Gratitude

Andrew sent the following to Lizzie as part of his letter to her this week:

"This thanksgiving season I express gratitude for the things that are most important to me: my six F's:
Faith, Family, Fitness, Freedom, Finances & Friends.

• If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.
• If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.
• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering.
• If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all."

This was Lizzie's reply:

After this email, I just started to cry because of that statement -- one that I have heard so many times before -- but it means something different now living here. The first, "If you have food in your fridge,"...because of the expense of electricity no one HAS fridges here, so of course there is no food in them...They have more like wooden dressers that they keep their food in (if they have food). "Clothes on your back"...oh the sweet people here! They will wear their clothes until they are rags...and they will wear rags until they are nothing more than a patch of fabric with rips and tears. I know I will hate looking at my closet of clothes when I come back! And lastly "A roof over your head"...I can't remember if I told you, or sent it in a weekly letter home, but I had an investigator whose roof was help up by two crutches dug into the ground. And this thanksgiving I have never had so much to be thankful for in my life. My greatest blessing is you Dad. Thank you so much for being the head of our house. Every single prayer I say, I always thank for my family...and I ALWAYS start with the head of our house, you Dad. So thank you thank you. I sure love you.

Always and Forever,
Sister Liz

life is simple...

Some fun stories about me. in the house I live in, it's truly a Kiribati house. I have to pump my water, do my wash by hand, manually flush the toilet...everything you could dream of, isn't it? hahahaa :) but there is no other option -- I think maybe that's the luxury back at home i'm realizing I don't have...options. haha :) other than that, I really am doing so good. Learning to serve God with all my heart...

One thing that I learned this week was how to be happy with what time it is. I guess I was guilty of just wanting time to pass, so I could go home...but if I live my mission like that, it is a waste of time..so I started to really live in EVERY day. just take one day like it was the only day I have. I've done it for a week, to just live in the day and it's been the fastest week I've had!!

This week was fantastic -  I almost taught 40 lessons, mom I THREW myself in the work. And life here is so simple...we arrived early to our dinner appointment and they weren't ready (no one has a clock here, who  would be ready?) and I got to sit and watch the sunset for forty minutes as our rice cooked. just me, cause my companion fell asleep (something that is totally fine to do, sleep anywhere, anytime, on anyone's hammock ;) and was just so grateful that life is so simple for me right now. I truly love missionary work, and it really is work :) I'm teaching most of the lessons, and then my companion cleans up all the things I forgot or didn't make sense..I can't believe i'm actually speaking in another language..it blows my mind..I know Heavenly Father has helped me so much with this language. 

(Lizzie found out that her uncle, Robin's brother Dan, passed away this morning)

Having faith in Heavenly Father is the only thing I have here mom...and I just have faith that everything is as it should be. I know you must be feeling so much right now..I had a little moment today when I thought of you -- I asked the little neighbor boy to go buy some -- it's called, 'te ice' here -- anyway I asked him to go buy me one and buy one for himself...but mercy I thought it would save me time but I ended him watching him the whole way there and back (the little shop was in sight) I thought, "mercy, heaven help sister Johnson as a parent because I can't even let the neighbor boy go 50 yards without watching him the whole way." and how this ALL ties into each other...is that right now mom you have to have more faith then you ever had before. your daughter is not in your sight and neither is your brother. but are we still here? yes. Yes mom, I'm just as much here as Uncle Dan is. But all you've got is your faith to see us. Growing hurts, doesn't it? It definitely stings, but I just want you to know that everyday, or about everyday I teach about the Plan of Salvation..and the Plan of Salvation is what holds our family together at this time momma.

I love you!!!!!!!!!

liz

PS. Please thank kris and jane for the packages! This week I lost my ATM card, and so it was PERFECT timing, because I had all the food they sent! Thank you thank you to them. 



 

fish

I think Dad and Devan are the only ones that know this...maybe Mom and Sarah too if you guys are really studying PMG like you say you are ;) But guess what? Missionaries do service once a week! It's the coolest thing in the world! President Weir has set apart the appointed day of Thursday that we do service. Sometimes is lasts one hour, sometimes the whole morning...but this last week was pretty memorable. 

We got to Unia's house and asked if there was anything we could do to help. We were all dressed in grunge clothes ready to work. Unia -- and the people here -- are really shy to let foreigners help them because it's definitely outside of their culture. They have strict traditions that girls can only do girl chores and guys can only do guy chores but when we come - we come to work. She said she really had nothing for us to do, and just then her three daughters came back from their morning bath in the ocean with all sorts of fish they had caught (talk about multi-tasking..) So we started the daily routine of the people of Kiribati. We gutted the fish (and I almost threw up..but I held my white self together) salted the fish..then walked all over the islands to find fire wood. We found some, and started a fire with stones. Just kidding..but sometimes I think I wouldn't be surprised if we did. We started a fire, and then placed a sheet of metal on top of two large rocks with the fire in the middle and cooked the fish. After all this was done and the fresh fish was cooked..we ate the fish. I actually ate the fish...but only two bites, hahaha. I always have to explain to everyone, "Nanou, e kain Kiribati; ma biratou, e tiaki kain Kiribati" My heart is from Kiribati, but my stomach isn't from Kiribati. And that concluded our service...but as I thought about it as we were walking home..I was seriously so impressed with the skills of these people..yeah no one has a solid education -- but they have got street smarts like nobody's business. With only an empty bag of rice as a net they can catch a whole meal of fish..and keep the fish in the bag, and still catch more fish..and take a bath, and...MAN! And then - as most things on this island do -- it turned into a spiritual lesson for me.

I thought about when Jesus asked his apostles to leave their nets. And that scripture story clicked for me. It clicked because their nets are EVERYTHING to these people. Nobody has jobs here--the economy is literally non existent..so all they do for fun and for work is fish. And when Jesus asked them to leave their nets..He was asking them to leave the lives they knew. The kids here - from the time they are old enough to walk, bathe in the ocean and learn how to fish. Fishing is their life. They fish to LIVE, but Jesus asked the people to leave their nets..leave your life behind and come follow Him. I can understand why after Jesus died they went back to fishing -- because they had been doing that their WHOLE life long. They did not have the spiritual food that they were used to with the presence of Jesus, so they turned to physical food - to fishing. 

Maybe this was just an "ah-ha" moment for me, and it won't make sense to anyone else..but man, this mission is teaching me so much about the life of Jesus Christ.

love you to the moon and back,
sis j

Baptism!

I just wanted to thank you all for your e-mails and love. I'm really sorry i don't have time to email you back individually!  We have the slooooooooooowest internet connetion I have ever seen. Sometimes I just can't get it all done in the time that we have...

Yesterday (today for you guys) is my official four month mark!!! It's november now and it only gets hotter from here...so enjoy that cold, okay? I get to talk to you guys in one month and three weeks..and yes i'm counting..but trying not too :)

We had three baptisms on satuday which means that i've seen seven baptisms while on the island. The Lord is really preparing these people!!

got to run, so sorry again, but i love you all!
liz

BAPTISM! Nei Tiikoro and Nei Kobaki