Passion fruit, Grocery Shopping, License miracles and conference!

On Sunday there was a special stake conference broadcast for the Pacific Islands.  Wards and branch members from all over the island of Efate, the island we are on, came by vans that the church hired, otherwise they would not be able to get there.  The stake center isn't that big, so they put up two big tents and set up chairs. The church was also filled with members.   They had a small room with a TV for us to watch in English.  They had bislama translators for the members.  The speakers were Apostle Dale Renlund, brother Owen, YM General President and sister Carol McConkie, 1st councelor in the YW General Presidency of the church.  Sister McConkie is married to our stake president at home.  They spoke about being self reliant, paying tithing, keeping the commandments... things that needed to be talked about.  It was an outstanding broadcast.

Last night, which was Monday night, we had family home evening at the Sackley's.  They don't live in the apartments that the rest of us live in.  They live in a house that that requires a four wheel drive to get there.  The roads are soooo bad.  I think I told you that Elder Robison and I drive a four wheel drive Ford Land Cruiser.  Its a beast to drive.  I'm not sure I want to learn how to drive it, we'll see.  Back to family home evening.  We discussed the talks that were given at the conference for the lesson.  We then played,  game Family Feud.  We had two teams, and the questions were about temples and the Book of Mormon.  It tested our knowledge, and was alot of fun.  We then had homemade icecream sandwiches.  It was great fun.

Tuesday we went with Elder Rice to ATTEMPT getting our drivers licenses.  The reason I say attempt is because there is a gal that works at the desk in the police station that thinks you have to be in country 3 months before you can get your license, so if you get her, she won't help you.  You then keep coming back until you get the gal that knows the rules, and she will give it to you.  You must have copies of the following: regular drivers license from home, visa, passport, and pretty much a brib of $50.00 each.  Luck was on our side,  the right gal was there.  Yahooo! We weren't done yet though, after we paid our $50.00 each there, we then had to go to the drivers license bureau to get the actual license and pay another $50.00 each.  This place was under construction so we have to go back next Tuesday to get our picture taken and get our license.  So we paid $100.00 each for our license.  What a deal!!  Sister Davidson said she has never seen anyone get it done on the first try.   I feel like we should get a bottle of 7-UP and celebrate!!  That being said, we haven't got our license yet!

Elder Robison and I found a store here that sells some "Western Family" stuff!  We were so excited.  Just to let you know again how expensive it is to buy food here.  I will tell you some things we bought.  There's a lot of things you can't get here and if you can they're pricey.  Get ready - I bought a 21 oz can of Duncan Heinz cherry pie filling for $10.00.  When it's our turn for family home evening, I'm going to make my dessert with it.  A 20 oz can of cambells chicken soup $5.95, 3 rolls of paper towels $5.96.    Oh, and I bought two very small heads of romaine lettace at the Au Bon Marche  (because they were packaged together) for $10.00.  Just need to remember that everything has to be shipped.  When in season, we can get lettace, pineapple, mango and alot of other produce.  That won't be until December when it's summer.

Thursday we went to the mission office for a new comers orientation.  When we got there four sister missionaries had just arrived from the MTC (Mission Training Center).  They were some of the same missionaries that we were in the MTC with.  We didn't have to stay in the MTC in New Zealand as long as they did.  It was so fun to see them.   Sister Coroso is from Vanuatu and will serving her mission here in Port Vila, Sister Marvela is from Papua New Guinea and will also be serving here.  The two other Sisters are from French Tahiti, they are going to New Caledonia where they speak french.  The countries New Caledonia and Solomon Islands are part of the Vanuatu mission.  This same day the new mission nurse, sister Tucker arrived.  She is from St. George.  Sister Hill will be going home in three weeks.  

That night the mission president and his wife had us to the mission home for dinner.  What a beautiful home.  We had a little more orientation on what to expect  while were here.  It was very helpful.  We then had a taco dinner that was really good.  I also tried passion fruit for the first time.  It was tart, but I really liked it.  Fast forward to this morning (Friday).  We got up at 6:00am and played pickleball.  What a fun game.  This next week is going to be a busy week.  I'll be sure and tell you all about it.  For now, take care and know we love you all.  

Love Elda and Sista Robison

Getting to know each other as Senior Couples

As senior missionaries we do alot together.  On Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday we play pickel ball on a court at the church.  Saturday was our first intro to pickleball.  It is definately  a workout, but it's a serious work out when you first learn because you are chasing the ball all other the place!  pant! pant! It's really fun though and we plan to keep it up.  The afternoon is when we all go snorkeling.    On Monday evenings we have family home evening at one our homes, that couple is responsible for a treat.  One couple gives the lesson, and another has a game planned.  During the week everyone is off doing their individual responsibilities.

The Davidson's work in the mission office doing administrative duties for the mission president, as well as finances.

The Sackley's have humanitarian duties, such as working in the villages to get homes built, water tanks put in and such.

The Lindeman's work with education. They have been getting the churches   "pathway program" started.  They assist students in getting higher education.

Sister Hill is the nurse that takes care of any medical issues.

Elder Rice takes care of housing and vehicles.

We are assistant area auditors.  We are responsible for providing training on audit and financial policies and procedures to priesthood leaders, clerks, and stake auditors as needed.  We also ensure that stakes conduct thorough and complete audits.  The church here is in the infant stage.  The training we will be providing will be in very simple terms.  This is all so new to them.  We can't be to technical with anything. It will be very basic.  It's a good thing, because this is all new to us too.  We know that the Lord will bless us, because we will be helping to move His work forward.  We will also teach them the importance of the Church safeguards for tithing and fast offerings.

Elder Robison has his first assignment this Saturday.  He is to provide a 10 minute presentation to the Coordinating Council of Stake and District Presidents. The Mission President and the Area Seventy, Elder Johanssen will also be present.

On Saturday afternoon, after playing pickle ball, we all went snorkeling.  Apparently there is amazing snorkeling only 15 minutes away, but it was decidejd that we would all go to the other side of the island.   The country of Vanuatu is made up of about 85 islands, we live on one of the larger islands called Efate in the town of Port Vila.  Anyway, as we traveled around the island, the scenery changed.  We were now in the open, away from the city.  Vast jungles opened up on both sides of the road.  It was beautiful.  Within those jungles are villages of people who were all out and about.  They smiled and waived as we passed by.  I felt like I was in a parade!  If you are a fan of the TV show Survivor, my friend Carol pointed out that they filmed an episode here on one of the outer islands. It is so amazing!  I need to get some pictures downloaded for you to see.  As we got to the top of this hill, you could now look out to the south pacific ocean. It's hard to explain the beauty.  You go from this thick, lush, jungle to a big, blue ocean!!  So Awesome.  Gods creations here are so AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL.   We are so blessed to be here.  When we got to the boat dock, we loaded on to this little motor boat.  We filled the whole boat.  Elder Robison looked around and said to the boat driver, "now, we do have the official required coast guard life jackets don't we?"  What a crack up.  He pointed to about three life jackets.  He was worried about me, cuz I can't swim.  It took us about 20 minutes to get to the island.  When we got there, we had our lunch.  Then you could walk along this beautiful white sands beach, or snorkel.  There was a village there on the island too.  We walked through the village and visited with the people along the way.  There are lots of dogs running loose around the island, many are wild, some are pets.  One came up to Greg, be bent down and scratched is nose.  He thought he found his new master, he followed us all the way back to our site.  Poor thing finally went away.  Now, I haven't been snorkeling since we used to go to Hawaii in the Guard.  We used to go on weekend deployments and go snorkeling in Hanama Bay, on the island of Oahu,  but that was 25 years ago so I was a little nervous.  We don't have our own equipment yet, so we borrowed some from one of the Elders that had extra.  I was getting a little nervous.  Greg helped me put it on and then coaxed me into the water.  I didn't venture out very far, I justed wanted to get used to the idea again.  We had fun though, so we will be getting our own.  As we packed up to go back, we noticed it was getting cloudy.  It was kind of scarey looking.  On our way back, it was getting a little turbulant and Sister Davidson and I kept grabbing each others leg.  It was good to finally come ashore.  What a fun day!  

Prices and Pickleball

The other morning Elder Robison and I decided to take our morning walk to a place called Craves.  It's a little bakery that we were told had  some pretty yummy pasteries.  As we started out for our walk it looked a little cloudy, but decided not to bring our umbrella.  It's only a mile or so down the road from our apartment.  As we walked along, we passed people walking to work, or coming home from work.  They would stop just to shake hands and say hello.  We have our name tags on so they know who we are.  Some tell us that they are mormon, and what ward they belong to.  They are so sweet and friendly.   When you drive down the street, they all waive and smile.

When we got to Crave's, they had a special on for 6 pancakes with syrup for 350vt ($3.50 US).  We decided to share an order, and got a banana smoothie in addition.  They had tables outside, so I went outside to wait.  Pretty soon, Elder Robison came out with this little container small enough for a hamburger.  Inside were 6 pancakes the size of a quarter each!!!  The smoothie was pretty lame too! We cracked up laughing.  So, we shared our breakfast and headed back home to make a little more breakfast.  On the way home it started to lightly rain, then it would stop, then it would pour, then it would stop.  We ducked inside a little shop to wait for the rain to slow down.   As we walked around the shop, we saw that they had umberellas so we bought one for 500 vaut/$5.00.  Although it helped, we were soaked when we got home!  That's what you get for living in the tropics and not taking an umbrella.  We're learning.

The groceries are pricey here.  100 vauts = $1.00. Here are prices of a few things  bought at the Au Bon Marche (grocery store).  This is where we do most of our grocery shopping.  They probably get their goods from Austrailia and New Zealand. There is also a huge outdoor market called Mama's.  It has fruits and veggies locally grown by the hard working people.  There are some fruits and veggies that aren't  grown here, so you buy those at the Au Bon Marche. They can be a little pricey.  

Here are a few examples:

1 head of romaine lettace (size of a cantaloupe)  $2.90

1 small tomato   $1.80

4 small apples  $3.00

1/2 bunch celery  $7.00

2 small potatoes  .75

1 whole raw chicken $20.00

I will never complain about grocery prices again!   We'll just have to take a chill pill and go with it!  I'm just kidding.  We're happy to be here and pay whatever is needed.

It is winter now, which goes from April to September with the temperature averaging 73 F, and humid.  Summer is from November to March, the average temp is 82 F and will be hot, wet and humid.

Today, we learned how to play pickleball.  It's a cross between tennis, and ping pong.  The court is shorter than tennis thank heaven.  It was really fun, and it gives you a good work out.  In a few hours we're all going (4 couples) snorkeling.  We've snorkeled in Hawaii, but that was many years ago.   Saturday is the day off for senior missionaries.   Well, I'll close for now.  We hope all is well with you and your family.  We love and miss you all very much!  

Love, Elda and Sista Robison XO

Landed in Vanuatu!

Sorry, we're running a little behind with our entry on the blog.  We are here in Vanuatu, and finally catching our breath after getting settled in.  So, here we go.  Let's catchup!

On Friday, May 12th, we were driven to the Auckland church office building to meet again for additional audit training with Glen Reid.  His wife Debbie was also there.  We have so much in common, and have really enjoyed each others company.  We were taken on a tour and met many of the church employees.  We also met Elders Halack and Cardon, members of the Quorom of the Seventy.  We had a chance to visit with Elder Cardon in his office, it was a special meeting.   After our training, we attended the temple with the Reid's.  What a dear couple.  We look forward to working with them in the mission field.  After a wonderful session, we went to dinner.  They then drove us back to the MTC. 

We woke up early Saturday morning at the mission home and packed up our stuff.  The same sweet Tongan that picked us up from the airport brought us back.  He went with us in to the airport and got us all checked in and ready to go.  We ended up being over the allowable weight for our luggage, but we got it worked out.  

We flew from New Zealand to Fiji with a two hour layover.  We wish we could have spent a little time there, it was beautiful.  It's obviously a popular vacation spot because our plane was full.   When we arrived  in Vanuatu, we were met by four couples, a single sister, and a single elder all seniors. They were so sweet.  When we got to our apartment, they had food in our fridge for us so that we could survive until Monday.  Then, we went next door to the Davidson's for a welcome party.  They had a potluck dinner ready for us.  We sat around and introduced ourselves and got to know each other.  We all live in the same apartment complex, so it will be great fun.  We will have family home evenings together on Monday, and snorkeling on Saturday.  We will also be learning to play pickleball.  So we'll get some good hard exercise.  

Sunday we went to church.  Church is conducted in Bislama, the main language spoken in Vanuatu.  You couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but could pick up a few things now and the.  Luckily, many of the people can speak English too, so we're able to get along okay day to day.  We're going to try to learn the language a bit better, so we'll work on it.  The ward members were so nice, they came up and shook our hand and welcomed us.  Sooooo sweet.  We will probably be attending a branch called Black Sands that doesn't have any missionaries.  There will be quite a few missionaries finishing in December.  This mission will really be hurting.  

On Monday, Sister Davidson gave us the grand tour around town.  She showed us where to get "good toilet paper," where the best markets are for shopping and many other things we need to know.   Elder Davidson helped us get our phones and internet service ready to go here.  

Our vehicle is a land rover.  You should see the roads, they are full of pot holes that could swallow you car.  Today, we took a drive out in the country to see where the people live.  It's just shocking.  They live in tin shacks with no running water, and no electricity.  Yet, they are the happiest people.  As you pass by, they just smile and waive.  We really are happy to be here with them.  We will be attempting to get a drivers license here.  They say it takes lots of time and money.  There is corruption in their government too.   

President Granger, our mission president, and his wife were out of town when we arrive.  But we met with them today, and what a wonderful couple.  We will be working closely with them in our auditing work.  They are happy to have us here.  It's a hard mission to fill and they need more senior couples.  Any way, we are happy to be here.  We hope all is well with you and your family.  We think of home often and miss you all.  For now we'll say "ta ta."  

Love, Elda and Sista Robison. XOXO

MTC Experience

Hello All,

This has been quite the experience here in the MTC.  We've been working really hard to learn how to be missionaries.  As I've said, we won't be proselyting missionaries, but we will have plenty of opportunities to share the gospel.  We've been doing some role playing.  Our instructor brought in two Tongan sisters for us to teach.  Janet was active in the church and her sister Kaitlyn was not active.  Sister Netooah, our instructor, told us that they volunteered to help out at the MTC.  She said that this was a real life situation, that Kaitlyn really was inactive.  So, we proceeded to talk with her to find out why she had gone inactive.  We talked with her about different gospel principles and what she could do to be happy.  I think we actually helped her.  We're not quite sure if they were a plant or not!  It doesn't really matter though those situations will happen. 

Last night we went to dinner with President and sister Howes, our mission president.  As I mentioned, we are the only senior couple at the training session.  It was fun to talk about our families and get to know them outside of the training environment.

Today we met with the Area Auditor, brother Glen Reid who is located here in New Zealand.  His wife was with him and what a sweetheart she is.  They taught us about  church records, and audited and what we need to know to fulfill our calling.  It was a little overwhelming, but we'll get it eventually.  The best part about it will be associating with the wonderful people in Vanuatu.

They took us to a mall for lunch, and this young girl just came up to us and hugged each one of us.  I think she saw our badges and loves missionaries.  That brought tears to my eyes.  I know that surprises you!  Tomorrow we are going to the Auckland Temple to do a session with brother and sister Reid.  I wish we could have attended the temple with the young missionaries today, but we had training to do.  It would have been so fun to go with them.

Saturday we are off to Vanuatu!  We will leave Auckland in the morning, have a three hour layover in Fiji and then to Vanuatu.  AWESOME!! 

We'll be back in touch when we get there!! 

We hope all is going well and know that we love you all very much. 

Much Love, Elder and Sister Robison

Time spent in MTC: 4 - 13 May 2017

Elder and Sister Robison outside the New Zealand MTC

Our MTC "Alma" District

Here and off running!!

Good Morning Dear Family and Friends,

We Just wanted to let you know that we made it to New Zealand in one piece!  It was a long, hard trip though.  So here's how it went.

Our flight was at 4:30 pm on Tuesday, 2 May 2017.  We first flew to Los Angeles and had a six hour lay over.  Our flight for New Zealand wasn't to leave until 11:40 that night.  Airports are not the greatest place to spend time.  Poor Greg, it was like torcher for him after spending many years in airports.  Luckily we did leave on time for our destination to New Zealand.   We were already pretty tired, and to add a 13 hour flight on top of that in a cramped plane was miserable!  wah wah!   We did make it though, and New Zealand is a beautiful country. However, it was only about 7:30 am when we got there so we still had a long day ahead of us. Our luggage made it too!  That's always a worry for me.    We were met by a sweet, big, Tongan, Elder from the MTC (Mission Training Center).  

When we got to the MTC, we were met by Presidsent and sister Howes, our Mission President and  his wife.  They were so kind and welcoming.  We got checked into our room and had a little rest.  

At 3:00 pm we met the other missionaries for an orientation.  We are the only senior couple here.  We are surrounded by  the most wonderful, young elders and sisters from all over the world.  It has been so fun to interact with them, find our where they are from, and where they are going on their mission.  There is only about 35 missionaries in our group.  

Elder Robison and I have been called to be Assistant Area Auditors in the Vanuatu Port Vila Mission.  We will be going to the different branches and wards of our mission and ensuring that the sacred funds of the church are being accounted for and spent correctly.  We will also be assisting the mission president with any needs he may have.  It will be alot of humanitarian service.

But, while we are here in the MTC, we are learning the samething the young missionaries are learning.  We are learning their lesson manual called "Preach My Gospel."  Since we are the only Senior Couple, we have our own private instructor.  We are learning how to meet with new investigators of the church and teach them.  We've been doing role playing so that we will know what it's like.  We were not called to proselyte, but you never know who we may come in contact with. We have been doing class work since we got here.  We start at 7:30 in the morning and finish around 9:00 in the evening.  Wow, it's hard on us old folks! We are enjoying being here and look forward to serving.  I'll close for now.  Just know how much we love and appreciate our friends and family at home.  Thank you again to all those who have made it possible to leave home and come on our mission.  

We love you!

    Love, Elder and Sister Robison XO

No time, but it's great!

I'm trying to find time to post something!  You know what it's like in the MTC!  We've been going a million miles an hour, but it's great.   It's been fun to interact with all these missionaries from around the world.  I'm hoping tomorrow will be the day.  We're headed to another .  I'll get back to you soon.  

Love you guys!

This is Melissa, just wanted everyone to know...: They made it!!

After a long layover in los angelos and an EXTREMELY long flight they made it to New Zealand, and already headed to meetings!

Long long day but safe and sound.