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Episode 39: Amelia Danielson - Kiribati - Tarawa
1 Plays4 seconds ago
Welcome home from Kiribati! Amelia Danielson returned home just a month ago after serving in Kiribati from 2024–2026. Amelia shares what missionary work looks like in Kiribati today, what incoming missionaries should know before they arrive, and why she fell in love with the people of Kiribati. We also discuss serving in Ambo during the construction of the new Kiribati Temple and what that historic project means for members across the islands.
#MarshallIslandsKiribatiMission #Kiribati #Tarawa #Majuro #TheIslandsPodcast #theislands #PacificIslands #PacificIslanders #Micronesia #KiribatiTemple
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Transcript
Intro
Introduction and Guest Welcome
00:00:11
Darin Tingey
All right, we are on with another episode of the Islands Podcast. Have a recently returned home sister missionary about a month fresh off the
Amelia's Background and Mission Call
00:00:23
Darin Tingey
mesh.
00:00:23
Darin Tingey
We have Amelia Danielson.
00:00:23
Amelia Danielson
All
00:00:26
Darin Tingey
Amelia, welcome home and excited to have you on to hear the latest about Kitabas and what's going on in the mission. But let's let's start at the beginning. Where are you from?
00:00:38
Amelia Danielson
right, yes, thank you so much. It's good to be here. I'm so excited that I get to to talk about my mission. it's like I've been home for a month already, but like, it literally feels like I got home like last week.
00:00:48
Amelia Danielson
Like it's so fast, so fast.
00:00:50
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:00:51
Amelia Danielson
So good to be back. But yeah, so I'm Amelia Danielson and I'm from Pleasant Grove, Utah, born and raised. i stayed here my whole life and yeah.
00:01:02
Darin Tingey
And when you went on your mission, the age was 19 for girls still. Is that correct?
00:01:09
Amelia Danielson
Correct. Yes, that's correct. It changed when I was like, think a year into the mission, we got the the whole news that it was changing to, you know, Sisters Conservan, they're 18 years old.
00:01:19
Amelia Danielson
And we were like, what?
00:01:21
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:01:22
Amelia Danielson
Crazy. Yeah.
00:01:22
Darin Tingey
So did you leave at 19 or what at what age did you leave on your mission?
Mission Preparations and Initial Reactions
00:01:28
Amelia Danielson
I left at 19. I was fresh. I was freshly 19. I turned 19 in August and then I left October 1st, October 2nd.
00:01:38
Amelia Danielson
So yeah, was just,
00:01:39
Darin Tingey
Okay. So you graduated high school and then turned 19 and then on your mission.
00:01:41
Amelia Danielson
here yep.
00:01:44
Darin Tingey
Oh, nice.
00:01:44
Amelia Danielson
Yep. That's correct. Yeah. So i I graduated and then I did a year at UVU and then I left on my mission that next year.
00:01:49
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:01:52
Amelia Danielson
so yeah.
00:01:52
Darin Tingey
Okay. Very cool. And when you got your mission call, what, what was that experience like?
00:01:59
Amelia Danielson
Man, it was crazy. So I knew that when I submitted my papers, like knew that regardless of the place I wanted to go, I wanted to read it by myself first, just because wanted to have like, you know, don't just have a settle for a second.
00:02:08
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:02:12
Amelia Danielson
Just, you know, it's a crazy thing.
00:02:14
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:02:15
Amelia Danielson
And I kind of wanted to to be special, like a special thing between just me and Heavenly Father for a little bit of time. And so I remember when I think I waited maybe like three or four weeks until I got my mission call.
00:02:27
Amelia Danielson
Like, feel like, feel like it was a long time. Maybe that was just me.
00:02:31
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:02:31
Amelia Danielson
i was I was excited. I was impatient. But I remember getting the text message of like, you can you can review your missionary call. And I was i was at school.
00:02:40
Amelia Danielson
i was at I was just about to go into my math class or at UVU. And I was like, no way, that's crazy. And so I go into my math class and I'm just like freaking out.
00:02:52
Amelia Danielson
Like, I don't think I i learned a single thing that day in my math class.
00:02:55
Darin Tingey
Yeah, i bet.
00:02:56
Amelia Danielson
Like I was i was not focused on what whatever my professor had to say. But right after my math class, that was my last class the day, luckily. And so I basically like booked it to my car and I drove to the to the temple, the Timpanogos temple.
00:03:11
Amelia Danielson
And it was just a really cool like moment that I had with with Heavenly Father. Opened it by myself and I like filmed my reaction. Of course, I said, Martial Islands, Cure Body Mission.
00:03:22
Amelia Danielson
And I was like, where even is that?
00:03:22
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:03:24
Amelia Danielson
But it was it was a really cool experience. And then I remember like that same day, so it was just me who knew, but I still wanted to have like the traditional, like, you know, you have your friends and your family over and you announce it there, you read it out there. And remember when I like that thing, that event, the first thing I said was like Marshall Islands mission, right? Marshall Islands Care Body Mission. And my mom was like, don't know where that is. Like she was like freaking out and...
00:03:54
Amelia Danielson
But yeah, it was really cool. But, no idea.
00:03:58
Darin Tingey
And yeah I'm assuming you had, again, no idea where it was. Did anyone in your family have any idea where it was?
00:04:06
Amelia Danielson
Nobody knew where it was. And another embarrassing thing is like, wanted to read about myself just in case like, I said like the pronunciation wrong of whatever place I was going to go.
00:04:19
Amelia Danielson
So I like read Marshawn's Care Body and then I actually looked it up, like how to say it, like kitty best mission, right? And then I get to the thing and my nerves are just like, I'm just freaking out in front of people and I say it wrong.
00:04:30
Amelia Danielson
And I'm like, okay, all of that for nothing, right?
00:04:32
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:04:34
Amelia Danielson
But yeah, nobody knew where it was. We had no idea.
00:04:38
Darin Tingey
And did you know that you were going to Keterbess and not the Marsh Islands?
00:04:44
Amelia Danielson
No, I think it took me until like they sent the visa stuff through that I said like, okay, you're preparing for the Republic of Kitty Best. That's when I realized like, wait a minute, I'm not going to Marshall Islands.
00:04:58
Amelia Danielson
Like, took me a while though.
00:04:59
Darin Tingey
Yeah. it So when I was on my mission, it was the Marsh Islands Madra mission.
00:05:05
Amelia Danielson
Okay, yo.
00:05:05
Darin Tingey
And then my mission president changed the name to the Marsh Islands Kitabas mission so that missionaries like you would know that they were going to Kitabas.
00:05:10
Amelia Danielson
Nice.
00:05:14
Amelia Danielson
Thank goodness. mrs
00:05:17
Darin Tingey
But obviously it still confuses people, right?
00:05:19
Amelia Danielson
a
00:05:19
Darin Tingey
They still don't really know the difference.
00:05:20
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. For sure.
00:05:24
Darin Tingey
So, okay. So you're going to Kitabas. So you entered MTC in October.
00:05:29
Amelia Danielson
Yes.
00:05:30
Darin Tingey
Was there a large group going to Kitabas at that time?
00:05:33
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, I think there's a there's a few of us. There's nine of us missionaries in our intake. So. It was five sisters and and four elders.
00:05:43
Amelia Danielson
And so, yeah, it's a good group.
00:05:44
Darin Tingey
Okay. And then did the Marshall Islands missionaries come in a couple weeks later to the MTC? Were there any at the time?
00:05:52
Amelia Danielson
there was, i'm trying to remember, I think for the Marshallese speaking missionaries, they're on the same district, but I think out of all, I think there's like four elders in that district when we first got there.
00:06:04
Amelia Danielson
And there was only one elder who was going to go actually go to the Marshall Islands. And then the rest were going like this, like stateside speaking Marshallese.
Training and Cultural Adjustments
00:06:12
Darin Tingey
Okay. Yeah.
00:06:13
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:06:14
Darin Tingey
Okay. So MTC was the, did you find it like difficult to, I mean, everyone finds it difficult like for learning the language, but how was your MTC experience?
00:06:22
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:06:26
Amelia Danielson
Man, I feel like it was good and it was really hard too. Like, feel like MTC, I don't know.
00:06:30
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:06:33
Amelia Danielson
I just feel like starting out your mission is just, it's just hard, you know?
00:06:37
Darin Tingey
Sure.
00:06:38
Amelia Danielson
But I was with, so my full, my whole time of starting in Kitty Best, there's only two white sisters. So was me and Sister Nelson, and we were in the same intake. And so it was like, it was us two out of the five sisters. And then both of my companions, they're from the Pacific. And so I was in a trio when I first started.
00:06:59
Amelia Danielson
My companions, one of them was from Samoa and the other one was from Papua New Guinea. And so like right off the bat, I enter into the MTC. I remember like, they were already there and in our room, like our little dorm room or whatever. And I remember just like greeting them, them giving me the biggest hug, but then also being like, so I guess just like,
00:07:19
Amelia Danielson
excited and a little bit shocked, like a little bit culture shocked already. Just from hearing their experiences of like growing up in the church and how just different it was for me.
00:07:23
Darin Tingey
Mm-hmm.
00:07:28
Amelia Danielson
Like growing up here in Utah, pleasant grown, you know, like it was just so it was very different, just like right off the bat. And so i think that part, that aspect was, it was hard for me at the beginning, but towards the end of my mission, it became like one of the, one of my favorite things about serving Kitty Pest.
00:07:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah, you you got exposure to the island people in in the MTC and then kind of a little foreshadowing of your of your mission.
00:07:52
Amelia Danielson
Exactly. yeah
00:07:57
Amelia Danielson
and Exactly.
00:07:58
Darin Tingey
That's crazy that there were only two white sisters your entire time on the Kitabas side, which is which is fun.
00:07:59
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Yep.
00:08:05
Amelia Danielson
It was crazy.
00:08:07
Darin Tingey
good idea
00:08:07
Amelia Danielson
it was fun.
00:08:08
Darin Tingey
Do you feel unique? Does you feel unique that you're, yeah.
00:08:10
Amelia Danielson
I did. Yeah, I totally did. Honestly, I kind of like, I kind of liked it. I was like, yeah, it was just me and and my girl sister, Nilsen.
00:08:15
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:08:18
Amelia Danielson
And she's also from from Utah. But oh I just honestly really enjoyed that. Like I learned so much about different cultures and different people and like the Pacific way that I never would have, you know, if I if i just stayed here.
00:08:34
Amelia Danielson
it was just a really, really cool experience.
00:08:34
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:08:37
Darin Tingey
Did you, was it difficult with the different cultures and meshing with them as companions?
00:09:07
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:09:10
Amelia Danielson
But yeah, it was hard. It was hard for me, it was hard for them to kind of like, get along with an American sister you know they've never you know it's like you put yourself in their shoes as well like they they're only surrounded like the Pacific people as well in the Pacific culture they're serving in the Pacific and then there's this American sister who comes and you know so it was definitely a learning experience I think for for all the sisters it was amazing
00:09:27
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:09:34
Darin Tingey
what it What advice would you have for an American sister coming into the mission that's going to be probably companions with a lot of different island islanders that have a much different culture than them?
00:09:43
Amelia Danielson
Yes.
00:09:46
Amelia Danielson
That's a really, really good question. I think it's pretty obvious, but like one thing that I learned For the Pacific Islanders, their love language is service.
00:10:00
Amelia Danielson
Like they, if there's one thing they know how to do really well, it's to serve people and to love people and to like, you know, put put other people first because it's part of their culture, you know, it's just, that's how they grew up.
00:10:10
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:10:12
Amelia Danielson
And so I feel like one thing that helped me with some of my companions was serving them, like be the first one to to clean up or be the first one to, don't know, make them food or whatever, be the first one, you know, kind of
00:10:25
Amelia Danielson
I feel like that that that went a long ways of like you doing it first, I guess, serving them first.
00:10:31
Amelia Danielson
Sometimes it was hard because they were so good at it. Like my companions and just the Kitty Vest people, like they're so good at serving people. Like it was it was it was kind of hard for to like put yourself out there first, you know, be the first one to do it, but it worked out like, yeah.
00:10:31
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:10:44
Darin Tingey
Yeah. I like that. I think that's good advice.
00:10:47
Amelia Danielson
you
00:10:49
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:10:49
Darin Tingey
So what were your first impressions of Kitabas when you got to Kitabas?
00:10:54
Amelia Danielson
My first impression, look at you guys. remember like getting off the plane and just like being completely One, overwhelmed by the heat and the humidity.
00:11:07
Amelia Danielson
And then also just being like, everything is so small. Like, I can see everything from this plane, you know? Like, that was crazy.
00:11:15
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:17
Amelia Danielson
Such a surreal feeling. And I'm sure, like, you experienced it too, like, looking out the window and being able to see, like, the island. Like, where you were going to be for the next, you know, 18 months to two years.
00:11:28
Amelia Danielson
Like, that was just such a surreal experience. But I remember like getting picked up by the senior couples and then like driving through to the mission home and thinking it was so beautiful, like just beautiful.
00:11:43
Amelia Danielson
didn't really see like, guess the poverty or like the broken down houses or anything. I just, I thought it was colorful. I thought that it was, you know, tropical and beautiful. i remember looking at all the dogs running around and being like, oh my gosh, this is awesome. Like it was crazy.
00:12:01
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:12:02
Darin Tingey
Did it, did Tarawa feel like it had a lot of people on it when you first got there, when you were driving around?
00:12:06
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, for sure. that was That was another thing that I noticed is so many people and they were all like social, like interacting with each other, waving to us when we would walk out or whatever, like just good people, you know, you can just, you can just feel the vibes are just like welcoming and and loving.
00:12:25
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah. it It's such a, yeah, the the love and community that you can feel it's almost tangible.
00:12:34
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:12:34
Amelia Danielson
Absolutely.
00:12:38
Darin Tingey
you started out where, okay.
00:12:42
Amelia Danielson
I started out in Tioreghe Woowa, Tioreghe Second. Then I was there for a transfer, and then after I worked in Bayerigi for another transfer. And then after that, I got moved to Ambo for, don't know how many transfers, because it was 10 months.
00:12:58
Amelia Danielson
was there for 10 months.
00:12:59
Darin Tingey
Oh my gosh.
00:13:00
Amelia Danielson
buty Yeah, I was there for a long time. That is my spot. Then I had two transfers in
00:13:09
Darin Tingey
Wow. 10 months in OMBO.
00:13:15
Amelia Danielson
Those people know me.
00:13:15
Darin Tingey
That's nuts.
00:13:17
Amelia Danielson
They were sick of seeing my face there. like
00:13:20
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:13:22
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, that my that's my spot though.
00:13:24
Darin Tingey
oh Okay, so let's start from the beginning then. you started in Charareque, Wawa.
00:13:33
Amelia Danielson
in
00:13:35
Darin Tingey
To someone that's never been to Tarawa, what is Charareque like? How would you describe it?
00:13:41
Amelia Danielson
I feel like Teorareke is like one of the more, it's more crowded. Like there's so many, i feel like there's so many people on Tarawa, but like Teorareke especially, I just feel like it was like house house to house to house to house, just like with people and houses. like I feel like there's not a lot of like, I guess stores for shopping.
00:14:02
Amelia Danielson
Just like the little like bull buys or whatever, but.
00:14:03
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:14:06
Darin Tingey
The bo-bys, I love it.
00:14:07
Amelia Danielson
we buy Yeah, we're shopping.
00:14:08
Amelia Danielson
Mm hmm.
00:14:08
Darin Tingey
Bo-bye.
00:14:09
Darin Tingey
For the listeners, that's a little shop that someone has like at their house.
00:14:12
Amelia Danielson
ha
00:14:13
Darin Tingey
And you walk up and say, bo-bye, which means like shop, basically.
00:14:16
Amelia Danielson
excuse
00:14:20
Amelia Danielson
yeah
00:14:21
Amelia Danielson
weavving
00:14:22
Darin Tingey
And they come out you know and then they ask what you want.
00:14:25
Amelia Danielson
a
00:14:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:14:27
Amelia Danielson
It's good stuff.
00:14:28
Amelia Danielson
There's a couple of those.
00:14:28
Darin Tingey
it
00:14:30
Darin Tingey
Those are the best.
00:14:30
Amelia Danielson
Third one.
00:14:31
Darin Tingey
Those are the best.
00:14:32
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. It's always good too when there's like a member who's running it. Then you like feel good. You're like, I'm supporting you and you're helping support us too.
00:14:40
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:14:42
Amelia Danielson
You know, like it's always the best.
00:14:43
Darin Tingey
So, Charareque is, let's see, where is, I'm looking on the map. Is it towards Beso from the airport?
00:14:52
Amelia Danielson
Yes. It is...
00:14:55
Darin Tingey
Can I be at the, is it after Bandreave or before?
00:14:57
Amelia Danielson
and It's right after Pond Epe.
00:15:01
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:15:02
Amelia Danielson
listen
00:15:03
Darin Tingey
Bandreave, okay, got it.
00:15:05
Amelia Danielson
even
00:15:07
Darin Tingey
So you were there for a transfer.
00:15:09
Amelia Danielson
here
00:15:11
Darin Tingey
Do you remember any, like what was those first few weeks like for you?
00:15:15
Amelia Danielson
Okay. Bad.
00:15:19
Darin Tingey
I'm ready for a good story. It sounds like you have one.
00:15:22
Amelia Danielson
It was like, feel like I look back at my first transfer and I'm like, it's all a blur. yeah Man. So i remember I like after meeting with the mission president my first day then getting dropped off in the house at Te Arereke Wawa.
00:15:40
Amelia Danielson
I was greeted by my companions. and My trainer, she's from Tonga. We had just been out, like, this was her second transfer.
00:15:46
Darin Tingey
OK.
00:15:50
Amelia Danielson
And so, yeah.
00:15:50
Darin Tingey
Oh, whoa.
00:15:52
Amelia Danielson
And then we were in a trio with a Kitty Beth sister as well. So she was able able to help us with the language a little bit.
00:15:58
Darin Tingey
OK.
00:15:59
Amelia Danielson
but she was waiting for her visa to serve in Australia. And so I think maybe a week and a half or two weeks into my first transfer, she got her visa. And so the Kitty Best Sister got transferred to Australia and then it was just me and my and my trainer.
00:16:14
Amelia Danielson
And so I just remember like really struggling with the language, like really struggling with the culture. And yeah, I feel like it was really hard, but also like,
00:16:28
Amelia Danielson
found so much joy in the people, you know? Like literally, that was the best part, was looking out and like seeing their smiles or just just feeling their love.
Missionary Life and Church Growth
00:16:37
Amelia Danielson
Like that was the best part.
00:16:40
Darin Tingey
Yeah, just walking around.
00:16:40
Amelia Danielson
up
00:16:41
Darin Tingey
yeah i can just, I can picture it. Maudie, Maudie, you know, koara.
00:16:44
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, literally. And that's it. And that's about it.
00:16:49
Darin Tingey
Ngaya, sabo.
00:16:50
Amelia Danielson
na yet na but Literally, that was about it.
00:16:51
Darin Tingey
is Yeah. Like, they do not know the language.
00:16:58
Amelia Danielson
They're like, oh, shoot, they just got here, huh?
00:16:58
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:17:00
Amelia Danielson
a surviv uncle nivi Yeah, but one thing I appreciated from my trainer is like,
00:17:01
Darin Tingey
a
00:17:06
Amelia Danielson
the you know, she was new to the language. She was new to everything as well. She was so like bold. Like she was not afraid of anything. So I remember like walking down the street and her saying hi to like literally everybody just like that.
00:17:19
Amelia Danielson
Like, Nauri, Kovara, like everybody. So she'd seen somebody like swimming in in the ocean and just be like, how's your swim? Like super just like friendly and loud.
00:17:28
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:17:31
Amelia Danielson
And so I appreciated that. But man, it was just crazy. Like,
00:17:37
Amelia Danielson
I think for just like the whole mission now, at least on Tarao, like the houses for sisters, they're they're pretty nice, I say. Like, pretty best standard.
00:17:46
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Sure. But explain what that what's nice. what Give me a vision.
00:17:53
Amelia Danielson
Oh, I remember my first house, it was like, okay, when I first got to Kitty Bess, we were experiencing like major power outages, like day in and day out, like you get power a couple hours for the night. You know, that was about it.
00:18:11
Amelia Danielson
And so, sorry, can you still hear me?
00:18:13
Darin Tingey
Yeah. You froze too, but I can still hear you.
00:18:17
Amelia Danielson
can you still hear me?
00:18:18
Darin Tingey
Yeah, there we go.
00:18:21
Darin Tingey
Oh, just that the power. you're having major power outages. power outages
00:18:29
Amelia Danielson
And so I remember like going into the house and it's it's, there's no running water because the power is out of course. And so like my first day we go in the back and we go to the well and get a bucket, right?
00:18:42
Amelia Danielson
And I take my very first bucket shower. I was like, that was the best, like welcoming, the kitty vest I could ever got.
00:18:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:18:49
Amelia Danielson
But in the house, like there was like a kitchen, a sink, there was a little living room, bedroom. There was a shower.
00:18:59
Amelia Danielson
There was a shower when there was power and when we had water, but we didn't have like a washing machine. And so like my first area, we did have to to hand wash our clothes, which was adjustment for me, just new.
00:19:14
Amelia Danielson
But I feel like, I mean, compared to how Kiribati people are living and
00:19:15
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:19:21
Amelia Danielson
We lived pretty good in that house, know?
00:19:23
Darin Tingey
did Did you have a a stove and oven or just like a little gas propane gas burner or?
00:19:32
Amelia Danielson
I think we definitely had the propane gas burners. I don't think we had, don't think at any of my houses I had like a running stove. We only had the, I'm trying to think.
00:19:44
Amelia Danielson
think we actually had an oven, but it it didn't, it was broken. Like, it just didn't.
00:19:49
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah. Sounds about right.
00:19:51
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. It was.
00:19:53
Darin Tingey
And the toilet, you had a toilet, a normal toilet.
00:19:55
Amelia Danielson
Yes, yes. I have a toilet?
00:19:57
Darin Tingey
Yeah, I think this the living standards have increased. So it sounds like they've got you guys hooked up pretty well.
00:20:00
Amelia Danielson
Right.
00:20:03
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:20:03
Darin Tingey
but But when the power is out, it's like, all right, well well, what's the purpose of all this?
00:20:07
Amelia Danielson
Literally, it's like, all right.
00:20:08
Darin Tingey
This house is 10 times hotter than everybody else's house because they have, it's open and the wind can come through, but yours is closed.
00:20:11
Amelia Danielson
Literally.
00:20:15
Amelia Danielson
Right? Close.
00:20:16
Darin Tingey
And so it super hot.
00:20:18
Amelia Danielson
That is correct. Would
00:20:21
Darin Tingey
and And power outages, in the marshals, they'd happen on E by decent amount.
00:20:27
Amelia Danielson
they like?
00:20:28
Darin Tingey
Kind of the same thing. like They'd be like, this half of the island has power tonight you know from this hour to this hour, and this half of the island will have power from this time to this time. So you you never know.
00:20:37
Amelia Danielson
but they like Would they tell you guys, like, by the way, we're going to have a powder outage? Or would it just happen?
00:20:44
Amelia Danielson
Marshall.
00:20:44
Darin Tingey
Both.
00:20:45
Darin Tingey
Both.
00:20:45
Amelia Danielson
Okay.
00:20:45
Darin Tingey
I think... Somehow they all, like half the island knew like the times.
00:20:50
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:20:51
Darin Tingey
I'm sure it the radio or something. But they'd tell them and they'd tell us, like, OK, here we go.
00:20:56
Amelia Danielson
Nice.
00:20:57
Darin Tingey
so But yeah, without power, it's like, okay yeah, all the nice things, but it just doesn't work without it.
00:21:02
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm. Exactly. No, like, we had a fridge too, but it's like, no power, then, you know, watch out with what you eat.
00:21:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:21:10
Amelia Danielson
So, yeah.
00:21:12
Darin Tingey
So pretty much all the houses on Tarawa are like that now?
00:21:15
Amelia Danielson
else
00:21:16
Darin Tingey
OK.
00:21:16
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. and I say... All the houses are, they're really nice, elders and sisters. They got us hooked up. We also got a new housing coordinators.
00:21:27
Amelia Danielson
A senior couple came in and they just work with the houses. And they like, day in and day out, they they fix things. And they also also, oh, in the houses, they have air cons as well. So maybe that's new.
00:21:38
Darin Tingey
Wow, pampered.
00:21:39
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, we're living really nice.
00:21:42
Amelia Danielson
But that's if they work.
00:21:45
Darin Tingey
Right?
00:21:45
Amelia Danielson
That's if they don't leak and, you know.
00:21:47
Darin Tingey
They all leak.
00:21:48
Amelia Danielson
But.
00:21:48
Darin Tingey
They're all dripping water all the time.
00:21:49
Amelia Danielson
Man, all the time.
00:21:50
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:21:51
Amelia Danielson
It's like, I remember coming home one day in my third area and the whole entire floor is just flooded. Like the whole place is flooded. We had to like, we didn't know what to do.
00:22:01
Amelia Danielson
We didn't know how to clean it up. So we just took like brooms and we just like swept out the water for like at least an hour. Like I swear it took so long. It's crazy. Mm-hmm.
00:22:12
Darin Tingey
That's awesome. So some houses sounds like do have a washing machine or it's like those ones that are like an all in one, right?
00:22:21
Amelia Danielson
again
00:22:24
Darin Tingey
Like the washing machine.
00:22:24
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
00:22:25
Darin Tingey
And then, yeah. Yeah.
00:22:27
Amelia Danielson
Yep, Miss Spinner. You gotta you gotta to fill the water in first and then, Yeah,
00:22:28
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:22:31
Darin Tingey
Yeah, i i I didn't see one of those in the Marshalls, and then I came over to Kitabus, was like, whoa, that's pretty cool.
00:22:36
Amelia Danielson
that's pretty nice.
00:22:37
Darin Tingey
in They need to have those in the Marshalls, too, because the Marshalls, so they had you know some of them had actual nice washer and dryer, but these ones seemed like they could go a lot more places.
00:22:40
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:22:52
Amelia Danielson
you
00:22:52
Darin Tingey
You could just put it outside, and it'd be fine. so
00:22:54
Amelia Danielson
Exactly, yeah. Yeah, even some like homes, like families would have them too. So nice thing to have.
00:23:01
Darin Tingey
Okay. So, okay. So that that, you know, your first area, Taddeke with your with dear trainer, were you sad to leave after just one transfer there?
00:23:16
Amelia Danielson
was sad. was sad to to leave the people. And my companion as well, you know, is my trainer. Like, I feel like we've got that bond and she was brand new. So we were both kind of like, oh my gosh, what are we doing here? You know? And it was sad, but it was also, I was also excited.
00:23:32
Amelia Danielson
was also sad to say goodbye to one of our dogs that hit around the house. He was like my emotional support animal.
00:23:41
Darin Tingey
That's awesome.
00:23:41
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. But then, yeah.
00:23:43
Darin Tingey
So you get transferred to Bayerigi, so further further towards Beso.
00:23:45
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:23:48
Amelia Danielson
Yes.
00:23:49
Darin Tingey
And how would you describe Bayerigi?
00:23:52
Amelia Danielson
Bayariki is a government area. And so there's a lot of people, a lot of businesses, big stores, Bayariki Super Mall.
00:24:06
Amelia Danielson
I don't know if you ever got the chance to go there, but
00:24:09
Darin Tingey
I didn't. i've I've heard all about it. i've I didn't actually get to go to it, though.
00:24:14
Amelia Danielson
it is super. I mean, if you think, of what a Kitty Bess Supermall may look like, you know, whatever you're imagining is probably about that. Everything comes in from China or whatever. It's a good spot. But, yeah,
00:24:29
Amelia Danielson
A lot of people, yeah, I feel like the biggest, that was a big change for me, like going from Arereke that doesn't have like, i feel like a lot of stores, just like very small ones, to Bayeriki, which had like the biggest ones, you know, next to Beeso.
00:24:42
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:24:44
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:24:45
Darin Tingey
What was the church situation there? Was there a ward?
00:24:49
Amelia Danielson
There was a ward, it was actually a really strong ward when I got there. The house that we lived in also was right next to the chapel and the chapel was right next to the ocean.
00:24:58
Amelia Danielson
i don't know if you ever saw that, but it was such a beautiful location.
00:25:00
Darin Tingey
beautiful.
00:25:02
Amelia Danielson
Like it was gorgeous. When I got there, they just called a new Bishop because the Bishop before he came a little less active.
00:25:13
Amelia Danielson
So they didn't have a Bishop for a while, but I came in and right like,
00:25:17
Darin Tingey
Such a classic.
00:25:20
Amelia Danielson
Inverging church, that's right. But I came in and the bishop, he was brand new and he was doing well. Like, honestly, the bishopric, there were they were fire and working hard.
00:25:30
Amelia Danielson
There was a ward mission leader. Like, it was a really strong ward, Bayadiki. And now, there go on.
00:25:37
Darin Tingey
No, let's hear it.
00:25:39
Amelia Danielson
Well, now they split it. don't know if you heard about that, but they split it. So they have a Nani Kai ward and a Bayadiki ward. So it's like, it's it's going.
00:25:45
Darin Tingey
Wow.
00:25:48
Amelia Danielson
good things are happening there.
00:25:49
Darin Tingey
thatsync Yeah, that's incredible.
00:25:51
Amelia Danielson
interesting
00:25:52
Darin Tingey
because and Okay, so that church building is right on the very edge, right before the causeway. Is that right?
00:25:59
Amelia Danielson
Yes, yes, that's correct.
00:26:01
Darin Tingey
Okay. That's a cool spot to be on the on the ocean side.
00:26:06
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:26:07
Darin Tingey
Uh, and so there was your companionship there. How many, I know, I thought it was just crawling with missionaries these days, uh, because they don't have like any outer islands open.
00:26:14
Amelia Danielson
Yup, yup.
00:26:18
Darin Tingey
i heard they have Medicaid and Abayán anymore.
00:26:21
Amelia Danielson
here
00:26:22
Darin Tingey
that right? And then Christmas.
00:26:23
Amelia Danielson
that is That is correct. They've got, yeah, Meraki, Beyan, Christmas. And they're working on Mayana right now. I think Mayana's going to, yeah, it's coming.
00:26:31
Darin Tingey
Oh, yeah. That's where I i went to Myana.
00:26:35
Amelia Danielson
Yes.
00:26:36
Darin Tingey
That's my island. daby
00:26:38
Amelia Danielson
think it's coming. Like, heard they found a house and think they're going to send elders out there soon. Probably this year. Yeah.
00:26:45
Darin Tingey
That's awesome. I'm excited for them. I mean, I lived in a stick hut out there, so I'm curious to know where their house is.
00:26:47
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:26:52
Amelia Danielson
Man, you guys got the real experience, like the true Kitty Best experience. Like, yeah.
00:26:58
Darin Tingey
it It was pretty cool. it It was rough at times, but it was pretty cool.
00:27:03
Amelia Danielson
For sure.
00:27:04
Darin Tingey
You know, there's nothing stopping you from moving back and going to live on an outer island, by the way.
00:27:10
Amelia Danielson
True. i
00:27:11
Darin Tingey
oh
00:27:11
Amelia Danielson
You know what? Might have to think about that one.
00:27:15
Darin Tingey
Yeah, might as well do it. Yeah, summer internship.
00:27:17
Amelia Danielson
I'll just do it. Maybe Sabbath away or something. I'll just head out there for the fun.
00:27:22
Darin Tingey
There you go. There you go.
00:27:24
Amelia Danielson
just that
00:27:25
Darin Tingey
Okay. So there yeah, I thought I was crawling with missionaries. So how many companionships were in ward typically?
00:27:41
Amelia Danielson
two...
00:27:43
Amelia Danielson
It was either one one to three companionships per ward, but mostly one to two companionships per ward. But then when I left, there was so much, just like you say, that I was crawling with missionaries.
00:27:56
Amelia Danielson
There was probably like three to maybe even five companionships per ward, three to four at least.
00:28:03
Darin Tingey
Oh my gosh.
00:28:04
Amelia Danielson
Like crazy stuff. Like so many missionaries per ward.
00:28:09
Darin Tingey
That's nuts. I'm sure the ward's like sick of the missionaries.
00:28:10
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. but They're like, my gosh, you guys.
00:28:13
Darin Tingey
They're like
00:28:16
Darin Tingey
Stop coming to my house. The other elders and sisters just left.
00:28:20
Amelia Danielson
Literally, like, so many missionaries.
00:28:23
Amelia Danielson
I
00:28:24
Darin Tingey
Did that make it hard to do missionary work or easier?
00:28:27
Amelia Danielson
feel like there's there's definitely pros and cons.
00:28:28
Darin Tingey
or neither?
00:28:32
Amelia Danielson
It did make every area small. Like, we had a really small...
00:28:36
Darin Tingey
So you'd break it up so you couldn't, you guys all didn't cover just the area. It's like you're from here to here.
00:28:41
Amelia Danielson
Yep, yep, correct.
00:28:42
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:28:45
Amelia Danielson
And so like my last area there was in Beginning Biltawana there was three companionships in the ward.
00:28:45
Darin Tingey
Gosh.
00:28:53
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:28:54
Amelia Danielson
And so yeah we were all split up in in areas. it was all
00:28:59
Darin Tingey
It's so hard because like if if you have an area, your section of that awards area doesn't have a lot of the members, and then you never get to know those members, which is awful.
00:29:11
Amelia Danielson
Exactly. Exactly. Yes.
00:29:17
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:29:18
Darin Tingey
And then you know they they get to the point where the members there are just...
00:29:23
Darin Tingey
almost like maybe they are, I'm just speculating here, but I would think that they would give fewer referrals because there's so many missionaries and they don't really know who you are.
00:29:31
Amelia Danielson
Right. Who would I give it to?
00:29:32
Darin Tingey
and
00:29:33
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:29:34
Darin Tingey
and they just call you elders and sisters. They don't actually call sister Danielson.
00:29:37
Amelia Danielson
Right.
00:29:39
Darin Tingey
They don't remember your name.
00:29:39
Amelia Danielson
Exactly.
00:29:40
Darin Tingey
They just say sister.
00:29:40
Amelia Danielson
Yes. Yes.
00:29:42
Darin Tingey
I'd always like correct people. I'm like, no I'm not just an elder. I'm elder tingy, you know? And like, yeah, I know that's like a little, I don't know, prideful and of me, but i I wanted them to like, not just say elders, like but I want to say like my name, Elder Tinggi.
00:29:50
Amelia Danielson
no it's awesome. Yeah.
00:29:58
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:29:59
Darin Tingey
I wanted them to get to know me so that I was, I built a relationship to the point that they felt comfortable introducing me to their friends.
00:30:01
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:30:05
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:30:08
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, you can like you know my name, you know who I am and for sure so.
00:30:14
Darin Tingey
But, yeah, so I don't know if that was like an issue for you, but I can just see that being an issue with so many missionaries and in one small area.
00:30:19
Amelia Danielson
hmm.
00:30:22
Amelia Danielson
Absolutely.
00:30:23
Darin Tingey
But it seems like, Ambo, you've solidified your name there for being there so long.
00:30:29
Amelia Danielson
my God.
00:30:31
Darin Tingey
and And forgive me if I'm moving too quickly between those areas. i don't know if there's any any stories that you wanted to tell from either of those areas that stood out, but, okay.
00:30:33
Amelia Danielson
OK.
00:30:37
Amelia Danielson
No, its it's okay, yeah. By the key, I was only there, i feel like it was another week.
00:30:39
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:30:42
Amelia Danielson
Like, i was only there for a transfer, and I trained as well. So it was my second transfer, and I trained a Kitty Beth sister.
00:30:46
Darin Tingey
Oh, wow.
00:30:49
Amelia Danielson
and so
00:30:49
Darin Tingey
Is that a thing? Is that a thing for them to to have missionaries train on their second transfer?
00:30:55
Amelia Danielson
It was when we first got there, because when we first got there, there was not many sisters at all.
00:31:01
Darin Tingey
Like how many were there?
00:31:01
Amelia Danielson
It was... I'm trying to remember because when we left, there was a big outtake of sisters that like they left. And so let me think there was maybe
00:31:13
Amelia Danielson
about a dozen sisters, give or take. on
00:31:15
Darin Tingey
OK. So like six companionships, roughly?
00:31:16
Amelia Danielson
and Yeah.
00:31:17
Darin Tingey
And
00:31:19
Amelia Danielson
Maybe that's even more, but it just cause all the sisters were brand new. We were all
00:31:24
Darin Tingey
OK. And when you left, how many were there?
00:31:27
Amelia Danielson
There's actually a lot. There's so many missionaries on Kitty Vest right now. There's so many missionaries. I want to say maybe maybe maybe like 30. Give or take.
00:31:38
Darin Tingey
Wow. That's a ton.
00:31:40
Amelia Danielson
Right? Crazy.
00:31:42
Darin Tingey
Okay. Okay. So you transfer, or you trained in your second transfer. So you probably, it probably helped your language, but at the same time you're like, dang, i maybe I wish I would have had some more language training or even just missionary training.
00:31:54
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, totally.
00:31:58
Darin Tingey
But when you get to Ambo, are you training again or are you with another sister who's been there for a little bit?
00:32:05
Amelia Danielson
So my this is my third transfer and I got put with my companion, Sister Fee now, and we became, we were STLs together. it And so she was training me to be an STL at that point.
00:32:17
Darin Tingey
and And is there one STL companionship on the whole island?
00:32:23
Amelia Danielson
For us, there's two companionships. So one for the West Zone, one for the East. I think that was new. I mean i think in the past, there was just one, but yeah.
00:32:30
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Okay. So third transfer in, you're already becoming STL.
00:32:36
Amelia Danielson
yeah Crazy stuff. I was like, I've already trained, been trained, trained, and now I'm STL. So like, it was fast.
00:32:42
Darin Tingey
That's nuts.
00:32:44
Amelia Danielson
It was fast. I didn't have time to like sit and s smell their roses that the had to go, you know.
00:32:47
Darin Tingey
Yeah, dang, okay. okay
00:32:50
Amelia Danielson
But,
00:32:51
Darin Tingey
What's it like being an STL?
00:33:01
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:33:12
Amelia Danielson
and I was with Sister Fina for six months, about seven actually, about seven months, we were companions. And so we became really close. And so it was just really fun to like be with her But the work of STL,
00:33:38
Amelia Danielson
But at the same time, you know we're we're juggling our our own things, our own area. But I just feel like you know when we plan things out and we let the Lord do his thing, it all worked out.
00:33:49
Amelia Danielson
know But that was a really good opportunity for me to like get to know so many different sisters from so many different places. you know All from the Pacific, but just like running exchanges with them like once or twice every week.
00:34:03
Amelia Danielson
getting to know them and it was just really fun honestly it was really fun to like work with so many sisters and
00:34:11
Darin Tingey
You probably got to see a lot of Tarawa as well if you had to do on exchanges.
00:34:14
Amelia Danielson
I did yeah I sure did I was in the even though I was in Ambo doing it I was I was running you know down Ambo to Basel for the past 10 months and so you're right it was really fun
00:34:29
Darin Tingey
Ambo's pretty small, right?
00:34:32
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, I think so. It was the the area, it was, we we shared it with another companionship of elders, but they worked more on like the Bandebe side.
00:34:42
Amelia Danielson
And so the ward boundary was like Ambo to Bandebe. That was like pretty big, but Ambo itself where we worked is pretty small.
00:34:42
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:34:52
Darin Tingey
Okay. And remind me where the mission office is.
00:34:58
Amelia Danielson
So in Ambo,
00:34:59
Darin Tingey
That's what I thought. Okay.
00:34:59
Amelia Danielson
business
00:35:00
Darin Tingey
I've been, so that I've been to Ambo because I've been to the mission office.
00:35:03
Amelia Danielson
Okay, nice.
00:35:04
Darin Tingey
i think that was the furthest west I went on Tarawa. I never went past Ambo.
00:35:10
Amelia Danielson
Did you work in Albo?
00:35:12
Darin Tingey
No, I i only, I never worked on Tarawa.
00:35:12
Amelia Danielson
do delete just
00:35:15
Darin Tingey
So I went straight from Marshalls, landed in Tarawa, spent like two days in Tarawa, and then went to Mayana.
00:35:15
Amelia Danielson
Okay. Oh, that's right.
00:35:22
Darin Tingey
And then when i came back, it was Mayana, or back in Tarawa for two or three days. And then I was back to the Marshalls. So I, and I stayed in Boota most of the time.
00:35:30
Amelia Danielson
Okay, okay.
00:35:32
Darin Tingey
So I've seen Boota all the way to Ambo, and that's Yeah.
00:35:35
Amelia Danielson
Wow, and that's it. Dang, you didn't even Vesa or anything.
00:35:36
Darin Tingey
Yeah. No, I know.
00:35:38
Amelia Danielson
That's too bad.
00:35:39
Darin Tingey
I know. Big bummer.
00:35:44
Darin Tingey
But I remember seeing the mission office and I was so jealous because it said the church's name in Kitabas, right?
00:35:54
Amelia Danielson
Yes, yeah.
00:35:55
Darin Tingey
You know, it says it in Kiribati.
00:35:55
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:35:58
Darin Tingey
And I was like, oh my gosh, I wish we had that in the Marshalls because on the Marshalls side, it just has it in English.
00:36:02
Amelia Danielson
That's right. Yeah.
00:36:04
Darin Tingey
And i was so mad about that.
00:36:04
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:36:07
Darin Tingey
I'm like I don't know why we don't have it in Marshallese in the, in the Marshall Island side. And even the church buildings, I think in Kiribati, they all say it in Kiribati.
00:36:20
Darin Tingey
I could be wrong on that. But in the Marshalls, all of them besides the church building Ebi say the Church Jesus Christ, lot of saints in English. They do not say it in Marshallese.
00:36:31
Darin Tingey
And i that really bothered me.
00:36:32
Amelia Danielson
Dangit.
00:36:33
Darin Tingey
I was like, president, why are you having it in Kiribati, on the Kiribati side, but you don't care, but devoted it in Marshallese on the Marshall Island side.
00:36:34
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:36:39
Amelia Danielson
Oh
00:36:41
Darin Tingey
Anyway, that was just one little thing I remember that I wish we had.
00:36:44
Amelia Danielson
my gosh, yeah. We definitely, I'm trying to think. I think the only one that I noticed that had English was in Bayeriki. I did have an English in Bayeriki, but the rest was all in Kitty Vest.
00:36:56
Amelia Danielson
Oh no, we're lucky, we're blessed.
00:36:58
Darin Tingey
Yeah, I don't understand why Kitabas got it and Marshall's didn't. It makes no sense, but whatever.
00:37:03
Amelia Danielson
don't know. We're also getting the temple, so I don't know what.
00:37:06
Darin Tingey
that's That's true.
00:37:07
Amelia Danielson
but who
00:37:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah, probably pretty... like Was that a big topic of conversation with people? Did they know about the temple? like People not of the in the church?
00:37:18
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, there was actually a lot of people. So luckily, in the temple is being built in Ambo as well. And so we actually had a lot of opportunity to walk up and down like it's the same street and see, you know, how the progress of the temple is coming.
00:37:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:37:41
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:37:53
Amelia Danielson
And she was always welcoming, you know, she would always invite us in and give us drink or whatever.
00:37:58
Darin Tingey
you
00:38:00
Amelia Danielson
We'd talk with her, but she's very, her husband was very strong in the Catholic church. And so she wasn't ready take lessons with us at the end of the day. But I do remember like me and my companion, us walking i was walking up the street and like,
00:38:14
Amelia Danielson
meeting with her, you know, all of a sudden. And it's like the, one of the first things she asked is like, what is, what is that over there? I heard that it's like part of the Mormon, you know, part of the the Mormon church. And i was like, well, we could come over to your house and talk to you a little bit more about it. And she's like, okay, yeah.
00:38:30
Amelia Danielson
And so, yeah just really cool opportunities for us to talk about it.
00:38:33
Darin Tingey
That's awesome.
00:38:35
Darin Tingey
Were you there for the groundbreaking?
00:38:37
Amelia Danielson
No, I was, I was the MTC when it, yeah.
00:38:41
Darin Tingey
Oh, okay.
00:38:43
Amelia Danielson
But our teachers did pull it up on the TV, like the live or whatever, or but just a recording of it, like in class. We saw it, but we weren't there.
00:38:50
Darin Tingey
Have there been any events since then? I don't think so, right? Just the groundbreaking and then eventually they'll do the open house and then
00:38:57
Amelia Danielson
to Yeah, that's correct. They do have So since the, you know, so many missionaries on Kitty Vest, the church is really it's thriving there right now. You know, we've still got a long, long ways to go, but I feel like things are, things are happening. And so alongside of that, they have Temple senior couples there right now, the Smiths, they're from Georgia. And they opened up a visitor center.
00:39:23
Amelia Danielson
And so there's visitors a visitor center right next to the church. And I think every single morning they do devotionals for the workers and they show a video or they just share a spiritual message or they sing, you know, been a song from the church or whatever. And they try to invite the spirit in. So like, you know, things are, things are happening. They got visitors, to the visitor center and.
00:39:45
Darin Tingey
That's so cool. I love that. That's going to be really cool.
00:39:48
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:39:49
Darin Tingey
imagine Imagine being a sister on Tarawa and you're in Ambo, like you're called to just be in the visitor center for a a transfer.
00:39:57
Amelia Danielson
My gosh, would be such a dream.
00:39:59
Darin Tingey
So, you know, that would be sit in the air conditioning all day.
00:40:04
Amelia Danielson
Yes, sir my gosh. Man, I would, if I could reserve, then I would just to do that, just to serve in the temple in Kitty Vez. Like, that would be crazy.
00:40:16
Darin Tingey
That'd be, yeah that would be really cool. Uh, how, how was the work in Ambo? I mean, being there for 10 months, did you, did you have any, do you have any cool success stories from that area?
00:40:27
Amelia Danielson
We did, we definitely had a lot of great success. I feel i mean, I was there for 10 months, like most of my baptisms, they did happen there.
00:40:36
Amelia Danielson
I think that's just like, of course, you know, spend the most time there.
00:40:37
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:40:50
Amelia Danielson
We had one of our friends when I was with my companion sister, Phineau, the one who i was with for for seven months. There was this one particular family that we would always go to because they lived like just like right across from us pretty much.
00:41:05
Amelia Danielson
We just love that family because the daughter who was 18, 19,
00:41:12
Amelia Danielson
She was a blue star, so she like just she got baptized in the past year. And so we'd go over to that house and like do her after baptismal lessons and just like a minister to her and hang out with her a little bit. and So before I got transferred in my companion and her previous companion, she would always go over to the house.
00:41:30
Amelia Danielson
Our blue star, her name is Xiao.
00:41:33
Darin Tingey
What's a blue star?
00:41:33
Amelia Danielson
Her dad. Sorry. it's It's a person who got baptized in the past year.
00:41:39
Darin Tingey
Okay. Is that like a common term amongst missionaries? Blue star?
00:41:43
Amelia Danielson
it is. It is.
00:41:43
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:41:44
Amelia Danielson
Yep. You'll hear for like missionaries now, it's like you'll hear blue stars, green dots, gray dot, yellow dot.
00:41:45
Darin Tingey
a
00:41:50
Amelia Danielson
Like, but yeah, all these shapes and colors.
00:41:51
Darin Tingey
wow. Okay.
00:41:54
Amelia Danielson
But it's all the, because you guys didn't have, you guys did not have the PMG app, right? I was not even.
00:41:59
Darin Tingey
No, we didn't.
00:42:00
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
00:42:01
Darin Tingey
We didn't have, we had a little phones, Nokia phones that you could buy minutes for.
00:42:05
Amelia Danielson
off yeah
00:42:07
Darin Tingey
that's Yeah, we, a lot, a lot has changed. I mean, I, I was, it's not like i served 20 years ago. I was, you know, like we said, I, before the call, i I got back eight years ago, but so much has changed from that then till now.
00:42:20
Amelia Danielson
yeah you're good
00:42:22
Darin Tingey
So Blue Star, sorry, I cut you off. Blue Star, this this neighbor that was, okay, recently baptized.
00:42:29
Amelia Danielson
Yes, blue our blue star. Hope that that makes sense, though. So she was a blue star. Seattle was a blue star. And so as part of like the blue star, i guess every week you'll make plans for your blue stars, every single one. And so we go over to her house at least once a week. And so when my when my companion, her previous companion would go over and minister to her, her dad was just like, you know,
00:43:13
Amelia Danielson
one day she was leaving the house, she's like, I'm going to baptize him today. Like she was just like, going to baptize you, by the way. And on anyways, a little time passed and then I got transferred into the area. It It was my first time like visiting this family. And so the family, like already said, it consists of the daughter, Sial, the dad, and then the mother, Neitos.
00:43:38
Amelia Danielson
the She could not walk. She had something with her legs. Man, it's weird. I'm like, I can only think of it in Kitty Bats. But anyways, so she stayed in the house and then it was Rubentes' Rubentes' mom as well.
00:43:52
Amelia Danielson
but We had a little cute little family that we'd go visit. And the first time I went over to the house to meet the mother, the mother was like, hey, by the way, like, my husband, Ruben Teis, he's kind of interested in in taking lessons.
00:44:05
Amelia Danielson
Want to do that. And she was like, are you serious? That's, of course. Yeah, of course. And then we set a time up. We're like, is this is cool.
00:44:17
Amelia Danielson
I remember the first time we met with him. we we just had the invitation from president yagi who came down to kitty best and he gave us some instruction to somebody to get baptized the first time you meet them and so we were like it's we decided to try it open days and so as we're sitting with him we're talking with him we asked him like would you be willing to follow the savior's example and get baptized he was like we're like what
00:44:45
Amelia Danielson
We were like, why? do you want to do that? He's like, it's because I want to change my life. Change Change my life. done
00:44:52
Amelia Danielson
With the Savior's help, like you can do that. remember asking him like, Ruben Thais, like how do you feel right now? What do you feel right now? He kept just like doing this with his hands, like going up and down. he was like, feel that out like i just feel the peace. I just feel peace.
00:45:07
Amelia Danielson
We got you.
00:45:08
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:45:08
Amelia Danielson
The spirit got you, man. And then he got baptized a little bit later. He was one our big successes, big miracles that area.
00:45:18
Darin Tingey
Yeah, that's an incredible story.
00:45:18
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:45:21
Darin Tingey
it It is a scary thing to do to invite someone to be baptized on the first lesson.
00:45:27
Amelia Danielson
yeah
00:45:28
Darin Tingey
and And it's almost even, you know, with Kittuos people and island people in general is saying yes to everything, it's almost... least At least at the end of my mission, I was always like, all right, yeah, they said yes, but that's because they always say yes.
00:45:42
Amelia Danielson
Right, yeah.
00:45:43
Darin Tingey
And so yeah it's it's like this, okay, we'll invite them, but like are they really, do they actually mean it?
00:45:49
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:45:50
Darin Tingey
you know But it sounds it sounds like, you know, needs's like a ra you know i've like you said, i feel the peace.
00:45:51
Amelia Danielson
Totally.
00:45:55
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:45:57
Darin Tingey
I feel...
00:45:59
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:45:59
Darin Tingey
some type of way i smart to ask him how he feels. That's, it's actually really, really a good thing to do, but sounds like he actually had that feeling. And then, you know, like you said, he got baptized, which is incredible.
00:46:11
Darin Tingey
I love those stories because they're just this, a guy who was making fun of the lessons and then turns out he was ready, you know,
00:46:22
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, exactly. You never know. Like, I guess it's another thing of like advice is just like, just be bold, you know, always led by the spirit, but like, don't know what's really, what's there to lose, you know, just like,
00:46:36
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Nothing. There's nothing to lose.
00:46:38
Amelia Danielson
Literally nothing. It's like at the end of the day, like if you mess up or whatever, or like he says no, he just says no. Like, or if like one thing I was, I was really nervous about, like when I first got my mission was like home to home contacting, just like finding was really scary for me.
00:46:56
Amelia Danielson
But I, I don't know. just had to like kind of zoom out for a second and think about like, I'm in Katie Bess, I'm doing the Lord's work. At the end of the day, when I go home, I'm never gonna see these people ever again.
00:47:06
Amelia Danielson
might as well just give it all I got now and then mess up as much as I can now and you know maybe something good will come out of it.
00:47:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:47:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah, absolutely. and And even if someone's not interested, they most likely had a pleasant experience with you and hopefully in the future they and are more open to it.
00:47:23
Amelia Danielson
Right, yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:47:30
Darin Tingey
Very cool. I mean, the again, there's the Lord is hastening his work, especially in Kiribati.
00:47:38
Amelia Danielson
He sure is. Mm-hmm.
00:47:40
Darin Tingey
uh, it's incredible. They're getting a temple who, whoever thought that Tarawa of all places would get a temple.
00:47:48
Amelia Danielson
He said that.
00:47:48
Darin Tingey
Uh, it's so crazy. what, let's, let's finish the last two areas. And then I, and then I got a bunch of, or guess last area, you only had one more area after Ambo, right?
00:47:58
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm. Yep.
00:48:00
Darin Tingey
And did you think you were going to die in Ambo? Like, did you did you think I'm going to end here?
00:48:06
Amelia Danielson
I was pretty convinced because at that point I only had three more transfers left of my mission. so I was like, you know President? love this area. This my area. This is my home.
00:48:18
Amelia Danielson
I'm good. you could just leave me here to die.
00:48:20
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:48:20
Amelia Danielson
But don't know.
00:48:23
Darin Tingey
and you got And you got two presidents, right?
00:48:23
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:48:26
Amelia Danielson
Yes, correct.
00:48:27
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:48:28
Amelia Danielson
I, my first, it was pretty even to like my first, it was like eight or nine months at president Kendall and then president mail came in like nine months into my mission.
00:48:41
Darin Tingey
Okay. What, what's he like? Yeah. I don't think I have had anyone on the podcast that has had him as their mission president.
00:48:48
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:48:51
Darin Tingey
What, what are they, what are they like?
00:48:54
Amelia Danielson
and sister male they are so good to be honest they are so loving man i think they're just exactly what the missionaries need right now no every single missionary i know just just loves males like we love the males like they are they're they're from australia and so they kind of got this like little like humor, like banter thing going on with each other. And they know how to like joke with the missionaries and they know how to like show love to us.
00:49:28
Amelia Danielson
Like they are i feel like there's a, a, a sort of prayers be honest. They're so, they're so good. Just love them.
00:49:36
Darin Tingey
Yeah, good. Good. that's That's good. It's always a good time when the missionaries love them you know
00:49:42
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:49:43
Darin Tingey
them. And do they spend how do they spend their time? Mostly in Kitabas or Marshalls? Or are they pretty evenly split?
00:49:48
Amelia Danielson
They got, it's pretty even, yeah.
00:49:50
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:49:52
Amelia Danielson
don't know. They got three weeks. So they they bounce three weeks. Three weeks in Marshall Islands, three weeks in Kitty Bess. Bounce back and forth.
00:50:00
Darin Tingey
And then do they go out to Christmas?
00:50:03
Amelia Danielson
isn
00:50:04
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:50:04
Amelia Danielson
They do, they've been going more more often because I think they're working on making a steak Christmas, right?
00:50:13
Darin Tingey
Wow, that'd be crazy.
00:50:14
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. So they've they've been they've been going there. feel like when I left, they were going more often.
00:50:20
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, by the way, like when I got into Kiribes, when I got on Tarawa, there's only two stakes. And then when I left, there's four. Like, we'll talk about the...
00:50:27
Darin Tingey
There's four steaks now?
00:50:29
Amelia Danielson
There's four stakes on Tarawa.
00:50:31
Darin Tingey
Oh my gosh.
00:50:33
Amelia Danielson
Yes. They've got Beso stake, west, east, and north. Wow.
00:50:42
Darin Tingey
Wow. North, I'm assuming north is just tarawaieta, like everything from the very top to, does it include bota?
00:50:53
Darin Tingey
Does bota, is, okay.
00:50:54
Amelia Danielson
It does. Yeah, it includes both in Bondi all the way to Tamayku.
00:50:59
Darin Tingey
And bone drink. Oh, wow. Wow.
00:51:00
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:51:01
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:51:02
Amelia Danielson
I'd
00:51:03
Darin Tingey
How many wards per steak roughly?
00:51:07
Amelia Danielson
say roughly three, about three per se.
00:51:10
Darin Tingey
Just three wards per steak?
00:51:11
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Yeah. I think.
00:51:13
Darin Tingey
What? i think I think they're doing some sort of maneuvers in order for the temple to actually be built there. It's like they need x number of stakes.
00:51:21
Amelia Danielson
Right.
00:51:24
Darin Tingey
They're like, all right, we're going to make these all stakes, right?
00:51:26
Amelia Danielson
We're going to make this work out. Yeah.
00:51:29
Darin Tingey
Yeah. It seems like, because I don't think that's, I don't know if you mean the rewards for a stake, but that's cool.
00:51:36
Amelia Danielson
Right. Okay. hike Maybe I'm wrong. I think it's maybe four. It might be four words per sake, but still though.
00:51:43
Darin Tingey
Okay. I mean, 16 words just for Tarawa is crazy.
00:51:47
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, roughly 16. I know for sure. Yeah, I think it is four per stake. Because Bezos is four wards.
00:51:57
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, the West stake is four, East is four, so North must be four.
00:52:02
Amelia Danielson
Crazy.
00:52:02
Darin Tingey
Okay, that's yeah that's nuts, did you get to be a part of the state creations and celebrations that they had.
00:52:10
Amelia Danielson
Yes. So when I was in Ambo for like half of my life, i was able to go to that, to the state conference where they split the West Stake.
00:52:19
Amelia Danielson
And so they split West from Ambo Bayerigi. And then they had Beso, their own their their own stake as well. but that It was so cool.
00:52:19
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:52:30
Darin Tingey
did they do like Did they do any cultural celebrations along with it? or Or was it just like a state conference? And then...
00:52:38
Amelia Danielson
you the part that the missionaries were able to go to it was just the state conference but they did around that same time they had they hit the church hit 50 years in Kiribes and so they had i don't know if you saw that but they had this huge celebration and it was like the entire day of dancing and singing and music and food uh
00:52:51
Darin Tingey
Very cool.
00:53:02
Darin Tingey
So you got to go to that? did you Did you dance in it?
00:53:06
Amelia Danielson
I wish I did not. we were It was kind of a it was a i don't one of those things that they gave us, that the mission president gave us, which like I understand, but it it was still kind of sad. like We all wanted to go.
00:53:20
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:53:20
Amelia Danielson
of like Does it fulfill your missionary purpose? a thing And we were like, yes.
00:53:25
Darin Tingey
What? Wait, so you didn't even go? yeah Yes, it does.
00:53:27
Amelia Danielson
It does, actually. no
00:53:31
Darin Tingey
So you guys didn't even get to go?
00:53:33
Amelia Danielson
We didn't even get to go. We had to do work.
00:53:35
Darin Tingey
That's crazy.
00:53:37
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. It was so...
00:53:38
Darin Tingey
was that Which president was that? Was that Kendall?
00:53:41
Amelia Danielson
It was male. It was present male.
00:53:42
Darin Tingey
Mail? Come on, mail.
00:53:44
Amelia Danielson
Come on, President Mill. We all wanted to go, man.
00:53:47
Darin Tingey
I'm gonna shoot him a message.
00:53:47
Amelia Danielson
but
00:53:48
Darin Tingey
Just kidding.
00:53:49
Amelia Danielson
yeah
00:53:50
Amelia Danielson
It was so sad because I remember like literally sad. It was on a Saturday. Me and my companion, again, we're walking the street and we just see these like truckloads of members like driving down to Moroni High School and they're like, yeah like party.
00:54:03
Amelia Danielson
Like, speak, man.
00:54:05
Darin Tingey
Oh, that would have been so fun.
00:54:07
Darin Tingey
I'm, so I'm actually really sad that you guys didn't get to go to that. I think, I mean, I'm, I disagree with the president on that. I think it's like a really cool experience to build memories and, and bonds like that.
00:54:18
Amelia Danielson
I agree. i agree. i feel like it does like, you know, 50 years.
00:54:24
Amelia Danielson
We were a part of that work. We're a big part of that work.
00:54:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:54:27
Amelia Danielson
Reason why they're there.
00:54:28
Darin Tingey
Unfortunately, unfortunately probably at the end like towards the end of their third year, they'll probably be lax on that stuff and allow missionaries to go do something.
00:54:36
Amelia Danielson
No. Yeah. no
00:54:38
Darin Tingey
It's usually like right at the beginning. They're so strict, and then they slowly realize that they can't be that strict.
00:54:44
Amelia Danielson
Well.
00:54:45
Darin Tingey
like parenting, you know, you start off with the first, the oldest and you're super strict with the oldest and then by like the end, the like fourth, yeah, the youngest, they're just like, do whatever you want, you know?
00:54:52
Amelia Danielson
The youngest kid. Mm-hmm.
00:54:57
Darin Tingey
Okay, so you're about to, you're almost, you're in Ambo for forever and then and then you get transferred to your final area, which was Bikinibu, the one-a.
00:55:10
Darin Tingey
Was a weird going to another area after being in AMBO for so long?
00:55:15
Amelia Danielson
It was so weird. Yeah, you guys it was it was a different area, but it was also different zone as well. It was my first time not working in the West Zone. I thought I was going to be a West Zone warrior and like die in West Zone, but then i got sent to East Zone, and so it was just different.
00:55:25
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:55:32
Amelia Danielson
But it was like... It was good. So I got transferred there and my first companion, I got two companions there. My first companion, we were STLs. So i was I just transferred from being the West STL to East STL.
00:55:48
Amelia Danielson
And so it was kind of like the same work, just different areas, you know.
00:55:51
Darin Tingey
So you're telling me you were STL for your entire mission besides your first two transfers?
00:55:55
Amelia Danielson
like Pretty much my first two and my last two, i was not STL.
00:56:00
Darin Tingey
Okay, gotcha.
00:56:02
Amelia Danielson
It's good amount of time though, yeah.
00:56:02
Darin Tingey
Wow.
00:56:05
Amelia Danielson
don't know.
00:56:07
Darin Tingey
Bless your soul.
00:56:09
Amelia Danielson
the Lord taught me a lot in those those months I was STL. That's kind how it was. I think nowadays they're switching them out more, but when I was in leadership, it was like, you're in leadership for the sisters. was like, you're in leadership until you die, pretty much.
00:56:27
Amelia Danielson
There's a sister from Dong, a sister Fetawani. like She was STL, i literally think, for like at least 13 months.
00:56:34
Darin Tingey
Oh gosh. Did they give you car?
00:56:35
Amelia Danielson
the Yeah, they gave us a ban.
00:56:39
Darin Tingey
Was it weird driving on the opposite side of
00:56:42
Amelia Danielson
Oh yeah, super weird. weird.
00:56:45
Darin Tingey
road? Was it a stick shift van or?
00:56:48
Amelia Danielson
Nope, it was a regular automatic.
00:56:49
Darin Tingey
okay. Okay.
00:56:52
Amelia Danielson
but was weird.
00:56:52
Darin Tingey
Do they still have the stick shift vans that elders drive? Oh, wow.
00:56:56
Amelia Danielson
They got rid of them. We all drive automatics now.
00:56:58
Darin Tingey
Wow.
00:56:59
Amelia Danielson
We're living in luxury. Yeah.
00:57:00
Darin Tingey
Yeah, you are. Teslas probably. Yeah,
00:57:04
Amelia Danielson
That's right.
00:57:05
Darin Tingey
understand yeah we just got brand new Teslas. It's sick.
00:57:09
Amelia Danielson
You know, but for guys go to Zone Conference. You guys have
00:57:13
Darin Tingey
Did you ever ride the vans? Sorry.
00:57:15
Amelia Danielson
the vans?
00:57:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah,
00:57:17
Amelia Danielson
The buses?
00:57:18
Darin Tingey
yeah the buses. Thank you.
00:57:20
Amelia Danielson
Yes, I did. That was always so fun. just a
00:57:22
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:57:23
Amelia Danielson
You know, if i just wanted a little taste of kitty vans. Because sometimes I'd be like, man, I feel out of touch with kitty vans. And so we would take the van like for like small you know distances, long enough that you didn't want to walk.
00:57:35
Darin Tingey
huh
00:57:37
Amelia Danielson
Man, the buses are so funny.
00:57:41
Darin Tingey
Yeah, they're like a, just everyone jam packed in there.
00:57:44
Amelia Danielson
Literally, you cram as many people as you can there, and they got music blasting. Sometimes the windows are down.
00:57:49
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:57:50
Amelia Danielson
Sometimes you're just cooking in there.
00:57:52
Amelia Danielson
like
00:57:53
Darin Tingey
like a party bus.
00:57:53
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, literally. so but Yeah, they had the lights even. like Good times in the in the buses.
00:58:00
Darin Tingey
When you, okay, so you finished in McKenna Bue.
00:58:03
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
00:58:09
Amelia Danielson
Oh, good.
00:58:11
Darin Tingey
that I just some some random questions given that you just got back from your mission and there's a lot of sisters getting their mission calls to kid a bus, especially with the age change is a lot of girls going right out of high school.
00:58:26
Darin Tingey
Okay, so we're touching the my first question, which was how many sisters are there sends like there's you said four you say 40 30 yeah that's crazy okay and and you said companionships per ward now is around like four on tarawa crazy uh any sisters on outer islands what about christmas not even on christmas
00:58:33
Amelia Danielson
maybe about thirty thirty yeah
00:58:43
Amelia Danielson
Yep. Yep.
00:58:48
Amelia Danielson
Nope. We are all on... Nope. Not even on Christmas. Yeah, so we're...
00:58:55
Darin Tingey
is there a senior couple out there
00:58:55
Amelia Danielson
so No, there's not.
00:58:59
Darin Tingey
OK, that's probably why.
00:59:00
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
00:59:00
Darin Tingey
If they get a senior couple, then they'll probably send sisters back.
00:59:03
Amelia Danielson
I think so too. I think it's a mix of like how we were talking about before the the housing like standards, like they got raised for the past couple of years, especially for sisters and there's no senior couples.
00:59:10
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:59:14
Amelia Danielson
So like it's least in President Males time, I do think that though.
00:59:18
Darin Tingey
You cut out for a second there. thoughll They'll probably be on Christmas on own President Mail's time.
00:59:25
Darin Tingey
How many senior couples are there?
00:59:27
Amelia Danielson
There's a lot. There's a lot right now, actually. There is, let's see. So we got the, they all have their own different jobs. We had the Frayners who did like English Connect, the Smiths who do the temple, like the temple visitor center, the Parhams who are just the best and they do, work in the mission office.
00:59:48
Darin Tingey
OK. kle
00:59:49
Amelia Danielson
The new dentist, nurse,
00:59:52
Darin Tingey
A dentist, that's pretty cool.
00:59:53
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, they got they got a mission dentist. When I was there, and and he does, at least when I was there, it was Brother Duke, el Elder Duke, but I think he just finished his time, like, same with me, but they sent in a new dentist dentist as well.
00:59:57
Darin Tingey
What?
01:00:08
Darin Tingey
that's That's a new mission thing you can do now. You can go be a dentist.
01:00:10
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
01:00:11
Darin Tingey
That's crazy.
01:00:11
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, crazy, right? didn't even know you could do that.
01:00:14
Darin Tingey
So how many couples, would you senior couples, would you say? five six,
01:00:19
Amelia Danielson
Maybe six, I think. Maybe six or seven, yeah.
01:00:21
Darin Tingey
Okay. Six on the Kiribati side.
01:00:24
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
01:00:26
Darin Tingey
As far as... oh any elders on Tarawayeta?
01:00:31
Amelia Danielson
Yes. Only others on Tarawayeta. me
01:00:34
Darin Tingey
Okay. And then elders on Abayam.
01:00:37
Amelia Danielson
Yep. Others on Nabea.
01:00:38
Darin Tingey
one How many in Abayam? One set or are multiple sets of missionaries, companionships?
01:00:42
Amelia Danielson
think there's three or four companionships.
01:00:43
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:00:46
Darin Tingey
Holy cow, four?
01:00:47
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:00:48
Darin Tingey
We're like, we can't...
01:00:48
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:00:50
Darin Tingey
Because when I was there, when I was in Kiribati, we had like every outer island open. So I can't... of And Tarawa already felt crowded then. So I can't imagine like everyone being stuck on Tarawa together and not having these outer islands open.
01:01:03
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:01:05
Darin Tingey
it It ends up, in my opinion, just hurting the work because missionaries start to hang out rather than actually do work.
01:01:09
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
01:01:11
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:01:12
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:01:13
Darin Tingey
Okay, so Abbey Young, couple companionships. Medicaid, just one companionship.
01:01:18
Amelia Danielson
There's
01:01:20
Amelia Danielson
who companionships there's four companionships.
01:01:21
Darin Tingey
Two companionships, okay. Christmas, how many on Christmas?
01:01:25
Amelia Danielson
Yeah,
01:01:27
Darin Tingey
Oh, wow. Okay, that's quite a bit.
01:01:28
Amelia Danielson
okay
01:01:29
Darin Tingey
And then two zones, East and West zone. Is Christmas its own zone?
01:01:35
Amelia Danielson
so they got, I guess, technically four. So it's East, West, North, and and Outer Island.
01:01:41
Darin Tingey
Wow. Okay. So four zones and probably a bunch of districts in there too.
01:01:42
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
01:01:46
Darin Tingey
Four stakes.
01:01:48
Amelia Danielson
do
01:01:49
Darin Tingey
So there's no districts. Well, I guess Christmas is still a district, right?
01:01:53
Amelia Danielson
Yes, correct.
01:01:54
Darin Tingey
Okay. As far as church church goes, not a stake yet.
01:01:57
Amelia Danielson
Mm hmm. Mm
01:01:58
Darin Tingey
Still a district.
Preparation Day and Practical Advice
01:02:00
Amelia Danielson
hmm.
01:02:01
Darin Tingey
What's P-Day like for you? What was what was a typical P-Day?
01:02:05
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, man, I wish we did more on P days, but I feel like it was. Really chill. When I was in the West Zone, every single week, you know, you wake up, you clean, you a little study, you read you you eat, and then, you know, do your laundry. And then since we had the van, we would drive because a we would go to church in Teorereke Chapel, which is kind of a little bit the distance, it's a little bit far.
01:02:31
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:02:31
Amelia Danielson
Every week we'd drive and then go to the chapel,
01:02:35
Amelia Danielson
Pires, there's a lot, since there's a lot of missionaries on Tarawa, it was always like very social. Like there's always a lot of missionaries. And so we play volleyball. There would be a lot of YSA people every single week because they knew was Pires.
01:02:48
Amelia Danielson
So we'd go and yeah, just hanging out the chapel.
01:02:48
Darin Tingey
Just hanging out.
01:02:51
Amelia Danielson
So kind of big.
01:02:52
Darin Tingey
Where would you, would you guys go to Moroni High School or?
01:02:55
Amelia Danielson
In the West, we go to, where we go? The Tiarereque Chapel, the Tiarereque Stake Center.
01:03:02
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:03:03
Amelia Danielson
And then so the missionaries who worked in they would go to night.
01:03:08
Darin Tingey
Could you leave your district area for P-Day or did you have to stay or your zone?
01:03:15
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, have to stay. have to stay. Or just go to your nearest...
01:03:19
Darin Tingey
Stay in your district or in your zone?
01:03:23
Darin Tingey
Really? Dang.
01:03:26
Amelia Danielson
Unless like you're going to like the chapel and it's out of your district. It's like our nearest chapel.
01:03:30
Darin Tingey
Okay. So there was no like everyone meet at Morona High School. We're going to play volleyball and basketball.
01:03:38
Amelia Danielson
There was like, they they started doing that when President Mail came in. They didn't have any zone P days. That was not a thing with President Kendall. But then President Mail came in and he he reintroduced that and let us do that.
01:03:46
Darin Tingey
Interesting.
01:03:49
Amelia Danielson
And so we do zone P days like, want to transfer?
01:03:53
Darin Tingey
Zone. Okay. And would it just be your zone or to be both zones?
01:03:57
Amelia Danielson
Just our zone.
01:03:59
Darin Tingey
Okay, so never everyone
01:03:59
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Never. The only time we did that was zone conference, like when President Mail came in. And we did like a zone conference, like all together and Christmas.
01:04:11
Amelia Danielson
That was the only time we like had everybody together. out
01:04:14
Darin Tingey
Interesting. Okay.
01:04:16
Amelia Danielson
you
01:04:17
Darin Tingey
It's funny how each mission president does it differently. we did a bunch of like everyone on the island come together.
01:04:19
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:04:23
Amelia Danielson
Like fun though.
01:04:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah, especially because you know you don't get to see. If if they're not in your zone, you that you never see them.
01:04:30
Amelia Danielson
Exactly.
01:04:30
Darin Tingey
you never And tiny.
01:04:31
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:04:33
Darin Tingey
so Okay, so but a lot of volleyball, lot of just hanging out after you do all your chores.
01:04:33
Amelia Danielson
Right? Like, how could I never see you guys? Literally.
01:04:43
Darin Tingey
You guys all have phones, so messaging your family, calling?
01:04:44
Amelia Danielson
yep Yeah.
01:04:47
Darin Tingey
Did you need to call your family?
01:04:49
Amelia Danielson
Yep. and call Call our families.
01:04:50
Darin Tingey
Call your family. Can you do email throughout the week or is it just on PDA?
01:04:52
Amelia Danielson
and snow
01:04:54
Amelia Danielson
Just on P-Day. like I feel like it kind of depends on the missionary. It's like if the missionary sends emails, because like I know there's a lot of people who will contact their families like throughout the week, just like send a little message or whatever.
01:05:12
Amelia Danielson
feel like it's up to the missionary.
01:05:13
Darin Tingey
And that's allowed?
01:05:15
Amelia Danielson
It's not not allowed. It's like it's like not in the standards, but it's like, you know, it's kind of happy.
01:05:17
Darin Tingey
a
01:05:21
Darin Tingey
is Okay. An unwritten rule that you're supposed to wait till P day, but there's nothing saying you can't.
01:05:24
Amelia Danielson
No. Yeah. Yeah. That is exactly right.
01:05:31
Darin Tingey
Okay, cool. Interesting.
01:05:32
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:05:33
Darin Tingey
I know. I wish I had like a phone like you guys did because i would have loved to type my email throughout the week and then just send it
01:05:40
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Whenever, or like you've got the automatic things that'll send immediately on, on P day. So that was really nice.
01:05:46
Darin Tingey
Wow. And wasting no time on P day.
01:05:48
Amelia Danielson
yeah Literally.
01:05:50
Darin Tingey
Yeah. We would have to go to internet cafes and stuff.
01:05:54
Amelia Danielson
My gosh.
01:05:56
Darin Tingey
okay. The other questions I have. Okay. Some, what are some things that you brought on the mission that were great and that you recommend other sisters bring?
01:06:06
Amelia Danielson
Okay, this is a good question. This is something I've been thinking about when you first texted that to me. So I feel like when I was packing for my mission, I was i was kind of overthinking it. Like, I thought that I was going to go the mission that like you guys went to. Like, I feel like I was i was really overthinking it.
01:06:24
Darin Tingey
and this In the sense of like, out around living in a stick hut, don't have access to a lot of things.
01:06:28
Amelia Danielson
Yes. Yes.
01:06:30
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:06:30
Amelia Danielson
Yes. But... And then coming there, I was like, oh, wait, I can actually buy deodorant. I can buy shampoo, you know, like things like that.
01:06:38
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:06:39
Amelia Danielson
And so trying to think. Things that I did use, though, is like, if we're talking like hygiene products, like definitely like, guess for my sisters out there, if you got like a certain face wash, like i use CeraVe.
01:06:54
Amelia Danielson
so I brought 18 months worth of CeraVe.
01:06:56
Darin Tingey
No way. 18 That's awesome.
01:06:57
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, I did.
01:06:58
Darin Tingey
OK.
01:06:59
Amelia Danielson
I think it was only like three, maybe two or three bottles, but it lasted 18 months.
01:07:04
Darin Tingey
ky
01:07:05
Amelia Danielson
I got a lot of lotion, contact solution. If you wear contacts, they don't have contact solution. I'm I'm trying to think. You can buy shampoo there. You can buy deodorant. I packed deodorant and shampoo because I thought you couldn't.
01:07:19
Amelia Danielson
You can buy soap there. I didn't think that you could buy soap. Toothpaste.
01:07:23
Darin Tingey
Sunscreen, toothpaste, sunscreen, yeah.
01:07:24
Amelia Danielson
sunscreen. Yeah, you can buy that stuff there.
01:07:28
Darin Tingey
My mom packed me with a ton sunscreen and deodorant and all that stuff. I was like, but you could buy it on the main island. it was like, why did my, you know, don't don't waste the space in your bags with all this stuff.
01:07:36
Amelia Danielson
Right? Totally. Don't waste the space. Like, just don't overthink it. If there's like a certain thing that you really like, then bring that. But you can You can get along just fine.
01:07:53
Amelia Danielson
Oh, garments. Garments is one thing, though, I feel like you should definitely bring extra. up something I wish I had a lot of.
01:08:01
Darin Tingey
Did you get access to the new garments while you were there?
01:08:04
Amelia Danielson
No, they were not. They were definitely not there.
01:08:08
Darin Tingey
i thought they rolled them out to like the people in the hot parts of the world first.
01:08:08
Amelia Danielson
I wish, though.
01:08:15
Darin Tingey
So I thought you would would have been able to get them.
01:08:17
Amelia Danielson
I wish, but it was just hard to find garments in Kitty Bess. I didn't really have like a good...
01:08:23
Darin Tingey
Yeah. They They couldn't ship them to the mission office.
01:08:27
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, well.
01:08:30
Darin Tingey
With the new garments though, I think it's gonna be a game changer, for especially for sisters in Kiribati.
01:08:33
Amelia Danielson
Oh, man, you sisters are so lucky.
01:08:37
Darin Tingey
yeah and Especially, yeah especially with the, this what is it called, a slip for the skirt, that's gonna be a game changer.
01:08:37
Amelia Danielson
You guys are gonna love that. Get yourself some of those new garments.
01:08:44
Amelia Danielson
but yeahah Yeah, the slip garments. You guys are so lucky. You guys are blessed for that.
01:08:51
Darin Tingey
Yeah, my wife is already raving about this and I was like, yeah, I can't imagine being a sister missionary, especially in Kiribati, it's like so hot.
01:08:56
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, absolutely.
01:08:58
Darin Tingey
and garments definitely were not built for that.
01:09:01
Amelia Danielson
Yo. excuse
01:09:03
Darin Tingey
So that's, there yeah, count their blessings on that. Okay, so garments.
01:09:07
Amelia Danielson
Right.
01:09:09
Darin Tingey
Any must-haves?
01:09:11
Amelia Danielson
Hmm. must have
01:09:14
Darin Tingey
What about any medicines that you might have needed?
01:09:16
Amelia Danielson
oh yeah good good thing so would say so we do have a nurse her name's sister marion and she's the best she's the bomb i think she finishes her mit she finishes her mission in august and i don't know if they're gonna send out another and i don't know if they have another nurse ready but
01:09:34
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:09:35
Amelia Danielson
He has pretty much anything you will you will ever need. She has this whole big medicine cabinet that's full of all this over-the-counter medicine.
01:09:46
Amelia Danielson
So I'm sure that like even though she'll finish her mission, she'll all stay.
01:09:50
Darin Tingey
Yeah, it
01:09:51
Amelia Danielson
But I think just like essentials, like vi I took Excedrin with like the caffeine in because sometimes I get migraines. Let's see
01:10:03
Darin Tingey
Did you bring sunglasses?
01:10:04
Amelia Danielson
bought them there. Used them every single day, yeah.
01:10:06
Darin Tingey
Okay. Yeah, sunglasses are a must, I feel like.
01:10:10
Amelia Danielson
Absolutely. and think so too.
01:10:12
Darin Tingey
Any he
01:10:12
Amelia Danielson
and
01:10:13
Darin Tingey
waste of space or like things you brought that you never used?
01:10:17
Amelia Danielson
Oh yeah. Things I brought that I never used. i brought I brought too many pairs of shoes. I brought like rocks and these like sandals that like strap around because I thought that I would like maybe use them like for whatever reason.
01:10:29
Darin Tingey
Uh-huh.
01:10:33
Amelia Danielson
No, no, never. Only used my sandals. Literally.
01:10:39
Darin Tingey
Yeah, the the Jesus sandals are the way to go.
01:10:42
Amelia Danielson
Literally.
01:10:42
Darin Tingey
And did you bring several pairs or did you have, could you get some there?
01:10:48
Amelia Danielson
It would. If you just want to bring... You can't find like J sandals there, but you can... They have like flip-flops, but they're kind of cheap and from China they break easy.
01:10:56
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:10:58
Amelia Danielson
So if you like a certain type of flip-on sandal, i'd I'd definitely bring extras. is Mine, my first pair, one of them got taken, stolen by a dog. And so I was just walking around with like one sandal.
01:11:13
Amelia Danielson
And then my second pair, only brought to two pairs. And then my second pair just was like big holes in the back of them, which I feel like everything, you come home with holes in your shoes, but
01:11:22
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:11:25
Darin Tingey
Yeah, the the the J sandals for sure. Those are the way to go. You're taking your shoes on and off all the time and your feet are getting dirty, but that's just how it You don't want anything closed to it, honestly.
01:11:33
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
01:11:40
Darin Tingey
It gets sweaty.
01:11:40
Amelia Danielson
Absolutely not.
01:11:42
Darin Tingey
No socks.
01:11:42
Amelia Danielson
No, no, no.
01:11:43
Darin Tingey
Socks aren't...
01:11:44
Amelia Danielson
Don't even bring your socks.
01:11:45
Darin Tingey
Don't bring socks at all.
01:11:46
Amelia Danielson
yeah yeah
01:11:48
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:11:49
Darin Tingey
Also, you're never going to get cold, so you don't need to bring anything warm.
01:11:54
Amelia Danielson
Right?
01:11:55
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:11:55
Amelia Danielson
I thought about was like, okay, you can bring socks if you're gonna bring like tennis shoes, if you want to like go for a run or something.
01:12:00
Darin Tingey
Oh yeah, for P-Day or something?
01:12:00
Amelia Danielson
That's like PA.
01:12:01
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:12:02
Amelia Danielson
That was good actually. I did enjoy having my tennis shoes. But yeah, other than that, i think that's...
01:12:09
Darin Tingey
Okay. What about packages? I know Kitabas is, it's like so difficult to get a package in Kitabas. The Marsh Islands, we were pampered with the U.S.
01:12:19
Darin Tingey
Post Office.
01:12:19
Amelia Danielson
yeah yeah
01:12:22
Darin Tingey
So did you get packages from your family and how long did it typically take? and I remember my mom sent me like candy one time and it just got, it one, it just melted and two, ants were all in it.
01:12:34
Amelia Danielson
Dang.
01:12:35
Darin Tingey
So it's like, you got to wrap that stuff in saran wrap and plastic, several things in plastic.
01:12:37
Amelia Danielson
Yep. Yep.
01:12:41
Darin Tingey
Don't put anything that can melt.
01:12:45
Amelia Danielson
terrible. Oh my gosh. That's so sad.
01:12:47
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:12:48
Amelia Danielson
You like wait, however long you had to wait for candy and it's already like destroyed.
01:12:52
Darin Tingey
Yeah, it's destroyed.
01:13:05
Darin Tingey
you.
01:13:05
Amelia Danielson
My Christmas package last year, they sent it. It did not make it. They sent it in like know October or whatever. And I'm home and it never came. So that was their only the only thing that that did not come.
01:13:21
Amelia Danielson
I think. oh It's up to your it's up to their your family if you like want to risk that. I feel like it's pretty reliable. like I got three out of four. I
01:13:31
Darin Tingey
How long would it typically take from your parents sending it to you receiving it?
01:13:35
Amelia Danielson
would say six to 18 weeks.
01:13:38
Darin Tingey
It's a long time.
01:13:39
Amelia Danielson
Probably. Yeah. I'd probably say six to 18 weeks. My first one was a small one. and I literally think that took like three months to come.
01:13:48
Darin Tingey
It's so crazy.
01:13:49
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Yes.
01:13:50
Amelia Danielson
yeah
01:13:50
Darin Tingey
Okay.
Cultural Comparisons and Reflections
01:13:52
Darin Tingey
That's,
01:13:54
Darin Tingey
One thing I want to talk about before we finish with my final three questions is you said you got to go to the Marshall Islands for a little bit.
01:14:03
Amelia Danielson
yes
01:14:04
Darin Tingey
Tell me about that.
01:14:06
Amelia Danielson
Okay, so it was a blessing, but when President Kendall was our mission president, one thing that he did was he would take the STLs and the APs from Kitty Best or Marshall Islands, know, vice versa.
01:14:25
Amelia Danielson
would fly us over to the other side of the mission for a week. And so we got to, the whole purpose of it was to like participate in their MLC and to just kind of see how things are running on the other side of the mission.
01:14:39
Amelia Danielson
But for me, was like a vacation. it was yeah it was awesome.
01:14:42
Darin Tingey
Yeah, i'm sure it was. That's awesome.
01:14:46
Amelia Danielson
Like, man. So was me like it was me and sister Finau and then the APs and we went for a week and, It was awesome. It was so fun.
01:14:56
Darin Tingey
what What were your impressions of Majuro?
01:14:59
Amelia Danielson
When first got there, i thought it was it's clean. I thought it was way cleaner. thought there was way less dogs and less people. thought it was just like way less crowded.
01:15:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:15:10
Amelia Danielson
was like, it's pretty open and quiet.
01:15:10
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:15:13
Amelia Danielson
i thought it was quiet. was another thing.
01:15:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Everyone from the Marchands have left.
01:15:18
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:15:19
Darin Tingey
They've all gone to the States.
01:15:21
Amelia Danielson
huh?
01:15:24
Darin Tingey
Was it a greener than Tarawa?
01:15:26
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, I feel like it was greener.
01:15:29
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:15:29
Amelia Danielson
feel like it was it was beautiful, though. The ocean, so like on Tarawa, you have the lagoon, right, which is like this beautiful like teal color. But I feel like on Marsh Islands, it's both like that deep blue on both sides, you know, which i thought was cool.
01:15:43
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah, it is. I noticed that too. And on both sides, it was Kitabas. The lagoons were a lot more shallow and then the marsh islands are a lot deeper, which is really interesting.
01:15:55
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:15:57
Darin Tingey
I don't know if it's just like the age of the atolls with marsh islands being older, maybe. I don't, I don't know.
01:16:03
Amelia Danielson
yeah
01:16:03
Darin Tingey
I'm just speculating, but yeah, Also, i feel like the Maduro is really skinny compared to Taro.
01:16:12
Darin Tingey
Taro was a little bit wide. Taro was already skinny, but Taro was wider than Maduro is.
01:16:15
Amelia Danielson
yeah Yes, yo.
01:16:19
Darin Tingey
Did you get to see the whole island?
01:16:21
Amelia Danielson
I did, i think I did. like, was...
01:16:24
Darin Tingey
Did you go to the countryside to Laura? It's
01:16:26
Amelia Danielson
Yes, I went to Laura. was beautiful there. oh my goodness.
01:16:30
Darin Tingey
gorgeous, huh?
01:16:31
Amelia Danielson
Yeah.
01:16:32
Darin Tingey
Felt like you're on an outer island a little bit, huh?
01:16:32
Amelia Danielson
Oh, beautiful there. Seriously, like, it was beautiful. It was probably the one of the prettiest places in the entire world. It was beautiful there.
01:16:44
Darin Tingey
Uh, yeah. Okay. So you got to spend a week there and just go on, so go on splits with sisters or just leadership stuff the whole time.
01:16:48
Amelia Danielson
e Yeah. So we just had our our, like, we did MLC at the beginning of the week on Sunday. So we flew in I'm to think. think it was a Friday. We flew in on a Friday. And then that Sunday we had, the following Sunday, we had our MLC.
01:17:31
Darin Tingey
What did, what did Marshallese sound like to you?
01:17:35
Amelia Danielson
My gosh. To be honest, it sounded like Russian. Like, I don't know.
01:17:40
Darin Tingey
Russian, what?
01:17:42
Amelia Danielson
That's what we were thinking.
01:17:42
Darin Tingey
i don't know if you've ever heard Russian before.
01:17:43
Amelia Danielson
We were like, because it's all like the Js. It was so like, so like,
01:17:49
Amelia Danielson
like sharp. Like it sounded like sharp. Like jaggy almost.
01:17:53
Darin Tingey
Interesting.
01:17:55
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, it was cool though.
01:17:55
Darin Tingey
it's It's definitely less sing-songy like Kiribati is.
01:18:00
Amelia Danielson
yeah
01:18:00
Darin Tingey
Kiribati is a prettier language to hear, in my opinion.
01:18:04
Amelia Danielson
I feel like it's soft, like it's a softer language.
01:18:07
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Marshallese is back of your throat, kind of mumbly.
01:18:11
Amelia Danielson
me and then
01:18:13
Darin Tingey
Did you see or run into any Kiribati people while you were in Maduro?
01:18:16
Amelia Danielson
Yes, we did actually, we sure did There was a Kiribes family who lived right next to the chapel actually.
01:18:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:18:23
Amelia Danielson
And so we were able to but it But it was funny because they had, they were speaking in Kiki Best, but they had like Marshall's accent. It was is interesting.
01:18:32
Darin Tingey
Yeah, that is weird. I i started the first Kirwis branch in in the Marsh Islands. Yeah.
01:18:38
Amelia Danielson
That's crazy.
01:18:40
Darin Tingey
So I got to know all the Kirwis people in Maduro, which was really fun.
01:18:40
Amelia Danielson
That's so cool. Oh my gosh.
01:18:45
Darin Tingey
There's quite quite a few there. very cool that you got to to see to see madro for a week and experience that and sounds like you had an awesome mission on tarawa sounds like a lot changed while you were there too uh which is really cool i'm sure you're pumped for the temple really cool you had to like be in the area where the temple is going to be for a whole 10 months of your mission
01:18:53
Amelia Danielson
Mm-hmm.
01:19:01
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. Yep.
01:19:11
Amelia Danielson
Yeah. It's a blessing. Yep.
01:19:15
Darin Tingey
final three questions that i ask everybody. we'll start with the first one, which is what was your favorite food on the mission?
01:19:24
Amelia Danielson
Ooh, this is a good question.
01:19:25
Amelia Danielson
Like honestly, Kitty Best food is good. Like, I liked it all.
01:19:29
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:19:30
Amelia Danielson
One thing about me though is I'm not a picky eater like at all. It's like, i don't know, it's just kind of how we grew up, but. I think my favorite food though was the Ikanipong, the red fish.
01:19:40
Amelia Danielson
Man, that stuff is so good.
01:19:41
Darin Tingey
Yeah, the was that the red snapper?
01:19:43
Amelia Danielson
Yeah, the red snapper.
01:19:43
Darin Tingey
It's really good.
01:19:44
Amelia Danielson
That's definitely my favorite. Or the soup anime, like the breadfruit soup, man.
01:19:49
Darin Tingey
Yes. So good.
01:19:52
Amelia Danielson
Good.
01:19:54
Darin Tingey
all right. I like it. like your choices.
01:19:55
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
01:19:56
Darin Tingey
What what was your favorite area?
01:19:57
Amelia Danielson
Yep.
01:19:59
Amelia Danielson
feel like I have to say Aungle, but I did love, I feel like Bikini Bail First is is a close runner up though. I loved working in Bikini Bail First.
01:20:06
Darin Tingey
Yeah. what if
01:20:08
Darin Tingey
Given that you had to see a lot of Tarawa, what would you say, obviously you didn't work in all those areas, but what would you say was like the coolest part of Tarawa that you saw?
01:20:11
Amelia Danielson
I
01:20:18
Darin Tingey
or an area that you said that would have been a cool area to serve in?
01:20:19
Amelia Danielson
think for, yeah.
01:20:22
Amelia Danielson
I think for me, it's Tamayku.
01:20:26
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:20:26
Amelia Danielson
They didn't have sisters working in Tamayku for the majority of my mission. And they just opened it up like maybe six months ago.
01:20:34
Darin Tingey
why didn't they Why didn't they have sister missionaries in Tamayaku?
01:20:34
Amelia Danielson
And I
01:20:38
Amelia Danielson
think was it was a mix of the house. No, I think it was only the house. didn't have, but then they built these brand new, beautiful houses that are right across the chapel. And so they added sisters.
01:20:52
Amelia Danielson
you
01:20:54
Darin Tingey
Of course, the sister's got the brand new house.
01:20:56
Amelia Danielson
yeah
01:20:57
Darin Tingey
And then last question is, what's your favorite thing about Kiribati?
01:21:03
Amelia Danielson
I feel like it's just, it's gotta to be the people. Like, feel like it's a pretty obvious basic answer, but like people just, they made my mission.
01:21:13
Amelia Danielson
Loving and welcoming and so friendly and kind and learned so much about myself through them. And I was able to really see the light of Christ through them every single day as well.
01:21:26
Amelia Danielson
They are special special people, like the best.
01:21:29
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:21:30
Darin Tingey
Well, again, jealous, jealous of your mission that you got to be right where the temple is going to be.
01:21:37
Amelia Danielson
Yes.
01:21:38
Darin Tingey
Very special, very special experience. But thank you. Thank you for coming on. And especially I'm glad I got you right as you got home. It's only been a month.
01:21:47
Amelia Danielson
Yes. Thank
01:21:49
Darin Tingey
Everything's still fresh. But welcome home and thanks for coming on the podcast, which was another great episode of the Allen's podcast.
01:21:58
Amelia Danielson
you so much. It's such a pleasure.