew! Then he looked at my husband and said, "Richard!!!! I have heard stories about you!" It was the coolest experience and so heart warming. We were on the other side of the world and far from Dallin too and yet, in the middle of it all we meet the one guy that knows my son personally and can give us a report of his happiness and well-being. I have hardly heard from him myself in the last few months so the reassurance from this young man was definitely a gift from Heaven. Heavenly Father knows us and loves us and is aware of us daily, this I know. He gives us the strength to continue on if we seek Him. He comforts us and calms us and gives us peace when we need it, sometimes even when we do not think to ask. I am grateful for this small miracle to remind me of His love and to the young man that thought to ask us where we were from. MOM]

We eat shark and ramens - 9-12-2014 (Lae)

hey mom!!                 (Unedited)
sounds like you guys are pretty close to me right now in the hawaii!!
thats so cool hopefully you guys are getting a good glimpse of the
island life!! haha hawaii is nothing like this right now here in the
marshalll islands.. its a pretty humbling experience and i know we are
blessing for it. this week has been awesome. i thought you would write
a little bit more to my email but you dont so i dont have much to say
other that to let you know that i am alive and doing well and love the
islands here. crazy to think that i just got like 3 months left and
then im done... kinda ready some days and not ready on alot of days.

news: we are catching alot of sharks and we eat shark and ramens for
alot of meals... a boat came with food so we should be set for food
for awhile... well that is, we shouldnt be starving for awhile... i
know how much you hate this word so you will know how serious i am when
i use it haha pretty good the culture here. i was annoyed when one
meeting that should have taken 20 minutes took 2 and a half hours... i
ask our president why and he said why rush things? do you have
something else you need to do? pretty true cause i didnt... i really
do get an incredible amount of reading and thinking time... sometimes
too much... its a completely different kidna of work than on majuro or
ebeye... this missionary work is really fun but its is really
stressful too because you want people to work harder than they do or
just do anything at all!!! haha its gonna be hard for me to not gain
50 pounds when i get home.. i drank a soda and had some chocolate from
the ship... and idk if i could physically stop myself... haha [I knew that when
Dallin decided to go on a mission that the spiritual side would not be a
challenge for him, but that he would need to learn patience. He is very driven
and works hard for the things that he wants, but there are some things you
just don't get just because you want it bad enough and work hard enough
for it. It's called the Lord's timetable and that is something that only move
 the way He wants it too and we just need to be willing to wait! Dallin is
learning to wait for the things he prays for and to wait for answers to his
prayers. I am excited to see this new Dallin when he comes home! MOM]

catching alot of sharks here... learning tons and tons about the
gospel!!! life is good. i will talk to you later when when the sun is
out!! i hope to see you in a couple of months looking well!!! hopefully
not too stick and bones like... haha i really wanna know if my accent
is there and if i sound funny... haha i havent really spoke english in
weeks so idk.... love you babe write me a longer email next time
telling me whats up

elder ingalls ej yokwe eok

I love you a million sharks - 9-4-2014 (Lae)

Mom!!!                    (Unedited)
how are we doing? I am getting to email just for a little while today
because it was sunny but now its cloudy and the internet is going to
shut off so I'm writing this is a word document that hopefully i will be
able to copy and paste  with you and you read it. life is going great
about the work out here. It's weird to think about going home some day
but it'll come fast.. I dont really know if i am ready to go home
yet!! I still have so much i would like to get done and accomplish. its
difficult on this little island tht doent have too many people. its
hard to teach anyone out here because they are all so busy making
coconuts for the boat that is hopefully coming soon... idk how that
will work out. i know alot of people are getting on the boat to go to
ebeye andsome people are gettingoff to come here. we will see what
happens. we are really struggling for food out here!! no boats have
came for the last 9 weeks so everyone here is basically out of food
and living solely on the stuff we can get here... fish and ma and a
little bit of rice... so yeah that boat should be coming here in the
next couple of days... its been so delayed because there wasnt any
funding for it to come out here from the government... aha if you
think our government is useless there... youhave no idea until you come
here!!! but its all good no worries. heavenly father wont let hard
working missionaries go hungry! (...or too hungry...) hahaha we are
really cared for out here by the people. they love us so much. still crazy
how when we had a fireside a couple days ago they talked about fasting
and fast offerings for "the people that are poor and dont have food...
like people in africa..." I couldnt believe how much these people
are suffering but they still dont consider themselves poor or in need
of serious help... unreal. [I can see that he is being humbled a lot and
that his mission is really helping him to see his life in a different
perspective! MOM]

im still working hard with these people alot with just strengthening
the members and working with the less actives.. there arent too many
people who havent sided with religions so its difficult to find
investigators and such... thats the thing tho the missionary work is
way different out here... we dont just go from lessons to lessons and
just teach all day. we serve and build and strengthen all people out
here and if we are blessed to have the opportunity to teach them, of
course we do. its cool speaking only marshallese here.. so my english\
is going be a little rusty if im here for the next 3 months then go straight
 home. i think my engish sounds worse on a computer because
im slowly forgetting how to use this thing, i easy mix things up.
my speaking of english is better so dont worry... haha hopefully
you guys dont speak too fast for me that would be a pain... haha
i havent even heard fluent english for like 2 months now... i couldnt
imagine going a solid two years like that... see tanner and logan
probably spoke there language, but also had companions that
may have known english o just some people in general living where
they were taht they could communication with... me.... no
one.... hahah

so right now i am writing this in the dark... its pouring rain out
right now and the ceiling in this little shack is leaking... haha
luckily i have a flash light so i can see the keyboard and a little of
whats going on. haha this room is tiny... not even three people can
sit in here!! haha i took pictures of it so you will see it soon. its
cool typing on a laptop! this one kinda stinks but its all good i dont
mind... at least i will get to tell you a little of what i am doing! i
still am writing letters to you guys on pdays trying to explain the
cool things that i have done out here! im keeping my journal pretty
nicely managed so you will be able to get some stuff out of that... the
free time i have out here is incredible. since the people are so busy
working, we are able to work with them which we usually do
then we chill and read and write and just komaate iien... haha its
good i am getting some serious reading done and making up for wasted
study time... i also am writing essays just for fun... on all sorts of
topics on my mission and anything else that comes to mind.. its going
pretty well and its pretty fun to reflect on things... who knows maybe
i would be able to use some of them in some classes i take some day or
in a talk or just to have general knowledge and practice... the shark
fishing has been awesome!!! i wish the internet here was better so i
could send you guys some pictures and some stuff... but i guess you
guys will see them all in a couple months!!

lets see... what else... basic knowledge.. the island is tiny!!!!!!!
the other side of heaven book which i read in a day... groberg
explains that his "tiny" island was like 14 miles but 3 miles or
something and it had a mountain.... LOL to him... my island is maybe a
mile across the lagoon with like 10 islands on the edges and nothing in
the middle... the islands are long and skinny... maybe about 2-3
football fields and the widest part... i can get from one end to the
other in maybe 25 minutes walking... marshallese speed which is as
slow as humanly possible while still getting some where... there are
probably close to 200 people on the island... i dont know everyone
yet... but everyone here has known me since day one... its hard to not
be shy or intimidated... haha!! there are an average of 65ish members
attending church and maybe half or them are kids.. its all good though
i absolutely love the kids here they are like my best friends! so awesome
and innocent and just dont know much about the world.everything is
going well here. i talked to the assistants and my release date has been
moved along with my whole intake to the 17th of december so start
making the party plans because ill be home for Christmas!

well until next time... i love you a million sharks. take care and see
you soon!!
elder ingalls

I am keeping a stellar journal - 8-22-2014 (Lae)

yokwe mommy im back in business!! you woud not believe how extremely
difficult it is to email out here... the laptop is always broken
according to the guy thatr uns the little shack that i am and does
the email. so yeah life is good. you wouldnt believe how my english is
sounds... like i think i sound fine but the thing is i get mix up what
language to speak so itjust makes me look like i have no idea what i
am talking about haha but yeah the island here is amazing and i am
learning so much and i cant believe tht i have basically been here for
a one month now!! just like 4 more months to go. i think that i will
be coming home in december i havent heard anything yeet, but at 90
days is when i get my flight plans and that is the craziest thing in
world. so yeah i have caught 5 sharks so far!! none of them are too
big except for one that was over 6 feet long!!! it was so hard trying
to pull taht thing in shore!!! it was like the middle of the night
when we caught it!!

so yeah with not alot of work out here i get a crazy amount of time for reading
... like i am basically finished with the old testament, pounding
through some church manuals and reading a psychology textbook taht i
found in the house!! its been pretty awesome and i have really enjoy
all the time i am getting to do that. there is a ship coming that is
gonna pick up coconuts to make coconut oil and its difficult because
literally everyone on the island is spending there time doing that.
and the diet... basically straight fish and rice and kool aid packings
that you sent to me!! thank you so much for those!!! there are worth
more than gold here!!! i also learned how to make tortillas!!! my
companion doesn't talk much... its difficult because of
the language barrier... again i am so thankful for my experience here it
is really teach me alot of love and patience for these people haha
especially now that im here they think i can do all their callings and
teach all there classes... so it is a good learning opportunity for me
and they are all growing because of it. we have a few investigators
but they are all busy doing the coconut right now so we aren't really
getting anywhere.

im collecting a ton of shells and crafts for you guys!!! there is not
such thing as the nativity in marshallese... sorry... idk what to tell
you aobut that.. maybe i can draw faces witha  sharpie on some shells
or something for you...

i got only a couple months left to just get lost!!! i hope you let me
go grocery shopping when i get home and i can buy the food i would
want to eat. i dont mind fish and i would actually like to eat it, but
i never want rice to eat.... hahaha ever again. well, except in
chipotle :)

i am keeping a stellar journal for you and writing you a letter every
pday that i might be able to mail home, but most likely i will just
bring it home... so yeah... ummm i love out here. im safe. my healthy
body is slowing leaving me  because i have no food to eat... but i
still work out like crazy to fight it!!! enjoy life, enjoy good food,
enjoy cold, enjoy cars, enjoy those stinking jetskis you bought AFTER
I LEAVE!!! its okay, you can buy the boat when i get hom :) love you
so much. take care

love elder ingalls the 4/5