Mission Vanuatu the Weldy’s – Feb 9 2016 – Our Village Living in Malo

Our Tree

Our new village family planted a coconut tree in honor of our family. They said we will all eat coconuts from it before we head back to the states in 2 years. It was a meaningful moment for all of us.

Everyone in the village works on a coconut plantation. They told us that knowing about copra (smoked coconut meat) would help us get to know them at a deeper level.

Chatty Matty

Wherever Matt went, people “storied” with him. They talked about U.S. culture, WW II, and lots of other Jeopardy-worthy topics. 🙂

The church took everyone by transport down to the ocean for a picnic lunch. All of us ladies brought food and two ladies taught me how to make laplap in bamboo. Hungry for crab? Some other ladies went and caught some!

Everyone loves playing in the water here it seems. Maybe because even they think it’s hot! Here Ethan and a dozen others are jumping from a bridge into a river that flows into the ocean. Matt and Lauren jumped, too!

Cooking Class Anyone?

Learning from each other is an important social and practical activity in the village. I ended up teaching two cooking classes the first week. The second week they taught me how they cook without water during the dry season.

My First Teacher Training Class!
 

The church had already bought Sunday School curriculum, but the ladies wanted some help getting started. I walked them through how it works, had them break up into groups to brainstorm ideas, and then share those ideas. It was a great day!

100 Pigs Tree

Our village uncle took us for a walk and showed us a sacred place where chiefs were buried in the past. We also saw a tree where 1 of 100 pigs were killed in 1921 to signify that our people had officially moved from Malakula to the island of Malo. These talks were eye-opening for us.

Lauren & Friends

Our hammock was a big hit – especially with the kids! Here Lauren is showing them how to make Rainbow Loom bracelets. The girl in the back left of the picture is Lauren’s friend Presca. God was so gracious to give Lauren friends in our village.

Bible Study Time

Matt enjoyed teaching about the Covenants, New Testament timeline, and prayer during the afternoon Bible studies. The people really soaked it up! Matt also got to preach both Sundays – in Bislama!

Play Time!

You can build anything out of bamboo! Matt and the guys made us the goals for each end and we taught everyone how to play Flicker. They really enjoyed learning a new game!

Mama Nelly

This is the sweet woman who adopted our family (which means now we’re related to everyone!). She seemed pleased that I already knew how to scrape coconuts.

Traditional Dish

It’s basically like a coconut cream fondue with pounded breadfruit as the dipping item. Not bad – but it’s a lot of work!

Aidan the Amazing

Whenever Aidan started doing card tricks, a crowd would form. Kids and adults all wanted to get in on the fun!

Until Next Time!

We got up at 5 a.m. to finish packing up to leave. It was sad to line up and say goodbye to everyone. We’ve already planned to go back again in April or May!