Aaron's letter, week 2 (July 15, 2012)

My Beautiful Family!!!

Oh so good to here from you all! Momma! Haha! I am so grateful to here that you got to see my letter before you took off for camp. I knew that you would. Tender Mercies! Haha! Oh I love it. :) After I sent the e-mail I was praying the whole rest of the evening because I knew that you would be waking up to go to camp in a matter of hours and I knew that it would be of great comfort to you to hear that I was well. The Lord answers prayers. :) Well I am so glad that camp went well for both of you!  Dad its good to hear that you were able to make it through the week! Haha you're the man.

Well the past week here has been about the same every single day. We go to an appointment's, Elder Fisher talks to the people, I try to pick out words, my mind wanders, then we hike to another home and do it again. Its fun playing with the kids but it is super frustrating that I cant understand what they are saying to me. Haha sometimes I can see it in their faces and hear in their tone of voice that they are trying so hard to speak so that I can understand but I cant. The people here live in groups of huts so there are a bunch of little kids under 7 that I always play with when we go to that place. It is super fun.

 

But my area is very third world. The people live completely off of the land. Money isn't a necessity, its a luxury.  Most of the members here just don't understand how the gospel of Jesus Christ works. There are 130 baptized members in our area and only 20 people were at Church yesterday. It is super frustrating. They believe that its true, I think, but they don't understand the endure to the end part. Or many other things. I don't even know how to describe it all! AW! Its so frustrating... I wish I could describe it better.

The Chuukese language is crazy! I have so much to learn it's scary. I want to talk to these people so badly.  But life is good! This is really hard right now but my companion is great and is helping me a ton. The people are super nice and the island is beautiful!...

 

Thank you so much for your prayers. You are also in mine!

I love you so much!

-Elder Aaron Lane Walters

Aaron's first letter from Micronesia

Momma, Family! Ran Annim!!

      Haha! I have been assigned to Chuuk! Oh man this is so cool. I am on the main island called Weno or Moen. The language spoken here is Chuukese, but I'll talk more about that in a minute.

      The trip here... Wow.  It was 27 hours from leaving the MTC to walking into the mission home. But it didnt feel like that because "when the night came it was still light as noon day." ;) President and Sister Mecham and the AP's picked us up from the air port in Guam. We arrived at the home (on Guam) at about 12:30 am on the 5th so we went strait to bed. The next morning we had a great banana pancake breakfast. So Good. Sis Mecham was a girls camp cook just like you Momma so she cooks well. They only call the best for that job. :) Good work and good luck this week Momma! Anyway, after breakfast the AP's gave us orientation and President gave some super awesome thoughts. The orientation was about the islands and the people and the living circumstances. After that was done we opened our "mission calls". It was pretty great because we had grown pretty close together over the past 3 weeks. Its a bummer that Elder Cook couldn't make it (I heard that he's in New Mexico until they can get him here). Elder Despain went to Kosrae, Elder Hadder: Guam south, Elder Meyer: Yap, then Elders Obre, Bowers, and I to CHUUK!!! So sweet!

       After some dumb complications at the airport that President Mecham (a lawyer) worked out we got here to the Chuuk lagoon on Friday. Oh!!! My COMPANION! Elder Fisher! Holy moly this is so awesome! So you know how (Sister T. from our ward) was telling us about her nephew who was in Chuuk, THIS IS HIM!!! HAHA! Oh man when we found that out at the Presidents home I was so stinking excited and amazed! He was, needless to say, a little surprised. Then on top of that he's from Allen Texas, and I'm like "I've been there!!! My cousins live in McKinney!!" Hahahaha Oh so great. What a huge tender mercy to have him as my trainer and first companion.

       Our area is Wichap (Wee-chap). Elder Fisher told me that I am the first trainee to go this area in 4 years. It was closed for 3 1/2 years and he reopened it in January. The area is on the south east 1/4th of the island. It starts at the southern tip and goes up to the start of the north east peninsula. This place is so cool. It is a jungle. We hike all around to the peoples houses on little hiking trails. The hiking sandals are working great. They are definitely the shoe of choice for this area, hiking up and down these slick muddy trails. I slipped twice getting my hands all muddy yesterday hiking the sacrament around to people. It rained a bunch yesterday. It rains about everyday, but yesterday when we were coming home we got soaked.

      Elder Fisher is so good at the language. So Good. And I don't know any thing. Im trying really hard not to get discouraged. I want so much to be able to talk to these beautiful people. They are so nice! So friendly. I want to talk to them so much but I cant. Its no fun. The few things I know I struggle to remember when the opportunity comes up to say it. Its getting better. I want to talk to them so much!!! Thats what I'm here to do and I cant! AAAHHH.......

      Anyway it is so cool here. The mail takes a really long time I here. Elder Fisher got a letter yesterday that was sent on June 19th. The good news there is that you can use just normal forever stamps to get it here! I guess the PO box address that we put on the card works, but it isnt the one they like us to use so much. The package address ( is the one they like so spred that word around. They'll forward those to where every I'm at in the mission. But here in Chuuk we have an address! Here it is:

Elder Walters

PO Box 861

Weno Chuuk, FSM 96942

Elder Fisher told me that if you send a package you should write on the box "mission supplies". Maybe you could send some more dried mango... :) That is such a great snack. Elder fisher said that any dried fruit is great. Maybe you should talk to Sister T. and Elder Fishers mom and send us a package. :) 

       Well I'm doing super well! They house is nice. I've been drinking from coconuts and eating breadfruit, fish and rice. The people are so great. My companion is awesome! He is so great. He's helping me learn so much. The other Elders here are great. The couple missionaries here are so awesome! Elder and Sister Eakins. The Jim Eakins! (look him up) Super cool. They work so hard. This is such a great place! I'm so excited to be here.

Love you all! So much. :)

-Elder Aaron Lane Walters

Aaron's letters from the MTC

Here are portions of Aaron's letters from the Missionary Training Center:

June 24, 2012
Well goodness gracious, one week down!  And I'll tell you what it hasn't been easy.  It has been so busy I hardly have time to take care of myself.  The time between 9:30 and 10:30 pm is probably the most crazy, stressful, exciting, happy, relaxing, fast, and ridiculously busy hour all day.  Personal time.  I always have so much I want to write, and letters to read and pictures to look at and get ready for bed.  Its always a rush but its great.  It's been a week of ups and downs that's for sure.  There's been moments when I'll see myself in the mirror with my tag and suit on and I'll think "This is awesome!"  But there has been a lot of time thinking to myself "What the heck am I doing.  Am I really leaving all the people I love for two years?  I miss them so much already and I've only been out here 3 days.  How the heck am I going to make it 2 years?!"  I've had a lot more thoughts similar to that been flying through my brain, I just don't remember them right now.  Needless to say I've felt pretty down.  But the spirit and the tender mercies the Lord has been blessing me with have been helping me.
...
The classes here at the MTC are so great.  My district - we have the same classroom and we have 2 teachers.  They are both so great.  Bro. Austin and Sis. Hoopes.  They both have recently returned from their missions (past couple years) so they are well experienced and so good at teaching.  One activity that we are doing is teaching investigators.  But he investigators are our teachers.  They act the part of a person they met on their mission.  It is so real.  It is a huge learning experience.  Its really something I am enjoying.  But it is pretty darn discouraging as well sometimes.  But life's good.

My district is really great.  We do just about everything together.  We are learning a lot from each other and it's pretty fun.  We are a high energy group and we have had a lot of good times.  And a lot of spiritual learning experiences too.

I've seen SO many Elders from high school.  What a blessing that has been.  I am so grateful that I have been blessed with so many great friends.  I am so excited for all my buddies that are coming in today.  In fact!  I just went out for lunch ans saw Elder Issac Parkenson from my ward at USU.  So exciting.  I can't wait to see Elder Spencer Vernon.

I can't believe that I'm a week in!  It seems to go so slow but it seems so fast.
I'm doing pretty well right now.  Quite happy.  I want to hear how you guys are!  I love you so much.

Aaron's MTC district (and teachers):

Aaron and MTC companion, Elder Meyer

June 27, 2012
Family!
Goodness I love you all so much.  A week and a half ago I couldn't imagine being able to make it all the way through my mission while feeling the pain of missing family, home, and friends. I was really concerned about that. So I prayed. I didnt want to forget about the people I left behind, wanted to still be able to love them but I didn't want to feel the pain of loss. And my prayers have been answered! I started feeling it after I got past last Wednesday. I am beginning to see that it is possible for me to be able to lose myself in the work. I really hope I can do that.

I have been blessed with so many tender mercies over the past week. I have seen so many friends from college and from home it's been awesome. I've seen so many people from Dear Old AF High its been so great. What an amazing school that was. I am so glad that I got to go there. There were so many good people in my class. I am confident in saying that our class was one of the very best classes to walk the halls of that school. I've seen my buddy Elder Spencer Vernon every single day. What a blessing it is to see and talk with one of my best buds even though we are in a completely different situation. He is doing so well. I've also been able to see and eat with my awesome friends that I met up at Utah State! My longboarding buddys from my singles ward up there. Isaac Parkenson and Weston Killpack.  I love those guys. We all had church callings up there and we did some crazy awesome stuff together. It is so cool that we are all doing this crazy awesome mission thing now.

Ok! Here is the awesome tender mercy of the past week! Ok so its been pretty crazy thinking that we are going to be on our islands in two weeks. The schedule for the past week has been pretty different because the new batch of mission presidents are in here for training. So Saturday night, we got sent to the large meeting fireside devotional place to watch a movie. So I had no idea what the movie would be. Somthing like the Joseph Smith movie or something. But guess what movie it was.... The Other Side of Heaven! Oh man I was so excited. It was so good. Not only did it kinda freak me out, it got me super crazy excited. It was so great. So when that was done we walked out the south doors to where the ring of flag poles were. The day before there were no flags up except for the USA flag in the middle. When we walked out after the movie, there was only one other flag up. The Federate States of Micronessia flag. Oh my goodness gracious. It was amazing. I still cant figure out why it was the only flag up because the next morning every single pole had a flag on it. Heavenly Father loves us and knows who we are personally.

It is so amazing! I am going to be in Guam this time next week! I am so excited to know what I'll be doing. I have learned so much here in the MTC.
I love you!

Elder Aaron Walters' new blog

Welcome to Elder Walters' blog!  Here you will find posts composed from his letters home, plus other fun tidbits and info about his mission in Micronesia Guam.

Aaron left the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, early on July 3.  After 27 hours of bus rides, flights and transfers,  he arrived at the mission home in Guam at 12:30am July 5 (local time).  That's some serious travel!

We received an e-mail from him today and learned that he has been assigned to serve in the Chuuk Atoll (or Chuuk Lagoon), a group of islands in the State of Chuuk, one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia.  You can see these links for more info if you like:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuuk_State
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuuk_Lagoon

He is currently on the main island of Weno.  His companion is Elder Fisher, from Allen, Texas.  We have a friend in our ward (Shari T.) whose nephew is currently serving in the Micronesia Guam mission, and she was very excited for Aaron when he was called there.  She was a great source of info about the mission.  It turns out that Elder Fisher is her nephew!  Needless to say, Aaron is super excited about his assignment to Chuuk and to have Elder Fisher as his first companion.

We will post today's letter, and probably some of his earlier letters from the MTC.  We also have some MTC pics we will post.  So stay tuned!