Our Mission Experience in Vanuatu

  Halo from Port Vila, Vanuatu!   We made it! We were greeted by our CES Coordinator (Katimal Kaun) and his assistant and the Senior Sister Missionary over housing.  Mark and I report directly to Katimal.  Katimal is over the Seminary and Institute programs; in addition to other educational programs such as SIS which is Succeed in School, BYU Pathway, and English connect.  It was great to see Happy faces as we came through customs. Getting on the plane from Sydney  Vanuatu Port Vila Leaving the airport in Australia was an adventure, or should I say WORKOUT?  As we prepared to leave the Hotel there was some confusion as to which taxi we should take.  We of course got in the van that would take us to Terminal 3, which was Domestic (and the one online which said we were leaving from).  After being dropped off we hustled inside with 3 suitcases and a backpack each to find that we were at the wrong terminal and that o...

Dear Family & Friends, Our MTC District and afternoon teacher in  the new building where the younger missionaries study ... every floor have these murals It’s my week to write to all of you.   Darleen and I finished up our stay at the Provo Missionary Training Center (MTC) this past week.    We had three days (Monday through Wednesday) of classwork focused specifically on our call as Seminary & Institute Educational Specialists.    The information provided over all three days offered valuable insights into upcoming expectations; however, the pace of instruction—particularly during Tuesday’s sessions—was notably rapid, to say the least!!!     I think it helped to give us a little something on the nature of our call; however, we do know that our specific assignment on the islands of Vanuatu is going to be fairly broader than what is happening in similar classrooms in the United States.   One thing we defini...

My dear Family and Friends! Traditional picture of where  we are going ... VANUATU!!! Mark and I began our service as Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Monday, September 8th.  We entered what is called the mission training center (MTC) this past Monday.  Here we are trained to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Today is the end of our 1st week.  It has been the most amazing experience!  If there could be a place close to being a Zion society, I would say we are living in it.  We are of one heart and one mind.  We along with about 3,000 other missionaries currently in the MTC are absolutely focused on Jesus Christ and his gospel.  On Wednesday we welcomed around 800 young men and young women to the MTC, with about the same amount leaving to go start their service.  It's so wonderful to see so many young adults choosing to spend 18 months or 24 months serving, teaching, and h...