TWO HANDWRITTEN LETTERS TO MOM, BUT IT'S TOO GOOD TO NOT POST!!

 Yesterday I went out to the mailbox.  I was sad we didn't hear from him by email this week.  Sometimes that happens if the other missionaries come from outer islands.  They only can email once a month so they get priority.  However, I received TWO handwritten letters yesterday via snail mail and so because this is my journal for his mission I am going to write them out.  Makes everything worth it!  :)  ~ Proud mom of Elder Saylin


OCTOBER 1, 2016

Mom!!  I MISS YOU! How has my mom been?.  It's hard only getting to talk to you once a week for a little bit.  I miss coming up the stairs every night to tell you that I am home.  I guess that the only thing better than that that I can tell you right now is that I am happy!  It's super hard out here at times, not going to lie.  I struggle lots with the language, it's superrrrr hot, days go by when nobody wants to listen to us.  But then I get these moments: I see the gospel making someone else's life happy.  I give them hope.  I bring them joy.  I help open their eyes.  I see them want to change their life.  I walk up to someone's hut to find them reading the Book of Mormon without us, or studying a pamphlet.  I understand some of their testimony.  With my broken Chuukese, I open up my heart to them.  Then I see them change!  When somebody sincerely says to me, "Thank you Elder Saylin," it changes my perspective on everything.  I no longer care about how many lessons we taught or didn't teach; I don't care if I'm awful at Chuukese right now.  I don't care how many people yelled at me that day, or how hot it may be.  Mom, when somebody says that to me the only thing that is going through my mind is a prayer to my Savior, thanking him SO MUCH for giving me this opportunity to serve a mission, and thanking Him for putting me in Chuuk to help these people. It makes everything worth it.  It cures my homesickness.

Niames, the last girl I baptized, is my favorite person ever.  She is seriously like a sister to me out here!  Having watched her change, and still come to church every Sunday is the best.  Last night, she studied the Book of Mormon for 3 hours!!  3!!!  Seeing her happiness and devotion to the Lord changes me.  It strengthens my testimony so much and makes me forever grateful for this chance I have to serve here.

I guess I wanted to write you to thank you, mom.  Withoutyou, I probably wouldn't be out here.  Thank you for your testimony and example you have been to me.  Thanks for always being forgiving and patient with me.  There is no other Mom in this world that is like you.  I'm SO LUCKY to be able to call you my mom.

How has everything been at home??  It's weird to be away from everyone this long.  If you ever want to print up pictures of everyone (Seth @ football, you and dad, girls' dance, the family hanging out, etc.) please don't hesitate to send some in the mail!  haha  I hope and pray everyday that the family is doing well!  Say hi to everyone for me!

Love,
Elder Saylin

OCTOBER 6, 2016    (SNAIL MAIL!!!)

Mom!
I got a letter from you today, and a package!  Thank you so much; you're the best!  The good you send keeps me alive (but no need to send ramen noodles.  haha We have plenty of that!  Maybe beef jerky?  The mac n' cheese is super good though. )  Your letter means so much to me.  I'm glad everyone is doing super good at home.

To answer all your questions:

6-7:30am :wake up, workout, breakfast, BUCKET shower

8:30-9:30am  Companionship study

9:30-10:30am 12 week training

10:30-11:30 Lunch

11:30am -6pm TEACHING

6-6:30 Planning

6:30-7:30pm Language study (usually goes two hours though)

8:30-10pm eat dinner and chill until bed  haha

So, yeah, we have electricity to see.  Our power goes out a ton though so we just use my flashlight.  It's kind of fun haha. People feed us sometimes.  Actually, only my branch president feeds us.  Other than that, not really.  Yes, we "grocery shop."  We go into town on the other side of the island and there's a few super ghetto stores where we buy food.  They're kind of like a small warehouse.   I'll take pics for you next Monday.  My district leader is Elder Floyd.  I love him.  We are the same person--hah, it's weird.  Our training meetings are for like 4 hours, but they are way good.  I'm with the other missionaries Monday for P-day, Thursday/Friday becasue that's district meeting and then exchanges.

Our church building is tiny.  Just and empty room.  We are lucky to have a building though because the outer island has church under a tent.  (Sounds fun to me, though!!!!)  We usually have anywhere from 12-30 people show up to church.  Never really know.  Branch President hasn't had their baby yet, but seriously could at any second.  They're still naming it Saylin, though!!!  Super excited!

Mom, I ate a whole octopus today.  The whole thing.  They didn't even cut it up or anything.  Just boiled it in some water and fed it to us.  So nasty, but I don't care about taste out here hahaa.  I really am Chuukese now.  If it's edible, I am eating it.

I've been struggling lots with the language.  It's hard.  ( No MTC training by the way!!~Jen)  Some days I want to give up, but I never will.  I have Heavenly Father on my side and I know He will help me.  I love my mission.  I seriously have the best mission in the world.!!  I love the people and everything I am learning.  I am SO blessed!  This church is true.  Not a doubt in my mind.

I love you, mom!

Elder Saylin

OCTOBER 10, 2016 LETTER ZONE CONFERENCE, OCTOPUS AND MUD SLIDES

I'm alive! Hitting my 3 month mark this week. Feels like 3 years haha, but it's good because Im loving it and have the best mission in the world. This week has been adventurous!

So we had zone conference and zone meeting this week. President Zarbock and his wife are the best. We had pizza for lunch, too, which was amazing because it's one of the few things I have eaten here that isn't disgusting Chuukese food! President is such a good teacher and gives me so much motivation and ambition to baptize everyone in Chuuk that I see. He teaches with with Spirit so strong and is a good example to me! 

A few days ago  some people we taught wanted to give us food after we taught them. They had nothing to give us... expect for octopus. Yes, octopus. The whole thing. They just boiled it in some water and then put it in a bowl and didn't do anything to it -- just fed it to us right there. It was purple and orange. No knifes or anything to cut it; just picked it up and took a big bite out of it hahah. It was super thick and rubbery. At first it wasn't that awful, but the after taste wanted to make me throw up and i couldn't get the taste out of my mouth all day hahaha. I was hungry though so I didn't care. I'm turning into a Chuukese person out here. Legit-- anything that is edible, I'm gonna eat it. It's awesome! 

We have been trying really hard to find new investigators this week and we found two! Our other 2 investigators are doing really well. Winistion walked super far 2 weeks now in a row to come to church. He's getting baptized next Saturday! He's soo dope. Micah is 9 and wants to get baptized next Saturday as well. I can't wait! They are such good people and examples to me.

So the begining of the week it rained super hard. We hiked way up the steep mountain to Winistons house. He always gives us food. He gave me this big Tonga (its like this weird dry- watermelon- chalky- moist vegetable). It's hard to explain haha. But I was coming down the hill of thick jungle carrying this thing in one hand and my BOM in the other. It was soo muddy and it was a trap for me just to die. I few steps in, sure enough.... I slipped and fell. haha I had no hands to catch me. I didn't wanna loose my tonga and didn't want my book ruined so I like broke my back and fell into these bushes hahahaha and got soaked in mud and water BUT MY FOOD AND BOOK WAS OKAY. It was awesome! I laughed so hard.

Anyway, I have more pictures but it's being weird right now so I will upload more next week. I promise

Miss you all tons.

Elder Saylin

-- 

Elder Saylin

SHORTEST EMAIL EVER, BUT AT LEAST WE GOT ONE! :)

A short letter to Mom:

Hey!!  I only have a little time because the outer islands came in to to email and shop, but I managed to sneak in here for a few minutes! Nooo there's no way for us to have watched conference. I'm so happy for Scott. I sent you a letter in the mail! The post office closed no reason for 2 weeks so everything is way backed up.  I haven't got a letter or anything in the mail for a few weeks. Did my letter that I sent home a while ago to everyone (where I wrote everyone a letter) get to you guys? I never got a letter back from anyone so i just didn't know. I hope it didn't get lost. This week has been slow. Not much happened except Winston came to church which is a blessing! Other than that just trying to learn this language haha. Gotta run Mom. I love you!

A short letter to Dad:

WOWWW!!!!!!!!

I am so happy for him!!!!!!!! ( Scott/ temple)  That's so awesome! I can't wait to go with him. Sad I missed it.

How are you? I haven't gotten those emails in the snail mail yet but i'm looking forward to it.

My dinner last night was crazy. Legit--I ate fish right out of the ocean. No dad, not prepared. Right out of the flipping ocean! They caught it, cut it open, pulled out a few guts, and handed it to me with a bowl of rice. SO nasty, but it was to break my fast and I was starving haha so I ate it all. It was nuts!!!

It's been a slow week. Not much happened hah . I just got yelled at a lot, It was wiered but it's all good. 

Miss you all lots!!! 

Love 

Elder Saylin

LIFE AS AN ISLANDER

Easily the best few days of my mission! (If you can't tell by the pictures).  It was so amazing. So Wednesday night we got on this boat that was a lot smaller than expected. We had 50 people on the boat. It was impossible to sleep. Impossible. Dad, you would have thrown yourself overboard within the first 10 minutes. There was no room at all to sleep so everyone was laying on each other and we were all smashed, and it was super hot. The waves were crazy and the boat rocked back and forth so much. People were throwing up off the side of the boat but luckily I didn't. 

After 12 hours of that, we finally got to the island of Ruo. It's in the middle of nowhere. SO BEAUTIFUL YOU HAVE NO IDEA. Pictures don't even come close to what it looks like. The water was about 80+ feet deep they said and it was crystal clear to the bottom. The whole island was straight sand and palm trees. There's 400 people on the island. When we got to shore we were greeted by pretty much the whole island with flower lays and coconuts, and they were singing and dancing all over the place. This island is so clean and they take such good care of it, unlike Chuuk which is a dump, hah.

 They brought us into their town hall and sang to us and danced. They're so good at singing. The Chief and the Mayor then spoke and welcomed us. We then got out to teaching. In Ruo they loveeddd it so much. The people are amazing and so loving and have the best culture in the world. I honestly think we committed 400 people on a baptismal date that day. Such a miracle. Then they fed us lunch and sang and watched us eat. I have the coolest videos so I will have to send my SD card home sometime so you guys can watch them.  

The food is crazy. My body is getting a little more used to taking in all their Chuukese food, but it's still nuts. Mom, you'd be so proud of everything I eat. Nothing phases me anymore haha. We had no food on the boat so the only way we could eat is if they fed us so we got lucky, but we starved for breakfast and dinner haha. Then after lunch we taught more and played with the little kids and played volleyball with them. Its sooooo hotttt on these islands because since there's no dirt or mud and just sand the whole island is on fire. Must have been 115 degrees with 100 percent humidity. I thought I was gonna die. I drank at least 15 coconuts, though, hah, so that was good. 

Then we went back on the boat and spent another amazing wonderful night for 14 hours to another island called Vananu. It was beautiful, too. We did the same thing as in Ruo. They greeted us with flower lays and everything. The culture was a little different. They weren't as welcoming and loving as Ruo, but they still were such amazing people. Nobody on these islands works or has school and anything to do. They just all hangout and love each other and everyone is such good friends and knows each other. I'm pretty sure they don't have any money that exist on these islands. There's no electricity at all. Nothing. It's crazy. If I get to open up these islands and serve here it would be the best thing ever. Sharing the gospel to people for the first time EVER in the history of the Hall Islands was the coolest experience ever. I will never forget it. I taught this group of 25 at once and they were all above 15 yrs old. I invited them all to be baptized at the end of the lesson and they had never heard the word "baptisim" in their lives before and had no idea what is was! Whaaa!  Can you imagine?? So we taught about that and they all wanted to be baptized after. Then after that day at Vananu, we boated 12 hours home again back to my island in Chuuk. I was sooo sick at this point. Everyone was. We got in at 4 am and went to bed. All the missionaries said they were super sick, too. We slept all day Saturday. Legit-- all day and all night. We were so sick we couldn't move unless to the bathroom. But I am doing a lot better now haha; it was worth it, though. I just don't know if I could ever step foot on a boat again haha.

I love my mission. I'm so lucky and blessed to be in the Micronesia Guam Mission and wouldn't trade these experiences for the world. The church is true!

-- 

Elder Saylin

"It's gonna be the best day of my liifffeee....oh oh ohhh!"

Sam Houston! I miss you. You are such a stud. Because of you, I wake up every morning and just sing, "It's gonna be the best day of my liiffeee. ooh oohh" and think of you and it makes my day so much better. I then have such a good attitude about everything! hahaha. 

We had a baptism this Saturday! It was awesome. Her name is Niames and she is my favorite. She's 12 and her parents finally said that she could be baptized and she was SOOO happy! Seeing people change so much and get on the right path is the best thing in the world. Our other investigator Terson that was supposed to get baptized said he heard rumors about the church and can't get baptized anymore.  ughhh It broke my heart.  So we have work to do with him, but I know God has a plan for him and it will all be okay!

I'M GOING ON VACATION THIS WEEK! So hyped! So the church for the first time ever is going to open some islands called Ruo. There are four islands and the church has never been there before. President Zarbock is coming down on Wednesday and a few of us elders get to go with him and our branch president to go teach some people out there and see how it goes! It's a 12 hour boat ride  so hopefully I don't throw up everywhere. We get back Sunday. I got lucky and get to go because my companion is an Islander and President only is letting elders from Chuuk go that have an islander in the companionship. Super cool. I cant wait!

I added a few sentences to my testimony (in Chuukese) this week! I added 4 sentences. Three went really good, and the other everyone laughed because it made no sence. hahaha I don't even know what I said. I led a lesson, though, so I was pretty happy with that:) I'm trying super hard and God is helping me. 

We had 36 at church yesterday; it was the best thing ever.!!!! After church they taught us this Sapuk dance and it's the sickest thing ever. Only know the beginning right now. I didn't know I could dance hahah  but I am picking up some sweet moves out here!

Found out I'm allergic to crab this week. Tongue and throat swelled up and I thought I was gonna die haha but I ran and got medicine super fast and I'm alive:) We still have no power. Probably won't be fixed for a while. We had no food because it all went bad so we left to a different area to sleep at night and eat so that's nice. 

Love you all.

Elder Saylin

MIss you guys so much!  I love you!

-- 

Elder Saylin

WHEN IN CHUUK, DO AS THE CHUUKESE

HEY! Sorry I didn't get to write last week! Once a month the outer islands come into our island and write so we don't get to because there are too many of us. These last two weeks have been crazy, and long, but I'm still alive out here and working hard. Crazy I've been in Chuuk a whole transfer already. It feels like 2 years, though, haha but it'll pick up from what everyone says here. I've gotten kinda sick which is the worst here, but its not too bad I guess. It's just from all the weird food and stuff I eat and the awful diet I have out here, haha, but my body will get used to it! 

Sooo we have 2 baptisms this week! Terson and Naimes. SO PUMPED because Niames asked me if I would be the one to baptize her. She's 13 and even though she hardly knows me  I guess she likes my awful Chuukese and just laughing at everything because I never know what's actually going on. Terson asked one of our members to baptize him so that'll be cool, too. Super excited. We only had 12 people at church yesterday ugh; that was no good. We are trying our best to get people to church but everyone is sooo lazy here on the islands, but we will get it.

Mom, you literally saved Elder Gibson and my life this week. So last Monday there was just a miscommunication and we didn't end up having time to buy food for the week. We had no food. I'm sorry for all the times I complained at home that we "have nothing to eat" because now I really know what that means. We had 1 chicken thigh, 2 cups of rice, and 2 rolls left. FOR THE WEEK. The zone leaders said we weren't allowed to get food until next week so we just gotta pray and hope we find food or that people feed us. Prayed so much Monday night. All night. I was scared I was gonna die haha. Not gonna lie. Then Tuesday I got 3 packages in the mail!! 1 for breakfast. 1 for lunch. 1 for dinner!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH it was legit a miracle. That's all we ate this week; it was the best. Thank you so much! We loved the food. You really did keep us alive out here because nobody fed us really. 

So the last few days have been such a pain because our electricity box is now completely broken. No lights (it's dark at 6 pm), no running water, no filter pump, no toilet, no fridge, no food, nothing to cook or cook with really. It's SO HOT so we have heat exhaustion pretty much. We sleep outside now because our box (house) has no windows so there is no airflow and it's the worst. The first night it started pouring on us so we had to run inside. I couldn't sleep it was so hot and I was just super sweaty. We legit live like the Chuukese people do her. Hopefully it will be fixed soon though, but we don't know. God's definitely testing my faith and patience out here that's for sure, but with prayer and fasting and trying my very best out here He is taking care of us.

So we have this investigator named Etwin. He's super funny, but he smokes. Every time he always starts to smoke we chase him and try and take his cigarette away. haha It's our joke with him. Well last week we saw him out in front of his house smoking and he didn't see us, so we went around to do a sneak attack on him. I went one way and Elder Gibson went the other. I got there first and tried to tackle him from behind. He was trying to fight me off and I was screaming at the top of my longs for Elder Gibson to come help. I'm fighting him and all of the sudden this freaking huge black dog comes out of no where AND BIT ME ON THE BUTT SO HARD!!!!!! I screamed and threw him and the dog ran off. Hurt so bad. A bunch of people were watching and were just laughing hahahah.  I have some gnarly teeth marks on my butt now, but I am good now. hah. 

Anyway,s it's good to hear from everyone. I miss you all so much, but I am working hard and loving my mission more and more everyday. I'm sad I missed your birthday, Dad!!! HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY! I love you guys. The church is true!

-- 

Elder Saylin

PS Hey thanks for all the emails!! I hate how rushed we are here. Maybe you can print them and send them to me???? I would love to really read all of them. Sounds like the family is doing well. Miss you guys and alwasy thinking about you! DAD, happy birthday. I have a letter coming for you in the mail don't worry! What did you guys do? Was it a blast?? Miss you!!! I love you! Thanks for the packages and notes and everything from everyone-- you guys are the BEST!!!!!!! Love you lots.