Solomon Islands

On Friday morning we headed to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.  When we got to the airport, we got in line behind this "mum," and her two darling twin little girls, four years of age.  I asked them what there names were, they said Zoe and Jasmine.  I told Zoe that I had a cat named Zoe.  She thought that was so cool, and from then on those little girls didn't leave us alone for a minute!  They were just a "chattin" away and showing us what they had in their little carry on cases.  They wanted to look through my purse to see what I had in there, so I pulled out my phone and let them look at my pictures.  Jasmine took out my little flashlight and started playing with it. Greg was visiting with their mom and found out that they were going to meet dad in Solomon.  Her husband has a job as a captain on a motor yacht for wealthy people.  They were going to get on the yacht of some wealthy guy and take him where he wanted to go, and at the same time, they are on vacation too.  We got the biggest kick out of those little girls, they were adorable.  I see why you have children when you're young!  PHEW!!

We about died when we got off the plane, it was so humid.  The humidity was at 80%, with the temperature at 80-83 deg.  We got a little taste of what it will be like in Port Vila in about three months (summer).   The temperature in Port Vila at this time is about the same, but the humidity is at 66%.  It's tolerable, but I don't know about 80-100%.  

We were met by Elder and Sister Sanders, who are a great couple.  They are from St George.  They are serving here as education specialists/self reliance.  They administer the church education programs to the students who are members of the church.  They also teach key board classes to some of the church members, preparing them to play in sacrament meeting.

We didn't really need to spend five days in Solomon, but they don't have  flights between the islands everyday and Tuesday was the soonest we could get back to Port Vila.  So, we enjoyed a great tour of the island in addition to the audits.

They took us on a tour of the town, stopping at a little shopping center where they buy groceries, and get their haircut. There was also a little food court where we had some lemon fish and rice for lunch. While we were there in town, we ran into some of the missionaries who had previously served in Port Vila and transfered to Solomon.  It was so fun the see them, they're such sweet young men.  They don't have young sister missionaries serve there because they don't feel it's safe for them.  I think that's a good decision.

We weren't able to check into our hotel, so they took us to see where they lived. The first counselor in the mission presidency and his wife, who are from Samoa, live there on the property also.  They live in a protected compound for their safety.  It seemed safe on the island during the day, but night time could be a little scarey.  

The Sanders arranged for a local man, Sam, to take us on a tour of some WWII sites in the Pacific.  He was very knowledgable and had a great personality.  He took us to a site called Hell's Point.  There was a battle called Tenaru that was fought close by on the beach in which many Japanese were killed.  Afterwards, the area was used as an American ammunition dump for small arms ordnance, mortars and bombs including captured Japanese ordnance. They also had some army tanks that were left on the island after the war.  This is not a tourist site, so we were lucky to be able to see it.

We then drove to the top of a hill, to the place called Bloody Ridge, where the Marines fought a terrible, bloody, battle with the Japanese.  In the early battle for Guadalcanal, U.S. Marines handed the Imperial Japanese Army its first taste of defeat, these were the first battles of the Pacific War after Pearl Harbor was attacked.  When you see these sites where men gave their lives, you really appreciate what they did for all of us.  We went to a really nice American monument that had plaques telling about all the different battles fought there on the island.    After our tour we got checked into our hotel and had dinner together.  The Sanders really went the EXTRA MILE to see that we enjoyed our stay.  

On Saturday the Sanders had to teach a keyboard class at one of the branches in town.  It was in a rented storage building in a scarey part of town, so the church was fenced in and had barbed wire around the top.  They bring portable key boards with them and the member students meet them at the church for class.  Greg and I decided to walk the streets while they taught.  

As I mentioned before, the locals in Port Vila make a drink out of kava root.  It is  a psychoactive beverage that has been used socially and ceremonially for hundreds of years.  When they get drinking that stuff it makes them very relaxed and spacey, they party hardy all night long.  In Solomon they don't have kava, but they do have the BETEL NUT!  It is the seed from a type of palm tree.  It looks like a lime.  They chew on it for mood enhancing effects and makes them high.  There are many health risks associated with its use, including oral cancer, and reproductive issues.  It's gross because when they chew it, it makes their teeth and gums go red, it looks like blood. They spit it out all over in the streets.  Every where you look, up and down the streets, they have individual stands set up with these betel nuts for sale.  Each one is 1 solomon dollar (13 cents) US.  It's funny because the stands are right next to each other, same price.  They just stand around and get high off of these things.  We walked up and down the street visiting with the people and shaking their hands. It was sad to see a mother holding her baby and have her smile with this red mouth.  It really is a sad habit.  We weren't sure if we were in any danger, probably wouldn't do it at night!  Luckily they don't have guns, but they do have machetes.  They use them to cut through they heavy jungle areas.

We then went to a place called Don Bosco.  It's a boarding school started by a young priest in the 1800's, and has been run by different Priests since then.   They take in "drop outs," kids that have a difficult time in school and are outcasts.  They attend the classes that you would normally take in high school.  They also teach computer skills, and life skills.  They have a fish pond where they raise tilapia, and they grow their own vegetables and rice.  It's run by a Priest from the Philippines.  He was a good man that really cares about the kids, and they love him too.  He told us about some of the success stories of those that have been helped.  It really is an amazing place.

On Sunday we attended three different branches at three different ward houses.  The reason for attending so many was because Greg needed to perform the audits.  The first branch we attended was the one where we went with the Sanders to the key board classes.  The members there, as everywhere we've been, were so nice.  We really enjoyed visiting with the good people there.  We could actually understand the language better on the island, because they speak more of a "pidgin english."  It's more of a broken english.  Their vocabulary is better.   Bislama is a type of broken english too, but way harder to understand.  After sacrament meeting, I went with Sister Sanders into Primary while Greg and Elder Sanders went into the audit.  She has been getting the children ready for the Primary program.  They know many of the primary songs, and love to sing them.  It was fun to sit and sing with them.  I can still remember those fun Primary songs.   After the audit was finished there, we went to another branch.  While they did the audit, we went into Primary.  What a darling primary , the kids really know those Primary songs.  They don't have a piano, so it's all acapella.  Sister Granger is trying to get portable CD players for each branch on all the islands in the mission.  That would be a huge blessing to these little children for learning the songs.  The last branch we went to was where the Sanders attend.  The meetings were over, so we just visited with some of the members while the audit was being done.  The Sanders just live down the street from the church, so Sister Sanders and I went to their place and visited until the audit was finished.  They had us stay for a delicious Sunday dinner.  

On Monday we drove to see more WWII sites.  We went to Red Beach where the Marines fought so valiantly.  There was a family there that lives on  property by the beach.  They have remnants of planes and tanks, and call the area a museum.  We went to a few other properties that people have made little museums from the relics that were left behind.  They are able to make a little money by charging a small fee.  We were all exhausted at the end of each day.  The humidity takes it out of you.  You just make sure you drink plenty of water.   The next morning the Sanders took us to the airport.  They are a special couple never to be forgotten.  They will be returning home from their mission the end of November.  Before we left, Elder Sanders gave Greg an empty shell cartridge that someone had given him.  Greg put it in his shave kit.  Pretty soon, immigration came and took it back.  They saw it when they put the luggage through the xray machine.  No one is allowed to take war relics out of the country!  Lesson learned!! Once again we returned back to Port Vila with more amazing memories.  The audits in Port Vila are the only ones left to do.  We'll be helping President Granger with other duties until our next audit cycle in January.  We have had some great experiences so far and look forward to many more.  We are so grateful to be here in this special part of world.  The people here have it tough, but they are resilient and doing their best.  The members of the church here are strong and they love the Lord.  We're doing our best to help them.  We want you all to know how much we love and miss you. Stay strong!   Love, Elda and Sista Robison