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