Santo

We arrived in Luganville on the island of Espirito Santo, on Sunday morning. We  quickly hopped into a taxi and headed for the church.  When we got there we were greeted by such sweet members of the church.  Whether they know you or not, they are happy to see you, shake your hand, and give you a hug.  As we walked toward the chapel, a sister missionary came racing up to us with a big smile, Elder and Sister Robison!  It was Sister Marava, a sister that we went through the MTC with in Auckland who I've mentioned before.  She was very shy, and I worried about her, but she seems to have settled in quite well.  She just beamed and was so happy.  She told us that her father was going to be baptized, so she was on cloud nine! We also saw sister "O" ( I can't pronounce her last name), and a few other missionaries that were in Port Vila, but got transfered to Santo.  It was fun to see them too.  We went into the chapel and sat down behind these four darling little girls, about eight years of age.  They kept turning around and smiling at us.  Greg discreetly pulled out the Ipad and took their picture as they would turn around.  He would then show them their picture and they would giggle, they were so cute.  As we waited for the meeting to start, we heard the tiny little voice of one of the little girls quieting singing to herself.  She was singing, "Love at Home." Honestly, it brought tears to our eyes.  She had the voice of a little angel. 

We made arrangements with the Anderson's, the senior couple serving on Santo, to help us meet the people and show us the lay of the land.   They are here as education specialists.  They setup seminary and institute classes on the island.   As I mentioned before, Elder Anderson also served in the Utah ANG.    They took us to our hotel after church to get settled in.  Later in the day, they picked us up and took us to their home for a delish dinner.  They were so good to us, and it was fun to be with them.  Elder Anderson knew the branch presidents and clerks in the district and was a big help to Greg.  Greg did the training and auditing of thirteen branches and one district while we were there. 

On Monday, Elder Anderson picked us up and we all went to the church where Greg did the audits for the rest of the week.  Elder Anderson goes to the church on mondays and helps the branch clerks enter the tithing into the computer.  The church put just a few computers on Santo, but they are all at the Luganville branch.  It is the only place they have internet, so the other branch clerks have to come in from the out lying areas to enter their tithing and get their reports.  The computer is so hard for them, it's such a foreign concept, and they are really struggling with learning it.  It seems like everybody has a cell phone and are getting to be more tech savy, so in time we hope things will get better. 

President and Sister Granger also came over to hold a zone conference  for the young missionaries in Santo.  I met Sister Granger and she invited me to join them in their training.  We know many of the missionaries because they come to Port Vila from time to time.  It was fun to see those that were here on Santo.  I sat at the back and enjoyed every minute.  As I've mentioned before, President and Sister Granger are amazing teachers. They have these young missionaries that are from many different cultures and walks of life, so there are unique issues that come with that.  In their training they are very visual and literal, because it's hard for some of them to understand. President Granger really hit it hard on the importance of staying together as a companionship.  I think they've had some problems in that area.  They do a lot of role playing, and have hands on activities to get the kids really pumped up.  They are constantly in the scriptures learning and reading as part of their training.  Their training is very educational as well as fun! 

Sister Anderson came over after a while and picked me up.  We went to the mama's market in town and looked around at all of the fruits and veggies and just mingled with the people.  What a carefree life they seem to lead.   After mama's market, we parked the car and went shopping in the little Chinese shops.  I bought a bunch of cookies to take back to the audit session.  When the audits were finished for the day, we all went out to dinner.

The next day was more work for Greg.  I asked him if he was getting tired and he said, " no, I feel energized helping these good men."  Elder Anderson took me to their home to be with Sister Anderson.  It was nice not to just sit around and wait.  She is so much fun to be around and we really enjoyed each others company.  She decided she wanted to make donuts and get some ice cream to  take to the missionaries at their zone conference.  I helped her make them.  She taught me how to make the dough, which was Brigham Young's favorite recipe.   It reminded me of when I was young, helping my mom make spudnuts.  We got them all made, picked up some ice cream, and made some missionaries very happy that day. 

On Wednesday, we took a break and went on a field trip to where two of the branches are located,  Palon and Fanafo.  It was an amazing trip!  We were treking out through the jungle on some pretty crazy roads.  Adam, the second councelor in the Luganville branch presidency came with us.  He's been great, because he set up all the appointments with the branch presidents and clerks for their audits.  He made arrangements to bring in,  those that live on the surrounding small, practically impossible to get to, islands.  And, the reason that could happen is because it was District Conference that coming weekend, so they would be coming anyway.  Mere Lava is an island, that when you finally arrive by boat, you have to wait for the tide to come in and then jump off the boat on to land.  Then it's a hike straight up a mountain to get to where you're going.  They don't even have missionaries on the island.  There are a few islands that are similar, so  luckily they come in to Santo for their audits!  Anyway, back to our little trip through the jungle.  We arrived at Palon where President Leatham lived.  He became the branch President two years after returning from a mission. He's now twenty six years old.  He is married and has a cute little family. He and Adam took some coconuts, hacked the top off so that we could drink the water and then broke them open, and carved the coconut out for us to eat.  It was interesting, because there are different stages of a coconut and they told us all about it.  Also located on the property was a little bush school.  We got to visit with the kids, and gave them each a sucker.  Before we left, they sang us a song called "We're going to the zoo."  They were so darling singing it that I recorded it.   We also took a group photo with the kids.   

We left there and headed to Fanafo where another branch is located.  The church was located on the property of the branch clerk for Fanafo.  We visited with the him and his family.  People are always congregated outside of the house, and don't normally invite you inside.  They spend most of their time outside and only go inside to sleep.    That trip took several hours that day.  It takes a while to get anywhere on those rough jungle roads, but it's worth it!

On Thursday we did some more audits and training and then on Friday, we were given a grand tour, by the Andersons, of all of the beautiful beaches in Santo. It's hard to describe how beautiful they are.  We first went to a place that they call the "healing waters."  People come to swim in and drink the water hoping to be healed from their ailments.  Apparently there was a  women that had cancer,  made many trips to the pool, and was eventually healed.  Now, others come to do the same, hoping to be healed.     We then moved on to Palekula beach.  It was a beach with lots of coral and only a little sand.  You had to wear shoes to protect your feet for sure. 

We drove a little further and came to Champagne Beach.  The sand is like powder, and the waters are crystal clear.   

We then drove to Port Orly beach which was another gorgeous beach.  What a great day.  I have to pinch myself from time to time as we visit these beautiful places.  If you look them up on the internet you will see what I'm talking about.

On Saturday we attended the adult session of District Conference.  Elder Johanson, who was born and raised in Tonga, was the visiting Area Seventy from Auckland.   He is an awesome leader and related to the people so well because of his Island background. He is a powerful speaker! The meeting was conducted in Bislama, but they had translators for Elder Johanson and the Grangers on both Saturday and Sunday.  It was a very special meeting, each talk was what the people needed to hear in this part of the world.  The Lord knows what we need to learn, and sends his messengers to deliver. 

We were suppose to  leave that evening at 6:00 to go back to Port Vila.  The Granger's and Elder Johanson had flown in on a  charter and were leaving to go back at 3:00 that afternoon.  They invited us to go back with them if we were finished. Greg needed to finish one more audit of a branch not getting along to well. They still have Chiefs in their society and their word is law.  From what we gather, there is a branch that has people from two different villages in the same branch that are not getting along, and it has the branch in an uproar and  not functioning. They have not been collecting tithes and fast offerings for a while, and Adam wasn't able to set up an audit with them, so we're not sure what's going to happen.  We decided to go home early with the Grangers.  The plane was a small one with only 10 seats.  Greg and Elder Johanson, who told Greg he had never been so close to the Pilots, sat next to each other right behind the pilot and talked about flying all the way home.  It was a wonderful trip, never to be forgotten. 

Espiritu Santo is the largest island in Vanuatu.  The town of Luganville has relics from WWII.  It is a very popular place for scuba divers from all over the world.  The SS President Coolidge is sunk there, as well as other war machinery, and the diving is suppose to be spectacular.   

We wish you could all be here with us to share in our amazing journey.  I guess you'll just have to experience it through my attempt in sharing.  You are ALWAYS in our thoughts and prayers.  We love you all so much.   Love, Elda and Sista Robison XOXO