First Day in Vanuatu

Two new Elders, Elder Jeffries, Sister Draper, Sister Gayle Granger
and President Paul Granger from Adelaide, Australia.

Hey Mom and Dad, it’s Sarah just letting you know that I made it to Vanuatu.  I am assigned to serve in Port Vila for the first transfer and am in the same place Sister Tate was her first transfer (so that means I have clean water and hot showers-yeah).  It’s beautiful here but extremely poor.  My P-day is on Monday so I will email then and let you know how things are going.  I love you!!

We didn’t place a Book of Mormon on the flight over here, but I did give away a pass along card, so that’s something!  The plane from San Francisco to Auckland was 13 hours long and my ankles swelled sooooo much!!  But it was a super nice plane, now I just have to get used to the time change.  Flying into Vila was a shock.  You can see the island from a distance but it isn’t until you land that you see how third world it is.  The people flying in our plane coming for a vacation thought they were in the wrong place!  These people literally have nothing, but yet they are super happy.  They call it the happiest place on earth and it is, I just have a lot of adjusting to do.

I am in my area now, It’s called Port Vila 1.  My companion is Sister Tagini and she is from the Salomon Islands so she speaks a little English but not a lot and when she speaks Bislama she speaks super fast, so it’s hard, I need lots of prayers but I can do it.  It’s easy to understand but hard to speak.

The mission home and offices are in my area. The office staff  are super nice and welcomed me with fries and chicken.  Elder Jefferies (from my MTC district) is in my same area, but he seems like he is in shock. . . I don’t think this is what he expected at all, but then again, you can’t really prepare yourself for this!!

I have to go now, but I love you Mom! And I’ll email you on Monday.  Enjoy the General Women’s meeting!