Hey Mom :)
You are the best and I shouldn't be complaining about your emails! idk last week I was just kinda in a slump for some reason and was just a little upset. I don't even know why, but I'm doing fine now and just wanna let you know that even if I got a 3 word email from you I would be more than happy! So dont you worry about it! Life is going well. I'm doing my best to be the best. I am not going to an outer island! I am going to be working with a Fijian Elder that has been in the Marshalls for about 2 months now.... wow... that's insane... he doesnt know English that well and he really doesn't know Marshallese... so that will be quite the challenge me having to do all the teaching and talking, but I am really excited to work with him. His name is Elder Duriba :) He's really funny and I know that we are going to be like the best of friends ever!! We played vball on pday a couple times and he's pretty good and I'm decent too so we have that going for us :) Life is well. no worries!!
Sounds like everyone at home is doing well. I can't believe how fast Trayson is growing up! I miss my Mcdonalds dates with that little boy :) I can't believe Logan is thinking about marriage... I always thought it was a joke... but its becoming real pretty fast!! That's awesome though. I don't get that much time to email you guys this week because of the activities we have to do today... so I'm gonna try and answer these questions quick!!
1. So what size belt do you need? You used to be a 30 and they are very hard to find! I have been looking quite a bit actually, but nothing so far.A size 30 belt would be pretty nice but I would probably need a size 32 belt. I'm not fat but its just more comfortable to wear, especially when its hot and I have to sit cross legged all the time. But whatever you can get will be awesome and I cant wear my mustache belt proselyting... :( so yeah basically can't wear it... but the selt belt idea is legit!! I would love one of those! Just have it be black or something
2. Did you get your package and letter yet? I get to check after this if I have got anything! It has been long enough so I would assume that it is here. But I don't get to know until after I email you... ahaha so I will let you know next week!
3. Do you know if Elder Parkinson got his? same as above. hehe
4. You sounded a little homesick in your last letter. Are you okay? - I'm doing better now. I don't know what was wrong but last week I was just a little frustrated with everything. Nothing really set me off but, it was just a bunch of things... but I'm doing better now. Just slowing down and taking a breath. Sometimes 24 months really seems like eternity... that's hard on me and I just feel like I'm doing the same thing day in and day out, but I know there will come a time when I won't want to leave here either!
5. The picture you sent of the rusty ship in the harbor was beautiful! Where was that? I was in about 3 feet of water and about 50 feet away! The camera that you sent me takes some amazing pics thats for sure!!
6. Did you take the picture half underwater? That's kind of what it looked like! I held my camera right to the surface of the water!! haha I'm getting pretty good at taking pics out here!! I do it alot sooo yeah :)
7. What size belt do you need? Are you not able to wear your seatbelt belt? refer to question 1... but yeah I would like a black or a brown one. The one that I had was reversible which was awesome. but whatever you send will be fine I'm sure.
8. What made you finally decide that you wanted to go on a mission? Just seeing the blessings that Tanner got from serving one, the happiness that Logan always seemed to have in his emails.. and just knowing that it was the right thing to do for my life at this time. I know I am a better person because of it. Sometimes I feel like I just went on my mission because just everyone was doing it, but there was more to it. And helping these people and seeing their lives change because of it makes me realize why I'm here. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
9. Do you feel like you were prepared to go? More or less yeah. I'm glad I took those B.O.M. classes at BYU before I left. I just wish I would have taken it more seriously and tried to better prepare myself before I left. I wish I knew the lessons, I wish I knew preach my gospel... but I'm here now, and just learning it now!
10. What can future missionaries do to prepare? Read the Book of Mormon, try and learn useful scriptures.... and read Preach my Gospel and just try and teach their families as if they were investigators... I wish I would have done that with you guys during FHE... that would have been awesome and a great help to me for sure.
11. What is a mission like? t]The hardest thing I have ever done. The fact that I'm just 6,5000 miles away from what I know and love. I dont have Mcdonalds, I don't have my mom and I don't have a cell phone or a car. It difficult in that worldly sense, but the fact that we teach people about the gospel and about changing their lives and being bold about it and finding people and getting to know them and becoming friends with complete strangers.... and on top of it all, in a language that I don't know and have difficulty understanding. It's probably one of the most challenging things I have ever done and I love it!!!! It is turning me into a person that can go up to anyone at any time and in any setting and not be scared to talk to them about anything. It's teaching patience, some humility... haha not alot yet... ;), love, kindnesss and just everything. I know how to study, how to teach people difficult things, but plain enough that a 8 year old can understand and know. I teach people how to talk with their Father in Heaven. I love this!!!!
12. What is your most treasured memory of your time there so far? My baptism with Mina Takiah. I was able to start and end teaching her. It was one of the most spiritual things that I have ever done. I literally taught her that their is more to this life, that there is a purpose, that she can be with her husband and cute little boy forever. It was amazing!!!! I didn't know Marshallese really back then, but in the lessons, it just came to me and I understood and I just knew what to say and how to say it. It was awesome and I will never forget that feeling.
13. What have you learned about yourself since being on a mission? That I suck at being patient and that I had no idea how to study before my mission. I am growing a ton first off, but I still have a long ways to go. I work on it everyday. God gives me challenges so I can gain patience... It's difficult, but by the end of my mission, hopefully I will be better than I was... haha humility.... idk if that will come, but maybe ;)
14. What things will you do differently when you get home because what you learned? Study hardest, study smartest and probably just use my time wiser. idk It's hard to say because I probably won't be going to bed at 10:30 and getting up at 6:30 like I am now... haha but probably just setting some hardcore goals and just giving my all for it.
15. Do you know how much I love you? How much I think of you? I know that you love me the most out of all your kids and you think about me double as much as you think about them haha and The same goes for you :) I think about you more than any other person :)
16. Do you feel your Heavenly Father's love for you daily? Absolutely. I couldn't say any other thing to that. Loosening my tongue, giving me trials, helping me through them, just protecting me. Yes. Definitely.
17. Are you taking lots of cool pictures? Of your bed, kitchen, apt, neighborhood, church, friends, everything? I am taking a ton of pictures. I have about 250 ready for you guys.... but I wanna wait until you guys send me another card, then I will send you mine! I got some awesome ones on it that I think you will like
18. What's the weirdest creature you've seen at the beach or in the water? Squid!! They are crazy!! Ugly, nasty, smelly. They are huge, like 8-10 feet! Crazy!!!!
19. Have you seen a shark? Seen? I have eaten shark - multiple times. and it's delicious!! In Arrak, I actually went shark fishing!! We just tie huge slabs of meat to lines and the sharks come! I have some videos of it - its legit!! And I was at the fish docks in Uliga buying fish and you could look into the water and see hundreds of hundreds of fish swimming around! And there are sharks there too!
20. Are you happy? I am happy and I love what I'm doing. Sometimes I get mad or frustrated, but that's life. I can't avoid that, but I can choose not to dwell on it and that's what I do. I am doing great though! I can't believe that I am already at 7 months... what the freak... Life is good. Very good. I try my best to forget about everything and get to work but it's difficult, but I am happy. I have some great Elders as friends and they are awesome and we all help each other. I ain't got no worries :)
3. Do you know if Elder Parkinson got his? same as above. hehe
4. You sounded a little homesick in your last letter. Are you okay? - I'm doing better now. I don't know what was wrong but last week I was just a little frustrated with everything. Nothing really set me off but, it was just a bunch of things... but I'm doing better now. Just slowing down and taking a breath. Sometimes 24 months really seems like eternity... that's hard on me and I just feel like I'm doing the same thing day in and day out, but I know there will come a time when I won't want to leave here either!
5. The picture you sent of the rusty ship in the harbor was beautiful! Where was that? I was in about 3 feet of water and about 50 feet away! The camera that you sent me takes some amazing pics thats for sure!!
6. Did you take the picture half underwater? That's kind of what it looked like! I held my camera right to the surface of the water!! haha I'm getting pretty good at taking pics out here!! I do it alot sooo yeah :)
7. What size belt do you need? Are you not able to wear your seatbelt belt? refer to question 1... but yeah I would like a black or a brown one. The one that I had was reversible which was awesome. but whatever you send will be fine I'm sure.
8. What made you finally decide that you wanted to go on a mission? Just seeing the blessings that Tanner got from serving one, the happiness that Logan always seemed to have in his emails.. and just knowing that it was the right thing to do for my life at this time. I know I am a better person because of it. Sometimes I feel like I just went on my mission because just everyone was doing it, but there was more to it. And helping these people and seeing their lives change because of it makes me realize why I'm here. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
9. Do you feel like you were prepared to go? More or less yeah. I'm glad I took those B.O.M. classes at BYU before I left. I just wish I would have taken it more seriously and tried to better prepare myself before I left. I wish I knew the lessons, I wish I knew preach my gospel... but I'm here now, and just learning it now!
10. What can future missionaries do to prepare? Read the Book of Mormon, try and learn useful scriptures.... and read Preach my Gospel and just try and teach their families as if they were investigators... I wish I would have done that with you guys during FHE... that would have been awesome and a great help to me for sure.
11. What is a mission like? t]The hardest thing I have ever done. The fact that I'm just 6,5000 miles away from what I know and love. I dont have Mcdonalds, I don't have my mom and I don't have a cell phone or a car. It difficult in that worldly sense, but the fact that we teach people about the gospel and about changing their lives and being bold about it and finding people and getting to know them and becoming friends with complete strangers.... and on top of it all, in a language that I don't know and have difficulty understanding. It's probably one of the most challenging things I have ever done and I love it!!!! It is turning me into a person that can go up to anyone at any time and in any setting and not be scared to talk to them about anything. It's teaching patience, some humility... haha not alot yet... ;), love, kindnesss and just everything. I know how to study, how to teach people difficult things, but plain enough that a 8 year old can understand and know. I teach people how to talk with their Father in Heaven. I love this!!!!
12. What is your most treasured memory of your time there so far? My baptism with Mina Takiah. I was able to start and end teaching her. It was one of the most spiritual things that I have ever done. I literally taught her that their is more to this life, that there is a purpose, that she can be with her husband and cute little boy forever. It was amazing!!!! I didn't know Marshallese really back then, but in the lessons, it just came to me and I understood and I just knew what to say and how to say it. It was awesome and I will never forget that feeling.
13. What have you learned about yourself since being on a mission? That I suck at being patient and that I had no idea how to study before my mission. I am growing a ton first off, but I still have a long ways to go. I work on it everyday. God gives me challenges so I can gain patience... It's difficult, but by the end of my mission, hopefully I will be better than I was... haha humility.... idk if that will come, but maybe ;)
14. What things will you do differently when you get home because what you learned? Study hardest, study smartest and probably just use my time wiser. idk It's hard to say because I probably won't be going to bed at 10:30 and getting up at 6:30 like I am now... haha but probably just setting some hardcore goals and just giving my all for it.
15. Do you know how much I love you? How much I think of you? I know that you love me the most out of all your kids and you think about me double as much as you think about them haha and The same goes for you :) I think about you more than any other person :)
16. Do you feel your Heavenly Father's love for you daily? Absolutely. I couldn't say any other thing to that. Loosening my tongue, giving me trials, helping me through them, just protecting me. Yes. Definitely.
17. Are you taking lots of cool pictures? Of your bed, kitchen, apt, neighborhood, church, friends, everything? I am taking a ton of pictures. I have about 250 ready for you guys.... but I wanna wait until you guys send me another card, then I will send you mine! I got some awesome ones on it that I think you will like
18. What's the weirdest creature you've seen at the beach or in the water? Squid!! They are crazy!! Ugly, nasty, smelly. They are huge, like 8-10 feet! Crazy!!!!
19. Have you seen a shark? Seen? I have eaten shark - multiple times. and it's delicious!! In Arrak, I actually went shark fishing!! We just tie huge slabs of meat to lines and the sharks come! I have some videos of it - its legit!! And I was at the fish docks in Uliga buying fish and you could look into the water and see hundreds of hundreds of fish swimming around! And there are sharks there too!
20. Are you happy? I am happy and I love what I'm doing. Sometimes I get mad or frustrated, but that's life. I can't avoid that, but I can choose not to dwell on it and that's what I do. I am doing great though! I can't believe that I am already at 7 months... what the freak... Life is good. Very good. I try my best to forget about everything and get to work but it's difficult, but I am happy. I have some great Elders as friends and they are awesome and we all help each other. I ain't got no worries :)
So let's see... what else can I tell you before I have to get off. I am not going to be working less actives anymore... I will be opening up a new area with Duriba called Uliga central. It's pretty cool. You guys should go on google earth and you can see exactly where I am!! I am right next to CMI, College of the Marshall Islands. If you see it, you can go to the basketball court right by the road and I live right next to it!! Pretty interesting!! Haha another funny story... one of our investigators asked us to come to his court case if we weren't busy to support him... that was awkward. We didn't end up going but I thought it was really funny!! haha
I don't have any complaints. I just wish time would go faster sometimes! haha but I love you and can't wait to hear from you soon!! Love you guys, especially you mom.
Elder Ingalls
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