2020 Semaine 13 (23-29 mars)

Another historical week happening during our mission.

It started on Monday with this message from the Pacific Area Presidency:

Dear Mission Presidents and wives serving in:

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Tonga

Fiji

Tahiti

Marshall Island-Kiribati

Vanuatu

With regret, this email is to inform you that all foreign missionaries, couples and senior single sisters included, serving in your respective missions are to return home as soon as travel can be arranged. This will be done in a systematic way based on travel restrictions, level of COVID-19 concern, and other considerations. Mission presidents and their families will continue to serve in their mission unless they have serious health concerns that make that service inadvisable.

And so the whirlwind began..

Since travel would be organized around the opening and shutting doors or borders, we knew we had to bring the missionaries serving on the islands of Santo, Malekula and Tanna in Vanuatu to the island of Efate from where they could be ready to leave at a moment's notice. 

Simple right?  NOT.

Nothing is simple here.  Sister Carlson got busy trying to book flights.  After booking the flights, we had flights being changed, missionaries being bumped on another day.  One day all our missionaries were in the plane ready to go and one airport worker before closing the door to the small plane pointed to one missionary and told him to get out because there was too many kilos on the plane.  The missionary went out and the employee closed the door and the plane took off.  We were able to talk to the missionary who stayed with a member and he flew the next day to Port Vila with the missionaries' luggage who had not made it on the plane either.  We are very relieved that the missionary came the next day as planned with all the luggage.  

At times like these I go over this scripture in my mind:" Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding" Proverbs 3:5

I worked a little bit with Sister Lindsey this week who is training me with the finances of the mission.  As you can see it is a small office and we were the three of us working there.  Even if it is a small space, it was very enjoyable to be associated with these two wonderful senior sisters.  I am loving every minute of it and I am not looking forward to when they leave.😭 It is a little depressing actually.

While Sister Carlson was working her magic with organizing all the flights to Efate, grand-papa and I met with the zone leaders in Efate. Our assistants were stuck in Santo and finally came back Wednesday.  We organized Efate in two zones to accommodate all the missionaries that would be coming.  56 of them.  We had 35 missionaries organized in one zone on Efate before. We now have 91 missionaries all working on one island.  We pray it won't be for too long.😳

As they came in, we oriented them on where they were being "transferred" and encouraged them to stay focus, give their very best to the lovely people of Vanuatu because there is not much time before they will have to go.

" And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them:  Go to, and labor in the vineyard, with your might.  For behold, this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh; and if ye labor with your might with me ye shall have joy in the fruit which I shall lay up unto myself against the time which will soon come.

And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their might; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things".  Jacob 5:71-72

Wise counsels from our leaders

Today we are fasting with a constant prayer in our heart and full of faith and a strong hope that Heavenly father IS in control of all this and I know things will start to move very quickly.  Like President Nelson once said: "Take your vitamins."

We spoke with Leah this week and she suggested we try eating our cucumbers with salt and limon.  She called back to see how we liked it and we sent her this picture.  It was very good!

Today, Sunday, it is raining really hard.  It feels like Heavenly father is cleaning the earth from the coronavirus.  Bring it on!

 We have 21 missionaries scheduled to leave New Caledonia next Tuesday at 1:00 am en route to the USA through Tokyo.  Grand-papa has been on the phone all afternoon to conduct their exit interviews.  At the same time, he spoke with the missionaries who will remain until it is their turn to leave.  13 missionaries from Tahiti, Belgium, Philippines, Canada, Australia.

We have 10 missionaries in the Solomon Islands waiting to leave to go to Tonga, Samoa, New Zealand and yes, Vanuatu.  The missionary coming to Vanuatu was scheduled to come next Tuesday but the borders have been closed.  I am fasting and praying right now that the borders will be opened very soon.

We love this hopeful drawing Leah made.  "Ça va aller" (It will be alright)

Mifala lavem yufala tumas mo hapi betdei Audree.