Sisterhood across Oceans..

Hay............

This is sister maladiri from Vanuatu and the island of Ambae, and am serving in Utah Temple Square.

Their is a sister from Fiji serving in temple square also,she gave me your address.

And she told me to send you email,so i do.

Maybe she meet your families at temple square and they gave your email address to her to gave it to me. 

But ,am excited to send you email each week.

So what part of Vanuatu a you serving in??

Well sister am looking forward your respond.

Love you sister

Hello sister Maladiri!!

What a small world this is! :) I was excited to receive your email. Temple square is such a beautiful place. Im sure you are just loving your mission! But hopefully are surviving the cold winter temperatures!

Vanuatu is a beautiful place! You live in paradise! Very hot here though, so im not too used to that ;) 

I am serving in Santo, Pepsi area. I have been out 3 months now. Im still working on the Bislama. I love being here though!

Thank you for the email. I too look forward to hearing from you and how your doing in Utah!
Lavem yu!

Love your sista, Sista Allphin

   Wow thanks for you email.Yes is kind of cold here but i can make it.I love here is kind of busy this month because it's Christmas.But i love it.

Wow my grandma live in santo just near U.S.P.near the church building.

Am also out for three month same as you,am still working on my english.But i know that the help of our Heavenly father he can help us.

Well MARRY CHRISTMAS IN VANUATU FOR THE FIRST TIME.I HOPE YOU LIKE IT.

it was different from utah.

ME LOVEM YU!

love your sister,sister Maladiri.

All Is Well in Vanuatu

Letter from Elder Kearns (senior missionary couple)

All is well in Vanuatu.  The cyclone hit the Solomon Islands, but was mostly just sideways rain.  No significant damage.  It then veered off to the west of Vanuatu, will skip our islands, and is zeroing in on New Caledonia.  These three island groups are what compose our mission.  This has been the pattern for cyclones for the past several years.

Sister Brewer, the mission president's wife, told us that in 2003 President Hinckley visited these islands.  As he was leaving, he asked the district president if there was anything he could do for the people of Vanuatu.  The district president told him that they were having a terrible time with cyclones.  One right after the other was devastating houses and gardens.  President Hinckley reportedly said, "I can fix that," left a blessing on the land, and there hasn't been a cyclone since.
                                                                   

Sisters Allphin and Takuvaka were our dinner guests Tuesday night.  We had invited our Chinese doctor friend, and he was to receive his first discussion.  The dinner happened, but the discussion didn't, because Dr. Wang had to hurry back to the hospital to keep a woman from dying.  He is my good friend, and is perhaps the most spiritual person I've ever met.  Sister Allphin will have the privilege of teaching him, and I'll have the privilege of baptizing him.  When I first met him he referred to the Church as "good one Church."  We're now "best one Church."  He came to the branch New Year's Eve party, and to church last Sunday.  I'm so grateful to know him.  He's already saved 3 of my friends' lives.

Sharpi... Kaden's getting Baptized!

Kaden:  Im getting baptized on my birthday. will you give One of the talks?I geT ice creaM Whin I go TO sChooL on Time.I love you.

Shaina: 

Kaden! Im so happy to hear from you!

I am so excited for you to be getting baptized! What a wonderful day it will be. And on your birthday!!?? That is very special! :) I sent you a bday card in the mail on Thursday so it will get to you probably before your bday. I would be so happy to give a talk for your baptism... if i could. haha. I will be sad to miss this very special day for you. But im so happy you will be getting baptized and become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints! Heavenly Father is so proud and so is your whole family!! Make sure to make it a happy day. You will be able to feel the Holy Spirit so strongly and you will feel clean.

Wow, you get ice cream!??! I hope you get to school on time each day! I remember all those days we would race each other to get ready! You can get ready really fast! And then i would love to drive you to school. When i get home, can i take you to school again? I love you so much Kaden!! Have a very happy week! Thank you for the puppy and smiley face. Love you so much buddy!

love your sister, Shaina

Sounds like a pretty relaxing week for you all. Glad to hear halie did well in her drama thing. She always does :) I'm sad I'm missing like everything! tell her to slow down and save some things for when i get home! haha. jk.

That is so exciting that he will be getting baptized on his birthday! I'm so excited for him. It makes me really sad that i wont be there. i would have loved to give a talk for it, as he asked me ;) he is ready. Just having parents like you and dad, who are always great examples, is preparation. That is great that you two had a little talk :) haha. I am glad that he has been better so far too! I'm sure things will begin to be wonderful. He has to mature after baptism :) Awe, and halie's first performance... I am so sad to be missing that as well. She is going to be amazing!! :D Good luck to her! and will you buy her a Sobe drink from me and give it to her before her performance? Its good luck :)

Wow, way to go with cleaning! That is impressive. I like when we keep the tree up for a long time. Its a good feeling! Did you ever set up the village?

Ok i will tell you a little about my week now. It hasn't been the most amazing week with appointments and such. Since we are both new to the area, we have been talking with some members and trying to find some people. Sharpi is an area with a TON of less actives. So this week, we have been going and trying to find their houses. We went to one less active on Wednesday, Abu Serah, and she really likes to talk.. haha. She is kind of a gossiper as well, so we sat there and listened to her stories. Then Takuvaka and i began a story lesson, just to share a scripture with her. We opened with a prayer, shared the skripta, and then, as i was about to go into baring my testimony, she started talking again.. ahah! It started out about the lesson, but then went way off topic. She talked for about 20 minutes i would say, as my comp and i continued to try and cut in to get back on track. We would just get cut off.. Eventually we were able to share small testimony and then ask her to give the closing prayer. hahaha she is a wonderful woman. We had a good laugh. 

On Saturday we visited another less active, Esther. The husband comes to church but she didn't. They are an older couple. We visited with them, and shared with each other our thoughts. It was a great experience. Henry, the husband, told us how they want to go to be sealed in  the Fiji temple. They asked us to pray for them that they might be able to find the money to pay for their passports. The church will pay for all other expenses. They are a couple with a lot of faith. Esther came to church yesterday too!! It was good to see her there.

Oh one other thing i have to say about this week. On Saturday, their was a cruise that came. It was the Oosterdam, Holland America. It was HUGE! I got a picture. Anyway, two women from the ship came to the church house and we were there for a baptism put on my the elders. So get this mom, these two women live in American Fork!!! And i know one of their sons! I graduated the same year with him. hahaha. It was so crazy! What a very small world. They said if i had anything to give you, i could send it with them an they would deliver it. Unfortunately i didn't have anything. i sent the calicos already and that's about all i have bought. I gave them your email and they might send a picture they took with us. Their names are Tamara Back and Jodi Hildebrandt. The cruise went out of Australia. They reminded me of you mom. i think you would have so much fun traveling with them! To bad you didn't know them before and come along with them ;) They shared many amazing stories with us about their trip. They are doing the Lords work as they are vacationing. Their stories were inspiring and they are definitely being protected and guided by the Lord. I don't have time to share them all and i have already talked too much about this.

Well, i don't have much else to say. I love you all so much!!! I hope you have a wonderful week! I miss you all heaps. Mi lavem yufala tumas!! Mi hop se yufala stap sev mo protected oltaem. Ale ta ta!

Love your sista, Sista Alfin

Mi no gat wan samting lo mekem naoia mekem se mi bae jus wet blo yu lo sendem wan email i kam. Mo kilim taem. Mi bae jus email ol tingting blo mi lo Bislama. Ol Zone Leada i bin ring las nite mo bin givim mi wan assignment lo zone confrence lo Jan 30. Mi mas givim wan 7 min training lo wan samting insaed lo white handbook. Mi mas prea from wan samting wea ol misinari i struggle wetem mo tok tok lo saed hemia blo 7 MINUTES!! That is so long in bislama!! Mi fraet tumas... Be mi bae jus prea lo Papa God mo askem hem lo givim mi komfort. Mi bae sendem hemia naoia. 

Wash Day

 I didn't get the chance to do wash last Monday so i did it on Friday cause i ran out of clothes... So i don't really have anything to do today. We have a washer and and spinner. It is manule, so we turn the water on and fill it up, then it goes and washes it. then we have to rinse the clothes and then we put them in the spinner and then hang them up to dry. hard work but not as hard as by hand. 

In Tanna they would do it in a stream. hopefully some time while i am serving, they will open up the islands to sisters again. Even if i just serve there for a short time, i would like it :)  

Transfers...Goodbye Mangali

Well remember when i called on Christmas? Yeah about an hour later we got a call from the sister training leaders. They thanked Natto for her time serving in Santo and said she is transfering to Vila. And i was going with her but i would be coming back to santo. So we cried a bunch, i bawled, and then we packed and left just 3 hours later. We got here to Vila and waited until saturday for Transfers. Everyone kept telling me i was going to be training. ANd everything everyone was saying lead me to believe i would be. So i was SO nervous. Finally we get the call and they tell me i will be serving with sis. Takuvaka!!! They one sister i came to Vanuatu with! I was so relieved!! I seriously jumped up and down and ran around like a crazy person. I will be changing areas too, back to sharpi. That was my first area with Schuster. So all the other missionaries will be flying out tomorrow.. except me. Sister Nisa, the sister that will be serving in my old area in Santo, flies out tomorrow morning with my companion... So strange. So things are really confusing right now. Sorry i didnt email this morning. I have just been going around with sis Nisa and Schuster and they had a ton of erands to run today. So we just finally got the chance to get on!! I dont really know what else to say. Things are really crazy right now. My brain is running  100 miles an hour!! I really enjoyed talking on the phone for Christmas!!! Were you surprised when i called back...? hahahah!! Sorry about that... Thats probably why my companion will no longer be with me... :( I will miss Natto so much!! We had a great time together. And i am really gonig to miss my old area, Pepsi!! And Mangali!! i will still see her and all of them at church though! :)   I love you! 

Almost Christmas

I want to hear something from Kaden! :) And he should draw a picture for one investigator, Mangali. She is a little 8 year old. She loves me! haha. She never wants to let me go. She also loves the sour patch that i brought. i have given her some of the packages. She wants to come home with me when i leave ;) I told her that you (mom) would love her :) She is adorable. I love her! 

We had family haos nite over at her house last week. They have a wonderful family! Haha anyway, we did a little activity to demonstrate faith. I was partners with mangali and we were both blindfolded. Mangali had to feed me some chip things without her sight. She turned it into a race with her other sisters. So i was just sitting there with my mouth opened while she was just shoving these chips in my mouth!! I couldn't chew or close my mouth!!! And i was trying not to laugh! haha it was fun :) But yeah, i gave the lesson on faith and talked about Abraham and Isaac. I did the lesson and didn't even have to turn to sis natto for help with words!! IT went really well! I was so grateful! The spirit was helping me so much to know what to say!! :) It was a fun night! :) 

"Waetman" Cute Pikinini

Hello everyone!

 

This week was another great week here in Vanuatu! Not too much happened, but every day on the mission is a great one, right?! :)

This week we contacted a referral named Serzine. She is a young girl, about 20. She lives with her husband and right next to her friend. When we went to visit with her, her friend was also there. We asked if she would be glad to receive the lessons as well, and she said yes! Her name is Lillian. So we got 2 new investigators this week!! They are great investigators. Very fun and they actually talk a lot during the lesson! Here in our area, and probably generally in Vanuatu, the people don't participate much during our discussions. They are all very shy and soft spoken. Sometimes that makes it a little difficult to teach, when we ask questions and they don't want to speak.. haha. But its great!  So we are excited to begin to teach Serzine and Lillian more. We have taught them twice and they are taking the lessons great :)

This week I had some pretty rough teaching experiences.. :/ The language is still a little difficult for me and so teaching is interesting sometimes.. haha. We were teaching a young 8 year old boy, Jimmy, about the plan of salvation. We were going to teach about our purpose on the earth. So we start off with Adam and Eve, one principle that I haven't taught yet. Sister Natto turns to me and says, "You can start off." My heart started pumping and a lot of things were rushing through my mind. I was trying to remember back to all the times Sister Natto has taught Adam and Eve and think of the phrases she would use. It started off good, and I was able to get about 2 or 3 sentences out from memory. Then, my mind goes blank... I cant remember anything more about Adam and Eve and I don't remember any Bislama to shove in and make is sound like I know what im talking about. I turn to Sister Natto, and she lets me sit there for about 10 seconds (which feels like a lifetime) in silence, trying to think of ANYTHING to say. She then comes in and continues. I felt so discouraged... But, I knew I needed to just move on from this experience. Luckily it was just a small boy or I probably would have been more embarrassed.. :P I realize I need to go in with faith and not fear. I have a knowledge of this gospel and of the principles. I just need to have faith that the Spirit will direct me with what to say. And I will continue to work harder with my language study :) I really don't want this experience to EVER happen again.. :P

Well, thank you all again, for the prayers, love and support!! I love being a missionary!! It gets better each day :) Have a wonderful Christmas season! I love you all so much and miss you too!!

Love, Sista Alfin

They call me "Misses" here. or "Waetman" They call out in an excited voice, "Oh misses!" Or if they know me just "tufala sista misinaries!" They are all very kind here :)

Sista natto loves Christmas music too! We are really going to hold each other up this Christmas! She is missing home a lot too.. :(  They go to the "solwota" and have bbq's.  And I guess on Christmas, or maybe it is new years, they go around throwing baby powder on everyone!! haha.




We teach Sam, the one on my right, and all the other pikinini came to join. 

Papa Cyriaque at his baptism. And his wife Antonia, who we are teaching :) Marie showed up late, so we didn't get a picture with her... 

Two little twins, Joyce and Richard!! They are adorable :) Belong to the Yunack family.

Oh, on Saturday a Sister came home from her mission. Her name is Sister Yunack and she lives in the Pepsi area where I proselyte. We went over there in the evening for dinner and I meet here for the first time. She says that she has heard about me! She served in the San Jose, California mission with Elder Hullinger. (Sis. Allphin's cousin)

So that was really cool. What a small world!! She says he is a wonderful missionary and doing great :)