Monday, March 28, 2011
This ‘N That
By: Cindy
Good Morning -
I’m writing this blog at 1:39am. I’ve been awake for about two hours now. Maybe three cups of coffee was too many this afternoon.
Blog
Many thanks to all of you who take the time to read our weekly blog! Several of you have posted comments and we just want you to know that even though we may not be able (for various reasons) to reply to all of your comments, they have not gone unnoticed. Thank you for all of the encouragement and kindness you extend to us each week! We GREATLY appreciate it!
Baptism!
Great news! We have a new sister in Christ! Harry’s wife, Tess, was baptized into Christ on Wednesday afternoon. I wish you all could have seen the smile that stretched from ear to ear when she told me that she wanted to become a Christian! It was pure joy at its best! Interestingly, Tess is also the sister of Sam, Nipina, and Andrew and the daughter of Abu Iata and Abu Salome who are all Christians living and worshipping in Etas Village just outside of Port Vila.
Food
Our food situation has greatly improved over the last month, as new crops are starting to grow. I am SO THANKFUL that the market is beginning to offer more than just slimy island cabbage (in my opinion), young coconuts and cucumbers. Now we are beginning to enjoy avocado, green peppers, onions, susut leaf and pumpkin leaf (greens), and a few types of green beans! Yea! AND a new shipment of flour just arrived in town. There hasn’t been a bag of flour to be had for about three weeks now and it was really cramping my style to not have flour on hand! I was so happy to see those 25Kilo bags of flour stacked outside a store I could have yelled for joy! (It’s the small things in life, you know…)
Care Packages
Our teammate, Mike, has informed us that there are a few boxes waiting for us at our house in Port Vila. If you sent a care package to Port Vila, we will be sure to email/snail mail our thanks to you shortly after we arrive back in Vila at the end of April. So, don’t think we are ungrateful…we just are waiting to see what we are grateful for and to whom we should send our thanks! :o)
That Funny Kaela…
Last night Aaron and I were enjoying a cup of hot tea with our dinner. Kaela begged Aaron to make a little bit of hot tea for her to drink too. As he dipped the bag, he asked, “Kaela, how dark do you want it?” And she replied, “About the color of Martha, Miswel’s wife!” HAHAHA!!!! Kids! :o)
Good Morning -
I’m writing this blog at 1:39am. I’ve been awake for about two hours now. Maybe three cups of coffee was too many this afternoon.
Blog
Many thanks to all of you who take the time to read our weekly blog! Several of you have posted comments and we just want you to know that even though we may not be able (for various reasons) to reply to all of your comments, they have not gone unnoticed. Thank you for all of the encouragement and kindness you extend to us each week! We GREATLY appreciate it!
Baptism!
Great news! We have a new sister in Christ! Harry’s wife, Tess, was baptized into Christ on Wednesday afternoon. I wish you all could have seen the smile that stretched from ear to ear when she told me that she wanted to become a Christian! It was pure joy at its best! Interestingly, Tess is also the sister of Sam, Nipina, and Andrew and the daughter of Abu Iata and Abu Salome who are all Christians living and worshipping in Etas Village just outside of Port Vila.
Food
Our food situation has greatly improved over the last month, as new crops are starting to grow. I am SO THANKFUL that the market is beginning to offer more than just slimy island cabbage (in my opinion), young coconuts and cucumbers. Now we are beginning to enjoy avocado, green peppers, onions, susut leaf and pumpkin leaf (greens), and a few types of green beans! Yea! AND a new shipment of flour just arrived in town. There hasn’t been a bag of flour to be had for about three weeks now and it was really cramping my style to not have flour on hand! I was so happy to see those 25Kilo bags of flour stacked outside a store I could have yelled for joy! (It’s the small things in life, you know…)
Care Packages
Our teammate, Mike, has informed us that there are a few boxes waiting for us at our house in Port Vila. If you sent a care package to Port Vila, we will be sure to email/snail mail our thanks to you shortly after we arrive back in Vila at the end of April. So, don’t think we are ungrateful…we just are waiting to see what we are grateful for and to whom we should send our thanks! :o)
That Funny Kaela…
Last night Aaron and I were enjoying a cup of hot tea with our dinner. Kaela begged Aaron to make a little bit of hot tea for her to drink too. As he dipped the bag, he asked, “Kaela, how dark do you want it?” And she replied, “About the color of Martha, Miswel’s wife!” HAHAHA!!!! Kids! :o)
Where’s Aaron?
Don’t worry. I’m here. Where have I been, you might ask? Well, between being sick and classes at school starting for the year, I have been busy. Not the kind of busy where you want to pull your hair out, but the good-kind of busy where there is stuff to do everyday and you can sleep well at night. That kind of busy. “Busy doing what?” you might ask. Well, here goes.
First, our main priority for moving to Tanna is to work with the church. Our second priority is for Cindy and I to help at a local Rural Training Center (much like a vo-tech in the States) to bolster goodwill within the village where we live. School began two weeks ago and time has really been flying by ever since.
I am teaching two classes at the moment, English and Bible Study. English, I teach on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I like it OK, but let me say there is a huge difference in speaking the language versus teaching that same language. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one thing. Try teaching English without any curriculum and this is why it’s even more difficult to teach the students here. They come to class with pencil and paper. That’s it. Then, it’s up to me to teach English to 18-20 year olds who, on average, have an eighth grade education. I’m not complaining, but just mentioning that it is like a Rubix cube puzzle – just when you think you have one side all lined up, then you look at the five other sides and realize you have a long ways yet to go.
The positive side is that the school has a very small and antiquated library. So, I was able to rummage through their books and find a few about the English language and use them to draw some ideas from and put together a make-shift curriculum that should last me a few weeks. After that…who knows?
So while thumbing through these books, I was completely reminded of the disparity between Western education standards (Australia, New Zealand, USA) and Vanuatu / South Pacific education standards. The grading scale for Vanuatu goes like this:
A+ = 100-85
A = 84-80
B+ = 79-75
B = 74-65
C+ = 64-60
C = 59-50
D = 49-40
F = 39-0
I don’t know about those of you reading this blog posting, but where I went to school from primary school, middle school and high school, you had to get at least 90 and above to earn an A. It seems here they are handed out like lollies. In addition, a 50 while growing up would earn me an F in school, a stern lecture and probably an application of the good ‘ole fashion “board of education” to my “seat of learning”. I guess that’s just me, because here in Vanuatu a 50 earns you a C. Wow!
My favorite class, by far, is Bible. Each student is required to take my class, so on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the mornings (7:30 – 9) I have about 17 students with whom I get to spend a few hours teaching the Bible. I pray that in the future, this will really produce a great harvest for the church.
Because so many students come from so many religious backgrounds, I am working slowly on laying a good foundation about trusting and studying God’s Word. I have students with Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Neil Thomas Ministries, Church of Christ denominational, and even Bahai beliefs. My goal is to teach the truth in love as clearly as possible so that the Word can do its work in them. Even with students with such a mixed background, only the Word is able to unite them in one belief, if only they are willing to follow and study the Bible, and it alone. Only time will tell how it will turn out. Prayerfully, there will be a harvest sometime in the future.
Where else have I been? Well, due to our family not having refrigeration, I am trying to go to town every Friday and Monday to get food and supplies. On Fridays, our famliy makes the trip to town to do our shopping and have some family time together. We usually try to go swimming to have fun together for an hour or two each week. Then, on Mondays, I come to town by myself to send/receive emails, go to the bank and take care of other odds and ends. On Fridays, we leave at 9:30 in the morning and return about 4 in the afternoon. On Mondays, I leave at 9:30am and return by about 2:30pm even though I walk 30 minutes to catch a truck to get to/from town.
Besides going to town, we spend time in the garden weeding and cultivating our crops. Everyone here in Tanna spends time in the garden. It’s what you do. It’s how you get food. So, we knew if we came it would be frowned upon if we didn’t have a garden. Therefore, we’re going to try and turn our black thumbs green in this rich, black soil found in Tanna. Who knew black plus black made green?
Oh, funny story (and not just a preacher’s story, this really happened). So I was preaching this past Sunday in a village to which we had been invited. Our family as well as Harry and his family, Miswel, and a few people from around the Lorakau area, walked to Lausenganu (pronounced Lao-sang-ahn-oo) village where we were to worship. The walk was about 45 minutes one way and boy, that sun was hot!
As I was preaching during worship, there were various chickens and dogs milling around. For sure, nothing can disrupt a sermon like a good dog fight. I was preaching away and all of the sudden two dogs right next to where I was standing decided to tear into one another and away they went at each other: fighting, biting, clawing and gnawing. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this, but try preaching while the entire group of people gathered is watching a dogfight and see if your points get through.
Needless to say, the dogs went round and round, growling and fighting and something had to be done! I decided in that instant that since I was the closest to the dogs and was probably the only one annoyed at the show they were putting on, that I would give my strongest, hardest, fastest kick I could muster to the closest dog. Just like my old soccer coach taught me, I planted my left leg, swung with my right, and expected good, solid contact. The only problem was that I missed! The dogs decided, mutually, I’m sure, to stop fighting in that instant and move away from this funny looking white man standing on one leg. As they moved away, I missed my well-planned, but poorly placed kick and nearly lost my balance. Try regaining the attention of your audience once they are snickering at you almost falling down. Not easy, believe me.
Anyway, that was the first time I ever tried to break up a dogfight while preaching. I’m guessing it won’t be the last.
First, our main priority for moving to Tanna is to work with the church. Our second priority is for Cindy and I to help at a local Rural Training Center (much like a vo-tech in the States) to bolster goodwill within the village where we live. School began two weeks ago and time has really been flying by ever since.
I am teaching two classes at the moment, English and Bible Study. English, I teach on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I like it OK, but let me say there is a huge difference in speaking the language versus teaching that same language. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one thing. Try teaching English without any curriculum and this is why it’s even more difficult to teach the students here. They come to class with pencil and paper. That’s it. Then, it’s up to me to teach English to 18-20 year olds who, on average, have an eighth grade education. I’m not complaining, but just mentioning that it is like a Rubix cube puzzle – just when you think you have one side all lined up, then you look at the five other sides and realize you have a long ways yet to go.
The positive side is that the school has a very small and antiquated library. So, I was able to rummage through their books and find a few about the English language and use them to draw some ideas from and put together a make-shift curriculum that should last me a few weeks. After that…who knows?
So while thumbing through these books, I was completely reminded of the disparity between Western education standards (Australia, New Zealand, USA) and Vanuatu / South Pacific education standards. The grading scale for Vanuatu goes like this:
A+ = 100-85
A = 84-80
B+ = 79-75
B = 74-65
C+ = 64-60
C = 59-50
D = 49-40
F = 39-0
I don’t know about those of you reading this blog posting, but where I went to school from primary school, middle school and high school, you had to get at least 90 and above to earn an A. It seems here they are handed out like lollies. In addition, a 50 while growing up would earn me an F in school, a stern lecture and probably an application of the good ‘ole fashion “board of education” to my “seat of learning”. I guess that’s just me, because here in Vanuatu a 50 earns you a C. Wow!
My favorite class, by far, is Bible. Each student is required to take my class, so on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in the mornings (7:30 – 9) I have about 17 students with whom I get to spend a few hours teaching the Bible. I pray that in the future, this will really produce a great harvest for the church.
Because so many students come from so many religious backgrounds, I am working slowly on laying a good foundation about trusting and studying God’s Word. I have students with Presbyterian, Assemblies of God, Neil Thomas Ministries, Church of Christ denominational, and even Bahai beliefs. My goal is to teach the truth in love as clearly as possible so that the Word can do its work in them. Even with students with such a mixed background, only the Word is able to unite them in one belief, if only they are willing to follow and study the Bible, and it alone. Only time will tell how it will turn out. Prayerfully, there will be a harvest sometime in the future.
Where else have I been? Well, due to our family not having refrigeration, I am trying to go to town every Friday and Monday to get food and supplies. On Fridays, our famliy makes the trip to town to do our shopping and have some family time together. We usually try to go swimming to have fun together for an hour or two each week. Then, on Mondays, I come to town by myself to send/receive emails, go to the bank and take care of other odds and ends. On Fridays, we leave at 9:30 in the morning and return about 4 in the afternoon. On Mondays, I leave at 9:30am and return by about 2:30pm even though I walk 30 minutes to catch a truck to get to/from town.
Besides going to town, we spend time in the garden weeding and cultivating our crops. Everyone here in Tanna spends time in the garden. It’s what you do. It’s how you get food. So, we knew if we came it would be frowned upon if we didn’t have a garden. Therefore, we’re going to try and turn our black thumbs green in this rich, black soil found in Tanna. Who knew black plus black made green?
Oh, funny story (and not just a preacher’s story, this really happened). So I was preaching this past Sunday in a village to which we had been invited. Our family as well as Harry and his family, Miswel, and a few people from around the Lorakau area, walked to Lausenganu (pronounced Lao-sang-ahn-oo) village where we were to worship. The walk was about 45 minutes one way and boy, that sun was hot!
As I was preaching during worship, there were various chickens and dogs milling around. For sure, nothing can disrupt a sermon like a good dog fight. I was preaching away and all of the sudden two dogs right next to where I was standing decided to tear into one another and away they went at each other: fighting, biting, clawing and gnawing. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried this, but try preaching while the entire group of people gathered is watching a dogfight and see if your points get through.
Needless to say, the dogs went round and round, growling and fighting and something had to be done! I decided in that instant that since I was the closest to the dogs and was probably the only one annoyed at the show they were putting on, that I would give my strongest, hardest, fastest kick I could muster to the closest dog. Just like my old soccer coach taught me, I planted my left leg, swung with my right, and expected good, solid contact. The only problem was that I missed! The dogs decided, mutually, I’m sure, to stop fighting in that instant and move away from this funny looking white man standing on one leg. As they moved away, I missed my well-planned, but poorly placed kick and nearly lost my balance. Try regaining the attention of your audience once they are snickering at you almost falling down. Not easy, believe me.
Anyway, that was the first time I ever tried to break up a dogfight while preaching. I’m guessing it won’t be the last.
Climb Every Mountain, Ford Every Stream...
By: Cindy
We did! It is often said that some of those most rewarding experiences take the most work. Today (Sunday the 20th) was one of those experiences. Aaron had been invited to come preach in a village located in an area that is most often obscurely referred to as, “the other side”. The term, “the other side” can mean a number of different places depending on what direction the person using the phrase points their hand or nods their head. And then you know where they are talking about…if you are from Tanna. If you are Aaron and I, you are hard put to know where they might be talking about. In this case we just knew we were going to the other side of a big hill and the other side of the stream. At any rate, we were invited to come worship on “the other side”.
This invitation came about thanks to some dedicated evangelism that Harry, one of the local Christians and leaders of the church here, has been doing. He has been doing his best to share the Good News of Christ and His church with his family and friends and for that we couldn’t be more pleased!
So, this morning our family headed out along with Harry’s family, the girls from the RTC school, and a handful of visitors. We had in tow with us three bags of songs books, Lord’s Supper supplies, and various saucepans of “kakae” (food) to be shared for lunch. We were literally on a bush walk in order to get to worship. We climbed two good-size hills, endured a little slipping and sliding in the mud, crossed over the stream on a series of four logs that ran from one side to the other (watch your step!), got our legs and skirts a little wet from the grasses that were still damp from the night’s rain, and 45 minutes later arrived at Lousenganu Village on “the other side”.
Aaron and I had Bible class for the kids (which the new kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy), visited with a few people, and then it was time for worship to begin. The turnout was very good with 5 Christians, several people that normally attend worship with us, and about 20 visitors, plus 35 kids! Aaron preached what I considered to be a phenomenol sermon - and I’m sure I’m not biased…Ha! :o)
The response was great! Everyone, men and women alike, showed much interest and asked a lot of questions when worship was over. After we ate, Aaron spent about 1.5 hours sitting and talking with a group of about 15 men, answering their questions and always, consistantly pointing them back to the Bible.
When we left they gave us a woven mat and basket in thanks for our coming. We very much appreciated their generosity. Honestly, though, we would have been just has happy had they had nothing to give us. The fact that so many were willing to sit and listen and open their hearts to the Truth is thanks enough. We hope and pray that the Word of God will be working on their hearts and offer more opportunities for studying, and Lord willing, the obedience of these men and women!
We didn’t arrive home until 2:30pm. The walk back was a bit more grueling than the walk there because the sun was out in full force and it was hot, hot, hot! But, at least the bush road had dried some so we didn’t have to worry about slipping and sliding. By the time we got back I was more than ready for a COLD bucket bath and a good, long rest!
We did! It is often said that some of those most rewarding experiences take the most work. Today (Sunday the 20th) was one of those experiences. Aaron had been invited to come preach in a village located in an area that is most often obscurely referred to as, “the other side”. The term, “the other side” can mean a number of different places depending on what direction the person using the phrase points their hand or nods their head. And then you know where they are talking about…if you are from Tanna. If you are Aaron and I, you are hard put to know where they might be talking about. In this case we just knew we were going to the other side of a big hill and the other side of the stream. At any rate, we were invited to come worship on “the other side”.
This invitation came about thanks to some dedicated evangelism that Harry, one of the local Christians and leaders of the church here, has been doing. He has been doing his best to share the Good News of Christ and His church with his family and friends and for that we couldn’t be more pleased!
So, this morning our family headed out along with Harry’s family, the girls from the RTC school, and a handful of visitors. We had in tow with us three bags of songs books, Lord’s Supper supplies, and various saucepans of “kakae” (food) to be shared for lunch. We were literally on a bush walk in order to get to worship. We climbed two good-size hills, endured a little slipping and sliding in the mud, crossed over the stream on a series of four logs that ran from one side to the other (watch your step!), got our legs and skirts a little wet from the grasses that were still damp from the night’s rain, and 45 minutes later arrived at Lousenganu Village on “the other side”.
Aaron and I had Bible class for the kids (which the new kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy), visited with a few people, and then it was time for worship to begin. The turnout was very good with 5 Christians, several people that normally attend worship with us, and about 20 visitors, plus 35 kids! Aaron preached what I considered to be a phenomenol sermon - and I’m sure I’m not biased…Ha! :o)
The response was great! Everyone, men and women alike, showed much interest and asked a lot of questions when worship was over. After we ate, Aaron spent about 1.5 hours sitting and talking with a group of about 15 men, answering their questions and always, consistantly pointing them back to the Bible.
When we left they gave us a woven mat and basket in thanks for our coming. We very much appreciated their generosity. Honestly, though, we would have been just has happy had they had nothing to give us. The fact that so many were willing to sit and listen and open their hearts to the Truth is thanks enough. We hope and pray that the Word of God will be working on their hearts and offer more opportunities for studying, and Lord willing, the obedience of these men and women!
We didn’t arrive home until 2:30pm. The walk back was a bit more grueling than the walk there because the sun was out in full force and it was hot, hot, hot! But, at least the bush road had dried some so we didn’t have to worry about slipping and sliding. By the time we got back I was more than ready for a COLD bucket bath and a good, long rest!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Just the Facts, Ma’am
By: Cindy
I’m not sure how much time I have to blog today, not because I am in a hurry, but because my computer battery is about to die and charging it is not as easy as plugging it into the wall. Anyway, here is the low-down on the week.
Our family finally got over our illnesses by Sunday and we were most thankful for that! We were even more thankful that Kaela managed to escape contracting the sickness! Lucky girl! This week has been a good one and very, very busy!
School started this week at the RTC next door to our house, so Aaron’s mornings were full of teaching. He teaches three classes of English and three classes of Bible each week. He really enjoys the work it takes to put together a curriculum and teaching the students! I’ll tell more about the school and how it works next week.
My Tuesday afternoon women’s Bible study went ahead as planned this week. This study has “technically” been in the works for four weeks now, but we’ve only been able to study two of those weeks. Our first week got post-poned due to the cyclone and our third week (last week) I had to cancel because I was in no shape to teach. I had a good turnout of about 10 women this week, one of whom is a Mormon and another who is a very passionate Presbyterian, although she believes a little bit of everything and has no idea why she believes what she believes when those beliefs come up against Scripture. But, she asks a lot of questions and I am only too happy to answer! Questions are good! They help people learn the Truth!
In fact she has so many questions this week that some of the other women present were getting ansy. So, I suggested that she (Rachel) and I study together just the two of us at another point during the week. She was glad about the idea and we set up a study time for Thursday after lunch. Unfortunately, true to Vanuatu culture, when I arrived at her house to study I found out that she had gone to the other side of the island – to get away from me? – No…just kidding. :o) She went to a “dead” or funeral for a family member and won’t be back probably until the weekend. Last minute changes of plans are never unusual here so we’ll just see how things pan out for next week!
Aaron and I see so much potential for the church here to grow. Many people are asking questions and wanting to learn more about what we are teaching from the Bible. The real battle comes in getting them to let go of the false teaching that they have been holding on to for so many years, so that their eyes and their hearts might be open to the truth. Please continue to pray for our work here. We know the blessings that come from being in Christ and want so much for others to see and to share in those as well!
I’m not sure how much time I have to blog today, not because I am in a hurry, but because my computer battery is about to die and charging it is not as easy as plugging it into the wall. Anyway, here is the low-down on the week.
Our family finally got over our illnesses by Sunday and we were most thankful for that! We were even more thankful that Kaela managed to escape contracting the sickness! Lucky girl! This week has been a good one and very, very busy!
School started this week at the RTC next door to our house, so Aaron’s mornings were full of teaching. He teaches three classes of English and three classes of Bible each week. He really enjoys the work it takes to put together a curriculum and teaching the students! I’ll tell more about the school and how it works next week.
My Tuesday afternoon women’s Bible study went ahead as planned this week. This study has “technically” been in the works for four weeks now, but we’ve only been able to study two of those weeks. Our first week got post-poned due to the cyclone and our third week (last week) I had to cancel because I was in no shape to teach. I had a good turnout of about 10 women this week, one of whom is a Mormon and another who is a very passionate Presbyterian, although she believes a little bit of everything and has no idea why she believes what she believes when those beliefs come up against Scripture. But, she asks a lot of questions and I am only too happy to answer! Questions are good! They help people learn the Truth!
In fact she has so many questions this week that some of the other women present were getting ansy. So, I suggested that she (Rachel) and I study together just the two of us at another point during the week. She was glad about the idea and we set up a study time for Thursday after lunch. Unfortunately, true to Vanuatu culture, when I arrived at her house to study I found out that she had gone to the other side of the island – to get away from me? – No…just kidding. :o) She went to a “dead” or funeral for a family member and won’t be back probably until the weekend. Last minute changes of plans are never unusual here so we’ll just see how things pan out for next week!
Aaron and I see so much potential for the church here to grow. Many people are asking questions and wanting to learn more about what we are teaching from the Bible. The real battle comes in getting them to let go of the false teaching that they have been holding on to for so many years, so that their eyes and their hearts might be open to the truth. Please continue to pray for our work here. We know the blessings that come from being in Christ and want so much for others to see and to share in those as well!
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