Me and Elder Welegabit and Elder Benry

Playing some basketball with my friends

Port Vila Week 10
 

Halo Famle Blong Mi,
 

Since you last heard me I was pretty busy with transfers, it continued throughout the whole week.  Not too much happened because of it but I will try to give a good rundown of the week.

 

Last Wednesday morning we checked in Sister Tagini at the airport at 5am and she flew and we went home to do our morning studies, but sleep got the best of me and I slept for about an hour before we went to District meeting.  After our meeting we taught little Avock about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then we went to the mission office and President Brewer brought 3 new missionaries from the airport, Elder Benry, Elder Fa'agalu, and Sister Ro'oarii.  We ran them through an orientation of the mission which took up most of the time during the afternoon before we had to go to the airport again to pick up Elder Ngatehau, who will be transferred to Tanna.

Thursday morning we checked in Elder Ngatehau and Elder Ross in the airport at 6am so they could go to Tanna.   We went home and studied and went to teach mama Edmas about the Sabbath.  then we went to the mission office to meet with president and get some stuff done before we went to Avock and Rose's  and taught them about baptism and confirmation.  Then we saw Jonassy and Claude (I thought his name was Glot by the way they pronounce it) and we taught them about the plan of Salvation. Then we saw Sele and taught him about "Folem Profet" and we went to the Vanva family's house and taught a short but very spiritual lesson about the Temple.  We also showed a small mormon
message about temples on a portable DVD player and the spirit was very strong, bringing tears to all our eyes, I can't wait until our temple in Cedar City gets built, and I can't wait for the day they will have a temple built here in Vanuatu! ......I love the blessings from the Temple!

Friday morning we went back to the airport and checked in Elder Welegtabit to fly to Malekula and Elder Benry to fly to Santo.  Then we went home and we fell into a deep sleep, I woke up at 1pm confused, but came to my senses, we didn't have an appointment planned thankfully, I just need that rejuvenation after going to the airport every morning this week.  We taught Avock and Rose about Fasting and filled out a baptism record for them.  Well now it seems like about 8 investigators will be ready to be baptized on the 6th.  We will work with the others to prepare for the future instead.  Well after we taught Avock and Rose, we taught Elorine about the Sabbath and then checked in Sister Rooarii into the airport so she could fly to New Caledonia  for her mission.

 

Afterwards we got a call from our investigator Gabbie saying that her friend was sick and wanted a
blessing.  We walked to their house in Beverly Hills and the girl's name was Carol, we talked with her mom and family and came to find out that they're from Uripiv in Malekula, I know some of their family there, what a coincidence? But here in Vanuatu, everybody's family, there are many relations around these islands, it's pretty cool.  We gave a blessing to Carol.  She had many others give her blessings but she never seemed to feel better, but after we gave one, the next day she felt a lot better, the power of the priesthood is a very great blessing.

Saturday morning  we played basketball with our 2nd counselor Berry Toungian and his son  Kasto, the office elders came as well.  We played a great game, lots of fun!  Then we did our normal studies and taught Edmas about Folem Profet and filled up a baptism record for her.  then we taught Moses and Norman about Chastity.  And at 1pm we had district conference.  We had our priesthood meeting first and I sat with Moses and Norman, and their friends.  Moses and Norman are just like members, they're so cool and have many member friends that bring them to church and it's awesome to see the members doing missionary work!  At 3:30pm we had the Adult Session and the chapel was filled to Capacity!  I think over 800 came!  A lot was discussed about the Stake that will be organized next month, many people are excited! After District Conference we did our Weekly Planning.

Sunday morning at 8:30am we checked in Elder Fa'agalu in the airport so he could fly to the Solomon Islands and afterwards we rushed to the "Le Lagoon" town center for our Sunday Session of
District Conference.  It also was filled to capacity and many people sat outside to listen.  Over 2,100 people came!!!  A pretty big District Conference if I say so myself!  It was great, I met many great friends from other branches and had a great time.  We will meet there again next month for stake conference and I can't wait to see how many people come!  After the conference, we taught a new
investigator named "Sena", she followed a friend to District Conference and is interested in the Gospel.  then we taught Elorine about the law of chastity again to review it because she couldn't
remember the lesson very well and then we taught Bella and shared a scripture with her.  We taught her at President Tiasanmal's house and we hung out there and I talked with Sam Matua, Willie Dan, and Rosali, all prospectives from Saet Siwi, they're all excited to serve, they're just waiting for their Visa's to come, after the Cyclone.

 

Visa's have come to a hault and it takes awhile for them to get approved so many prospectives are getting their MTC dates postponed, but it's alright, the lord will send them in his own time.

Well everything is great in the paradise of Vanuatu, and I love seeing the blessings of these people, oh and this upcoming Sunday we're flying to the Solomon Islands for Zone Conference!  And we'll come
back next Tuesday.  I don't think I'll get the chance to email because we'll be busy so probably plan on hearing from me next Tuesday or Wednesday.  Mi lavem yufala tumas!

Love,

Elder Beynon

Me and our squad at district conference

Me and the District Presidency

Baptizing Pita's family

The Aaronic priesthood in our branch

Port Vila Week 9
 

Dia ol famle mo ol fren blong mi,

Sorry I haven't emailed you for awhile, we've been really busy because of transfers!
 

Here's a little rundown of last week. So last Tuesday morning we had a 2 and a half hour meeting with President Brewer about transfers. We thought of who could go where, what assignments they need and what needs to be done, it was pretty cool.  Part of the transfers was that two Elders will be going to Tanna,  Good ol' Elder Ross and Elder Ngatehau,  possibly we will be going on exchanges with them every transfer to see how the work is there.  I'm excited!

 

After our meeting we taught Avock and Rose about the Word of Wisdom and they loved it,
absolutely knew it was true, our bodies are temples and need always keep our bodies clean.  We also taught Sele about The Sabbath Day and he knows just about everything he needs to know to be baptized.  At the end of the afternoon we taught Jonassy and Glot about The Restoration.  Those two are cool,  they are very interested in the gospel, and Jonassy has been coming to church!

Wednesday morning we woke up early and played basketball with Elder Jones and Elder Ormond, and then we studied at our house before going to District meeting.  We went to the "Air Vanuatu" office and got plane tickets for all the missionaries who will be transferring.We had the chance to teach Avock about the Plan of Salvation and mama Edmas about the Word of Wisdom, she's ready to be baptized as well. We wanted to Originally baptize a few investigators this Saturday but we
will be having District Conference, so everybody's date will be on June 6th. (Mom and Dad's Anniversary!)

 

Then that afternoon we taught Elorine about the Word of Wisdom as well.  I love teaching kids about
the Word of Wisdom, they always understand it well and know what's good and bad for our bodies. Then we did an Exchange with the Elders in Pango.  Elder Smiler went to Pango with Elder Mastin and Elder Joseph came with me.  Elder Joseph is cool.  He's from vanuatu from the island of Merelava, not too far from Gaua, you can see it in the distance from the shore by our old house in Kaska.

Thursday we went to mama Shantel's house and taught her about the Plan of Salvation.  Now we're mostly reviewing the lessons and she really loves it,  she's learning a lot.  We then walked to Seaside and saw lots of kids playing futbol (soccer) and we played with them, had some fun, and of course I had to do some magic tricks.  Now everyone is referring me as "Majik Man!"

 

We then taught an investigator named Matilyn who comes from a part member family.  We taught her about the Restoration and Commited her to read the Book of Mormon.  Then we got on a bus to go to Beverly Hills.  Oh, I don't know if i've told you before but here in Vila there are lot's of little buses that the people drive around to transport people to make money.  So if you need to go somewhere if you don't have a truck, you stand by the road and flag one down and they'll stop and take you where you need to go and it's only 150 vatu per person ($1.50).  That's how all the other missionaries here without trucks transport themselves around, it's fun!  

 

Ok well we got to Beverly Hills and taught Sele about Baptism and Confirmation and the Covenant we make when we're baptized.  Then that night we ended our exchange.

Friday morning we did our Weekly Planning and went to the Air Vanuatu Office to pay for all the plane tickets for all the missionaries transferring, the Office Elders needed help with a few
things so we split with them and then we got together again and me and Elder Smiler taught Avock and Rose again about the Law of Chastity, and then Jonassy and Glot about the Book of Mormon.  

 

Afterwards the sisters in Ohlen called and asked me if I could baptize a family they were teaching.  The Parents names are Rose and Pita,  I came to find out that I already know them.  Back while I was in Tanna with Elder Child some kids from Middlebush walked all the way to Lenakel to come
to church, and me and Elder Child didn't know who they were at the time and we found out where they lived and we drove to their village called "Laruanu" and taught their family, and gave them as a referral to the Elders in Middlebush, because they lived in their area. 

 

The Elders in Middlebush taught them and almost got a date for the family to be baptized but the Elders emergency transferred out of the area, so the family wasn't able to be taught.  But apparently after the cyclone, the whole family came to Port Vila and found the missionaries again and now they were ready to be baptized.  I baptized the Mom and Dad, and 4 of their children, I was so happy to see the family be baptized.  I was so happy to see that the Seeds we Planted have finally sprouted and they will continue to grow and bear fruit!  The Gospel is True, The Fulness of it truly blesses us and our families, man do I love sharing the gospel with these people!

Well on Saturday morning we taught Edmas about the law of Chastity and Matilyn about baptism.  Then in the afternoon Elder McCain (from Tuscon Arizona, he's also lived in Gilbert) and Elder
Saulala flew in from the Solomon Islands so they could finish their missions.  Then later the afternoon we went to the mission office and called all the Zone Leaders to let them know about transfers.  Some didn't have network so we waited there until we could get a hold of them.  Many missionaries called about their new assignments as well. It was pretty cool!

Sunday morning we went to Church and afterwards we taught our recent convert Melisha.  Then we taught Moses and Norman about the Word of Wisdom.  Once again, I love teaching that lesson to kids, we also talk about our favorite foods to eat in Vanuatu.   We also visited Gabbie and shared her a scripture before we went to Sele's and taught him about obedience.   Then during the afternoon we picked up Elder Saulala and Elder McCain so they could have their last interviews and then President Tiasanmal invited us over for dinner that night.

Yesterday (monday) we woke up at 4:30am and checked in Elder Saulala in the airport so he could fly home to new zealand.  We also checked in Elder Killpack in the Domestics so he could transfer to
Santo.  They flew and we got home at 8 and slept for an hour before going to the airport again to check in Sister Lekupe.  We checked her in and waited the 2 hours before she flew and went straight back to the office to have our office meeting.  Afterwards we had to go to the airport with Elder McCain and also 4 Elders and sisters were arriving.

Some needed to meet with president Brewer and the Schedule was so tight that we took 2 seperate vehicles.  Elder Smiler drove the bus and I tailed him in our Toyota Hilux.  It's a pretty nice truck!  I
hadn't driven for 1 year and 8 months......weird......but I still got it!  I got there quickly and didn't even stall!  (My perception is a little off though, it will come back).  We got to the airport and checked in Elder McCain in the International and Elder Ross, Elder Hubbert, Sister Timoteo, and Elder Tyran Welegtabit arrived in the Domestics. 

 

I was very happy to see Elder Welegtabit,  He's from Gaua, he was preparing for a mission while me and Elder Leva served together.  We called him Tyran and we carried Kopra with him and taught his mother and sister and they were baptized while I was there. And now he's on a mission here in Vanuatu!  Well they arrived and I drove with Elder Ross to the Office and Elder Smiler came with the
others later on and after all the meetings we dropped the Zone Leaders off with the other Elders in Erakor.

Then we went to the Sovouai's family for Family Haos Naet.  The Tui family came as well and we shared scriptures with each other and bore testimonies.  One thing that was cool was that one of the ladies there just returned from the Provo, Utah mission,  she served in Temple Square and she knows very good English!  We had good chicken and fried noodles and cabbage for dinner, and ice cream for dessert!  They allheard about my magic tricks and asked me to do some and I ended up
doing a little show for them.  They loved it, it was hilarious!!!   I did many without the people catching it.   It was a great end to our night.

Today we had a little time to clean our house and study, and then we met with President Brewer for awhile and we were only able to teach Norman today about Prayer.  We played Futbol with them as well and we just barely got our shopping done and now we have time to email. All is well here and we're keeping busy!  Onward, ..........Ever onward, as we glory in his name!  I love you all so much!

Love,

Elder Beynon

  

Transfers

Family Home Evening with Sovoia Family

Me and the Missionaries at Santo Zone Conference

Tanna (Look it's green again!)

 Port Vila Week 8

 Dia Famle Blong Mi!

It was so good to talk to you for mother's day, I'm glad to hear that everything's great!  I think I let you know most of what happened last week but I will give you a little rundown.  So last Tuesday my
good friend Katum Benry from Saet Siwi flew from Tanna to Port Vila so he could fly to the New Zealand MTC.  He taught Avock and Rose with us and Moses and Norman and we did some shopping with him to prepare him to go on his mission.  I'm so proud of him, Katum is one of the first
people I met in Saet Siwi, he talked with me in English and taught me a little of his language while I served there and now he's ready to serve.  He will be serving here in Vanuatu.  That night we came to his setting apart and President Brewer set him apart.  Then Katum stayed at our house for the night.

Wednesday morning we checked in Katum at the airport at 5am  He flew at 7am and then at 9am me, Elder Smiler, President, and Sister Brewer checked in the airport to fly to Santo.  We arrived and it was soooooo green!  I forgot how green these islands actually are.  The Cyclone really changed how efate and tanna looks.  We arrived there and I saw Elder Child, Elder Siaka (from inapkasu), and many other missionary friends.  Then we went on exchanges with the Zone Leaders. The Zone Leader there are Elder Brooks and Elder Lomu.  I went with Elder Brooks and we walked through the bush to a village called Teproma.  We passed other member's houses who weren't there but a mama
named Tesi and Papa named Malachi were home and we taught mama Tesi about the book of mormon.  Then we went home and we had 10 missionaries staying at the ZL's house (because there's nowhere else to keep them).

Thursday morning we had our Zone Conference and it was like the one we had in Port Vila, focused on preparing investigators to be baptized.  President also told some stories about the Cyclone to help
them know what was going on at that time.  After conference we had a big lunch at the Santo Hotel.  We ate there last year in January when I went to conference while I was in Gaua.  Wow, I can't believe that was more than a year ago!  Well we ate and then me and Elder Smiler had to check in the airport to fly back to Port Vila so we could go to Tanna the next day.

Friday morning we checked in with the Zone Leaders Elder Dakunimata and Elder Killpack at the airport at 5am and boarded a small plane to fly to Tanna.  I slept most of the way because I had been waking up before 5am the last few days and I was eager to see how the island was.  To my surprise, leaves were growing and the island was a lot greener than before.  I was very happy.  The roads were very muddy due to a week of heavy rain and the lord has blessed the island with water.  President Brewer sent us for a few objectives 1; clean and prepare the ZL's house for future missionaries to come, 2; attend the Whitegrass Chapel Dedication on Saturday, and 3; go to church with
the members in whitegrass on Sunday. 

Our good old friend Moses Kapalu picked us up and took us to Lenakel in his small bus.  We had a small delay because a nail got in the tire and we had to change it.  We got to Isangel and checked our house and to our surprise it was completely remodeled and it looked beautiful!  Better than before the Cyclone.  But we saw some clothes and bags inside that didn't belong to us.  We talked to the home-owner and they said that some people from Port Vila came to fix some of their buildings in Lenakel but had no where to stay so they had to force themselves in the house.  They said that they would leave on Saturday.  It was alright, we changed plans to stay at the Whitegrass house right behind the Church there.

We stayed there and helped the members load food on trucks to bring the food to their branches.  That was another big blessing I saw, people were eating!  There was no hunger and the lord had blessed
everyone with food.  The people in Tanna and some in Port Vila have been very amazed.  After the Cyclone just about every house and church was blown down, except for ours, and ours is the only one that has been sending and sharing the food with the people.   We basically camped out at the Whitegrass house (the solar power didn't work) but it was alright, my whole mission has been camping out!  I love it!

Saturday morning I woke up and saw a few kids planting little palm trees around the church grounds, I helped them out and planted with them and members of the Whitegrass Branch, Middlebush Unit, and Lenakel Unit all met for the Whitegrass dedication.  I saw many friends who came.  Tiffany and Ken, President Isaac from greenpoint, and many others, and everybody was glad to see us missionaries!  They really want the missionaries to come back.  There are so many people interested in hearing the gospel!  Tanna will prosper much in the future I know it!

Well we had the Dedication Program and we opened with a hymn and prayer and a member gave a talk about the history of the branch and the District President, President Nalawas dedicated the
building.  Then afterwards we all ate, everyone and we all just socialized and hung out.  I put on a little magic show for the kids and played with them for most of the day.  You know how I am with
kids.  One of them had a parrot that we played with, it was cool, so much fun to be with the people in Tanna again.  We decided to stay in whitegrass another night and go to Lenakel Sunday night.

Sunday morning we went to church and had priesthood class and Sunday School and then Sacrament meeting.   They asked me and Elder Killpack to talk and everyone forgot that it was mother's day and we chose to talk about the love of Papa God.  I gave the talk and gave my last testimony, it was a little hard, I had to cry because I haven't been able to say goodbye to the people yet.  We were forced out after the cyclone.  It was good for me so now I can focus on the work ahead of me in my new areas in Vila.  After church we attended some ordinations of some Elders with the District President and then I said goodbye and we followed a truck to Lenakel. 

We got there to our house but people were still staying there.  Apparently their flight got changed to
another day so we tried to work something out.  There were already 4 staying there at the moment but we had nowhere else to stay and the people came and we talked with them and we decided that they would sleep in the 2 bedrooms in the house and that we'd sleep in our study room and dining room.  And everything was fine.  That's another thing I love about this place.  There was no complaining, no argument, we just said "we'll all share the house tonight" and they said "i gud" (sounds good) and we stayed there for the night.

This morning we walked around in Lenakel to find a member to transport us to the airport at the time in which my family called.  After talking to my family we flew to Port Vila, we had a little delay and
we got back and at 3pm had our office meeting.  Then we dropped the ZL's back to their house and then had a good hamburger for dinner and just found time now to email you. All is going well here and I've been so blessed to be here.

Mi lavem yufala tumas!

Love,

Elder Beynon

 

Planting palm trees with some kids

Doing magic tricks for the people

Going to Lanakel

Moses and Norman (investigators we teach)

Children's baptism in our branch

 Week 7 in Port Vila

 Dia famle blong mi we mi lavem tumas!,

Last week was sooooooo busy!  We got a lot of teaching done!  Tuesday morning we taught Avock about the Book of Mormon andgave him one to read with his parents.  His parents are members but
they haven't come to church for awhile.  We then went to Freshwater and taught Avock and Rose about the Plan of Salvation and we invited their family to be baptized!  They were so glad and accepted, they know everything is true!  We went back to Namba Tu and taught mama Edmas about the Plan of Salvation as well.  We invited her to be baptized as well on June 6th.  Our Zone has made a goal of putting baptism dates on June 6th, it will be a big baptismal service for lots of people.  Me and Elder Smiler have 9 that we have set a date for and we hope to continue to prepare them. 

Well after we taught Edmas we went to the 2nd Counselor's house in our Branch.  His name is
President Toungian, his son Kasto taught with us new investigators named Moses, Norman, and Penaline.  We taught them about the Restoration. They've been coming to church after the cyclone and they are so much fun to teach!  They love what they're learning and they already know alot from going to church, afterwards we taught a girl named Elorine, she too is a new investigator and we taught her about the restoration.  Then we drove up to Beverly Hills and visited the Vanva family, and had good dinner and had a little family haos naet with them.

Wednesday morning we had our District Meeting, Elder Joseph (he's from Merelava and has family in Gaua) is our district leader and he's pretty cool!  After our meeting we visited a part member family not too far from the church and set appointments with them.  We then went and taught Sele about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that afternoon we taught Bella about the word of Wisdom.  That afternoon we did our shopping and then started an exchange with the Zone Leaders. Elder Smiler went to Erakor with Elder Dakunimata and good ol' Elder Killpack came with me.

 Thursday me and Elder Killpack visited Shantel and we taught her about some church history and how Joseph Smith Translated the Book of Mormon.  She was very glad, she didn't know about all the details and she was very surprised of all that Joseph Smith went through to keep the records safe and translate them.  Wan Tru Profet Wan Taem!  After seeing Shantell we followed a bus to Freshwota where we taught Avock and Rose again about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we visited Moses
and Norman again and Elorine.  We all taught them about the rest of the restoration and the book of mormon and we gave them each one to read.  They were very happy to have one.

That night a few different branches had 8 year old kids ready to be baptized and we all met at
the Namba Tu Chapel to the baptism program, Elder Smiler and Elder Dakunimata came too.  Three 8 year old kids were baptized and we, helped out with the confirmations afterwards, I confirmed one of them. I love exercising the priesthood, it's such a great blessing in my life!  Afterwards we ended our exchange for the night.
 
Friday we did our usual weekly planning and then taught little Avock about part of the Plan of Salvation.  Then we taught Sele in Beverly Hills about the law of chastity and afterwards they taught us how to play a game called "Petong", it's a game kind of like horshoes, but instead you play with big iron balls.  We then visited Gabby and taught her about patience and how it's an attribute of jesus christ and how we all need it in our lives. 

That afternoon we taught some of the Solomon Family.  We taught Papa Paul and Mama Raymond, and their kid Erick (also a member) and Anna, his wife and kids.  Anna isn't a member yet and they have 3 small kids named Dexta, Paul and Tom. We taught them about he restoration and they were all glad.  And we had good dinner with them.

Saturday morning we went to the Branch and did some service, we helped them orgainize more food to give out to members and afterwards we went and taught a recent convert at Namba Tri about Language.  We also had the chance to teach Sele again and then we did some contacting and gave a few pamphlets out to some people at Beverly Hills.

Sunday morning we went to church, had a good fast and testimony meeting, and in investigator's class a member taught about tithing and offerings, it was such a great lesson!  When the people here teach their own people here, boy is it powerful.  After church we taught our recent convert Melissa about service.  Then we taught Moses, Norman, and Elorine all about the Plan of Salvation and invited them all to be baptized and they're all so excited!

We also saw mama Edmas and taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then we taught Bella about tithing.  We then went to Beverly Hills and a member mama named "Lala" showed us a potential investigator named Jonassy and his brother Glot.  We asked them if they had any questions about the church and they had questions about education and tithing and they were very interested in how our church is organized and gets things done.  We hope to teach them again next week.  Then
that night me and Elder Smiler counted all our key indicators and we taught 26 lessons total last week!!! I've never had such a busy week before!  We got tons done in our area.  And we've been having so much success, I'm so excited for all the blessings in store for the people we teach that will be poured out when they're  baptized.

Well this week will be busy too.  Yesterday we had our meetings and we taught a few lessons because we knew that we won't be in our area this week.  Tomorrow we will be going to Santo with the mission president and we will do exchanges with the Zone Leaders and then Thursday is Zone Conference there.  Me and Elder Smiler will come back that afternoon because on Friday morning we will fly to tanna with the Port Vila District President Basil to attend the Whitegrass Chapel Dedication, President also wants us to clean our house in Lenakel and prepare it for 2 possible Elders to go serve there.  We will stay in Tanna until Monday.  I will be there when you call for mother's day
and hopefully the call comes through this time.

I'm so blessed to be here serving these people and I've never been happier in my life. I absolutely love it here, I can't believe I only have 5 months left, 2 years is too short honestly.  Mi lavem yufala
evriwan bigwan!!!

Love,

Elder Beynon
 
 

Playing Petong with our investigator and other kids

The Solomon Family

Just a little rain in Port Vila