Letter 12-09-13

I am SO thankful President Shumway is the Mission President here! He and his wife are exactly what I need! They are kind and funny, but also driven and dedicated. When other missions have too many missionaries to know what to do with, President Shumway is requesting more! I love it! If I'm going to be here then I AM GOING TO BE HERE you know? :) I want to push--I want to reach! :)  

So not two days ago, but the week before we had a baptism! I can't believe I didn't mention it!!! AWG! He is the sweetest 9 year old boy and I am so excited for him!!! His name is Myron and he is just the brightest, quietest, most gentle boy ever!

Some things about Marshallese Culture for your edification;

-they don't wear shoes inside; much like the Japanese, you leave them at the door 

-Chicken and rice or chicken and fish is always on the menu

-Marshallese people park on the lawn

-Marshallese people always wear shorts--even with big coats in the dead of winter. They also wear sandals always. We see it a lot.

-Marshallese people have the BEST parties

-Marshallese people LOVE pictures.

-Marshallese people are always polite.

-Marshallese people teach their children--from a very young age--to greatly respect missionaries. We are treated like honored family--even being told by some that they love us like their own children. It makes me want to cry; it is so sweet. 

-In the Marshallese language there is no distinction between "mom" and "dad" or "aunt" or "uncle". Therefore, they refer to their aunt as there mom, their cousins as there siblings, their great-aunt as grandma, etc. This makes figuring out family relationships somewhat of a challenge.

-Marshallese people keep their houses nice and toasty.

-Most Marshallese people don't like bread.

-Deoderant is referred to as roll-on

-Marshallese people love rearranging their furniture--it's common to come back to everything in the living room rearranged like biweekly. 

This week I went on exchanges for a day and talked with ri palle (white people--pronounced "ri bell-aye") and it was SO fun! :) I enjoyed immensely knowing I can still just talk (I'm still working on my Marshallese language barrier)

That's all I can think of for now! :) love you tons!