GROVE CITY
Brothers do missionary duty
One returns from Fiji while other heads to Montreal
By Tina Horner
Allied News Community Editor
When Ian Uber returned to Grove City last month after spending two years in Fiji, he experienced a bit of culture shock — not to mention temperature shock.
Uber, 21, was in the South Pacific island nation as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"As young men we're told we're supposed to (serve in missions), but we're not required to," Uber said, noting he made the choice to give two years of his life because of all that he's gotten from his religion so far.
Uber, a 1999 graduate of Grove City High School, and his family attend The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Slippery Rock. Church members refer to themselves not as Mormons but as Latter-day Saints. His parents, John and Marta, joined the church when he was 2 years old, and he said he doesn't remember life outside of it.
"The church has given me a set of standards to live by," Uber said.
"I already have decisions made in my life that I don't have to worry about making when I get to that point. Like in our religion, we don't drink, we don't smoke. They say you're not supposed to, but it's your own choice. When I was younger, I made the choice," he said.
When it comes to going out on mission, young men do not know where they will be assigned. Uber said he was upset at first about being sent to Fiji because he's a cold-weather person. "Now that I'm back I'd rather be in the sun than the snow."
Uber said the average daily temperatures were in the 80s.
When missionaries say good-bye to their families, it's for a full two years. There are no visits home.
"We're allowed to call home twice a year, on Christmas and Mother's Day. All other contact is by letters," Uber said. "They wanted us to concentrate on missions and leave everything else alone."
The object of mission work, according to Uber, is to help people understand more about the religion and to help them join the church if they want.
Latter-day Saints are typically thought of as young men in shirts and ties, knocking on doors in neighborhoods. Uber said he spent most of his time in villages where he couldn't really go around and knock on people's doors. Instead he helped the Fijians on their farms, got to know them and shared his faith with them.
He counts his time there as successful.
"I've seen people's lives change," he said. "I've seen how I've been able to help them."
Before embarking for Fiji, Uber spent two months in Utah for orientation. There, among other things, he learned the Fijian language. Although the nation's official language is English, about half speak Fijian and half speak Hindu. Uber conversed in Fijian.
The people, he said, are typical South Pacific islanders who welcome all visitors.
"They mainly have a laid-back attitude," Uber said. "If you can do it tomorrow, leave it until tomorrow. I was used to 'get-as-much-done-today-as-you-can.' The hardest thing was just slowing down."
News was available if Uber sought it out, but he didn't go out of his way to look for it. He found out about the Sept. 11 attacks about two weeks after they happened.
"At that time I was way out in the middle of nowhere, on an island with three phones. It was sad, but it was a softer blow than hearing about it when it happened," Uber said.
He keeps in contact with some of the people he met there, and he plans to go back in June for a visit before he takes on his next mission — furthering his education.
"I'm applying to the Naval Academy. If I'm accepted I'll go in July and be there for four years," he said.
Uber's parents are enjoying having their son back home, but as he arrived, his younger brother Vaughn, a 2001 graduate of Grove City High School, left on his own two-year mission trip to Montreal.
"It really isn't as bad as it sounds, just because it's something we've talked about ever since they were little," Mrs. Uber said. "We know it's a worthwhile cause. We try to write every week or two, and they can call at Christmas and Mother's Day, so that's something we look forward to."
The Ubers left the choice of mission work up to their sons.
"In fact, for a while Vaughn ... didn't think he wanted to go in. He's a very big guy, and he was looking at going to school and playing football. We told him it had to be his decision, and we'd stand behind him in whatever he decided," his mother said.
"After a lot of prayer, he decided mission would be good for him. He left Jan. 23 — we've had five letters from him, and it sounds like he's loving it," Mrs. Uber said.
And it's hardly as if there's a case of empty-nest syndrome. In addition to Ian and Vaughn, the Ubers have a daughter, Marci, 23, and six more sons: Logan, 17; Kent, 15; Isaac, 13; Austin, 11; Wesley, 9; and Jordan, 7.
Logan is planning to serve in mission after he graduates, and the other boys indicate that they'd like to follow in the older brothers' footsteps as well.
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Published Saturday, March 2, 2002