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Vanuatu (Torba) Project
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"Blessed are they which are called..."
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Heaven's Last Call
Before boarding the celestial flight to the city of
God,
Heaven's Last Call must be given to the inhabitants of
planet earth...including the people of Northern
Vanuatu....
Greetings again from Remote Northern
Vanuatu!
A Call to Run Some Unavoidable
Risks
God
has recently shown us that risks are a completely inevitable and
unavoidable part of His work. As every one of the 12 disciples of Jesus
eventually discovered, to follow Jesus involved unavoidable risks; the risks
they took for Christ were sealed with their own blood! What more evidence
could they give? And things have not changed over the years. Of
course, where possible, we should try to avoid or minimize unnecessary
risks. But to separate risk from God's work is simply not possible. Risk
and mission are two inseparable concepts.
"...Somebody must venture;
someone must run risks in this cause..."
Testimonies Volume 3
page 316
The last several intense weeks have been tough
on us in some ways. We have been on that big ocean again, travelling
between islands at the mercy of the water's awesome power; we feel very,
very small at times. We have been fighting that wretched old
enemy, malaria, as well as other stubborn bugs and boils. We have had a
recent death in the family. We have had problems with false brethren and
troublemakers in the church. But we are still unable to claim a
full share in the perils and risks which the apostle Paul
suffered:
"In journeyings often, in perils of
waters...in perils by the heathen...in perils in the wilderness, in perils in
the sea, in perils among false brethren...
Beside those things that are
without, that which cometh upon [us] daily, the care of...the
churches."
2Corinthians 11:26-28
We know that we are unworthy sinners
like anyone else and we also know that we are doing nothing special
over here, yet it is a privilege to be involved in work which
sounds so similar to the experiences of the apostle Paul on his missionary
journeys. Right now we are involved in planting new churches on different
islands where the three angels' messages have never before been preached or
heard. We are involved in producing tracts and translation work-widely
declaring Heaven's Last Call to Planet Earth. We are teaching precious young
people-how fruitful that is! And our medical work is always a large part of our
ministry. And we feel that the risks are justifiable because the possibilities
of sharing eternity with our friends in Torba province make it all well worth
while.
Life on the Edge...of a Volcanic
Cone
One
island which has always seemed to beckon to us accross the water for
help is Merelava. This incredible island is an old volcano piercing the
ocean's surface with its head in the clouds. It is the top of a
massive cone-shaped volcanic oceanic mountain rising from the ocean floor
at an angle close to 45 degrees! Life is especially tough on Merelava; more
tough than probably any other place in Vanuatu. Gardens
are planted on up to 45 degree slopes-can you
imagine?...Watermelons and other vegetables must be literally
fastened to the ground (while growing) to avoid them rolling down into
the sea! Obesity is not even a possibility on Merelava! To go anywhere you must
be prepared for a mountaineering experience. How many times we have
intended to visit this incredible island! Eventually the time did come, so when
the weather was right, we took the risk to set out in our 22 foot
catermeran-this time with only one engine since one of our outboard motors was
playing up. But God blessed.
Climbing onto Merig
Island
After setting out for Merelava a bit late in the day with 3 of
our students we soon realized we would have to "overnight" in Merig, a
small island directly in line and half way to Merelava from our base on Gaua.
Merig is a tiny island with no harbour or sand or anything even remotely like a
natural wharf. It is physically almost impossible to bring a boat to
the shore's edge unless the ocean is really super-quiet, and even then it
would be a challenge. The rocky southern and eastern side is continually pounded
with surf by prevailing South Easterly winds and waves. The north and
west coast consists of jagged coral and spectacular blow holes. Waves and
strong tidal currents tend to come round to even the 'safe' leeward side of this
small island which means it is a very difficult place to anchor for any length
of time. There is only one way to get onto this island-you must swim from a boat
then climb up its slippery rocks like a giant crab in the midst of waves.
All who plan to go ashore must go through the same ordeal of holding onto the
rocks while someone helps you up out of the water. Getting some clothing and our
camera to shore involved packing them in a watertight drum and swimming with it
to the rocky edge. It is a fascinating island. Food abounds-more bananas
and coconuts than the population of 10 can eat. Yes there are only 10
people living on the island, only one of whom is a woman. Lots of beautiful
coral and fish to see. We walked lazily around the island in less than an hour,
pausing to see the bones of a large whale amidst some amazing rock formations.
At night we exchanged stories and sang some songs after partaking of the kind
hospitality of the people of Merig. Our unexpected visit created an
occasion for an impromptu feast! I was informed that I was
the second caucasian person in history ever to have set foot
on this island, with Kay and Naomi following closely behind! We left some
much needed and appreciated donated clothing and were made instant
friends-for-life by our short visit to these extremely friendly people. I awoke
in the middle of the night with a burden on my heart for the boat. I knew that
if the anchor came loose we would probably be on Merig for a long time!
So just after midnight I dived into the turbulent ocean,
swam out to the boat and spent the remainder of the night regularly
checking the anchor amidst short intervals of sleep! We set out in the morning
for Merelava with an extra man on board; the chief of Merig decided he wanted to
visit Merelava too!
A Significant Beginning on Merelava
Island
The
Lord greatly blessed our short stay on Merelava. We have heard news in
advance recently, that some Seventh-day Adventists had experienced
persecution on this island. But working in medical ministry seems to open doors
where nothing else can. When we arrived the paramount chief welcomed us as
he had heard on the clinic radio that we were coming. Not too many others
were awake and active when we arrived as the night before they had had a
feast. Sometimes we are not sure if we are being welcomed sincerely or
merely by those who want to control our stay...! But God blessed
regardless, because gradually news spread that a doctor was on the island and
the patients started swarming. We decided to run a children's program on
the Sabbath which our students conducted. This was a great success and gave our
students a chance to put to practice some of the things we have been teaching
about leadership, public speaking, health education and Bible topics. The
students all got to pull some teeth under my supervision, which they all
enjoyed! The students also spent time with some young people on the island, who
responded avidly to their efforts. I had expected to only see a few patients on
this visit and planned for us to return to Gaua on Sunday morning. But after the
Sabbath I realized that the number of patients was way beyond all expectations.
I spent the whole of Sunday seeing them, mostly pulling teeth and doing minor
surgery. At the end of the day many were turned away but I promised to return as
soon as possible. The mission in Port Vila have assigned James Bong, a pioneer
minister to work on this island. Things were not easy when he first arrived
as a preacher of a new religion only about 2 months ago. After a few death
threats he was told to leave and would not have been permitted to
stay had not one kind family accepted him as a friend-they said they feared that
their island would be despised if he was not accepted by someone. Life for this
man is extremely tough-some locals have tried to prevent him from even eating or
gardening to try to discourage him. He often eats food from the wild-not
very pleasant food. But our stay greatly helped to implant some
respect for Seventh-day Adventists-a good example of how medical work is so
successful in partnership with the ministry of the word. We believe that
God will open the way for his ministry to prosper on this island which is full
of precious souls who have yet to hear of the message of Jesus' soon return. In
time the paramount chief warmed up to us when he saw what we were doing and also
discovered that I had helped his little nephew on Gaua Island following a
serious compound forearm fracture. The close bond we formed with the paramount
chief was an encouragement to us that in future we must return to help
these very needy and isolated people-the population is surprisingly large and I
would say largely receptive. God willing...we shall return. And God
willing, James Bong will plant a church on Merelava too! Please pray
for him.
Tapping in to a Student's Massive Extended
Family
One
of our students is named John Foxe. We have got very close to John and his
family. What has amazed us is how much distance (social and geographic
distance) we have gotten out of this friendship! In Vanuatu, once you
have one close friend, you soon discover that your friend has enough
connections to keep you busy for a lifetime! John was one of our first
students. John led his father, mother, 2 sisters, brother and cousin to get
baptized with him last December. Many other friends of his have attended church
and the story is not yet finished or fully told. This young man's father, named
John Francis, comes from Wasaga, South-West Vanua Lava Island, which
is about 15 miles North of Gaua. Following some land disputes on
Gaua, this family has been told that they must soon move back
to the father's home in Vanua Lava-a place which has historically been
extremely opposed to Seventh-day Adventists! But because of all this,
John Francis needed our help to visit his family, and this gave us an excellent
opportunity to visit this community in South-West Vanua Lava. We discovered that
the villages of Wasaga (and neighbouring Tino) have a significant
population (much more people than we expected!), almost all of whom are directly
related to our student John Foxe. This area also has some significant
advantages-an incredible natural harbour and a good area for a bush airstrip.
Who knows what may come of that? Because we had John Foxe and his
father with us, the community of Wasaga and Tino received us extremely warmly.
They know that we have a very close friendship with John and his family, and
culturally speaking, that automatically means that they consider us family too.
The warmth and love they showed us was outstanding, and now they are amazed
to know that John Foxe and his Dad (his Dad used to be renowned for his
violence and drinking) have accepted the Seventh-day Adventist faith. We ran an
AIDS awareness program there and spent some time helping some sick people. It
seems that God has plans for this community to discover the truth as it is in
Jesus, and the next chapter has yet to be lived out and
told...
The Sting of Death Removed by
Faith
During our stay in Wasaga-Tino area we received news via satellite email
that Naomi's mother had died from Lymphoma in Australia. This tragic news turned
out to be an opportunity for Naomi to witness for her Lord. Our students
and others who heard about Naomi's mum were expecting a noisy mourning
session to follow the news-in this culture it is expected that a public
show of wailing must automatically take place following news of the death of a
loved one. But to their surprise they discovered a new way of responding to news
of death and tragedy. Naomi's quiet sadness, calmness, courage and self-control
through this sad and emotional experience was hard for her but also must have
been indelibly impressed upon some minds-especially two of our students who even
witnessed the unfortunate moment when Naomi received the bad
news. (Sometimes privacy is difficult to secure in this setting.) I
believe that this must have been the first time they have ever seen someone
dealing with news of tragedy in such a radically different way-and an
introduction to a realization that loud and hopeless wailing is not
as necessary or inevitable as previously thought. It seems to me
that all the wailing that attends mourning actually exaggerates the
hopelessness, fear and torment of death. But should not our faith take the
sting out of death? I deeply appreciate Naomi's strength and stability of
character during this difficult time.
"O death, where is thy sting? O
grave, where is thy victory?"
1Corinthians 15:55
"Cat on a Mission" gets Close to The
Edge
We
spent the Sabbath at Vureas Bay, where we encouraged the believers there to go
forward with a new church building project, (they desperately need a new
church building here-let us know if you know of someone who can help with
funding...) and then made plans to return to Gaua so that Naomi could
fly to Australia for the funeral. The next morning we went down to the
ocean to see how rough the water was-yes it was rough and breaking, with
a significant headwind. For inter island trips now we are using our
small catermeran (truly a "Cat on a Mission") which, with two outboard
motors on the back, we think of as a 'mini power-cat'. For some reason
when I checked the marine weather forecast our satellite phone failed to
pick up the signal. The water is always more rough
than it appears from the shore. Looking back on it, I now realize
that the decision to head out into such rough waves (2 to 3m and
breaking) was not the best choice. But the pressing desire to get home soon
so that Naomi could get to the funeral, and also because patients were expecting
us back in Gaua, tipped the balance in the decision making
process. We knew we were in for a rough trip-because we had never taken the
catermeran out on such rough waves before. But we have gradually gained a feel
for what our catermeran can handle, and we felt that it was reasonable to go out
in these conditions with caution, planning to return if it got too rough. So
we put on lifejackets and some wet-weather clothing, then tied
ourselves to the boat. We prayed for protection then set out. Almost
immediately we were in waves which were so rough that we were unable to do
anything but continue going forward to Gaua. The boat was being
pounded by waves but seemed to be handling it. However, to turn
back seemed hazardous as waves could have hit us very hard on the
side-which was a concern! In the roughest patch every wave seemed to engulf a
large part of the boat in water, repeatedly striking us in the faces every few
seconds with blinding force. Fortunately I had expected it and I wore a
diving mask to deal with the situation! [Missionaries must be adaptable,
right?!] One of our two outboard engines died at this point too and
the sea was too rough to attend to it. I asked John Foxe to pull it up and
we continued on one engine the remainder of the journey. At moments like
this we nickname our boat "the submarine"-because this boat has a tendency to
cut into steep waves rather than go over them! This makes the boat very stable
(and enables it to handle larger waves than many boats of similar
weight) but lets just say its a little 'extra-wet' for the folks on top!
Fortunately there is a small dry cabin where we place electronic gear and cargo.
The waves did improve slightly as we got into deeper water, but we never really
got comfortable the whole three and a half hour trip back home.
Fortunately the very strong tidal current was in our favor and hurried us
towards our destination. As we approached the reef in Gaua, the swells got
bigger and bigger, till one 7m (22 foot) swell took the day's record! Amazingly,
the cat made it with all lives on board safe and sound as we came through the
reef at Gaua into calm waters. The contrast between inside and outside the reef
was staggering! It was only then that we could fix the second engine which
simply needed a spark plug change. All in all we were extremely impressed with
the safety and stability of this boat. I dont know of any design of a boat
of similar weight or carrying capacity that could handle what we
went through with such stability. Many of the locals were quite amazed that
we had made it in such rough conditions. As news spread around the island, some
refused to believe that we had done it till they confirmed with us
personally that we had actually made that journey on that day! We
decided that the boat had probably been taken fairly close to its physical
limits and that there will be no need to prove its
capabilities again! We now know about the limits of what that "Cat on a Mission" can handle-it surely is a most
amazingly stable and efficient design, considering its small size. But in
future, we will not get so close to the edge of safety!
After a weary sleep we spent a couple
of days working on trying to arrange flights for Naomi's return to Australia for
her mother's funeral. But after taking the risk to make the crossing to Gaua, in
spite of all efforts at finding suitable flights, we failed to secure a seat in
time for her to return to Australia before the funeral. Had we known this in
advance we would have stayed in Vureas Bay till the waves had calmed down a
bit. Here is a good example where discernment and wisdom to run the
right risks is so necessary-sometimes its very difficult to know God's will
and what is presumption, what isnt. But we had only done what we thought
was best and God saw us through the difficulties and dangers we
encountered-completely unscathed. And in spite of all that water
pounding the catermeran, all our electronic gear that went with us on the boat
is still in good working order!
Aircraft Donation Approaching
Finalization
We
are most thankful to say that final steps are taking place towards the donation
of a Maule aircraft for the Vanuatu Project. Our director, Jeff Reich has
indicated that this aircraft will most likely be made available to us on August
1, which is about a week from now. Then, if it is donated
as expected, it will need to be shipped to Vanuatu from the USA
in a shipping container-yes the wings are removable! This aircraft will be a
great blessing and will enable us get around Torba province and back and forth
to Santo for supplies much, much more readily. If it does all work out, as
expected, we hope that this project will have wings by the end of this year, or
even sooner. Please continue to pray as this aspect of our work comes together.
We greatly covet your prayers that it will happen in God's way, in God's time,
and with God's blessing-we have dedicated the aircraft to Him and asked Him to
consecrate and sanctify it for His glory and for His work of benevolence. Wings
will give power to the work but everything must be done with heavenly
wisdom for it to be the blessing it was intended to be. One needy aspect of
this will be the need to build a small, simple and humble
but adequate hangar at Gaua airstrip. Gaua airstrip is unique in that
it is an excellent grass strip (with a firm coral base) which faces in the right
direction and is the right length. And amazingly, it has Avgas
availability due to a fuel stock area which Air Vanuatu keeps there for
emergencies. Air Vanuatu have approved for us to purchase fuel from them,
which is quite amazing. [Gaua is a remote place-only one vehicle on the
island!] We have also already been provided with some free land by an SDA
landowner in an excellent location near deep water in a very safe bay not far
from the newly built Matavanga church. This land is adjacent to the northern end
of this airstrip, and includes one of the best natural harbours in Gaua-probably
the best. This would make an excellent base for boating and flying,
and will enable us to reach other islands much more readily, as we see our work
rapidly spreading out now in all directions. All we need is building
materials for the hangar and we are praying for help building it. We also plan
to build a small house close to it as the hangar roof will provide us with
rainwater and the location seems to be a good base for our future work.
(Our temporary home-base is proving to be too far from non-tidal waters and is a
long way from the airstip. It is also too difficult to mosquito-proof and is
starting to get very moldy-a health hazard that is affecting us
increasingly-especially Kay.) Please pray that God will lead us in all these
matters.
Youth Ministry; God's Key to the
Future
The
Lord greatly blessed a youth program we recently held. I was extremely impressed
at how effective this approach is to reaching people. It combined the work of
preaching, teaching and healing, and enabled us to reach people with less
prejudice and more effectiveness than any program I have ever been involved
with. Thank You Lord for blessing this simple but very effective program!
Details of this program can be read in Kay's entry
below...[See bottom of this page.] What a pleasure it
is to work with earnest young people who love the Lord. And what a blessing to
see children of all ages responding to life-changing messages on health and
Bible topics.
Serious Compound Fracture Follows 10m Fall from a
Tree
Medical ministry continues to open doors wherever we go. Of course in
medical work, almost anything can happen at any time...A few days ago I was
called to another emergency-this time a 12 year old girl who had fallen a
full 10m (about 35 feet!) to the ground from a tall breadfruit
tree. Thankfully she missed a stone and some spear-like shoots which would have
killed her, but both radius and ulna bones of her right forearm were fractured
and were sticking out through the ulnar aspect of her distal forearm. When they
brought her to me she was obviously in a state of mental shock. Although
awake, she had not shed a single tear in the whole process. It took great
persuasion to reduce this fracture under a general anesthetic. But as her Dad
pulled her elbow and I pulled her hand, it finally 'clunked' into place and I
was able to stitch her up and apply a cast. But she is doing OK now and we
covet your prayers for her full recovery and for the full use of her hand-and
especially that she will escape the dangers of osteomyelitis. Serious
emergencies like this are often poorly attended to on these islands. The father
of this girl has a constant limp from a hip fracture as a youth which
was not medically attended to-often people just wait for things to get better
because medical help is either not available or is just too far away. I am
thankful that I can contribute to helping in this area, as I am the only doctor
in the whole province of islands, so my help is certainly in demand-its
nice to be where you are definitely needed! We are still praying for a portable
Xray machine and portable ultrasound machine which would make diagnosis much
easier. An aircraft will enable me to serve more places more
efficiently. Please pray for us as medical ministry continues to open
doors on every hand.
Sabbath Tract-2nd
Edition
Translation work continues to go forward-another important branch of our
work, and in some ways, the most effectual. We are now about to print the second
edition (much improved) version of our Sabbath tract that has already proven to
be very effective. We are also now translating Steps to Christ into Bislama. Our
translator is very busy-please pray for him and for all our helpers and friends
here in Torba. We have so many tracts and books that need translating. The work
is big and the rewards are...out of this
world!
A Pause for
THANKSGIVING...
Again, we want to give thanks
to God for His goodness:
- Extremely kind & significant donations from a
special friends at Logan Reserve SDA Church, SE Queensland. God's
goodness continues to surprise us!
- Regular donations from other special friends-you know
who you are! Thankyou!
- By faith and by God's grace-intended/expected donation of an
aircraft for this project. To be confirmed soon...
- Kindness and encouragement from friends during loss of
Naomi's mother.
- Kind support of the SDA Mission in Port Vila through trials
and difficulties.
-
Jeff Reich and
the others at Laymen Ministries, our headquarters-a great team to work
with.
How You Can Help With
'Mission Critical' Needs
-
Order a free copy of the "Ring of Fire" DVD of this project in
Vanuatu, & share it with a friend; just
email us or: <lmnpubint@imbris.net> or
checkout www.lmn.org
-
Your Prayers Requested: An aircraft could potentially be donated
for this project. Please pray that the finalization of
the donation takes place. If this comes through we will need to build a small
hangar and operational base for the project.
-
URGENTLY
NEEDED: Funding plus for 2nd Edition of our Sabbath
Tract-a newly redesigned version of an already provenly
successful tract in Bislama. Guaranteed to have high impact in Vanuatu. $1500
will provide 10,000. $2500 will provide 20,000 tracts.
-
NEEDED: Funding for church buildings: We currently have 4 church building
projects: One larger church almost completed, another smaller one under way,
and 2 more to follow, one larger and one smaller. If you can help, please email: hope@go777light.com. (If you can, please put us in contact with people who want
to sponsor churches-we have plenty Seventh-day Adventist Churches to build in
Torba!)
-
-
NEEDED: Funding for Bibles, books, tract publication and Maranatha Media Bible Study
Charts (excellent aids for missionaries & ministers) in Vanuatu,
please email: hope@go777light.com
-
The Vanuatu SDA
Mission is launching a courageous plan to bring Hope TV to Port Vila. Planning
is now under way. If you know of anyone who would like to support an extremely
fruitful ministry that will reach many people in Port Vila, please contact
myself or the mission.
-
Interested in
paying tithe into the Vanuatu SDA Mision? US$ checks or AU$ cheques can be
sent to Treasurer, SDA Mission, PO Box 85, Port Vila, Vanuatu. Mark
clearly as "tithe".
-
Interested in a Fly and Build?-During late 2008
or early 2009 we are planning to build a SDA Church School on Gaua Island. If
interested, provide names and available dates by email to hope@go777light.com. Its time to
supply names and available dates now! If you can't come, you
could help raise funds for
materials.
Heaven's Last Call
Friend, this world is not heaven. You know
that.
Time lingers only to prove to all what sin
really is.
But God has a plan to take us away from all
this to a place where sin does not abound.
The Last Call must be sounded, for time is short
and things cant go much longer-if it did, no flesh would be saved.
Time must be cut short, yet while time lingers, God's Hope extends a merciful hand to the
sinner.
Let's pull together to deliver
together...Heaven's Last Call to a world completely lost
in sin.
Thank you for your interest in the Vanuatu
Project.
Mark Turnbull
Laymen Ministries Volunteer,
Vanuatu Mission of Seventh-day
Adventists
His Concern: His
Harvest
By Naomi
Urgent or
Urgent!
These past couple of months have been quite
intensive for us. We have been busy doing programs and running clinics in
various islands here in Torba Province, plus continuing on with our student
program, training Health Educators. We also have a weekly clinic here at the
home-base, and have had several emergencies during the night. Every time we are
about to leave the house to go and run a program in another place, someone turns
up on our doorstep telling us about another sick person who 'urgently' needs our
attention! Most of them are not so urgent that they cannot wait until we get
back.
Bad News & My Grieving
Experience
Last month I also received news that my mother
was very ill, and we were making plans to to go back to Australia to see her. A
few days days after hearing how serious her condition was, we received the awful
news that she had already passed away. We tried to book tickets for me to get
back for the funeral, but unfortunately we were not able to secure a seat for me
to get back in time. During this trying ordeal, I have had
many opportunities to share the hope I have of seeing my mum again in the
resurrection. I believe it has also been quite amazing to the local people to
see how we grieve, "not as those who have no hope". The usual form of grieving
here is a long, loud and tiresome event. Funerals take up a lot of time and
energy here, and they also place a financial burden on the grieving family. They
must kill a pig and/or a cow to help feed all the family members who come from
far away. Funerals usually last for about a week, then the family who live close
by will come back together again after 10 days, then again after 20 days and so
on until they reach 60 or 100 days. During this time, their efficiency in any
other line of work is completely destroyed. They can't carry on normal life
while grieving. How thankful I am for the wonderful light we have in God's Word
that releases us from all those heavy burdens.
A Tribute to a Godly
Mother
Although I have found it difficult being so far
away from family and supportive friends during this time of grieving, I am
thankful that I have the peace in my heart that only comes from Jesus. Knowing
that He is in control of every circumstance of our lives, and that He has trod
this road before, gives me courage. I am also privileged to have had a good,
Christian mother, who trained me in the ways of righteousness, honesty, purity,
thoughtfulness, and many other virtues. I often find myself teaching Kay and the
other young ladies we have coming into our home frequently, the same values that
I grew up with, and which are still very much a part of my life. I am indebted
to my Mum for the values she taught me as a child, and which I saw in her life.
I pray that God will continue to use the influence of her life to touch the
lives of others. Who knows how far reaching the influence of one godly mother
can be? If you are a mother and home-maker, and wishing you could experience the
thrills of working in the 'mission field', I want to encourage you to be
faithful with the mission field in your own home and neighborhood. My mother
never traveled to another country. In fact, until the time of her illness, she
had never flown in a aeroplane. She was a real home-maker and was content with
her humble role in life. However, she didn't stop us kids from having dreams of
greater things. She often told me as a child that she believed that God had a
special plan for my life. She didn't have any strong idea about what that
involved, but it was enough for me to know that I must not waste my life. I
wanted my mum's dream to come true, so that she would feel fulfilled. I believe
that God heard my mothers prayers throughout the years, and I hope to be able to
introduce her to our new-found brothers and sisters when we meet again in
heaven.
Bible Story Books a
Hit
Our lending library is still being well
patronized, and the most popular books are the Uncle Arthur's Bible Story Books.
The young, the old and the middle aged, in fact everyone, just love those books!
I am also lending out resources to various Sunday school and Sabbath school
teachers. One lady told me that the books I had loaned her for her Sunday school
class have been such a blessing to her family. She has been reading the stories
to her children every night, and they are enjoying them so much. Even her
husband, Steve, who hasn't shown interest in spiritual things before, is now
reading the books she borrows. He is currently reading a book called "At Jesus'
Feet", and it has brought him to tears. He is requesting a copy for himself, as
he feels that it has really turned his life around. If anyone is able to get a
copy to us, we'd really like him to have his own copy. I think the author is
Doug Batchelor.
Thank You Once
Again
I want to take this opportunity to say a special
thank you to those who have been supporting this project in various ways.
Without you our work here would be very difficult. Some of you have emailed
recently, assuring us that you are praying for us. That always brings comfort
and hope to our souls, but especially at this time it has been very, very, much
appreciated. If you haven't received a personal thank-you, please accept this as
your thank-you for your help.
7 Prayer Requests
For prayer warriors, we have some very important
prayer requests we would like you to remember when you are praying for
us:
1. The family of John Fox who are currently
facing some challenges in their Christian experience;
2. Steve to accept Jesus as his Saviour, and for
his family to continue learning more;
3. The seeds sown at our recent children's
program will one day bear fruit in the lives of those who attended;
4. Wisdom for us to handle challenging
situations in the right way;
5. Our students who are coming closer to us
every week, and closer to God. Most of them want to keep the Sabbath
now!;
6. For those who are borrowing books, that the
Holy Spirit will touch their hearts through what they read;
7. For God's people to be more in earnest to
finish the work God has given them to.
"The harvest truly is plentiful,
but the labourers are few.
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the
harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His
harvest."
Matt.9:37,38.
Naomi Turnbull
Volunteer
Vanuatu
Youth & Children's Ministry Takes
Off
by Kay
While we were in Australia I secured a CD
called "Truth 4 Youth" which is produced by Young Disciple (a youth ministry
based in the US). I have been wanting to get this CD for some time. It is a
CD with many Bible presentations and most of the tools required to run an
evangelistic kid's program. About ten days after I ordered it, I had it in
my hands wishing I could start immediately. But at that time we were still in
Australia, so I had to wait. Since our return to Vanuatu, we have been busy
travelling to different islands and running classes with
students. But 4 weeks ago we decided not to wait any longer. We
decided we must go ahead and organize a children's program. We chose to do
it in an area called Lembal, where the leaders of the another
Christian group in the area have been pleading with Dad to show them
Christian videos (powerpoint presentations are also regarded as 'videos'
here-and attract intense interest). So we decided it was time to go-here was a
call from the Lord. We had just got back from (another) incredible trip across
the rough ocean from the island just north of us (Vanua Lava). So we
were tired and Mum's Mother had just died while we were on that trip. I was also
sick with Malaria and at the same time I had about 5 'boils' on my thighs, plus
two boils on my fingers on my right hand! (Apparently caused by a poisonous
mushroom.) But by faith we went ahead and invited our students to be
involved in this children's program. We decided to call it
"interdenominational" because some Christian groups would not come
otherwise. This proved to be an excellent idea. Dad told us students that
he wanted us to organize the whole program and to operate it. He said that
he and Mum would assist us with any thing and he would be there to back us up
but he wanted it to be run for children, by the youth. Our ten keenest
students agreed to take part and so every day for a week I prepared
presentations with the students, helping them with the topics they were to be
presenting. The SDA students (only 4 of us) were given the Bible topics and
all the non SDA's (6 of them) were given health topics. We were all a bit
nervous at the idea of doing public preaching because only the two boys had ever
preached before; it was the first time for all of us girls. Dad said that we all
need to practice with public speaking so it was a very good opportunity. So the
first night one of our best students did the health presentation on sugar and
it's affect in the teeth. Then I did the Bible presentation on the Fall of
Lucifer. I really thank God that He took away my fear and I was
quite relaxed as I was preaching. A large crowd of kids came and brought
their parents with them-just what we were expecting! As we were running
this one week kids program we stayed in the area with a local family. It really
helped to bring all the students closer together. All the girls got to know each
other very well by sharing one small room! We had morning worship every day, led
out by a different student each time. Everyone had to be involved-there was no
choice. We ate together and we all took turns to cook, during the whole
week. While we were there we also did some community work like helping in
peoples gardens and massaging some old people. Dad also ran a clinic a few days
during the week and the students assisted him. Dad also took the chainsaw and
taught the boys and some men how to use one and they cut fire wood for some
people who needed it. It was a really good experience and everyone had to take
part in the evening programs at least twice each. I am really thankful that God
blessed this program so much. The people were extremely receptive and we
had over 90 different kids come, during the entire program. I am also really
thankful for Mum and Dad's support of this program. Every day Mum made sure all
the girls were 'on track' and that we all had work to do, time for
study and time for cooking. Every day Dad made sure the boys were doing OK
and that everything was in working together. He als ensure that there was
unity in the group, that all the electrical gear was ready, and fixed any
problems. I am also very thankful to all the students who took part and worked
together well. If I had to preach every night I think I would have been very
tired but with the students' help we got through the week without
getting totally exhausted! I believe all us really enjoyed ourselves, being
able to share was a real joy. Most importantly all student grew rapidly through
the experience and many children made decisions to follow good health
principles, respect God's law and even accept the Sabbath. The incidental
attendance of many adults meant that although it was called a children's program
the whole community was involved and in fact many people accepted the truths
that were preached, including and especially our non-SDA students, all of
whom kept the Sabbath with us on the last day of the program. Many of the
students are asking when the next program is. So please pray for the children
and adults in Lembal, as well as our students-that they will follow what they
have learned to be truth and also that Satan won't have his way to decieve them
from following God's will for their lives!
Kay Turnbull
Volunteer
Vanuatu
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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?
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