Christmas skype with Elder H.

Christmas Day group shot

Family he lived with on his first Island

A house on a truck

His first lobster

Things have been tough……..

Elder Carringtons mom posted this picture

So this is the email we received from Elder Hilliard today. I was home sick from church, it was a good thing because his emails came just after sacrament started.

Hey everyone!  Thanks for all the love and support that you guys have given me.  You all have helped me to remember so much about why I am here and what I need to be focusing on.  You all are so great and I hope your past week was good and I hope you have a good Christmas.

So this past week has been good here in Kiribati.  The people are so great.  They try all they can to help me.  The language is still tough and I don't have much energy so it has been hard to focus on learning the language.  I know that as I start eating I will be able to focus more and be able to really start learning the language.  We have been able to do some good work here in my short time.  The work here just moves so fast, so many of the people are just so ready to here and accept the gospel.  We had two baptisms this past Saturday.  Veronica and Prensenta.  They are great people who have had to overcome so much to get where they are.  They had many very spiritual experiences and my trainer and the zone leader that was there said that it was the most spiritual baptism that they have been to here.  I am so glad to have been a part of it and I really do love doing the Lord's work.  Even when I don't understand what is going on I feel the spirit so strongly and I love it. 

Thanks to all of you.  I love you all.  You all have done so much to help me and I am so grateful.  I will try to get pictures to you some how, but I really do not trust these internet cafe computers with my pictures.  I will see what I can do though.  Anyway, have a good week and try not to worry about me too much!

Love

Elder Hilliard

What do you eat for breakfast? When does your day start?

I drink orange juice for breakfast and dinner every day.  My day starts for study around 8 and proselyting around 11 or 12.

SO are you in a regular church house and wards and stuff?

Kind of.  Normal in the sense that we have a meeting house but the building is very different from back home.  Much of it is outside and the only rooms with air conditioning are the bishop's offices.  Oh yeah, I had to give a talk yesterday.  That was so weird.  I had no idea what to say, and I don't know how to find scriptures in Kiribati very well.

How are things with your companion. Why are you not eating?

My companion is fine.  He loves it here.  He isn't completely native yet but I am fine with that.  On Christmas the senior couples are throwing us a party and we get cheese burgers somehow.  I am with all my stuff which is why Tarawa is kind of nice.  My area on Tarawa is call Bikenibeu 2nd.  And I actually like the taste of most of the food, its just solid food makes my stomach hurt right now, but it is starting to get better

Have you given out any of the CTR rings and crayons or are you saving them?

Yeah, I left all of that on Nikunau, but I thinks the kids there will get more enjoyment out of the stuff than the kids here anyway.  Heck the adults had fun with the toys so I think they will really appreciate all the stuff.  And the adults will use some of the crayons to mark their scriptures.

Oh whats also fun here is our semi-automatic washing machine.  We use a bucket to fill it with water.  Then we put like two sets of garments in.  But in soap.  Wash for 15 minutes.  Dump the water.  Refill it and wash for another 15 minutes.  Dump the water then put the clothes on a clothes line.  So much fun.

How far is the beach?

We walk out of our house and across the street and there is the lagoon.  The sea beach is about a 5 minute walk.

Well I have to get off now, I have loved talking with you and I am starting to feel much better.  I love you and hope you have a good Christmas.

Love

Elder Hilliard

First picture from mission field

Really can not tell you how excited I was to see this picture just randomly show up on Facebook. Elder Hilliard and his companion Elder Carrington are looking good.