Pastor Robert Laumai has been at Joy Bible Institute since the first campus buildings were built in 1979. He actually helped to build them and through the years, he and his wife, Edna, have continued to pour themselves into the lives of the young men and women who come to this school. It is no wonder he is fondly called the chief of our little campus village.
Pastor Robert Laumai is originally from the island of Futuna, which is among the most southerly islands of Vanuatu. In the late 1960’s he went to New Caledonia to work and met my parents and more importantly, met the Lord. He was among the second group of Vanuatu students who went to Fiji for Bible school training and upon his graduation assisted my parents with their church-planting efforts in Santo, northern Vanuatu.
In 1979, when the Vanuatu Bible school was to be built in Port Vila, my father again asked Robert to come and help him. Ever since then he has been involved with the school from teaching to his current position as groundskeeper.
What a privilege today to hear Pastor Robert preach in chapel concerning the call of God from 2 Peter 1:3-9 and share from his life experience. He challenged 
the students to remember God’s call on their lives when other attractive offers come their way. These temporary offers, he said, cannot compare with the life God has planned for them as they follow him. God has promised to “never forsake us nor leave us” and though we may go through difficult times as we serve, He will be with us. You may not know where you will go after graduating from school but God has a place for you to serve and you will learn from every experience.
2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” Pastor Robert has been one of those reliable men who has taught and mentored others and we are so glad that he is still serving at Joy Bible Institute.
Vision for Vanuatu 