Mission trip to SWB

Malekula is Vanuatu’s second largest island, and is basically divided into three areas - north, central and south.  We are located in the northern part of the island.  Back in 2006, we received a request for a Bible Correspondence Course from Aiel Massing in Southwest Bay, Malekula (he had seen our ad for courses in the Daily Post newspaper, which technically doesn’t even circulate in SWB).  Back then there was no cellular phone coverage at all in the area, and even getting mail was quite a chore.  We would hear something from Aiel every 4-6 months or so, but he was sort of lost amongst our hundreds of BCC students.  A couple of years ago, when we rewrote our English courses, we sent several of our former students a copy, and he began contacting us again (this time with cell phone reception near his village).  Alsen and I were scheduled to go and visit him back in 2010, but had to cancel at the last minute because the airport was closed (and, in a very-Vanuatu way, still is!). 

Aiel and Mike happened to both be in Vila at the same time for about a week later in 2010, but Aiel’s commitments made it difficult for them to cover much ground in Bible study.  Aiel completed our BCCs late in 2011, and recently called announcing his desire to be baptized as a result of his studies (along with some other family members).  So, Mike, Titus and I are going to SWB next Monday.  We will be accompanied by two local Christians from Tulwei, Williamson and Alsen.  Mike is scheduled to fly into Malekula this afternoon and spend the weekend with us.  We will ride a truck about 45 minutes on Monday morning to the central part of the island, and then board a small boat (outboard motor) for the 3-4 hour voyage down to the southern part of the island.

Aiel seems quite excited about our coming, and we are very grateful for the opportunity to go and study with them.  We will be there for a week, and hope that we will witness the church being planted in this new region of the country.  Please be praying for our safety as we travel, and for receptive hearts in SWB.  It sounds like we could have a good number of souls who are interested in studying the Bible.

And be sure to check back for an update on the trip!