Saints of Vanuatu [van oo ah too]

I have had the most wonderful and just plain funny, saints here from Vanuatu here. The weeks of May 1-8 2008. These islands are between New Caledonia and the Solomon Island groups. Our group is what President Wells call just from the bush. Very primitive. Their houses are basically a place to sleep and an eating and storage area. Sleeping is on the ground with a thatched roof over head. While they cook outside over a fire or natural gas burner, they have a small round hut with a door as their bure. Mostly they store their belongings and use the hut in case of rain. The women each bought a new dress to come to the temple=10$. They are called old mother hubbard dresses. I have some shots of them, but our camera case was stolen [we think] in an airport [probably in LA] Anyways, we don't have my cables to download my photos or dad's battery charger. So photos will be on the blog when we receive our next care package from wade and claudia. Our weather here has changed into incredible and even more. The nights are about 68 degrees and days about 78-81. Can you believe that?? I need a shawl to walk home most nights. We leave the windows open and are great. Please remember this is their winter and they complain all day long about how cold it is. These islanders are wearing knited hats, coats, neck muffs, and wrapping their kids up to keep theim warm. I will sit in the sun in a bathing suit with a shawl and read; it's too cool to swim. But Pres. Nielson still does. He is bound and determined to get his money's worth out of his rent money.
I think that each temple area has their unique saints , but I think we win with these folks. They speak a language called Bislami. It is a mix of english, temple talk, and their own limited vocabulary. Actually I should add church talk to the list. I will give you a few words and phrases and ket you figure out the temple talk. Adam arise - Getti uppi Adam or sitti downi To say we traveled a long way. Me walky, walky, walky, lon, lon, time. Eve and the serpent. The snake were a trick'en me. Ponder... tink, tink, strong. [think, think strong] Son of God. pickinini of God. In the old south a small child of color was called a pickinini. To go back to heavenly Father. Sapos you wanna go home tu Pappa God? Marriage. One man, one woman, sleepie in one bed. Tree of knowledge. Tree of good and not so good. Today we went to the service center [distribution center] and I got a Liahona in Bislami. They only do one a year I found out. All they had was last year's . It was called Oktoba 2007. One part was titled " I Bin Gud Tumas. Just a little sentence on genealogy. Long 1991, mi kasem petriakel blesing blong mi mo hem i talalem se bae mi mas tinging moa aboaot of famle blong mi we oli bin ded.. In 2007 I received my patrichal and began to think if my family that died. Then she speaks to an old family member andis told this. " mi save se bae hem i laekem blog toktok {talk talk} long yu ' mama mi ben talem [telling]. I tellem yu i gat gudfala memori, mo hem [important] i save givim yu infomesen [information] abaot famle" Welcome to the pacific, folks.. When President Mc Kay came to Fiji, he was speaking on the subject of wife beating and beating your children. H said brothers you are not to beat your wife or children. The translator said, "no kill your wife or no kill your pickannies!" Pres. McKay questioned the killing part and the translator said, " to kill them I would have said, "no kill your wiffie dead or no kill your pickannies, dead!" I was in the temple and had never heard the language before and the entire it was in Bislami -so I wore head phones in english. Sr. Wells sat right on the last row and Byron was there too. I almost killed my self from not laughing out loud. And just to watch byron's face and then to see Sr. Wells great big smile, I realised I had set up up by the matron. I had 8 women who had just flown in clouds, used flush toilets, and did not like our water fountains and I could not let them see me laughing a their language. I nearly died. These women just sat in total rapture and amazement. The first time they were in the celestial room they could not sit down on anything, they just stood there and quietly prayed. I love Fiji. They had never seen white chairs or setees [couches] or carpet and for sure never have they seen mirrors.!!!!!! They had an escort couple with them, the Almonds. [from Idaho Falls] and she tried to have them look in the mirrors, but they wouldn't. They were afraid to look up at the chandelier!!! I think it looked like clear coconuts that could fall on their heads!! Way back in the past christian missionaries forbade the islanders from looking in mirrors, because of the tricks of voodoo and black majic. They have very simple minds and could really be damaged forever by getting involved with tricks involving mirrors. As I said they were afraid of the chandlier and it took 3 times before they could look in the mirrors and quite a while to trust the chandelier. These folks change their names at will and their kids too. A new day, got some money=new names. No joke. Poor ol Sr. Howard has to deal with this all of the time. One family came here on friday and by saturday had decided on new names for their kids because they were being sealed. It was a special occasion. They stay at patron housing. Four bedrooms and one bath. So we decided to take them ice cream-they knew the word, but had never eaten ice cream. Also I got them marshmellows.. The ice cream cost 19.00 and the marshmellows were 6.99. Dad almost died, me too. I told them the marshmellows were tiny, tiny clouds. If you have seen the cute pg movie the Other Side of Heaven, then you have seen our islanders. We have more coming in August, dad says. Oh yes, in their language your thumb is called big fellow. I am afraid to ask any more body parts. Yes we will just leave it at that. I listen to the language at the temple and now have a magazine. Dad is now really afraid of just what might come out of my silly mouth now,for real folks. All of our love. MUM