Earthquake - Part 1

Adorable Ni-Van children.
"Ya gat hamas yia?" (How old are you?) They don't know... 

Our 5 day trip to Tanna did not disappoint. We were able to visit 8 missionary homes and 2 additional locations where we are setting up new housing. They actually have a nice resort on the beach that the older missionaries stay at while visiting this island. It is beautiful and peaceful, especially after a day of dust, mud, wild roads, and whatever else comes up.

This is one of the nicer homes on Tanna. It has a toilet and shower inside.

Tanna Island is big and the villages are spread all over so it was a lot of 4-wheel driving through mountains, gulleys, rivers, and many spots that I wasn’t sure we were going to get through. We always have someone to drive us and someone who speaks English so we can go where we need to. On all of the Vanuatu islands they do not have addresses, so you literally stop along the way asking “Yu save wea ol misinari oli stap?” (Where do the missionaries live?) For. Real. The driver knows the basic area or village but not always the location because it is in the bush, which is what it sounds like. Deep in the rainforest where you can only see lush green trees, filled with vegetation. It seriously is a miracle to even find these places!

This is the view from a missionary home in a place called Port Resolution. There is a beautiful breeze that moves through their house. No power, or running water and they are as happy as can be.

Port Resolution and Saet Siwi missionaries

 They live in an extremely remote area.

Some of these houses had not been visited for a very long time, and are in much need of repair. We knew that was the situation going into it so we were committed to seeing all 8 and we also needed to finish contracts for the other 2 so off we went. One of the places is in a village up a mountain and we were told that there is a new chief who will not fix the roads up there, so the very bad roads have become un-drivable. We drove as far as we could and then literally hiked the mountain up to this village and went to the missionaries house.

Part of our hike up the mountain to the Saet Siwi house.

We pulled out 5 bags of unneeded things, repaired some items, and made a list of what needed to be done. We repeated this process with all 8 properties and always had an opportunity to visit with the missionaries and have a prayer with them before we left. It is really amazing connecting with them and listening to them share. About a third are from America, but the bulk of the missionaries are from different Pacific Islands, many of which I have never heard of. There are also many from Africa.

One elder told me he was the only member in his family. His parents were so upset he had joined the church he didn't tell them he was going on a mission and literally called his mother at the missionary training center to let his parents know where he would be for the next two years. His mom has accepted it and said she is glad he's wanting to do good things. Another missionary shared that he also was the only member in his family in Zimbabwe, Africa. He had joined the church as a teenager and said "I knew it was true and right and all I wanted to do was be at church every week so that is what I did". Many other stories of missionaries who were "off the covenant path" for a time, and realized that it was not what they wanted so they turned their life around and wanted to serve a mission to share the good news of the peace that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Missionaries guiding us up the mountain to their house. They said they hike about 5 miles just to get to their teaching area.

Imaus Elders standing by their "kitchen sink". One of the Elders with the bright new white shirt is from a big city in the Philippines... only 3 weeks in. I promised him that it gets better :) Their toilet and shower are 15 feet from their house.

Before the trip I felt impressed to bring oranges. I felt weird bringing them but the thought had woken me up in the night and had the impression a few times. When we arrived in Tanna and would bring them in to the homes, the western missionaries faces lit up and the comments were, I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve had an orange! It wasn’t a huge thing, but the truth is sometimes we are impressed to do things and we may never know the impact. Listening to the promptings is the important part.

This is a "pit toilet"... 15 feet from the house.

The living conditions are very rough for people who are used to western living, but in the words of one Elder from Utah, he said, “The living is rough but the work is easy because everyone wants to talk to us”. They wash their clothes by hand and hang them on a line to dry. Outside of their homes we always saw baptismal clothing that had been recently used.

Bucket shower. This one at least has wood slats on the ground.

In one area on this island two Saturdays ago they had 7 baptisms, the following Saturday 11, and this Saturday they have another 7-10. The growth of the church is moving at a crazy pace on Tanna specifically. A lot of the growth are the “Mamas” and the “pikinini's” (children). One of the challenges is, there are not enough priesthood holders so the young elder missionaries take on a lot of responsibility of the branch (congregation). On the island of Amebae one elder is basically running the branch. There are all kinds of stories I can’t write here, but it is not boring and church definitely is run a bit differently out in the bush.

What is interesting to me is with all of the growth of the church here, it brings a lot of other problems and challenges that would be HUGE issues back home and probably would never even happen. That being said, we see so much growth of the people in their understanding of God and their faith expanding and growing. We see goodness and people wanting to learn and connect because of what they feel. We see them turning away from certain practices that are not in line with gospel teachings, and we see them bringing others with them.

The Elders had no where to hang clothing. Joe put up bars in the bedrooms. They were very happy. Oh the little things!

Village homes hiking up the mountain.

The beauty of Gods grace is a very real thing, which really is the whole point isn’t it? Our understanding that the Savior makes up the difference for what we lack, our imperfections, our lack of understanding and on and on. No matter where we are on the path, God’s grace is truly sufficient for each of us and we can have that peace that “surpasseth all understanding”. 

How grateful I am for a God who knows us and loves us for who we are and where we are right now. A God who is patient with our learning and helps us to continue to try and try again. As we celebrate this Easter, I celebrate and remember the one who rose three days after he gave his life and how that act of love can transform you, me, and all those around us. We see it everyday and I am grateful.

Next week we are off to Malekula… Another flight on a very tiny plane and a much rougher environment. Yikes! It will be an adventure that I hope is not too crazy. We bring lots of food and extra stuff in case flights cancel. To be continued...

We love and miss you all,

The Kwans

There are little piglets, chickens, and children running around everywhere. Seriously, driving down the bumpy road you see all these pigs crossing the road. 

It's quite common to burry their dead in their "backyard".

Bruce our translator and Orbit our driver.