Where in the World is the Vanuatu Port Villa Mission

Every day posts pop up on the Missionary Momma's feed that really speak to my heart. Ryan Jones's posts about his son's mission experiences are definitely some of them!

My name is Ryan Jones. I was added to the MM Facebook Page by a good friend because my wife doesn't do the Facebook thing. I realize I don't fit the profile of the rest Missionary Mommas, so I haven't posted anything because I feel a little awkward about posting on a "Mom's" page. However, I have loved reading the posts from everyone about their missionaries serving across the globe. I thought I would post about my oldest kid who is serving in the Vanuatu Port Villa Mission. No one knows where that is and neither did I, even though I am a high school history teacher and thought I knew the world map pretty well. Vanuatu is a small chain of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, just west of Fiji. It is a relatively new mission, only about 1 1/2 years old. My son's name is Elder Jesse Colten Jones and he has been there for 6 of the longest months of my life. He was on Tanna Island until just recently when he was transferred to Espiritu Santo Island. On Tanna he has survived 2 cyclones (hurricanes), one minor and one more serious. He lived within a few miles of an active volcano and has experienced several earthquakes of 6.0 or bigger. None of those experiences have bothered him. He said they were "very cool". The only thing he doesn't like about his mission is the food. He eaten dog, cat, and sea turtle. He absolutely loves the islands and the people. The people live a very basic, almost Stone Age existence, but they are the happiest people he has ever met. He says that time is flying by too fast for him. Time is dragging very slowly for me. This is a photo of my son at a place they call Port Resolution, where Captain Cook first landed when he discovered the island in the 1700's.

“Come Unto the Waters of Baptism”. This is my son, Elder Jesse Colten Jones, offering a steadying hand to a young man who is about to be baptized in a tidal pool of the Pacific Ocean. Colten is serving in the Vanuatu Port Villa Mission and he has been out just over 6 months. I love this photo because I think this encapsulates the whole reason why we are willingly to send our sons and daughters across the globe to serve. Not only is my son offering a physical hand of support to steady the young man against the pounding waves and slippery rocks in this makeshift baptism font. He, along with all missionaries, is offering a gift of spiritual support and salvation from the pounding waves and slippery rocks of the Adversary. I still miss my son terribly, sometimes almost more than I think I can bear. However, when he sends me photos like this, it makes me realize that there is no place that I would rather have him be, than those tiny islands of Vanuatu, extending the invitation to the people to, “Come unto the waters of baptism”

***THE GOSPEL IS TRUE***