Amazed at the dedication!!!

 

Dear Family & Friends,

We are learning our way around Port Vila and learning how to serve every day.    This past week was one where we found we were in a lot of meetings, whether that was a class meeting for SIS (Succeed in School) Math and English classes, YSA (Young Single Adults) convention preparation meetings, weekly Seminary & Institute meetings, or a monthly ministering meeting with the 5 different areas that make up the Vanuatu Seminary & Institute.  While meetings are necessary to coordinate efforts, we do look forward to expanding our ministering to the YSA in Port Vila.

Sister Taravaki, young service
missionary serving in Port Vila Stake

We’ve been amazed by the dedication of many members in serving the Lord. One example that stands out this week is a young woman named Sister Kerolyne Taravaki. Sister Taravaki is serving as a service missionary for our church. While she had hoped to serve as a full-time proselyting missionary, some physical health challenges prevented her from doing so. Even with her challenges, she was called as a Service Missionary for the Port Vila Stake.  Part of her calling now is to teach weekly the SIS English lessons, to help members with FamilySearch in helping others find their ancestors, and assist youth in submitting their mission papers, among some of her responsibilities.

Sister Taravaki lives in a small village about 10-15 miles from the church where she serves.  Every Tuesday through Sunday, she takes a “bus,” which is actually a 10-12 passenger van (they call them buses), and catches at least two different vans to get to and from her home each day. Typically, she arrives at the church by 9:00 AM and works until at least 5:00 or 6:00 PM. Despite her long hours, she is always cheerful and a joy to interact with.

The other day we were in a meeting together that ran fairly late (>8:00 PM), which is very late by local standards since most people are off the roads by 6:00 PM (there are no lights, and those on the roads can sometimes start drinking kava -- a local alcoholic drink). Given the late hour, Sister Taravaki would have had to wait hours for her ride home, as they have fewer buses running, a situation she often faces. We offered to drive her home and had a wonderful time learning more about her and her family. She is such an inspiration!

She is not alone. We have women members who teach afternoon seminary, lead Succeed in School math, reading & writing classes twice a week, teach institute, and serve as education specialists—all while raising several young children. Remarkably, most do not have access to cars, so they walk several miles to the church to fulfill their callings. I’m both humbled and amazed by what they do each day. They truly exemplify the Savior’s example by serving others with love and without condition.

Unlike the United States, where you can find mega stores with unlimited selections of goods (e.g. Wal-Mart, Target, etc), we’ve found that you often need to visit several stores to find what you need. One store we frequent is the largest grocery store on the island, a French market called Au Bon Marché. It offers a 'wider variety' of items, though you never know when something will be out of stock, and it could take months to restock—or sometimes it never returns at all. For meat, we go to a separate butcher shop. We couldn’t resist taking pictures of their chicken parts section. Along with the usual legs and breasts, they also offer a unique selection: "Chicken Feet," "Chicken Tails," "Chicken Gizzards," "Chicken Necks," "Chicken Livers," and "Chicken Hearts." You definitely won’t find that variety at a typical store like Pic-n-Save!

The local butcher with all its different collection of chicken "parts"

 

In our mission, we are blessed to have several senior missionaries serving in various capacities. Some work in the mission office, handling essential tasks such as serving as the office secretary, managing finances, coordinating transportation for over 160 missionaries each month, and overseeing housing arrangements. Others serve as humanitarian missionaries, managing water projects or providing crucial medical equipment to local health centers. There are also missionaries dedicated to supporting the construction of the temple, while others serve on the islands as Member Leadership Support missionaries, assisting local leaders in strengthening and growing their church units. Like us, the senior missionaries serve for a period of one, 1.5, or two years, each making a unique and invaluable contribution to our mission.  We love serving with them and getting to know them each week by playing early morning pickleball, Saturday dinners/activities, and Sunday evening gatherings.

Sammy the Gecko 

When we first arrived on the island, we found a little friend in our apartment—a small gecko I named "Sammy." Darleen was not thrilled about letting Sammy stay, but I convinced her that he would help keep the bugs away. For the next week, Sammy was part of our daily life, though Darleen still wasn’t entirely on board with the arrangement. The other night, while brushing her teeth, Sammy decided to make an appearance on the countertop. Darleen, determined to deal with him, used her water pick like a "water cannon" and successfully shot him toward the sink. Afterward, she woke me up from the couch to take Sammy outside the premises. Looks like he’ll need to find a new apartment to call home! 😊

The view from our truck ...
And this is one of the better roads!!!

The roads in our little island paradise are filled with pot holes and dusty dirt that by the end of the day is floating all throughout the air.   I washed our truck this Saturday as part of our preparation day.   It was at a point where there was a thick layer of dirt on the windows and paint.   At least Saturday it looked good, but now it is back to the dusty look from our Sunday driving to church and attending our young single adult meetings.    One thing that I'm getting good at is playing dodge the pot holes".   Most drivers weave all over the road trying to avoid them, so I'm just trying to fit into the crowd.  

Elder Gacayan, a young missionary serving from
Chuuk (Guam Micronesia) here in the Port Vila mission

The world is smaller than you think.   This past Monday we were at the Stake Center and ran into a young elder who was calling home to his family on the island of Chuuk, which is an island that our nephew Dustin Rainey served on many years earlier.   This young Elder, Elder Gacayan, remembered Dustin, and said excitedly to his mother on the phone, "Do you remember Elder Rainey?".  He was so excited to see pictures of Dustin with his family and remembered his uncle spending time with him while he was a missionary.   

Our mission is teaching us how to work together even better and rely on the Lord every day. We’re also discovering that there is unlimited ways to serve and magnify our talents in furthering his work with the people of Vanuatu. On Sunday, Darleen and I taught the YSA Sunday School class for singles aged 18 to 35. It’s such a joy to teach with her, and I really appreciate the energy she brings to the class. We’ve learned that when you ask questions like, "What do you think this scripture means?" you may or may not hear a response! The people here are so soft-spoken that you can't hear them well and have to ask again what they may have said.

During that Sunday School class, Darleen was introducing herself and asking a young man what his name was. She kept saying, "What? Can you repeat it again?" and he would answer, but she still couldn’t make out what he said. Just as I joined the conversation, I happened to see his name on our attendance list and said, "He's John!" I would have never known that without that list!

Today, we joined our weekly Monday morning meeting with all the church employees in our area (Facilities, Translation Services, Seminary & Institute).  While we are not employees, we join the meeting as we report to the Seminary and Institute leader for the region and he's asked us to be there.    Unfortunately, he was not on today's call due to waking up with flu symptoms.  We found out it was the Seminary & Institute (S&I) team's month to lead this 30 minute weekly devotional.  Well, since we were the only ones representing S&I we quickly winged it by singing a song and sharing a scripture and quote from our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, who passed away this past week.   I quoted the scripture that says "That your incomings may be in the name of the Lord, that your outgoings may be in the name of the Lord, that all your salutations may be in the name of the Lord, with uplifted hands unto the Most High".   Then we talked about how President Nelson gave a talk back in April 2023 titled "The Answer is Always Jesus Christ".   Darleen quoted part of this talk where he states: "Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!".   Jesus can definitely help us answer our questions and problems in life -- we hope you all get the opportunity to experience answers he can bring to each of us.

Well, we hope you like our new blog format.  We are going to see how this goes for the time being.  Feel free to comment and ask us any questions.  We will try and answer them in a subsequent message, or directly in the blog.   Consider yourself hugged, and know we definitely have prayers going up daily for all of you from the far off land of Vanuatu!!!

Mifala lavem you (we love you).

Elda & Sista Lovelace

Bislama words of the week

"Gud moning" - Good morning.

"Yu oraet?" - Are you alright?

"Lukem yu lo Wenesde" - See you Wednesday