Week 41
Visiting Vanuatu With Elder Bednar
25 May 2025
Meet the "Happiest People on Earth", the people of Vanuatu. I don't know who ran that poll but I would have to agree with them. They are kind, loving, trusting, friendly, and faithful. We made instant friend as we worked along side them this week. Yesterday we were asked why they are so happy. I don't know but, I think it's because they are basically untouched or uninfluenced by the world. They have so little but they don't know any other way of living. They don't have fast food chains, big department stores, and little internet access. They buy everything from Ma & Pa shops. They are very modest in their "island dress" even though it was the hottest place I have ever been. (I've been in 122 in Mesa but this humidity made it feel hotter.)
We were on assignment with Elder Bednar's visit to the Islands. He stopped at Vanuatu for 3 days and we stayed an extra day visiting and training with the National Communication Director and other public affair contacts.
YSA ushered in matching dresses for the ladies and ties for the men. They are lovely people.
We filled our time with all kinds of assignments. This 2X4 stage sat bare all day the day of Elder Bednar's devotional. "Island Time" It was driving the production manager crazy, so Elder Shaw and I walked up there and started unrolling the turf to fit it the stage. Pretty soon about 5 RS sister joined us with staple guns and scissors. They had brought hand woven mats and potted plants, freshly dug from their yards. We left about 3 hours later but they stayed until midnight making it perfect for an apostle of the Lord. You can't see our sweat.
This is our production team. They are amazingly talented. Usually SLC sends a crew but they know the Pacific is good at what they do so they left it to them. They are running the 3 hour missionary meeting. Kelly saw them sweating buckets so he sat beside them and fanned them. They brought hotel towel to wipe the sweat so it didn't drip on their very expensive equipment. Kelly and I ran mics around during Elder Bednar's question and answer segment that he is famous for. It was 90 degrees with 90 percent humidity and 300 hundred people in a stake center with no air conditioning. Following the 3 hour mission meeting, there was a 3 hour church leadership meeting. All I can say is pray for the apostles. Their schedule is grueling.
The crew tasked Kelly with the projector during the devotional. They really like Kelly and kept finding ways to keep him around so he could be their comic relief.
This is Mike the project manager.
Launette: This is Elder Bednar's visit with the prime minister of Vanuatu. Leading up to this week, one of our responsibilities was to make arrangements for a meeting with the Prime Minister (We had a relationship with a Stake President in Vanuatu who was a relative of the Prime Minister and we worked through that channel to get the appointment set) researching information and writing a bio page with talking points for this visit. I really enjoyed doing this project. The PM is a preacher on his island and posts daily scriptures for his congregation. I enjoyed thinking about the conversation they would have together, finding what they have in common. That is the definition of our mission: finding commonalities with others to unify and build relationships. The PM said, "I know you are a fisher of men. Come back to Vanuatu and I will take you fishing so you can also be a fisher of fish."
One of my assignments was to find people to interview for the video that is being made about his visit to the Islands. I'm walking around talking and taking pictures of people to see if they are camera shy, can speak English, and have a testimony of latter-day apostles.
Besides the 800 people in this building there were 600 others outside under the shade of tents watching TV screens of the devotional. That is Elder Bednar's security team trying to coordinate him shaking hands with the people outside and still keeping the timing of the meeting.
Doesn't the stage look nice ish?
Elder Bednar with his Bishlama translator speaking to the members of Vanuatu.
Have you every felt out of place but proceeded with confidence. That is me in the picture. There really wasn't a place for me during the priesthood leadership meeting so I joined the sister leadership meeting. These are all of the stake women leaders in the coordinating council. They were very welcoming as I was trying stay out of the way. 3 in the middle sister Ball (mission leader) Sister Meurs (Area pres) Sister Bednar.
This dinner was arranged to have the national communication director meet with the humanitarian senior missionaries in Vanuatu so that they can coordinate how to get the word out about all the humanitarian efforts the Church does in Vanuatu.
The restaurant was called Stone Grill. We figured out why when they brought out raw chicken breast on a hot stone and told us if we cut it we will eat faster. Vanuatu vegetable I couldn't pronounce. Very tasty meal, but you will notice a paper straw. Worst invention ever.
This story will tug at hearts. When our Elder Bednar support visit was over, we arranged to fly home on Solomon Airlines (they have a total of 4 planes). Our flight was cancelled and we were re-routed to a flight 6 hours later arriving at 1:00am. When we got on the plane we understood why our flight was cancelled. The Lord needed us to be on the plane with these two brand new missionaries from Vanuatu going to Auckland. They both had one very small carry-on. (All they owned.) The sister spoke English and the Elder didn't speak any English. They had no idea what to do. We landed in Brisbane and we helped them with the terminal transfer. We landed in Auckland at 1:00am and helped them through visa clearance and customs. I don't think they could have done it without someone helping them. They were lost and overwhelmed. They were headed to the Auckland MTC. After all that, the MTC was not there to pick them up. We called the MTC, woke up the secretary and told them to send a driver to pick them up (they wouldn't allow us to take them to the MTC).
We happen to be in the right place at right time. We couldn't complain about the re-routed flights or late arrival because the Lord orchestrated it to make sure these two missionaries got to the MTC. There are not coincidences on a mission. Only miracles.
We love you and miss you!
Elder and Sister Shaw
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