Our Mission Experience in Vanuatu

Halo Grandkids, Kids, Family and dear friends! Has it actually been 7 days since our last update?   The weeks just seem to fly by here in Vanuatu.   Well, let’s get you updated on our week.   I will begin by saying we finally surrendered! Mark and I can take just about anything and be cheerful about it. We are not quitters, but enough is enough. We put up the white flag! Who can sleep on a full-size bed?   Well, we did it for a year! Let me just say I am glad it’s’ over!   Last Monday after attending our weekly S&I team meeting we ran a few errands and ended up buying ourselves a Queens size bed! We thought we could hang in another 6 months and decided why are we doing this?    Mark hadn’t slept great and my hips could feel the springs of the mattress.   There are just some things you should not suffer through.   I can’t believe we hung in for a year on that bed. Surrendering is not a failure; It’s an epiphany of a better way. It takes ...

Hello family & friends, As I sit down to write this week’s update, I wanted to share a few things happening here in Vanuatu. Much of our focus continues to be on strengthening the Succeed in School (SIS) program across the three locations where we teach. For months, we’ve faced the challenge of finding teachers who can consistently commit to the classes. This week brought a real blessing: we finally have four teachers assigned to the two SIS classes in the Etas Ward, and they all showed up on Tuesday and Friday ready to teach. Their reliability allows Darleen and me to focus more on training rather than trying to teach in every location ourselves. It also gives the program long‑term sustainability as senior couples rotate home. We’re still working to secure a full‑time teacher for the older SIS class (ages 15–18) in the Erakor Branch. Darleen’s younger class has had a faithful teacher for several months, but the older group has been more difficult. I’ve been teaching that class...

This week has been a week of reflection. After our visit to Tanna, we are back to work here on Efate. I’ll share more about our week, but first I want to tell you about a special experience we had Monday morning. Monday here in Vanuatu is actually Sunday in the United States. Back home, something very special happened, something that reminded me once again of the great sacrifice our family is also making so that we can serve here. Our grandson, Grant, made the choice to be baptized. Our daughter traveled from Florida to Georgia and was kind enough to make sure a Teams meeting was scheduled so that we, along with other family members, could be part of his special day. Even though we were thousands of miles away, we felt very much a part of it. Darcie, who was bapt...

Hello Again!!!  I'll apologize, this letter will be longer one, but it will be worth it if you read through it.   Most weeks our mission follows familiar routines we’ve often described. This week, however, brought something special: leaving our home island of Efate and traveling to Tanna on Tuesday morning. At first, Darleen and I thought the trip might give us a little time to relax while visiting seminary and institute teachers and classes across the island. In reality, it was far from restful, but it was deeply rewarding. Let me share how the week unfolded. Welcome to Tanna Monday was filled with preparation before departure. We oversee six different Succeed in School (SIS) classes that meet two times per week for Reading & Writing and Math.    As part of what we help with we provide healthy snacks for the students to have after class. Normally, we bring snacks with us when we teach at three different locations. Since we would be away, we needed to prepar...