Our family spent the month of June in Vila. I assisted Scott Richards who came over from the States in association with his teaching of two PIBC classes. That primarily entailed traveling out to Epau each am, and then picking up / dropping off students in Vila in the pm. We also scheduled the month in Vila because our now-Stateside teammates, Aaron and Cindy Baker, made a two week trip to Vanuatu (spending most of that time in their old home village in Tanna).
Since returning to Malekula at the first of July, we've been in "wrapping up mode." I am finishing up a series of lessons that we began as a congregation last year on the OT books, a series on Proverbs with the youth, a series on leadership with the men, and Shawnda is finishing up a series on Christian Living with the ladies. She has also been finishing up her first full year of homeschooling the kids. We made one more trip for the year down to Southwest Bay to visit the Christians there.
In between, we've been packing up, throwing away, giving away and selling things, in preparation for our upcoming five month time in the US (primarily as Visiting Missionaries at Oklahoma Christian University and visiting/reporting to supporters). Though, Lord willing, we'll be returning to Vanuatu early next year, we do feel a certain sense of loss as move on from this chapter in our lives. Living in the village for the past few years has changed us in almost every area of life, and we are very grateful for the experience. We pray that God has been glorified by our efforts, and that the lives that have been touched by the gospel will continue to grow and mature in faith and good works.
We are scheduled to return to Vila on Monday, and then head towards the States on Saturday. We are to have a long weekend in Ripon, CA with supporters there, and then be in Denver for a week. We are to arrive in OKC on August 13, and school starts August 26. I have my first lecture scheduled for September 4, and must admit that its a little intimidating - I've been about as far removed from academia as possible over the past several years. The good news is, most of my speaking will entail talking about Vanuatu, which shouldn't be too much of a problem!
We are looking forward to seeing most of you this Fall, and pray God's blessings on you richly. It is our intention to keep the blog going (more frequently with more consistent internet access, hopefully!) to share our OC and travel experiences. Tankyu tumas mo lukim yu...
No comments:
Post a Comment