Tanna Missionaries - Christmas Eve Day - 2013

 

      We thoroughly enjoyed meeting with the missionaries.  There are sixteen serving in Tanna - four sisters and twelve elders.  It was hot and dry - very dusty.  That morning the District leaders picked us up, and we went to the town of  Lenakel.  This is one of the largest centers on the Tanna.  There are only about 2500 people that live there, but it is a center of commerce.
      The missionaries had a  service project for four hours in the morning.  They all worked on the property of the Unit President in Lenakel.  Clyde helped the missionaries make the Christmas calls home to their families while they worked.  I was at the center in town administering English language exams for returned missionaries that want to attend BYU-H.  Everyone reconvened at about 1 PM for lunch.  We had an all-you-can-eat buffet brought in by a local restaurant.



      You can see that it was not fancy at all.  There were none of the niceties of tablecloths, etc. The hall is a building that is owned by the chief.  The Lenakel Unit rents it on Sundays for church services.  They use the plastic chairs.  We rented it for our activity as well.  The food came in hot in the heavy cast kettles.  There was rice, chicken, a beef stew, vegetable greens, island root vegetables, cold cucumber salad, a marinated cabbage salad, etc.  The beef stew was really quite good.  For dessert, there was chocolate cake, fried bananas, and vanilla ice cream.  Clyde went and bought some water bottles at a small shop.

 
 



      After everyone had more than enough to eat, it was activity time.  Some of them talked and threw a rugby ball around.  Many set up a net and played volleyball and some basketball.  We had brought a ball bump with us.  The district elder's had told us the balls were all flat. 

 

The last thing that we did was to gather in the chief's building again.  Clyde and I shared some council about missionary work with them - and we bore our testimonies. 

 

       Then the Christmas stuff.  Some of the missionaries had letters and boxes from home,  Everyone had a Christmas stocking.  The stockings were made by the family of one of the Vanuatu missionaries that had returned to the United States during the past year.  Each stocking had the missionaries name on it.  Inside was a new toothbrush, some lip balm, a small rubber ball, and a wrapped gift.  Everyone received a Vanuatu Mission t-shirt.  Some were bright yellow, some lime green, and some a teal blue.  They were all excited.  Everyone put on their new t-shirt and gathered for another group picture.