Le Chapeau de Gendarme and other adventures

We are preparing to send off three great missionaries who have completed their missions, receive 3 new missionaries and accomplish all the activities around a visit from President and Sister Ostler for a Zone Conference. And then there was a little hike.

As we have moved through 2010, we have sent off a large number of very experienced, great missionaries. And new ones have arrived to take their place. These new elders and sisters are already working hard. They are well prepared. The Sisters have all come from Tahiti which eliminates the language problem. And the Elders, all Americans, are proficient in French already and making great progress. They will soon be assuming leadership roles in the work here.

With the training at their last visit, President and Sister Ostler felt it time for a zone conference, not having had one in 3 months here. We enjoyed a p-day picnic on Monday with them and then a zone conference on Tuesday before sending them off Wednesday morning. Their pace and travel are very demanding. Relaxation time with the young missionaries is always great. They enjoy being together as well as having time to visit with the Ostlers and ourselves.

Just prior to their arrival, a young convert in the Noumea 1 branch hosted a dinner for all of the missionaries to say 'good-bye' to Sisters Cummins and Leavitt and Elder Larkin. Eddey Tuugahala joined the Church himself about 6 months ago and is now preparing himself to serve a full time mission. He has helped the work here enormously by being available to teach with the missionaries in his branch as well as serving a 'mini-mission' during his vacation time when we had an 'odd' number of Elders. He hosted us at another member's larger home, the Aliki's, Didier. Tables loaded with great Melanesian and Wallisian fare. And capped off the meal with his own home-made chocolate cakes. It was quite an evening. Eddey is Wallisian and his grandfather is one of the principle chiefs in Wallis. He is eager to help us bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to his home island and will be a great help dealing with the local tribal structure through his grandfather.

In the middle of this, we have been observing in the bay outside our windows an old, rather tubby-looking sailing vessel. We think it must be a pirate ship. It sailed in one day under full sail, dingy and patched, though they were. Anchored itself in the bay flying a small red flag that resembled a pirates' drapeau. The boat was anything but graceful with its bowsprit and webbed rigging for climbing to the top of either of its two masts. And the enormous rudder hanging off the stern added additional speculation. Painted a bright blue with a gold stripe at the gunwale, she has been quite the sight for ten days. And then abruptly sailed away earlier this week. Adding to its intrigue are the kayak strapped to the bow and the bicycle hanging in the rigging.

As Elder Larkin prepares to leave at the end of his mission, he noted to President Ostler that he had always wanted to climb 'le Chapeau de Gendarme,' a local peak of about 675 meters. Permission granted. It gets his name from its shape. The peak stands alone and is rounded on top looking like a gendarme's hat. The hike is relatively strenuous, at least for 'older people' with lots of ups and downs of 100 feet or more climbing up then back down again and up again. At one point the trail crosses a ravine. The remains of a suspended foot bridge are not much help and the large rocks provide scant footholds. Real rock climbing with no safety line/ the final ascent to the top is a rocky grade about 60 degrees, again with little place to hold on. Three of us, including Elder Larkin and his companion, started early in the morning to avoid the heat of the day. Two hours up, an hour on top and then 90 minutes for the descent. Pictures nearby hardly do it justice, but you will get some idea.

And so the work continues. We look ahead to a weekend with two baptisms, the arrival of a Tahitian Elder on Saturday and two new Elders from the States later in the week. We are grateful for these young missionaries and their energy and testimonies. But even more grateful for our Savior whose Gospel changes our lives and those of so many around us. We testify that He lives.