Shark Bait Makes it Through The Storm/ The Hurricane Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine

Dearest Family and Friends! I am glad to report that although we had a crazy week and a bit of a love tap from the Hurricane named Hola, it has been another fantastic week!

Hands down the craziest part of the week was being held up in the house. Elder Hardy has been sick during a few days of the week and we have also been making sure the District Leaders have been helping the Zone get ready in the occasion Hurricane "Hola" want to say...  Hola! Which she did!

One morning Elder Hardy slept in a little bit so he could rest and the phone started ringing. Not an unusual occurrence since we need to report a lot of things to our Zone. When I walked over to the phone the call said it was coming from President Granger. I knew this wouldn't the average phone call. President explained to me that his flight back to Vanuatu from New Caledonia (New Cal had a Zone Conference) had been canceled and he wanted all the missionaries to stay in doors in case the storm got any closer. We got the word out as soon as possible!

Elder Hardy and I used the day to write letters to home, read some scriptures, watch some church videos, and it ended up being a pretty fun day!! The wind started to pick up and sounded like the beginning part of The Wizard of OZ but times by 10. The rain sounded like bullets on our roof. The Lighting lit up the dark skies like a Christmas tree and the Thunder sounded ferocious. Thanks to Our Father in Heaven we were safe in our little house. The majority of the storm did not pass through us and we were able to work the next day. How blessed are we?!

The work here in Black Sands is going really well! Two of our new investigators Thelma (22 year old young woman) and her younger sister Lilly came to church and Elder Hardy and I our so excited for them! A new transfer has come and Elder Hardy and I will be staying put as Zone Leaders. We are determined to improve and help The Lord and His Efate Zone to the best of our abilities. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. But it is all so worth it. My love goes out to all who have sacrificed so that I can serve at this time. Thank you. I love you.

May you always remember this Gospel is true. Heavenly Father loves you and me. Jesus is the Christ and Savior of us all. Trust in Him and He will lead us back home.

All my love,

Elda LaMont/ Your Alekken Ty/ Shark Bait/ Island Boy

This is a picture of a small handgun that a young boy at a Family Home Evening showed us. Thought it was so cool! I wonder if it came from World War II? Thought Grandpa W. Would especially be interested. He found it in His family's garden! Crazy!! 

Shark Bait Gets to See Christine be Baptized/ Helping with Transfers

Beautiful Family and Friends!! I hope you have had a wonderful week!

Today has been a crazy day! We have needed to help the Assistants and Travel Elders with some Transfers and moving around of Elders. This has not left me with tons of time to email but I hope you remember how much I love all of you.

This has been a great week for Elder Hardy and I! The best part of the week is when Christine is baptized! Christine is a 12-year-old girl who has worked with the Elders of BlackSands for a long time. She has wanted to be baptized for a while now but her Father has not allowed her to join the church. Just recently his heart softened and he allowed her to take the lessons again so she could be baptized. What a tender blessing this is from The Lord.

We taught her a lot throughout the week and have come to love her family! When we come over all the kids run out and want to play games with us. I love being able to teach children. They desire to do what is right and teach me how important it is to laugh and enjoy life! Christine's Baptism really highlighted Elder Hardy and I's week. Many of her Family and Friends came and it made for a special day. Because our Ward Mission Leader could not attend the baptism I was put in charge of conducting the baptism. At first I really was nervous to do it but it ended up being a positive experience and a chance to improve my Bislama.

It rained a lot this week! One day it poured almost the entire day! During that day, we met with an investigator we have named Troy. I have included some pictures of us in this email with all of the rain water. Troy came to church this last Sunday and loved every moment! He loves to play games, is very energetic, and smart.

I know Our Heavenly Father lives and loves us. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and through him families can be together forever. 

My prayers and love go out to you.

Much love,

Elda LaMont/ Your Alekken Ty/ Shark Bait/

Answer for Dad's Questions:

The Ice Cream here is really good. It is a lot softer here in Vanuatu for some reason. Perhaps it is because of the humidity but I am not sure! They have awesome flavors like Passion Fruit, Coconut, and even mint Ice Cream. The Pizza looks like pizza but has a different flavor to it. It is really hard to explain! The stars do shine bright and it is absolutely beautiful. I love to look at the stars any chance I can! It depends on where you are but the smell of the ocean is one of my favorite things! The water really is that blue! Times when we are driving you can't help but be amazed by it's beauty! My most spiritual experience this week would be giving a blessing to a young boy who was sick. I felt the spirit fill my heart with love for him and his family as we gave the blessing.

Christine is baptized!

Road trips in Debbie (a.k.a the truck)

The coolest looking spider you will ever see!

Food From the Baptism (Christine's Dad caught fresh fish from the ocean, rice, chicken, and Laplap)

Vanuatu Efate Zone Conference in Port Vila, Vanuatu