Bringing their combined experience in media production to assist the South Pacific Union Mission, the Thiel and Tyler families travelled to Vanuatu in December, 2023.
The main mission was to assist in filming several doctrinal presentations, cooking demonstrations, and musical items, and to help take photos for a new edition of a South Pacific vegetarian cookbook.
The local brethren helped out by constructing a special “bush studio” which we used to film most of the content.
The SPUM held a delegation session, a workers’ seminar and youth convention, all at the same location on Efate Island in Vanuatu. Delegates and members attended from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa and French Polynesia.
The media work progressed throughout all of these events. There was something for everyone to do, with filming, sound recording and editing to be worked on. As a special extra, the children sang and filmed the song Jesus Loves Me in four languages.
Of course we also enjoyed the outing during the youth convention—a boat trip to an uninhabited island—and the public outreach in the Port Vila markets.
It was wonderful to meet many new friends, and to catch up with brethren we hadn’t seen for a long time. We look forward to another opportunity to enjoy a South Pacific event together!
