Working on the church house roof in Inapkasu

Week 4 on Tanna October 27, 2014

Dia famle mo ol frien blo mi,

Since you last heard me, we went to a family house night at an investigator's house named Thomas.  He's very interested in the church but his wife is not.  So we went to their house and watched the movie of the Restoration.  The full family and many kids came to watch and at the end we bore testimony of the truth of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon.  The spirit was really there and we had a great time.  After the movie, we did a little activity.  We bought a pack of cookies and played the game where you put a cookie on your forehead and you use facial expressions to move it into your mouth.  It was hilarious! the people love it!  It was a fun family house night and we hope to teach this whole family someday.

Tuesday Morning we woke up early and met some sister missionaries at the airport.  One sister was transferring and one was coming.  One of our duties as Zone Leaders is to go to the airport to check in missionaries whenever they leave.  Then we met a perspective sister missionary from Saet Siwi at the hospital so she could get all her checkups done.  A boy named Sam (one of my good friends from Saet Siwi) came to help.  He's waiting on his mission call right now.  Saet Siwi sends out so many missionaries,  since I left Tanna last year one new missionary has left on their mission, four are waiting on mission calls, and my best friend Katum is waiting to finish his papers and wait for his call.  There are so many missionaries coming out of these branches, it's amazing!

So we did that and we drove south to Karimasanga.  (the place where we got stuck a few weeks ago.)  We drove up to a less active member's house and taught this guy named Simeon about enduring to the end.  And then we checked to see if Papa Henry was home but he was gone.  We plan on inviting his family to be baptized this week!  And in the future we hope to get a Unit set up there.  So I guess we are looking over basically four areas now! 

So to help you get an idea of where these places are, our first area is Lenakel, the main town on the island and it's where we live,  Then if we drive about a half hour south (on bumpy and windy dirt roads) on the main road on the south west shore,  there's a road that goes east up a mountain to Inapkasu, our other area. If we drive another five or ten minutes south on the main road, there's a road that goes east up to Karimasanga, and if we drive from Lenakel down the main road, it takes about an hour to get to our last and southern most area Greenpoint.

After we checked if Papa Henry was home, he was gone so we decided to drive back to Lenakel and go to the airport  at 4pm because another Sister missionary was arriving.  Afterwards we went to our Lenakel Unit Leader's house to have a small meeting with him and then we wanted to go to some appointments but all were cancelled.  So we went home after the meeting.

Wednesday we went to District Meeting and came back to Lenakel and went by the market.  One guy asked us some questions about the church and we sat down to answer his questions,  then since many people were around, two pastors from other churches came and started bombarding us with questions. One of them asked many questions but the other just wanted to sit and listen.  The first question the first pastor asked was" who is Jesus's brother?"  And my companion said "John". and this guy was surprised that we knew that.  Then they said "Revelations 22:18 says that there can't be anything added up to the bible",  and they were against the Book of Mormon.  So we shared Deutoronomy 4:2 and John 10:16 to help him know that Revelations is only referring to the Book of Revelations and there are other records on this earth.  They were pretty surprised when we answered their questions.  They asked a few more but we got the indication that they would just keep on asking questions to stump us so Elder Child ended with bearing a strong testimony so we wouldn't get into an arguement.

When we got done, many people were quiet and we gave three people a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet and committed them to find out for themselves if the Book of Mormon is true. Many people witnessed what we did and I think we put many thoughts in their minds,  we respect these people and hope that they will be interested in the future to hear more about the church.  So that was a cool experience that we had.  What else can I say?  The Church is True!  We have all the answers and the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We stayed in Lenakel and decided to drive to a chief's house named Joe.  He's an investigator and the missionaries haven't seen him in a while because he's been gone in Port Vila so we decided to go teach him and his family.  We taught him about the Book of Mormon and how it came about, and we testified of the truth of it and he was very happy for us to come. Then we went to a school to wait for an investigator to finish school so we could teach him but we soon found out that he wasn't there, so we went to the District Clerk's house here and he has a Niece named Linda that we taught last week.  We went there and taught Linda and a non-member mama about the Plan of Salvation and they were very interested.  They have never heard the plan of salvation like that before.  It was a really good and clear lesson, I just love the Plan Heavenly father has for us! Afterwards we taught our investigator Tiffany about Tithing and it was her daughters 2nd birthday so they put sparklers in a banana cake that they made and we sang happy birthday and ate some cake and cookies.  It was our last appointment for the night.

Thursday we studied in the morning and then went to Whitegrass to have an important meeting with the Branch President there and by about 1pm we drove to Inapkasu, it was a nice sunny day and we were able to get up without any problem.  Inapkasu probably has one of the most dangerous roads (when it's wet) and there's a big steep hill that's impossible to drive up when it's raining. Well we got up fine and drove straight to the Unit up there and taught a little girl whose a recent convert named Sionde.  A mama from Saet Siwi translated for us.  Some of you might already know but Tanna has more than 100 different languages and many areas it's different.  Greenpoint and Saet Siwi are the same so I know that really well, In Inapkasu, the language is different (but they understand Saet Siwi language), and in Lenakel there are many different languages as well, but in Lenakel, mostly everyone knows Bislama. 

Well after we taught Sionde, we found out that all of our other investigaors were gone so we decided to help our Unit Leader Sam work on the Church house that they're building.  It's a bush church house and we helped him make the wild cane roof.  We helped him and played games like duck duck goose and hide and go seek with the kids and just had a great time.  Then a rainstorm came and me and Elder Child left quickly because we knew that the roads would be dangerous.  And that leads to a miracle that happened that I want to tell you.

So it's raining pretty hard and the roads are really slick and we know that we need to get down the big steep hill as quickly as possible.  So we finally arrived at this hill and to give you an idea of what this hill is like is that the road is in the middle and both sides it's very steep and the sides lead down to ravines.  And towards the left of the hill the road branches left.  So we start to descend down this hill (we know we have to be careful) and we put the truck in 1st gear and we slide a little and pump the brake so we don't lose control.  But the truck is heavy and the truck starts sliding faster and out of control down this road.  My companion then stomped on the brakes and he pulled the E-Brake and the E-Brake went out so we are flying down this hill just sliding.  And where the road branches left is a big fallen tree and me and my companion crash into this tree, but the impact was so small, it only broke the  passenger headlight.  The truck was a little stuck so we put it in reverse and I pushed the truck and we got unstuck and then we talked about all that happened to each other.

My companion said as we came down the hill, sliding down the hill, he had two options, one veer left and miss the tree, or two, hit the tree.  He said a voice in his mind told him to hit the tree!  Then we came to the conclusion that if we would have veered left and missed this tree, we probably would have slid off the side of the hill, and rolled down into the ravine.  Then it was apparent to us that the Spirit had told Elder Child to hit the tree to save us, and yet the impact was surprisingly small for the speed that we were going, and there wasn't a scratch on either of us.  It was indeed a miracle!

We went home that night and bathed to wash off the mud that was all over us and we reported the accident to the leader who looks over the vehicles, and he was so glad that we were okay.  I am so thankful for the Lord providing the safety he had blessed us with that night, and know that everything is okay.

Friday we drove to Port Resolution under the Mission President's direction so we could give a report at what's available there and if it would be suitable for missionaries.  On our way there we stopped by a village called  Nikity that's not too far from the Volcano and we checked a house that missionaries might stay in the future.  Then we drove to Ikuaramanu (down the mountain from saet siwi) and there were football games happening there and we stayed and watched awhile and I talked to many of my friends from Saet Siwi.  We came down to Ikuaramanu all the time when I was there last year, it was part of our area.

Then we drove to Port Resolution to Papa David's house.  He's now the Unit leader there and him and his family are the ones that we would stay with whenever we taught and stayed there.  David wasn't there but many of his kids and other Pikinini were there and they showed us the way to David's garden where he was.  We walked along the beautiful beach there and the kids showed the way and we just had a great time with them.  I love it when the kids follow us around, we have so much fun!

We found David and he showed us around the area so we could find out about any infa structure and stores for the missionaries in the future. I was so happy to be there again, and David and his family  was happy too.  We stayed there the rest of the afternoon taking pictures and we ate dinner with them that night and shared a scripture with their family before driving an hour and a half back to Lenakel.  So in the future there will most likely be missionaries staying and teaching there, right now the Saet Siwi Elders are still going there every once in a while.

Saturday morning we drove to Whitegrass to get our front brakes changed on the truck and it's a good thing we did,  those breaks were seriously rubbing metal against metal, that's probably why we couldn't slow down the hill a few days ago.  We got the breaks changed and held a meeting with some members in Whitegrass.  They took forever to come so we had the meeting and didn't get done until the afternoon.  So we went home that afternoon and did our weekly planning that night.

Yesterday we picked up President Brewer and his wife to go to Whitesands (an area by the volcano) so they could go to church there.  It was a beautiful day and we got there and the branch there is so awesome!  Two hundred members came and the church was so full!  It couldn't hold everybody inside.  After Church they prepared good food for lunch and we ate and then we took the Mission President to a school so he could see the needs of some communities here.  Afterwards we we drove all the way to Whitegrass where there were some meetings and after all the meetings were done, it was already late in the afternoon.  While driving President brewer and his wife to the Whitegrass Resort there was a beautiful sunset that we saw while driving back.  I love Tanna, it's such a beautiful place!  Well, we dropped them off and then went home for the night. 

Well, know that all is well and last week many things happened and the Lord is really hastening his work here.   We had a miracle and are so grateful to be safe and to be serving the lord in Vanuatu.  I love you all and hope all is well.

Love,

Elder Beynon

Damage to our truck after smashing into the tree

Playing with the kids on the beach at Port Resolution

A view from snake hill overlooking the southeast part of the island

Me with my Saet Siwi friends after District Conference

Week 3 on Tanna October 20, 2014

Dia ol famle blo mi we mi lavem tumas!

So when you last heard me, Elder Child and I drove south to Greenpoint and saw a perspective missionary who would be giving a talk at district conference.  He's a good kid and will be serving in Mississippi in a few months. We walked up a very steep hill to his house, I've been there before last December just before I transferred to Gaua, so I was familiar with that area.  Afterwards we had to drive from Greenpoint to Whitegrass (about a 2 hour drive) and we met a mechanic who serviced the truck and changed the brakes.  After the service we drove to Lenakel to a member's house and taught their niece named Linda about the restoration.  It was a very powerful and clear lesson, the message of the restoration is just so true!  We ate dinner with them before going home for the night.

 

Friday we stayed in Lenakel and took some time to go shopping because we weren't able to shop last Monday.  Then a ship dropped off a watertank for the Whitegrass branch but no one arranged a truck to take it so we found a transport and loaded the big tank in the back and we rode with the truck and the tank to Whitegrass.  Then we came back and taught our recent convert Royal.  This kid's awesome! He remembers everything!  And we hope to go to his house for famle haos naet tonight.

 

Saturday morning we drove to a tourist resort called "Whitegrass Resort" and we picked up President Brewer and his wife to go to Whitegrass for District Conference. The first District Conference in Tanna!  We went there and many members were already there waiting to start.  I saw many members and friends from Saet Siwi and Port Resolution and I was so happy to see them.  They grow so fast, it seems like yesterday I was serving with them.  We had Priesthood session for the first 2 hours and there were some very good talks.  The priesthood is so strong here and many people came.  Then they had the adult session which was very good also.  After the sessions we waited for Mission President to do all the interviews needed.  Then after he finished my best friend and I from Vanuatu named Katum from Saet Siwi went through his mission papers.  I am so happy for him,  his papers should be finished in a few months.  I was happy because I remember the second night in Saet Siwi this kid talked to me (in English) and he told me how he wants to serve a mission, and now that day is coming!  This kid used to follow us around everyday in Saet Siwi and teach with us and translate to investigators who didn't know Bislama.  I am so happy for this kid!

 

Afterwards we drove President Brewer and his wife back to the resort and we went home and I made spaghetti for dinner.  It was alright, I've made better spaghetti, I think that I made the sauce too thin. We gave the leftovers to some members because there was just so much!  I hope they liked it.

 

Sunday we did the same thing in the morning and went to Conference.  But yesterday sooooo many members came, it was awesome!  The chapel couldn't fit everyone,  about 700 members came!  I think there's about 1400 members in Tanna and it's growing fast!!!  It was a great conference.  After Conference was over and we went and taught an investigator about the Sabbath to help him know why we worship on Sunday.  The Seventh Day Adventist Church is big here and the sabbath is a topic that needs to be covered every once in a while.

 

Well this morning we went to Whitegrass Resort For MLC (Mission Leadership Council) Mission President bought me pancakes for breakfast and we had our meeting.  It was a very great meeting and the president told us some really cool church history stories.  And then we dropped them off at the airport and then we came here to email. 

That's about all that happened last week.  But I bet you are wondering what it's like or what the Zone Leaders do?  So as a ZL, we represent the mission president in Tanna.  And the level of service that we give is increased.  Example when transfers happen,  we bring them to the airport and organize everthing for elders and sisters to come and go.  Sometimes we can't teach because we have something else that the mission president needs us to do.  This Friday we hope to go to Port Resolution to find out what's available (community wise) and where missionaries can stay if they want to put Elders there in the Future. 

 

We also work with the District President, we need to meet with him every few weeks to help him know needs of the branches and other things.  And we look over the 2 district leaders here.  We do 1 exchange with each one every 6 weeks.  Sometimes there's a lot on our shoulders but the lord prepares the way and everything has been going smoothly (in a busy way).

 

Well know that all is well and I am loving it here in Tanna again.  It's such a privilege to be with  these people.

I love you all and hope all is well.

Love,

Elder Beynon

Stuck in the mud!

Tanna Week 2 October 15, 2014

Dear Friends and Family,

Sorry you got this email a few days late but we're just so busy!

Well last week was great, after we emailed you it was raining and we drove to the South and tried to drive up a road to go see an investigator named Henry.  The dirt roads were too muddy and slick so we couldn't drive up very far so we decided to park the truck at the bottom of the hill.  So we walked about 45 minutes up the mountain and we taught Henry and his family about tithing and sabbath day.  They are a great family and we hope to set a baptism date for them in the future.  After the lesson we walked down and got ready to go to Greenpoint.  We got in the truck, my companion put it in gear and started driving but the wheels just spun freely, even in 4 wheel drive!  So I got out and pushed while my companion floored it.  It made a little bit of a difference but then the wheels started digging in which made everything worse.  So we then put rocks and sticks underneath the tires but it still wasn't enough.  We decided to say a prayer for the lord to help us out.  We put more sticks and stuff underneath the tires and I got behind the truck ready to push the truck out and my companion floored it again and I pushed as hard as I could as mud was flying out behind the wheels and spraying all over me.  We were still stuck.  We continued for awhile and then the lord answered our prayer by sending two men that were walking down the road to help us.  We worked together by pushing and moving boulders and we finally got out!  We looked at our watch and we were stuck for about an hour and a half!  Then we decided that we would just drive back to Lenakel.  There's no way that we could make it to Greenpoint if we got stuck.  The roads in Greenpoint are a lot worse.  Well on our way to Lenakel we passed by a less active members house and we decided to teach her even though we were muddy head to toe. 

 

 But that's how missionary work is, sometimes you get dirty and there's hard work needed to be done.  Well we taught about prayer and told her about what had just happened and the prayer we said, it was a good way of testifying of the truth of prayer.  Afterwards we went back home and bathed.  I wasn't ever mad that we got stuck, it was rather a crazy but fun experience, mission i olsem ia nao, we made a memory. Wednesday morning we went to the area called Whitegrass, where are District Church Building is.  We had district meeting and then I went on an Exchange with Elder Ross, the elder who I did exchanges with in Malekula.  Elder Ross serves in the most northern area in tanna called Greenhill.   And Greenhill recieved a lot more rain than we did in the south.  We walked to a village called "Coffee", funny name huh? And we went to a house to teach a mama and her family how to make a style of laplap from malekula. They're members but are less actives.  We cooked with them as a way to gain their trust because the missionaries haven't been to the area for very long. Then we put the laplap on the fire to cook, while it was cooking we played marbles with the kids and did some magic card tricks and just had some fun.  Then we decided to have a family house night with them.  Many kids from the village came and we taught them all with the mama and papa.  We taught them about prayer and how it's important to pray with your family.  Then we told the story about us getting stuck in the mud.  When I said " I want to tell a story", everyone was quiet and listened. Everyone was interested to hear what we were about to say and the spirit was there.  The family loved the lesson and the mama and papa started teaching their children in their langauge about the importance of prayer.  It was a great little message that we shared with them. 

 

Then that afternoon we started walking to Greenhill.  The roads were very muddy and very bad because of the rain.  We walked for two hours barefoot in the mud back to their house. Then we played a couple of games of magic before going to bed. 

 

Thursday morning we woke up to rain (it rained all night) and we heard some thunder too.  We studied for a few hours but the rain wouldn't stop.  There was a thunder storm brewing as well.  After our studies we decided to listen to General conference while we waited for the rain to stop.  While listening a lightning bolt struck right by our house and we both jumped out of our pants from the thunder.  We soon later learned that the lightning stuck solar panels on the church house next to our house, crazy huh?!  By 2:30 that afternoon the rain stopped and we went out and walked around and there were little creeks running down the sides of the road because of the water and we walked on the road and there was a spot where we sunk in the mud up to our knees!  I will send a picture so you can see. Well we walked to a less active couples house and taught them and then we went to another family's house for family house night.  We shared a small message with the family and ate together and then went back to the house for the night.

 

Friday me and Elder Ross started walking back to Whitegrass.  We were out of the house by 8am and we walked in the mud for 3 hours until we saw Elder Child and Elder Killpack coming to pick us up to finish the exchange.  Me and Elder Child stayed in Lenakel and taught a teenage boy who's an investigator and we planned on baptizing him on Saturday.  His name is Royal and he knows that everything that we teach him is true.  Then we taught Royal's friend named Kasim about the book of Mormon.  Many other boys were interested and listened to the message.  The lord has prepared many hearts of the people here to hear our message and the work is going really well.  Then we went to another investigator's house named Tiffany and we taught her about the Word of Wisdom.  All of the investigators here are awesome and everyone is interested in the gospel.  I haven't served in an area like this before. I love it here!

 

Saturday morning we held Royal's baptism program and Elder Child baptized him.  It was awesome.  We walked to the ocean shore and we held the program there and we had some members give some talks.  Then we ate some lap lap and soup for lunch.  After the Program we drove south and up to Papa Henry's house again, this time the road was good.  We taught him and his family about prophets and repentance and his family is awesome.  We hope to baptize him and his family in the future.  

 

Then we drove up to Inapkasu.  We got pretty far but we arrived to a hill where it was to steep and muddy to drive up so we walked about an hour to a village where we taught a family and many others in the village about prophets and the time of Jesus Christ. Our Unit Leader there translated for us so all the kids and others who don't know bislama could understand.  In the village we went to, there were many people who were from Saet Siwi so I was able to speak a little in their language.  By the time we finished it got dark and we drove back to our house and ate mashed potatoes and steak that my companion cooked up.  IT was soooo good!  Oh and Grammy, thanks so much for the candy and mashed potatoes you sent me!  We are eating some good food and chocolate now.

 

On Sunday we went to Church in Lenakel.  We meet in a public building that the church rents out every week.  In our Unit here, we have about 50 members. And it's really growing quickly. We taught 4 lessons that day. We taught Royal again and one of his friends before going to see a recently baptized family. This family has a papa named Rodger and a Mama named Kia.  And they have about 6 kids.  This family is so funny. We all like to joke around together and talk about the gospel.  We read with them in 1 Nephi chapter 1 and then ate together.  And then mama Kia gave me an island Dress (the dresses they wear here, they call them island dresses) to give to you mom, and a skirt.  I will make sure to bring it home to you.  Afterwards we took some pictures and had a great time with them.

 

Monday I didn't email because we were freakin' busy!  That morning we went to a dock and unloaded things from a ship to send to the District here.  And then we had to drive to the other side of the island to the area of Whitesands where the District held some meetings with the presidency.  We drove them because it was cheaper to do so than having them find transports.  Then after all the meetings we drove to greenhill to drop one of the counselor's off and then we drove all the way back to Lenakel. We arrived at about 8pm.  But we were however able to hold a family house night with a family and we watched the video of the restoration together.  Royal came as well to join us.  It was a lot  of fun and it was good for them to see it.

 

Yesterday we drove south all the way to Greenpoint and walked up the side of a steep hill to the village of Mairaweng. We taught a brother and sister about the sacrament.  The mama translated for us and we also filled out a missionary application for one of the boys there.  It was great.

 

Well I'm out of time but just know that everything is great!  I love keeping busy as a Zone Leader and we've been busy lately because District Conference is this weekend.  We have many things to prepare for the mission president before he comes.  This will also be the 1st district conference in Tanna, so it will probably be really cool.

 

I love you all and know all is well.  I hope that I will be able to actually email on monday next week but we'll just see.  Mi lavem yufala gogo, ful spid no gat brek!

Love,

Elder Beynon

 

Walking in the mud with Elder Ross

Greenhill

Our baptism for Royal

Me with Rogers family

 

Tanna Week 1 October 6, 2014

Gud Moning ol Famle Blo Mi! (it's morning here)

So first off, to let you know, I'm sending you this email in Tanna!  You are probably wondering "what the heck!, what happened?  Well keep reading on and you'll find out. So last Monday after I emailed you I went on an exchange with and Elder from Samoa named Elder Safea.  We both went to Uripiv!  When I got there it felt like I was going home, I love Uripiv so much.  Many people and kids were so happy to see me again. That afternoon we just walked around the island and I said hi to everyone again. 

Tuesday we went and taught a few less actives who aren't coming to church.  We mainly walked around and talked with people and members and then taught when we got the chance.

Wednesday morning I was doing a personal study and the Zone Leaders called and said someone in your district is getting Emergency Transferred.  He gave me the chance to guess.  When he asked me who's getting transferred, I said "Is it me?"  And he said "yes it's you".  You will be transferring to Tanna and work as a Zone Leader there.  You will be flying out from Malekula tomorrow.  You need to end your exchange, get to your area and pack up your things."  When he said that I was paralyzed!  Not from the fact that I would be going to Tanna, but mainly from the fact that I'm leaving quickly and there's barely any time to say goodbye.  I love Malekula and I didn't want to leave it.  I was excited to go to Tanna but I didn't want to leave Malekula yet.  So I packed up my things in Uripiv and walked around the island to say goodbye to as many people as I could.  It was very hard to say goodbye.  We then had a boat take us to the main land and we ended our exchange and went to Lowni. There I packed up my bags and we played one last game of Volleyball with the kids that afternoon. 

Thursday morning the Zone Leaders came and we played a few last games of magic before going to the airport.  I said goodbye to the kids and members in the area and then we went to the airport.  I flew to Port Vila and the AP's (assistants to the mission president) picked me up and brought me to the area of "Blacksands" to stay with the missionaries there.  I stayed with Elder Echols (the elder from Georgia who was in my district while I was in Gaua) and his companion Elder Tivles, from Santo.

Me and Elder Echols were so happy to see each other again.  I stayed with them that night and on Friday morning I went to Zone Conference. (I would be flying to Tanna on Saturday Morning) Zone Conference was good, another Area Seventy named Alfred Johansen from Zew Zealand came and talked to us.  It was a privelage to hear him speak to us.  After the Conference we went to a restaurant and had a burger and fries for dinner. It was sooooo good!!!

Well on Saturday morning I checked in at the airport at 5:30am and flew at 7:30 to Tanna.  It was good to come back.  My new companion is Elder Child from Ogden Utah. His full name is Carson Kyle Child.  I found out that he went to SUU for 2 semesters before coming on his mission.  During my senior year of high school.  He's been to Costa Vida and I bet that I've met him there before, but just can't remember.  He even met Michael Matheson at Gold's Gym which is Ironic.  Elder Child doesn't know Michael well, but just remembers a bald kid who always lifted.  Funny, Right! My new companion is awesome, we both have a lot in common.

So here in Tanna, me and Elder Child look after 3 areas right now.  A Unit in the city of Lenakel.  Our house is in the city. Another Unit down south called Inepkasu, and a branch farther south in the area called Greenpoint.  I've been to Greenpoint once before just before I went to Gaua so I know a few people there and their language is the same as my first area Saet Siwi, so I'm able to talk a little in their langauge.

So after I arrived we went to Inepkasu with the Elders who stay in Saet Siwi. (one of the elders had to go to port vila and came back with me to tanna).  We went with our Unit Leader named Sam to the bush and cut some trees to use as a post to build a small church house there. It was fun. 

 

 After the service we drove to Greenpoint and taught an investigator there before we drove to North Tanna to the area of Middle bush so the District Leader could interview someone to be baptized.  Then that night we took the 2 elders to Saet Siwi.  It was a dark by the time we got there and I saw two boys and they didn't seem to recognize me when we drove by.  I told them to come and I told them it's Elder Beynon and when they heard that the jumped on the side of the truck (while we were driving) and hugged me and were so glad to see me again.  One of the small boys kissed me on the cheek which was funny.  But it made my day, I didn't know that I was loved that much by some of the people.  We didn't have time to stay which was sad because it was late and we had to go back to Lenakel.  So I said goodbye and said I would come back sometime on an exchange.  We got home late that night and planned and went to sleep. It was a long full day of work which was very good.

Sunday we drove to Greenpoint (we have only one truck here in Tanna now and we use it.) I I will most likely will be able to drive in the future but only my companion is authorized to drive right now.

So we went to Greenpoint and we walked to church and I saw a teenage boy walking on the road.  I recognized him, his name is Katum from Saet, Siwi.  He was my best friend while I was there and he taught with us everyday while I was there.  I said hi to him and talked and asked him some questions in his language but he didn't seem to recognize me either.  Then I said "Naguk Elda Beynon" which means "my name is elder beynon."  When he heard that he was so glad and gave me a big hug.  He couldn't believe that I'm back in Tanna.  Then we walked to church together. Church was very good.  it was fast and testimony meeting and I bore my testimony there and the branch, it is a beautiful bush church house.  After Church we drove back to Lenakel (which takes about an hour)  and we taught an investigator who will be baptized this Saturday.  Then we visited a family who had recently been baptized and taught them about the Restoration again. I love the people, I'm new in the areas but they are so welcoming.  Then during the late afternoon we taught a couple about the temple and temple marriage. They were very happy and very interested in the temple and we hope that someday they will be able to go. We got back home at around 8pm. Another great and busy day!

Yesterday we did some shopping and wanted to email but we couldn't find the time because we had so many things going on.  I was able to copy talks from general conference that an elder downloaded so we will be able to listen to it in the truck. Then we ended up taking the Saet Siwi Elders back to their area and came back and did our weekly planning.  That was the end of our P-day.  Busy busy busy, I like it! 

Well since I'm a Zone Leader and living in Lenakel you should be able to hear from me every week.  Usually we will email on Mondays, but if we are busy like we were yesterday, we will be emailing on Tuesdays.  That's why you're receiving this email late.

Well know all is well.  I was sad to leave Malekula but so happy that I could come back to Tanna.  I love being a zone leader so far and I think I'm going to be here a long time.  We have many responsibilities here and I will try to let you know what we do here.  Sorry my time is short so plan on hearing from me next week on Monday or Tuesday.

I love you all so much and know that all is well and I'm excited for what is to come while I'm here. I love you!

Love,

Elder Beynon