First Transfer . . .

After nine months, Elder McEwan has experienced his first transfer! He will definitely miss Mechitiw, but is looking forward to new experiences on Romalum. His physical address is the same except for the city is now Moen instead of Weno. This didn't really make sense to us because it is the same PO Box. However, we have been told that it used to be called Moen until about a year ago, so maybe some still use the old name.

Dear Family and Friends—

I don't have a lot of time, so I'll just make it quick. I've been transferred from Weno to an outer island named Romalum, which is so much more relaxing than being "inner island". Things are good, nothing too exciting to report because right now me and my companion, Elder Telona, are trying to go around the island and find those investigators that him and his companion were teaching first that they got on baptism dates. Glad to hear that you guys are all doing well, and all I will ask for is pictures and letters in the mail, since it's hard for me to email you guys every week.

Hey when you guys have time, look up on the internet "Operation Hailstorm." Just the name of hte attack that the US launched to help take back Chuuk back in World War 2.

They do actually celebrate Halloween, just without the costumes and all that. They still have all the candy and such. So if you want to send some the kids would love it. I can also share with Elder Telona and our missionary in preparation, Rodney Rain. He's so cool, I wish you guys could meet him. He'll be serving in Hawaii, along with a sister that I helped to do her paperwork, Keireen Matheus.

I love you all, I miss all of you, and I hope this email finds you all well.

Love,

Elder McEwan

PS Here's my address for those who don't have it:

Elder Sean McEwan

PO Box 861

Moen, Chuuk

96942

Kapongs from the Islands . . .

Ran Allim!!

So, it's good to hear from you AND to hear that you are doing so well!!  Anyhow, things here are great for me, we have about 5 or 6 people on baptismal dates, and the sad thing is, they've all been rescheduled as of yesterday because they didn't come to church!! That is THE biggest killer of people on baptismal dates, is that they won't walk the 10-30 minutes to come to church. Oh well, we'll just keep working with them and get them coming next week.

You know the one thing that I have loved doing lately? Teaching families!!! One of my recent converts, Pwas James, had us over to teach his wife Ansita yesterday, which was a huge blessing, because while I was teaching him, I kept asking him to bring his wife into the lessons, but he kept saying "No no, I'll talk to her about it later" and later never happened until she sat down in the lesson on Saturday that we had with him about member missionary work. I didn't even realize that she had sat down until he looked at me and said "Well, that was a good lesson, and look Ansita joined for the last little bit." Then he asked when we wanted to come back and teach her!! Oh yeah, gotta love this work!! I know that the Spirit of God was upon that man and was right in that moment, because if it wasn't, I know for a fact that his wife would not have sat down and listened.

So now, I've come to the part of my email that I've been dreading. This week right now is the week that I do not like. TRANSFER WEEK. I've been here in Mechitiw for 8 and 1/2 months right now, which is a long time to be in one area. I've been thinking I'd stay one or two more, but now i've been hearing rumors that I'll transfered to an outer island, which means no emailing, which means not being able to talk to you (unless it's an actual letter). Mechitiw has become my home, and I don't want to leave because it makes me kind of nervous. Then again, I felt the same way when I left Utah. It's crazy to think that in three months, I'll be at a year as a missionary. And what do I have to show for it? Tons! Along with learning so much more about the gospel than I knew, talking to people that in the beginning were total strangers, I have also learned how to be human and have fun, which is something that I believe Heavenly Father wanted me to learn while on my mission.

Man, so much is going on in my life, and every day I'm happier, I'm more productive, and I can't imagine being anywhere else in the world. Chuuk has become my home, and I would do anything to be able to stay here.

Ngang mi sinei pwe ach ei Mwichifel mi wesewesen ellet, o a fen niwinsefan me ren ewe soufos Josef Smit. Ngang ua mochen pwe aramas meinisin repwe feito ren ach Samon Jises Kraist, me ua sinei pwe ika ngang ua fori wisei me afanafan ewe ellet, ir repwe mina.

Ai tong ngonuk seni Mechitiw, CHUUK

Seni ewe aten Mechitiw

Elder McEwan

Ps. I'll learn how to write letters again :). Keep having fun and being good!!

My BEST WEEK So Far . . .

We absolutely LOVE it when P-Day comes early for us! This week we hear from Elder McEwan Sunday evening. It is sooo awesome to hear that he is having his best week so far. We definitely hope that every week is always the BEST . . .

 

Hello Family!!

So good to hear that everyone is doing so well at home. Me, I'm having the BEST WEEK of my mission so far!! So crazy thing first. Mom, you'll probably remember better than anyone, but when Sister Obray was talking to us about what she knew of Chuuk, and she mentioned the drunk people? Well, I've never met one or even seen one, until this last weekend!! 3 of them, all members too!! It was like, we'd get through telling one to leave, and then 5 minutes later, another one showed up!! After the second one, I was just beat and didn't even bother with saying anything. But now, I think things are back to normal (fingers crossed ;))

So I got to conduct the baptism that we had this last weekend, this makes my second. It's weird to conduct a baptism, but I was just happy to be a part of it. Then, the guy that got baptized, KM, asked me to confirm him a member!! I've never taught this guy, he's from Nantaku (a completely different area from mine) and yet he still wanted me to confirm him a member and be a part of that. WOW WOW WOW!!!

So we also had Branch Conference yesterday. Lots of people showed up, which was good, but then right in the middle of it, a couple of members got in a fight in a house down by ours and kind of disrupted things, but overall it was a good experience had by all.

Elder Schroath is back here in Chuuk now, me and Elder Toa went and picked him up last Thursday. He's from Idaho, Boise I think. Totally different procedure from mine by the sound of things. But at any rate, glad to have him back in the Zone.

As far as shoes go, same style of Crocs works for me, as long as there are no holes on top or bottom. Ties are also holding up well, just running low because I let them out to members so that they can wear white shirts to church. I think that's one of the things that I love so much about Chuuk, that I feel so needed. They are they best people in the world, and I feel so blesseed to be here!!

Give my kapong (greetings) to everyone back in Salem and the surrounding areas. Any more mission calls that you all know of? Who's getting engaged or married? How are Holly and Ronel doing? I got an email from them last week I think, and I'm so glad that they enjoyed their trip.

Man, there's so much to write and so much to say...and so little time. But, I think I'll close by relating the last two days of my studying. I've been reading out of the Chuukese Book of Mormon lately, so that I can better understand the language and how to use this specific translation, and every time I see a word that i don't understand, or a passage taht is not clear, I read through it in English, and suddenly it's like the whole world opens up and light just shooots out from the book!! I've been reading just from 1 Nephi 1 up to chapter 17, and already I can feel myself changing and with my new attitude of living every day like it is the first day in my mission, I know that the Lord will help me to be successful.

I love you all, I miss you all, and it's crazy to think that Thanskgiving is coming up soon. Don't worry, we will still have a dinner and all that. Then, just a few more weeks and I'll be talking to you guys again for Christmas!! WOW then a few weeks later and I'll be at 1 YEAR AS A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!! ........wow! Time sure flies, and I'm grateful for every minute of it.

Ai tong ngenikemi!!

Elder McEwan

Happenings in the Pacific . . .

October 7, 2013

Chuuk Zone Conference ~ October 2013

Dear Family---

Things have been great here for me. Just had zone conference last night and so we are all in here on Weno. Transfers are in like two weeks, and I don't know if I will still be in Mechitiw, but will see. I glad that everyone is doing well, and staying busy. Yes I knew Micah and Emy and Kavika really well, that is so awesome that you guys are able to get to know them. Please keep helping them, because I love them so much. Do they remember me?

We have hit the rainy season here in Chuuk and so it has been wet here every day. As far as my clothes, I do need a new pair of crocs and some white shirts and ties. I did hear about Garrett and his camera, hopefully he finds a new one.

All of us at the Blue Lagoon Resort

The results of my T/B culture on the cyst still have not come in. However, the surgeon's staff promised Sister McClellan that they will contact her as soon as it does, and she will forward on the results to me and you. We actually have another Elder who has the same thing going on. He is in Guam for the same surgery. He has a different surgeon though because the one that did mine is going on vacation. The surgeon who is doing Elder Schroath's surgery came from Arizona just one month ago and is an ENT. He said he has removed many in his career and seemed to recognize "the classic" symptoms immediately. He said it is called a Thyroglossal Ductal Cyst. It is something that usually shows up during puberty. As it was explained to us, it is an anomaly that happens in about 1 in 10,000. In embryo about 5-6 weeks when the thyroid gland and the tongue move into their proper position sometimes a small single thyroid cell adheres to the hyoid bone (this is the bone the tongue attaches to). Puberty hormones sometimes set it off to grow or swell a little, usually painless; however if a pin point home forms in the duct attached to the hyoid bone, infection can get in. A cyst then forms, causing pain and difficulty eating and swallowing. He also said if the duct wasn't clipped off of the hyoid bone, another cyst could form, or maybe never again (I hope the surgeon who did mine clipped what he was supposed to :). My surgeon never told us what it was called or what caused it, so maybe he didn't know. The coincidence of two elders having this same thing, around the same time, and serving on the same island is kind of amazing to all of us.

Investigators are doing good right now, still trying to find more of the elect from The Lord. I love you, and miss you all.

Parker and Dylan--Groceries that I buy on pdays consist of ramen, pancakes, rice, tuna, sardines, and whatever else we feel like we need. Not really a whole lot to do on pdays when we are all together, but usually it ends up that we play volleyball or basketball, or me and Elder Toa and the sapuk elders go and hang out in Mechitiw. The most different kind of food that I have eaten so far...octopus, or nipwe as they call it. Hopefully that helps you out pal. Love ya!

Elder McEwan

The Work Goes Forward . . .

It's kind of fun to see this English and spelling "scholar" taking to the Chuukese language to the point it's affecting his spelling! What a blessing for him and our whole family to celebrate the culture of the people of Chuuk. Hopefully someday we will get to meet some of these wonderful people. With every passing day, we love them more and more :).

Dear Family!!

So so sorry that I haven't emailed you in FOREVER!! Things have just been really busy here and we have a ton of people that we are teaching right now, and yesterday at church...94 people at sacrament meeting, with 6 of them being investigators. I'm back with Elder Toa, and right now we have about 6 or 7 progressing investigators and 4 set up for this Saturday for a baptism. Things are going super great right now, except for the fact that right now some of the member families are having issues and some of them have even split up. It's causing me some headaches because I really love these families, and I get sad every time I hear that one of them has broken apart. All I can do is pray and try my best to find them all, and help bring them back together.

As far as fruits and veggies, I've got breadfruit, bananas, "tonga", mangoes, etc. Definitely miss applesauce though, and peaches. The Primary in Mechitiw is preety large actually, with maybe about like 40-50 kids every Sunday. No, I don't think that they do a Program, just because we are trying to help the members in charge of Primary because we are very limited on our resources to use in Church (manuals, DVDs, etc.) because there are only a few people that can read AND that understand English. The teaching is really helping with that, because we have been finding a lot of families that want to be taught and be baptized, and we have some of those families coming up soon.

I love the camera too, and the people do as well. I haven't sent any more pictures home yet, but when I do, I will send home the card that has all those baptisms on it, and I would like for you guys to download them and clear the card. And as far as anything that I need from you, the little kids here love candy. I don't eat it as much as I used to, but they love it when they know that there is "okasi" (candy) in the house. A resistance band would be nice as well, if not two (with handles).  Also, if you could send another flash drive, great, if not that's okay.

So mini miracle before I close. You all know that my house got broken into while I was gone, and the shirt, the basketball, and the pump were stolen. Well, I was getting ready for church a few Sundays ago, and I had been praying that I would find all of the things that you guys had sent me. Then when I was getting dressed, I heard a knock at the door, and it was an investigator, asking if he could use our pull up bar that is in our house. I told him that it was Sunday, and that if he came back the next morning, then he would be able to. He just said okay, and then asked for water. Gave it to him, and while he was drinking, I noticed the shirt that he was wearing was blue...LIGHT BLUE. I asked him about it, and he said that somebody in our village gave it to him to use. I kept asking him about it, and noticed that he also had it on inside out. I asked him if I could look at it and see if it was a Chuukese shirt. I pulled it up a little bit, and the first word I saw was "HILLS". I am so glad that I found that shirt and was able to get it back.

I love this experience, this wonderful opportunity and privilige that I have to serve here in Chuuk, and working with these wonderful people. I had the biggest revelation last night about something that a recent convert in GUam told me right before I left to come back here. I'd share it in this email, but I don't have much more time. With only two computers to serve like 10-12 Elders, it makes emailing hard. But I love you all, I miss you all, and I pray for you all the time!!

---Elder McEwan

Oh, one more thing. Does anyone know how much is it to mail something from Chuuk to Santo Domingo? THat'd be good to know!! :)

September Zone Conference . . .

Thank you to Sister Crisp for sharing these pictures of September Zone Conference. What would we do without these wonderful opportunities to see our Elders at "work"!

Learning, Learning, Learning . . .

Transfers were September 12, 2013 in Chuuk. Elder McEwan continues to serve in the Mechitiw area, which he loves as his family. There are now 26 Elders and 1 Sister serving on Chuuk (this includes Elder and Sister Crisp :). Wow ~ I think there were 14 when Sean arrived in February 2013 ~ only 8 1/2 months ago!

Working to Increase Investigator Pool . .

Dear Family!!!
 

Hey so first off, Dylan Happy Birthday!! Just looking at these pictures, you look a lot older than 13, but that's probably just because I haven't been with you for almost 8 months. Hope your day is the best that it can be for you, and know that I am with you in spirit.
 

I'm so glad that you guys are having fun and doing fun things. Thanks so much for the pictures, I'll print them off so that I can keep them. No, I haven't been able to locate that stuff yet, but I have a pretty good idea of where it might be, we'll just pray that it is in that spot.
 

Parker, tell Mr. Bills that I'm going to send him an email and let him know that I am doing great. That is awesome that you are singing Tenor 2, that's where it's at right there. But I think between the two of us, we know who the real tenor 2 is ;) I'm glad that everyone is happy and doing well.
 

I'm doing well, just trying to find more people to teach. Elder Toa got transferred to an outer island and Elder Pita is my companion right now. I don't think it's permanent, it'll just be til the end of this transfer, but with that, I think that I will be staying in Mechitiw one more transfer.

 

Tell Ronel and Holly Israel that I miss them both and I'm so happy for them, even though none of the other Elders believe me when I say that they are married :D

Ai tong ngenikemi, ena tong esap much tori mano
Ai tong epwe pwan nom remi tori ach chusefan

pokiten Kot a sinei netipach me a mochen sipwe
tongeni nom fengen tori feinfeino jok.
Ouse mochen oupwe pwan anisei pwan apwonueta ai tengoremi
Ouse mochen ousap ekisiwinin atun ai fansounen misineri
Ua fakkun tongekemi!!

Elder McEwan

Aten Chuuk mwa!!!!

Someday we're very hopeful that we will understand what he is saying in Chuukese :). We did purchase a Chuukese to English dictionary, but it doesn't seem to be much help for translation. Maybe translation will come next week. It would be nice to learn a little Chuukese while Elder McEwan is on his mission so that when he returns home we don't all just look at him with a blank stare like, "Ok, whatever you say, Elder :).