Vanuatu was formally known as New Hebrides until they gained their independence from Britain and France in 1980. Vanuatu is a beautiful country with a great deal of rain forest and quite a bit of WWII history. The populated and accessible areas tend to be around the perimeter of the islands. Port Vila is the capital city located on the island of Efate. There is one paved road that circumnavigates the island. You will find several paved roads in Port Vila, but many roads out of the city are primarily dirt and mud. Vanuatu consists of 83 islands; 13 larger island and about 70 smaller ones, some of which are not inhabited. Most islands are mountainous and covered in rain forests. The map below will help you understand the geography a little better.
The Mission Home is in a beautiful location with a pretty spectacular view.
President and Sister Brewer are from Utah. They opened the Vanuatu mission in July, 2012. They have about 130 young missionaries as well as several senior couples. President Brewer had invited us to come and help with some humanitarian work. He was delighted that we had made the trip because as he said: "you have to be in Vanuatu to understand it." We understand a little better now, but we are certainly not experts.
We had a delightful evening with the Brewer's. Our hats are off to them as this mission is one that keeps them constantly on the move. They have to fly to numerous Vanuatu islands as well as the island nations of New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands - different languages, different customs and lots of ocean in between. They were out of town the weekend we arrived; flew in to Port Vila on Monday and flew out again on Wednesday. Then they were back again on Friday. If you remember from our last post, some of the branches are not your typical meetinghouses and the young missionaries are located is some fairly remote places. But does this stop them? Absolutely not! An additional bit of information for our home ward; Sister Brewer is Fred Anstee's sister.
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