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Vanuatu (Torba) Project
Update 18th July 2006
Praise & Thanksgiving
 
 
"Ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls,
      that not one thing hath failed of all the good things      
which the LORD your God spake concerning you;
all are come to pass unto you,
and not one thing hath failed thereof."
Joshua 23:14
 
"What have we done to deserve all these blessings?..."
"We deserve nothing; for we are unworthy..."
"But because of His own heart of love and goodness, God has chosen to lavish His grace upon us..."
"Praise be to God!"
 
This is how we feel after our recent 5 week visit to Australia. Words fail to describe adequately how much the Lord blessed our time there.
 
We have found that God is faithful. We have proved His amazing faithfulness:
 
We have proved that our God keeps His promises. All of them.
  • The Lord promised to open the way. He has done it.
  • The Lord promised to provide. He has done it.
  • The Lord promised joy in service. He has done it.
  • The Lord said we would see fruit from even the humblest effort to reach souls. He has done it.
  • The Lord said that He would give us His Spirit in proportion to our need. He has done it.
  • Everything has come to pass. Not one thing hath failed.
Overwhelmed with God's Goodness
Naomi, Kay and I feel quite overwhelmed as we look back over all the good things that God has done for us since we first launched out in reaching the people of Torba province, Northern Vanuatu. Our project still feels like its in its infancy, just an embryo of what it yet to come...
 
A List Presented to God
The day before we left for our recent 5 week visit to Australia, we calculated some of our needs. The list was long. Included was several thousand dollars for the Gaua SDA church building fund. And because we were far short of our needs, we presented these requests to God in prayer. And we paid a 'advance tithe' on some of our needs to the Lord. Please see our Prayer Warrior Page (Click Here). For some reason, God impressed many, many people in Australia to help us.
 
The Blessings Begin
On our first day, the blessings began. It started with the shipping container. Some friends have decided to provide for a shipping container of used clothing from Brisbane, Queensland, to Vanuatu, for distribution in Torba Province. What a blessing! We had no idea that this would be made possible. But soon we realized that this would provide an opportunity for many other needy things to go in the container. This has led to many, many other blessings. By the end of our time in Australia, we could look back on our list, and see almost everything scored off the needs list, and the remaining items seem to be heading in the same direction....On a daily basis we see evidence that the Lord is going to supply those needs as well. The blessings that began on our first day in Australia continue to prevail.
 
God's Open Windows
What has amazed us that we are experiencing something we have never experienced before. We have begun to see showers of goodness, abundant streams, gushing forth from our Father's heart of goodness-beyond our comprehension. We have especially been claiming the promise found in Malachi 3:8-10 which says:
 
"Prove Me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Malachi 3:8-10 
 
Here God has promised to open His big windows in heaven, and get hold of a bushel of blessings, and throw them all over us. No room to receive it? Sounds like our shipping container! What God has done! If you dont believe me, have a look at the table below, which I have cut and pasted from our 'needs' page:
 
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE MANY SUPPORTERS OF THIS PROJECT IN USA & AUSTRALIA FOR PROVIDING THE FOLLOWING SINCE THE PROJECT BEGAN:
 
Overall Sponsorship We thank Laymen Ministries for the very special opportunity and privilege of being a part of their team of missionaries!
Prayers & Solicitations We especially thank our prayer warriors who quietly but effectively solicit help from our wonderful God and from others
Flight Training
An amazing answer to prayer during early 2005 (see prayer-warriors page)
God enabled us to seize a great opportunity to spread our wings
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Inverter
Plays a critical role in our remote-location, solar powered 12v electricity system
Good quality, 1000W pure sine-wave
Suitable for sensitive electronics
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Church Building Donations
Funding has come at a critical moments in the Gaua Church Building Project
This is a significant church with a special mission in Torba
 Multiple Donors paid for THANK YOU LORD!
HAM Radio
This will prove to be a tremendous help to communicate in remote localities
A very special contribution by a very special donor
Will be used to communicate with remote health facilities
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Laptop
(Our old laptop was accidentally dropped in the ocean by a friend)
An essential communication tool for our work
Used in so many ways and such a blessing to our work
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Satellite Phone
A 'Mission Critical' communication tool for our work
Without this we would feel extremely isolated
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Banana Boat
Another 'Mission Critical' aspect of our work in Torba
Without this, the Torba project would not be 'happening'
A very suitable boat for the job:
-Small enough to cross reefs & lagoons
-But large enough to travel on the open ocean
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Woodwork for Banana Boat
Makes our boat much more user-friendly & lockable
Makes travel by boat so much easier
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Sabbath-School Pamphlets & Materials
A great need on our island
Our Sabbath-schools would be otherwise almost completely devoid of materials
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Aircraft Starting Fund
Will truly give this project 'Wings for God' (see Aircraft Project)
We need a plane to make full use of the multiplying opportunities for service within our reach
Will enable us to reach much further, accomplish much more and do our work much more efficiently
A worth-while investment that will also save money on expensive internal flights between islands
A utility vehicle which will be very well adapted to our needs and location
A extremely mobile asset which will be put to great use in multiple ways to bless many lives
We thank an unnamed donor for starting a fund for an aircraft
As always, "Its the START that STOPS most people." Thank you, donor, for starting this fund for us!
Laser Printer & Paper
Excellent little printer, low amps, very fast, high quality printing
Toner doesnt run like injet ink-good for students
who often get lessons wet!
Makes our home into the Gaua Printing Press
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Generator
A fantastic high quality Yamaha generator
Produces over 2000W, idles when output power is low to save fuel
Pure sine wave output (OK for electronics)
Reliable model, will see us through low power spells when solar panels not enough
Big enough to run the ultrasound when it arrives
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Chainsaw with Milling attachment
Husquavarna-top quality
70cc industrial model, released only 4 months ago
Has 18 inch bar for regular use plus 24 inch bar for bigger trees
Spare chains, special box and other accessories included
Basic milling attachment enables us to cut boards for church buildings
 Donors paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Pontoons for Boat
Two 4m very nice pontoons
Well made with lots of secure attachment points
Very promising way of making the boat safer on big waves
Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Passport PA system
Excellent sound, ultraportable, works on 12v, tough box
Will be extremely useful to run meetings and show videos to larger crowds
We are expecting them!
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Mouse Remote for our data projector
RF so works from a distance
Very helpful for health & Bible presentations
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
HDD backup
Highly portable, doesnt need external power
A great relief to be able to backup our laptop quickly and effectively!
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Digital Camera
Canon, good quality with 1 gig SD card, very hardy
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Scanner
Fast and effective, no external power necessary
Very helpful for making up our lessons for students
 Donor paid for THANK YOU LORD!
Pulse Oximeter
Very helpful tool for acute medical care
 Donated by physician in Sydney THANK YOU LORD!
Dental Forceps
Greatly needed for our medical ministry
 Donated by dentist in Sydney THANK YOU LORD!
Medical Supplies
A variety of important supplies
 Donated from several sources in Sydney, NSW and Queensland THANK YOU LORD!
DVD Videos
We have already been kindly donated some DVDs for which we are most thankful.
Thank YOU LORD!
STILL NEEDED: More DVD videos on health & Bible topics
Eg Moody Science, Singspiration Nature etc, Health, Music, Inspirational,
Practical, Doctrinal, Evangelistic, Childrens
DVDs of adventist TV programs from Hope TV or 3BN
DVD videos provide us with high-yield evangelistic tools-shown on our laptop.
Videos and digital media are of intense interest to many islanders,
and are a powerful means of reaching them with truth and to teach health principles.
CLICK HERE TO BECOME INVOLVED IN COPYING DVDs FOR THE VANUATU PROJECT
(Video tapes are less suitable in our climate than DVDs-but can be copied to DVDs...)
Recently Pledged Items Which We Anticipate Soon:  
Ultrasound-probably available soon We thank a private hospital for pledging a 2nd hand portable ultrasound machine-an extremely helpful diagnostic tool for medical ministry
Funding for Gaua SDA Church-funds pledged but not all available to us yet...
We thank several donors who have pledged funding for the Gaua SDA church building. We have not yet received all of this funding, but we trust that those who have pledged will follow through to provide the funding to complete the Gaua church.
Shipment of Clothing, Bibles, hymnals & tracts-now waiting to be shipped We thank Volunteers In Action plus members of Tamborine SDA church for pledging a 20 foot container of clothes, Bibles & hymnals for distribution in Torba
 
Perfect Timing
God's timing is always perfect. It amazes me to see how the gift of a shipment of clothing has come at such a critical time. On every hand, providences shout at us: This is the time for God's work to go forward in Torba Province! The angels stand ready, standing prepared for every emergency. We see that a shipment of clothing, together with hundreds of donated Bibles, hymnals, tracts and other literature, and the above equipment, is coming just when we need it most. But God has been preparing the way before us. We can now see that God and His angels have been planning this for years. What an honor for us to be involved in a work that God is especially blessing right now! Here are some indications of God's will that tell us that God is preparing the way for His work in Torba:
  • Visit from South Pacific Division President who has impressed on us the need for new churches in Torba
  • Vanuatu SDA mission has just been donated a banana boat, just like ours, for our district pastor to use, based in Mota Lava
  • Vanuatu SDA mission has just designated some funding for global mission in Torba
  • Shipment of clothing, Bibles etc provided by kind donors
  • Above-mentioned equipment supplied for work in Torba by kind donors
  • Funds for Gaua SDA church building project have been pledged
  • HAM/HF radio safely arrived in Vanuatu
  • Hope Channel and 3ABN TV rebroadcasting in Port Vila now in planning stages
Prove Your Calling
Is God calling you also? Popular opinion prevails that God does not care for His children, and that becoming a missionary is only for people who have everything going for them to do it. Friend, the truth is contrary to popular opinion. We would like to encourage you to trust in God, and begin by proving your calling. As you continue to go forward in faith, you will find that the sacrifices you make are very small in comparison with the faithfulness of God.
 
A Sacred Trust
In the parable of the talents we are instructed that every talent, every opportunity, every privilege, and every advantage is given as a sacred trust-to be used for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of our wonderful God. We sense the sacredness of the very special trust committed to us. Thank you for your prayers, your support, your encouragement and your time. Pray that God will continue to guide us and use us as we are now heading back to Torba Province to continue the work in this important part of His vineyard...
 
Blessings,
 
Mark Turnbull
Laymen Ministries Volunteer
Torba Adventist Health Education & Medical Services, Vanuatu.
 
 
Would you like to help...?
 
   God has entrusted to us so many advantages and opportunities! We feel the time has come to use all of them to push His work forward!  
If, after prayerful consideration, you also feel impressed to help out in some way with this project,
then for your own benefit, we encourage you to decide now to run the risk of being richly blessed!
We have found that the spirit of generosity brings about a 'reflex blessing' on the giver,
and we want you to experience this, just as we have-so we can all become part of the channel of God's grace & blessing together!
Why not claim Luke 6:38, take the risk, and see what might happen to you?
 
Then Contact us (Click Here) to send something/help with a particular need or email hope@go777light.com
 
 
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