Hey everyone!!
Sorry about last week. Lost internet before I could send this out. So here is last weeks update:
Basically
I feel like I'm back in America. It's drier here than Pohnpei for sure,
and they have street lights and real roads and fast food and lotsa
tourism on Saipan. Obviously, there are TONS of Asians. 20% of the
population, or 1 in 5 people, are Asian, and mostly Chinese. Which is
why Sister Jenkins and I are going to learn Chinese. It's gonna be kinda
rough, but it's all good.
I miss Pohnpei. I
keep saying stuff in Pohnpeian. Family, don't be sad... But whenever I
tell Sister Jenkins about Pohnpei, I say "Back home". For reals, I don't
even try. I just call it home. I am definitely going back there some
day.
Saipan is pretty cool though. Today we
hiked up to the highest point and you could see around the entire
island. (In the picture with all 6 of us missionaries it goes: Elder
Iero the district leader, me and Sister Jenkins, Elder Slack and Elder
Palmer the Zone Leaders, and Elder Williams. Elder Williams is from
Pohnpei!! So that's pretty cool).
It takes only 1 hour to
drive around the island. Which is good, because Sister Jenkins and I
have to cover the whole island. The Elders split the island so they
cover 50% of the people who aren't Chinese. Most of the Chinese people
live or hang out in Garapan, so that's where we will spend a lot of
time.
Trying to learn Chinese on your own is
sooo hard. We have these little books that help a bit, because they have
the English, Pinyon (phonics of the Chinese words) and the Chinese
characters. But even with the Pinyon, we keep saying stuff wrong I
think. Yesterday we tried to tell a lady we were trying to learn
Chinese, and I think I said something bad cuz she looked at me really
funny, like I was crazy. It's all good though. We've made a whole bunch
of connections, and hopefully we can get a little bit of tutoring from
some of the locals that speak English and Chinese. One in particular,
Yung Yi, sounds like will be really helpful. It's kinda funny trying to
learn a new language after immersing yourself in one language/culture.
One member that lives here said she can hear my Pohnpeian accent when I
talk! That made me really happy. The gift of tongues is real people!
Also, I keep rolling my R's when I try to read the Chinese.... I need a
new gift of tongues, I think. The gift of Chinese tongues.
Sister
Jenkins and I are slowly getting the layout of the island. Friday the
Zone Leaders showed us around the island once, but it was a quick tour.
Luckily we found an atlas in our apartment that's been suuuper helpful,
if a little outdated. Needless to say, she is the master navigator.
Sister
Jenkins is super cool. She joined the Airforce for a year before coming
on her mission. She turned 19 then left like 4 days later for the MTC.
She reminds me of a younger version of me, in a lot of ways. She gets my
sense of humor, which is good, because otherwise we'd probably drive
each other crazy since we are the only two Sister's on the island. But
because it's just us, we go back to Guam once a month for training. So
that'll be cool.
Having to whitewash an island,
train, and learn a totally different language is pretty intimidating.
But, between the transfer call and going to Saipan, I read Ether 12. The
whole chapter is really good, but verses 23-27, and 37 really stood out
to me. I know I have weaknesses--so many weaknesses-- but I know God
will help me turn them into strengths. I feel pretty unqualified for
this work, but He qualifies those whom He calls. I know that is true. I
am going to pour my heart and soul into learning Chinese, and helping
the Chinese people understand who God is. Most of them don't even know
about God, and if they do, they are afraid of religion. It's a totally
different approach to teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and Sister
Jenkins and I are still trying to find the right one. Let the Holy
Spirit guide.
Speaking of... Cool story.
Saturday night we were walking through Garapan, and I had the thought to
try the sneaky way of talking to people by asking for a fake referral.
Except for some reason I decided to ask a name of someone we got from
the Elders, who lives on the other side of the island. Surprise! The
lady was like, yeah I know him. "He's my husband. Just a minute, I'll
call him." So Sister Jenkins stood outside the restaurant, totally not
sure what to do. Then we went and talked to him. Turns out it was
Brother Watts, who is a member of the ward. He married the Chinese lady
last year. Just who we needed to talk to!! He has helped us sooooo much,
and introduced us to many Chinese people, including the lady who will
hopefully give us some tutoring lessons. It's awesome to see the
miracles that come from just opening your mouth.
Miracle
Minutes: Made one last round through Garapan at about 8:55 before
heading back to the car, and a man stopped us and asked for our Bible.
He wanted the English one, and we only had Chinese, so we gave him an
English pamphlet instead with our phone number, then said we'd bring him
the Book of Mormon. Apparently he was baptized back in the early 2000's
by one of the Elders, but he has lost his way.
Anyway....
That's all for this week. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. I am
excited and nervous for this new adventure. I know that Heavenly Father
called me and Sister Jenkins to this island for a purpose. I just hope
we can learn Chinese quickly and fulfill that purpose.
I
poakepoake kumwail and Wo ai ni men. (Means the same thing in two
different languages. Except I can't type in Chinese characters or
Pinyon.... Yet.)
Go forward with "an eye single to the glory of God."
Sister Springer
And this week:
We
went to MLC this week. MLC is Missionary Leadership Conference. I guess
since we are the only Sisters on Saipan, we go. It's so weird though,
because everyone there has been on a mission for awhile, but I have only
been out for a little bit and Sister Jenkins just started. (Ok, I say
little bit... but this week I will hit my 4 month mark. It's already
going way too fast.) So basically we got to Saipan, stayed a week, then
Saturday afternoon flew back to Guam, then early this morning flew back
to Saipan.
Learned a lot at MLC. We talked
about the Sabbath day and how we can get investigators to church. It was
really helpful. President and Sister Zarbock and the Assistants are all
inspired people. I love hearing from them, and am excited to apply
their teaching to our lessons. Summary: the commitment pattern is
inspired.
Last week I studied hope. Lots of
good scriptures I found, and things. Forgot to get my notes from the
apartment though, so maybe next week. This week I will focus on
humility.
Sister Jenkins mentioned something
to me today that I thought was cool. I guess when she was in the MTC,
Elder Christoferson came and spoke. He mentioned Micronesia Guam mission
specifically, and said that this mission is extra hard because it's so
spread out. Because of that, anyone called here was foreordained in the
life before this one. When she told me that, the Spirit washed over me.
It's crazy to think about, but really cool, too. There's another word
for it... maybe just "I have an almost but not quite overwhelming sense
of awe" would work. Jayden, what word could I use?
Anyway, signing off for this week. Wan an!
Sister Springer
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