Our Mission Experience in Vanuatu

 July 12, 2026 Mark and I are celebrating our 42nd anniversary today! When Mark came home from his mission, he told me it was my turn.  I had always wanted to serve a mission.  Waiting until I was 21 would test me.  I had met the man I wanted to marry and was not wanting to risk the chance that it just simply would not work out.  Maybe I should have had more faith.  Anyway, you know the story we got married and set a goal to go serve a mission together. 😊   Here we are, continuing to write our story.  Yesterday, I woke up from a nap, and since we are a day ahead, hugged my man and said "guess what today is?".  We have been so engaged in serving others, our anniversary snuck up on us.  Actually, we did remember it earlier in the month and have made plans to go to Fiji during our end of term break.  Isn’t it wonderful to have so many wonderful experiences learning and growing together as a couple.  We would wish on all that we...

Hello Family and Friends This week we continue our teaching of Succeed in School (SIS) classes nearly every day, with nearly 90 youth attending at 3 different locations with 2 classes at each of these locations. As we have mentioned before, providing healthy snacks is always part of the experience, and this week became our "watermelon and boiled egg week." Spending the evening at the resort Iriki for dinner. Beautiful views from our table. At the downtown Port Vila market, we were excited to see watermelons back in season. Unlike the U.S., where typically fruits are available year‑round, here they only appear when the season allows. We bought two massive 20‑lb melons (about $30 each) and served generous slices to the youth. They were thrilled, each received at least two slices, and their smiles made the expense worth it. The two watermelons purchased from the market downtown. They were massive size.  We were told watermelons come from the Vanuatu island of Malekula. For Thu...