Pineapples, wreaths & summer in December

 

December 8, 2025

One of the seminary teachers
walking home from the church
to her village - we love them.
Meri (Merry) December Family! Mi glad tumas ( I am very happy).  This is the best time of year!  Mark and I are experiencing something very differently.  Summer in December.  School is out and the students don’t return to school until the end of January.    I thought our schedule might lighten up.  I was so wrong.  This week we had seminary graduation.  Those of our friends and family who don’t know what seminary is, let me explain.  Students attending grade 9-12 attend a daily religious class for 1 hour for 4 days a week everyday that school is in session.

The student’s study one of the following each year: The Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and Life skills(taught throughout each year).  I have always admired the sacrifice these kids make each day to start off their days studying the word of God.

With Seminary ending, our service begins.  Instead of visiting the classes and ministering, we will be training and registering new students and returning students.  While school is out, we will spend our time preparing teachers for the upcoming year that will start January 26, 2026.  This years course of study will be the Old Testament. Working under the direction of our S&I (Seminary & Institute) coordinator we have our island and 3 other islands to do training with.  Just this past week we met with one of our lead teachers in the unit we attend.  We have a total of 7 teachers that we will be doing training just from this one unit alone, just to give any idea of numbers we need to reach out to.  With the villages being so far from the church building it is just easier to hold seminary in these small villages, given very few have transportation to centrally meet.   So, this week we have been setting up the training dates.

On Wednesday we taught an Institute class on symbolism.  Through symbols we can understand Christ Redeeming power.   The scriptures contain many symbols that testify of Jesus Christ and his power and love.  I LOVE digging more deeply into the scriptures to discover more about who Jesus Christ is.  He is compared to water, bread, light, a rock, the sun and a shepherd just to name a few.  We spent some time studying the Passover and the sacrifice of lambs and the reason for this practice and the meaning of this practice.  I couldn’t think of a better lesson for the month of December! 

Mark and I spent an afternoon going in and out of the shops downtown this past week.  We found some pretty cool shirts, Christmas decorations for our little tree and some material for making Christmas wreaths.

Some of the church 
employees making their
Christmas wreaths.

Yes, speaking of the Christmas wreaths!  I spent a few days during my evening prepping cardboard wreaths for a Christmas activity for the Employee teams (physical facilities, seminary & institute, temple, and translation services) of the church on our island.  Our coordinators’ assistant asked me for some ideas for some Christmas wreaths.  So I sent her some ideas.  Pinterest is a good resource!  I choose a wreath with 29 names of Jesus Christ found in the scriptures.  I made a Christmas tree to hang in the middle of each wreath with the scripture from Isaiah 9:6 - "For unto to us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
The outcome from their project.  They loved
them, as this isn't something they typically do.
"  I gave everyone the meaning of each name and invited them to study a new name each day of December to discover more about who Jesus Christ is and to deepen not only their understanding but their love for him.  Everyone loved it!  They loved it so much instead of having 1 per office, they each wanted one. So, I need to make 4 more.  Isn’t this the best time of the year?!  They were asking if I would be here next year also.  I said yes, I will. They were happy to hear that.

Talking to some of the girls attending our weekly mission prep class and a few adults.  I was saying how we really needed a good rain.  Teasingly, I said maybe a rain dance would help.  So, those who know me can probably picture me doing a rain dance.  Yeap! I did a quick rain dance.   We all had a great laugh as I was entertaining them. Well, that night the rain started and we had 2 full days of rain!   Much needed rain.  It was wonderful!   Mark says I have a lot of power, so use it wisely.  

Yummy... Some of the best fruit ever.

Pineapples are in season now!  We are enjoying this swit (delicious) fruit.   In Bislama to say this food is delicious; “Dis kaikai I swit.”  I love driving past the momma markets and seeing all the beautiful pineapples!



On Thursday, Mark and I started missionary house checks.  I think we shared that we had accepted the responsibility of the missionary housing on our island.  Every six week we go around to the missionaries apartments/houses and do a check.  We  make sure the house is in order and clean, we check in to see how the companionships are doing.  It will take us a couple of weeks to complete as we do 3 or 4 a day except for Mondays.  We make sure the missionaries water filters are replaced and if anything goes wrong the missionaries call us. 
Pango elder's posing in front
of their front door after our
apartment check.

This past Monday we got a called that the shower wasn’t draining in one of the houses.  I called the landlord and they said they would send a plumber.  Well, the plumber came and was not able to fix it.  So, I took my handyman (Marvelous Mark) in and after some time he was able to clear the drain.  We love this new responsibility, as it gives Mark something to fix every now and then.  He is so good at fixing things, I’m glad he can share his talents.  I promised the missionaries a reward if their apt/houses are clean. So, this month I have been making them Hawaiian Banana Bread with pineapple and coconut. Sharing my talents too!
  

One of the little "pikinini"
who stole our heart!!!
On Friday, we were invited to attend a cultural night for one of the ward units.    I am so glad we went!  It was amazing.  The younger children , the youth and the Young single adult performed different dances from the islands here in the pacific.  The children are called "pikininis", and they stole our hearts during this show (and also every week at church).  The people are so shy, so this was a big deal!  I wish you all could have seen it.  We will post a few pictures and videos below for you to enjoy. 

Our little Christmas tree...
stands about 3' tall
We put up our Christmas tree!  It’s the smallest one we’ve had ever!   I love it!  We hope you are slowing down to enjoy this wonderful time of the year with all those you love.  We love you all and feel so blessed to say you are our family and our friends.  We hope you have a wonderful week and remember someone in Vanuatu is thinking about you! 

Shout out to our Darcie Alice who is turning 8 this week!  Another shout out to all our grands who won their CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES!!! Ella, Gracie, Rylie!! Another shout out to Rylie who sung her 1st ever SOLO in her Christmas program!  okay, last shout out goes to all my grands who answered my text messages about Christmas!!! Shoot forgot one!  Lincoln for making all county in percussions!  I love my Grandkids!!!

Love you all!,

Nana& Papa, aka Mark and Darleen


Here are some of our favorite memories from the week -- enjoy!!!

One of our favorite pikinini
from our church Ward

Some of the primary youth all dressed up
and ready for the last performance of the night




One of the primary dances.
Final product
Some fun local billboards
Some instructions being given

Another up the road from the first
billboard.


Fresh bananas right off the road.


View going down a hill after doing missionary
apartment inspection.  Gives a good perspective
of the surroundings.
























Comments

  1. Lorraine H.January 1, 2026 at 6:46 AM

    Beautiful people and beautiful surroundings. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,2026!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning together ... another week in Port Vila

Image
Halo Family and Friends, Math class on Monday night Here’s an update from Vanuatu, Port Vila from your favorite missionary couple!  Elda Lovelace and I have been teaching a math class every Monday.  This past week our focus was on Number and Set Theory.  We LOVE the enthusiasm of our students; especially when they start to compete.  We ask a question and all of them start shouting out answers.  It is an absolute JOY to see them enjoy learning.  As part of the SIS (Succeed in School) program the  Math class on Monday night students are provided a snack.  I made Banana Bread, and they loved it so much they were begging me to bring it again.  We teach the Intermediate class which is 6-8 graders.  There is a  foundational class meeting the same hour being taught by another lady for 4-5 graders.  On Mondays we have Math and on Fridays they have Reading.  We have another Unit who are also functioning, and their classes are on We...
Read more

Time really does fly when you’re having fun & have miracles cease?

Image
Family and Friends!!!   Hello again from the beautiful Island of Vanuatu! We can’t believe we have only 5 days of October remaining, although, most of you have 6 who are living in North America!   Seeing as we are a day ahead of all our family and friends in the USA.   This week my grandson Tate asked me one of my favorite questions when he spoke to me via Marco Polo.   He said: “ how is tomorrow?” (flashing a big smile).   I loved Grants questions also, he said: “ how are you doing and what are you doing ?” Well, tomorrow is always a blessing.   It is another day to do what I love doing.   I love putting on my nametag every day.   It reminds me that I am representing the Lord and I have the wonderful privilege of ministering and loving in the Saviors name to the beautiful people of Vanuatu. Grant, you ask how are we doing?   So good!   What are we doing?   Well, that is the purpose of this letter.   Papa and I agreed th...
Read more

Vanuatu - the adventure continues!!!

Image
Hello Family & Friends coming to you from  our small paradise in the south pacific. The island we will most likely stay on  for most of our mission - Island of Efate (our apartment is close to the star on the map)  We hope you are all doing well.   We continue to love serving on Vanuatu Port Vila amongst the people of this island.  We haven't really given you a lot of information about the island we are living on, or the people we get to serve with.  So here is just a little bit of what we are learning. We are living on the island which is the Efate Island, part of Vanuatu cluster of islands, which is part of approximately 83 islands making up Vanuatu.  Efate is the 3rd largest of the islands, and is home to the capital city of Port Vila.  Efate is the most populated island with about 66,000 people, representing about 20% of the total population across Vanuatu.   Efate is about 347 sq. miles around, and supposedly you can drive ...
Read more

Amazed at the dedication!!!

Image
  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 physica...
Read more

A cyclone doesn't make for a great road experience

Image
Hello to all our family and friends, It has been several weeks since we last wrote. During that time, we have been busy working to get the Seminary, Institute, and Succeed in School programs ramped back up here on the island. A few weeks ago, however, we were able to take a short break and travel to New Zealand. While there, we attended the temple and spent time seeing the beautiful sights around both the northern and southern parts of the country. One of the things we loved most about the trip was being in the temple. It reminded us how much we miss attending regularly. We are especially looking forward to the completion of the temple on the island of Efate, where we are currently serving, which is expected to be finished later this year. It will be such a blessing for the members here, who currently must travel to Fiji, New Zealand, or Australia to do their temple work. We could easily fill this entire letter describing the many places we visited in New Zealand, but we want to ke...
Read more

Ministering each day!!!

Image
Hello Family & Friends, We continue to learn and grow each day.   One of our main responsibilities is to minister to the youth and young single adults in our locations.   The Savior taught the importance of ministering to the one, which is what we are trying to do each day in the Vanuatu Port Vila mission.  Here's a few simple ways that we are finding to do this.  We had the opportunity to attend a seminary class taught in one of the units.  The class had some 16-18 students in this small room.  The teacher was a sister who does so much in the church, holding down many callings.   As she was teaching, Darleen and I were sitting at the back of the class observing.  At one point Darleen noticed that several of the young men were not actively participating in the discussion/message.  So she naturally just got up and sat right next to them and opened up her phone to let them read along with the scriptures that were being taught...
Read more