Week 5 30 Jul- 5 Aug 2018
Hello from the Solomon Islands.
This is a picture of a neighborhood next to the church.
We started our first series of zone conferences with the Solomon Islands. We arrived Friday morning and we are returning to Port Vila tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. It is always a little nerve racking to start something new. We broke the ice and it was pretty amazing! It is a new format for the missionaries and that first zone responded very well. I had set the goal to know the names of the 20 missionaries (all elders)/in the zone. Names like Siu’Fanua, Loto’iniu, Fakatava,Vaekau, Magalogo, Siu’Lua, NZanzu... I was thankful for a few easier names like Ormond, Tini, Forbes, Gudgeon, Hilliman, Imae, Secretan, Tupou, Raass, Kepu, Iamar, Joseph, Pongi. I did it. Although sometimes, I would call one Tongan missionary by another Tongan’s name. I tested myself again today Sunday and was able to put the right face with the right name. 😬
I was anticipating this moment of zone conference and it was even better than I had imagined. I just LOVE teaching, sharing, discussing with the missionaries. I also LOVE hearing Benoit teach, explain and train. He spoke about faith in Jesus Christ and here is a scripture that I like a lot:
“ Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might surely hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”
Ether 12:4
We were pretty tired at the end of the day. The chapel has no air conditioned. Thank goodness for the ceiling fans! I realized that being hot and sticky all day is very tiering also. But what an edifying and productive day it was!!
Saturday we attended a baptism at 9:00 am then Benoit interviewed all the missionaries and I spoke to some of the women and young women of the district (about 50) on ministering. I enjoyed talking with the sisters about that and hearing their input. I would have loved to hear more but the heat and humidity got the better of us and we concluded after an hour. The senior missionary couple working in the Solomon Islands are the Fuimaono.
They have been such a blessing for the members of the district and the missionaries. They are returning home on the 9th of August. They will be missed. Sister Fuimaono was such a great help to me for that meeting with the sisters. Then after, brother Fuimaono had sandwiches and an icy tropical fruit beverage that tasted so good for his wife, Benoit and myself. It was refreshing and invigorating. They drove me back to the hotel and Benoit went working with the missionaries. He thoroughly enjoyed that. He went teaching with elders Tini and Forbes a sweet young woman named Samantha. I met her today at church. She accepted the invitation to be baptized next Saturday. They have been teaching her for a few weeks and she has read 2/3 of the Book of Mormon. She is a student in a science program and wants to go into medicine. She is a bright and driven young lady and will no doubt succeed in her endeavors.
Notice the towel on the shoulder? Every missionary carries his own to wipe out the sweat!
Friday and Saturday were definitely the highlights of the week. Monday is right up there too because of the video call we had with family. Audrée and her family were with Melanie, her family and Etienne and his family in Montreal. My mom, my brother Yves and his wife came to visit at Melanie’s home and we were able to have our little video conversation with some and see all of them a little bit. That was so nice. We briefly felt part of the family reunion.
Last Monday was the celebration of Vanuatu’s independence day. Benoit was sick with fever and coughing. So we rested (sort of) we worked from the mission home. Benoit went to bed early when he had the fever. The mission nurse gave him some antibiotics to take. I started the next day to take some too because the coughing and the heaviness in my lungs were getting worse. Luckily I did not get the fever. We are both feeling better. Our coughing has subsided a lot. One of the assistants is not feeling so good. He started with a stuffy nose last week and now he is coughing. It will be good to go back to Port Vila tomorrow so he can get the medication to help him.
Coming back to the humidity here. Benoit brought some Listerine strips with us. They were sticking together after a day in his pocket. You can see what happened to them just after one night on the desk in the hotel room, no air conditioned (because it makes us cough) but the ceiling fan was on.
This is a picture of a neighborhood next to the church.
We started our first series of zone conferences with the Solomon Islands. We arrived Friday morning and we are returning to Port Vila tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. It is always a little nerve racking to start something new. We broke the ice and it was pretty amazing! It is a new format for the missionaries and that first zone responded very well. I had set the goal to know the names of the 20 missionaries (all elders)/in the zone. Names like Siu’Fanua, Loto’iniu, Fakatava,Vaekau, Magalogo, Siu’Lua, NZanzu... I was thankful for a few easier names like Ormond, Tini, Forbes, Gudgeon, Hilliman, Imae, Secretan, Tupou, Raass, Kepu, Iamar, Joseph, Pongi. I did it. Although sometimes, I would call one Tongan missionary by another Tongan’s name. I tested myself again today Sunday and was able to put the right face with the right name. 😬
I was anticipating this moment of zone conference and it was even better than I had imagined. I just LOVE teaching, sharing, discussing with the missionaries. I also LOVE hearing Benoit teach, explain and train. He spoke about faith in Jesus Christ and here is a scripture that I like a lot:
“ Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might surely hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.”
Ether 12:4
We were pretty tired at the end of the day. The chapel has no air conditioned. Thank goodness for the ceiling fans! I realized that being hot and sticky all day is very tiering also. But what an edifying and productive day it was!!
This is a drawing that Elder Tini made. Very talented.
Saturday we attended a baptism at 9:00 am then Benoit interviewed all the missionaries and I spoke to some of the women and young women of the district (about 50) on ministering. I enjoyed talking with the sisters about that and hearing their input. I would have loved to hear more but the heat and humidity got the better of us and we concluded after an hour. The senior missionary couple working in the Solomon Islands are the Fuimaono.
They have been such a blessing for the members of the district and the missionaries. They are returning home on the 9th of August. They will be missed. Sister Fuimaono was such a great help to me for that meeting with the sisters. Then after, brother Fuimaono had sandwiches and an icy tropical fruit beverage that tasted so good for his wife, Benoit and myself. It was refreshing and invigorating. They drove me back to the hotel and Benoit went working with the missionaries. He thoroughly enjoyed that. He went teaching with elders Tini and Forbes a sweet young woman named Samantha. I met her today at church. She accepted the invitation to be baptized next Saturday. They have been teaching her for a few weeks and she has read 2/3 of the Book of Mormon. She is a student in a science program and wants to go into medicine. She is a bright and driven young lady and will no doubt succeed in her endeavors.
Friday and Saturday were definitely the highlights of the week. Monday is right up there too because of the video call we had with family. Audrée and her family were with Melanie, her family and Etienne and his family in Montreal. My mom, my brother Yves and his wife came to visit at Melanie’s home and we were able to have our little video conversation with some and see all of them a little bit. That was so nice. We briefly felt part of the family reunion.
Last Monday was the celebration of Vanuatu’s independence day. Benoit was sick with fever and coughing. So we rested (sort of) we worked from the mission home. Benoit went to bed early when he had the fever. The mission nurse gave him some antibiotics to take. I started the next day to take some too because the coughing and the heaviness in my lungs were getting worse. Luckily I did not get the fever. We are both feeling better. Our coughing has subsided a lot. One of the assistants is not feeling so good. He started with a stuffy nose last week and now he is coughing. It will be good to go back to Port Vila tomorrow so he can get the medication to help him.
Coming back to the humidity here. Benoit brought some Listerine strips with us. They were sticking together after a day in his pocket. You can see what happened to them just after one night on the desk in the hotel room, no air conditioned (because it makes us cough) but the ceiling fan was on.
On this sticky note, we say au revoir. We love you all. Yufala I gat wan gudfala wik! (Have a good week!)
Always love hearing of your experiences . The smiles on your faces let me feel a small part of what your mission is like. Lucky Vanuatu saints!
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