Vanuatu Part 4: Church at Paonangisu and Lelepa Island

Sunday morning we made the drive to the other side of Efate to go to the Paonangisu Branch for church. 

I borrowed one of my mom's island dresses to wear for the day.

It just so happened that Elder Tuiburotu had just gotten transferred that week from Tanna to Paonangisu so we got to see him again. Davis was thrilled to see his best buddy again! 

We waited a while for church to start. I think it started 45 min late. Island time!

They asked my parents to both speak when we got there. They didn't know we were coming and I wonder what their plan was if we wouldn't have come ha ha.

I loved hearing my parents speak. It's so cool they've both learned Bislama.

My memory of this meeting is that it was very hot.

More hanging out after church! They didn't have the second block of meetings that day. They're trying to get organized so that can happen. :)

It was my favorite thing to watch my kids play with and interact with the local kids. Max and Violet were a bit more shy. Andy and Davis jumped right in.

A group shot in front of the missionaries' apartment.

Davis with his favorite elder.

We wanted to go visit a local home, so that night we went to visit one of my parents' former missionary's mom. We got really lost coming here (they don't really have an address), but finally found them.

They were the sweetest extended family that lives in a group of a few shacks. This one had just been destroyed in the tropical storm in march. They said they were inside when it happened.

We wouldn't let our kids touch the stray dogs that run around everywhere in Vanutua (we were scared of diseases), but made an exception for this cute little guy. 

It was so humbling and fun to chat with this special family for a bit. We gave them legos we had brought and got to see their really humble home. I think it gave us all a bit of perspective.

That night we had a couple of sister missionaries over for dessert. A sister from West Valley and a sister from Indonesia. I wish I remembered their names. It was so fun to chat with them and hear a message from them.

The next morning we woke up and headed out on a full day tour to Lelepa Island!

First, we rode on boats to a little private beach and did some snorkeling, kayaking, and hanging out. 

Lots and lots of shell collecting and trading

After they fed us lunch, we got back on the boats and headed to the snorkeling spot just off of Lelepa. The snorkeling was incredible! I can't decide if it was better here or at Hideaway Island. After the snorkeling we rode the boats again to visit a cave and the village on Lelepa Island. Not pictured: that boat ride was absolutely terrifying. We were on little boats and the waves were huge because it was so windy. Giant waves were crashing inside the boat for a good 15-20 minutes. We were all absolutely soaked and were hanging on to our kids for dear life. I think only Davis and Violet were in life jackets. Another one of those "this would not be allowed at home" moments. We all looked at each other when we were done with wide eyes feeling very grateful we'd survived it.

We were pretty traumatized from the boat ride at this point but still enjoyed the cave.

They served us warm drinks in the village.

It was so cool to spend a little bit of time in the village! They had made handicrafts for us--I bought two decorative baskets that are so pretty.

All the young children sang us a couple songs. It was so cute.

It's hard to tell, but there were giant spiders hanging above us all along the path. Davis wanted to hit them with his stick. 

All in all a fantastic day!