We left our home away from home on Wednesday, 4 Oct, without a hitch. It was smooth sailing all the way home. We landed in Fiji, then on to LA. We decided to stay over night there, after a 12 hour flight and come home the next day. We were met at the airport by family and lots of signs and banners. It was so wonderful! It's good to be back home in the good ole USA!
The internet was down before we left, so here is our last post. Love you All.
It's hard to believe our time here in Vanuatu is over, we leave tomorrow afternoon! This whole week has been the last time we'll do this, or the last time we'll be here or there. As senior missionaries, for Saturday activities, we've been doing the things we've wanted to do before we leave the mission. We're all pretty short timers at this point. The Lindeman's are right behind us, leaving in two weeks. Sister Tucker will be leaving mid November, and the Collette's leave in December.
This past Sunday was our last time to go to the Black Sands ward. I had plenty of kleenex with me that day. I was tearful and red faced the whole day! The people knew we were getting short on time, but we were hoping maybe they had forgotten, and that after the meetings we could just say good bye. That didn't happen though, Sister Tucker made a card for me for all the pikininis to sign in primary. She also handed out paper for them to make their own little messages to me. They must not learn art in school, because they don't know how to even begin to make a card, I think it's just a western thing. As I say that, many of them don't go to school, let alone know how to draw. We had them do this one other time for Sister Toa when she left the Primary as primary president. We drew pictures of the sun, stars, rainbows, a home, heart, and wrote her name on the chalk board, giving them a few ideas. We did the same thing for me, they pretty much just copied what we put on the board. They love using markers, and were pretty creative on the cards they made, which are priceless!! Sister Tucker told them that it was my last Sunday, and Mary, the new Primary president translated it all for her in Bislama, so the kids would know I was leaving. They were quiet and obedient the whole time they worked on their special gift to me. As you know, we've always had a hard time keeping them under control , but that day, they were amazing. I didn't think they liked me much, because I was the one keeping them in the classroom, not letting them go in and out, getting drinks, and going to the bathroom. We're hoping the teachers get the idea that the kids need to stay in the classroom. We've tried to teach reverence, but it's been hard, they just aren't used to being obedient. It will just take time.
While I was sitting in primary, three of the young sister missionaries motioned for me to come out into the hall. These sisters are assigned to Black Sands too, so we see them in church every Sunday as well as around town. Sister Koroso was in the MTC with Greg and I, she is also from Port Vila, so when she get's released, she is just a mile or two from home. Anyway, Sister Koroso handed me a going away present to unwrap. It was a mama dress that her mother made for me. How sweet is that? They were anxious for me to change into it, so I did. Everyone got a kick of out of seeing me in a mama dress. We then proceeded to take pictures together. What was interesting was the reaction I got from the kids in primary when I walked back in. Their eyes got big, and they got a big smile on their faces and said, "Sista Robison look nice." It was like they all of the sudden could relate to me. As they finished with their picture, they handed it to me, and many gave me a hug. I gave them a hug and told them how much I loved them and that I would miss them "tumus." I hope they understood! XOXO
As sunday school was starting, Bishop Mahit asked Greg to join him and his family in his office. He wanted Greg to talk to his son about what he needed to do to become a pilot. The main thing Greg stressed was to stay in school, get good grades, and to take science and math whenever possible. The men here in the islands of Vanuatu, that we travelled to, loved talking to Greg about flying. President Vanu, in Malekula, would introduce Greg as Elder Robison, "he's a pilot," not, he's an auditor. I doubt any of them have ever known a pilot before Greg came along. They had many simple questions, and loved hearing him tell stories about his flying days. It was so amazing to watch their faces as he spoke about it. I'm sure they didn't understand all that he said, because of their limited English, but what they did understand, thrilled them. He tried to keep it simple. We will miss them all so much!
After all the meetings were over, we went around telling everyone good bye. I was really struggling, trying to keep my emotions in check. Families and missionaries asked us to take pictures with them. We got some really wonderful pictures with them. It was really a sweet day.
Mary, our housekeeper, and primary president, came to our door to give me a going away gift, it was a mama dress. She was so excited to give it to me, I know she doesn't have the money for such things. She speaks Bislama and French, only "smol" English. It's very hard to communicate with her, but our good bye was sweet. I will miss having her clean our apartment each Monday, it's been so nice. I'm going to have to find a "Mary" when we get home!!
We had our exit interview with President Duquette today. It was such a nice visit. He talked with us about what we learned here in the mission field and many other thought provoking questions. The Duquette's have only been here three months, but they are organized and are doing a fabulous job. The missionaries love them, and they love the missionaries. They've already had a few challenging things to deal with, but that's to be expected. They're great!
Tomorrow will be our last chance to play pickleball with our dear, fellow, senior missionary friends. We will miss our time here in Vanuatu with all of them. It's been such a pleasure to serve with them. They have been wonderful examples of Christ- like love and service. We will never forget them. We all plan to stay in touch.
We arrive home on Thursday, and have our first mission reunion to go to on Friday! We'll be meeting one of the couples we've served with, the Sackley's, that night, along with quite a few of the young missionaries we had the chance to get to know, if they go. It will be so nice to see them again.
P.S. We went to the reunion last night, what a fun time we had. We got to see three couples and a single sister that we served with, along with several young missionaries. They also had skype set up so that we could visit with President and Sista Granger. So fun!
It's been so fun to share our experiences with you on this blog. It will be fun to look back on them from time to time. I wish all of you could have been there with us, because you would love your brothers and sisters in the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu and Solomon. We sure do! Thank you for your love and support, it meant alot to us being so far from home. Ale lukim yu, (see you all soon)! Love, Greg and Ann
