Vision for Vanuatu

August 19, 2010March 21, 2013

Heading Back to Vanuatu

I am sorry that I have not written much this past year. We have been in the United States visiting friends and supporting churches. It has been a very busy 13 months with 20,000 miles of car travel, home school, medical check-ups and many other things that itineration requires. We hope to be leaving for Vanuatu around the end of September, which is only about 6 weeks away. In order to leave on time, we need to have our Vanuatu work permits/visas in hand and a remaining $500 a month in support. Thank you to those of you who have sent offerings and increased your pledges of support. Even a $5 or $10 increase will help us reach this final goal. Thank you for praying for us as we pack and finalize our departure.

While we have been in the US, senior students have graduated from Joy Bible Institute and new students have come to study. 2010 has been a year of spiritual refreshing on campus and we thank the Lord for His transforming work in many lives. We are anxious to be back at JBI and to resume training young men and women for ministry in Vanuatu, but not only for Vanuatu as JBI now has 3 students from the Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands is an island country just to the north of Vanuatu. Not only do these two countries share a common culture but also their Pijin English language is very similar to the Bislama language of Vanuatu. So we are casting our nets farther afield as the Lord opens the doors.

Life in Vanuatu has been eventful in many ways this year. I have previously mentioned the Gaua volcanic eruption which prompted the evacuation of the population and the delay of a church-planting effort. That was followed by a volcanic eruption on the heavily populated island of Tanna which destroyed essential crops and caused respiratory problems among the population.

The year has also been marked by many strong earthquakes with a 7.1 quake in May and a 7.5 quake hitting the capital city of Port Vila on Aug. 10th. The innumerable aftershocks continue to unsettle the population with 19 of them registering between 4.3 and 5.9! This latest earthquake was stronger than the deadly Haiti one but lasted only 31 seconds. We are grateful that it did not create the same devastation and are happy to report that there was little damage on the JBI campus. Only a few cracks in the school office walls and some garden retaining walls collapsed. The faculty and students are fine but a little stressed as the earth continues shake.

It has been our privilege to visit with so many of you and share about the work in Vanuatu but now we are anxious to be on our way. Thank you for your faithful partnership which enables us to go!

April 21, 2010March 21, 2013

Volcano on Gaua Erupting

THOUSANDS PREPARE TO FLEE VANUATU VOLCANO
Mass evacuation of Gaua Island planned
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, April 20, 2010) – Preparations are being made to evacuate nearly 3,000 people from the Vanuatu island of Gaua after further threats from its volcano. [PIR editor’s note: Gaua is among the Banks and Torres Islands in Vanuatu’s far north.] The Gaua volcano in Torba province began erupting seven months ago and there has been renewed activity in recent weeks. Government officials have been discussing the logistics of an evacuation, but no date has been set. A Department of Internal Affairs meeting last Thursday concluded there was no alternative to evacuating the people of Gaua to Sola on Vanualava island. From Sola most would be relocated to Leon Bay for up to a year, on land owned by the Anglican Church of Vanuatu. Others would be dispatched to other islands in Torba. The meeting heard that the evacuation needs to take place as soon as possible because the children on Gaua have been traumatised by the eruption and this may affect their studies. Late last year, about 300 residents on the western side of Gaua, who were suffering from the effects of ash and gas, were relocated to villages on the eastern part of the island. (from www.pireport.org)

Please pray for the people of Gaua, an island in northern Vanuatu. This volcanic eruption has been disturbing everyday life for several months and now the growing intensity of the eruption is forcing the population to be evacuated. This comes at a time when our missionary colleague, Bryan Webb was organizing the construction of a new church building on Gaua.

November 4, 2009March 21, 2013

JBI Graduating Class 2009

Seven dedicated young men and women graduated from JBI on Sunday afternoon, November 1. We are told it was a beautiful day and a wonderful service with hundreds in attendance. We certainly wish we could have been there. We were so glad that Jerry Jacob, our Oceania Director, flew to Vanuatu to be the graduation speaker this year.

From left to right: Clovis, hidden behind him is Alick, Rinett, Ronett, Jill, Flora and Jack.

Please pray for each one as they return to their home islands to minister or go elsewhere. One young woman is already headed to a southern island for evangelism. We believe that this is the first time JBI has graduated four women in the same class.

October 8, 2009March 21, 2013

Vanuatu Hit By Multiple Earthquakes

Some of you have contacted us concerning the reported earthquakes yesterday in Vanuatu. Thank you for your concern. According to the USGS website in just over 24 hours there have been 14 significant earthquakes hit the area between the northern islands of Vanuatu and the Santa Cruz Islands. The largest earthquake registered at 7.8 and the least at 4.1. There were probably many smaller after shocks but those will not show on that list. A Tsunami warning was issued but two hours later it was cancelled.

Our missionary colleagues, Bryan and Renee Webb, live on the island of Santo, about 175 miles from the epicenter. We have heard from them and they are well. They felt five strong earthquakes in Santo. No one was hurt from the earthquakes as there are few buildings built over one storey. The newly built concrete mission house was not damaged and the local built huts are flexible enough to sway but rarely fall down from an earthquake. A tsunami wave would have caused severe damage but this did not materialize. Our medical missionary colleagues, Priscilla and Gary Ross live in a remote bush area of Santo and they are also fine.

Port Vila where Joy Bible Institute is located is about 600 miles farther south from the earthquakes’ epicenter. We have not received news from them yet but do not expect any severe damage reports. Though the number of strong earthquakes in such a short time is unsettling.

Thank you for continuing to pray for Vanuatu. Last week our missionary colleagues in the Pacific island nations of Samoa and American Samoa experienced a powerful 8.0 earthquake and the devastation of two tsunami waves. Villages were flatten and 170 people drowned. Pray for the missionaries, pastors and Bible students as they help during this difficult time in Samoa.

September 29, 2009March 21, 2013

Upcoming JBI Graduation

In another month, four young women and three men will graduate from JBI. I believe that this is the first time JBI has had four women in a graduating class! All the young ladies are single and have been involved in children’s and youth ministries while at school. They represent the islands of Efate, Ifira and Pentecost. The three men in the photo are from the islands of Epi, Malekula and Santo. Pastor Jack, pictured in the middle, already pastors a church on the northern island of Malekula. Please pray for each graduate as they finish their studies and go back into full-time service across the country of Vanuatu.

September 9, 2009March 21, 2013

The Gospel of John in Bislama

For several months I having been working on print agreements, editorial proofs, photo shoots and answering innumerable emails and now the Gospel of John booklet has finally been printed in the Bislama language!

Since the four Gospels were translated into Bislama in 1971, it appears that this is the first time the Gospel of John has been available as a separate booklet. I do not have the words to express how I felt today when I received the first copies of “Gud Nius blong Jisas Kraes we Jon i Raetem” or as we would say in English, “The Good News of Jesus Christ that John Wrote”.

My partner in this project wrote a note inside one booklet saying,

“Who would ever think we would ever see the end of this project! I feel so amazingly blessed to have been a part of what God has done. I am reminded that when God’s Word goes out it doesn’t return void. As we have seen God work in this project let us also believe in prayer for the ground to be ready for the seeds to grow and bring forth fruit.”

Thank you to those of you who generously support “Light For The Lost.” We received $5000 for this project. I have shared with you in the past our concern about new converts not having the Scriptures in a language they can easily understand. The Bible is available in Bislama but at a discounted price of $22.00 per Bible, it is obviously not something we can hand out frequently. The new Gospel of John is a 48 page, glossy paper booklet (5 3/4 in. x 8 1/4in.) with a full color cover. This Gospel of John costs 35 cents a piece and we have 14,200 copies to give away!

I started this project alone and many have joined me to make this idea a reality. Thank you especially to Michael and my new friends at the Bible Society of the South Pacific offices both in Fiji and Australia who helped in so many ways!

In a few days these booklets will be arriving by ship in Vanuatu from the printer. Please pray that things will go smoothly and they will be released from customs quickly. Pray that as they are distributed people will understand that only Jesus can say, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12).

July 1, 2009March 21, 2013

Wonderful New Kitchen

The night before we flew out to go on furlough, the new JBI student kitchen was completed. This would have never been possible if several very generous donations had not been given and if Job (‘09 JBI grad) had not been willing to come back to Port Vila and spend a couple of weeks finishing the construction. The students were so excited to start cooking in this new space! A sincere thank you to all who helped to make this new kitchen possible!

June 15, 2009March 21, 2013

Moving

In a week we will be flying to the States for our deputation. I can tell you that it is never easy to pull up roots, pack the boxes and put everything in storage for a year. We also have a beautiful cat needing a new family. Some of the JBI students spent their free day helping Gary move the furniture. They may be sitting down in this picture but they worked very hard! Thank you guys for all your help!

June 14, 2009March 21, 2013

It’s Time For Sunday School

We are so thankful for LFTL funds which enable us to provide many different kinds of printed materials for evangelism and new converts. Last year we were also able to purchase 200 Sunday School teachers books (a book of 60 great lessons) from the AG of the Philippines in English. English is spoken here but our goal is to eventually translate this curriculum into Bislama so it can be easily understood and used by all. So far the feedback from teachers is excellent.

We have now given every book away and I am still getting phone calls from pastors on outer islands wanting copies for their church. I thought you might enjoy seeing some Sunday School teachers in action today at Evangel Temple. This is a town church but it has no special classrooms for Sunday School activities. Every class finds a corner of the sanctuary or outside to gather. What I was glad to see was the teachers using the new curriculum and everyone enjoying themselves.

June 6, 2009March 21, 2013

A Birthday Party

Our JBI principal, Pastor Edgell, celebrated his 40th birthday today! Could not let that special date go by without a party and some chocolate cake! After some speeches, a dowsing talcum powder and a few laughs, we had a wonderful dinner and desserts. Happy Birthday, Pastor Edgell, and God Bless You!

June 2, 2009March 21, 2013

Eventful Day

We have had four earthquakes in the last 24 hours. The largest one was 6.5 and gave us a good, long shake. It went on long enough that I told the kids to head for a doorway. Vanuatu gets about 1000 earth tremors a year because it is situated on the famous Pacific “Ring of Fire” and of course, we also have several active volcanoes in the country.

May 31, 2009March 21, 2013

News from Santo Bush

Sunday morning phone calls do not always bring good news. This Sunday morning, Pastor Mendor was standing high on a hill in the middle bush on the large island of Espiritu Santo with a cell phone and had good news to share. He was so excited because today a man from an influential family in an unreached village was going to be baptized! This is an unreached village that Pastor Mendor has trekked by while evangelizing other places but this particular village had remained closed to him. What is hard to imagine is that this village among others in the dense jungle of Santo has resisted the Gospel of Christ not because of traditional animistic beliefs (which they still adhere to) but because a Baha’i believer had previously been there and “claimed” them.

How can I share with you Pastor Mendor’s passion to reach the people in remote villages on Espiritu Santo? How his heart breaks when he hears that villagers who have never had an adequate presentation of the Gospel of Christ fall prey to foreign cults. He asked us to share this testimony with the JBI students and challenge them to take the Gospel to the hard unreached places of Vanuatu. He said, “While Christians stay in the easy coastline areas, foreign cults are going inland and claiming villagers by business contracts and development projects. They are doing this right under our noses.”

Last year Pastor Mendor and Terry, a young Christian man, were trekking by this village when they were stopped by a torrential rainstorm. They were given shelter and Pastor Mendor took advantage of this opportunity to share the message of Christ with his host family. They listened but the head of the family said that they had already agreed to follow Bahá’u’lláh. But the Holy Spirit was working in hearts and one man asked Pastor Mendor to pray for him. Pastor Mendor promised to stop by again in a few months on his next trip.

Today, that same man, Philip, is being baptized in this village as a testimony to his claiming Christ as his personal Savior. Someone had claimed Philip for another prophet but Philip experienced Christ in his life after Pastor Mendor’s visit and has made his own decision.

Pastor Mendor asked me if I could send 10 Bislama Bibles and writing notebooks for the literacy class he is giving to help the villagers read the Bislama Bible. He is not interested in “claiming” people but rather in making disciples who will follow Christ and understand God’s Word. Please pray for Pastor Mendor and others as they trek through the bush taking the Gospel to the isolated places.

Thank you also for supporting LFTL literature projects. We are currently in the final editorial stages before we print 20,000 copies of the Gospel of John in Bislama. A Bislama Bible costs US$22.00 but the Gospel of John will cost about 60 cents and will be more readily available to men like Pastor Mendor who are taking the Gospel to those who have not yet heard.

May 30, 2009March 21, 2013

Kitchen: Almost Finished

Thank you! We have the new roof installed on the student kitchen and paid for! Thank you so much to everyone who responded to our request for $7,400 on May 13th. Only a $1,000 more is needed to completely pay for this new kitchen.

Gary is standing on the hill above the kitchen which gives a good view of the new metal kitchen roof (and the rusty cafeteria roof in the background). The new cement floor was poured since the photo above right. The finishing touches on plumbing, electrical wiring and the chimney are the only things remaining to be done! Thank you so much to everyone who has given sacrificially over the months to complete this new kitchen for the Bible school students!

May 13, 2009March 21, 2013

Kitchen Progress

Job has been busy ever since his arrival in town, assisted by two JBI students, Cedrick and Clovis. Here they are getting the beams up so that the iron roofing can be installed. We need US$7400.00 to cover the timber already purchased and the remaining roofing materials, chimney, concrete floor and labor. Gifts should be labeled project #5619 so they are directed to our JBI construction fund. Thank you for your generous support in this project.

May 10, 2009March 21, 2013

Happy Mother’s Day!

On Mother’s Day in Vanuatu, the Women’s Ministry ladies lead the Sunday morning service. They wear lovely red and white island dresses as a group uniform and gifts are given to the widows of the church. This year at Evangel Temple, the children’s choir sang, the men and then the ladies’ WM choir. Sister Oriva preached.

Happy Mother’s Day to all!