Greetings again from remote Northern Vanuatu!

Another brief month has passed since our last update, and still the Lord continues to bless and to guide. Following our short visit to Australia, we have found ourselves immersed once again in our dedicated mission: to meet the needs of the people of Torba province, and to prepare the way for God's light and grace to shine upon these precious people. What a privilege and honor this is for us!

First Church Building Project Nears Completion

As in the days of Nehemiah, through many difficulties and trials the Gaua SDA membership is still making headway in their work of building their new house of worship. Like many church building projects, the faith of the builders is growing with every brick laid and the testimony of their faith is a powerful and undeniable sermon to those who are watching their progress. Unseasonal weather, shipping delays and a shortage of fresh water for mixing cement have made life difficult for this hardworking group of believers to keep the work progressing. The private water supply of 'Philip the Evangelist' and family was depleted early in the building process (for concrete mix), now requiring him also to bring water from afar for his everyday needs. Nevertheless, the floor of the church has now been poured and the walls are already approaching completion. After doing all possible, we have again recently heard that funding has just arrived in Vanuatu for the timber beams and rafters in preparation for the roofing phase. God has certainly blessed as we have followed the "use what you've got" principle. Whenever we use everything we have in hand, God provides at each step for the next phase of His work. This principle holds true in every aspect of service for God-we have proved that God is indeed faithful.

Second Church Building Project Now in Planning Stages

Meanwhile, before even completing the first church, recent and persistent invitations from a remote village called Durig in the remote south of Gaua has called us to make preparations for another, smaller church building in this very remote location. Copra ships, telephones, roads, electricity and other conveniences are not to be seen or found in or near the remote villages of South Gaua. We have just returned from a brief visit to Durig, involving a 7 hour walk one way along a long, muddy and slippery path, (the ocean is too rough to use the banana boat-or any other boat-at this time of year, especially at this location) where we conducted some medical ministry and where we have many new interests. It seems that for various reasons, several people in this village have become increasingly interested in the Sabbath-keeping church, including some leaders of the village. Providentially, an SDA laymen recently trained as a Bible worker joined our visit and remains with Philip now for a series of evangelistic meetings. He plans to become the first SDA Bible worker to be based in this village. As the doors open, God is providing for this important house of worship to be established as a memorial of His light and love in this place of extreme poverty and spiritual darkness. To give you an idea of the extreme poverty of these people, I was informed that school fees at the small local government primary school, which are now US $5 per quarter, are currently regarded as "very expensive" by the parents of the village. They live in an almost cashless world in which cash is extremely difficult to obtain.

Keeping Pace with God's Progressive Providences

It was on the very day we left for Durig that yet another (3rd) invitation came from another village in remote Gaua for assistance in establishing another SDA presence, in an area where we have already visited and made friendships with the people. We live in an age of rapid change in these islands, and the time is ripe for rapid advance moves before Jesus comes again. More and more evidence is building that as we go forward to accomplish God's work in one place, so the Lord opens up multiple other places for us. Our burden now is to keep pace with the Lord's amazing providences. Currently we are praying about this opening and wish to advance just as fast and as far as the Lord leads and opens the way. The warm reception and positive support we have received from friends and fellow-believers overseas has now given us courage to open our eyes to many villages on various islands that could be reached, with the help of strong supporters in Australia and in the US who see the need to go forward while we still have freedom and opportunity to plant the truth everywhere we can.

First Student Missionaries Now Actively Involved

Two student missionaries from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia-Brad and Jared Warden-arrived 2 weeks ago for a short term visit to help with this Laymen Ministries Project. Brad is an IT (computer software) expert who has been helping with Bible studies with our students, some preaching and visiting villages. Brad has some experience in a small radio ministry in Australia and has been an invaluable aid in guiding us in our plans to establish a radio ministry somewhere in Vanuatu-which is still in planning stages. (We have been suprised and encouraged to learn how easily and inexpensively a small radio station could be installed.) Brad has learned some Bislama exceptionally fast, and has a personality well adapted to reaching youth. He and Jared come from an active church (Esk SDA church) in Queensland which has been very supportive of our project. Brad has been able to get close to some of the young people on this island which we really appreciate and believe will ultimately yield fruit in decisions for the Lord. Brad's brother, Jared has a physical handicap-profound deafness, which, before his arrival here, we feared could become a big obstacle to his influence as a missionary here in Gaua. But on the contrary, he has been incredibly successful at reaching the hearts of people and is currently temporarily teaching two deaf children sign-language in the remote village of Durig, under the brotherly watchcare of Philip the Evangelist. Jared is an example of how a physical handicap, when combined with a willing heart, can be used as a winsome tool to reach hearts in God's work. Everywhere Jared goes, children flock to him, and his deep interest in spiritual lessons from nature, insects, spiders, and other interesting things enables him to captivate the attention of the locals and point them to our Creator God. We believe that other student missionaries will in time become involved in this project, as we become more capable of accomodating them, facilitating their stay, and utilizing their talents in the most appropriate and successful ways.

An encouraging comment from Brad: "The challenges of coming on a mission trip to Gaua in Vanuatu have been exciting and have also been far surmounted by the rewards of serving God here. The dimension of time here is quite different to the Western world... there is no where near as much emphasis on time. Living here is a mix of a relaxing environments and some inconveniences. Transport and communication are dramatically reduced to primitive forms... walking is the main form of transport and communication. The scenery here is amazing, including a huge 120 metre (400 feet) waterfall, coral reefs, and so much lush vegetation. The island is bursting with food! The Turnbull's have been great people to live and work with; very accommodating. The local people are strikingly friendly, have time for you, and will go out of their way to provide you with a meal. I feel indebted to many of the locals in this way. I've really enjoyed sharing a number of Bible classes with some of the local young people, who are very keen to learn, and many of whom are not familiar with basic Christianity. Giving out flyers with Bible topics on it, travelling to remote villages, making friends with the local people, helping out at the local SDA church, preaching and helping with many other activities are some of the things which have made me feel like I have made the right choice in coming here. I love the people, the culture, and the island way of life. We've had some small time to see some sights in Vanuatu. My time here has definitely been well spent. I have some more info on my website, and will be adding photos in September: <http://www.bradwarden.com/vanuatu>."-Brad

A walking messenger just brought us a note from Philip the Evangelist concerning Jared, who are temporarily together in Durig, South Gaua: "Jared is doing well with me. Doors are opening now because of him. We really appreciate his staying here with us."-Philip

[POST SCRIPT: Jared has just returned with Philip from a successful week in Durig. Doors are opening, and plans are underway for the establishment of another church there under the leadership of a volunteer we will be supporting. We believe that God especially brought Jared here to help with this ministry in Durig.]

Pink T-shirt a Path to the Heart:
Brad & Jared's parents are also part of a blessing taking place-after seeing pictures of a needy girl here in Gaua, they gave a pink T-shirt to this little girl, which Brad and Jared brought with them. The girl's mother was overwhelmed at the thought of their kindness, originating so far away, and with tears in her voice tried to explain her gratitude. This turned out to be a gift of great significance. Before the gift arrived, we were having difficulty getting close to this little girl's family. But since the gift was given, the little girl's family have bonded with us as never before. [Thank you Ric and Di for your extremely fruitful gift of love-the little pink T-shirt.]

How to Start a Video Ministry In Less Than 15 Minutes

Videos are a sheer fascination on these islands, where videos are rare, DVD/video players are much sought after, and mains electricity is not to be found. Videos can only be watched at great expense, relative to income. One of Jared's many interesting contributions here was a simple nature video on Australian animals. After deciding to show this DVD on my laptop one evening, Kay decided to invite some children. From that starting point, word leaked out into the surrounding area and within 10 minutes a crowd of people in our rural community were on their way to our home! The children were obviously excited about the 'event' and the adults also seemed almost embarassed at their own excitement, but sat and watched avidly with intense interest. Almost any video would be devoured by these people, but we hope to prevent wicked movies coming to this island, because the influence on these hungry minds is much greater than in an environment where videos abound. We have plans to share more videos-about nature and Bible topics, but currently lack a good video library. Anyone wanting to participate in (legally) copying Hope and 3ABN TV programs or other videos onto DVD for our video library, please read our DVD ministry page here.

Here Kay's Report on How it happened:

"When we were in Australia Jared told me that he would bring a DVD of Australian wild life to show the people when he came to Vanuatu. I said that was a good idea and I thought that the people would love to see it. A few nights ago we decided to show it. So I went to our closest neighbour and said that we would show a video in about half an hour. They said that they'd be there. Then I went to the next group of houses and told them about the video. There was a lot of excitment and the kids quickly changed their clothes and followed me back to the house where some people had already gathered. They seem to really enjoy seeing all the wildlife of Australia. After the video one of the kids asked me when the next video would be! The next day I realized that it took less that fifteen minutes to organize that little event. All because I merntioned the little word video!

"These people just love seeing pictures, videos, listening to music, and even books! One day we saw some kids at church fighting over the Record (Australian SDA magazine) to see a couple of small black and white pictures! So we are sure that when the shipment of clothes and books come over here that everything will be put to good use.

"Yesterday evening I was baking bread in the camp oven out on the fire. The neighbour's kids came over and were helping me keep the fire going. As we were waiting for the bread to bake we sang some songs. These kids love to learn new songs so I taught them a couple of songs, which they learned very quickly. That wasn't the first time they have come here like that. We can see that if we wanted to have a Christian Kids Club or Vaccation Bible School or something of that kind it wouldn't be hard to find the kids! It just depends on us as to when we decide to do it!"-Kay

First Translated Tract Hot Off the Press

Brad and Jared brought some pleasant surprises with them from Australia to Gaua, including the firstfruits of our translation ministry-some tracts kindly printed by some special friends in Queensland, Australia, who are in the printing industry and who are keen to help with other publications for Torba Province. Our first tract is on the Sabbath, still hot off the press, is now being distributed around this island-we hope to get one into the hands of every adult or household in the entire province of islands. We know of no other SDA tracts in Bislama so this may be a first for this country-it certainly is a first for this island. Two elderly ladies in the church have taken it upon themselves to be involved in tract distribution as our first literature evangelists. Other tracts are now being translated and we have already been donated funds for printing them, so this work is destined to grow by God's grace.

Student Program Gains Momentum

Partly as a result of Brad and Jared's recent arrival, interest in our student program is gaining momentum. In spite of the extreme simplicity of our educational program (due to time & facility limitations on our part), the young people in our course remain steadfastly determined to get as much education from us as they can. (How would you run a training school with no classroom, extremely limited power, no chairs, no desks, no blackboard, no student accomodation and no transportation for students who live up to 2 hours walk away?) We are now teaching them practical hydrotherapy, massage, anatomy, physiology and Bible, with an underlying core emphasis on "how to learn". The course is a combination of written lessons which are completed at home, and weekly classes consisting of presentations with visual aids and also including practical hands-on workshops. The students work an hour for each lesson but pay no fees. This combination is well adapted to these poor but ultra-keen students who are scattered widely from one end of the island to the other, and who often have many responsibilities at home, like washing and cutting copra. They enjoy learning English, and see our unaccredited program as a stepping stone to possible further education and employment. In the process we have the wonderful opportunity of befriending them and leading them closer to the Lord while hopefully preparing them to some degree for a life of usefulness. Our student number is stable and gradually growing-especially as new students are able to join the course at any time. This particularly flexible model of teaching is very well adapted to the people here. Those who show promise & faithfulness are able to receive character references from us which may assist them to gain opportunities for their lifework or training elsewhere. Due to the very low price of copra (copra is almost the only source of income for these islanders), most of them would not be able to pay for a fee-paying course. To give you an idea of the poverty of some of them-one 16 year old student had to explain to Kay why she had been unable to do her lessons...She explained that she was waiting for her father to provide her with a pen as she did not own one. If we had known, we would have given her one!

Clothing Shipment Soon to Leave for Vanuatu

Final preparations are now coming together for a donated shipment of clothing, Bibles and volunteer supplies for medical ministry, which will leave from Brisbane in mid September and arrive early October in Vanuatu. The clothing in this shipment is already becoming an eagerly anticipated blessing and we hope that we will be able to distribute these clothes widely on many islands, as the needs here are great. Local shipping will be a major consideration and expense, but we thank God that He has impressed so many willing helpers to be involved in this shipment to date, and that He has provided the open doors for this clothing to come at this critical time in the history of these islands. Jesus met the needs of people, and so must we. Clothing is a huge need on these islands, in spite of our surprisingly close proximity to Australia, which is only 1500 miles away, where 2nd hand clothing abounds! We are most thankful to God that we have just been approved VAT and duty exemption for importing these goods for Torba Province. Our God is a wonderful God!

4 X 4 = Blessing

We would also like to praise God for the recent news that a 2nd hand 4X4 Honda quad motorcyle is being made available to us for only AU$500/US$375 by some special friends of ours in Toowoomba, Australia. This 4 wheeler motorcyle will play a strategic role on Gaua in medical work, in evangelistic work & general transportation. Roads on Gaua island are deplorably muddy in wet weather and only 4 wheel drive vehicles can get around during many months of the year. There are currently only two vehicles on the island, apart from our small 110cc motorcyle, which is often unable to meet our transportation needs-though we often push it to its absolute physical limits. (And is now being used as a generator-see below!) But a 4X4 4 wheeler motorcycle will be a tremendous blessing in many ways. We hope by faith to get it transported to Vanuatu in the same shipment with the clothing. [Thank You Loving God, for answering our prayers for this much needed vehicle! This is what we would call a 4-fold blessing!]

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits,
even the God of our salvation."

Psalm 68:19

Trauma Surgery in Remote Clinic

Two recent experiences in surgical repair of hand trauma cases including partial amputation necessitated, for the first time, more extensive anesthesia in our remote clinic using Ketamine infusions. Both cases were traumatic hand injuries caused by severe rope 'burns' caused by out of control cattle, both of which resulted in loss of parts of fingers. (Yes there are some cattle on Gaua, which are frequently roped to a coconut tree for the day, and need to be relocated from time to time.) We are thankful to God that the patients have good sensation in their hands. Our freely provided procedure saved our patients expensive trips to Santo which their families would have been hard-pressed to afford. In spite of a higher risk of infection in this tropical location, we are pleased to say that they have not developed any sign of infection or any other complications. Both experiences were a valuable training situation for Kay and for one of our students who not only helped with the operations but also assisted with removing stitches a week later. Surgical procedures like this are not only a great help to the people, but are a tremendous opportunity for witness to the community. I feel very satisified to be involved with this kind of procedure, where I am providing a very necessary and helpful service to these people. I thank God for bringing me here to be involved in such cases. We are still awaiting shipment of some much needed medical donated equipment, which will make our work more complete and enable us to serve these islands better by doing more procedures like this. We have great opportunities here and want to use them to the maximum for God's glory.

HF Radio Now Transmitting

We have now installed a specially dedicated HF/HAM radio with capabilities to communicate with 6 different remote clinics in Torba Province, and also with the Santo District Hospital when necessary. We are also licenced to transmit on HAM frequencies (HAM call sign is YJ8NMT), and have been able to make good contact with New Zealand and Australia on the 40m & 80m band using a long wire, off-center-fed antenna, called a Carolina Windom. We are told that our signal comes through loud and clear. Being able to communicate with remote clinics is a big step forward for us, and already we have been able to use it to great advantage, although speaking Bislama on the radio is taking some getting used to. Currently the few radio-telephones on the island are all dead, making radio/teleradio contact (and satellite phone-emails) our only contact with the outside world.

News Headlines: 'Earthquake Hits Vanuatu'?

Recently we received two emails from concerned friends in the US regarding an 'earthquake' that had just 'hit Vanuatu'. Yes we did feel the tremor, which lasted over 1 minute, but didnt experience anything spectacular. Perhaps it hit another area harder than us. The winds and waves are currently causing more problems for us. Travel at this time of year by boat is particularly hazardous due to strong prevailing south easterly 'Trade Winds', choppy waters and big swells. Even rarely seen copra trading ships have delays and deliberations when passing between islands here. We are unable to visit many islands at this time due to these strong winds and powerful waves. The recent tragic death of an infant with cerebral malaria on Merelava island reinforced the harsh realities of travel difficulties in Torba Province. If we could have got to the island or evacuated the baby, it would most likely have survived.

Aircraft Offer Under Deliberation

Recently we were offered a very good aircraft for the project at a very low cost, but have lingered over the decision due to the fact that this aircraft is only a 3 seater. We really need a 4 seater plane, if possible, which would enable us to carry a patient stretcher, but we are still deliberating over the offer, as it is otherwise an excellent plane. Transportation in Vanuatu is difficult, and we often wish we could get around more readily. Understandibly, we have done a lot of groundwork in researching the many considerations involved. But we do sense that the time is coming soon when we will be able to have the use of an aircraft to work more effectively in God's service here in remote Vanuatu. We covet your prayers as we move forward in faith (praying for divine wisdom) and anticipate God's leading and provision for an aircraft that will open up our opportunities to a much greater extent, and truly give this project "Wings for God."

Vanuatu Project DVD Now Available

We have just received recent news from our headquarters at Laymen Ministries, based in Idaho, USA, that Jeff Reich has finished preparing the first DVD of the Vanuatu project (footage from Febuary this year). If you would like to receive a free DVD or magazine of this project by mail, please send your mailing address and request by email to us or to Laymen Ministries. See our contacts page for more information. A brief version of this video will also be shown at some stage on the Hope Channel and/or 3ABN during a Laymen Ministries timeslot.

Motorcycle Powered Communications

During unseasonally cloudy weather over the past few weeks, our solar panels have been unable to keep up with power demands, which are steadily increasing. Printing student lessons, emailing by satellite phone, recharging flashlight batteries, and using the HF radio all requires a steady supply of power. We are waiting for a portable generator to arrive from Australia in the shipment which is destined to be put to multiple uses. Meanwhile we have made extensive research on the river flowing past our mission-base, which shows great promise for hydro-generated power. We have a 10m or 30 foot head of water, 350m distance upstream, which should enable us to generate all the power we need at our mission-base from a large, ever-flowing river. This river flows continuously out of a large lake which is in the crater of an active, smoking volcano in the middle of Gaua island. The river then falls over a 120m waterfall-one of the highest in the South Pacific islands-before crashing down over 2 to 3 miles to an ocean lagoon close to our mission base. We have an ideal location for hydro-generated power. But in desperation for much needed power and with some heaven-inspired suggestions from our student missionary Jared, we were able to connect our small 110cc Honda (Australian 'postie-bike') to our 12v battery system. While idling on its stand, it produces a healthy 2.5 amps which has been a great blessing and enables us temporarily to keep printing student lessons when all else fails and the batteries are all dead. Man's extremity is God's opportunity! But we do look forward to utilizing a hydro-power generator which we hope to obtain in the not too distant future, thus enabling us to harness the power that God has already provided freely in the water running past our mission-base. We have now located a turbine generator in New Zealand which will meet our needs. This would provide a steady supply of power, 24 X 7, for medical, living, printing and communication needs. (We might even be able to run a small cooler box-now that would be a pure luxury!) We covet your prayers regarding this, as it will transform our capacity to work here in multiple ways in medical work, printing, communication & teaching.

The Principal Condition of the Promise

Only as we invest ourselves in God's work can we claim the richest promises that God has ever made to us in His Word. As soon as all of ours is His, then all of His becomes ours. No soul is ever excluded from the super-abounding promises of God, except by selfishness which will ultimately exclude everyone from every blessing that He has ever lavished upon the children of men. Never can the overflowing fountain run dry, unless the river forgets to give. But when you become a channel for the Spirit of the Living God, all of a sudden, the longing purpose of His Word is so easily fulfilled...Click Here if you want to become a missionary.

"No good thing
will He withhold from them that walk uprightly."

Psalm 84:11

Question: Do you actually believe this?

May God richly bless you also is our sincere prayer.