I Have a Love for Learning Chuukese

This picture was taken when Kevin visited the Sapuk lighthouse early on in his mission.
December 20, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
So, I'm writing this letter up on the lighthouse in Sapuk. You saw pictures of it a long time ago. We took picture so soon you will have pictures of the lighthouse with a whole new gang of missionaries.
I'm actually going to be calling you in a few days to set up our Christmas phone call. I am so excited to talk to you again. In all honesty, it doesn't feel like Christmas at all yet. It is always about 90 degrees so I am stuck in June. I got the Christmas packages you sent. Thank you so much for those. Thank you also for sending out the boxes of candy for the branch. I know they are going to like it. They are all excited for Christmas.
We have been getting ready for the Christmas party lately out in Sapuk. It is going to be on the 27th because that will be our zone p-day. All the missionaries will come to the party. We are going to have volleyball, music and a LOT of food.
Work in Sapuk has been getting better. We are working with a couple of really good people. The baptisms we had scheduled soon did not happen. We should have a couple in January. Two guys we are working with are big studs. I have really liked working with them and they are awesome. Other than that work is still just going forward bit by bit. My branch president responsibilities take up a bit of my time, but it is still okay. We manage to get work done. Teaching by myself is a much different change of pace. My whole mission has mostly been working with people who know the language so it is a lot different. I kind of like it though to be honest. I feel like my teaching is pretty good now compared to where it used to before. There really isn't a language barrier at all any more so any idea I want to convey or question I want to ask is possible. Some things are a bit rough to be able to get across sometimes but I can struggle my way through it usually. Those are rare though. It is usually dealing with stuff that is just super new to them like some doctrinal concepts. It is amazing to see how people think and comprehend things when they spend their whole lives on small islands and don't get a good education. My Chuukese language abilities have already caught up to and probably surpassed where I was before I went to Pohnpei. We always have some of the locals around with us so I can ask them questions and I get to know how they speak in just hang out settings and when they tell stories. I really have a love for learning this language. The dictionaries you sent are a huge help. They have so much good stuff in them.
Elder Fisher is doing well. I remember what it was like to come out straight from the states and it was a huge culture shock. He is adjusting well. I think he may be my final companion.
Well, I'll be talking to you both in a couple of days so I don't have much more to say now. Thank you again for all the stuff you sent out. I am really looking forward to talking to you soon. Take care.
Love Always,
Elder Kevin South

The Best Christmas Present

This is a short video that Kevin sent us last year (2009) from a church Christmas party. I believe the party was at one of the chapels on Weno, the island he is currently serving on.

About 6 Hours of Power a Day

This picture was taken at a branch Christmas party in Chuuk in 2009.

December 13, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
I received several Christmas packages from you today. Thank you so much for all that stuff. I saw the note and so I got to open the present with the dictionaries! They are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you! I was not expecting as many presents! I don't know what they are, but will get as much use out of them as I can in the next three months and then leave what I don't need any more here. By the time you get this letter I may have already opened them and talked to you for the last time of my mission. Mom mentioned in a letter that you know I'll get home on March 18. I just got my flight itinerary last week and it told me that too. My flight will go to Japan and then Seattle and then Reno. I should get home in the afternoon/evening. I don't want to dwell on that long right now though.
So I am sad that BYU lost to Utah this year. I am at least glad that BYU put up a really good fight. Next year we should beat them good at home. I have a few questions about stuff with football. Is Jake Heaps going on a mission? What is the schedule like for next year? I am also happy that BYU basketball is doing so well. I should get in a few games at the end of the season I think, but I am not entirely sure.
So things in Sapuk are picking up a bit. We have some really good investigators we are working with and the branch is doing alright. I guess I haven't told you a ton about the branch yet so here goes. There are about 111 members on record right now. We usually get around mid 30s for Sacrament meeting. We have 4 active Melchizelek Priesthood holders and that makes 6 if you count the missionaries. Most people who attend church are older. The primary is pretty small. We have our own branch building with a small basketball court next to it. Our house is right next to the church. As for our house, no we do not have to take bucket showers but it would probably be better if we did! Our shower barely trickles any water so it seems pretty ineffective. We do have a fridge and a working oven. We have not used the oven yet. We have a propane stove which we have been doing our cooking on. There is no microwave. I like the house and everything is great. If I had any complaints it would be that the power is terrible. We have about six hours of power a day. At night we use the flashlights and my camping light to do anything. It isn't too bad.
So in other exciting news this week, I gave Papa Ande the Melchizdek Priesthood. He is doing a really good job in the branch and his family.
My responsibilities as branch president are going pretty good. I am doing tithing settlements right now and have been doing what I can to help the members do what they need to do. Being on the branch president side of things has given me different perspective of the branch. I have worked really hard to be extremely patient and loving in everything I do. Things have been hard out there sometimes and I try to say a prayer, be nice, and be as happy as possible. I understand much more now that the church is perfect, but members aren't, including me. Well, especially me. Christmas is coming up and we are going to have a party for it. I also want to have one for New Years. It will be a blast.
The zone here is doing really well. They are all really young except for Elder Krause and me. They are all studs though with how hard they work to learn the language and help people. I love the zone already.
You asked if I miss Pohnpei at all and I do a bit. I love both Pohnpei and Chuuk. They are so different and both are great. I am still waiting to hear if the people we were working with in Palikir got baptized. There were 5 who were really good and 4 who were super set. One just had a couple things to overcome first. I may get the chance to go back in January to go back for a four day leadership training. It just isn't set yet. I would love to go back and see the members there but at the same time I don't want the work to stop here in Sapuk for that whole time. It always takes a while to pick back up after things like that.
Well that is all the news this week. Thank you so much for everything you sent out. Thank you for being awesome parents. I am looking forward to talking to you soon for Christmas.
Love Always,
Elder Kevin South

Many Great Meetings

December 6, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
Well, Chuuk is similar to when I left it before. The missionaries I worked with are all gone except for Elder Krause, but the unity is still strong. This last week was pretty crazy here. We had three days of straight meetings over the weekend. On Friday we had a zone conference. Elder Awiagi (spelling?) of the 2nd quorum of the seventy was there with us. He speaks a little bit of English, but not much so there was a translator there with him. It was fun having a man there speaking Japanese. The training was way good. President Dowdle gave a training which was one I heard on Pohnpei. It was a shorter version and even though I had heard it before it was so helpful. It was about learning by faith. I am trying to have faith in my work now. I need it since I am doing all the teaching right now. This area has a lot of work that needs to be done.
Saturday I went to three seperate meetings. In the morning I went to a seminary inservice meeting. I am the seminary teacher in Sapuk. The person in charge was the former Elder Kuss who is now done with his mission! I was so excited to see him again! He is a super stud! We had time after the meeting to hang out and talk. He is doing so well back on Romonnum. He is helping so many people. The branch is so strong now because of him. After that there was a priesthood leadership meeting. I went since I am the branch president. It was a good meeting too. The last meeting I went to that day was an adult session of district conference. There weren't many people there which was sad, but it was okay. After the conference we had interviews. President Awiagi interviewed me since he interviewed the leadership. The interview was a good one. He asked about an experience I had that has really stuck with me and then aksed if I had any questions for him. I did not as the conference answered the ones I had.
On Sunday it was the general session of district conference. It was a big time reunion. So many people were there from Rommonum. They feel a lot like my family away from you guys. We all had a great time together and the meeting was good. We had two people from Sapuk get sustained to receive the Melchizedek priesthood. They will hopefully get that next week. One of them is an 18 year old who plans to go on a mission!
I guess everything else here is same old same old. Elder Fisher and I are doing well and the work is progressing slowly but surely. I have not heard from you yet, but I imagine I will soon. I have one more thing I would like to ask you for. I would like to get a lamp like the rechargable one you sent me on Rommonum. It will be a present for a member family here. People think those things are the coolest things ever here! Thanks in advance.
I trust you are both still doing well. I am looking forward to hearing from you at Christmas. I love you both!
Love Always,
Elder Kevin South

PS I already heard about the BYU vs. U of U game. That is ROUGH!

A Quick Phone Call and Pictures Make a Happy Week

Still no mail at our house, BUT we did get something even better this week! On Wednesday I picked up the phone and heard a wonderfully familiar voice say, "Hi, Mom!" It was Kevin calling to arrange his Christmas phone call with us! Not wanting to be greedy, I quickly called Brett's office to get him in on the call. Our conversation was brief, but we were able to determine that our Christmas packages had arrived and that Kevin was going to be able to fulfill his wish and share a "candy filled" Christmas with the people in Sapuk. Kevin says he has mailed us a letter every week so maybe the Christmas rush is slowing the mail down.
Today we had another great day! Yesterday Elder Fisher's family received their first letter from him since he arrived in Chuuk. Elder Fisher is Kevin's companion. He is a new missionary and arrived in Chuuk a day or two after Thanksgiving. It was a happy day for them to finally hear from him and to know he is doing terrific! Elder Fisher also sent home a camera card and the Fisher family shared several pictures with us. Our first Sapuk pictures! Thank you Fisher family for sharing! We received 5 pictures, but are holding one back so we have a picture for our next blog post.

This is a picture inside the missionary house. We were happy to see that there is a stove and oven in the house. I have heard the power goes out several times a day, but for the most part there is power.


Bedroom. I am assuming Elder Fisher's bed.


Outside the house and the familar bue water tanks.


This is the road that Kevin and Elder Fisher walk along each day.

New Year's 2010 on Romonnum

No word from Kevin yet. This video was taken last year on Romonnum. Romonnum is an island in Chuuk which is the area Kevin is back in. A feast to celebrate the New Year was being prepared.

Sapuk is the Coolest Place Ever and Farewell to the Duncans

November 29, 2010
So! My first week back in Chuuk! It has been really interesting so far. Sapuk is the coolest place ever. It really is like outer island lifestyle. The people in the branch are all really awesome. We weren't left an area book so work has been a little rough. We had a few names to start with and will move on from there. I have made it a goal as branch president to see all the members in the branch so that is taking a lot of time. I love talking to the locals! I think that will also be really helpful to get the work started. We have had a few contacts with a few really good investigators. As of now, we have one who wants to be baptized and that will happen on Christmas.
My companion's name is Elder Fisher. He is from Texas and plays rugby and loves to cook. He is a brand new missionary.
The language has been coming back pretty well. Since Elder Fisher doesn't know any Chuukese it forces me to know it. People tell me I know it pretty well,though I hope to learn a lot more. One of the fun things about being in Sapuk is the accent. They have the most noticeable accent. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Romonnum accent. I am doing my best to pick it up. Sometimes I slip up when I get really going. I'm sure I will be great by next week.
The zone has changed a lot. The only person who is here that I already knew was Elder Krause. He is still just as studly as ever. The rest of the elders are all good guys too. The zone is super young and inexperienced with the language but they get by. They will get a ton of good work done here.
The Duncans were here when I arrived. We had Thanksgiving at their house the day I arrived. It was way good. Two days after that they left. Their plan is to go home and then go on another mission. I am sad I missed Thanksgiving on Pohnpei, but I am grateful I was able to see the Duncans again before they left.
I've only been here a few days so I don't have a ton of fun stuff to say yet. I am waiting for good news about the BYU and U of U game. I really hope BYU dominated them! Tell me how it ended up.
I know something else I want for Christmas. I would really like to make Christmas and New Years special in the branch and would like to have candy for everyone! Could you please fill up a flat rate box full of candy that I can give to everyone? You can just buy the bulk type candy. People here LOVE candy and it would make it a great holiday for them. Other than that I am set for the rest of my mission.
I may or may not have told you yet, but I will get home on March 18th. They sent me a paper to fill out so they can make my flight plans.I should get that in about a month and I am sure you will get a copy too.
Well that about sums up everything here. It was sad to leave Pohnpei but coming to Chuuk feels like coming home. A huge chunk of my heart is in Pohnpei and a huge chunk in Chuuk. Life is good out here.
I hope you are both doing well and everything is good at home with everyone.
Love Always,
Elder Kevin South