The Marquesas...Terre des Hommes

So yes, the Marquesas Islands are called the "Terre des Hommes" which means the land of men. It was traditionally the warrior islands and they are a proud people. What a gorgeous place! Several climates all on the same island...tropical, desert, rolling hills, and pine forests. We were warmly greeted with beautiful floral couronnes

View on Nuku Hiva. Couronnes made especially for us.

The view from the missionaries home on Nuku Hiva. Not bad!

We drove to the far end of Hiva Oa on a dirt road, looking over cliffs to the ocean...for a total of three and a half hours there and back.. As we would descend from the cliffs, which were desert, into tropical valleys, it felt a little like discovering the Garden of Eden.

One of the valleys on Hiva Oa

A beautiful spot to play soccer!

The largest Tiki in French Polynesia...at the end of the island of Hiva Oa. Steven made him a missionary :)

People who live out in these valleys make their living by fishing or doing copra (coconuts). There is not a lot else out there to do and you would have to be pretty self sufficient to live there.

Atuona, Hiva Oa

There are two Branches of the church in the Marquesas Islands. We went out there for District Conferences. On Nuku Hiva we had about 40 members come and at Hiva Oa we had about 50. Both Branches put on a dinner after the first evening meetings and treated us to some cultural dancing and singing.

I realize it is not feasible for many people to get to the Marquesas, called the Marquises in French, but it is definitely worth the trip if you ever have the chance.

I am always glad to get back to our house in Papeete after traveling. But when we arrived home from the Marquesas we found thousands of dead ants throughout our house. Ugh! What a welcome home! We were exhausted, hadn't eaten for hours, and had an incredibly busy schedule to look forward to the following three days. So...as I write this a week later...we are at a hotel for three days while our house is being fumigated. Hopefully we won't have such a homecoming after our next round of travel 😉

The best part of this mission is being with the missionaries and meeting new people. I wish I could speak the language better and could really get to know them well. I feel honored to be, even if very briefly, a part of their lives.

Love you all!