Transcript
Darin Tingey: All right, we are back with another episode of the Islands Podcast. Super excited because I've got ah one of my relatives. We've got to be related, Craig. ah Craig Tingey on the podcast. Turns out there was another elder Tingey that served in the Marshall Islands, ah which is a wild.
Darin Tingey: But I'm surprised it didn't come up earlier of someone telling me that another other tingy served in the Marshall Islands. But anyway, super excited to to be connected. Craig, give a little background on you.
Darin Tingey: Where are you from? Where you live now? What do you do for work?
Craig: Okay. Yeah, I flew under the radar. So maybe that's why you never heard about me.
Darin Tingey: Not like that. I'm just surprised I didn't know about it.
Craig: No, you're good. um
Craig: Did people call you Tanky? Elder Tanky?
Darin Tingey: Yes, Elder, thank you.
Craig: Okay.
Darin Tingey: Is that what, same thing same for you?
Craig: Tanky. Oh, yeah. Yep.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: That's a great name. Okay, so about me. um I'm from a family of six, four boys. had no sisters, uh, grew up in the church, went on a mission and came back, uh, went to school at Utah state and started a career in software engineering.
Darin Tingey: yeah
Craig: And I've been doing that ever since I married and have two kids, five-year-old boy and his name's Remington.
Craig: and two-year-old girl.
Darin Tingey: Nice.
Craig: She's almost three. Her name's Lizzie. And we got another girl on the way, so she'll, we'll have a baby in November.
Darin Tingey: That's awesome.
Darin Tingey: Let's go. Congratulations.
Craig: Thank you.
Darin Tingey: And you're from Idaho, where in Idaho?
Craig: Idaho Falls.
Darin Tingey: Okay, born and raised.
Craig: Grew up there. Yeah, born and raised.
Darin Tingey: And now you're in Lehigh, Utah now, right?
Craig: Then left for school.
Craig: Yeah, I went to Logan. for at Utah State and then just been in Utah ever since. And now I'm in Lehigh.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Silicon slopes needs a lot of software engineers. So
Craig: Yeah, they sure do. But it seems like lately they've been offing a lot of them. So it makes me kind nervous.
Darin Tingey: yeah, well, you'd be fine. I don't think they'll ever go away, but, um, well, uh, well, sweet.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So you, so when you got your mission call, let's see, what, what years did you serve?
Craig: It was 2009 to That's right.
Darin Tingey: Okay. So when you got your mission call, it was the Marsh Islands Madro mission. Is that correct?
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: When you got your call, what was your reaction?
Craig: It's funny because right before I got my call, I was telling someone that, uh, I just wanted to go somewhere that I had never heard of that was out in the middle of the ocean. And then,
Darin Tingey: No way. That's actually wild.
Craig: And then I got this call, Majuro Marshall Islands. And I was like, I don't know what that is, but it says islands and that sounds like it's in the ocean.
Darin Tingey: You manifested that. That's crazy. Like to a T, like a random country in the middle of the ocean.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: That is exactly what the Marsh Islands is.
Craig: Yeah. I have a cousin who went to Guam on his mission and I, I just, was older than me and I was like, that seems so cool.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: Like I want to have that experience.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. And they used to be part of the same mission too. so Although his islands are mountainous and your islands were flat, very flat.
Craig: Yeah, for sure.
Darin Tingey: So, okay. So you go, you got your mission called the Marsh Islands. um Did you, were able to find anything about the Marsh Islands or about the mission before going out or was there little to info about the mission?
Craig: Um, there was, there wasn't much, although i ran into, i don't know how somebody like through my parents or something, Some connection was made somehow that a senior couple that went to the Marsh Islands and I met up with them and they told me a lot of stuff about it.
Craig: So that was really cool when I met with them. They have a map and a bunch of pictures and they're telling me a lot of stuff and that got me really excited for it.
Darin Tingey: So that's funny. My mom met a senior couple that had served in Kitabas. And she's like, they served in Morona High School. You should meet up with them before you go and hear about the mission. And I was like, Mom, I'm going to the Marshall Islands. I'm not going to be in Kitabas. Like, I don't know why I would meet up with them. Like, it's a totally different country, different part of the mission.
Darin Tingey: And then um midway through my mission, or about six months into the Marshall Islands, I actually got transferred to Kiribati.
Craig: Oh, crazy.
Darin Tingey: And then my mom sent me just a snark email like, I told you, you should have listened to those senior couples.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: And I was like, I'm sorry.
Craig: Oh, man. That's crazy.
Darin Tingey: But i I didn't even serve on Tarawa, so...
Craig: So did you spend...
Craig: Oh, really?
Darin Tingey: Yeah. i um So six months into my mission, um mission president was like, hey, I'm losing 20 missionaries over the summer in Kitabas and the work's just booming there. And so we need, I'm transferring six of you over there.
Darin Tingey: So transferred six of us over there. We all went to Outer Islands and then was on the outer, I was on Myana for about four and a half months and then He pulled me off and he's like, i got another assignment for you. And I was like, sweet.
Darin Tingey: Like maybe he's like another place in Kitabas. And he's like, I'm sending you back to the Marsh Islands. And i was like, what? ah
Craig: Man, flip-flopping between those languages. gotta be a weird.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, no, it was nuts. And then I went back and there's a decent amount of kiddos people in the marsh islands these days, ah even more so than 10 years ago when I was there.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: But um I started a kid of this branch in in Long Island and did that for about four and a half months.
Craig: Oh, cool.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, so.
Craig: Nice.
Darin Tingey: Anyway, ah yeah, it was kind of funny that she was like, I told you so. You should have listened to them. um
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: But I felt the same. like I couldn't find anything online. really about the mission before I went. remember there's a few YouTube videos,
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: but there wasn't much. And so that's kind of why I do this podcast a little bit too, so people can like hear the stories from the mission and and learn more about it.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: But um let's talk about you going to the MTC. So what did you have a big group with you? Was a small?
Craig: It was pretty small. I think just the four of us in the same room together were the only ones going to the Marsh Islands out of everyone at the MTC.
Darin Tingey: who did who Who was in your intake?
Craig: It was Elder Humrick. His first name is Nick, Nick Humrick. And then There's two other guys, but they actually went to Kitabas and I can't really remember their names.
Darin Tingey: Okay. So two going to the marshals, two going to kitabas.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: And did you have language training at the time or no?
Craig: No, we didn't. So we just were there for three weeks and then sent off with not knowing much at all.
Darin Tingey: So your, so your mission call probably said English speaking, right?
Craig: I think so. I can't remember.
Darin Tingey: But you, but ah did you eventually like, I mean, at some point you figured out like, I was actually, we're going to learn Marshallese, right?
Craig: Yeah, I think, I think my cousin who went to Guam, he he was like, yeah, um he knew about the Marsh Islands, I guess, because it's pretty close. And he's like, yeah, ah you're gonna have to learn a language.
Darin Tingey: Well, I think because that's how they do it for the Guam mission. They have, since they have a bunch of different island countries within there, it's like, hey, yeah, you're going to this mission, but you're going to learn one of these languages whatever.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So no language training at all for you. When you first get to the Marshall Islands, what's what's your reaction to hearing the language?
Craig: Um, just sounded like gibberish and mumbling and,
Craig: my, my cousin, before I went out there, he's like, Marshallese language sounds like baby talk. And it's like, yeah, it's very true.
Darin Tingey: So true.
Craig: Like Kiki. uh doo-doo like all the words baby baby words
Darin Tingey: gigi doooo i always remember like the, the women's voices were always like this crazy nasally high pitch sound.
Craig: oh yeah oh yeah especially if they're singing and church that's exciting
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: and I, I like, and I, was weird. Like, cause I first going to the Marshall Islands, I had that reaction and then I went to Kitabas and I kind of forgot what it sounded like. And then I remember coming back and being like, Whoa, like I totally forgot what that sounded like.
Darin Tingey: Just this high pitch. Um, what was your first impressions of just the Marshall Islands in general when you got there?
Craig: It was crazy. I flew into Majuro on the plane and I'm looking out the windows and like, we're getting closer to like landing.
Craig: And they're like, we're about to land. And I look out the windows on one side and all I see is water. And I look out the other side and all I see is water. And I'm like, where, what are we landing on? Is there any land?
Craig: Are we just going into the water?
Darin Tingey: Yeah. It's crazy how skinny Maduro is. It's nuts.
Craig: So yeah, got off the plane, immediately got hit with like the humidity and yeah, I just got go off the airport and it's like, This is cool. That's just water everywhere and palm trees.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: This wasn't what I was expecting.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: That's for sure.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, no, totally. And yeah, that, that humidity hits you just boom, right. As you get off the plane, they're just immediately trying to pull your shirt off. It's all sticking to you.
Darin Tingey: Uh, who, um, who was your mission president at the time?
Craig: Yep.
Craig: Um, It started, i had, I went through four.
Darin Tingey: Four mission presidents.
Craig: it was kind of crazy because, so it started with president Smith. I think his first name's Brad, but his daughter got into an accident that was pretty serious.
Darin Tingey: Shoot.
Craig: And so he left pretty early. Um, and then, I think it was president Hope Oate took over as like interim until they found someone else.
Craig: And then maybe I only had three. Uh, and then it was president Shah after that.
Darin Tingey: OK. Yeah, Shah is a name I've heard.
Darin Tingey: Okay. Wow. So three mission presidents. That's kind of nuts. And then walk me through your areas real quick and then we'll start from the beginning there.
Craig: Okay. I started off. on E by actually now that i remember, think I landed first in quadrillion and then went straight to E by like, that was my first area.
Craig: I didn't see.
Darin Tingey: No way they didn't even stop on Magiro. You're like, just go straight there.
Craig: Yeah. So I went to E and then I went from e by to Jell-O-Witts. Um, actually i think I, I think I might have gone to Maduro for like a couple days until I could get to Jell-O-Witts.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Um, but the airport was like needing service. So they weren't landing in Jellowicz. So I had to take a boat.
Darin Tingey: No way.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: I'm excited to hear about that. Okay.
Craig: Yeah, that's crazy. Uh, so I got to Jellowicz and then stayed there for like three months or something. And then from there i went to, think I went to Maduro, uh,
Craig: Like I said earlier, it's been 16 years, so I might be a little hazy.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: But I went to, i was in like Laura and Agil Taki, like on the end of the island in Madro for a little bit.
Darin Tingey: Yep.
Craig: um Then I went to Island Lab Lab. So another island outer island. And I was there for like three three months, i think.
Craig: three or four months and then came back to Laura and I was there. I feel like I'm missing something, but, um, those are the ones that stick out to me most. i was in Laura for a while, I think.
Darin Tingey: Okay, so Ebi, Jalowicz, Laura, and Azataki, I can level up, then back to Laura. so it sounds like you never served on like the city side of Maduro.
Craig: Yeah, I was never there. i I mean, I went for like a transfer or two randomly, like spent a day there for something random.
Darin Tingey: Sure.
Craig: but but But like, yeah, I was always kind of out on the outskirts, it seemed like. That's why I was saying I i flew under the under the radar there.
Darin Tingey: Well, thank you.
Darin Tingey: Elder, thank you. I say, Elder, thank you. Thank you, Durang. That's what would tell them.
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: And maybe, you know, i I feel like it did stick. So maybe it stuck because they'd heard it before from you. ah I mean, the only, let's see, I served on E-Buy.
Darin Tingey: i didn't serve on Jalowitz or didn't level up. I never served on Laura, but I did serve on Ajax Dagi for one transfer. So E-Buy is where we we overlapped. So that's actually kind of surprising that we didn't have more areas overlapped.
Craig: Yeah, that is.
Darin Tingey: But hey, they ah you know the dinky name across the marshals now. um so So you started on E-Buy.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: also started on E-Buy. And I remember hopping on the ferry to go over there. And the missionaries had met me there on Quach.
Darin Tingey: And I remember we were like going on the ferry. And one of the elders was like, hey, you see that like island over there? It's took got all those trees. And I was like, yeah. And he's like, that's where we're going. i was like, sick, that looks awesome.
Darin Tingey: And then we like keep going on the ferry and we turn and he's like, just kidding, we're going to that island. And he's like, no trees, just concrete and ah tin roof homes.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: And i was like, oh, that's not the islands that I were was expecting.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Uh, what was your, what, like, did you kind have anything anything similar to that? And like the thought of like, okay, what the heck, where am I?
Craig: Yeah. yeah It was crazy. Like landing in Kwajalein, it was so nice and like just beautiful. and then taking the boat over and getting off.
Craig: And E-bias like, holy cow. I didn't know you could pack so many people onto this tiny island. And it's just like everyone's house is made out of plywood. Just like tin thrown on top and everyone's sleeping on the floor all over the place.
Craig: Just, it was shocking.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. How many missionaries were on eBio when you started there?
Craig: We had or four and then two or so six, I guess, four elders and two sisters.
Darin Tingey: Okay. And were there, let's see, at the time it was, they were just branches, right? In the district.
Craig: I think so. I think there were two branches. Pretty much Thylind was cut in half.
Darin Tingey: Okay. Okay. Where was it cut? Do you know? was like right at the triple J there.
Craig: I think so Yeah, I can't remember exactly. It was like off the top of my head, I want to say like around where the church is, but I can move it off.
Darin Tingey: Okay. Yeah. um You should go back. It's crazy how much it's changed. and how much they've like taken down and rebuilt and all this stuff.
Darin Tingey: The church is nice now. It's really nice.
Craig: Really? Interesting.
Darin Tingey: It's not dark anymore. It's like they rebuilt it out. and This is beautiful stake center now. um
Craig: yeah it used to be like a warehouse there were no windows it was not really originally a church and then the elders house was like in the front yard of it pretty much
Darin Tingey: yeah Anyway.
Darin Tingey: Oh, so do you guys live in that like trailer?
Craig: it was ah I don't know if you'd call it a trailer but it was like a house that got built while I was there yeah I don't know it was like right in the front
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: like front walkway pretty much of the church.
Darin Tingey: Okay, so that's where you lived when you're there.
Craig: Yeah. Well, initially we didn't live there, but then it got complete while I was there and then we moved into it.
Darin Tingey: and Okay. Cause when I was there, we lived at triple J there was apartments above the triple J like the, on the, like the, where the ice cream was or like little food thing.
Darin Tingey: We lived above that.
Craig: I think there were some senior missionaries living there when we when I was there.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. So, and then the house that you lived in, they turned into like a little seminary. That's what they use for seminary in the mornings and stuff. Anyway, so, yeah, so it's four elders, two sisters. What was that like? ah who How was it with your trainer? How was it learning the language and just really experiencing eBuy?
Craig: It was tough. learning the language. It really fun being with four elders. I feel like we played card games in like the evenings or mornings.
Darin Tingey: oh yeah. Yeah.
Craig: I can't remember, but on P-Day, it's just kind of like fun hanging out with the group, but also it was tough, like working that much, just like from morning till night and just being out trying to pay attention to lessons.
Craig: Like I was reading through my journal and like my, just hearing myself like, It's so hard to stay awake in these lessons. I pay attention because I don't know anything that anyone's saying.
Darin Tingey: ah
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Did you have any like knowledge of Marshallese at all? Like, did you know at least how to say hi or how are you?
Craig: Yeah, I think I learned like Yaakwe and stuff like from the MTC. don't, I feel like, yeah, I don't remember how, but I feel like we knew a couple words, but not much.
Darin Tingey: Was, uh, who was your trainer?
Craig: His name was Elder Alstrom.
Darin Tingey: Okay. American.
Craig: Yeah. who I think his first name Ryan. then
Darin Tingey: And did, did you, like, how long you think it took for you to really, okay start participating in lessons and and that?
Craig: I was surprised, like going through my journal, I was surprised at how quick it was. It seems like, um, after like a week or so I was like bearing my testimony and stuff. And, and then I was like doing teaching certain principles, like things that I had memorized. and then like, I feel like maybe three months I was teaching pretty consistently, like around 50% of the time. And then around my sixth month mark is where
Craig: I was paired with a another elder who was like at the same stage of me as me.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: so it was like, we both just like had to share all the load. Like we were both at the same level. So we were thrown into being in charge, I guess.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: i actually think that, uh,
Darin Tingey: i'm a little I'm a little jealous that you only were in the MTC for three weeks, then we got sent straight out there. like Although you didn't have any language training, i actually think it's better because the MTC, think a lot of missionaries develop bad habits of how they think things are pronounced or...
Darin Tingey: um So they'll they'll say stuff and they'll just say that for the rest of their mission and how they pronounce it. And I'm like, they're like, that is not right. Like it is a bad habit you have from the MTC.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Like moving to going to Kittabus, I had to, i didn't have any training. So i was just like, all right, just start listening for the first while and then start speaking. i think it actually is better that way.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Um, Marshall, isn't like a crazy language. It's, it's unique in the sense of your ears. Haven't heard it like ever, but it's also not a difficult language.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: i don't, I wouldn't think, um,
Craig: Yeah. Yeah. There's some sounds that I like feel like I couldn't hear. Like they would say these two things are different. And I'm like, that sounds exact same to me.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: I don't hear any difference in what you're saying. And then like, like with, uh, I think the word is world or is it a wow. Wow.
Darin Tingey: Lao, yeah.
Craig: Um, Or maybe, do you say like ground? Is it with a D-E-B? that Or something?
Darin Tingey: ah Ground is ground you'd say Lao too. You'd say, yeah, i don't know.
Craig: Oh, okay. Yeah. I think that was the word. Maybe one of the words. Or there was one word that had a D. It was like a three-letter word that they're like, you're saying it wrong. And i'm like, I'm trying my hardest.
Darin Tingey: Rel, maybe rel or something, yeah.
Craig: Like, maybe. Yeah. Yeah, it's tough.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, it's it's funky language. ah Did you have a lot of success on eBuy? What was that? How was the missionary work?
Craig: um yeah going through the journal it seemed like there was a few baptisms while i was there and there's like tons of lessons happening all the time so it's like kept busy uh like a lot of people going to church it seemed like even i was a really successful area even though like I feel like I don't really remember much of what was going on, I think just because I didn't speak the language much.
Craig: But it's hard to like get to know somebody when you don't know what they're saying.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: like I just know that person through like watching them and then what my companion would tell me about them. But I do remember some people. There's some really good people that got baptized and some good members there.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, i I felt the same. E-Buy is ah it's a great place to start your mission because there are so many people confined to a small space. So you're constantly talking to people, constantly.
Darin Tingey: There's enough people to teach, even if they are just saying yes and you listen they'll listen to you once. you know At least there's a a rep in there. Yeah. But I felt the same as like, I want to get to know these people and not speaking their language yet is really difficult. And so I was like praying that I'd go back to EBI to finish my mission. Just like like reconnect it all. I never did. i got to stop on Quads for like couple hours from coming back from live. But
Craig: Yeah. That would have been cool to go back to eBay. yeah I would have loved to that too.
Darin Tingey: Did you guys have a lot of fun on P days?
Craig: Um, I remember went to Gucci go, uh, one time or once or twice, I think.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Nice.
Craig: Uh, and then we usually just like, uh, can't remember if we played volleyball there, but, um, yeah, I don't really remember too much.
Craig: remember going and getting like a five gallon or maybe three gallon bucket of ice cream.
Craig: We like seriously took our budget, like super serious. We started sharing our money and like, um, bought like pancakes that we could all share in the morning. And then we saved a ton of money by like sharing foods. And then we had leftover money. So we bought like tons of ice cream.
Darin Tingey: I love that. Just go by a huge massive tub. Do you guys have a freezer to like keep it?
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Uh, Yeah, we had a fridge, like a, i guess it's like a normal size fridge and we just had like the phraseer freezer was like just ice cream.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: yeah That's awesome. Okay. So from E-buy, go ahead.
Craig: But I was just going to say with E-Bite, like, it was definitely culture shock going into the Marsh Islands.
Craig: um There's some weird, there's some little things that just like, as an American, at least for me, maybe not everyone else, but it's like so strange. Like, um, I learned quickly that you're not supposed to eat in public unless you just want to have to share all your food.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: i For me, I was like, i was frustrated at first.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: Like I remember i were just walking outside with a piece of bread, like not even like jam or toast or anything, just a piece of bread that I was eating and the kids. swarmed me and that this, I saw them start running and like stuffed the whole thing in my mouth and they just wouldn't stop.
Craig: Like, you do, you do, you do.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: I took it out of my mouth and gave it to them and they like broke it up and ate it like, like and I was like, geez, man, like, have i don't know, as an American, I'm like, holy cow.
Darin Tingey: No way.
Darin Tingey: Letakiju, letakiju.
Craig: Like, but I feel like maybe I was, I feel like I was like lacking that. Empathy or sympathy, like these people are probably hungry. Like, and mean I've just, my whole life been spoiled with food.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: It's like, you don't go ask people for food, but out there, everyone shares all their food, is pretty cool.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Yeah. Uh,
Darin Tingey: Yeah. It's like, oh, elders, you're walking by and here's my food. I'm i'm eating this food on my plate, but do you want it? You know, you can have it.
Craig: yeah. And then one time.
Darin Tingey: So they were so kind.
Craig: and then one time I needed a spray bottle for some reason. And there's like a, a little store, ah a Monwia that had a like some cleaning solution or something, um, for a dollar. So I bought this cleaning solution and then I just like dumped it out and i got chastised by somebody who saw me dumping it out that I didn't even know. And they had never talked to me before, but they saw me dumping it out and they were just like,
Craig: I didn't know what they're saying, but my companion told me like, they were saying that you shouldn't waste that. Like, just give it to someone else. If you don't need it, you shouldn't just dump it out. And I was like, well, I just bought it for a dollar. Like, i don't need it.
Craig: i need this bottle.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: I don't need the stuff inside. So I just like that scarcity mindset. i just didn't have it like they do there.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Use every little thing they got.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: nothingin's Nothing's really trash.
Craig: Yeah. And then another thing in Ebi, I don't, i wonder if this, I doubt this ever happened to you, but before we moved into that nice house that was in front of the church, um we lived in another house that was bit run down and we had a pontoon, but like for four elders, it was running out often. And so we had to take baths in the ocean.
Craig: Whatever happened to you, go take a bath in the ocean just to borrow soap and swimsuit.
Darin Tingey: I never had to. Well, I should say, i guess I never chose to. On eBuy, we definitely went days without water.
Craig: Oh,
Darin Tingey: Uh, and it was mostly bad for the toilet situation. Uh,
Craig: yeah. Yeah.
Darin Tingey: I think we were okay not showering for a few days, but as gross as that was on Ibai, especially because you get so sweaty, but we really lived up to the Ibai chatulu and ah saying, I guess.
Darin Tingey: But we never I never got in the ocean and borrowed soap. I remember getting in the ocean, though, to help someone build a seawall there. And for some reason, my clothes just smelled so bad after.
Darin Tingey: and I had to just chuck them. I don't know what it was with the water there. It made them smell super bad.
Craig: Interesting.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. No, but i I... That's awesome. Hop in the water, bar soap. That's great.
Craig: Yeah, it is funny. I'm curious. So you went to lie, right?
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: um I remember hearing stories about like black magic online and like there was like some church that worshiped the devil on the ground there was still barren or something.
Craig: Did you hear of that or is that just like rumors?
Darin Tingey: That's just rumors. I never saw that or heard that.
Craig: Oh man.
Darin Tingey: yes I love all the stories of black magic in the marshals. It's like, oh, they're sick because someone did black magic on them. right
Craig: Uh, I
Darin Tingey: you You got to boil. Someone did black magic. you know It's always black magic. ah so How long were on e-buy before then?
Craig: it was just two transfers.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: So I had the first with my trainer and then he left. So I had a mom, I guess they call it on the mission.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Uh, His name was Elder Jacksina, Devin Jacksina. Jacksina. after him, I was gone. So just do.
Darin Tingey: Two there. Were you sad to leave you by?
Craig: I can't remember my feelings for that exactly, but I was excited because I knew I was going to Jellowicz, which is an outer island and supposed to like ah knowing it was going to be like really pretty and more rural. rural
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: So i was really excited for that experience. And then I was also going with an elder who was kind of a legend on the mission at the time. He was like, everyone said, like, he's got the best Marshallese. Like, you're going to learn so much from that guy.
Craig: And he was ending his mission. So was his last guy.
Darin Tingey: Oh, cool.
Darin Tingey: So I'm curious, did, uh, both of those expectations, uh, did both of those live up to expectations, the beautifulness of the Island and the, legend of a missionary.
Craig: Yeah, yeah, I'd say so. He was an awesome missionary. And that was beautiful.
Darin Tingey: What's his name?
Craig: Why am I going blank on this one? just read it.
Craig: forgot his name.
Darin Tingey: Where was he from? do you remember?
Craig: He's from New Zealand, but he was white.
Darin Tingey: cool. Okay. Okay. So what is it?
Craig: Elder Thompson.
Darin Tingey: Thompson.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So let's, all right, so you get that transfer news. You're going to Jalowicz. So you fly from Ebay back to Maduro, which by the way, what time of year was this? Did you spend, was it fall that you got to the Marsh Islands?
Craig: I came in September, i think so. Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So you got transferred. So sounds like you probably had Christmas on Jalowicz. Is that right?
Craig: I think so.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Because Christmas honey e he this was on e-buy was super fun.
Craig: Oh yeah.
Darin Tingey: The beat. ah Anyway, Outer Island is fun too.
Craig: Yeah. I bet.
Darin Tingey: um i spent My Christmas is on e-buy and lye, which was awesome. um Okay, so you go to Madro and sounds like had to catch a boat. Were you guys reopening the island?
Craig: No, it was already open, but for some reason they flew both elders in, i think it was a district conference or something.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: um Flew um the both the elders in on the plane from Jelowitz. And then I was going to go out with her Thompson, who had already been out there before.
Craig: And yeah, they're just like, the airport's down, so we're going to get you on a boat, if that's okay with you. And i was like, sounds like an adventure. Let's do it. So we got on this boat, and it's a pretty small boat, maybe like fishing boat, like 50 feet, probably.
Darin Tingey: Oh, wow. Okay.
Craig: Like diesel engine, which I found out that diesel gas makes me nauseous.
Darin Tingey: m
Craig: So... We spent, so we started one day, one evening, we're going out for about an hour and then they're like, there's gas leaking or it's like squirting out of the engine. So we turned back, went home, spent the night, got up early in the morning. I guess they fixed the boat and we went off again and it was a 29 hour boat ride.
Craig: mean
Darin Tingey: Oh my goodness.
Craig: And I was seasick for most of it. Seasick plus like the smell of diesel. hands off but
Darin Tingey: Was there a lot were there lot of people on the boat or was it just just you guys?
Craig: I think there was maybe three or four other people.
Darin Tingey: Okay. 29 hours is a long time. Holy cow.
Craig: Yeah. It was miserable. um Yeah. I got sick pretty early. Got like maybe four hours of sleep the whole time.
Darin Tingey: Are you puking?
Craig: Yeah. I was throwing up a bunch. ah There was one part where I had to use the bathroom. There was no bathroom, or I don't think there was a bathroom on the ship.
Craig: So i grew up doing a lot of boating, like wakeboarding and stuff.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: And is pretty it felt natural to just go on the back of the boat and hang off, like take my pants off and go off the back of the boat.
Craig: a But looking back on that, I think I was not considering the consequence. If I would have, let go by accident.
Darin Tingey: yeah right
Craig: Just been stranded at sea or I don't know if like they would I'm sure they would have tried to turn around and find me, but
Darin Tingey: I wish your companion got a picture of that. You just like hanging off the boat, seasick and trying to take a take a crap off the boat.
Craig: ye yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: That was a pretty funny memory that I have from that experience, but We actually got to Jell-O it on Thanksgiving day and I was so sick, but my companion tried to make like a big dinner and it was like just rice and like canned vegetables it's on top with spam. And it's like, this is Thanksgiving dinner.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: i couldn't eat it because I still didn't have an appetite.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Oh, 29 29 hours of being on the water. i'm yeah, I can imagine just feeling sick for the next day or two and just rocking back and forth.
Darin Tingey: Oh, gosh. So where did you guys stay? stay in Jabor?
Craig: Yeah. Um, yeah, we were on the ocean side, ah kind of on the end of town, like closer to the airport than the rest of town. It was like a pretty nice spot, like away from other people.
Craig: Like we were pretty secluded. It's a nice, nice little area.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Was it at like a little house or what was it?
Craig: Yeah, it was a house and we had electricity. it' go out occasionally, but I can't remember if we had AC in there or not, but feel like...
Darin Tingey: Dang.
Craig: All right.
Darin Tingey: Was it a nice like a nicer house or than you would have expected to be on an outer island?
Craig: Yeah, it was one of the nicer houses out there for sure.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, mean, Jalowicz is like probably, I think it used to be cap the capital. and then And they've got a high school out there, so sounds like they've got a lot of infrastructure built out.
Darin Tingey: So why why are you guys in Jabor rather than Jalowicz-Jalowicz? Was there more people in Jabor than there was Jalowicz-Jalowicz?
Craig: I think so. a But I don't really know for sure because I don't even remember Jell-O-Wit Jell-O-Witch is.
Darin Tingey: I think the high school is in Javuz, isn't it? Or is it in Jabor?
Craig: Okay.
Darin Tingey: No, I could be wrong.
Darin Tingey: It's probably in Jabor. I know Jabor is close to the airport.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Oh, yeah. Yeah, Javuz High School is close to Jabor. Yeah, never mind. right.
Craig: Yeah, that's where we were.
Craig: um
Darin Tingey: what was the What was the church like there?
Craig: It was, there were not a ton of people. There was a lot of kids, like the primary was huge.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: There was like, 20 or 30 kids, I think. And then there was like a few adults that would come.
Darin Tingey: Oh my gosh.
Craig: It was mostly primary.
Darin Tingey: I love that.
Craig: Yeah. It was funny.
Darin Tingey: And would you guys hold church in your house?
Craig: Yeah, we did initially. And then we were like renting kind of like a shed. but and we put some huge fans in it, like industrial fans. They way loud, so it was hard to hear anything.
Craig: It was not a great... I think... doing it in our house was probably better because, but like the shed was pretty, it was bigger, but it would just was so hot. And then the fans didn't help that much. They were just too loud.
Darin Tingey: And martial arts people don't speak that loud. ah
Craig: Yeah, for sure.
Darin Tingey: Okay. So what, um, you know, what was this first few days and weeks like on Jalowitz?
Craig: Um...
Craig: It was good. Like, um, I finally felt like I was trying some like island food, like breadfruit and all the like bananas.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Uh, pub.
Darin Tingey: Bub?
Craig: Yep. Uh, yeah, all that stuff. I was like, wow, this is, this feels more like a, what I was expecting when I was going out to some islands.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Yeah, you didn't like the popcorn Kool-Aid on Ebi? That wasn't island enough for you?
Craig: No, didn't like that much.
Darin Tingey: ah eviy comes up with the weird ah weirdest concoctions there. Kool-Aid and ramen, Kool-Aid and popcorn, Kool-Aid and rice. you know Typical island stuff, man.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Oh, hot chocolate. I remember that in E-Buy having hot chocolate on the hottest day when like out doing yard work or something and they come out with hot chocolate.
Darin Tingey: Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate it. It's good intentions, and good intentions.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: ah So did you, so, so you're on Jell-O-Witts. Church is decent. Some people are coming, some not. ah Did you, did you guys try and teach high school students at all? Or was it kind of like, no, they're from outer islands and not with their family here. so we'll just kind of leave them.
Craig: Yeah, I feel like I remember when I first got there, there was one girl that we were teaching or maybe a couple of girls that we were teaching a for a little bit, but i don't think we taught them for very long. And then after that, it was just like, we did not really teach anyone from the high schools.
Darin Tingey: Was there a funny story with that? You kind of smirked like there was something going on.
Craig: Well, I don't know. I didn't really think about it until now, but I was like, maybe Uh, maybe my companion a crush on this girl or something. I don't know.
Darin Tingey: ah Yeah, I could see that. We gotta go teach this girl.
Craig: But.
Darin Tingey: She's a senior in high school. ah
Craig: Yup.
Darin Tingey: That's great. Did you guys have success? Like, ah you know, what was a typical day like in Zalowicz?
Craig: Um, we, we, had like, while i was there, I think we baptized like a couple people. Um, but yeah, typical day was like, we'd just cover the whole island. Like the whole area is easy to cover and pretty much see everyone that we know every day.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Cause there's not enough people to actually see new people. Um, and then we'd have a few lessons. Uh, there's, I feel like we spent a lot of time on these kids that were, they were probably like 12 or 13 or so, but they were really cool kids.
Craig: Um, yeah, I'm curious if they're still active or anything, but, um, yeah. Uh, what did we do?
Craig: we just kind of went around. Yeah,
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Do what you do on Outer Islands. Talk to everyone talked to every everyone three times a day.
Craig: exactly. uh, service whenever we can. Like that was the enjoyable, that was really enjoyable and when we could husk some coconuts.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. That was always fun. ah What is it? Yeah, that's the word.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: ah Did you guys do some fishing?
Craig: Uh, I don't think we did it on Shellowitch, but, um, one of our members was like always fishing. Like he, he was really, he was like, fishing was like their main food.
Craig: So he's every day just out there fishing.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: And so we'd go out on the wharf and hang out and just watch him fish and talk about fishing and, or talk about whatever. But feel like in the evenings every day, remembered, or maybe not every day, but a lot, we'd just go out and there's tons of people just fishing off the wharf and
Craig: he'd catch some fish and like, oh this is a poisonous one. It's no good.
Darin Tingey: And you're like, all right, good to know. I won't try and eat that one next time I catch it.
Craig: Yeah, I was like, how do you know it's poisonous? And he's like, I just know because fish a lot. But if you're ever unsure about a fish, if it's poisonous, he taught me that you can feed it to a cat first.
Craig: And then if the cat dies, then you know it's poisonous.
Darin Tingey: Huh. ah
Darin Tingey: That's great. Just feed it to the cat first.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Oh, that's awesome. ah what What was Christmas like when you were out there? sounds
Craig: Um, we didn't have a ton of members, so we didn't do like all the, I think there was maybe a little bit of the dancing from some people, but we did some songs and then had like a barbecue.
Darin Tingey: yeah
Darin Tingey: Fun.
Craig: Yeah, that's pretty
Darin Tingey: Did you guys go see like dances from the Protestant church or assembly of God or anything?
Craig: I think we did. um can't remember if we did on Jell-Oish, but I know we did a ton in other places, but I think we probably did in Jell-Oish too.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. what What are some core memories from Jell-Witts?
Craig: Definitely, there's a guy named Herman, and we just would hang out with him all the time, pretty much. He was the guy who's always fishing off the wharf, and take them to lessons and stuff.
Craig: And, uh, I going to the high school, like around the high school, there's a guy from Sri Lanka actually.
Darin Tingey: Wow. As a teacher?
Craig: yeah, I think he was teaching at the high school or doing something there. And so we hung out with him. He made the spiciest curry I've ever had.
Craig: I remember one time we were close to the high school and I went, I had to go to the, I had to pee. So I went, like to the ocean side and was about to go around this pillar or i went around this like big cement structure and there was already someone there taking the dump.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: Some girl and I was like, oh boy just turned around like I'll find a different spot. ah be So gotta be careful around the high school cause everyone's looking for a spot to, for some privacy to take down.
Darin Tingey: that's That's so good. Yeah, I remember ah on Lai, you know, everyone just went to the bathroom on the ocean side, right? That's where they do their business. And so I remember I went out there.
Darin Tingey: think I kept track of how many times I went to Pijekalik.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: so i are Yeah, I kept a tally.
Craig: You kept the talent.
Darin Tingey: It was fun. But I remember we were out and was like, I go the bathroom elder.
Craig: Nice.
Darin Tingey: So I walk out to the ocean side and you just like wave to other people. You can see other people like taking a dump like further on down. you just like give them a wave. Then you drop your pants, you know.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: And then we go to dinner with this family and she's like, Elder Tingy.
Craig: That's I can.
Darin Tingey: I saw you out there today. Your butt's really white. And i was like, oh yeah.
Craig: that
Darin Tingey: Thank you. Thanks.
Craig: clip
Darin Tingey: Appreciate that.
Craig: ah Oh my gosh.
Darin Tingey: So good.
Craig: That's funny.
Darin Tingey: Just like something you gotta, you just gotta own it, you know?
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Uh, yeah, I did. and When I was in Island lab lap, I was, uh, I had a habit of doing that at nighttime though.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: it was just so nice. Like the wind calms down at night.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: The way it's just kind of coming in slow
Darin Tingey: It's a little peaceful.
Craig: Stars are so bright. Yeah, just dig a hole and just take care of business.
Darin Tingey: oh that's so good. Yeah. It's just like, man, I'm just out here in the middle of the ocean. yeah You know, on the tiny Island. I'm just here doing my business and it's just peaceful and calm.
Darin Tingey: And you're, you're, I just remember those moments like, man,
Craig: Oh, yeah.
Darin Tingey: No one else in the world knows what I'm experiencing right now that's not in the Marshall Islands. And
Craig: Yeah, I had those moments too.
Darin Tingey: they'll never experience it. And it's like, dang. And now it feels like a dream, right? So
Craig: I
Darin Tingey: ah anyway, how long were you on, Jalowicz?
Craig: think it was like four transfers.
Darin Tingey: Oh, dang. You were there for a long time, like six months.
Craig: Yeah, yeah i was there for like six months, I think.
Darin Tingey: So did did you have the same companion the whole time or did he get switched out?
Darin Tingey: Cool.
Craig: um Yeah, and then I left.
Darin Tingey: Were there other Fijian teachers on Zellers at the time?
Craig: No, there was two white guys from the U.S. They said they went to Dartmouth, I think.
Darin Tingey: Oh yeah. Cool.
Craig: And then, yeah, they were out there for some reason related to to their education.
Darin Tingey: you guys hang out them ever or not really?
Craig: Uh, no, we talked to them a little bit. They said they liked spearfishing and stuff. And I was like, I wish I could do that.
Darin Tingey: yeah
Craig: But no, we didn't really, we just see them around sometimes and say hi, but, but yeah, we didn't talk to them too much.
Darin Tingey: It's one of my biggest regrets for my mission is not going spearfishing. I should have done it. No, it was at the time was good, but whatever.
Craig: I know,
Darin Tingey: Sometimes I wish I was like, ah, should have done it.
Craig: oh yeah. Yeah, it would have been fun to go with like one of the experienced guys with the flashlights at nighttime.
Darin Tingey: Totally. Yes. The thanky.
Craig: would scary, though. Yeah. Yeah.
Darin Tingey: It would be scary, but I don't know. i feel like if you're in the lagoon there, It's not that bad, right? I don't know.
Craig: yeah I'd just be worried about sharks in nighttime, at least in the day, maybe not as much, but.
Darin Tingey: Right.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Did you guys, did you guys ever go to Jalowitz Jalowitz or did you stay in Javora the whole time?
Craig: We went somewhere. Maybe it was, I think it was Joe, Joe, which we borrowed some guys dirt bike or he had two.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Nice.
Craig: they were like moped. It was not really dirt bike. was like moped and it had a bicycle tire.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. yeah
Craig: on it. a So it went flat, like the tire went flat. And I was like, when I get home, I'll send a new tire, but I don't know how I would send, find that guy and send him a new tire. So I still never have sent him a tire.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: So if he watches this and he needs his tire, just hit me up.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Yeah. Please reach out, please.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Oh, that's good. Sorry if I'm spending too much time on Jaoist. Let's see. You go to, after Jaoist, you go to Laura. Were you and Laura for a while?
Craig: Um, I think so. This is where we're getting past the part of my journal that I haven't caught up to yet.
Darin Tingey: Okay. Yeah. yeah
Craig: So, uh, I was in, I think I was there for like six months or something.
Darin Tingey: Oh, dang.
Craig: I don't know if it was all in one go, but think between agile talking and Laura, I was there for like six months. I don't know. yeah I can't remember if it was like two transfers and Laura and then I went to Island Lab up and then it came back to Laura for another two.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Did you live in Laura or in Ajitagi?
Craig: I lived in Laura.
Darin Tingey: Okay. I lived in Ash Doggy in the chapel house there. remember remember just being like, was talking you being so difficult because it's like so skinny and the houses are so spread out.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So hard to find people and hey, come to church. you Like the church is like 20 minutes away, but you should come.
Craig: Yeah. Yeah, that's a tough area. They had to, when I was there, they had bikes. They couldn't do it without bikes.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, no, we had bikes. Yeah, we had bikes for sure.
Darin Tingey: you want to talk about Laura or do you want to talk about adding level up?
Craig: I probably have more memories from Isling Lab Lab, but some quick ones from Laura. a i remember there was a, guy um an asian guy trying to remember his name taught we were like good friends and i'm friends with him on facebook i can't believe i can't remember his name right now but he was a gardener he's teaching the people how to garden it was like really cool he's like from taiwan i think and he was a member of the church too so like we hung out with him lot and
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: No way.
Craig: have meetings or lessons with him but he was cool i remember the gardening like we'd get fresh lettuce all the time and vegetables like the farms and in lara were pretty sweet
Darin Tingey: Was he out there just like teaching people or living out there full time?
Craig: he was living there most of the time that i was there and he was think he was maybe a government employee and it was like other program that the government was doing was like to teach Marshallese how to farm, like to be more self-sufficient.
Darin Tingey: Oh yeah. Okay.
Craig: So, um, I remember we, oh yeah, there was a time i became a zone leader at one point. i can't remember if this, I think this was in the later latter half of my time in Laura, uh, my companion.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: wanted to a, join a basketball league. ah So, so we did that.
Darin Tingey: Yes. That's awesome.
Craig: Uh, we played basketball on a basketball league for a little while. I was so bad. Like I was out of shape. I was like, uh, 20 or 30 pounds heavier than I ever had been in my life. And just bad at basketball, bad endurance.
Darin Tingey: All those hot dogs and rice, huh?
Craig: Yeah. Too much spam and corned beef.
Darin Tingey: well sp Spam and corned beef.
Craig: corned beef and a lot of ketchup.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. ah ah So good.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: thats Did you guys travel for the basketball tournament or is it all in Laura?
Craig: It was all in Laura, Laura.
Darin Tingey: Okay. Because I mean, Marshall Islands takes their basketball pretty serious these days.
Craig: But
Craig: yeah, I was, am I a companion or the other guy that's on leader? Um, His name was Elder Pritchard. He like a BYU football player and he was super athletic and fast and huge.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Okay.
Craig: And was like, and then the Marshallese basketball team, don't know if was like a college team or like, I don't know, a Laura team or something.
Craig: They challenged us to a match. And I was like, well, we're going to beat them because we're way taller than them. And like, We got this BYU football player on our team, but they destroyed us.
Craig: like They're so fast.
Darin Tingey: Mm-hmm.
Craig: They're accurate with their shooting. We just got wrecked.
Darin Tingey: I love how much they love basketball. Basketball is my favorite sport. So it was a dream come true to go over there and just play basketball all the time.
Craig: Nice.
Darin Tingey: my ah On E-Buy, my mission companion, we'd go play like almost every evening on the on in the South Side.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Nice.
Darin Tingey: And my mission companion didn't play, but he'd hype me up to everybody. They're like, hey, that's Steph Curry's son. And they're like, oh my gosh, that's Steph Curry's son. And all I had to do was like make two threes and they then they believed it.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: They're like, oh my gosh.
Craig: Oh my gosh.
Darin Tingey: And then i they wanted me to play all the time.
Craig: That's fun.
Darin Tingey: It was so fun.
Craig: Uh, that's awesome. I actually got into volleyball while I was out there.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: i don't know about got into it. I think I realized that volleyball was cool while I was out there. Like I played and they taught me how, like how to play, like,
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Instead of just hitting the ball over the net, you're supposed to like pass to the setter and then the setter sets you up for a spike and that's how you're supposed to play. And i found it to be really fun.
Craig: I actually played ton of volleyball now, like for the, ever since then, like I've got really into volleyball.
Darin Tingey: Oh, no way. Okay. Yeah, volleyball is great. i I love playing, especially on the outer Islands. feel like it's like come evening time, everyone's either playing volleyball or basketball.
Craig: Yep.
Darin Tingey: and you go to one or the other, so.
Craig: Yeah. Yeah, and we can talk about Eiling Labalap a little bit.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, let's do it
Craig: a
Darin Tingey: Did you fly there rather than take a boat?
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: I get it, because that would have been a longer boat ride, I think.
Craig: Oh, yeah, probably. a Yeah, let's see. Eiling Labalap. I'm trying to check my notes on some of my stories. ah Well.
Craig: The island was cool. like It was more primitive. We didn't have electricity. There were some houses that were like shacks like you would see on the other side of heaven where some people had just like made their house out of wood, out of the stuff around, and that was really cool.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: We actually slept in a little like tiny little house that was made out of thick the trees and stuff that was right other
Darin Tingey: Oh, yeah, like the Yim Hatch, like the true Marshallese home.
Craig: Yeah, I guess so. It was like a tiny little one right on the ocean. So like the wind would come in really good and had a little door you could prop open.
Darin Tingey: Oh, that's awesome. You have the little like windows right there. Yeah, I know you're talking about
Craig: Yeah, we s slept in one of those for a while. Not all the time, but the mosquitoes would bug us sometimes in the house. So we'd just go and sleep in that sometimes. Um,
Darin Tingey: Was your house like a little shack kind of, and there's like all the missionaries with their name on the wall?
Craig: Uh, yeah, um,
Darin Tingey: There's a specific house I'm thinking of that missionaries always talked about, but.
Craig: Oh yeah. I think that was, yeah, I think I know which one you're talking about. Cause we actually stayed in two different places at first. We were in the Eroich house and then they're like, uh, you actually can't stay in that anymore.
Darin Tingey: Oh, nice.
Craig: So you can move into a different house. and then we moved into a one that was like made out of plywood and I feel I feel like a dumb, like young teenager. Cause these people probably didn't want us graffitiing all over their walls, but we just put like our names and like, I drew a giant picture, like a picture of Toon Link. Some reason that was what I knew how to draw.
Craig: Just like on the wall and yeah, I feel, I feel bad for hopefully those guys will not like, oh my gosh, they destroyed our house.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, they're fine I'm fine. sure it's fine.
Craig: yeah
Darin Tingey: Dumb elder dinky. Gosh, drawing all over.
Craig: yeah yeah no respect actually i um i did get a bit of a reputation for having a for not knowing monet it jaja monet yeah well it all is from one incident which uh so
Darin Tingey: Really? okay let's hear it.
Craig: in Island Lab Lop, there's another island across the lagoon really close. Like you'd go stand on the dock and whistle.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: That's where I learned how to whistle with my fingers too.
Darin Tingey: No way.
Craig: There was a lady there that she, I was, ah we were always like, can you whistle for us so we can get across the island? You whistle and someone comes over on a boat, picks you up and then you go, and then we would go like teach people over there.
Darin Tingey: Cool.
Darin Tingey: so you whistle for the boat to come get you, and then they send the boat. So it's obviously pretty close. The islands out of here pretty close, so close enough where you can hear the whistle.
Craig: Yeah. Yeah, it was pretty close. So how I got my bad reputation was one day, There was one guy who would come over and get us on the boat often.
Craig: And I... um One day I was whistling. I see him come across on the little boat. And he like goes way over, not to the dock where we are, but he goes like way over somewhere else and parks the boat.
Craig: And like we're waiting for him to come and like talk to us and get us, and he doesn't ever come. And so I'm like, what the heck? i So i go looking for his boat and I found his boat and then we just like took his boat.
Darin Tingey: He's all pissed at you.
Craig: We took his boat and paddled across ourselves and yeah we went over and taught the people. Apparently this guy, he had to, he had to swim back.
Craig: It's not like, a super far swim, but yeah, he had to swim back and yeah, he was pretty ticked.
Darin Tingey: is all pised at you
Craig: And I think he was telling other people i don't know, but um
Darin Tingey: Did he yeah would he ever come get you guys after that?
Craig: he wasn't always the same guy that would get us, but I don't remember running into any like issues after that.
Darin Tingey: Oh,
Craig: I think they would still come pick us up. I think that might've been pretty close to the end of my time there. but So I might've just messed it up for the other guy, the other elders.
Darin Tingey: oh that's so good.
Craig: But yeah,
Darin Tingey: Did you, you guys went over to the island a lot to teach?
Craig: just, i think like once a week, just cause we'd like see all the same people all the time.
Darin Tingey: ah Okay.
Craig: It's, it was kind of fun to go out there and they like never had, I don't think there had ever been elders that's gone over there.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. in
Craig: So it was fun just to like go out and meet new people. And it was like shocking to some of them. They're like, holy cow, what is this person doing here? started talking to them and they're like what the heck? You can speak my language.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, this is a white boy doing here. That's awesome. That's my favorite one. heard things is they're just like shocked. You're like, Whoa, uh, did, uh, did Kelly Slater ever come visit while you're, uh, on I level up the surfer.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Um, I don't, that's a good question because there was somebody who came out, he said he was from Australia though, and they were surfing, had a sailboat, they parked there and they were surfing.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: I didn't really know surfers when I, before my mission at all. And I don't think I'd ever heard of Kelly Slater, but
Darin Tingey: Yeah, I remember the missionary serving on Island Label, but like, yeah, there's a resort out there. And I'm like, what? Like, yeah, it's like Kelly Slater's surfing resort or something like that.
Darin Tingey: Was it there when you were there?
Craig: I don't remember a resort, but there was, maybe it was Kelly Slater, like clicking back on it. That came because we talked to him for a minute.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So cool. So crazy. Like you're here in the middle of nowhere surfing.
Craig: Uh, yeah, we went and watched them surf because they were surfing on like the other Island, but it was like close. I think it was, They might've been on the coast of that island that we would go out to sometimes.
Craig: I can't remember if that was it or not.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: It was close enough that we could like watch them kind of from the side, like backside view. was was kind of cool to see.
Darin Tingey: it
Darin Tingey: Did you ever meet, uh, Kevin Hart out there is an old, there's a, so there, there's a guy that served in, uh, or did the peace score teaching in the Marshall Islands. And he ended up like dropping out, but moving back to I think level up and has lived there for like the rest of his life.
Darin Tingey: Um, it's like a white dude from America and, uh, There's, um, if you've ever read the book, uh, surviving paradise about the marsh islands, they talk about it in there. And then there's a few other missionaries that served the, well, well, not only level up that have met him, uh, Damon Swain. i don't you've never met Damon Swain, but he, uh, he's telling me that he met Kevin Hart. Like that was his name, which is funny.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Anyway.
Craig: That's an interesting. ah i served with it Swain. His name was Micah Swain, but he's from Hawaii.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: Yeah. There was a guy, think it was on Island Lab Lab, or he was on like an outer Island. So never actually met this person, but it was like a white guy and we'd hear him on the radio occasionally. And the Marshallese people would talk about him sometimes. And I was just like,
Craig: Who is this guy? Like he lives alone in the marsh islands. Like, what is he doing?
Darin Tingey: Yeah, that's him.
Craig: How is it like, how does he enjoy it? Or what is he doing with his time? I was always so curious about him. I never met him though.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, that that's the guy. That's Kevin Hart.
Craig: Huh?
Darin Tingey: He just like apparently lived on some some like forbidden island in Aling Labalap that was like only for the Rojas and special guests. and That's where he lived.
Darin Tingey: He was the hermit out there.
Craig: Man.
Darin Tingey: That's
Craig: Yeah, that's so interesting.
Darin Tingey: crazy. What are some core memories for you from Aling Aling Labalap?
Craig: I remember one time I ate some turtle, and i think there had been disgusting flies that had got on the turtle, but I was like, oh, it's turtle.
Darin Tingey: Gross.
Craig: It's my only chance to eat turtle. I have to eat So I ate it and I got so sick. and remember that night just throwing up a bunch, like throwing up so much that I just went and slept on a piece of plywood out on the, like outside.
Craig: they get Like it looked like I had just like come home drunk or something, falling asleep on a piece of plywood.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: But yeah, I just slept out there because like the fresh air just felt good to breathe. And then, and then,
Darin Tingey: That's a bummer because Turtle's so good. i love Turtle. That's bummer. They threw it up.
Craig: Yeah. Yeah. I remember it was like, kind of like steak sort of, um, I only had a small piece.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Um, yeah, that's one memory. And then we already talked about pooping on the beach was a great memory at nighttime. Just so, uh, such a like tranquil experience.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Do you ever like talk, just talk to yourself when you're out there?
Craig: Um,
Darin Tingey: Like I, I would like kind of go a little crazy on outer islands where I would just, you know, you don't have the internet. I don't think you guys had internet night level bla up or anything, phones or anything.
Craig: No.
Darin Tingey: So it's just like, you know, remember just like kind of talking out to as the sun was setting and just like talking to my family, kind of just like talking to myself
Craig: Oh yeah.
Darin Tingey: I don't know if you ever had that experience, Yeah.
Craig: Well, I feel like had talked, I do that right now, like in my life sometimes if I'm alone and I'm just like, like something funny or something, like that I really like her enjoy.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: I'm like, wow, that's pretty cool. Or like, I'll just say like something little, I'm not like having a conversation with myself, but I'll just talk out loud, even though nobody's around to hear it.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. That was me on all the out-rounds. Sun was setting. It just felt like the moment. Talk myself.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: That's funny. I don't think I was quite that crazy.
Darin Tingey: You weren't that crazy?
Craig: thank you
Darin Tingey: Fair enough. Fair enough.
Darin Tingey: Did... um Did you guys do any like fishing or any cool things on P-Day or were there any cool celebrations that you were a part of?
Craig: Um,
Craig: let's see.
Craig: didn't do too much fishing in Island lab lab. We did quite a bit of fishing in Laura.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: We had a kid of this elder with us when we were in Laura, like on P days, we'd get kind of everyone together and just like go fishing and stuff.
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: And this kid of this elder really loved fishing and we would like, like, i guess the rule was You can go out in the water to fish, but like, you're not really supposed to swim in the water.
Darin Tingey: There you go.
Craig: So we'd like wait out to the water and then we're like up to our shoulders, just like casting the fish.
Darin Tingey: Yeah,
Craig: And this kid with elder showed us how to kill a fish, like a reef fish really quickly. Just like, he would just grab it and just like put the his molar on its skull and just crush it.
Darin Tingey: yeah just bite the head right there. Just...
Craig: Yeah, instantly kill it. So I remember that fishing. That was fun.
Craig: um
Darin Tingey: Would Didi Iroij ever come to Alain La Blah while you were there?
Craig: I feel like I remember meeting that guy, but I can't remember if it was in
Craig: Island Glabalop or Mike.
Darin Tingey: Ibi. Yeah, yeah. Mike Kabua. Does that name ring a bell?
Craig: Uh, yeah, that name does sound familiar.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. um Did, did, uh, I guess what was church like on I love food? Like what was church like in the work? Did you guys have success?
Craig: Um, we didn't have a whole lot of like success as in like baptisms and stuff. Uh, it was tough. It was, that was probably the toughest.
Craig: area as far as like work goes, because it was so few people and it's like, we just go see all the people that we know every day, like try to figure out what we can do for help and like spreading the gospel and just sharing stories.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Um, but yeah. Did you ask what we did for food?
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Yeah. Was did the food boat come often or was it scarce?
Craig: There was, It was pretty regular. There was one time when we were kind of moed out of food for a little while, but we ate so much rice and tuna and then rice and Spam occasionally.
Craig: I got like so tired of eating that same meal over and over that I just like stopped eating for a couple days. like, I have no appetite to you eat this stuff anymore.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: So So I'm just not going to eat it this time.
Darin Tingey: yeah
Craig: hope we started spicing it up with uh one of the mon wheels would sell kimchi throw out some kimchi in there that was kind of actually really good
Darin Tingey: okay nice yeah yeah the marshall is the first time i ever had kimchi too or like one of my first nights on e-buy is kimchi and i was like what is this and then by the end i was like this is kind of good you know who
Craig: yeah yeah it's
Darin Tingey: Would you guys radio in to the APs? Okay. Yeah.
Craig: Yeah. the I feel like we'd radio in and I feel like half the time it wouldn't even work. So it's like, we just felt like we, I mean, i didn't feel neglected. I just felt like we were just kind of on our
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Hey elders, just go out to I'm Love Love, do your thing. We'll eventually get you off somehow.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Mm-hmm. ah
Darin Tingey: On air maybe.
Craig: yeah
Darin Tingey: might send a, there might be a plane. There might not be a plane.
Craig: yeah there'd be like occasionally like yeah I don't remember feel feel like the radio calls were pretty uncommon but then every now and then like the people would find us and be they're calling you on the radio and you come to the radio it's like they just like call in the island of lab love and tell them to go find the elders
Darin Tingey: I love that.
Craig: going and then they're like okay we're sending a plane over there you get a new companion and who uh so this one's leaving and you're getting a new one um oh yeah and i guess another core memory i worked with a guy named uh tomasi wankatairua he was a fijian as well and he was awesome i love that guy uh his mom died like
Darin Tingey: Okay.
Craig: during the mission.
Darin Tingey: Oh, dang.
Craig: So I like really felt for him. was But he was like such a such a faithful guy. was pretty cool.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, that's incredible. Was he on Eying Love Up with you, or?
Craig: Uh, yeah, he was my companion. He was there. can't remember. Yeah, think he was there before me. So I came out and he was, he had already been out there for a while. So showed me around.
Darin Tingey: Outer Islands, it's just... you know When it's just doing your companion, there's a lot of bonding time. you just like
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Even if you don't initially get along, you're you're forced to get along because you're with that person all day, every day. There's no P-Day meeting up with other missionaries. There's no emailing home or calling anybody else. It's really just you two out there.
Darin Tingey: um which is fun like i'd say my companions on my outer island on the outer islands i served on weren't my best friends necessarily but they were some of my favorite missionaries just because we just did everything together and it's just like really experiencing the island life and culture with them
Darin Tingey: Um, let's talk about post mission. You know, you mentioned a little bit before we started that you want to talk about how kind of the mission has affected the rest of your life.
Craig: Yeah. I've noticed some things like behaviors and I guess, mindsets that I've picked up from the Marshallese. I think that feel like I appreciate.
Craig: been um
Craig: Some of the things like minimalism, I feel like they just get by with so little and it's like, they're not any happier or sadder. i feel like that Americans, in fact, that maybe they are happier.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, probably are on average.
Craig: And it's like, but they don't have so much stuff. And in America, it's like, we just buy everything and we have Amazon. So it's like all that. oh I feel like I kind of channel my inner Marshallese and just like, I don't have Amazon prime and i try not to just buy everything that I want all the time.
Craig: i like think about it and I'll put it off a delay. And then if I feel like I really want or need it, I'll get it. But that's one thing.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: And then I try to, I feel like I am able to have more gratitude for things like, especially the U S like I learned after being in the Marshall Islands, how great the U S is after like two weeks of being there.
Craig: I was like, Holy cow.
Darin Tingey: ah
Craig: The U S is like the best country.
Darin Tingey: but
Craig: It's so great.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. I know whenever someone has a difficult time with the U.S., like I'm like, yeah, U.S.
Craig: Um,
Darin Tingey: is always, you know, it's never perfect, but go live outside of the U.S. and I guarantee you, you'll come back with a greater appreciation.
Craig: Oh yeah, for sure. um And then like generosity with food, especially with food.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Like i was saying before, like I was not, I did not like sharing my food with them. And I feel like now I have like no attachment to food, like, especially since the mission, and I just like, or towards the end of the mission, was just like, oh yeah, I have this really delicious candy bar, but I think you're going to enjoy it more than me.
Craig: yeah. Like just like before I was like, I did not want to share my cookies that I got or any that, but, but yeah.
Darin Tingey: The packages you get as a missionary at first, it's like, oh, I'm not sharing this. And then at the end, you're like, here, everyone have it.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Exactly. Yeah. Um, and then like I was talking about earlier, volleyball, I, I got interested in that on the mission and then came back and just,
Craig: started playing like in college, just like intramural teams and pick up games. And I started learning, or there was like a guy on the club team who was kind of helping me learn some of the basics.
Craig: um So I feel like I've improved a lot and I've just continued to play volleyball. Like i still play it like a couple of times a week.
Darin Tingey: No way, that's cool. All from the Mish. That's awesome.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Have you mastered your clap and swing your arm back and hit the ball behind like three women do, you know?
Craig: And then
Craig: Yeah, it's funny. Like, I feel like I had really good form on my spikes after that guy was teaching me. But lately, or I mean, like, I started noticing myself, like, I feel like I would kind of like clap right before I go up. Like, why am I clapping? That's like messing up my hip.
Craig: Maybe that's fine.
Darin Tingey: i was always um I was always impressed with them. they They'd clap and the ball would go past them and then they'd swing their arm back and nail it perfectly.
Craig: Oh, yeah.
Craig: yeah they're pretty impressive over there um i gained a love for islands and tropics uh while was there like when i came back i went straight back to utah state and then winter came around and i was like oh winter is so depressing um and so i applied and got into byu hawaii and went there but only for semester
Darin Tingey: Yeah, they are.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: No way. Okay.
Craig: Uh, but yeah, it was awesome. Cause I was like, i have to like, be serious about my life and like get into a career. i just didn't want to, it felt like it was just too fun and to like be in Hawaii and graduate there.
Craig: But wish that's probably a regret.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: I probably should have just stayed there and graduated.
Darin Tingey: yeah Yeah, I definitely want to do that too. But I also felt that same thing of like, all right, I could go live Thailand life again and kind be more relaxed.
Darin Tingey: But it's just that I guess growing up in America, my mindset was still stuck on the, you know, if I'm probably gonna live in America, that's my life. And it's just a different pace here.
Darin Tingey: And you gotta, yeah you know, you're kind of forced to keep up with that pace.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Yeah. That is another thing was going mention is that the pace of life, um, is so fast paced here, like, especially Lehigh too. I feel like, like we're all just kind of grinding, like trying to make as much money as we can spend all our time working and making money and like raising a family is, and I feel like I,
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: don't get ah enough time to spend with my family, even though I like definitely get way more time than a lot of people who like, if you have work in construction, it's like you're working so many hours. Like, so I try to be grateful for what I have, but I also, I'm like, it would be nice to have more time to spend with my family.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: Um, yeah. So yeah, I went to Hawaii for a little bit and then Once I got married and we had a kid and he was around one and it was around COVID, everything was remote for work.
Craig: And so we went to Puerto Rico for three months and that was another just island experience.
Darin Tingey: Oh, that's so sick.
Craig: Like on my wife, kind of to experience the island life and she liked it too. It's one of our favorite memories probably of our
Darin Tingey: Sounds like you need to take the take the fam to the Marshall Islands here soon.
Craig: I know. Have you been back?
Darin Tingey: Yeah, I went back two years ago.
Craig: How? Oh man. I feel like it's, is it like way expensive or how is it?
Darin Tingey: Yeah, it's pretty expensive. I think just from Hawaii, it was two grand round trip per person.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Hmm.
Darin Tingey: So,
Craig: Wow. That's tough.
Darin Tingey: yeah, it was... We did it right before we had... it My wife was pregnant, actually.
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: and I said, it's now or never. Like we gotta to go now because once we have the kid, it's just so much harder.
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: And my parents, my parents came too, but it was, you gotta go. It was so fun.
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: Um, yeah, she did.
Craig: Did your wife like it?
Darin Tingey: I mean,
Darin Tingey: I'd say she enjoyed it, but obviously less than than I did, right? um But everywhere we went, they threw a party for us. They gifted my wife a ton of stuff.
Craig: Nice. Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: My parents came too, and they just gifted them a ton of stuff. And they were just the the same generosity that they give to you as a missionary. They just went above and beyond that when I was visiting.
Darin Tingey: We were supposed to spend a few days in lie
Craig: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: So he started on Maduro, did like three days in Maduro, and then we were supposed to just spend ah like another three days in line. But the, uh, I was trying to work with the pilot who was in the Bishopric of Long Island.
Darin Tingey: And he's like, yeah. I was like, I know the plane only goes once a week to lie, but is there any way you could pick us up on a different day? It's like we flew out on the regular day to lie and then you pick us up at Friday Saturday.
Darin Tingey: It's like, yeah, we can do that. was like, sweet. Like, thanks for pulling the strings for me. You know, then we go like buy our tickets and then I get back to the hotel and I had wifi and he messaged me.
Craig: Oh,
Darin Tingey: He's like, yeah, so it's going to be six grand. And I was like, I was wait, what?
Craig: wow. Wow.
Darin Tingey: I was like, no, no, no, no.
Craig: Yeah. Oh.
Darin Tingey: I don't have six grand to pay for this. And he's like, well, we don't have any flights going out to the the relic chain that day. So it's going to six grand to pick you up.
Darin Tingey: And I was like, dude, I can't do that. He's like, how about three grand? I was like, no, like I'm not doing it. So I paid a thousand bucks to ground the plane for an hour online.
Darin Tingey: And ah lies small enough that we were able to just like run around the island for an hour and say hi to people and see the island and then hop back on. So we ended up spending like four or five days on e-buy, which was way too many for e-buy, just given how small e-buy is.
Craig: yeah
Darin Tingey: ah But we made the most of it. We went out over to Quaj and did snorkeling on Quaj. And then we went past Gucci Goo. We went to like another island that get permission to go on and had a big picnic with the family and took some of the missionaries out there with us. It was super fun.
Craig: Nice. That's awesome. Yeah, that sounds amazing. I got to do it one of these days.
Darin Tingey: You just got to bite the bullet and go. It'll be worth it.
Craig: Yeah, I think maybe when my kids are old enough that I can just like ditch them and take my wife.
Darin Tingey: Yeah, fair enough. ah um Well, sounds like you had an awesome sub mission. It sounds like you basically took a plane or boat on every transfer, which was similar to me.
Craig: Mm-hmm.
Darin Tingey: Every transfer I had, i think besides my very first one, I took a plane to the new area. Uh, and to serve on two outer islands, that's pretty rare these days. I feel like from your time to my time, maybe I guess a little bit after me, you know, people got to serve on outer islands nowadays.
Darin Tingey: They only have a few. think right now it's only wood chase open. They had to lie Millie for a little bit, but the housing standards have changed. So it's hard to get on outer islands.
Craig: Oh, interesting. Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Um,
Craig: Huh.
Darin Tingey: So we kind of served on a lucky time to get two different outer islands and really experience the culture there.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: So
Craig: Yeah. Yeah, that's about...
Darin Tingey: ah my three final questions that always ask anybody, unless you had something, other thing that you wanted to share before we finish up.
Craig: No, I think I've wrapped it up or done it all.
Darin Tingey: um Okay, so my my three final questions are, we'll start the first. And what was your favorite food from the Marsh Islands?
Craig: Hmm. Um, I really loved the ice legor like, like the you stuff.
Darin Tingey: Oh, yeah. Yes, that stuff's so good.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: had my parents and wife try when we went. So good.
Craig: Yeah. Oh man. Did you ever have Cairo or I think that's how you say it to Cairo.
Darin Tingey: Jekaro? Jekaro?
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: Yeah.
Craig: That was a, that was really good too.
Darin Tingey: Jekaro is an acquired taste at first.
Craig: Yeah, that's true.
Darin Tingey: But I ended up loving it towards the end of my mission. it was so good. I think like the second, first or second night that I was there, i had it and I was like, stuff's not very good. And then ended up loving it.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: That's an acquired taste.
Darin Tingey: ah Yeah. Okay. So I used to go, that's a good one. Um, what was your favorite area?
Craig: Uh, probably,
Craig: Probably Island Ladlap.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Be sweet if you could take your wife back there.
Craig: Oh yeah, that'd be so cool. It was just so beautiful. The people were awesome. my The two elders I was with while I was there were awesome, like some of my favorite people.
Craig: was
Darin Tingey: And you were there at a time where you knew the language, right?
Craig: Exactly, yeah.
Darin Tingey: So got to really understand that culture and people there.
Craig: Yeah, that's great.
Darin Tingey: And then final question, my guess is you mentioned already, but what what was your favorite thing about the Marshall Islands?
Craig: I'd have to say just their culture and generosity, I think. um And the beauty of just the people and the islands, I think.
Craig: just such a cool place.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Yeah. And I hope that culture never dies. You know, it's really sad.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: They they all are leaving to the States, which you can't blame them, but I really hope it doesn't.
Craig: Yeah.
Craig: Yeah. Hopefully I won't sink like they say.
Darin Tingey: Yeah. Oh, I don't think it will ever see it in our lifetime sink, but the big worry is that they just all move out and I hope they don't.
Darin Tingey: um for to to preserve the culture and language and anyway well I'm glad ah I'm glad we got another elder tingy on the podcast again it's like crazy that someone someone told me like there's another elder tingy that's there they're like no way I was ah ah proud to continue on the Elder Thanky name.
Craig: Yeah. Yeah.
Craig: Yeah.
Darin Tingey: I appreciate you teeing it up for me. Hopefully there's another Elder Thanky in the next you know five years that can keep the name relevant for everyone. So they always remember there was some sort of Elder Thanky that was you know all kind of mesh into one legend.
Craig: Yeah, that'd be excellent.
Darin Tingey: Well, thanks for coming on. And this was another great episode of the Islands Podcast.
Craig: Thanks for
