Plan your work, work your plan

As I type this post on January 18, I am reminded that we had hoped we would already be on the field in Malekula by this time.  We had planned to send our final shipment of “stuff” in December, but the ship arrived at the wharf late and in order to make up time did not allow any cargo onboard.  The next voyage was scheduled for January 27, and so we established that as our new departure date.  However, last week’s category 1 cyclone (our first in almost 6 years of living in Vanuatu) caused the ship to postpone its trip to Malekula by a week.  So, our new departure date is February 3.  Actually, I will travel alone on the 3rd and the rest of the family will follow on the 10th (hopefully the extra week will allow me to put the finishing touches on our house, or at least to get it in a livable condition!).

We are excitedly anxious about starting this new phase in our work, and the delays are somewhat difficult to deal with.  But, if there’s one thing we’ve learned since arriving in Vanuatu, it’s patience.  Too, the extra “down time” has given us a chance to think, dream and plan more.  Here are a few of our thoughts regarding our upcoming work in Malekula, Lord willing:

• We are planning to see this new work through, and anticipate it taking three years to the get church firmly established.  We plan to split our time between Malekula and Vila in two-month increments, rotating back and forth.  For at least the first year, we will be keeping our house in Vila - it’s the cheapest, most secure, and most familiar option we have for the time being.

• I plan to spend some time every day learning the local language (the “Big Nambas language”).  The national language of Bislama will easily get me by teaching, preaching and conversing, but the locals speak their language exclusively amongst themselves.  I believe that grasping that language will be a valuable skill to possess.

• Our first year’s main focus will be evangelism.  We will be living in Tulwei Village (northwest) and will distribute tracts, conduct gospel meetings, and offer personal Bible studies there.  We have one Christian living in Wiaru Village (north central), and her family has invited me to come and teach in that village.  Flexon’s sister lives in Lampupu Village (central) and she and her husband have asked me to come and teach there.  During one of my prior trips I met a man at the airport who “has his own church” and is looking for some direction as he leads those 12-15 souls.  He has completed our Bible correspondence courses (BCC) and subsequently invited me to come and teach his congregation (northeast).  Last but not least, we have approximately 50 BCC students on the island, and I will send out letters to each of them offering to conduct studies in their villages.  I plan to involve the local brethren in as much of these efforts as possible for some on-the-job training - one or two of them are already capable of even teaching some of these lessons.  Someday they will be solely responsible for evangelizing their island.

• Since the majority of our time will be spent in Tulwei, we want to take an active part in the community.  We will work in the garden with the brethren, harvest cacao and copra during their respective seasons, participate in community projects, and volunteer at the local primary school.  Shawnda also plans to start a “library club” in which she invites mothers and their children to come and listen to a story.

• In year two (2012) our focus will shift more towards edification.  We will plan to “return and visit the brethren in every [village] in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord” (Acts 15:36).  My goal is to establish a traveling blitz-week Bible school of sorts, where I go in and teach daily on a topic for a week in each location.

• A lot can happen between now and the third year, but we’ve titled year three as the time to “set in order what remains” (Titus 1:5).  We hope to be in a position where we can focus on equipping the brethren to take the baton and run.  We will, in all likelihood, be returning the States the first part of 2014.  It is our great desire and prayer that we will have established several faithful congregations on the island by that time.  Furthermore, we hope and pray that God will bless us with a situation going forward (in the States) that will allow us to return to Vanuatu once a year for the foreseeable future.

• Though we will certainly stay busy with all of this and the usual family obligations (including homeschooling), village life is still very slow and by definition includes a significant amount of down time.  The culture is such that accomplishing one thing per day qualifies as “ busy.”  I look forward to reading a lot, teaching myself to play the guitar, doing some writing, and just enjoying the slower pace of village life as a family.  In fact, each time I am there I think to myself “surely this is the way God intended for us to live.”  

• During our Vila rotations, I am considering the idea of focusing on one congregation per rotation.  I envision us being a “shot in the arm” for the congregation during that two-month period, with lots of teaching, evangelism, visiting and encouragement.

Please join us in praying that these goals and dreams will come to fruition.  Thanks for reading and we look forward to updating you on the progress.  To God be the glory!