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Episode 20: Jared Whippy - Kiribati - Tarawa & Marakei
44 Plays3 days ago
Jared Whippy, the BYU Women's Rugby Head Coach, served in Kiribati from 2011 - 2013. Jared and his twin brother, Josh, did everything together while growing up in Fiji and New Zealand where they dominated in basketball and dabbled in rugby. After Jared received his mission call to the Marshall Islands Majuro Mission (Kiribati Region), the Lord decided that the brothers should continue to dominate together as missionaries and called Jared's twin to the same mission! Not only did they serve in the same mission, but were also companions at one point.
#MarshallIslandsKiribatiMission #Kiribati #Tarawa #Marakei #TheIslandsPodcast #theislands #PacificIslands #PacificIslanders #Micronesia #islandculture
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Background
00:00:01
Darin Tingey
All right, this is another episode of the Islands Podcast. We've got a legend on today, ah my old neighbor in Provo, Jared Whippy, also the BYU women's rugby coach. So pretty big time here on today, Jared.
00:00:23
Darin Tingey
ah Give a quick background on you.
00:00:27
Jared Whippy
Yeah, there are no thanks for having me, Bella. Me about myself, obviously Jared would be as I'm from Fiji born and raised in Fiji, Suva. um Yeah, my parents are still there.
00:00:39
Jared Whippy
When I was about 14, we did our high school in New Zealand. When the school there at the church school in New Zealand there with it for about but four or five years, maybe. And then right after that, man, we we came to came to America.
00:00:54
Jared Whippy
There
Rugby Journey and Mission Experience
00:00:55
Jared Whippy
was an opportunity for us to come to BYU. um But with with the school difference, we couldn't get into BYU just because how we ended our senior year of school, we had to take like an end of year exam.
00:01:08
Jared Whippy
And so BYU wanted us to start in January, but we don't get to get our results until February. so so we ended up So we ended up coming to Alpine to play rugby for this club called United.
00:01:22
Jared Whippy
um
00:01:22
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:01:23
Jared Whippy
And so I don't know you've seen the Forever Strong movie about Highland rugby.
00:01:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah, yeah.
00:01:27
Jared Whippy
So they were like their rivals.
00:01:30
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:01:30
Jared Whippy
And so we came, played club rugby there for for United. It was awesome, man. Some of the best times there. And then we beat Highland in the national championship, which was awesome. ah
00:01:41
Darin Tingey
That's so sick.
00:01:42
Jared Whippy
And then, yeah, man, then then we came back to Fiji after that season, attended BYU for a year. Then we went on our mission, man. We went on our mission to Kiribati.
00:01:54
Jared Whippy
Yeah, i'm obviously I'm a twin. My brother Josh, he lives in Utah as well. We got called to the same place i in Kiribati, which is nice. But then, yeah, once we finished our mission, came back to America, finished...
00:02:09
Jared Whippy
BYU played more rugby. And then, man, just living in the American dream now. Got two little girls, Nelly and Nova, Nelly's six, and Nova is three.
00:02:21
Jared Whippy
And then I currently work at Lucid as my main job.
00:02:26
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:02:26
Jared Whippy
I'm just in the sales there as a BDR. And then I also work at BYU as a rugby coach, like you mentioned. So, yeah.
00:02:33
Darin Tingey
So cool. Dude, it's crazy. Nelly's already six, man.
00:02:38
Jared Whippy
I know, right?
00:02:38
Darin Tingey
ah
00:02:41
Jared Whippy
She was so young when we were neighbors there in Provo. imp provo
00:02:45
Darin Tingey
yeah Yeah, the way Jared and I met, he was speaking at church and he was like, set my mission in Kitabas and I was like, what? No way. And I went up to after was mawdy, mawdy.
00:02:58
Darin Tingey
And then every morning, dude, we see each other her you're like, no, go smog it, okay?
Family and Athletic Heritage
00:03:05
Darin Tingey
Every morning. I loved it, dude. it's Such a good throwback. Yeah.
00:03:11
Darin Tingey
I miss that. ah miss I miss someone yelling at me every morning.
00:03:17
Darin Tingey
hu Yeah. um and Okay, so kind of crazy because you and your brother did like everything together, right? Rugby. I heard you guys were basketball stars in New Zealand as well. like Just the freak athletes of Fiji in New Zealand.
00:03:17
Jared Whippy
Yeah, no.
00:03:36
Jared Whippy
no
00:03:39
Darin Tingey
And then the odds that you get called to the same mission are crazy.
00:03:43
Jared Whippy
yeah no Yeah, it's so yeah growing up in Fiji, my dad loved basketball. So I don't know too much about my father. that he the The ward we attended was the first chapel in Fiji. And so my dad was a convert. and And the only way he joined because he loved basketball and the chapel had a basketball court.
00:04:04
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:04:05
Jared Whippy
And so the missionary set up a ah church team. And so he ended up joining the church through basketball, you know. So but obviously he gained a testimony and and everything. And then and so, yeah, so growing up, basketball was our first love, man. We we watched it, played it all the time. And so we went to New Zealand, played a lot of basketball.
00:04:26
Jared Whippy
We actually didn't play that much rugby. We played every now and then, but basketball was our main sport. And then my dad was the the Fiji national coach.
00:04:32
Darin Tingey
Interesting.
00:04:37
Jared Whippy
And so my brothers all play basketball, basketball.
00:04:38
Darin Tingey
For rugby or basketball? For basketball.
00:04:40
Jared Whippy
This is all basketball. Yeah, if you go if you go to Fiji and you ask Whippies, they know basketball. um They say the Whippy name, it's all basketball.
00:04:47
Darin Tingey
That's awesome.
00:04:48
Jared Whippy
have My two older brothers played for Fiji. My older brother went and played at BYU Hawaii for a couple of years, and he played professional. um My brother Marcus for a little bit there.
00:04:59
Jared Whippy
And so, yeah, played a lot of basketball, man, and then... Yeah. And I remember we came to we were New Zealand and there's a BYU Hawaii has an end of year.
00:05:09
Jared Whippy
There's a the the tournament they play every year. It's called the Asia Pacific Cup. And then they bring teams from like Guam, Japan, Asia, and some teams from the Pacific.
00:05:17
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:05:20
Jared Whippy
And then most kids that go there and play that tournament, that's kind of their end to get into BYU. And we were like, and my dad was coaching and he was like, come and then maybe you guys can, you know, hopefully, I don't know.
00:05:25
Darin Tingey
okay
00:05:32
Jared Whippy
gain a scholarship or whatever. And we went there and we played and, m you know, we thought we were good. Like in New Zealand, we were good. And then we went and played at BYU, man, it was a different level.
00:05:44
Jared Whippy
it was it was It was eye opening because, yeah, I remember we were playing BYU. So my brother's team, they were pretty good at the time. And then there, this Asian guy, Japanese guy, his name was Jet.
00:05:58
Jared Whippy
They called him Jet. nothing' think it was Jet Chang or something, Jet or something.
00:05:59
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:06:02
Jared Whippy
And then he had a fast break and i was i was defending. It was like a two-view-one situation. And then Jet was on my left and then the guy with the ball was coming to my right. So I went to like hedge a little bit and then he just threw the lob.
00:06:14
Jared Whippy
And then I look up and then Jet dunked on me.
00:06:16
Darin Tingey
No.
00:06:17
Jared Whippy
And I was like, hours was like it's
00:06:19
Darin Tingey
It's over. it's
Mission Stories and Cultural Experiences
00:06:21
Jared Whippy
over.
00:06:21
Darin Tingey
over.
00:06:21
Jared Whippy
i was like, let's go rugby.
00:06:23
Darin Tingey
ahha so who's better?
00:06:25
Jared Whippy
But yeah.
00:06:26
Darin Tingey
ah Who's better basketball? You or Josh?
00:06:29
Jared Whippy
I bet Josh is a good player. Yeah, he's he he's a way better athlete than me, both basketball and rugby too.
00:06:38
Darin Tingey
but what it It shows how athletic you guys are for for barely playing rugby and then to go play at the the club in Utah and then BYU rugby and stuff.
00:06:39
Jared Whippy
But...
00:06:49
Darin Tingey
like Rugby is not an easy sport to just pop in and play.
00:06:55
Jared Whippy
No, and that's the thing in Fiji, it's a national sport, but man, for some reason, we always loved sport. We just played everything, you know, we played, our three main was just basketball, rugby and volleyball. We played those three sports a lot.
00:07:09
Jared Whippy
And then that was our thing. We were not good at school or whatever, but sport was our thing. And so, yeah, it just started with my parents.
00:07:15
Darin Tingey
That's awesome.
00:07:18
Jared Whippy
They just love sport. And so we just gravitated towards it, you know? and send all our friends played sports, so it was easy it was easy for us
00:07:27
Darin Tingey
fast forwarding to when you got your mission call, did you get yours before your brother?
00:07:32
Jared Whippy
Yeah, so I put my papers in six weeks before him. So I put my papers in, think was like October maybe? No, I can't remember. i remember I think like I opened my call like November or something, and then I got my call, and then it said the Marshall Islands, but I didn't know where, um either Kirbas or Marshall.
00:07:53
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:07:53
Jared Whippy
But then when I was doing my visa, that's when I knew. They told me, oh, do your Kirbas visa. So I was like, okay, sweet.
00:07:59
Darin Tingey
No way.
00:08:01
Jared Whippy
And then when I got to the MTC, um Josh got his call. And then it was Marshall Islands too. And I was like, oh, no way.
00:08:12
Jared Whippy
And then when I got to, but we didn't know if it was Kiribati or Marshall. And then when I got to Kiribati, I met the president and then he was like, your brother's coming to Kiribati.
00:08:21
Darin Tingey
the way
00:08:21
Jared Whippy
And was like, oh, bro, i was like, this is mean.
00:08:24
Darin Tingey
So cool, man.
00:08:25
Jared Whippy
yeah. but
00:08:27
Darin Tingey
is so cool.
00:08:27
Jared Whippy
yeah Yeah, so it's ah it was it was like a lot of people asked, man, that was being it must have been so cool, you know, serving with your brother and getting caught at the same place, you know?
00:08:38
Jared Whippy
And it was it would like it's cool, no like don't get me wrong, but like it would have been way more, um what's the word? like Because we've done everything together. We've been on the same team, same same schooling, same friends, same sports teams, whatever the case may be, but...
00:08:54
Jared Whippy
And then it was just normal, you know, for us to go on the mission together. It was like, it would have been, would have been more weird if he went somewhere else.
00:09:01
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:09:02
Jared Whippy
You know what mean? So with him coming there, like, oh, it was like, oh, sweet, he's coming. Like, we're together again. You know, it's it wasn't like I knew it was a big thing where brothers hadn't served together.
00:09:12
Jared Whippy
But yeah, for me, it was like when I when I heard it, I was like I was happy. But it was at the same time, i was like, we're in this together again. You know, it was like I think I feel like it would have been more of a change if he he didn't come to get a bus.
00:09:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Were you ever like, dude, this is my mission. Like go get your own.
00:09:32
Jared Whippy
No, never like that. i mean, it was just like, because we all had the same shit experiences.
00:09:38
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:09:38
Jared Whippy
you know ah what he's been through i've been through um we all had the same similar experiences and so to be honest it was just when i i remember picking him up from the airport because my first area was bota and then he flew in and you could just see it it was it was it was awesome just seeing him there when the white shirt and tie and badge um it was it was it was a good sight man i was like man like this is my brother
00:09:55
Darin Tingey
Just.
00:10:04
Jared Whippy
You know, and but it it was a pretty cool moment.
00:10:05
Darin Tingey
Yeah. So cool.
00:10:07
Jared Whippy
And I remember Everett sitting there. i was with Everett and we just say, it's like, boy, that's my brother. And he was like, boy, you guys don't look alike. He's darker than you.
00:10:15
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:10:15
Jared Whippy
I was like, yeah, but yeah, but that's my twin. He's like, frick. He's like, oh, but nah. Yeah, it was a good feeling to have him there.
00:10:26
Darin Tingey
I'm sure your parents probably liked that too. Like, Hey, they got there each other to look out, look out, keep each other straight, uh, in the mesh, but also have fun.
00:10:37
Jared Whippy
no yeah more of the fun part yeah it was too much fun
00:10:41
Darin Tingey
So what, what years did you serve?
00:10:43
Jared Whippy
we served i got there uh so i started my mission i went to the mdc december 2011. so december to december um february so jobs came in february
00:10:56
Darin Tingey
So did you have any Kitabas language training in the MTC at all?
00:11:01
Jared Whippy
Nah, man, I wish I did. We just, I don't know why I went, came to America um for my MTC. I just did the classic three weeks, just learned ti everything in English, no language packet, nothing.
00:11:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:11:15
Jared Whippy
And then, yeah, then I was with the intake with a bunch of the American elders that were going to Kiribati. And so we all went together from there, but then Josh went to New Zealand MTC.
00:11:27
Darin Tingey
Yeah, that makes more sense. If they're not learning a language, it's like, might as well just go of the one closest to home.
00:11:28
Jared Whippy
Yeah, exactly.
00:11:32
Jared Whippy
Yeah, no, that I remember that. Yeah, no language training, nothing. I remember we just went to, got to the Moronai High School with, I think it was the Bonamarts there, had the good old, had a little meal and they gave you your pillow and your language book.
00:11:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:11:49
Jared Whippy
And you kept that thing the whole two years, man, you know, so.
00:11:53
Darin Tingey
So um give me the quick run through of your areas and then we we'll start from the beginning.
00:12:00
Jared Whippy
Yeah, so I started out in Bota. I was for about six weeks and then went to Merike. Merike for about, would say, three, four months. After when I came back from Merike, I went to Cherereke.
00:12:14
Jared Whippy
Cherereke for about, I don't know, that a month, maybe two, couple of weeks. And then I went to Bairiki for a month. I remember Bairiki was just a month. And then I came back to Cherereke again.
00:12:25
Jared Whippy
And when I was in Cherereke, I was there for about nine months, Paul.
00:12:29
Darin Tingey
Oh, wow.
00:12:30
Jared Whippy
And then after Cherokee Second, that's when me and Josh became companions um in Basel Third. um And then right after Basel Third, I went to Eita.
00:12:42
Jared Whippy
And then I finished my time in Eita.
00:12:44
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:12:45
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:12:45
Darin Tingey
And who were who were the mission presidents when you were there? Yep.
00:12:48
Jared Whippy
When we first started, it was President Shaw, Thomas Shaw. I forgot his wife's name. And then towards the end, the last six months, eight months was the President Ware.
00:12:59
Darin Tingey
Okay. Okay.
00:13:00
Jared Whippy
Yeah, bro.
00:13:02
Darin Tingey
So starting in Buota, I mean, you you're from Fiji, so you're you experienced the island life, ah but was Kiribati totally different than what you expected?
00:13:09
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:13:14
Darin Tingey
and Like Buota maybe specifically?
00:13:15
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:13:16
Darin Tingey
you're like i mean, Buota's more island you know outer island-like area.
00:13:22
Jared Whippy
Yeah. No, it was it was and because I had a lot of Kiribati friends in in Fiji. I knew the the Babo's Ruta. I don't know if you met ruth ne Ruta. Babo, her dad just passed away earlier this year, I think, or last year.
00:13:33
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Okay.
00:13:39
Jared Whippy
um So a lot of so we're our our home in Fiji ah has the, don't know if you know, the University of the South Pacific.
00:13:47
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:13:47
Jared Whippy
So we live like 10 minutes from there. So all the Kiribati students that go to USP, they go to our ward.
00:13:53
Darin Tingey
okay
00:13:53
Jared Whippy
So I knew of Kiribati. I knew the people. I didn't know the language anything. But my dad worked for the church. And my dad, actually, he was he's been to Kiribati like 20 times when the church was young.
00:14:05
Jared Whippy
So he, yeah, so he hears some cool stories, man.
00:14:06
Darin Tingey
No way.
00:14:10
Jared Whippy
Like um he opened up Kiribati. So when they when they opened up, he was like, he set the first stake. um I forgot who was he with. And then when he when they opened up the the the place for missionary work, he was with Elton Perry.
00:14:26
Jared Whippy
And you know the, the you know, the in base of the tanks? And my dad was saying, he's like, one morning we woke up at 6 a.m. and then I followed Elton Perry to the tanks and to the beach.
00:14:40
Jared Whippy
And then that's where he gave the dedicatory prayer to open the mission.
00:14:44
Darin Tingey
No way.
00:14:44
Jared Whippy
And my dad just reminiscing and he was like, it was such a neat experience.
00:14:45
Darin Tingey
That's so cool.
00:14:50
Jared Whippy
And so, yeah, so I knew a little bit of Kiribati through my dad and stuff. yeah But, yeah, going there is totally different. like i knew the i Like I knew the island life, you know, like laid back, relaxed. Like I know the culture and everything like that. But, yeah, it it was so different. The first thing that caught caught me off guard was the the water, bro, like when you showered.
00:15:14
Jared Whippy
you know, like the well water.
00:15:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:15:16
Jared Whippy
So we lived in Borta next to the the chapel there. And then I remember, you know, like when you shower, like I know when you shower, you just goggle the water, you know, you just sometimes just like goggle the water and spit it out, you know.
00:15:27
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:15:27
Jared Whippy
So then my first shower, I goggled it and I was like, then I like spit it out and i was like, what the heck? Then I was like, every like, what water is this? I was like, I thought we used the water from the tank, you know.
00:15:41
Jared Whippy
And he's like, nah, bro, this is the well water.
00:15:41
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:15:44
Jared Whippy
and then in the And so it was fun. But yeah, that was the only thing. But just one other thing shocked me a little bit, just that and then the in the not the fish, like I love eating fish, just the food, but the aurora, bro.
00:16:02
Jared Whippy
I remember my first meal was the aurora, bro. In Fiji, like we eat a lot of raw fish, but not like kiribas. Like, you know, kiribas, they'll just catch it, scale it, gut it, and then like
00:16:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:16:14
Jared Whippy
The one I had, it was like they put it yeah, bro.
00:16:14
Darin Tingey
Yeah, it's on your plate.
00:16:16
Jared Whippy
And they were like, they put it in, mixing coconut milk and they put that little teaspoon of like curry powder. you know, it's like green little bit.
00:16:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:26
Jared Whippy
And then when I got to the house, they're like oh, the order, eh? And I was like, ever what's this? He's like, bro, fish. I was like, good night. oh was but I remember put rice and I stacked my plate, bro.
00:16:37
Jared Whippy
And then I took my first bite and i was like, what is this? This is not like the normal fish we have in Fiji, bro. Oh, and I couldn't finish I was just like biting and I was like, and lucky it was dark. Like no one could see us. Like it was outside little bit.
00:16:53
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:16:54
Jared Whippy
Then I just put another pot of rice on top of that fish, bro. And I just tried eating it with the rice just did so I don't feel bad, you know. But.
00:17:02
Darin Tingey
And you you learned early on to just taste it first, taste it first before you load up the plate.
00:17:06
Jared Whippy
Just taste it first, bro. I don't know. Don't don't think like oh like, this food is tastes like your food at home, you know?
00:17:15
Darin Tingey
Did you get sick at all in the beginning?
00:17:18
Jared Whippy
Bro, funny story. No, I didn't get sick. I just had the baddest runs, bro. Like diarrhea galore. I remember me and me and Everett, is my but this is my second week, no joke.
00:17:30
Jared Whippy
And then we walk out of our house um right in Borta, bro. And then I went to like fart and then I legit, and I just shat myself, bro. And I, and I clenched, then I like, then I, then I c clenched my cheeks, bro. And I was like, Everett bro, I think I just shat my pants.
00:17:48
Jared Whippy
And he goes, at this this is what Everett said to me. He goes, bro, it happens to the best of us. And I was like, what? And I was like, what? And he was like, bro, he was like, I shat my pants like five times. I was like, oh heck no, bro.
00:18:04
Darin Tingey
Welcome to Kid Invest, I was a whippy.
00:18:05
Jared Whippy
must
00:18:06
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:18:06
Jared Whippy
that was That was my welcome to Kiribati moment, bro, was shizzing my pants, bro. and And yeah, I just felt so such like like a little kid. But it was, yeah, it didn't stop till then, till after that.
00:18:16
Darin Tingey
ha ha ha.
00:18:20
Jared Whippy
But it was it just kept going after that. that's the only thing. Yeah, I never got sick, man. I was lucky. Like the whole mission never got sick. Just had just diarrhea galore, but never, yeah.
00:18:31
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:18:33
Darin Tingey
I mean, the diarrhea, ever I'd call that, I mean, a version of sick, right? You can't always control that. you were like, oh, you're like, I'm running to, I'm running to the ocean or running to the woods to squat.
00:18:41
Jared Whippy
yeah oh man oh bro
00:18:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah, so many of those. And it's just not fun, dude. Oh my gosh.
00:18:53
Jared Whippy
yeah just that no control of your bowels bro it was just man you gotta go go now like there's no holding it nothing man it was for me ah um uh frick i
00:19:02
Darin Tingey
how How was the language pickup for you?
00:19:11
Jared Whippy
It was, it was kind of tough, not gonna lie. Like I knew like the, the pronunciation and stuff was normal. Like they, they pronounced the words the same, you know, like the letters, the A, E, I, O, U. But I think I was fluent probably about like eight months, eight, nine months.
00:19:25
Darin Tingey
okay
00:19:25
Jared Whippy
um I just felt like all these Tongan boys that came on the mesh man after six months they were fluent like there were a couple of Tongan boys there's one one Tongan guy his name was al maher like if you close your eyes and hear him speak you thought it was a kid of us dude like he was like he just said like kid bus and and Tongan was so close to each other
00:19:41
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:19:47
Jared Whippy
And so they were they were just so fluent, so fast, but yeah, the the language was, it was tough, but I mean, just like anything, you know, just study it, speak it as much as you can.
00:20:00
Jared Whippy
um
00:20:01
Darin Tingey
I was always jealous of the Islanders because I felt like the you know the accent was way easier for them.
00:20:01
Jared Whippy
and
00:20:04
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:20:06
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:20:07
Darin Tingey
you know, just
00:20:07
Jared Whippy
The accent, that's a tough part of the accent.
00:20:08
Darin Tingey
Their ears were more trained to hear the language.
00:20:11
Jared Whippy
Yep.
00:20:14
Darin Tingey
i was always jealous of that.
00:20:16
Jared Whippy
Yeah, the pronunciation was a big one for us. Like, it was good. Just like the how you roll your R's and stuff like that. um And just the language structure, how they talk you, too. so But, yeah.
00:20:28
Darin Tingey
So how long were you with, i can't remember said, how long were you Boto with your trainer before you got moved?
00:20:34
Jared Whippy
With Everett? I was with Everett for six weeks.
00:20:37
Darin Tingey
Okay, then you got moved. And then you went...
00:20:39
Jared Whippy
Then I went Medicaid. and went into medicay um
00:20:42
Darin Tingey
So they're like, hey, Outer Island.
00:20:42
Jared Whippy
and
00:20:44
Darin Tingey
You're like, sweet. Were you like, sweet? were you like, oh, no, dang it.
00:20:49
Jared Whippy
No, you it was awesome. everyone Everyone talked about other islands, you know, and and when we were there, it's it's awesome, you know. save you Save your money, you know, you get you get your $220 a month or whatever, and you just come back rich guy, you know.
00:20:56
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Ha
00:21:02
Darin Tingey
ha! Ha ha!
00:21:04
Jared Whippy
But no, i honestly, I was excited. um I went there. The Everett man, know if you know about Everett, but when he was my trainer, he was on marking for seven months.
00:21:18
Jared Whippy
seven months, bro.
00:21:18
Darin Tingey
Yeah, it's long time.
00:21:19
Jared Whippy
And I've been to Markin and I can bike that island in 20 minutes. And that he was doing, I don't know what he was doing in Markin, but yeah, then we went to, uh, I went, we caught the, I remember we caught the boat to, uh, to Medicaid, but no, no, we went boat.
00:21:37
Darin Tingey
Oh, so no plane, boat.
00:21:39
Jared Whippy
Yeah, bro. So there was, um, there was, uh, I think we were the first missionaries there after a while. I think we opened it up again. There was a missionaries for a couple of months, I think. And then me and Norman went back out there and opened it up.
00:21:54
Jared Whippy
And yeah, that was a good time, Medicaid, man.
00:21:58
Darin Tingey
Medicaid is kind of smaller too. It's like a big donut basically, right?
00:22:03
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
00:22:04
Darin Tingey
um So when you got, how long was the boat ride? Like a day?
00:22:08
Jared Whippy
then No, we went on the church boat, so it was about three hours, four hours.
00:22:13
Darin Tingey
Oh, you're on the church boat. Nice.
00:22:15
Jared Whippy
Yeah, the speedboat. They called it the speedboat. But yeah, we went there for three, four hours. um Yeah, the only good thing about Medicare, you've been to Medicare, yeah?
00:22:25
Darin Tingey
No.
00:22:26
Jared Whippy
So the Medicare has a chapel, bro. So it's like the exact same chapel as Bota.
00:22:31
Darin Tingey
Oh wow, nice.
00:22:31
Jared Whippy
Exactly the same. Basketball court, everything. And then they built a little church they built a little house for the missionaries, for the elders.
00:22:35
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:22:41
Darin Tingey
okay
00:22:41
Jared Whippy
So it was it was actually kind of nice.
00:22:42
Jared Whippy
And then we had like the the water tanks, like the big water tank, like six of them, bro. So i was taking like nice showers, like hour long showers, but just Like my thing was like in the morning, bro, i would like um just take my chair because the the the the tank was like this high, like just above my head when I sat down.
00:23:01
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:23:01
Jared Whippy
Then I'd just turn on the tap, bro, and just sit because it was just so hot, you know. um And then we slept there. very first night there Medicaid, man, we slept on the floor, had our nets over the mattress.
00:23:14
Jared Whippy
And then I woke up and I was wet. Like the bed was wet. And I thought I peed myself. Bro, I was just sweat. And it was just sweat, bro. And I looked at Norman. was like, bro, this is so hot.
00:23:29
Jared Whippy
Like just because of the house, they built the house.
00:23:30
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:23:31
Jared Whippy
You know, there's no fan, no nothing. And it's just like,
00:23:35
Darin Tingey
That's the problem with the house. I feel like they're like, oh, what about this nice house, right? Walls and everything. But if he doesn't have like AC, that thing is like worse than a booyah.
00:23:46
Darin Tingey
Like you wish you had a booyah.
00:23:48
Jared Whippy
Exactly. No, you wish you lived on the booyah.
00:23:50
Darin Tingey
if
00:23:51
Jared Whippy
Yep.
00:23:51
Darin Tingey
Yeah, you wish you had a wind.
00:23:52
Jared Whippy
The circulation.
00:23:53
Darin Tingey
Yeah, and the airflow.
00:23:54
Jared Whippy
Yeah. No, that's it. Yeah. Like even I wish they would have put like just a little fan or like a solar panel on top or like, you know, just to like, yeah, get some wind, get a fan going in there. Because, man, it it was so hot, bro. Like so hot.
00:24:12
Darin Tingey
So did you have an actual bed, like a mattress and everything or no?
00:24:16
Jared Whippy
We had like a foam one, a little one.
00:24:16
Darin Tingey
Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:24:19
Jared Whippy
Add a little foam one and then you had our mat, our keel. And then, yeah.
00:24:23
Darin Tingey
Yeah. you have a fridge there or no?
00:24:26
Jared Whippy
no No fridge. um One thing when me and Norman was there, bro, our thing was they had like shops in every village, right?
00:24:36
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
00:24:36
Jared Whippy
So I remember we'd like for me, like in Medicaid, time stopped, bro. Like it was for me, it was like I remember one night because you had a little porch and you can see out into this like into the clouds and stuff. And i was like, what the heck am I doing here, bro? Like it was like I couldn't speak, you know, we weren't teaching nobody.
00:24:57
Jared Whippy
And like it was like that honestly time stopped. And the until like Mayor Norman's thing was like, we'd go to like the little stores and they have the soda. They'll sell soda, like the Coke or Fanta or whatever, but it's hot, it's warm, there's no fridge.
00:25:13
Jared Whippy
And so we would sip one every night and just like, bro, like, just get a, like, this is our like, okay, like, like, this is like, we're only here for a little while, you know, like our nightcap, like, just to like bring us the earth.
00:25:25
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:25:26
Jared Whippy
Like every night, bro, we had like a Coke or a Fanta, bro.
00:25:30
Darin Tingey
A little taste of home.
00:25:30
Jared Whippy
And.
00:25:31
Darin Tingey
do It's the little things like that. Just like the things like the well the little things that do every day.
00:25:32
Jared Whippy
Bro, exactly, bro.
00:25:36
Darin Tingey
Just like, oh, this is great. Like the day was tough, but this little soda the end.
00:25:41
Jared Whippy
and Bro, exactly, bro. And then. When the day was tough, we were sweating bullets and we drinking a warm soda, bro. And then just sipping on it, it just made everything better.
00:25:55
Jared Whippy
You know, it's like sweet, bro, we can go to sleep now. Like, you know, like, it cool like the next day won't be as bad. ah But that was our thing.
00:26:04
Darin Tingey
Did, I forgot to ask, when you got to Medicaid, did you do the the rounds to like the the four?
00:26:13
Jared Whippy
Yep. they do the four, what do you call it, the four statues, people think, whatever the, I forgot what what they call in Kiribati.
00:26:14
Darin Tingey
ah
00:26:22
Darin Tingey
yeah it's like the four ladies, they're like saints or something like that.
00:26:25
Jared Whippy
Exactly, the like the little i idols.
00:26:25
Darin Tingey
I can't remember.
00:26:28
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:26:29
Jared Whippy
Yeah, you have to go give a like a little treat candy or whatever. And the funny thing is you you we we win we hit everyone and then like obviously we were there then kids will follow the missionaries you know so soon as we put like a candy as soon as we drive away they take it i was like i'm looking at no one we should just give it to the kids i was like
00:26:51
Darin Tingey
yeah It's a scam. It's a scam to get you, people to give candy to the kids.
00:26:58
Jared Whippy
yeah no medicare was awesome man they were um the i got i got my i remember this uh we're driving there's a there's a main road in kitabas and then we were riding our bike and then one of the ladies that owned the store um they were really active members and then but the husband worked on the boat and he had come back his name was i remember his name was tiang the wind
00:27:24
Darin Tingey
yeah Yeah, that's so good.
00:27:25
Jared Whippy
yeah yeah And then he sat down and he he he just came back. He was gone for maybe like eight, 12 months old. He just came back, yeah? And then he he saw me. He was like, Whippy. And yeah I was like, he's like, you're the Whippy? was like, yeah. He's like, you from Fiji?
00:27:39
Jared Whippy
And he could speak English pretty good. And I was like, yeah. And he's like, your dad, Paul? And I was like, yeah, that's my dad. He's like, come in. Sit down. Come sit down. He's like, tell his son, get the boy moto.
00:27:50
Jared Whippy
Get the boy moto.
00:27:52
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:27:52
Jared Whippy
dead And he knew my dad. And so...
00:27:54
Darin Tingey
No, that's crazy.
00:27:55
Jared Whippy
Yeah, bro. So a lot of people knew my dad, which was a good thing. And its it...
00:28:00
Darin Tingey
How did you know your dad from from like working on the boat and going to Fiji or from when your dad came to Kittivus?
00:28:05
Jared Whippy
No, when my dad came to Kiribati to set the the stakes, the ward and stuff. So my dad had been to, he's like, he's been to all the other islands. He was like, before I left, he's like, man, I remember went Abba, Me, Me, Abba, Yang, No Nose.
00:28:18
Jared Whippy
And like, they just tried to play it and then open up like the areas. And yeah, my dad has stories on stories, bro. I'm kidding.
00:28:24
Darin Tingey
Dude, we need your dad on the podcast.
00:28:26
Jared Whippy
I know. No, but yeah, what? And then, so that guy, he pretty much like, that was like, oh you know, in Kiribati, oh, that's my family. You know, they always say that, like, he was so good to me.
00:28:34
Darin Tingey
Yeah, yeah. They took care of
00:28:37
Jared Whippy
He took care of us. And no joke, bro, like he had this, um he had this coconut tree. It was probably like just a little bit, just like 10 feet tall, bro.
00:28:49
Jared Whippy
And the coconuts, like in Fiji, we drink ah the moemoto, you know, it's like, but it's not as big.
00:28:54
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:28:55
Jared Whippy
and And this one, bro, no joke, like it was like each coconut was like a liter. Like we would skull it, like and and like you just couldn't skull it. like I could skull one like just down without resting, you know?
00:29:09
Darin Tingey
Uh-huh.
00:29:09
Jared Whippy
But this one, bro, honestly, no joke, like it was so big, the Murimoto, that we had to stop. And every time we'd come, we'd like, hey, where's the Sprite? Because it was like so fresh.
00:29:20
Darin Tingey
Yeah, has a little like, the little zap, the little like fizz-esque.
00:29:21
Jared Whippy
He's like, where's the Sprite? Yeah. Yeah, it was like... like Man, but so that's where we went all the time for coconuts and stuff. But yeah, that was my cue. He was a good fella. And then, yeah, that that that Medicaid, it did good things for me, man.
00:29:42
Darin Tingey
um it's probably so cool to just be like, I'm in the middle of nowhere. I'm on some tiny island in the middle of nowhere. And this guy knows my dad. Like, that's just like blows my mind.
00:29:51
Jared Whippy
yeah
00:29:54
Darin Tingey
I had a similar experience where I was on the outer island in the Marshalls, tiny island. And I had met someone who just got back. She just got back from her mission in Logan, Utah. And she served with one of my friends in high school. And I was like, I am in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
00:30:10
Darin Tingey
with a girl who knows ah guy I went to high school with. Like, that's crazy.
00:30:14
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:30:15
Darin Tingey
Like, so wild.
00:30:15
Jared Whippy
Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:18
Darin Tingey
um
00:30:18
Jared Whippy
down
00:30:20
Darin Tingey
But, and interesting, you got to drink a lot of the Moemotos, because I feel like when I was on Mayana, like, we didn't drink a lot of coconuts. Like, they didn't give us a lot of Moemotos.
00:30:27
Jared Whippy
oh
00:30:28
Darin Tingey
I don't know why, And I don't know if it was like, dude, we're just saving these for the bin, you know?
00:30:34
Jared Whippy
yeah yeah
00:30:34
Darin Tingey
like enough
00:30:36
Jared Whippy
yeah
00:30:36
Darin Tingey
But like note like not many people like gave us coconuts and I was like, what the heck? I want to drink more of these.
00:30:41
Jared Whippy
No, Merike was, man, that's all we drank, I felt like. Everyone had moemotos. And Merike, too, they they're known for their crabs.
00:30:52
Darin Tingey
Yeah, did you eat a lot of crab?
00:30:53
Jared Whippy
Yeah, man. But the crabs are only like this big, like little ones.
00:30:57
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:30:57
Jared Whippy
and They're not very big crabs. So I remember, like, mean me and Norman, obviously, like, we'd be at the house, and then kids would come at night, you know?
00:31:07
Darin Tingey
Always.
00:31:07
Jared Whippy
And then I'd pay them a dollar. i was like, go get me some at night. but They'll come back with the, you know, the breakfast crackers tub, the bucket full.
00:31:14
Darin Tingey
Yeah, yeah,
00:31:16
Jared Whippy
And then we'll, and we'll cook it at our house and we'll just eat all of us together.
00:31:20
Darin Tingey
So you give a dollar and they'd go crab hunting.
00:31:21
Jared Whippy
and so They'll go crab hunting, come back.
00:31:23
Darin Tingey
They'd go get the mania and put it in the buckets and then you'd come cook them.
00:31:27
Jared Whippy
We just cook at the house, bro.
00:31:27
Darin Tingey
Oh.
00:31:28
Jared Whippy
And we did it on the regular, bro. And that was awesome. And then, yeah, just, and there was a way for the kids, you know, just all come know, get to know them a little bit or whatever, but And I love crab too. And so we just, yeah.
00:31:42
Jared Whippy
And we had a little flashlight, little lantern we had, and then we just hang it on the top and boys eat. And they were like, yeah. And then, oh, like, go get some more. And they were all, they'll come back, hey, tomorrow again? album And they were like, ask you for money or whatever.
00:31:58
Jared Whippy
But no, it was, yeah.
00:32:00
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:32:02
Jared Whippy
there There was also the manai and the kids and And even in Medicaid, man, so I started playing in Medicaid. They played a lot of soccer and volleyball.
00:32:11
Darin Tingey
Yes. Yes. Definitely kiddo this thing. Soccer and volleyball.
00:32:13
Jared Whippy
Yeah, bro. So I played. So in the afternoon, I'll go like one time we were driving, we were riding our bike home or whatever, and they were playing volleyball. And I was like, Norman, let me just go jump in here real quick.
00:32:25
Jared Whippy
and they didn't know like i could play or whatever you know and then i started jumping started spiking they were like oh
00:32:27
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:32:31
Jared Whippy
they were like oh timboy is like timmaang ra me and i was like oh the second guy came pc you know for fifty and so the ah lino with a linko when you play in fiji and in like the pacific is pretty for volleyball it's the same so like like if you call like an outside hit you call it like a medium
00:32:44
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:32:47
Jared Whippy
like it's a mediumip
00:32:49
Darin Tingey
Medium.
00:32:49
Jared Whippy
So they showed with their fingers. And so it's the same lingo they had. So then when I look at the Kiribati, I'll say, medium, medium. And they'll know. You know what? like And most people don't know that, like especially if you come from the States or whatever.
00:33:03
Jared Whippy
And so I'd play with it. It started happening every day. I'd go play with these guys. and then it come to in And then one time they had like ah they had ah the Medicaid tournament, volleyball tournament.
00:33:15
Jared Whippy
Bro, and I couldn't speak. And so they went to Norman, my companion, and he was like, they asked Norman for me to play on the Rawanawi team, the village team.
00:33:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:33:27
Jared Whippy
was like, yeah, bro. I'm like, frick, let's go. Bro, so we played all the other villages, bro. And then we smashed all of them. And then everywhere I went, bro, you just hear, hey, medium, medium.
00:33:40
Jared Whippy
hey
00:33:41
Darin Tingey
ah
00:33:42
Jared Whippy
the Bro, and it just opened heaps of doors, bro. And I was like, it was It was awesome. It was like, i remember one time me and Norman were teaching a lesson and then one of the guys from the village, he came and he was looking at Norman and he for the tournament.
00:34:02
Jared Whippy
And I was like, Norman, what's this name? And Norman was like, oh, they're about to start the volleyball game, but they need you. And Norman was like, okay, let's just close this up right now. And I was like, dude,
00:34:12
Darin Tingey
Everything, the village has to win and we need Elder Whippy. That is so good.
00:34:17
Jared Whippy
Bro, bro, exactly, bro. We ended up winning the the tournament for the, for Medicaid, bro. They had massive boat, and they put us in front. You know how they do for elders and stuff?
00:34:29
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:34:30
Jared Whippy
Man, and they put us in front, and I was like, bro, I can't even speak yet. I don't know what I'm doing, but no, it was it was so good.
00:34:37
Darin Tingey
That is so cool.
00:34:39
Jared Whippy
It was so good. It was so good just playing volleyball there, and And word got around, man. And even like every village you went to, hey that test on it they're all mated and I was just like, bro, let's play it. Let's go.
00:34:51
Darin Tingey
ah's That's probably like the best feeling ever.
00:34:53
Jared Whippy
bro.
00:34:54
Darin Tingey
It's like this whole island knows who I am and they know me for my athletic abilities.
00:34:57
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
00:35:02
Darin Tingey
And because of this, we're gonna baptize the whole island.
00:35:02
Jared Whippy
yes
00:35:07
Jared Whippy
No, but it but the thing is like, they helped like the, but It helped like the church image to see an elder play, you know, like the the missionary play.
00:35:15
Darin Tingey
Totally.
00:35:16
Jared Whippy
Like it wasn't like, oh, like they're just actual people, you know, like they're normal people. Like have they have talents, you know, they can play, they can play sports, they can do other things. And so I think for the award, it like, it sparked like, I feel like everyone came back, not came back to church, but they were like excited to come back to church, you know, but.
00:35:35
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Meet the celebrity on the island.
00:35:38
Jared Whippy
Exactly, but no, awesome, man. Merke was good. Yeah. Yeah. No. was good
00:35:44
Darin Tingey
I mean... Like, and it probably allowed people to approach you a lot easier. Like, oh, we can talk to him about volleyball, you know, rather than, oh he's going to come talk to us, try and get us to join his church.
00:35:51
Jared Whippy
yeah yeah
00:35:57
Darin Tingey
You know, i probably was just like, oh, you know, this guy plays volleyball.
00:35:58
Jared Whippy
now
00:36:01
Darin Tingey
Let's talk to about volleyball, you know.
00:36:03
Jared Whippy
Yeah, no, and and it and the and the boys that played on the team too, they were like the, like you could see like the boys on the team were like, they were like the the drunk guys, like the hard guys, you know, like they were like, you know, it was like they never, it was it was like, it was like male people, boys from like, men from like ages like 18 to like 30, you know, so you knew all of them and they they all knew you. Like when you walk down the street, they're like, oh, this guy, missionary,
00:36:31
Jared Whippy
can play volleyball you know and so it was a good vibe where even though they were catholic and they were all like catholic or protestant or whatever they knew like oh they they're all good come like come have drink have a come sit down relax you know it was still like it was a good vibe so so that was the that was the most awesome part was just like did like all the boys on the team were not mormon
00:36:44
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:36:54
Darin Tingey
Yeah, right.
00:36:54
Jared Whippy
yeah
00:36:56
Darin Tingey
did So reopening the island, was it was it hard to have success as a missionary there as far as teaching and baptizing?
00:37:07
Jared Whippy
the
00:37:07
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:37:08
Jared Whippy
Yeah, it was it was pretty tough, not going to lie. um Just because you didn't know anyone. It's tough when the when the branch is not strong. You know what I mean?
00:37:19
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:37:20
Jared Whippy
like Even though they had a chapel, we found out that a lot of people, they built a chapel because the missionary was baptized a lot back in the day on Medicaid. And apparently their numbers were like 200 members. And they were like, let's build a chapel.
00:37:34
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:37:34
Jared Whippy
And so... in order to work for the, for some reason, like they thought like, oh, to work for the, because they needed workers on the island, they, some people thought that they had to be baptized. And so people were just going to get baptized.
00:37:47
Jared Whippy
Oh, missionaries, you know, to get work, you know, and so they would, they get paid to get money because there's nothing else on that island except for copra.
00:37:49
Darin Tingey
Yeah, right. We can get paid.
00:37:55
Jared Whippy
And then, so, um yeah, but it was tough, man. Like I remember just, especially when the branch was not as strong. There was like some feud going on with the bishopric, like the second counselor in the first council, the bishop were fighting, you know, and it it was it was tough, man, not going to lie. Like we didn't teach as much, um but like when we we started playing sport, I felt like it opened a lot of doors.
00:38:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:38:26
Jared Whippy
and i at least to people just to hear the gospel, you know, like, you know, like Kirpas, like we go to, ah hey, com and re my missionaries and they were like oh like come teach. Then after you teach, they're like, oh, like, we're Catholic, you know, like, but they'll still welcome you to the home, you know, just to be nice, you know, and they're, boy, we're Catholic, but you can come visit anytime, you know, um but yeah.
00:38:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
00:38:52
Darin Tingey
Super nice like that. Yeah, definitely culture. I always love how they're like, lets you finish the lesson and and they're like, thank you, we're Catholic.
00:38:56
Jared Whippy
Yep. Yep.
00:38:58
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:38:59
Jared Whippy
Yep. When you look, open up your planner and then try to set up another, hey, Sydney, we can come back, you know, tomorrow or the next day. Like, oh, my dad's the pasta. Oh, you know.
00:39:10
Jared Whippy
Oh, you know. But they yeah, they'll just, yeah. So when when we, I feel like when we started playing sport, it opened a lot of doors. And then i feel like I was just getting started in there and then got transferred, man.
00:39:23
Darin Tingey
then transferred off. You should go back to Medicaid and I want to come with you and I'll bet you everyone in the island still remembers you.
00:39:33
Jared Whippy
ah the only thing the one of the best things about the chapel being there in medicaid bro is they had a phone so they had they they had a landline phone bro and so there was a missionary that i came on the mission with um his name's elder cottony he's from new zealand so i'd call him bro
00:39:40
Darin Tingey
No way. Okay.
00:39:51
Jared Whippy
Like every day. ka And we went to school together in New Zealand. And I'd be like, Rubes, what's the latest, bro? How's Tarawa, bro? What's going on? And would just talk for hours, bro, like every night.
00:40:03
Jared Whippy
And and don't know I don't know where the bill went, but that was the only good thing.
00:40:08
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:40:09
Jared Whippy
was just We would just call random elders and stuff. So it was good.
00:40:12
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Keep in on what's happened with the haps in Tarawa. So you get transferred to back to Tarawa and you go to Chattareque. what you said?
00:40:22
Jared Whippy
yep went from tarawa to terareke yep terareke second
00:40:28
Darin Tingey
Okay. So that's ah down by the airport kind of, right?
00:40:33
Jared Whippy
no that's at the michael terareke is um terareke is by what's that place um it's kind of by the uh where ambo is you know where the parliament but going towards the but going towards eta not going basal side
00:40:34
Darin Tingey
ah sorry. I'm thinking it's a Maiku. Yeah, you're right.
00:40:46
Darin Tingey
Okay, yeah, yeah,
00:40:53
Darin Tingey
yeah. Yep, gotcha, okay.
00:40:56
Jared Whippy
Yeah, so we covered Humboldt, yeah.
00:40:56
Darin Tingey
and And you weren't there for very long.
00:41:01
Jared Whippy
Man, I can't remember how long I was there. i remember i was there for like a month maybe, a month or six weeks or something. It was it was weird. the The house we stayed in, in Cherveka, there was like like five missionaries.
00:41:16
Jared Whippy
oh like it was like It was like missionaries are coming going.
00:41:20
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:41:20
Jared Whippy
And then, and I was just, I was like, man, what's going on? Don't know what's going on. And then, um ah forgot, can remember who my companion was.
00:41:32
Jared Whippy
Who was my companion? I can remember. Because you cause I had like, it was like, we were like, they're just through like, don't know, someone was getting transferred. We were just like in that one house. We're like, it was weird, bro.
00:41:45
Jared Whippy
And then I was there for like, ah maybe like six weeks, two months.
00:41:45
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:41:48
Jared Whippy
And then I got moved to Bayeriki with Elder Norton, bro. Elder Norton, bless his heart.
00:41:56
Darin Tingey
to know what to do.
00:41:58
Jared Whippy
Godfella. And yeah, and I was there for a month in Bayeriki.
00:42:03
Darin Tingey
Okay, so just like, were you kind of like, man, I come back to Tarawa and like I just kind of bounce around or like, were you excited to be back on Tarawa or were you a little bit sad to leave Medicaid?
00:42:13
Jared Whippy
I was sad to leave Merike, but I was also excited to come back to Tarawa. I was just sad to leave just because we had a good thing going and I felt like not the tide was turning, but like a lot of people were more welcome to the missionaries, you know?
00:42:17
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:42:27
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:42:28
Jared Whippy
And then the the only thing sucky about Merike when we left was we didn't get told. Like we just we just got like woke up one morning and then the zone leaders were there, you know?
00:42:40
Darin Tingey
In the boat.
00:42:40
Jared Whippy
And we were like, on the boat and we were like, what's going on? And they were like, oh, whips, you're going to Tarawa. And I was like, huh? i was like, what? He's like, yeah, pack your stuff. And I was like, bro, no, nothing, man.
00:42:51
Darin Tingey
So you didn't get to say goodbye to bite anybody?
00:42:54
Jared Whippy
That was the only sad part, man.
00:42:55
Darin Tingey
Dang.
00:42:55
Jared Whippy
I didn't say bye to anyone. And ah I said bye to prior as much people as I could. But yeah, but it it happened quick. That was when it happened quick, man.
00:43:04
Darin Tingey
yeah No botakis, no goodbye parties.
00:43:09
Jared Whippy
No, I don't that could care less about the botaki. I just wanted to say goodbye to the people, you know, that kind of took care of me and that made me feel like like I was at home, man.
00:43:14
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:43:20
Jared Whippy
But yeah, that was the only second thing I didn't say goodbye to everyone. Yeah. yeah
00:43:26
Darin Tingey
So back on Tarawa, bouncing around, and then so likega then bi ricky and then You said back to the chat, is that right?
00:43:37
Jared Whippy
Yeah, so I was by Ricky for a month. By Ricky was also um i was with Elder I don't know if you me know Elder Norton. So Elder Norton, this guy, he was I don't know, for our time, man, there was a lot of homeschool missionaries.
00:43:54
Darin Tingey
Interesting.
00:43:54
Jared Whippy
A lot of homeschool missionaries. And he, Norton was one of them, bro. You talk to him, just real awkward dude. Awkward. But for some reason, me and him clicked, bro.
00:44:05
Jared Whippy
Like, like i like i Like I'm a pretty open guy, you know, so Norton wouldn't talk much, but he he he could speak the language really good. And so I would just pick his brain, but he was the type of guy, like he won't speak to you and unless spoken to you.
00:44:22
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:44:22
Jared Whippy
You know, and so I remember when would teach, and then the good thing with Norton was he allowed me to teach. um in Kiribati, you know, like he allowed me to fail, which was awesome.
00:44:33
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:44:35
Jared Whippy
And then he was he was so good for me because our companionship study, he would he would he would write down phrases and just tell me, say it like this, bro. Or do it like this, say it like this, you know.
00:44:46
Darin Tingey
Mm-hmm.
00:44:48
Jared Whippy
And he was he was it was so good because he wasn't like, um what's the, he just totally opposite for me. He didn't like sports. He didn't like nothing. Like all he liked to do was read.
00:45:00
Jared Whippy
You know, and like, I remember one morning we woke up in Bayerike. I was like, I looked to my side and he was gone. And then I look in the kitchen and my man's doing yoga. And I was like, what the heck is this guy up to?
00:45:14
Jared Whippy
you know, I was just like. But to come towards the like the like the first two weeks was tough for me just because he couldn't talk. We had nothing in common.
00:45:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah, right.
00:45:24
Jared Whippy
like I couldn't talk about movies, you know whatever. But i I still remember to this day, like he talked about it he had little a girl that he liked growing up.
00:45:36
Jared Whippy
And so I always try to ask him about the girl that he liked. And then I remember he would like, he to hear who wouldn't stop talking about her. But the last, yeah, the last two, three weeks, man, we were, it was awesome being with Norton.
00:45:50
Jared Whippy
And then the last week when I found out I was getting transferred, I was like, no, like I told the zoners, was like, nah, bro, don't. Like, I want to stay here because I know like my language will improve, you know, and then I was actually enjoying Norton and stuff like that.
00:46:00
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:46:04
Jared Whippy
and And so they were like, nah, like we need you as a district leader in Chetarek. And I was like, no, bro, like I don't want it. so So that's why I went back to Tirereke and then ended up being a district leader there.
00:46:12
Darin Tingey
Please know. Yeah, I think I think you mentioned a good point like learning the language and phrases I thought was really helpful.
00:46:25
Darin Tingey
Rather than just like learning words, like to learn a whole phrase, super helpful.
00:46:25
Jared Whippy
Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
00:46:30
Darin Tingey
I would write tons of sentences down just learn them.
00:46:32
Jared Whippy
both exactly that's the best that's the best way i learned was phrases and then norton uh not no yeah norton as a norton he was help he was awesome for me and then when was in medicaid norman was good he had some good phrases like you know like just talk about repentance you had like three phrases that you always use you know and then you just flip it every another lesson use this phrase that phrase or whatever but
00:46:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:47:00
Jared Whippy
um Yeah, that's how learned quick was the phrases, bro, and just putting different words in those phrases.
00:47:03
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:47:07
Darin Tingey
So Chattareghe for, and you were there for like, what, nine months? that what you said? Nine months?
00:47:11
Jared Whippy
Yeah, man. ah
00:47:12
Darin Tingey
A digital glitter?
00:47:14
Jared Whippy
No, I was district leader there for, I was a young district leader, bro. I wasn't even fluent at that time. I could answer questions. I could hold a conversation, but I wasn't like,
00:47:27
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:47:27
Jared Whippy
um i was I didn't feel comfortable, you know, but I mean, i was willing to serve or whatever. They just needed a district leader at that time. um Yeah, I was district leader there for a little bit.
00:47:39
Jared Whippy
I can't remember who my companion was. Oh, I had two Kiribati companions, Elder Sonson, and there was one guy, Elder Teira, like the the hair, Teira, and he was new.
00:47:52
Darin Tingey
Teeter. Aha.
00:47:54
Jared Whippy
And then I remember one time, and for that time I was studying the ah Joseph Smith First Vision in Kiribati. And I remember me and Tera went, Tera just came from the MTC, he's local or whatever, and we went and taught his lesson. And then I, and I'd never said the, I was prompted just ah with to, were teaching the First Vision, and I was prompted just to say, you know, Enora, how does it go again?
00:48:20
Jared Whippy
um I can't remember it. But I remember saying it word for word, like um the whole Joe Smith's vision in Kiribati.
00:48:28
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:48:29
Jared Whippy
Bro, then I started crying. Like when I was teaching him, when I was saying I started crying, but was bawling, bro. And then I look at Theda, and he's laughing. And I like, I'm going to beat him up when I get back to the apartment.
00:48:44
Jared Whippy
And he was like, And I was like, And I was like, This fella is a helmet. And I was like,
00:48:50
Darin Tingey
That's why he was laughing at you, because you were crying?
00:48:52
Jared Whippy
Because I was crying, bro.
00:48:53
Darin Tingey
No way.
00:48:54
Jared Whippy
And i was i was i but I was feeling the spirit, bro.
00:48:57
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:48:57
Jared Whippy
was on, you know? i was like, this is my first time, you know, seeing the first vision in Kiribati. And then I looked to my left and my man is cracking up, laughing.
00:49:08
Jared Whippy
I was like, okay, let's close this meeting right here. I'm going to go home when I beat him up. but No, so I was with Theta. He was a good fella. I was with Theta for a while, and then i was with...
00:49:18
Darin Tingey
He was from Kitabas, yeah?
00:49:19
Jared Whippy
He was with Kitterbust, yep. And then I had Elder Sonson. We called him Elder Johnson.
00:49:27
Darin Tingey
Stunson, Elder Johnson. That's good.
00:49:30
Jared Whippy
um Yeah, i was it I was with him for a little bit, I think for only a couple of weeks or maybe a month, and then that's when I got moved up to Zone Leader. And that time, Zone Leaders were like,
00:49:40
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:49:42
Jared Whippy
The zone leaders were in Cherereke II, Cherereke II, and then they covered the West, and then they had your East zone leaders in Eita. They covered the East. um And then that's when i was in zone leader for ages, bro.
00:49:55
Jared Whippy
And that's when, yeah.
00:49:58
Darin Tingey
It's a tough job. you know You're spending half, like zone leaders, half your have have your time being like working on the missionaries and half your time doing actual work.
00:50:00
Jared Whippy
In America, yeah.
00:50:04
Jared Whippy
in America, in Terawa.
00:50:11
Jared Whippy
Wow.
00:50:12
Darin Tingey
2016
00:50:13
Jared Whippy
Yeah, that time, I don't know. What year did you serve your mission?
00:50:18
Darin Tingey
to was right after where?
00:50:19
Jared Whippy
Okay, so you had, who do who's your mission president?
00:50:23
Darin Tingey
larkin he was right after where
00:50:25
Jared Whippy
Where? Okay. So back then, bro, so the mission, so the zone leaders, um and I was only with Elder Mickelson. Have you met Mickelson?
00:50:34
Darin Tingey
I haven't.
00:50:35
Jared Whippy
Dude, that's my guy. Me and him, we were companions for for eight months. And that's my brother, bro.
00:50:43
Darin Tingey
That's a long time. oh my gosh.
00:50:45
Jared Whippy
That's my brother, bro. That's my brother. And I continue.
00:50:47
Darin Tingey
That's a good thing you got along.
00:50:50
Jared Whippy
Yeah, it was, we got along. So he was, I was a zone leader. I was a district leader in Cherokee and he was a zone leader in, for West Zone. And, and, and he's, he was a, he was a junior companion in the, as a zone leader.
00:51:04
Jared Whippy
And then we, we, when we went on splits as a zone leader and district leader, we always clicked, man, this guy, you know, we, we always clicked for some reason.
00:51:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Okay.
00:51:13
Jared Whippy
And then, and he, and he kept telling me, like, bro, you're next. You want to come with me? i was like, nah, I don't want to, bro. He's like, you're going to come. and we were this And he was and he were just six weeks um ahead of me.
00:51:23
Jared Whippy
So he was just intake above me.
00:51:24
Darin Tingey
okay
00:51:26
Jared Whippy
And then when we got together, man, it was awesome. It was awesome, bro. We did some damage, bro. And it was, yeah, I felt like I grew the most with him.
00:51:39
Jared Whippy
we was we were so opposite. Like, he's he's such a confident person that you you may even think it's arrogance, but he's just so confident in himself. You know, like, in Kiribati, like, you nobody's confident.
00:51:50
Jared Whippy
You know, like, no one's, like, you know, no one stands out or whatever, but you were he was, bro, yeah, he was just so much confident.
00:51:50
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:52:00
Jared Whippy
Sometimes, when I first met him, I remember, and I was like, this guy is, like, he thinks he's the man. Like, what the heck?
00:52:06
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:52:07
Jared Whippy
Like,
00:52:07
Darin Tingey
Who does this guy think he is?
00:52:08
Jared Whippy
Who's this guy trying to think he is, you know? And then when I got to know him a little bit, man, and he's, he was awesome for me, bro. i Like we, we, we just clicked, man.
00:52:21
Jared Whippy
And I learned so much from him and I know he learned so much from me and, and we just, yeah, it was, could go on about this guy. That's my brother, man. That's, he was a good dude.
00:52:32
Darin Tingey
but how was like when you guys when you have a good companion like that and you just like you know you're just clicking everything's firing on all cylinders like it's always like man this is like the mission's awesome did you feel did you feel like missionary work was even hard at the time or was it like oh life's just so good with us too
00:52:41
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:52:59
Jared Whippy
Man, it was a bit of, it was like, to be honest, for us is when we were zone leaders, we barely taught.
00:53:06
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:53:07
Jared Whippy
barely taught, man. We did a lot of running around for missionaries. like I remember like we did a lot of admin stuff, you know? And back then, bro, like zone leaders, we did transfers.
00:53:21
Darin Tingey
Oh, wow. Okay.
00:53:22
Jared Whippy
So like, because the prison show was on marshals.
00:53:24
Darin Tingey
Because the APs were in the marshals the time, right?
00:53:27
Jared Whippy
Yeah, APs were in marshals and prison, what's his name? Prison show, he never really came to Kiribati. So, like, if you came to Kiribati and then you went to the outer island, you wouldn't meet him until, like, nine months.
00:53:42
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:53:42
Jared Whippy
You know? So, it was, like it like, a lot of elders, um and I'll be honest, bro, like, a lot of missionaries on when we were there, they our our mission person was the nurse.
00:53:55
Jared Whippy
Like, Elder and Sister Bonamod, bro. Because a lot of, especially the Polynesian elders, like,
00:53:58
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:54:01
Jared Whippy
They never met, like when President Shaw came into, like when he come to Kiribati, like you have a zone conference, right? And then the the elders and missionaries are are on the outer islands, he wouldn't bring them in.
00:54:14
Darin Tingey
Right.
00:54:15
Jared Whippy
And so if you didn't meet him, you would wait another six months or, you know, and so nine months to see him. And so everybody was like, man, I don't know this guy. Why am I writing him every week?
00:54:28
Jared Whippy
And so a lot of,
00:54:29
Darin Tingey
I never met this guy. Yeah.
00:54:30
Jared Whippy
I never, and ah no, but that was the feeling, you know, I never met this guy. Why am I writing him? And, and looking back, looking back now, like it was like, I remember me and Mikkelsen talking about him, like, man, it it was, it's kind of weird.
00:54:37
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:54:44
Jared Whippy
Like as a, as a mission president, wouldn't you want your whole, like, if you come in to the, to Kiribati, wouldn't you want to see your, all your missionaries? Like, these are like your kids now.
00:54:54
Darin Tingey
Right.
00:54:54
Jared Whippy
you know what I mean? And so, um yeah, but when me and Mickelson, we just, we did a lot of admin stuff, man, like, and not gonna lie, it was tough, like handling a lot of the missionaries, like the administrative stuff and especially doing transfers, like, like President Shaw would tell us, okay, you guys do transfers.
00:55:15
Jared Whippy
who you guys feel will go be go well with this companion, this guy, pray about it, and then, like, ah and and send it to me, and we'll talk about it. But pretty much, like, he would agree with us.
00:55:27
Jared Whippy
Like, whatever...
00:55:27
Darin Tingey
He's like, all right, sounds great.
00:55:29
Jared Whippy
No, like no joke. Like he would just because he didn't know like the elders or the missionaries, you know?
00:55:32
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:55:34
Jared Whippy
And so, I mean, like we did our best. we did We thought like, you know, oh, this guy would be good with this guy or, you know, we'd pray about it and come back the next day. We're like, okay, sweet, let's submit it to president.
00:55:45
Jared Whippy
And so it like, it like just say, like, if we were just, I remember like me and Mix, if we were bad guys, like if you no good, sweet, go out of Ireland six months. We don't like you. You know what I mean?
00:55:55
Darin Tingey
Yeah. That's hilarious.
00:55:56
Jared Whippy
Like, and so we did a
00:55:58
Darin Tingey
We're just going to send you far away.
00:56:00
Jared Whippy
yeah Go think about your life and come back. yeah
00:56:04
Darin Tingey
i think, you know, you mentioned Asha never going to Kiribati. I feel like it's an ongoing issue with the mission, with the Marsh Islands-Kiribati mission, because ah ah president usually spends his time in one or the other
00:56:24
Darin Tingey
And then the missionaries feel that way, like, yeah mission president's never here.
00:56:24
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:56:29
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:56:29
Darin Tingey
um Folks, like when I was there, like president spent most of his time in Kitabas.
00:56:34
Jared Whippy
Oh.
00:56:34
Darin Tingey
So he he'd fly to the Marshalls on a Friday sometimes meet with us on Saturday and tell us i we need to be more like the kid of us elders. And then he'd go back to kid of us on Sunday. Like it was like so quick.
00:56:48
Darin Tingey
Uh, and so I know what you're, how you feel about like, you know, the, the nurse was your mission president. I got, we had, we had a senior couple like that.
00:56:56
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:56:56
Darin Tingey
Who was like, who felt like our mission president a little bit because he was there. um and, and,
00:57:01
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:57:03
Darin Tingey
and I don't fault my mission president. i i At the time, i was pretty... i've I've told him this. I'm going to have him on, so President Larkin's going to come on. But I've talked to him, and I was like, you I felt like he just liked Kitabas better. and when i When I went to Kitabas, I felt like, oh, President cares about me.
00:57:19
Darin Tingey
you know like He's trying to learn Kitabas.
00:57:20
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:57:21
Darin Tingey
He's like spending a lot of time in Kitabas.
00:57:22
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
00:57:24
Darin Tingey
um But then when I went back to the marshals, same feeling. like He never comes. We're the little brother of the mission. And I'm just like, dude, like... Sometimes I think, okay, it's great. These two countries are paired together, especially because a lot of kidless people come to the Marshall Islands.
00:57:40
Darin Tingey
But a lot of times like, for the missionary's sake, I wish it was separate mission. But I don't think it'll ever be because the Marshall Islands is so small now. Like there's not enough people living there that it doesn't make sense to make it its own mission.
00:57:55
Jared Whippy
yeah my thing i think it would be way even better if it was still under the Fiji mission because cause I know I remember but the church when the church was in Kiribati was growing it was under Fiji So it was a district part of Fiji, right?
00:58:10
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:58:12
Jared Whippy
Because like to go to, for Marshall to go to Kiribati, sometimes you have to go to Hawaii and then come to Kiribati, right? Whereas Fiji, it's a direct flight every two, twice a week, you know?
00:58:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:58:25
Jared Whippy
And in Fiji, they have a island there where Kiribati people live called Rambi.
00:58:30
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Right.
00:58:31
Jared Whippy
You know what mean? So Rambi would be you, and you'd think, oh, like there's a people that, Kiribati people that live in on Rambi, um They speak Kripasti, everything, and you'd think they'd integrate more and, you know, but
00:58:45
Darin Tingey
yeah Yeah, because Marshall Islands used to be part of the gu Guam, Micronesia-Guam mission, and they had more frequent flights.
00:58:50
Jared Whippy
yeah.
00:58:52
Darin Tingey
I actually don't know. no that yeah the There's a great flight that goes between Marshalls and the other Micronesian, ah like the Guam, goes all Guam, so that's easy. There is Nauru, though, that flies between Kiribati and the Marshalls.
00:59:10
Darin Tingey
um The problem is it only goes like to like I said, at least when I was there, they probably have changed the schedule since. But when I was there, it was like, Kitabas to Marshalls on Friday, Marshalls to Kitabas on Sunday.
00:59:21
Darin Tingey
So i was like, it was so fast.
00:59:23
Jared Whippy
when we were there, it was random.
00:59:24
Darin Tingey
he It probably is kind of random now too.
00:59:27
Jared Whippy
Like,
00:59:28
Darin Tingey
I don't know.
00:59:29
Jared Whippy
yeah.
00:59:29
Darin Tingey
It's like, keeps, things keep changing. And so it's like, I don't know.
00:59:31
Jared Whippy
but
00:59:33
Darin Tingey
Yeah. I would, I totally get your logic. It's like, Oh, we have a whole island in Biji. That's kid of a speaking people.
00:59:38
Jared Whippy
Yeah. Yep.
00:59:40
Darin Tingey
Like those missions should probably be together.
00:59:43
Jared Whippy
Yeah, and it yeah the um for some reason our mission president at that time, he he never came to Kirbas, man. And it was it was tough, not going to lie, just because of things the missionaries go through there.
00:59:55
Jared Whippy
And then when President Weir came, bro, he'd spend three weeks in Kirbas, three weeks in Marshall. Two weeks in Kirbas, two weeks in Marshall. And he was just so transparent, you know, and and about the way he did things. and And a big part of that too, I think, is it was his wife.
01:00:11
Jared Whippy
Like when the, not just like our first mission present show, like when the wife came, like they came together as a couple, like she wouldn't go with the sisters as much.
01:00:22
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:00:23
Jared Whippy
You know, she would just stay at Maronai or whatever. But when Prison Weir came, man, you'd see the this his wife proselyte from 10 to 7.
01:00:33
Jared Whippy
Like every day, but nonstop.
01:00:34
Darin Tingey
That's so cool.
01:00:36
Jared Whippy
Like she would never, like you'd see him sometimes like with her. Like you never saw her with him. Like she was always like trying to be with the sisters, you know. And then as a missionary, you see that you're like, man, this old lady from freaking is out here, you know, grinding with us.
01:00:52
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:00:53
Jared Whippy
You know, it it it it was like it was a lift, you know, and your morale and having the mission president's wife there with you and you can talk to us bluntly.
01:01:04
Jared Whippy
you know, she was like, she was just like another missionary.
01:01:06
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:01:07
Jared Whippy
You can be open and honest. And President Reel was the same, man. But... um
01:01:14
Darin Tingey
i I never did suppose my mission president ever, ever. ah And I actually reached out to President Ware. i was like, hey, I would love to have you on this podcast.
01:01:26
Darin Tingey
And he's like, i would like to do it too, but I can't do it right now. i'm on our We're on our fourth mission in the Middle East.
01:01:34
Jared Whippy
Bro, I got...
01:01:34
Darin Tingey
And we get back in a year. I'm like, dude, this guy's on his fourth mission? This guy's nuts.
01:01:39
Jared Whippy
Bro. Dude, he would carry, go around. He had his own satellite phone. I had no idea. i only see it in the movies.
01:01:48
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:01:49
Jared Whippy
And then I remember one of the one of the missionaries goes sick on the outer island, and we couldn't bring him in. And he was like, I can get a plane here in 24 hours. And I was prisoning i was like, huh?
01:02:03
Jared Whippy
He was like, I can get a plane here in 24 hours. You need it? And we were like, oh, no, no, he should be okay for two days. Like, you know, bro, he was, the, he was, ah yeah, he was well connected, man.
01:02:17
Jared Whippy
And like, but you wouldn't guess it, you know, just because the person he is, but, um but yeah, man, but yeah, going back to me and Mickelson being a zone leader, it was awesome, man.
01:02:22
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:02:30
Jared Whippy
Like, The admin stuff was really good just to see that side of the mission. um And when we got to teach, um it was awesome too with Mickelson. He was the man.
01:02:42
Jared Whippy
He would just, yeah, he could say something wrong in Kitabas, but the way he said he was just so confident in what he said. And I'm like, bro, that didn't sound right. And he's like, who cares? You know, like for me, I'd be ashamed to say it, but he would just say it anyway. but But we went through some things there on the mission and when we were together that, know,
01:03:01
Jared Whippy
they just made us brothers, like our bond, like, man, it was, yeah, we've been through some stuff, me and him on the mission, it was just like, we're either gonna hate each other, or we're gonna love each other even more, bro, and,
01:03:13
Jared Whippy
And good enough, bro, we just, we loved each other. Like, he was like, I remember when, so me and my brother, we were the only, probably the only Polynesian missionaries that got packages.
01:03:26
Jared Whippy
So my sister, um when we were on a mission, my sister was at school at BYU, and she would send us packages from Hawaii every month. And then just like chocolate, you know, just American candy, you know.
01:03:39
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:03:40
Jared Whippy
And then Mickelson would get like times two everything. Like he would get the Idaho potatoes, like the what's the sour patch, like the king size bag, you know.
01:03:50
Jared Whippy
and and And I remember like when we get our packages, it was on the first first Monday of every month we get our packages.
01:03:51
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:03:57
Jared Whippy
But one thing i and I told him, I was like, bro, watch like. When I get my package, look what happens. And so when I, and the first month of every, first Monday of every month is like, it's a combined PDA for the whole mission, right? For all of Tadwa.
01:04:11
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
01:04:12
Jared Whippy
And so when me and my brother got our packages, we'd open it right up then and there. And I'll just, I, my favorite candy is a peanut M&M's. So every time I just ask my my sister to send peanut M&M's.
01:04:24
Jared Whippy
I'll just take my peanut M&Ms and then everyone else would just take whatever they want. Like all the polymichers, hey, I'm taking this. like And they just go ham, you know, because they don't they don't then't have much.
01:04:32
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:04:36
Jared Whippy
And we will and then I was like, that's fine. Take whatever you need. and i And I told him, watch it. And and I told Mickelson, was like, look at the ah American missionaries or whatever. And all of them saved their package. They didn't open it until they got home.
01:04:49
Jared Whippy
Even him, even him.
01:04:49
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
01:04:51
Jared Whippy
And I told him, and I was like, bro, like one thing, and I told him, like ah like the culture here in Keribas, like you see it, like they share.
01:04:51
Darin Tingey
ah see
01:05:01
Jared Whippy
But they it's a different type of sharing, like in the Polynesian culture, like you you give without ever thinking of getting something in return.
01:05:10
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:05:11
Jared Whippy
And he saw that and he was like...
Lessons in Generosity
01:05:13
Jared Whippy
oh and I remember when i give when I opened my package and all the Panuatu elders came and took everything and everyone took everything. And he was like, bro, why are you giving that away? Like, that's yours.
01:05:23
Jared Whippy
And I was like, bro, like, this is just, this is nothing. Like, this is just, you just got to cheer, man. Like, it's it ah I would feel it worse if they didn't take it.
01:05:32
Darin Tingey
Yeah, it's a big cultural difference from Americans.
01:05:33
Jared Whippy
and you yeah And he was like, no. And i was like, bro, just try it. And then he got his next package, bro. And it was just seeing him it was so hard for him to give it up, like the stuff like he really wanted, you know.
01:05:47
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:05:47
Jared Whippy
but he just And he just remembered, he just he just thought, he just remembered, he's like, man, like that's a different feeling. Like you just share, like give, give, it like without, you know, everyone saying thank you. Or they'll say thank you, but just give just give freely to these guys that don't have anything.
01:06:04
Jared Whippy
You know, and then that's when he knew, like, and in kiba they call it taus quotaus you know, like you you like you you you ah you you're hogging everything.
01:06:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
01:06:12
Jared Whippy
you You don't want to share. And so that's why his eyes kind of open to where, like, how we do things.
01:06:15
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:06:18
Jared Whippy
So now even like to this day, man, like I remember Mikkelsen, like, he called me ah when I was at BYU or we just got married. And he was like, bro, I'm coming down from Logan.
01:06:29
Jared Whippy
Can you meet me at the the dealership up be in Murray? And i was like, what? He's like, bro, just meet me there, please. i was like, yeah, all good. So we were living Lehigh. i I get up to, I go meet him there. He's with his wife and he chucked me these keys.
01:06:44
Jared Whippy
And i was like, what's this, bro? He's like, here, take it. This is my car. I'm getting a new one. You can take this. And I was like, nah, bro. He was like, nah, was like, sell it. He's like, nah, it's yours. And I was like, bro, you sure? He's like, bro, it's yours.
01:06:56
Jared Whippy
And i was like, bro, my brother.
01:06:57
Darin Tingey
No.
01:06:58
Jared Whippy
ah Like, you know, like, it and and he was, and he just, he, ever since then, like, you could just tell he embraced it.
01:07:00
Darin Tingey
That's so cool.
01:07:06
Jared Whippy
Just, like, give without, without anything coming back, you know, and then we still talk about it today, man, just like, and just, like, me and him being together, he's, yeah know he, he's told me this couple of times, like, his eyes just open to how, how we should be giving, just like, just like the Kitabas people, but,
01:07:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah, and I mean, the the term is really true though. Like what goes around comes around. So if you're sharing, you're going to be blessed with people sharing, you know?
01:07:31
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
01:07:36
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
01:07:37
Darin Tingey
And us Americans have a hard time with that.
01:07:40
Jared Whippy
ah
01:07:40
Darin Tingey
That's for sure. That is for sure. Something we have to learn. ah we We feel comfortable, you know, when we're in Kiribati, booboo-seeing someone for something.
01:07:50
Jared Whippy
Yep.
01:07:50
Darin Tingey
But if someone booboo-sees us, we're like, ah, I don't know.
01:07:51
Jared Whippy
Yep. No. Yeah. I care more. I don't have any more.
01:07:57
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:07:58
Jared Whippy
or i remember that.
01:07:59
Darin Tingey
So go ahead, go ahead.
01:08:00
Jared Whippy
Yeah. No, no, just to that point, I remember like we'd open his sour patch and he'd be just handing out, here, you get one, you get one. And I'm like, McDog, we call him McDog. Is it McDog or McMoney?
01:08:14
Jared Whippy
McDog. i was like, bro, just give the bag. There's no point. And he's like, nah, I got to save some for the, and like, this got to last me the next month, you know? i was like, bro, it don't work like that. Just give it.
01:08:26
Jared Whippy
And he was like, frick, OK. And then he, yeah, he's heart open, bro. And it was so good to see, man. And yeah, I loved him for that, man.
01:08:36
Jared Whippy
And that's what I feel like after that, man, we were tight. We were real close.
01:08:42
Darin Tingey
Yeah, i mean, you spent a lot of of time together too.
01:08:44
Jared Whippy
Oh, man.
01:08:44
Darin Tingey
so So ah but after being zoned-headed for so long, is that when you're like, President's like, did you ask to be
Mission Choices and Brotherly Bond
01:08:50
Darin Tingey
paired with your brother? Or did President be like, hey, you're going to be paired with your brother here?
01:08:55
Jared Whippy
No, so the thing that back then was ah whenever you leave, be a zone leader, you choose where you go to.
01:09:02
Darin Tingey
yeah, yeah.
01:09:03
Jared Whippy
So he made you, so everyone chose like, oh, I want to go, or like not, you really, not really choose, but like you had a, you had a say in where you wanted to go, right? um And the funny thing was like, so oh our west side on the mission, when we were zone leaders, for some reason, I don't know why,
01:09:23
Jared Whippy
But all the Polynesian elders were on my side. So like all the Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tongan, Samoan, we were all west side. And so most of the Polynesians were on my side. And then when we were zone leader, I met Josh, my brother.
01:09:41
Jared Whippy
He was a district lead in Basel.
01:09:43
Darin Tingey
Oh, nice.
01:09:44
Jared Whippy
So I'd show him every week. You know, so I'd see him every week. And then I would, um and then we'd go on splits every week too. So which was good. ah but
01:09:56
Darin Tingey
Yeah, we're going to get another split this week for sure.
01:09:57
Jared Whippy
and Yeah, bro. So P-Days would see each other every day. P-Day, we're like, oh, P-Day, let's go to baseball and play basketball with Josh or whatever. um But yeah, so after we I finished Zone Leader, I wanted to be with Josh. I knew I wanted to be with my brother.
01:10:16
Jared Whippy
an a that present like And like, I don't care where you send me, but I want to be with Josh. And he's like, sweet, you earned it. um Go with your brother. And then funny story is like we went to, we were together. Joshua's already in Basel. He was in Basel first, I think.
01:10:32
Jared Whippy
And then we were we were assigned to Basel third. um And Basel third was struggling at that time. Like there was like no one at church, man. I remember we went to Elder's Quorum and it was just us, me and my brother and then the bishop and then the Elder's Quorum president as the Melchizedek used to hold us.
01:10:51
Jared Whippy
And so president said, don't do any proselyting, just do reactivation. And I was like, sweet, let's do it, man.
01:10:59
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:10:59
Jared Whippy
And so we just went and reactivated everyone. And it was so awesome to see, man. By the time we left, that world was pumping, bro. We went to, we had a stake, they had a stake, whatever. It was like a stake dance or I forgot. It was like a stake choir something.
01:11:16
Jared Whippy
And the most people came to the stake activity was from base to a third. And they were all um people that came back less active.
01:11:24
Darin Tingey
Let's go.
01:11:25
Jared Whippy
Man, and it was awesome, bro. And then, yeah, just being with Josh was, it was a different feeling. Like like for me and Josh, even though we're twins, like I've never seen the spiritual side of him.
01:11:36
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:11:36
Jared Whippy
And then to hear him teaching Kirbas and, you know, talk about the Savior and best testimony and stuff. For me, i'm I'm older than him by five minutes, but I'm like, man, like it was it was awesome to see.
01:11:48
Jared Whippy
You know, kind of just like, bro, how far he's come you know in his journey, in his life or whatever. But he spoke the language really good too, you know? And so, um yeah, it was...
01:11:59
Darin Tingey
Was everyone like What the, both other whippies? like They're like, what?
01:12:03
Jared Whippy
I love... No, people thought we would like we were just joking because we wore the same name tag, you know? But then I remember where I always carried a picture of my family.
01:12:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:12:13
Jared Whippy
And then i we'd show them the picture and like, oh, look, that's him.
01:12:14
Darin Tingey
Smart.
01:12:17
Darin Tingey
That's crazy.
01:12:17
Jared Whippy
That's us together. Yeah.
01:12:19
Darin Tingey
And they probably did they believe that you were twins at all? Or like, no, you look alike.
01:12:23
Jared Whippy
Yeah, no, they didn't believe us. But then, obviously, once we told them we were brothers, they had to like they had to like believe us. We were twins, you know? And so, but yeah, it was just funny just to see people's like reactions and stuff.
01:12:38
Jared Whippy
um It was funny, but no, yeah, it was awesome being with Josh, man. he It was a good time.
01:12:46
Darin Tingey
How long were guys together?
01:12:47
Jared Whippy
We were there for what? Six weeks. Six weeks, man.
01:12:50
Darin Tingey
So just a transfer, you got to be together.
01:12:52
Jared Whippy
Yeah, just one transfer. Could have been longer, man, but me and Josh, we would like, the thing with me and him, we play, we at Basel there's a huge, but there's a big basketball court there. Bro, so every other day we'd go play ball, bro.
01:13:06
Jared Whippy
As soon as it hit, like right before dinner.
01:13:09
Darin Tingey
ye yeah.
01:13:10
Jared Whippy
and We'd be on the basketball court and they love their basketball in Peso. And we would be there just ripping up and just playing.
01:13:21
Darin Tingey
Where's Elder Whippy and Elder Whippy? Ah, I know where to find them.
01:13:23
Jared Whippy
I know. Yep.
01:13:26
Darin Tingey
They're ballin'.
01:13:27
Jared Whippy
We were on the court, bro. We were there on the... that new cement court they made on lagoon side or in the sports complex for we just be there playing but uh no it was good it was yeah just like i said it was awesome being with josh just to say you served with the companion no is that not many people can say that um but yeah just to see that side of him that spiritual side it was it was awesome to see man
01:13:35
Darin Tingey
Mm-hmm.
01:13:49
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:13:55
Darin Tingey
And you guys were basically, it's towards like right at the end of your mission, right? You had what, one other area, two other areas?
01:14:00
Jared Whippy
Yeah, that towards like the last... No, so he left. He went to... He got transferred Ebayang? I think, yeah. He went to Ebayang, I think.
01:14:12
Jared Whippy
And then I stayed in Basel for a little bit longer.
01:14:15
Darin Tingey
Okay.
01:14:16
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
01:14:17
Darin Tingey
Beso and then finish an Eta, right?
01:14:20
Jared Whippy
Finishing Eta, bro. And yeah. It was a good place. Yeah, Finishing Eta. um Yeah, I'd never been on the East east Side ever since I started, but... yeah Vincent Ata Ata second and think it's Ata second and then I never trained my whole mission till till I got to Ata and then I trained yeah
01:14:39
Darin Tingey
That's how i was, my last area, same thing. yeah Yep,
01:14:44
Jared Whippy
yeah then I trained uh my son man that's my guy too um Elder Kim Samuel Kim he's a doctor now bro bless his heart um he's uh he went to Cal Berkeley from California he's Korean um But,
01:15:03
Darin Tingey
I see him here. I looked him up. We're friends on Facebook.
01:15:07
Jared Whippy
yep, yeah if he's engaged, shout out to Elder Kim. He's going to get married, he's going be in November next month? Oh, a couple of months?
01:15:15
Darin Tingey
Let's go.
01:15:15
Jared Whippy
But, yes, yeah, I trained him.
01:15:19
Darin Tingey
And then and then the the end of your mission, like was if was it fun to finish in Ata? Did you like finish finishing in that, I guess, like being at Moroni High School and kind of seeing the school, like you went to a church school and seeing it there, Moroni.
01:15:30
Jared Whippy
o
01:15:36
Jared Whippy
yep no yeah it was awesome man um loved it there's a the only good thing is like they played lot of basketball too on mondays there in eta so we got a lot of basketball in you know and and um even before i was uh i trained i was there for what three months maybe before i trained and so i built some good relationships and And in Eta, everyone knew my dad.
01:16:04
Jared Whippy
So like, you know, so the whipping name, everyone knew who we were, you know, so we got fed a lot, you know, and they knew. And my dad still worked for the church in Fiji. And so everyone knew, hey, I just saw your dad, you know, last week or whatever the case may be.
01:16:20
Jared Whippy
um But, yeah, my dad knew. don't know if you know President Tune.
01:16:25
Darin Tingey
Yeah, I met him.
01:16:26
Jared Whippy
Yeah, so they're really good friends, really good.
01:16:29
Darin Tingey
That's so cool.
01:16:30
Jared Whippy
So, yeah, we knew the Tunis. So whenever we got there, the Tunis took care of us. But there's a family there.
01:16:35
Darin Tingey
Does he live in Eta? Does Tune live in Eta?
01:16:38
Jared Whippy
He lives in Eta.
01:16:39
Darin Tingey
Okay. Okay.
01:16:40
Jared Whippy
um There's another family. There couple of families there um in Eta that I really loved, man. And they were, yeah. We played a lot of basketball there too, which was good. But Eta was good, man. It was a nice place to end, um especially to train my my son.
Cultural Integration and Local Connections
01:16:58
Jared Whippy
What's his name? Elder Kim. had two. Elder Kim and Elder. I think you had him on the pod. Risk. Did you have a risk on the pod?
01:17:05
Darin Tingey
Yeah, i um I'm recording an episode this weekend with Elder Risk.
01:17:11
Jared Whippy
Risk, yeah. Tell him about it. Ask him about Elder Theda, bro. When he went net fishing.
01:17:18
Darin Tingey
ah Netfishing with other Taylor, okay, okay.
01:17:21
Jared Whippy
i don't know if he remembers or not, but...
01:17:25
Darin Tingey
with With Data, the with the Kitabas guy?
01:17:28
Jared Whippy
The Kirbo guy. So when Riz came, I was with Teda. And we were in a threesome.
01:17:30
Darin Tingey
like Okay.
01:17:32
Jared Whippy
And so i was with Teda. And I thought they were going to leave Teda, send him somewhere. But they said, no, he's just going to be with you. And I was like, OK, whatever. All good. And then so we were in a threesome. And then i remember Teda one day was like, Whippy, tomorrow morning we want to go swim.
01:17:47
Jared Whippy
Not swim, net fish. And I was like, like I can't net fish. He's like, oh, I was like, where did you get the net? And he was like, oh, from the from the neighbor. And I was like, OK.
01:17:59
Jared Whippy
i was like And I told Risk, I was like, Risk, bro, tomorrow morning we're going to go net fish with this guy. He's like, sweet. Woke up 6.30, whatever. And then men me and Risk were all sitting on the beach watching this guy net fish.
01:18:11
Jared Whippy
And so he did his, like, he cast his net this side. And then he was, like, walking slowly on the other side.
01:18:17
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:18:17
Jared Whippy
And then he checks it. He checks the net. And then he starts running fast to, like, make the fish come in, you know?
01:18:23
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:18:24
Jared Whippy
Then all of a sudden, I see my man dive in the water.
01:18:29
Jared Whippy
He's full on swimming. And I looked at, I looked at risk and I was like, bro, just take it with a grain of salt. Like this is going to be.
01:18:38
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:18:42
Darin Tingey
Well, you said it correctly. Elder, we're gonna swimming. I mean, we're gonna go fishing.
01:18:44
Jared Whippy
i Yeah, but he was there full weight and I was cracking up so hard. And I was like, this guy chicken just lied to us. um But,
01:18:54
Darin Tingey
Yeah, i did my I did my fair share of net fishing in Kitava Santa Marshalls.
01:19:00
Jared Whippy
Oh, bro.
01:19:00
Darin Tingey
So fun.
01:19:01
Jared Whippy
and Funny story, man. Me and Elder Kim came. Elder Kim was like, I love him. He was a fresh breath of fresh air. The thing with what made him made click, like he was so humble. like Being a Korean guy, he was humble.
01:19:23
Jared Whippy
you know and then one thing i loved them but he could cook So we'd so we'd go on the we'd go every day, we'd buy the fish, and then I'd buy the fish, and I'd say Kimbo, we called him Kimbo, Kimbo, G, Kukiji.
01:19:38
Jared Whippy
And he's like, I got you. So he'd make the rice, he'd do the fish, like add his seasonings, he'd like boil his veggies, and he'd like plate it like nice, bro.
01:19:47
Darin Tingey
oh
01:19:48
Jared Whippy
And so every lunchtime, like we made sure we had like the ikanibong every lunch. So we'd buy it, bro, and
01:19:53
Darin Tingey
Dang, you guys are reading good.
01:19:55
Jared Whippy
bro and he was doing all the cooking bro and i was like kimbo what like you just same thing fish rice g fish rice and he was like see and he just cooked the the the ikanibong bro and we'd eat good and i remember one time we went to do service for this fella we were teaching and then he said net fishing too and i was like kim we're just gonna go uh We're going to go net fish with this guy. He's like, yeah, oh, good. Let's go.
01:20:22
Jared Whippy
So we go at like 8 o'clock, you know, because we do service in the morning, right?
01:20:26
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:20:26
Jared Whippy
And so we go there like 8 o'clock. And then and then and I looked at the Kiribati guy. And i was like, oh, where's the net? And he's said aki is like, oh, we don't have any.
01:20:37
Jared Whippy
And he gives me two spear guns. and then look both And I looked at Kimbo. Kimbo to Kimbo. was like, bro, you down? And he's like, down?
01:20:49
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:20:49
Jared Whippy
as the I was like, say less. was like, this is my guy, careful and and And that guy lived right on the border to go to that cause where it goes to, I forgot, I think it goes to Cherereke.
01:20:57
Darin Tingey
That so awesome.
01:21:06
Jared Whippy
to bi ri to bond rick not bonding bandre bay He goes to Banrebe, that causeway.
01:21:10
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:21:12
Jared Whippy
And we go to the, there's like ah the Tanrake side, the ocean side. There's a little lagoon there, bro. Nice, clear blue water. Bro, me and Kim in there, bro. We didn't catch no fish.
01:21:24
Jared Whippy
So he give he gave us two he gave us two spear guns and two snorkels. And I was like, Kimbo, you'll never do this again in your life, bro. He was like down, sinless.
01:21:33
Darin Tingey
I know.
01:21:35
Jared Whippy
was like, bro, me and him in there just started snorkeling and everything. And I was like, oh my gosh.
01:21:43
Darin Tingey
i i I wish I did that. That's honestly one of my biggest regrets is not going spearfishing, ah which is crazy to say. But I look back, I'm like, when was I ever going to do that ever in my life in in the middle of the Pacific?
01:21:56
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
01:21:59
Jared Whippy
ah Exactly.
01:21:59
Darin Tingey
Oh,
01:22:01
Jared Whippy
No, it was, yeah. Because even like when i was with Everett, in my first area with Everett, we'd go to, we'd walk from Borta to Tabato, Tabato, Abato, to take the the sacrament.
01:22:11
Darin Tingey
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
01:22:13
Jared Whippy
And to go to Abato, have to cross the lagoon, bro.
01:22:17
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:22:17
Jared Whippy
And then when, if the boat's not working, you have to walk it. And so when it's high tide, bro, the water's at your neck and me and Everett are holding the our bag and scriptures above our head.
01:22:29
Jared Whippy
And I'm looking at Everett. I was like, bro, let's just dunk and swim this thing and we can get home quicker. And Everett's like, no, no, we got a no swimming, no swimming. I was like, bro, we are half wet already.
01:22:40
Darin Tingey
Yeah, we're we're swimming.
01:22:41
Jared Whippy
The only thing Nick is our Nick. We're swimming, bro. But, no, yeah, having him to Kim was so good, man. he will He's the man. he We had a good time, man.
01:22:53
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
01:22:53
Darin Tingey
So ah last last three questions for you that I ask everybody.
01:22:53
Jared Whippy
Yeah.
01:22:59
Darin Tingey
What was your favorite area? What was your favorite food? And what was your favorite thing about Kitabas?
01:23:09
Jared Whippy
Favorite area, man, probably have to be Cherereke II, man, just because I i was a bit of the longest. The relationships I had there, um there's a couple of families that I still stay in contact with here ah to this day.
01:23:14
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:23:22
Jared Whippy
I don't know if you know him. Oh, my gosh, his name was just in my head. Rawita. Rawita and his family, they pretty much took me and my brother in like like legit family, bro. like When we left to go back to ah Fiji, he came.
01:23:38
Darin Tingey
No way.
01:23:39
Jared Whippy
Yeah, bro. They came to Fiji same time, bro. Yeah, bro. And you yeah, he was he did everything for us. So like when me and my brother left, um so me and Josh left the mission the same time, and we only had our clothes on.
01:23:54
Jared Whippy
Like we gave everything away. Like we had no no short nothing. We just had our clothes on our back. And then the only thing I actually take back was lobsters and ikanibong. And then Rawita got us like two, like four buckets each of the breakfast cracker buckets.
01:24:09
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:24:10
Jared Whippy
And then we just took all of that in. But Cherreke by far um the best area I served just because I was there the longest, built great relationships there with a lot of families, man. And especially that now they're going to build a temple there Ambo. But me and Mickelson, we worked Ambo like no other, bro.
01:24:28
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:24:28
Jared Whippy
And it was that's how that we That's our area right there. And I know exactly where they're going to build the place, the temple, because we walk past that every day. um
01:24:38
Darin Tingey
Feeling a little pride there, like yeah, I knew this area.
01:24:40
Jared Whippy
Exactly, bro. But yeah, Terrek is second by far. um And best food, man. Can't go wrong with the Ikanibong, man.
01:24:51
Jared Whippy
That's my favorite fish.
01:24:52
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:24:53
Jared Whippy
Just a good, just put the rice. but My go-to was the rice, the yum-yum noodle on top.
01:24:59
Darin Tingey
Oh.
01:24:59
Jared Whippy
And then the Ikani Bong, bro.
01:25:05
Darin Tingey
Dude, the yum yum, forgot about that, ooh.
01:25:07
Jared Whippy
The Yum Yum, bro. I got, um oh obviously, you go through phases.
01:25:09
Darin Tingey
I'm getting hungry.
01:25:12
Jared Whippy
And I remember the Yum Yum was one phase that I was like, oh, man, this is actually pretty good. Over over rice.
01:25:19
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:25:19
Jared Whippy
And then, yeah, Ikani Bong, bro. Can't go wrong with the Ikani Bong. So that was my go-to. um And then what was your last question, man?
01:25:28
Darin Tingey
What was your favorite thing about cannabis?
01:25:31
Jared Whippy
Man, favorite thing about Kiribati? Oh, just the people, man. Like, you can't beat the people, you know? Like, they they will literally give clothes off their back for you, man.
01:25:41
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:25:46
Jared Whippy
Like, I grew so much love for the people there. um I remember when when i was coming home, I wrote a letter to, we were emailed to my mom and saying to my parents, like, I don't want to come home.
01:25:59
Jared Whippy
Like, I yeah literally did not want to come home. Like, I was too scared, bro. Like, I just wanted to stay, you know, like, because the people were just, they love you unconditionally, but their hearts are so big, you know?
01:26:03
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:26:12
Jared Whippy
But ah not only their hearts are big, like, in a giving sense, but their faith is, bro, second to none, especially especially the faith of the mothers, the women.
01:26:14
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:26:29
Jared Whippy
Like, I can't tell you how, like when one time me and my brother, I'll end on this story, but me and my Josh, we got in on a, he came to Cherereke to, on a split, um, with me.
01:26:41
Jared Whippy
And so, and there was a, there was this, this lady we were teaching and I was like, I told her the day before, i was like, Hey, I'm, I'm bringing my twin brother tomorrow to meet you, you know? And she was so excited. like yeah, like, I want you to meet you cause you're going to get baptized soon or whatever.
01:26:57
Jared Whippy
And then the, her husband was, um, was what was a member, but he was less active. And so we went to see her during the day. She wasn't home.
01:27:08
Jared Whippy
We went to her in the afternoon. She wasn't home. And then right after dinner, it was like 8.30. eight thirty And I was like, Josh, like we need to go before we go back to the house. I go see her. And then we go at like 8.30 to her house. And then she um she was sitting in a booyah, like in the back.
01:27:25
Jared Whippy
And she's a lively person. Like she's a very lively girl, like talkative as And then i go to and I was like, Nick, like, come meet my brother. And she's like sitting back in the buia and she's like, oh, Maori, Maori. Like, she wouldn't come out.
01:27:39
Darin Tingey
Hmm.
01:27:39
Jared Whippy
And i was like I was like, hey, like, what are you doing? Like, come outside and meet my brother, you know? And she's like, oh, just say like hello from here. And it was dark. Like, I could see partial of her face. And then i looked in then i then I looked in a little bit and I saw and she had this huge gash on her head.
01:27:56
Jared Whippy
And I was like, what happened? And she was like, nothing. And I was like, tell me what happened. And she was like, no, nothing. And he's like, Aki, Aki. And I was like, where's your husband?
01:28:07
Jared Whippy
And then he was gone. he He was like, you couldn't find him whatever. And I remember I looked at Josh in in and the wife, the husband, beat her.
01:28:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:28:16
Jared Whippy
you know And I looked at him and I was like, that's the only time I wanted to min wanted to put down the badge and just go get this fella. And I looked at Josh, and he was just like, let's go find him.
01:28:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
01:28:27
Jared Whippy
Man, and we ended up going home at like 9.30, 10. We couldn't find this guy. You know, and that that was the only sucky thing you like about Kiribati is like the the faith of the ladies there, the women, the mothers especially.
01:28:33
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:28:44
Jared Whippy
Man, you can't beat it, man. like And I know Josh has similar experiences, but that' that's the thing I...
Reflections on Kiribati Community
01:28:51
Jared Whippy
I learned or loved the voices is about Kirbas, how big their hearts is, but their faith, especially, like I said, the the faith of the ah mothers, you know?
01:29:02
Jared Whippy
They just, they carry so much.
01:29:03
Darin Tingey
yeah
01:29:06
Darin Tingey
and they're so happy they're such happy people when they have nothing really but they have everything at the same time they have nothing materialized but they have everything like they have everything you need to have a wonderful life and and they they show you that which is awesome uh
01:29:07
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
01:29:12
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
01:29:23
Jared Whippy
Exactly. No, that's so true, man.
01:29:27
Darin Tingey
Well, Jared, you had ah an awesome mission.
01:29:27
Jared Whippy
but
01:29:29
Darin Tingey
Like, so cool you get to serve with your brother. Like, such a rare experience. I wish I got to serve with my brother. ah He's not my twin, but I wish it had been it been a cool experience.
01:29:41
Jared Whippy
Exactly.
01:29:43
Darin Tingey
But you need to go to bent you need to go back to Medicaid. need to solidify that volleyball legacy and show your kids that you were a big deal on Medicaid.
01:29:55
Jared Whippy
so
01:29:56
Darin Tingey
But no, this was ah this was a another great episode of Islands Podcast.
01:30:01
Jared Whippy
nah darren thank you brother appreciate you having me on man it's always good to talk about the fish and things we did there you know um but yeah no thank you thank you brother appreciate you man we need to have you over for dinner sometime since you live down the road
01:30:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah, man.