Mega Earthquakes, Snacks, a Stake Relief Society Dance, a Youth Gathering, Caterpillars, and “Follow the Prophet”

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 deep, which isn’t especially deep. We had a tsunami warning, but it was canceled two hours later. Most of the other quakes were between 4.0 and 6.0. So, please keep an eye on the earthquakes and say a prayer or two for our safety.

We started our week by meeting with our coordinator and then stopping at all our favorite stores to pick up groceries. We went to a fabric shop and purchased three yards of material for a special dress to be made for the Relief Society dance. As is customary, when special events take place, the women usually purchase material and have matching dresses made. The event would take place on Friday. I’ll give you the details as we move through the week. After purchasing the material, we stopped by the dressmaker’s shop. I was measured, and I chose a dress for her to make.

On Monday afternoon, Mark taught the intermediate math class while I taught the foundational English class. Sister Taravaki is the teacher for the foundational class, but she had a zone P-day and asked me to cover for her. I did so very willingly.

Tuesday was hair appointment day for me. I feel very blessed to have someone cut and color my hair. It’s always a mystery, as I never know how it’s going to turn out.

On Wednesday, my boyfriend went diving in the morning, as we’ve spent most of our Saturdays holding study sessions and testing. At 2:00 p.m. that day, we were scheduled to meet two students who had arrived late for the Fiji testing the Saturday before. They had missed the reading and listening portions of the test. One student showed up; the other couldn’t make it because she had to care for her sick grandfather. The girl who showed up missed only seven questions! She did so well! She’ll have the opportunity to apply next year, as she still has one year of school to complete on the island. We were thrilled, as she attended almost all the study sessions. Most of our students who attended the sessions improved their scores from the August test. I call them “ours” because we’re so invested at this point. We just love them so much and are so proud of them.

On Thursday, I made chocolate chip cookies for one of our SIS teachers and her family. She always shows up, and I wanted to do something special to let her know how much we appreciate her dedication to the youth of our ward. I also made cookies for five elders serving in our ward. Of course, my cookie taster—the boyfriend—enjoyed them, too. We also prepared sliced oranges for our SIS snack that day. We both ended up teaching at the Erakor Branch that afternoon.

Me slicing oranges for SIS classes on Thursday
with cookies I made to give out.

After SIS, Mark and I drove back to the Etas building so I could practice the dances that our Relief Society sisters would perform on Friday evening. Dance practice had begun at 5:00 p.m., and when we arrived, it was 6:30. I didn’t have much time to practice with the sisters. We ran through the dances once, and then they were done. I had already decided that I would participate and just do the best I could.

During the week, we decided to play a Jeopardy game during our breakout session at the stake youth activity. On Friday, I worked on the categories and questions for the game while Mark worked on transferring money through Western Union to our seminary and institute supervisors on Tanna so they could hold their in-service training on Monday.

We met the Meyers for lunch at the beach resort. After lunch with Elda and Sister Meyer, we went to pick up my dress. I love it! It fits perfectly, and I couldn’t wait for that evening. Mark dropped me off at the stake center to teach my math class and headed over to Etas to drop off snacks and make sure we had teachers. Mark actually ended up teaching and then came back to get me. We went home, and Mark gathered his supplies as he was heading back to Etas to teach the institute class.

The night before, right after dance practice, Mark was talking to the YSA representative. I joined the conversation and heard them ask if he could teach the following night. I, of course, said yes. Oops! I volunteered my boyfriend. He’s a good man, and he showed up and waited. Unfortunately, no one showed up. I appreciate his efforts, as that time of day is not fun for driving to that side of the island. There’s lots of traffic—and he loves traffic.

Meanwhile, I drove to the Stake Relief Society social event with Sister Meyer. This was the first day of a three-day conference. Each unit was invited to perform several dances and one drama. It was so much fun! I love the women in my ward! We had a great time performing our dances. We laughed and enjoyed ourselves. This activity gave the sisters a chance to relax, laugh, and share their dances. Everyone looked so beautiful in their matching dresses. They had free dances, where anyone who wanted to could hit the dance floor. Sister Meyer and I took advantage of the opportunity to have as much fun as we could. I think we might have surprised some of them! This coming Saturday will be our spiritual conference day, when we’ll attend different spiritual classes. I laughed so much that my face hurt.

Me with our Ward Mommas.

Love these mommas from our Ward who made
these beautiful flower head dresses.

Sister Meyer with Sister Neslyne (one of our SIS teachers)
from the Erakor Branch

Me with the Ward Mommas posing after our dance.

When I arrived home, I laminated my Jeopardy board for the following day. On Saturday, we arrived at the stake center around 7:30 to set up our room and the board. The youth were divided into six groups to attend six different activities. They had an opening, and pictures were taken of all the youth groups, as they had all made T-shirts with the youth theme, “Walk with Me,” on them. They were served a fantastic breakfast, and then we started the activities.

Youth listening to the beginning of the youth event.

Etas Ward youth (our Ward we attend)

Erakor Branch youth.

Mele Branch youth.

Port Vila Ward 1 youth 

Bladinier Ward youth

We had so much fun. Mark had purchased these ridiculous horns. To blast them, you had to pump air into them. We had Team Moses, Team Esther, and Team Abraham. All our questions came from the Old Testament, as that has been the focus of Come, Follow Me and seminary this year. One question was: “Abraham was commanded by the Lord to sacrifice Isaac, but was stopped. What did the Lord provide as a sacrifice instead?” My favorite answer was, “A sheep, sheep.” It was said so quietly and confidently. Then, when I said no, someone else came up and said, “A lamb.” Eventually, the right answer came.

Giving clues to the youth attending our break-out.
Notice the horns on the table.  They were loud.

Last group of youth in our break-out session listening
to the clues before running up to the front to blow the
horns to answer.

The youth seemed to have a great time. The horns were loud, and one group was more competitive and really got into the game after getting a few answers correct. We were supposed to do the activity six times, for 30 minutes each. Unfortunately, we only got to do three groups, being told each round that we had less time. Because the activity started late and the stake leader wanted to end it earlier than planned, the kids could attend only three activities instead of the six that had been planned. That was frustrating, as a lot went into making this a special day for the youth.

Mark and I decided to try to enjoy the rest of our day at Paradise Cove. We sent a message to the senior missionaries and invited anyone who wanted to join us. Elder and Sister Beck, who are over housing and transportation, ended up meeting us there. We enjoyed lunch and then settled into the beanbag chairs. As soon as we sat down, we noticed tons of caterpillars. All of a sudden, they were dropping from the tree above us. After five had dropped on me, I moved to the hammock. After about another hour, we’d had enough of the falling caterpillars and headed home.

In preparation for Sunday, I laminated flip charts for the song “Follow the Prophet,” and Mark put together a little lesson about how our prophet helps us follow Jesus. On Sunday, we headed to our Eton unit. I haven’t been this tired in a while. I usually don’t get sleepy in church, but I was really struggling that day. I was relieved when it was time for Primary. The children did so well. I have to say, I felt a little of Whitney Snow come out in me as I taught the kids this new song. I had them follow me around our tiny meetinghouse while singing “Follow the Prophet.” Whitney, if you’re reading this, I think you would have been so proud of me. You continue to inspire me!

Me doing my best to help the primary learn 
the hymn "Follow the Prophet".  They loved marching
around the room.

My boyfriend, of course, did a wonderful job teaching the lesson he had prepared for the kids. After Primary, the seminary students were waiting to join us and practice passing off their scripture masteries. I had spoken to several of them the day before at the youth activity, and they had asked if we could help them on Sunday. We stayed another hour, taught five scripture masteries, and helped most of the eight girls pass them off.

This week, I found this amazing quote:

I love the scriptures, and I’m so excited to help others discover who God is by sharing what I’ve discovered. I’ll close by sharing a scripture I rediscovered this week. It’s found in Isaiah 63:7:

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.

Have you noticed the lovingkindnesses of the Lord? He is not only loving; He is kind. He is an approachable God. He is merciful and good. The Lord has bestowed upon us more than we deserve.  My cup runneth over.

Have a fantastic week! We love you all!

Nana & Papa, Mom & Dad, Elda & Sister Lovelace, Mark & Darleen

Additional Pictures from the Week:

Some of our friends from SIS and Seminary 
waiting in front of the Stake Center before the
Saturday activity.

Love this t-shirt design.

Front of the t-shirt.  Castor Touguen posing.
Got to love Castor's smile.

Mother and daughter in the Eton Branch.  She
saw Mark on Sunday and just smiled and waved
at him.