That's all for Now: too many things. too much stuff

Sent: Monday, July 25, 2016 4:24 PM (MDT)

Tuesday, July 26, 2016 9:24 AM (Vanuatu)

this week was really really crazy.

first week as a trainer. new area.

so our area is completely different than my last area. like opposite. my new area is basically a 20-25 km stretch of a road with 6-7 villages strewn along the road, some right next to the road, some a 30 minute walk into the bush. lotsa walking. the little branch we're helping right now is called the tanavoli branch(tanavoli being the name of one of the villages) and so this whole week we basically traveled around the 20 km stretch to the different villages getting a hang for the people here, building a relationship again, cuz missionaries haven't been here for 3ish weeks. the people here are super super nice. like. if we stay at a active member's house for more than 5 minutes, we're getting food. we don't really have a choice hah. the mama of the family decides that we are going to eat and so. we eat. really good stuff.

talking of food. tried some new stuff this week. there's this coconut snack here. called navara(roll the r in the pronunciation) which is basically if you leave a coconut alone for a number of days/weeks after it falls, it starts to grow leaves and roots. and navara grows inside the coconut shell. so after the islanders see the root or leaf, they crack it open and eat the navara. to describe it, it's kinda like juicy coconut flavored cotton. tastes pretty good. different than anything i've ever had before.

i've gotten really good at hitchhiking. cuz we don't have the money to pay to go to town and charter a truck to the other end of our area everytime we go over there, we kinda just walk on the road and try and wave down any trucks that pass and beg them to let us sit in the bed of their truck. fun stuff. new experiences.

the people here really only have one big problem when it comes to why they're less active. and that is church is rediculously far away for most of them and they don't have the means to come to church. and so, as representatives of the lord to these people, we as missionaries need to help these people see the absolute necessity of coming to church and helping them do it.

my pikinini elder atuake is a really really awesome dude. i forgot what it was like to only be in the field for a week but now i remember and remembering what my trainer did, what i wish he did, ect and trying to be the best trainer i can beeee we managed to get a portable dvd player from the office before we left vila so we've been able to watch the district and related training content which is a really big blessing. *grumble grumble* you US missionaries don't know the struggle. #thestruggleisreal anywho. our house is really awesome. the selection of groceries here isn't as various? theres not as much variety. but we eat well every day, whether at members homes or in our apartment. life is good. we're hopefully going to be getting bikes someday soon which will really really really help us and our area.

oh yeah, one thing about our area is that along the road, there's just. papaya trees, and coconut trees. with like. ripening fruit that is 100% ok to just take. so free papaya and coconut if we want/if we find it.

dont really know what else to say so. oh yeah. i met a pig named kiki. he's really smol and loves to smell my hand/ be pet. he's yellow with black spots and adorable. also like. everywhere here, theres just. cows, chickens, pigs, dogs, cats, walking around, chilling in the shade. #villagelife #toolegittoquit

i love my area and my companion and my branch is the best branch ever!

that's all for now!

Elder Hyatt VI

some pictures of my area.