At last...birthdays, wedding and baptisms

Last Saturday we wondered if all that had been cancelled due to hurricane Vania could be rescheduled. Or at least how soon those events could be rescheduled. Today, a week later, we have celebrated the long awaited marriage and attended three baptisms. 'On deborde de joie.'

By Monday morning, much of the flooding was starting to recede although it continued to rain. The 3rd p-day in a row with rain. But we all had work to do cleaning apartments, washing and cleaning cars, picking up mail and having a little fun together before the week's work began. And also celebrating two birthdays that fell that very day. We are surprised that among the 26 missionaries here, we have a number of double ups on birthdays. Somebody better in statistics will have to explain that one. Shortly after missionaries arrived in the early afternoon, we sang happy birthday with great gusto and ate cake. But we still didn't know when the delayed wedding could be rescheduled at the Mairie.



However, By Tuesday afternoon that question had been answered and we looked forward to Saturday, January 22 with much anticipation.

The day dawned rainy with squall lines passing overhead bringing intermittent showers and sunshine. We were up early to drive to Tontouta for Jean-Claude Ouasette's baptism. We met Jean Claude many weeks ago as he faithfully attended church services in the Tontouta branch. The service today was small but with several members of his family present. His only daughter and grandchildren as well as his brother. He shared a simple, yet powerful, testimony of the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in his life, then encouraged his family, through tears of gratitude, to realize what they were feeling also.



The baptism was early so that we would have time to get back to Noumea for Soane and Vaea's wedding at 10a and the following baptisms at noon. We are grateful for the tender mercy that allowed a heavily scheduled day to roll along and the resultant blessings from Heavenly Father for so many people.


In French counties, marriages must be solemnized before a representative of the government in the city where the spouses live to be legal. This is important because at this ceremony the couple receives their 'family book' which records and is legal proof of all major events in their lives including marriages, births, deaths etc to which are tied all government benefits including healthcare.


The wedding took place at the appointed hour. All the necessary papers had been provided weeks before. That sentence took very few words, but the efforts to get to that point were enormous. Documents at Soane's birth had not been properly prepared. He is Wallisian by birth but was born in Vanuatu, formerly a French country, but now independent. Corrections to these all-important documents had to be done in Nantes, France. These corrections had mistakes themselves that had to be corrected. Every correction effort took 8-10 weeks of turn around time. Many months had passed trying to get it all done so that this marriage could happen and then the baptisms. In retrospect all of this provided both Saone and Vaea the opportunity to conform their lives, their family to a Christ-centered culture including family prayers, daily family scripture study, and weekly time together as a family studying the scriptures. Soane has learned to preside in his home, not as the boss, but to insure that his family is blessed with a stable, happy environment where the Gospel can be lived as well as studied.  Two young children in the home are blessed with peace and are eager to learn and do more. And Vaea's life has been blessed as she has prayed to be able to forgive others for difficult events earlier in her life. The peace of that forgiveness surpasseth understanding.

The ceremony itself took 15 minutes with the government representative addressing the couple on their responsibilities before the law in sharing each others financial obligations and responsibilities in raising any children coming from the marriage. These sacred concepts seemed sterile in the secular world in which they were presented. Where was the understanding of the eternal nature of the family and the importance of being sealed together across he generations as we care for each other knowing how important each is as a child of Heavenly Father and a member of a family linked forever across the generations. the event was joyous, however, because of the baptismal covenants that would follow. Pictures below will tell the story.




We were soon at the chapel in the baptismal service. Elder Hammond, one of our zone leaders, and Elder Sherrod performed the baptisms through their Priesthood authority.  In attendance was a large contingent of Soane's family. Significant because they were accepting of the events without the usual 'coutume' that might have been expected in earlier times. The pictures below will show the changes in clothing style, grooming that they have adopted as they leave local cultures behind.




Following the baptismal services was a wedding lunch provided by Soane and Vaea for a large group including most of the missionaries as well as his family. A great opportunity to get to know each other.



Toward the end of the festivities, a group of former missionaries from New Caledonia joined the events of the day via 'skype' to congratulate Soane and Vaea. As you might imagine, many missionaries have been involved in teaching and preparing them for baptism over the last 18 months. Several of them were together and had a wonderful 'face-to-face' conversation with Brother and Sister Munikihaafata. We enjoyed the reunion also. The twin miracles of having such a day as well as sharing it with friends and co-workers half-way around the world made an extra-ordinary day.


We are grateful for the blessing in our own lives of participating in gathering Heavenly Father's children into His Gospel. We see the blessings of peace and happiness that accompany those who accept it. In itself a testimony of the truthfulness of this great work.