Memories of Madeline

The stories below were shared during a storytelling circle with some of Madeline’s friends and family members. They show the breadth and depth of her love and impact on others’ lives.

AARON Aaron is an Anglican pastor who worked on Mota Lava with Madeline and Franklyn. Aaron remembers many positive stories about Madeline. He remembers one story where he was in Port Vila working with Franklyn. Aaron remembers asking Franklyn about his wife and how she was doing. Right about the time of that conversation Madeline rang her husband and he noticed how Franklyn’s face lit up. This showed how much Franklyn cherished his wife and how the two had an incredibly special relationship and worked as a team. Aaron describes Madeline as a visionary who had a unique ability to see potential in what could be done. With Franklyn and her family’s support they would make those things a reality which made Madeline a role model for her family, village, and Mota Lava. Aaron remembers the community response when Madeline passed away. He said that he had never seen anything like it during the time he had been in Mota Lava, with incredible support from the community where everyone came together. People from across the Anglican Church and other denominations came together. Aaron said there was a clear sense that Madeline was loved and cherished by everyone in Mota Lava, that they all saw her in the ways described in this book: that is, as a leader, encourager, and as a peacemaker.

BETH Madeline’s daughter Beth describes her mother as a loving and caring woman. Beth has strong memories of her mother’s ability to mediate and bring peace when couples would have problems in their homes. Madeline would be someone that people in conflict would seek as she had the ability to calm the situation. By calming situations, Madeline had the ability to encourage people to return home safely with their children and for resolution to occur in the home.

FRANKLYN Franklyn is Madeline’s beloved husband. Franklyn says that he thinks what made him a good husband to Madeline was the way he was taught from his mum, dad, and grandfather. They always told him that before you have a wife you must have house, cooking facilities, appliances, and a bow and arrow to catch fish. Another thing is you must learn to do before having a wife is to know how to do the gardening, cook for yourself and how to wash pots. Learning to wash and buy her clothes were all things that Franklyn was taught from his mum and dad. Eventually when he grew up, I went to Sydney, so he was able to do his own washing. He could also manage himself well because of what his parents had taught him and the other boys. This is something Franklyn will always keep in his heart and mind. Franklyn has found a lot of men that have wives will never buy their wives clothes. When they go to Port Vila to do the shopping other men have told Franklyn that you are different from us. He asked, “why am I different from you?” The response was “we can’t buy our wives clothes because when we go to the shop others might laugh at us.” Franklyn replied, “you should buy your wives clothes … there is nothing wrong with that.” Franklyn remembers that Madeline rarely grew angry. One of the only things that would make her mad, though, was too much joking around. She always told Franklyn “We should only say things that are true.”

GEORGE George is one of Madeline’s sons. He remembers that his mother was extremely good at managing food and money for her family through the good times and the bad. An example was when there were not any biscuits for breakfast. In those times there was a feeling that there was no more money to buy food. Then come lunch or afternoon George and his parents and siblings would sit as a family and eat well because Madeline had provided a meal for them. There were times when the community only had a small amount of food. Always in these times Madeline shared everything between people. This is because she was giving to all people. George also remembers that his mother would say “people aren’t stones” and that her children should travel and grow. That sentiment is shared in Madeline’s Song.

KENYON’S MEMORIES Kenyon is Madeline’s eldest son. He remembers her as a very caring mother. If one of her sons went away to another island or country, she always made sure she would stay connected. If one of her children had not called in about a month, she would always check in to see if her children were ok. “Her heart is with every one of us when we are away, even when it was expensive to call, she would find a way to contact me” he said. To Madeline her children were her heart.

MONICA’S MEMORIES Monica is an ethnomusicologist from France who met Madeline around 2018. Monica describes Madeline as a powerful woman with a lot of status and respect, who knew how to make people respect her. When Monica arrived on Mota Lava not knowing anyone at the time, Madeline gave her lunch and spoke with and told her she is family and welcome here (Mota Lava) and can really feel free. This is another example of how she welcomed and was generous with people.

YOUGI’S MEMORIES Yougi’s is one of Madeline’s sons. He remembers his mother always saying “any clothes that you wear, you don’t have to throw them away. If you buy something new fold up the old clothing them and store them in a box. Leave it there for months or even years. Then if you need some new clothes, open the box and there will be some new clothes there for you again.” That was Madeline and a way that she encouraged her children not to waste clothing. Yougi tells that if there were people in need, Madeline would take some of the stored clothing and give it to them.

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Ce sont mes mots je suis Madeline C’est ma chanson et mon rêve Tu es ma vie je suis Madeline Aimez tous ceux que vous rencontrez

N’oubliez pas de prendre soin de votre maison N’oubliez pas d’aimer ceux que vous connaissez Accueillez tous les étrangers avec le cœur et la main chaleureux Avec amour alors votre jardin grandira

Rappelez-vous que les gens ne sont pas de pierre Faire du pain et partager la lumière dans votre maison Apportez des coquillages de la mer et faites un trésor avec moi Enseignez aux autres et partagez ce que vous savez

Encouragez vos filles et vos fils Travailler dur et aimer tout le monde N’oubliez pas d’apporter la paix à vos voisins et amis Fais briller ta lumière comme le soleil