Our Mission Experience in Vanuatu

Hello family and friends, Here are some of the highlights for the week. Monday We began the week with our regular S&I meeting with Katimal. Each week we alternate who conducts our discussion, and this week Darleen led. We always appreciate these meetings because they give us an opportunity to coordinate efforts and ensure we are all moving in the same direction as we work with teachers and students throughout Port Vila. View of the harbor with a large cruise ship behind us. On the way back to our apartment, we made our weekly food run for SIS classes. I'll admit that preparing snacks for the classes is not always my favorite part of the week. It isn't difficult work, but it is surprisingly time-consuming. Every week we have to determine what food is available, purchase the supplies, prepare everything, and then make sure it gets distributed to the various locations. It is one of those behind-the-scenes responsibilities that most people never see, but it is an importan...

Hello again friends and family, I wonder who will miss our weekly updates the most. I believe it may be me. Missionary service is rewarding on so many different levels, but it can also be frustrating at times. The frustration is mostly due to our expectations of others, which is unfair of me. I’m trying harder to be thankful for what others can give and do. My best isn’t someone else’s best. Anyway, here’s the update on last week. If anyone has an earthquake app or has been watching the news, you’ll know that as of Sunday, we had over 50 earthquakes in seven days in the same area of Vanuatu. We live approximately 330 miles from the epicenters of these mega-quakes. I have an app on my phone that alerts me every time there’s one near us, and my phone was buzzing last week. I wonder what’s happening beneath the ocean’s surface to cause so many quakes. I believe the strongest one was a 7.2. We haven’t felt them, as they’re taking place just above Santo. The quakes are about six miles dee...

Hello Family & Friends, This week was filled with teaching, preparation, meetings, testing, and many reminders of how the Lord continues to bless His youth and His work here in Vanuatu. Monday was largely spent preparing for seminary and institute responsibilities. Darleen worked on plans for the upcoming seminary and institute graduations, which will take place at the end of the school year in late November. I spent time preparing for P13 SOC testing and getting ready for my afternoon Succeed in School (SIS) Math class at the Stake Center. That afternoon, I met with the youth, and it was exciting to see how eager they were to learn. We focused on decimals, fractions, and percentages using real-life examples. I asked each student what kind of work they hoped to do as adults and then created examples based on future salaries, raises, and pay reductions. While some of the concepts were new to them, they worked hard to understand them. By the end of the lesson, every student could...

Hello everyone! This past week was amazingly good and very busy. We held our second annual two-day Seminary and Institute training. Our supervisors from Santo, Malekula, Tanna, and Efate gathered on our island with the two senior missionary couples, our coordinator, and his administrator for training. I am always amazed at how quickly an event we have prepared for over such a long time passes. I can honestly say that the two days were very holy, and I did not want them to end. Mark and I before we  started the S&I meeting on Thursday. This was the perfect week for our training because the schools were on a break. With no Seminary or Succeed in School responsibilities, we could turn our full attention to the two-day training. Monday was a national holiday, and we took full advantage of the day by enjoy ing General Conference. General Conference takes place twice a year, and it is one of my favorite times of the year. It is a global gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of La...