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Winter in Vanuatu

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The truth is Vanuatu is in a perpetual state of “summer”. Technically they call this time of year the “dry season” or winter which means it doesn’t rain as much and is a lot less humid. It has been quite beautiful with a nice breeze which is such a welcomed change from the intense heat and humidity. The senior missionary sisters dressed for Independence Day. It was Independence Day in Vanuatu July 30th. This country is only 45 years old, which is about the time that cannibalism completely stoped.(EEK!) It is quite the celebration with parades, flag ceremonies, lots of local food, hundreds of people everywhere. They dress in the Vanuatu colors of yellow, green, red, and black. Families wear matching dresses and shirts. We wanted to see what all the festivities were about so we went down into the main area and it was fun to see their traditions. Food booth at the Independence Day celebration. In the little branch we attend, we had a baptism today in the ocean with six people. Baptisms ar...
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Trip to Fiji and more...

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Fiji Temple :) We had an amazing time being in Fiji for a few days. We were able to go to the temple and attend church in english… It was fantastic and fed both of our souls. First time we had church in English in eight months. We spent two days in Suva, Fiji and then met Natalie and the boys in Nadi, Fiji for two days. It was so interesting to see the differences between Fiji and Vanuatu! This is one happy grandma! Fiji We expected the beaches to be pristine and amazing in Fiji and surprisingly they were not. While Fiji is definitely about 30 years more developed than Vanuatu, the ocean and beaches are a pure turquoise stunning blue in ALL of Vanuatu. The population of Fiji is about 33% Indian, 33% Chinese, and 33% Fijian. It also was a lot cooler than Vanuatu. The vegetable markets are huge and very clean there. All in all it was a wonderful break!  Arriving in Vanuatu Natalie and the boys came with us back to Vanuatu for a week. We had so much fun with them and there was still a...
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Water changes everything!

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It was an amazing day! After the earthquake eight days before Christmas this last December 17th, it set off and intensified many issues already present in Vanuatu. Although many buildings were destroyed, surprisingly the villages did ok as far as their houses are concerned. The tin homes just went with the earthquake “waves”, and the partial cement partial bamboo homes also did ok. Some did collapse and everything looked like it had been through a blender, but the biggest issue has been WATER. Massive land slides went down in many places blocking the rivers/water sources coming down from the mountains into the villages. Also any areas that did have water pipes under the ground (rare) were broken. In many of the places the water has been restored, but in others it has not. Helen Helen works here at the apartments all of us older missionaries live in. She’s a mother of 6, grandmother of 10, is the hardest worker I’ve ever met and would do anything for anyone! Learning about her situation...
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