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Episode 4: Caleb Peterson - Marshall Islands Kiribati Mission - Majuro, Tabiteuea, Tawara, Majuro (+ outer island visits)
53 Plays11 days ago
Caleb Peterson served his mission in the Marshall Islands Kiribati Mission from 2016-2018. He is another Elder that served on both sides of the mission. Areas in order: Uliga (Majuro) -> Ajeltake (Majuro) -> Transferred to Kiribati -> Tabiteuea Maiaki (Tab South) -> Eita (Tarawa) -> Transferred back to the Marshall Islands -> Long Island (Majuro). Caleb served on one of the toughest outer islands in the mission and talks about his favorite "dessert" concoction that kept him going. He finished his mission as AP where he had the rare experience of visiting all of the outer islands in the Marshall Islands.
#MarshallIslandsKiribatiMission #MarshallIslands #Kiribati #Majuro #Tabiteuea #Tarawa #TheIslandsPodcast #theislands
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Transcript
Introduction to the Islands Podcast
00:00:01
Darin Tingey
All right, we are on another podcast for the islands podcast where we talk about the Marshall Islands and Kitabas mission. I'm on with Caleb Peterson, who we were never companions, but we did live together at some point and spend a decent amount of our mission
Caleb's Background and Mission Call
00:00:20
Darin Tingey
together. So I'll probably call you Peterson just because that's how I need from the mission. But give you're from Utah originally. I'll give you a little intro on yourself.
00:00:30
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, so I'm from here in Utah, grew up in southern Utah County. My brother on his mission. was pretty much the first one in my family. So he went to Germany and I had no idea what to really expect.
00:00:41
Caleb Peterson
So I was getting my mission call. But when I got my mission call to the Marshall Islands, I was super excited and no idea where it was. And then got to find out that it was the best mission out there. So it was awesome.
00:00:53
Darin Tingey
And then, um, now that you've been home for, a man, it's crazy.
Life Before the Mission and Family
00:00:57
Darin Tingey
I've been home. You still live in, in Utah, kind of where you grew up and you're in, uh, finance and accounting, right?
00:01:07
Caleb Peterson
Yep, yep. Came home, went to school. For some reason, I thought I wanted to do marketing before my mission. And I quickly switched that to finance and accounting when I got home. Went to Utah State, got both degrees there, and then moved back down to here in Santaquin, where I live now. So it came back to all the family, and it's just been living the dream since, so...
00:01:26
Darin Tingey
and married your high school sweetheart. Is that right?
00:01:29
Caleb Peterson
Yes. Luckily, she waited for me. So, got home. We dated for another year after I got home. She finished up school at UVU and got married. ah After that, she moved up to Utah State. And then, yeah.
MTC Experience and Arrival in the Marshall Islands
00:01:41
Caleb Peterson
So, it's been coming up on five years, six years now.
00:01:44
Darin Tingey
Yeah, and you've got a and you've got one kid.
00:01:48
Caleb Peterson
One kid, and we actually have another one on the way. So, another one due in September.
00:01:50
Darin Tingey
Let's go.
00:01:52
Caleb Peterson
So, we're super excited. Thanks.
00:01:53
Darin Tingey
Congrats. That's exciting. Oh man, i'm so pumped for you.
00:01:58
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:01:58
Darin Tingey
um So you went into the NDC in the summer, you graduated high school 2016?
00:02:04
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, it was. Yep, it was June. I put my availability date like as soon as possible. i was like, there's no reason for me to stick around in the summer. I'll just get out and go. So I think I went into MTC June 22nd.
00:02:18
Caleb Peterson
So i still had to wait a month or two. um i went into MTC and right away I was the only one there that was going to the Marshall Islands when I was there in the MTC.
00:02:26
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:02:27
Caleb Peterson
But besides the mission president. So President Larkin was there for like 10 days or something while I was there too. So that was pretty cool.
00:02:33
Darin Tingey
Oh, no way.
00:02:35
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, kind of crazy.
00:02:35
Darin Tingey
I didn't realize you get to spend time with them there.
00:02:35
Caleb Peterson
you got a meeting Yeah, he was my intake, so.
00:02:40
Darin Tingey
a
00:02:42
Caleb Peterson
and as That was it. Just him. Just him.
00:02:44
Darin Tingey
It's so funny because, you know, it was only you. And then the next intake was like 12. And then the next intake was my intake, which was like another 12.
00:02:51
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:02:55
Darin Tingey
So it was like one person, which I think was more are usual, like one to three missionaries coming time, but then it was like one and then 12, 12.
00:02:55
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:03:03
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. Yeah, it was crazy. There was huge intakes with you guys coming in I remember it totally shook out the mission too, because I think in the beginning there wasn't a ton, there was a few, like a handful of missionaries from the States.
Early Days and Training in Ulaga
00:03:16
Caleb Peterson
But then once you guys started coming after everybody got out of school, it was just like a way different with a lot of missionaries coming from the States. So
00:03:23
Darin Tingey
yeah double more more than like doubled the marsh island side of the mission which was crazy um and you started in maduro what area and who was your trainer
00:03:29
Caleb Peterson
yeah, yeah.
00:03:35
Caleb Peterson
So I started in Ulaga and Elder Helgenberger was my trainer. So he was the best. I got to be with him for two transfers. um And then I stayed in Ulaga after he left. But Ulaga was also the best to start out with. So it was just just great being on Magiro.
00:03:52
Caleb Peterson
it was As much of a culture shock as I could handle. I mean, if they had sent me somewhere crazy, um even Laura probably would have been too much. So it was like, I was going to let me be still close to the city and and people and and not too crazy.
00:04:05
Caleb Peterson
So it was
Mission Dynamics and Cultural Differences
00:04:06
Caleb Peterson
good.
00:04:06
Darin Tingey
yeah Yeah, you're in the city. You have an American bishop in Bishop Ackley who's married to a Marshallese girl.
00:04:11
Caleb Peterson
Yep. Mm-hmm.
00:04:14
Darin Tingey
But they mean, you've got English speaking families. You've got Hugenberger, which is arguably the best trainer missionary out there.
00:04:17
Caleb Peterson
Yay. Yay.
00:04:24
Caleb Peterson
He was the best.
00:04:24
Darin Tingey
um
00:04:24
Caleb Peterson
i If there was anybody else, if I'd gotten stuck with anybody else, I don't know would have made it. Yeah, definitely. It's all planned out. Your mission is all planned out before you get there. so
00:04:33
Darin Tingey
Yeah. And then you did your training, which was the the next two intakes didn't really get the full training because it was like so crazy and so many missionaries. But then you go right into training and you trade other Kaleni, right?
00:04:49
Caleb Peterson
Yep, yep. so right after Alder Heugenberg left, I think he went to be like a zone leader or somewhere in a different area. I can't remember for sure. But then Elder Kalani came i he was with me in Ulaga for a little bit. So it was good that I had at least, ah i didn't have to like whitewash with him or anything, but yeah, he was great. It was a little bit of 360 going from somebody who knew everything, knew great Marshallese and was ready and willing to work to somebody who was just like fresh out on the mission, knew hardly any Marshallese. So, but it was good. It was what I needed.
00:05:19
Darin Tingey
Yeah. And Helgenberger actually went on to be AP right then. Actually, he's AP right when got there.
00:05:23
Caleb Peterson
Oh, okay.
00:05:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:05:24
Caleb Peterson
Gotcha.
00:05:25
Darin Tingey
A poor guy was AP for like a year, man.
00:05:28
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:05:31
Caleb Peterson
He's too good. That's the problem. He's too good.
00:05:33
Darin Tingey
He was too good. So how long were you in Uluga? Just those three transfers or were longer?
00:05:39
Caleb Peterson
Four. Me and Elder Kaleni were there for... so I was there for two transfers with Elder Helgenberger, two transfers with Elder Kaleni, and then after that, me and Elder Kaleni moved to Adataki together for one transfer.
00:05:51
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:05:54
Caleb Peterson
and Echidaki together. But yeah, Uluga was great.
00:05:56
Darin Tingey
And then, with Aki, so city to now countryside where it's so skinny, and you
Housing and Rural Missionary Life in the Marshall Islands
00:06:05
Darin Tingey
lived in the house next to Bishop, or I guess it was actually Bishop's house that he rented out to the missionaries.
00:06:09
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, it was technically his house.
00:06:11
Darin Tingey
so
00:06:11
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. And he lived in a trailer next to it.
00:06:15
Darin Tingey
It was like too like a nice house, too.
00:06:16
Caleb Peterson
wow
00:06:17
Darin Tingey
I remember I was like, wow, this house is so nice. And I mean, nice is all relative, right?
00:06:21
Caleb Peterson
It was really nice.
00:06:23
Darin Tingey
It's real. I mean, it's a it's a nice house.
00:06:24
Caleb Peterson
you
00:06:26
Darin Tingey
It was like it had running water sometimes. Yes or no. I can't remember.
00:06:31
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, so, I mean, in Ullaga, we had hot water. And I remember when we moved out to Azatake, we had didn't have any hot water, which was, like, I felt like it was, like, life-changing to not have any hot water. But the one thing that I was so thankful for and I didn't have anywhere else in my mission was that house had two bathrooms.
00:06:50
Caleb Peterson
So i could just totally let Elder... Koleni or whoever my companion was have their own bathroom, do whatever they wanted to that thing.
00:06:55
Darin Tingey
That's luxury.
00:06:56
Caleb Peterson
And I just have my own and keep it clean as I wanted. So it was, it was, it was amazing.
00:06:59
Darin Tingey
That's luxury that's luxury right there
00:07:02
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, it was amazing. I think it was a, I think before I moved into the area, it was a sister's house for a long time. and And because it was so nice, they usually just let the sisters live there. But then when I came in, they had two sets of elders down there.
00:07:14
Caleb Peterson
So they had one set of elders in the chapel house down by the Ajitake chapel, which is, like 10 square feet.
00:07:23
Darin Tingey
Yep, I lived in there.
00:07:24
Caleb Peterson
and then the add And then they had me and my companion over in the nice house. So I never had to be in the Ajithagi house, but I was super happy about that. Oh,
00:07:33
Darin Tingey
Yeah, because I ah think Elder Robinson and I came off E-Buy and we were both put in a shiitake. He went with you, with Elder Hanson. and we were yeah we were in the 10 by 10 box next to the church.
00:07:42
Caleb Peterson
nice.
00:07:48
Darin Tingey
But I loved it because you know it was just...
00:07:48
Caleb Peterson
Yep.
00:07:52
Darin Tingey
I think I woke up every day and like went like stood right in the water and just watched the sunrise every day.
00:07:57
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, that was super close to the to the lagoon side. i was i mean, everything's close to the ocean. But I was on the was on the ocean side and a little bit farther.
00:08:03
Darin Tingey
Yeah, right.
00:08:09
Caleb Peterson
But yeah, you guys' house was definitely adventurous, I'm sure.
00:08:13
Darin Tingey
It was, oh, I remember the first day. I think Elder Hanson made me like cinnamon rolls or something. i was like, wow, dude, this is going to be great.
00:08:21
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:08:22
Darin Tingey
This is going awesome.
00:08:22
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:08:23
Darin Tingey
You two are both like cooking so much. And I was like, Azure Doggy is great. um I'm loving this.
00:08:30
Caleb Peterson
That's the thing. I mean, i think wherever you go you can figure out a thing to make it nice for yourself. Like if if you're willing to put in a little bit of effort, then you can make things nice. But even if that's just like making cinnamon rolls or making cookies or whatever you can figure out the ingredients for, but then makes all the difference when you can just have a little piece of foam.
00:08:49
Caleb Peterson
Right.
00:08:50
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:08:50
Caleb Peterson
But hanson Hanson was definitely the master.
00:08:53
Darin Tingey
And you were zone leader at the time. And yeah, you were with Elder Robinson. I was Elder Hanson. You had a lot of success in Ajax Doggy. I remember you baptized like two families that I can remember.
00:09:07
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, all throughout my mission, I think like the key was every
Community Involvement in Mission Work
00:09:11
Caleb Peterson
anytime we had member involvement, that's when we had like the most success ever. So as soon as we moved into Aititake, think it was the bishop's wife referred to us, the the family that you're mentioning, the J1 family.
00:09:25
Caleb Peterson
And they were basically golden investigators from the start. And there was their, um the the couple, and then they had three boys and a couple of daughters. The daughters were younger than eight, so they didn't get baptized, but all of them quickly came to the church, and and i think they have callings now still. I've had a little bit of contact with them still, but not a ton. But yeah, definitely it was golden. and naza talking the Besides the member involvement, the area book was amazing too. Whoever was working on that area book before we got there had like a hand-drawn map of every single house in our area, which was just incredible to be able to like understand where everybody was and what their details were made all the difference. So...
00:10:05
Darin Tingey
And, and Yeah, I follow people on Facebook and I saw that they're they still go to church. That family is still strong, which is i mean which is so rare in the Marshall Islands. yeah That is a family that stays in it for the long haul.
00:10:20
Darin Tingey
But yeah, kudos to those missionaries that that made that map because a that ward boundary is crazy. From the airport all the way to Arak.
00:10:31
Darin Tingey
It's so long that they have a van go pick people up
00:10:33
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:10:36
Darin Tingey
And bring them to church because you're not walking. You're not walking if you're not living close.
00:10:39
Caleb Peterson
No.
00:10:42
Darin Tingey
I mean, that's probably the biggest part, hardest part Ajitagi work there is that you're like, hey, come to this church.
00:10:42
Caleb Peterson
No.
00:10:47
Darin Tingey
It's like not even close to your house, um but you should come.
00:10:50
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:10:52
Darin Tingey
And they're like, why don't I just go to the assembly of God that's right next to my house?
00:10:55
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah, it was definitely way long and way different from Uluga. When we were in Uluga, it's just like houses right next to each other, houses on top of houses more or less, and like everything's super close.
00:11:06
Caleb Peterson
In Ajitari, it was more way more spread out. but And even like even like culturally, things were a little bit different. It felt like I was actually more in the Marshall Islands going from Uluga to Ajitari.
00:11:18
Darin Tingey
Yeah, definitely like more probably what we what we thought it would be an envision the marsh islands to be you know, island life, which the countryside of Maduro is interesting, because I almost feel like those people are a little bit wealthier, because they're like, sometimes they have like their nice house and like a little bit of land and can still kind of live the the city but island life.
00:11:24
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:11:33
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:11:37
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. Yeah.
00:11:43
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:11:44
Darin Tingey
Do you remember when we, one the favorite things we did in Azadoghi is cut down like three coconut trees? Do you remember that?
00:11:54
Caleb Peterson
Oh, vaguely. i thought you were going to talk about cutting weeds by the church, but cutting down actual and down actual coconut trees...
00:12:03
Darin Tingey
So this was your other, this was your other um convert.
00:12:03
Caleb Peterson
I vaguely. Yeah.
00:12:08
Darin Tingey
They lived in a small, they lived in small homes, a small little house on the ocean side.
00:12:11
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:12:14
Darin Tingey
And they wanted us to cut down coconut trees. Like, so we had Bishop and all young men.
00:12:19
Caleb Peterson
yeah
00:12:19
Darin Tingey
And someone climbed the tree, put a rope at the top. And then we were all pulling on it to make sure it fell the right way, not to go on someone's house or on the road.
00:12:31
Darin Tingey
And you're like in the marsh, I was not expecting anyone have a chainsaw. Bishop pulls out a chainsaw and he's like, it just starts cutting that thing. And I'm like, oh my gosh. right I have videos of us just like all pulling it and like running as it's falling down.
00:12:44
Darin Tingey
So we don't get smashed by the coconut tree.
00:12:45
Caleb Peterson
yeah yeah i'm remembering that now i think i'm remembering that like when they're telling us about like the different parts like they know so much about coconuts and the coconut trees and everything it's just ridiculous but i think i remember learning more about like the inside parts of the coconut tree doing that because mean we never cut down on a coconut tree besides that i don't think so
00:13:04
Darin Tingey
right yeah they like chopped up the top they're like you can eat this part right here eat this it's really good and we're like oh it wass pretty good
00:13:05
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, I do remember that now. That was awesome.
00:13:10
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, exactly.
00:13:14
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah. And then the inside leaves, how they grow. There's that one that's still white on the inside and stuff and all that crazy stuff.
00:13:21
Darin Tingey
and it is so funny how the dictionary is like you know one word for like a bunch of different things that we have words for in english but then you start talking about coconuts coconut trees fish different forms of fishing
00:13:33
Caleb Peterson
Sailing. Sailing.
00:13:34
Darin Tingey
thousands of words that you'll never learn, but they all know them.
00:13:36
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:13:39
Darin Tingey
And, uh,
00:13:40
Caleb Peterson
Exactly. Yeah. It's crazy how much they all know about about all that stuff. but I mean, it makes sense because they're living it every day, but they do have like a really in-depth understanding about what their surroundings are, obviously.
00:13:53
Caleb Peterson
you know It's crazy not being in that situation growing up.
00:13:54
Darin Tingey
yeah, it's real life.
00:13:57
Caleb Peterson
Exactly.
00:13:58
Darin Tingey
it's real life Moana, like the island gives you what you need. And they know every little piece, what, what works for what and what they need this piece for, they just know these know it all.
00:14:01
Caleb Peterson
Exactly. Exactly.
00:14:08
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. and And they can get, and they'd be just fine with no but no outside people, with no, like, outside food. They can be just fine living their lives out there.
00:14:20
Darin Tingey
Yeah. So from Agis Doggy, you, myself, and four others get transferred to Kitavis. Tell me, like, what what was that like when we went to meet with President?
00:14:30
Caleb Peterson
Yep.
00:14:36
Darin Tingey
Do you remember that? And, like, what did he say to you that and and were you expecting it at all?
00:14:43
Caleb Peterson
So first of all, I was definitely not expecting it. Definitely not expecting it at all.
00:14:47
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:14:48
Caleb Peterson
And
Surprise Transfer to Kitabas and Language Learning
00:14:49
Caleb Peterson
I think, I think it was April Fool's Day, wasn't it?
00:14:54
Caleb Peterson
I think it was April Fool's Day. yeah Yeah, they told us um about it.
00:14:54
Darin Tingey
it was It was close, yeah.
00:14:57
Darin Tingey
know
00:14:59
Caleb Peterson
and i And I think I heard it first from Elder Helgenberger and Elder Bird. And i was like, But I knew it was real because of their Helgenberger and he's serious and would tell me the truth and stuff. And he's like, but I just, I could not believe that that was what was going to happen. And I remember thinking like, I'm so comfortable. Like I had just gotten comfortable in the Marshall Islands and I loved Ajitagi and the people there.
00:15:22
Caleb Peterson
And so then I was just like, for a minute, I was like, I really don't want to have to go through this like all over again. But then as after that, I was like, okay, let's let's do it.
00:15:29
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:15:32
Caleb Peterson
And so I started like trying to learn Kitabas. I remember I was like, I'm doing really good. I have like quite a bit of Kitabas words that I know and stuff. And then as soon as we got to Kitabas, I remember just hearing the zone leader talk to somebody at the airport.
00:15:46
Caleb Peterson
And I was like, I know nothing. i This is back to worse than like ground zero.
00:15:49
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:15:53
Caleb Peterson
Like I am completely lost, like helpless, completely helpless.
00:15:58
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah. I remember like just going back to the part where we met with president that day, it was like, you pick this up. Like, Hey, president wants to meet with you. And like, that's pretty like common when he comes on Island. It's like, Oh, maybe he wants to meet with you. Right. It's like, he comes for a few days and he just tries to get in as many people as he can.
00:16:16
Darin Tingey
It's like, all right, whatever four going down, we all meet with him individually.
00:16:17
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:16:21
Darin Tingey
And then we all get in the car and we're like, what did you talk to Preston about?
00:16:25
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:16:25
Darin Tingey
know you know
00:16:27
Caleb Peterson
I can remember that now.
00:16:28
Darin Tingey
What did you, you know?
00:16:28
Caleb Peterson
Yeah,
00:16:29
Darin Tingey
And like, you know, three out of the four of us were going, Elder Robinson was like, it was just like a catch up. And we're all like, yeah, like, he talked about Kitabas. And like, really? he talked about Kitabas. We're like, we're going to Kitabas.
00:16:39
Caleb Peterson
yeah, yeah.
00:16:40
Darin Tingey
Like, that's so crazy. Yeah.
00:16:44
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah, I it's yeah it' crazy. i mean, definitely never would have thought that would have happened. Super surprised.
00:16:52
Darin Tingey
I know. And like deep down, like when I was in MTC, like both Sherman and I had Tonini had been able to serve in both. I mean, Sherman didn't really serve in Kitabas, but Tonini did.
00:17:02
Caleb Peterson
Oh,
00:17:04
Darin Tingey
And so I was like hoping that that would happen to me.
00:17:07
Caleb Peterson
ah really?
00:17:08
Darin Tingey
And then it actually did. And I didn't believe it
00:17:10
Caleb Peterson
That's awesome.
00:17:11
Darin Tingey
um
00:17:13
Caleb Peterson
my My tie, like in in the MTC, but back when I was in the MTC, they had um the Kitabas and the Marshallese elders, their intakes were still at the same time. So I think when you were in or sur shortly thereafter, they switched it so then you would come in three weeks from each other.
00:17:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:17:29
Caleb Peterson
But so when I was there, the missionaries that were going to Kitabas were there with me the whole time too. And their classroom was right next door, you know. And so we got to be like pretty close friends.
00:17:40
Caleb Peterson
And so I remember them all going, you know, and then, and we were really close friends in the MTC and it was like, okay, they're gone more or less. I'm not probably going to see them, you know?
00:17:49
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:17:49
Caleb Peterson
And when i heard I was going to Kitabus, was like, I might actually see some of these people again that i actually like really grew close to in the MTC. So yeah. And that was neat, but never thought I would actually get to go over there.
00:18:03
Darin Tingey
Yeah, that is crazy. We yeah we started to learning, trying to learn good with A few sister missionaries trying to teach us and stuff. And then we basically said goodbye to everybody because we're like, we'll probably never, you know, who knows if we're coming back.
00:18:12
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:18:15
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. Yep.
00:18:17
Darin Tingey
You know, president didn't give any expectation of coming back. It was like, all right, see ya. Going to Kitabas.
00:18:22
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:18:23
Darin Tingey
Starting over. And i remember your martial arts was fantastic. At least I thought it was being two and takes after, right?
00:18:27
Caleb Peterson
Oh, thanks. Oh,
00:18:29
Darin Tingey
Like you were teaching Sunday school for Azure Doggy Award. And I was like, dude, these guys like not skipping a beat. Like he is just crushing this. and everyone seems to be understanding.
00:18:37
Caleb Peterson
yeah. yeah
00:18:40
Darin Tingey
I'm like, Peterson's the man. and then And then we're going to Kiribati, I'm like, okay, this is my chance to be like at square one with him.
00:18:49
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah. i remember I remember in in the MTC, was since it was just me and then Elder Kempe, we were just like too too lame to do anything besides study. So we just studied Marshallese whole time, I guess.
00:19:03
Caleb Peterson
But...
00:19:05
Darin Tingey
see, so when you get to Kiribati, When we landed, um'm sure you kind of had some initial impressions, know probably like comparing Marshall Islands and Kitabas, like right off the bat, just because that's what we were coming from and what we were going to. So walk me through what your initial impressions were and what you kind of felt when you got there.
Cultural Adjustments in Kitabas
00:19:29
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, I remember, i mean, there was a big culture shock when I came to the Marshall Islands, but them being part of like the U.S. s territory and having such a relationship with the U.S. from before, it's not as big as as of a difference is going to Kitabas.
00:19:45
Caleb Peterson
So like in Kitabas, like there's no U.S. money. The electricity is different. Like the soap is different. The food is different. Like everything really is different. Everything was different in the Marshall Islands too, but It was just another another step away from the US s really.
00:20:02
Caleb Peterson
And um I remember thinking too that there was so much more land.
00:20:02
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:20:06
Caleb Peterson
Like Tarawa is huge compared to Medro and like the where the airport lands and everywhere. i mean, you could actually get to places where you couldn't see the ocean in Tarawa, like way more than you would in Medro. So yeah. and And the people were different, um slightly different clothes. They look slightly different.
00:20:25
Caleb Peterson
obviously spoke completely different. Like i said, the language was so fast and I was like, I have no hope, no hope of ever actually being able to do anything here. So
00:20:36
Darin Tingey
I also had the impression of like, wow, Darawa's like wide. You know, Majuro was so skinny.
00:20:40
Caleb Peterson
yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:20:44
Darin Tingey
You know, Majuro, you're landing like lengthwise. Darawa, you're landing widthwise, which is kind of funky. Um, so I remember be like, Whoa, like it's so much wider here. And I actually felt that generally across, I mean, I didn't see that many islands in Kiribati, but like even in Mayana where I was at, it was wider than the islands that I served on in the Marshall Islands. and And I don't know why that is, but it it is its like the Marshall Islands are skinnier for some reason.
00:21:08
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:21:13
Caleb Peterson
That's true. Tabithawea was much wider than of the islands Majuro that went to too. So, and the Marshall Islands. Mm-hmm. so ah in as marsh island
00:21:22
Darin Tingey
Yeah. so So I remember we spent some time on Tarawa together before going to our Outer Islands. Because
Culinary Surprises and Initial Experiences in Kitabas
00:21:31
Darin Tingey
um we went to a we went to a restaurant with your companion, Elder Jackson.
00:21:37
Darin Tingey
We had walked.
00:21:38
Caleb Peterson
What restaurant?
00:21:39
Darin Tingey
it was some we were I was staying Buota. I think you came and stayed us in Buota one night before you left or something.
00:21:45
Caleb Peterson
Okay, yeah. Mm-hmm.
00:21:47
Darin Tingey
And we, oh, Jackson's like, hey, there's ah there's a restaurant up here. Like, let's go to that. Because we have nothing else to do, right?
00:21:52
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:21:53
Darin Tingey
And and i remember, like, i was like, restaurant? Like, there's no way there's a restaurant over here.
00:22:00
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:22:00
Darin Tingey
Like, it just isn't.
00:22:01
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:22:02
Darin Tingey
And I'm like, if it there is, the food's going to be, like, super sus,
00:22:06
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:22:06
Darin Tingey
um You know, like, because everyone's living in stick huts and it's like dirt roads.
00:22:08
Caleb Peterson
yeah
00:22:11
Darin Tingey
And I'm like, there's no way. And we order, we sit down. We're the only ones there. And we order. And, like, they actually bring out, like, this really good, it was like a, can't remember it was, like, sweet and sour chicken or something like that. I was like, dang, this is actually good.
00:22:26
Caleb Peterson
I do remember this now. Yeah.
00:22:26
Darin Tingey
And i was I was in shock.
00:22:30
Darin Tingey
And that's kind of when I learned, like, in Kinabus, they're better cooks than they are in the Marsh Islands.
00:22:31
Caleb Peterson
and
00:22:36
Darin Tingey
That's what I thought. At least, they you know, they always bring you options.
00:22:38
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:22:40
Darin Tingey
But I remember having that.
00:22:40
Caleb Peterson
a
00:22:42
Darin Tingey
And I think you guys were flying out like the next day or something.
00:22:45
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. We were quick. We, I mean, I was, it's ah the first little bit that I was in Tarawa. It was, is definitely a blur and thinking back on it now, mostly what I remember is that one night that I slept on the floor in the zone leader's house and they had a kitten and that thing wanted to play with my feet like all night long.
00:22:58
Darin Tingey
Yes, we were in the same house. Yes.
00:23:01
Caleb Peterson
And that was so annoying, but I do remember that restaurant now that you talk about it. And I, That northern, or whatever whatever end that is of Tarawa up there, that i didn't spend much time up there, but yeah, definitely i do remember those few days just were a blur.
00:23:09
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:23:15
Caleb Peterson
then we were right straight out of Tepithoya.
00:23:15
Darin Tingey
yeah I think it was me, you, and Sheffield that and stayed in the Zemlin' Townsend Bluett that we all slept on the ground, which was new to me.
00:23:24
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:23:25
Darin Tingey
Well, actually, I had slept on the ground on E-Buy a little bit.
00:23:26
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:23:30
Darin Tingey
But yeah, it was like, it was it wasn't like, here's your room. was like, here's a floor. You just lay down there. like That's where you're sleeping. like okay And there was like a bunch of us, too.
00:23:37
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, and I think, yeah, there was a bunch of others in that house and a big fan and the doors were wide open. And and it was just like ah one blanket it end up pill and me a pillow. like And imagine I slept on the floor, but there was like a i guess like a mattress like this thick, you know.
00:23:55
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:23:56
Caleb Peterson
And Vuelta there, it was like the Outback.
00:23:59
Darin Tingey
that that's now that's a shock right there for you it was that and like showering like they all shower outside you know or there was like a little shower in there or something but you know bucket showers just fine
00:24:03
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, mm-hmm.
00:24:11
Darin Tingey
We had that in the in the marshlands, too. But yeah, i remember that was crazy. And then so like, i remember i flew out Tuesday. it was we flew in Sunday and then I flew out Tuesday to Miami. Did you fly out the same day? Did you fly out Monday?
00:24:25
Darin Tingey
Did you have P day or?
00:24:28
Caleb Peterson
I don't think I had a pee day. I don't think I had a PDA on Tarawa because um that first, I think it really was real fast. um I think I would have remembered getting together with more missionaries.
00:24:36
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:24:39
Caleb Peterson
I think we went straight out to Tapatowaya.
00:24:42
Darin Tingey
Man, you went right out there. So talk about that with the way I like what it what it's known for, what it was like. I was reading up a little bit on it before. so I'm curious to.
00:24:52
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. And you have to take my like perception of Tabithoea all comes through like Elder Jackson. So
Life on Remote Tab South, Kitabas
00:25:00
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:25:01
Caleb Peterson
if he led me astray anywhere that it's on him, but Tabithoea is like, it's really long.
00:25:05
Darin Tingey
that
00:25:08
Caleb Peterson
I mean, there's the north and south end. We were on the south end. The north end is more like upgraded i guess you could say the south end is really there is no electricity on the entire portion of the south end of the island and um no running water um and so when we landed same thing it's really wide really really what lots bigger than the islands in the marshall islands and um really small plane i remember them like weighing you before you got on the plane and weighing your bags and everything
00:25:38
Darin Tingey
Yeah, yeah.
00:25:40
Caleb Peterson
And then, um yeah, when we land, the the airport is just like a little pavilion, but like we would call it here, like a little pavilion, basically. And um then we just had our bikes and started off towards our new home.
00:25:54
Caleb Peterson
When we got there, we moved out from, the missionaries had moved out from the home that they had been living in to another and house that they were going to go rent.
00:26:02
Darin Tingey
Okay.
00:26:03
Caleb Peterson
And so it was new to Ella Jackson too. And it was in the Northern side of the island. So we rode our bikes all the way up to the Northern end of the island and met the lady there who was gonna be taking care of us.
00:26:15
Caleb Peterson
And she was super nice, but she was kind of hard of hearing. And my kid abyss was abysmal. So I basically just said like, yak you up that.
00:26:22
Darin Tingey
yeah Yeah.
00:26:24
Caleb Peterson
Like, I don't understand. Like that was all I could say to everybody, like the whole day, probably the first length two weeks. I was just like, I don't understand anything.
00:26:31
Darin Tingey
Yeah, yeah, right.
00:26:33
Caleb Peterson
So it was crazy. But we got to our place. It was just a stick hut. It did actually have a a roof and it wasn't raised off of the ground.
00:26:43
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:26:43
Caleb Peterson
did have like old rusty bed frames that they had like planks over and then just a Jackie to sleep on.
00:26:51
Darin Tingey
No way. That's, yeah, I, my house in Miami wasn't raised either, but it was like, inside the the like bed was raised it was like the classic stick bed that you would have on a on a booyah but it was like connected to the wall like half on the wall so like the center was open but each person had a place to sleep on the wall um which was
00:27:01
Caleb Peterson
yeah um
00:27:05
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:27:16
Caleb Peterson
Gotcha.
00:27:18
Darin Tingey
So funky, man. Like, here I am in a stick. I went from Ajitagi, nice house, to Kiribati, Step It The Way.
00:27:23
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:27:25
Darin Tingey
Step The Way it was known for being, like, super outie, like, super, like, remote.
00:27:25
Caleb Peterson
Yes.
00:27:31
Darin Tingey
Like, that's the most remote, like, cool island you're gonna be on. And, like, you're living in a stick hut, man. Like, that's just, oh, my gosh.
00:27:38
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. yeah Cause I think remind me, I think the ships come from North to South, right? The ships with supplies go from North to South. So the farther down South you get, you're going to be less and less supplies.
00:27:52
Caleb Peterson
Cause as soon as they're out, they'll just turn around.
00:27:54
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:27:55
Caleb Peterson
And so that was the way was quite a ways down there. So yeah, I remember um being out there, And we would go to the stores and and buy cans of food. And there was basically like four options. It was either what they called curry chicken, which was very sus.
00:28:11
Caleb Peterson
And some, what they called salmon, but that wasn't, it wasn't salmon. What was it? Cod.
00:28:19
Darin Tingey
Yeah, I don't know. I can't remember.
00:28:20
Caleb Peterson
And, um, corned beef, which was the luxury, and maybe one other thing.
00:28:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:28:26
Caleb Peterson
But um towards like the end of my six weeks with Elder Jackson, they were like out. There was no more cans of food on the island. there was i we They'd been out of flour for like long time before I got there.
00:28:38
Caleb Peterson
And there's obviously no ovens.
00:28:38
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:28:40
Caleb Peterson
So there's no more cinnamon rolls. There's no ovens. There's none of this stuff. So our treat was we would have cooked rice the night before. And then the next morning, there would be leftover rice.
00:28:51
Caleb Peterson
And we would mix that with like some sugar and some green papaya. And that would be the treat for the morning. And it was before my mission.
00:28:58
Darin Tingey
Nice.
00:28:59
Caleb Peterson
I remember like, I remember when I got to Uluga thinking that people will eat rice for breakfast is ridiculous.
00:29:05
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:29:06
Caleb Peterson
It's like, there's no way you can eat rice for breakfast. And then now I'm like out in the outer island cooking on coconuts, you know, eating rice and papaya for breakfast. So yeah, it was.
00:29:17
Darin Tingey
And you're trying to add like any sort of spice or something. I remember having like ketchup with rice and i was like, this is so good.
00:29:20
Caleb Peterson
Yes.
00:29:23
Darin Tingey
Like, I love this.
00:29:23
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah. Uh-huh.
00:29:25
Darin Tingey
but
00:29:26
Caleb Peterson
Exactly. Yeah.
00:29:27
Darin Tingey
um not
00:29:27
Caleb Peterson
Wait...
00:29:30
Darin Tingey
but you couldn't even like, even if you had food to keep, you really couldn't keep it because the rats would get into it. Like we have like cans that the rats would get into.
00:29:41
Darin Tingey
jail I'm like, dude, like we're trying to put, i don't know how we tried to like, I mean, we just had like a store, store across from us that we'd get our food from.
00:29:49
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:29:51
Darin Tingey
But like, even if we like had any sort of leftover thing, it would just be eaten by the rats. And and the whole rat-kitterbiz relationship is so funky.
00:29:58
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:30:03
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. I remember the only thing that we ever tried to keep was, so when the island ran out of food, we went and I think bought like the last can in one of the stores. And that night I remember us praying as like companions together. We're like,
00:30:17
Caleb Peterson
we need to have some food. We don't, we don't go fishing.
00:30:19
Darin Tingey
but
00:30:21
Caleb Peterson
We don't, we don't go fishing every day. we don't, we're not doing like, we're not like climbing coconut trees. can Like help us have some food and so that we can survive and keep doing the work. And so that night there was a big papaya tree out there on the, on the property that we were renting and it was curved and all wacky.
00:30:38
Caleb Peterson
And there were some supports under it. They were trying to hold it up so it wouldn't fall down. It was just loaded with green papayas and we we're just waiting for them to ripen up. um But then broke in the middle of the night in the wind after we had said that prayer.
00:30:50
Caleb Peterson
And so then we just had like tons of green papaya that we had to eat. And that was the only thing that we saved. And the the rats never came and ate our papaya. But yeah, they ate everything, everything else out there.
00:31:01
Caleb Peterson
and and And there's nothing you can do to stop the rats except for get a cat, right?
00:31:05
Darin Tingey
Yeah, exactly right.
00:31:08
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:31:08
Darin Tingey
Papaya, man. I had a lot of papaya. That was so good. i loved all the papaya that i had.
00:31:13
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. Which better is right?
00:31:14
Darin Tingey
Papaya, yeah, when it's ripe, so good.
00:31:15
Caleb Peterson
Green.
00:31:19
Darin Tingey
Bananas, breadfruit. I love the way they prepared different ways of breadfruit. They like boil it in coconut milk and and all this stuff. I feel like in Kitabas, I had a lot of different dishes.
00:31:34
Darin Tingey
um and you know when they when they do a dinner you know they have several options several bowls whereas like marshall islands it's like you're going to eat like here's your plate of mound of rice and where's like here's a fish on top of it or here's like a can of tuna on top of it like that's it kittabes is several options
00:31:50
Caleb Peterson
yeah yeah yeah one thing One thing though that is, I think they did, I don't know, maybe it was good in both. They did better.
00:32:01
Caleb Peterson
I feel like they did Pandanus better in the Marshall Islands than they did in Kitabas.
00:32:04
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:32:05
Caleb Peterson
And um I don't think Pandanus is big in any other islands. Like I remember the, I remember Elder Quileni being like, that's pig food.
00:32:14
Darin Tingey
ah
00:32:14
Caleb Peterson
Like Pandanus is not for humans to eat. That's for the pigs to eat. But it was really good.
00:32:18
Darin Tingey
what
00:32:19
Caleb Peterson
And I miss Pandanus all the time now. So yeah.
00:32:21
Darin Tingey
Yeah, well, I remember like, you know, you come from the Marsh Islands where you woulda would bub, like you suck on it, right? You suck and twist on it. And then Kitabas, I'm like, oh, there's like some bub. And I forget what it was in Kitabas, what it's called Kitabas.
00:32:34
Caleb Peterson
me too
00:32:35
Darin Tingey
But they take it and they just immediately bite it and start eating it. And I'm like, what's going on? Like, you're not supposed to do that.
00:32:41
Caleb Peterson
yeah me yeah yeah yeah it's it's crazy how different they are so close but so different
00:32:42
Darin Tingey
Like, dude, don't eat it, just suck on it. And they're like, no, we eat this. Yeah. boom
00:32:51
Darin Tingey
And then would go, when I went back to Marshall Islands, like, dude, in Kittler, they eat this. They straight bite it and eat it. And they're like, dude, really? They're so weird. They're crazy. you know I just loved it.
00:33:00
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, yeah. not Yeah, but for sure.
00:33:05
Darin Tingey
So what was um what was the like church like in
Church Leadership and Sacrament Meetings on Tab South
00:33:09
Darin Tingey
Tab South? Were there any members? What was the work like?
00:33:12
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, so there, i mean, it wasn't, we didn't technically have a branch out there, but he had just what they call a group.
00:33:17
Darin Tingey
Uh-huh.
00:33:19
Caleb Peterson
I never heard of a group before I got out there. And there was supposed to be a group leader, um but he had had some bad interactions with the missionaries before I got there, like the ah other Jackson companion before me.
00:33:31
Caleb Peterson
And so he was basically inactive. And so the whole church situation was on us. And so on Sundays we would, we had a ah set of sacrament trays and some reusable sacrament cups, and we had small crackers that we would save to use for the sacrament.
00:33:49
Caleb Peterson
And we would load up and go down to the very Southern and wade across the the tide and get to the very end southern tip, do a sacrament meeting out there for one member.
00:33:58
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Yeah.
00:34:03
Caleb Peterson
There's one member out there and then come back quite a ways.
00:34:04
Darin Tingey
Gosh.
00:34:05
Caleb Peterson
And we would do, I think, four or five sacraments. And so Sunday was seriously um from sun up to sun down sacrament meetings just over and over and over. And the first week or the second week we were out there, we thought we were going to get like, be smart about it and rent some person's motorcycle that they had.
00:34:16
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:34:23
Caleb Peterson
And it worked great. We did our first one. We were coming back and going through this like really woody area and it was super muddy. And I'm just on the back with the sacrament trays like under my arm and Ella Jackson's driving this motorcycle and it gets super muddy and we tip it over and Ella Jackson's leg lands right on the exhaust and burned him like this big on his, on his leg, super bad blister and stuff.
00:34:37
Darin Tingey
Yeah. um
00:34:49
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:34:50
Caleb Peterson
So we carried on through the rest of the time and, On Monday when it came to P-Day, we radioed in and they were like, hey, just you guys know, the area authorities say no more riding motorcycles. We're like, yeah, we know we probably should have done that.
00:35:04
Caleb Peterson
So yeah, it was was crazy.
00:35:05
Darin Tingey
but
00:35:06
Caleb Peterson
I think on fast Sundays too, out of our monthly and amount, we would pay to have a truck. go through the island and pick everybody up and we would have like a combined meeting on fast Sundays.
00:35:19
Caleb Peterson
Um, so that all the members could get together because it was really probably like every sacrament meeting was like maybe six or 10 members at the most.
00:35:20
Darin Tingey
Nice.
00:35:28
Caleb Peterson
So
00:35:29
Darin Tingey
Yeah, it's funny that I had like, literally the same experience as you like,
00:35:34
Caleb Peterson
yeah.
00:35:35
Darin Tingey
Sunday was an all-day event. You wake up, you ride your bike an hour to the furthest village, and then you make your way back. And I'm having church in the evening in my main village at home.
00:35:42
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:35:46
Caleb Peterson
Yep.
00:35:47
Darin Tingey
And it's just like exhausting. And we also rented a motorcycle.
00:35:50
Caleb Peterson
Yes.
00:35:52
Darin Tingey
What?
00:35:53
Caleb Peterson
Oh my
00:35:53
Darin Tingey
multiple times our bikes were also broken like half the time so like we couldn't even get out there and i would drive because my companion elder two he didn't know how to drive motorcycle and like he's a big dude and like when it was muddy dude i'm like so we're like swerving like our back tires like going back and forth but we made it i don't know how um
00:36:07
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:36:10
Caleb Peterson
Oh my gosh.
00:36:15
Darin Tingey
i After he went off the island and I had my next companion, I was like, all right, I'm done with like the all-day Sunday thing. And so we had a like and we at least three out of the four villages had a had a priest leader. So I just did like a training.
00:36:30
Darin Tingey
And I was like, you're going to run sacrament meeting in your village.
00:36:34
Caleb Peterson
Smart. Smart.
00:36:35
Darin Tingey
And that's what we did. and it was like a little rough for numbers at first because I had to walk around and tell everyone, hey, we're having church now. And then they all come.
00:36:43
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:36:44
Darin Tingey
But like in the end, it was like so worth it because we didn't we just like went to one or two churches on Sundays and it like it was so much better.
00:36:52
Caleb Peterson
Yeah. It's exhausting.
00:36:52
Darin Tingey
But man, exhausting. So how long are we on tab for? South? ume
00:36:58
Caleb Peterson
11 glorious weeks. I was only out there for 11 weeks. That was my, ah my entire time on an outer Island was just those 11 weeks. And I, so I was there for six weeks with Ella Jackson.
00:37:11
Caleb Peterson
I remember for the first little bit, I knew like zero kid abyss. And I, and then I was like feeling real bad for myself. The word for like in kid abyss, the like this guy that they felt like it was my name.
00:37:23
Caleb Peterson
Like people were, i heard lu Jackson talking about me so much and not, I wasn't talking.
00:37:25
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:37:28
Caleb Peterson
Like if somebody said to why I was like, Oh, they're talking about me. Like, you know, that was like my name.
00:37:31
Darin Tingey
yeah and
00:37:33
Caleb Peterson
And so after a little bit, i was like, okay, that we're done with that. I'm starting. And so I, i remember learning like 20 words a day, just like just putting them to my planner and learning all these kid of this words. By the time Jack elder Jackson left, I um was comfortable and confident in my kid of this.
00:37:49
Caleb Peterson
And so then elder wedding came out and, um, I had no idea what to think about him. i remember seeing him before we left and thinking, he doesn't look like the type of elder who can hold his own.
00:38:05
Darin Tingey
said Yeah.
00:38:05
Caleb Peterson
And so soon as he came off the plane, I was like, oh no, they said Elder Wenig.
00:38:05
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:38:11
Darin Tingey
hey
00:38:11
Caleb Peterson
But i he was the best companion.
00:38:14
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:38:15
Caleb Peterson
So hardworking, so caring, so loving, like super amazing. So I spent another five weeks with him out there. And then i um we did, we did great work.
00:38:26
Caleb Peterson
And um then when I got the call from the, when they radioed in and said, hey, the um president wants you to come back to Tarawa and be a district leader.
00:38:38
Caleb Peterson
was like, but I love it out here.
00:38:40
Darin Tingey
you're like,
00:38:40
Caleb Peterson
Like every time you get so comfortable somewhere and you're loving it and you love the people and you're finally like, over the the bad water or over the mosquito bites or whatever else that was bad, then you just go on to the next place to learn new things.
00:38:51
Darin Tingey
know
00:38:53
Caleb Peterson
And so, yeah, 11 weeks. Yep, yep. so
00:38:56
Darin Tingey
yeah, not, ah not long enough, especially for someone like you who is leadership, literally your whole mission.
Mission Reflections and Relationships
00:39:03
Caleb Peterson
yeah
00:39:04
Caleb Peterson
ye
00:39:04
Darin Tingey
That's
00:39:04
Darin Tingey
you know, you described Helgenberger as being too good. That was you, man. You were too good. You were too good for the rest of us. And like, that's why we needed you to be a leader, which showed throughout, like, cause I know gotta hop here in a second. um But, you know, you went back to be district leader and then you were on, remember coming off of Mayanna,
00:39:28
Darin Tingey
couple months later and like spending some time with you and Elder Ross and I were going back and we were just reminiscing about Marsh Islands and Kitabas and like what it was like and all stuff.
00:39:34
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:39:37
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:39:39
Darin Tingey
And then and then I go to the Marsh Islands, I'm doing the Kitabas branch for another four and a half months. And then I go to Lai. And then while I'm on Lai, I remember getting a call from you guys because we checked in like once a week or every other week.
00:39:54
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm.
00:39:56
Darin Tingey
And I pick up the phone and you're like, the tingy you know I think you probably said some Kiribus to me.
00:40:00
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:40:01
Darin Tingey
You're like, mady mar i see I'm like, what? No way. You're back.
00:40:05
Caleb Peterson
a
00:40:07
Darin Tingey
I don't even know how long. Do you spend a whole year Kiribus or close to?
00:40:13
Caleb Peterson
I spent no probably only six months so I spent yeah I spent the 11 weeks in
00:40:16
Darin Tingey
Really? Really?
00:40:19
Darin Tingey
No, it was longer. and think it was longer than that because I was in Miami for four and then in Long Island for another four and a half and then you came back while I was on live.
00:40:30
Darin Tingey
I think it was like eight.
00:40:32
Caleb Peterson
maybe it was eight months
00:40:32
Darin Tingey
was at least at least eight.
00:40:35
Caleb Peterson
Maybe it was eight months. I spent a long time in ATA. So besides Tab South, I was in every area for a long time.
00:40:39
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:40:43
Caleb Peterson
So in ATA, I was there for quite a while as the district leader and then the zone leader. And then, yeah. And then, like you said, President gave us the choice, stay here or go back. But really, he was like, I really need you back there. And so I was like, okay, I'll go back. And as Sheffield was like, I'm not going back.
00:41:00
Caleb Peterson
Yeah.
00:41:00
Darin Tingey
Yeah. ah
00:41:01
Caleb Peterson
So I came back and yeah, the Marshall Islands was great then. i When I came back as was AP for and I got to come and visit you guys on all the outer islands. So that was my one blessing.
00:41:11
Caleb Peterson
I got the ah little tiny bit of outer island time, but then I got to go beyond um like a handful, probably half a dozen or more outer islands um as my time as AP, just getting to see you guys and see all the members and do some training.
00:41:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah, did you, let's see, let's see, did you, you went to Arno, I remember that, did you go to Anglapalap?
00:41:30
Caleb Peterson
Mm-hmm. ye
00:41:32
Darin Tingey
Did you go to Millie?
00:41:34
Caleb Peterson
Yep. and
00:41:35
Darin Tingey
Jalowicz?
00:41:37
Caleb Peterson
Yep. And Jalowitz and Lai. And we went to Ibai, not only Nauter Island, but Ibai and um
00:41:41
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Jokje?
00:41:45
Caleb Peterson
Wutze. Yeah. Lai.
00:41:48
Darin Tingey
Out of all those, what was the coolest one?
00:41:51
Caleb Peterson
lie
00:41:52
Darin Tingey
Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
00:41:55
Caleb Peterson
Lai super cool. Woodjay is super cool. They're all really cool. They're all really cool.
00:42:00
Darin Tingey
Yeah.
00:42:00
Caleb Peterson
Their own things. Lai has a ton of members, which is amazing. Milie is just super pretty. Arno has an amazing beach. Woodjay has some really nice members too.
00:42:13
Caleb Peterson
Woodjay was like the only place that i actually ate shellfish on my mission, I think. So yeah, just amazing experiences everywhere.
00:42:17
Darin Tingey
yeah
00:42:20
Caleb Peterson
It's really indescribable. The whole mission is indescribable, really.
00:42:24
Darin Tingey
Yeah. Well, I know you got to run here, but I guess last question, what, what was your, your favorite area and, and why?
00:42:36
Caleb Peterson
Oh, tricky, tricky.
00:42:41
Caleb Peterson
Ejotake was probably the most comfortable, and I probably had the most amazing relationships in Ejotake. And so I'd probably have to pick there. um Eita, we had the most converts and did the most amazing missionary work there.
00:42:54
Caleb Peterson
But like the place that holds is still in my heart the most is Ejotake.
00:43:00
Darin Tingey
bagy So if you would go visit if you were going to go visit Marsh Islands or Kitabas, money aside, or which one would you go to?
00:43:08
Caleb Peterson
I'd have to go to the Marshall Islands first. If I went, if I went to the Marshall Islands, there might be some people who are like, Oh yeah, I know you. If I went to cannabis, they'd be like, who is this white guy? Like, but
00:43:18
Darin Tingey
Yeah, yeah, yeah. ah i felt I was like, I need to go to the Marsh Islands first, too. Yeah.
00:43:24
Caleb Peterson
yeah, for sure.
00:43:26
Darin Tingey
Oh, that's so good. Well, thanks for hopping on here. Man, I could talk to you about this for three more hours if we wanted to.
00:43:34
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, seriously. Me too.
00:43:35
Darin Tingey
um so So we'll have to bring you back on and we can talk a little about cultural stuff in Marsh Island and Kitabas.
00:43:36
Caleb Peterson
I do think you can do
00:43:42
Darin Tingey
But um Peterson, thank you for hopping on the Island podcast. You're the man.
00:43:49
Caleb Peterson
Yeah, thanks for getting it all put together. i really appreciate it. I'd always love to talk about my mission, so...
00:43:55
Darin Tingey
Thank you, man. I'll...