I'm working with elder Ciriako who has been out one intake before me so he's been out now for 7 months and he's pretty good at the language but its
still gonna be hard. Definitely good and rewarding, he's a little bit of a head case right now not gonna lie, but hopefully I'll help him chill out bit. Let's see what else oh, no killing the pig this past week but hopefully this week
that'll happen. Trina, my investigator, gets interviewed for baptism on this
upcoming saturday, and that'll be exciting. There's only one
outer island open right now which kind of sucks! They closed 2 this last transfer and yeah they are opening a ton of less active elders all throughout majuro! it's nuts! Mission birthday's are like every other day nothing too special no one tends to say happy birthday unless you remind them its your birthday not that i really care a whole lot. We went out to eat though and that was nice got a taco chicken salad and it was actually really good. Random information for ya. The weeks just seem to blend together it's crazy how the days just come and go like nothing. I've totally been reppin the canada gear those 2 ties are so nice and the shirt is legit, I wasn't sure if it was gonna fit, but put it on and it was money! The new intake comes in on Thursday so at that point I won't be a newbie anymore which is kind of nice. I feel like I've sort of settled in I'm starting to be able to have normal conversations with people and pick up a lot more, the talking with people is good. I really love teaching, it's fun coming up with new ways to try
to relate the gospel into people's lives and the blessings they will recieve from living it. I love having the spirit with me all the time, definitely helpful in bearing my testimony, and my patriarchal blessing is a lot of help to, helps me remember the potential I have and how the Lord can use me and what things i should be doing. I hope all is well out there in Canada and I'm jealous that you guys are all at Tie, and wish you a Happy Anniversary and Aunt Deanne a happy birthday. Miss you guys all a lot, and I'm doing well thanks for all the love and support, talk to you again in a week!
May 13, 2013
I didn’t realize how far away you were and how different it is until I called, and how much different I am right now. Just the way I think and stuff in the moment, and it was like I never left when I called except for that everyone is way bigger and I haven’t even been gone for that long!!
You don’t realize how precious that stuff is, like here im excited if I get to eat like one cookie, where at home I just took that all for granted, and something kind of interesting that I’'ve noticed is I can notice the lord strengthening me in different ways, like my patience has grown a lot, not that I was struggling with that a lot before, but when I got here I just expected to hit the ground running. You have to be patient, patient with your companions patient with the
people and patience with yourself, that’s one thing I definitely have improved, is being patient with myself. sometimes I get down because I feel like I don’t know enough and then I remember that I have been sent here for a reason and the Lord can use me the same way he can use elder’s who understand the language completely and know what they'’re
talking about. I feel like for some reason the Lord has given me many tests of being patient and that I will know that it’'ll get better as time goes on. Oddly enough our mission right now is focusing on Christlike attributes and becoming more like our savior. I thought I was pretty patient before and that was one of my strengths, but I was definitely humbled and taught that we never really can master things, but I did have a good foundation. One scripture that I
found that I really liked was 1 peter 2:18-21 I think that'’s where it starts but especially verses 20 and 21 that was a good mission scripture for me, and oh on Thursday we might get to kill a pig,fingers crossed ;) that would be rad, haha. Sorry to go from all spiritual to that but that’'s the thought that was on my mind.
Let’s see what else am I trying to work on, oh with
islanders you have to be especially patient, they have great hearts, but they just don'’t work or think the same way, so that is also kind of humbling to see how humble there circumstances are and at the same time how big there hearts are to welcome the elder’s and give them,
sometimes, all they have. I am also very grateful for everything you do and all the letter’s and packages and whatever else, they keep me going and I do miss you a ton, I wish I was there, It looked like such
a nice day there and I miss that, as odd as it sounds. I'm in
paradise but I really do want you all to come and see what this is like, living here, haha hopefully this new president will let parents come and pick the elders up, because I would have such a fun time showing you guys around. Just talking with the people in 2 years would be awesome with you here. The thing is like I see so much stuff that I want to buy, but I cant be stupid and have to control myself with my mission money and buy more for needs and less for wants. I'll have to go back and put stuff
back after walking around the store for a bit, because it’s like “"Do I really need that, nah not so much"” and then I get rid of it. You all look good, thanks for
the talk I really did love that and missed that, I hope you know how
much I care about all of you and pray for you, I'’m always doing good,
and I'm trying my darndest to not waste all those prayers, because
I know people pray for the missionaries. Lots of LOVING from your son
You don’t realize how precious that stuff is, like here im excited if I get to eat like one cookie, where at home I just took that all for granted, and something kind of interesting that I’'ve noticed is I can notice the lord strengthening me in different ways, like my patience has grown a lot, not that I was struggling with that a lot before, but when I got here I just expected to hit the ground running. You have to be patient, patient with your companions patient with the
people and patience with yourself, that’s one thing I definitely have improved, is being patient with myself. sometimes I get down because I feel like I don’t know enough and then I remember that I have been sent here for a reason and the Lord can use me the same way he can use elder’s who understand the language completely and know what they'’re
talking about. I feel like for some reason the Lord has given me many tests of being patient and that I will know that it’'ll get better as time goes on. Oddly enough our mission right now is focusing on Christlike attributes and becoming more like our savior. I thought I was pretty patient before and that was one of my strengths, but I was definitely humbled and taught that we never really can master things, but I did have a good foundation. One scripture that I
found that I really liked was 1 peter 2:18-21 I think that'’s where it starts but especially verses 20 and 21 that was a good mission scripture for me, and oh on Thursday we might get to kill a pig,fingers crossed ;) that would be rad, haha. Sorry to go from all spiritual to that but that’'s the thought that was on my mind.
Let’s see what else am I trying to work on, oh with
islanders you have to be especially patient, they have great hearts, but they just don'’t work or think the same way, so that is also kind of humbling to see how humble there circumstances are and at the same time how big there hearts are to welcome the elder’s and give them,
sometimes, all they have. I am also very grateful for everything you do and all the letter’s and packages and whatever else, they keep me going and I do miss you a ton, I wish I was there, It looked like such
a nice day there and I miss that, as odd as it sounds. I'm in
paradise but I really do want you all to come and see what this is like, living here, haha hopefully this new president will let parents come and pick the elders up, because I would have such a fun time showing you guys around. Just talking with the people in 2 years would be awesome with you here. The thing is like I see so much stuff that I want to buy, but I cant be stupid and have to control myself with my mission money and buy more for needs and less for wants. I'll have to go back and put stuff
back after walking around the store for a bit, because it’s like “"Do I really need that, nah not so much"” and then I get rid of it. You all look good, thanks for
the talk I really did love that and missed that, I hope you know how
much I care about all of you and pray for you, I'’m always doing good,
and I'm trying my darndest to not waste all those prayers, because
I know people pray for the missionaries. Lots of LOVING from your son
Elder Jordan MIchelson
April 14, 2013
Alright well I got no conference yet, were gonna watch it on april 23 and 24 so im looking forward to that. We go to the mission home and hang out there and watch it with all the elder’s so that will be good. I am definitely realizing the blessing of a great family, I can’t wait to call you and talk to you and see how things are going. Hopefully by that point I will be able to speak some beautiful Marshallese to you.I will see if you guys can pronounce anything. My companion, he’s a nice kid from Arizona, but a little bit trunky and doesn’t exactly teach me how to do things the way missionaries should. He tends to be a little lazy and if it’s ever possible to take the easy way out of something he will take it. He doesn’t really have a whole lot of drive but he’s nice and we get along. I’m realizing how much I am starting to be like dad which is a good thing, haha. If I don’t do it, it probably won’t get done, that includes cleaning and just about everything. Working with lazy people is kind of frustrating, but it definitely could be worse. I don’t know things unique to the marshall islands… haha never ever wake someone up when there sleeping, they take their sleeping very seriously here, it’s basically an art form. I know that god answers prays without a doubt in my mind if we pray with faith, he’s been helping my companion and we are working harder little by little and he is getting that drive. So that’s good and I know that if I continue it will only get better. hmm there’s this one kid, I don’t know if he’s a little bit messed up, but he’s one of our investigators kids and literally every like 10 seconds he comes up to us and is like iakwe!! Emoj taxi? Which is is the taxi ride done? Haha it’s so funny every time we seem him, he’s just so amped to see us and shakes our hands and asks us about our taxi, haha he really loves taxi’s. let’s scripture that I really like is 1 nephi or Isaiah I don’t remember jolok bod( throw away my mistake) 20:15 I think, I don’t exactly remember now but it talks about humility and how we can’t boast if we are an ax, we are merely just a tool in the Lords hands I really like that one and I think about it a lot. I like letter’s that way I can be a little more specific and remember all the things I wanted to say! Haha not to mention draw some awesome pictures haha maybe not so much but oh well. I think that’s about all for now, love you bunches and my tan is coming along quite good. my companion didn’t believe me when I said I tan red but now its getting quite nice! Whoop whoop haha dang you guys are probably almost getting the boat ready now, that’s craziness! The language is coming little by little, I can understand more and more but no definitely not have a complete conversation, there’s just so many words and some of the accents are hard for me to decipher. Sacrament meeting is hard, gives me a headache sometimes trying to decipher everything, but I can teach and right now that’s what I need to do so I can do that, a little frustrating at times and I feel like I’ll be the elder who just doesn’t understand the language ever, but I know I have to be patient and I will get it eventually. I mean I’ve only known this language for like 2 months so the amount I do know people seem to be pretty astounded by it, just wish I knew it now, but jab inebata haha its like hakuna matata it means no worries hahaha that’s how I remembered that phrase haha and no not so much tracting, like our tracting is going to people’s houses who’s doors are open. They are very hospitable and hardly anyone will tell you to leave so that's nice and a little bit of service. Here it’s more teaching, on an outer island I heard it was more service and things like that and on an outer you do have a machete in your house and you learn how to hack coconuts and all sorts of stuff and it’s harder than you think, freakin getting the meat out of a coconut is not easy! Haha I suck at it, but ill get it one day, hopefully… anywho I’m looking at this email and realizing ive written a ton. The work is going good, Im still alive and working to best serve the Lord, thanks for the prayers and all you do back home I love you and miss you! Lots of lovin from your son Elder Jordan Michelson
March 22, 2013
Hi everyone,
you asked about my so here's the answer. glasses all day erry day not risking the contacts I dont want infections in my eyes, there already bad enough and I'm always touching them as it is with the goop i got in my eyes so I am
trying to stay healthy! and where we are its a lot more populated, houses are close together and its not as green as where elder ingalls is which is laura, and they ride bikes around because the houses are farther apart, but me and my companion walk everywhere, haha my legs are gonna be nice and strong haha and a little bit of the sunglasses
when im feeling it and its bright! and the language is actually coming pretty good, i mean depends on whose talking but im able to understand a lot more and say things that i want to, i was even able to teach a whole lesson about the atonement and she understood what i was saying, my companion didn't have to say much and I was able to say what I wanted more or less and the next time we talked about faith and it was
another good lesson, shes really progressing and her name is Celina, shes probably one of my favourite investigators! and we have one kid who is supposed to get baptized this saturday so I could have my first baptism, which would be pretty cool, not that the number of baptisms is important but its nice to see that our investigators are progressing and taking that step, the hardest part is to keep them coming back, and retain them as active members, its definitely a
different culture than at home, but lets see what other things
happened this week?? i dont know the days kind of just blur together, it's honestly been moving so fast, it seemed like just yesterday i was in the mtc and the day before that i was at home working at enerspray but hmm well I climbed a coconut tree the other day, im pretty much a master at that and I want to serve on an outer island so bad, that would be awesome!! the work is a little slower, like you
don't teach 30 lessons a week like you do here, but you become part of the community and culture there, and that is where you really learn the language culture and customs of the marshallese people haha I want to be rimajol! (a marshallese person!) and yeah lets see I made the
freakin best sandwich ever it was so good!! Took 2 grilled cheese sandwiches and then did like a barbeque pork sandwich in between oh baby it was good I'm glad I can cook and I'm learning to make simple things pretty good, like ichiban, you gotta add some stuff to it so its not just lame and boring and has no flavour, before my
companion would just boiled chicken with no flavour no spice and just ramen and oatmeal, I changed the fridge and now we got spices and a couple sauces and what not so its actually good and flavourful, I make omelletes and sandwiches and stuff and I even made hotdogs be not too terrible, haha and I eat carrots and stuff, i don't want to be too fat when I come home, but yeah the door frames don't work for the pull up bar in this house which is kind of sad, hopefully the next one I get it will work, because we're kind of in the crappiest house that is city side! but oh well could be worse and lets see I got some marshallese customs and stuff for you, one is when their kid has its first birthday, they throw a big celebration and everyone comes over and gives them food and whatnot and then anything in the house that the people who come to celebrate want they can take, so lets say you just bought a brand new car and someone wants it, they can just take it! ridiculousness! tv's, furniture whatever someone wants they can have so anything nice you have you better hide it, one lady was telling us a story about how one person wanted the baby and the parents had to give it to them! I think thats insane, but also shows how hospitable these people are, they will just give you whatever you want or need! And yeah after just sitting and listening for 2 weeks
and asking questions im starting to pick up the language pretty fast, my companion thinks I'm pretty smart and I'm learning pretty fast which is nice to hear, and he also says I'm his favourite companion that he's had on his mission so far! not bad for the greenie, I am pretty easy to like though! Oh and tell Alina happy freakin'
birthday!!! sowwy that i missed it but I love you and will try to make up for all the stuff I missed in 2 years I'll send some animono which is marshallese art more or less that they make out of breadfruit tree leaves and other things like that! Keep asking me questions because I don't know what to tell you, but at the same time I have so much to say! and yes just keep it to letter's i dont have a ton
of time to email so letters are good! they are emmantata okay but lots of loving from your coconut tree climbing son/Elder
Elder Jordan
Michelson
March 11, 2013
Haha second week is good this language is difficult to understand just the different accents and how dang fast they talk!! We've been playing games here so that was really nice my companion loves that monopoly card game haha we play it all the time and his name is elder johnathan winters, and hes from arizone umm yeah i met elder trussell in the mtc and hes going to kiribati speaking kiribati but yeah he talked about elder layton. I can bear my testimony and pray in the lessons and explain a little bit with the help of my companion the hardest part isnt really like knowing all the words its trying to say things with the right accents and sounds so i can think im saying the right and then totally not hahaha like one time i was trying to tell this lady to sleep like a baby which is like kiki an ninganing is pretty much how you would pronounce it and i said kiki an ninanin which is sleep like a boob hahaha so not exactly what i was going for but it was pretty funny and i just laugh my mistakes off, i know im gonna make them so might as well have fun with them and i also told the same lady that her and my companion should be together haha apparently i get to be the flower boy for the wedding :p umm and yes basically anyone we talk to will be willing to be taught like this past week we taught 20 lessons and had 13 new investigators its just finding the right ones and the ones who are ready to keep the commitments thats the problem but yeah the teaching and talking to people is coming okay like i can have a little simple conversation with people and understand most of what they are saying. We tract sort of but its more like we just walk up to random people on the streets and ask them how there doing what there doing and then ask if they would want to stupid and they basically never say no, were teaching one guy who speaks english so thats nice because i can actually feel like i can contribute more to it and be led by the spirit other than just saying the things i know are right and telling people i dont know there language but i know the gospel is true i can actually follow and share scriptures that apply to there lives so thats kind of nice but i know that the language will come, and yeah i saw ingalls and lutu and i gave ingalls the biggest hug, i miss that man and hope we can be companions at some point preferably on an outer island, we would rock together!haha just gotta make sure me and my companion are together, and yeah sista im always smiling dont have to worry about that, oh and we go to a ward the building is actually pretty nice and i cant really understand a lot of the meeting but itry, theres just so many words and they speak so fast! and thank you alina for writing me! Hope you are doing fantastic and are getting pretty excited for your birthday! haha craziness try not to cry when im not there okay and make sure to tell me all the stuff you got and send me a couple pictures alright? i love you lots and that sounds like cael haha silly boy! and nope i do have a house hear so i dont have to worry about the rats yet haha ill just have to go an outer island, thats when i have to worry about the rats and i have my feet covered, and it is really hot here i am sweating like a piggy! and the kids all want me to lift them up and swing them around because im really strong apparently haha i flexed for a couple of the marshallese boys and they thought that was pretty impressive : anyways lots of lovin from your island wildman elder Michelson :D
March 9, 2013
Hi all,
I am serving in the Riita north area which is on majuro, I flew on a pretty good sized plane here and the AP's and president and sister shaw were there to greet us not like hawaii haha we had to wait a bit in hawaii, my companions name is Elder Winters from arizona, haha hes pretty cool, he's never really been a trainer though and doesnt exactly know how to help me, so I 'm figuring it out, but he is a master at just talking to every random person he meets its insane! Elder ingalls is serving in laura which is the other end of the island, but hopefully ill see him later today, and nope haha its like they are speaking another language, all the things, everyday things they say are hard to understand, i can pick out words and i think i know what there talking about oh and sorry elder lutu is serving in the area just next to mine in delap and i say him today at the mweun wiia, (house of shopping) haha and its so hard for me to throw some words in there, but some conversations i know what they are saying, but i cant think fast enough to speak, if i see the language written somewhere i can understand a lot more but to speak it is hard! We have taught a couple of lessons to an english guy, so that was nice that i was actually able to contribute, and then i bore a short testimony in marshallese to another guy about prayer so yeah that went okay, haha there culture is funny here, i dont understand the humour yet, they just going around saying your face hurts, and thats a funny joke, like your ugly haha and they also say sleep like a sea cucumber and i just dont get it even if i understand what theyre saying haha its a good time, umm i got a pretty decent sunburn on my neck and my face is lukuun barura (very red) to all the people haha and the worst is when i know there making fun of me, know exactly what there saying but i dont know what to say back haha my brain doesnt think that fast, and nope no package or anything yet, and you just send them to the mission home, theres no way to get it more specific than that i dont think! and good luck in your waiting for flights and stuff haha they say that all the time jeramman (blessings or good luck) in whatever you are doing haha umm I ate some legit marshallese food, went to a funeral and wedding/house blessings that was kind of cool and did some service for a guy and i sweat so much, at church i talked to a kid and had a little conversation with him and was able to be able to communicate a little bit of what i wanted to say, so that was a little bit of a confidence boost, i can actually buy like normal foods here, which is nice, at least in this area im at now, they have a big shopping place but its a little more expenensive and whatever, but we went shopping today and apprently every morning we play volleyball with other elders and whoever else wants to come play, i got my jump serve on and the elders were impressed haha not beach volleyball, just in the church parking lot, but yeah i dont know ask me more questions haha and ill send all the pictures i got on my camera! lots of lovin from elder michelson :D
February 12, 2013
Jordan is doing really good and I just wanted to send an update. I asked him the six questions below and this is his reply. He is doing really well with the language and his companion and district. Here are his words.
Haha and the word for hello is iakwe, haha same word means love and just went to the temple it was pretty good! umm i sent you a letter that hopefully will teach you a lil bit of the marshallese haha you can try to pronounce some of the stuff i say properly and the nametag is marshallese, i have a picture ill try to send you the picture later today, and yes our zone is pretty much the islander zone theres a couple that arent but yeah, fiji, samoa, kiribati(pronounced keedabus more or less) some people going to mongolia and one sister going to tonga we get a ton of new elders tomorrow and thery are all going around indonesia, and the 6 elders in our a district are 1. me 2. elder ingalls from minnesota going to majol, (thats how they saw marshall) 3. elder lutu from fiji going to majol 4. elder seve from samoa going to majol 5. elder denman from san diego going to washington marshallese speaking 6. and elder mendivil from utah going to washington marshallese speaking, hes a stud and basically like my brother from another mother, haha we already have plans of hanging out after the mish and speaking marshallese and going somewhere or when i come to utah or whatever haha and the food is pretty monotonous every breakfast is pretty much eggs and some kind of hashbrown and a meat, or you can choose nasty pancakes, or the biscuits and gravy which arent terrible but they dont really have those every day, umm lunch there is a combo line, which is usually a burger and fries, or hot dog something like that, then there is a wrap bar, which is where i go pretty much everyday, they make whatever salad or wrap you want and its almost like a subway kind of thing haha and plus i want to eat at least a bit healthy with all the other stuff, then theyll have 2 other lines which some sort of other cultural food usually, and there are now 3000 missionaries here with that numbher constantly increasing, our room is one of the tiniest rooms and there gonna try to put another bed in there, i have no idea how?? but oh well haha and yes we have assigned meal times where we eat every day so yeah thats what goes down for the food portion, and no no marshallese food but apparently there barbeque sauce is money according to one of my teachers so ill have to try that and im pretty stoked, and favourite meal well theres nothing really spectacular here, i guess the chicken cordon bleu was decent but no really good meals, the salads are probably the best to be honest, and yeah either i feel sick at breakfast or just dont want to eat but i dont really eat a ton of breakfast, the chocolate milk is delish though, some of the byu creamery stuff so i drink that all the time, and yeah thats about it for food, desserts suck usually haha the best one was some not very good tapioca pudding and yeah theyve been telling us about some of the marshallese fruit, apparently there bananas are lukwen enno haha which means very delicious (not speels properly but thats how you pronounce it) and they have tons of coconutm, some papaya and breadfruit which isnt really a fruit its more starchy and some other kind of fruit that was really good too, and they eat a lot of rice apparently, and oh if your eating something and someone else wants it and they ask for it you have to give it to them which is kind of cool, haha theyll pass like suckers and stuff around like no big deal haha and they have some different cultural things that your not supposed to point your feet towards any one person, so they sit cross legged, and the men sit in the chairs right away for some reason so the women can be modest and sit on the ground and just some different ideas, haha so if i lose some of manners when i come back home i am sorry :p umm whenever they walk in front of someone or between too people they wait to be acknowledged and ask if they can walk in front of them or say jolok bwood (pronunciation) which means through away my mistake whenever they walk in front of someone, so lets say there was a person in the hallway looking at a wall, you have to pretend there having a a conversation with the wakk and apologize for walking in front of them haha i think its kind f funny but also makes me realize how rude we are, if 2 people are having a conversdation in the middle of a hallway we"ll just troll right through it and they have to talk around our heads where in the marshalls they respect the fact people are talking and duck down and say jolok bwood so as not to get in the wya of the conversation, something i find kind of interesting, and there just say elder, and for missionary its mijjinade and you have to roll your d which i am still working on haha but ill get it and pretty soon ill be a makure (expert) ilo kajin majol (in marshallese) i love talking in marshallese its honestly so cool and such a beautiful language haha its one of the tougher island languages but yeah definitely cool and i can not wait until im fluent that is gonna be so sick!! but anyways i think thats all for now, thanks for the good questions
1. What does it say on your name tag? English words or marshallese? Send a picture
2. You said there were 6 guys in your district learning Marshallese, are you on a zone with others from the pacific islands? Or so they have just districts?
3. There are 4 guys in the room right? All 4 going to the Marshall island's and in your district?So where are the other 2 from your district?
4. what kind of food do they feed 2000 people and how do they feed you all? Do you have different times to eat?
5. What's the best meal you have eaten? Besides the different kind of kool aid snack have you tried any other marshallese food?
6. What is the Marshallese word for missionary?
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