When we first saw him and news of his transfer
Testimony in Kiribati
Daniel will now be on Christmas Island (Kirimati) with Elder Openshaw, who came the transfer after him. It has internet! Hooray! So we should be back on track for regular emails again!!
As you can see, the video quality was very poor. We finally turned it off and just talked so we could understand each other. He told us that he received our packages. They celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, and they all stay up until midnight in order to welcome in Christmas. They did the same thing for New Year's Eve. They finally got rain around Christmas, so then the island road became a river and they were riding every where in deep water. They had 5 baptisms over the last few weeks. He and Elder Matiare were both transferred and replaced by two new Elders. Elder Matiare goes home in March, so he came in to Tarawa for the rest of his mission. He promised us pictures the next time he can email, so probably next week. We asked about his health. He does have one new problem. He said people only tell you about the rats eating the soles of your feet, but they don't warn you about the flies. Last week, he was showering with the dirty well water and he had some sores on his feet which became infected. He ended up with a fever and his right foot swelled up. He didn't tell the nurse because he figured he was going in to Tarawa soon, but by the time he got there today, the infection had eaten away the flesh on his foot in about a dime size area and the depth of your finger, so he said maybe an inch deep. (It grossed us out too). So the nurse is going to treat it but says you can't put in stitches on the foot. She will have to pack it with gauze and medicine and allow it to heal and hopefully the area will fill in with healthy flesh. On the positive side, he can feel on that foot again, which had been numb! He also told us the reason he had not been writing letters was because every week, they thought the internet was going to be fixed. So he just kept waiting to email, which never happened. We asked him what he learned most from his time with no internet and he said, "Patience!" He said they left the new Elders with lots of potentials and plenty of work to do. We asked about the pictures of the Salt Lake Temple, the First Presidency, and the CTR rings that I sent in his Christmas package, and he said the members loved them! He said everyone wanted a CTR ring and he had to be very careful about handing them out. So you can imagine I will be sending CTR rings from now on in all my packages! Oh, and when he arrived in Tarawa today, he received a stack of Christmas cards and letters! Thank you!!!
It was wonderful to hear from him. Keep an eye out for a new email next week, maybe with pictures this time!! Keeping my fingers crossed. After he hung up, he was headed out to get a haircut!
As you can see, the video quality was very poor. We finally turned it off and just talked so we could understand each other. He told us that he received our packages. They celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, and they all stay up until midnight in order to welcome in Christmas. They did the same thing for New Year's Eve. They finally got rain around Christmas, so then the island road became a river and they were riding every where in deep water. They had 5 baptisms over the last few weeks. He and Elder Matiare were both transferred and replaced by two new Elders. Elder Matiare goes home in March, so he came in to Tarawa for the rest of his mission. He promised us pictures the next time he can email, so probably next week. We asked about his health. He does have one new problem. He said people only tell you about the rats eating the soles of your feet, but they don't warn you about the flies. Last week, he was showering with the dirty well water and he had some sores on his feet which became infected. He ended up with a fever and his right foot swelled up. He didn't tell the nurse because he figured he was going in to Tarawa soon, but by the time he got there today, the infection had eaten away the flesh on his foot in about a dime size area and the depth of your finger, so he said maybe an inch deep. (It grossed us out too). So the nurse is going to treat it but says you can't put in stitches on the foot. She will have to pack it with gauze and medicine and allow it to heal and hopefully the area will fill in with healthy flesh. On the positive side, he can feel on that foot again, which had been numb! He also told us the reason he had not been writing letters was because every week, they thought the internet was going to be fixed. So he just kept waiting to email, which never happened. We asked him what he learned most from his time with no internet and he said, "Patience!" He said they left the new Elders with lots of potentials and plenty of work to do. We asked about the pictures of the Salt Lake Temple, the First Presidency, and the CTR rings that I sent in his Christmas package, and he said the members loved them! He said everyone wanted a CTR ring and he had to be very careful about handing them out. So you can imagine I will be sending CTR rings from now on in all my packages! Oh, and when he arrived in Tarawa today, he received a stack of Christmas cards and letters! Thank you!!!
It was wonderful to hear from him. Keep an eye out for a new email next week, maybe with pictures this time!! Keeping my fingers crossed. After he hung up, he was headed out to get a haircut!
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