Tankyu tumas

 Near the end of June, we hosted a “kakae” (meal) to say “tankyu tumas” (thank you very much) to those who helped us with the construction of our house.  Such is a common practice in Vanuatu, so we wanted to show our appreciation in a culturally appropriate way.

We purposely chose to have the kakae while Shawnda’s parents were with us, so that they could also join in the festivities.  We hired a string band to play and sing Vanuatu-style for a couple of hours, which definitely turned out to a great idea (would have been kinda boring otherwise).

Being Vanuatu... [1] we were scheduled to start at 5pm, but most people showed up at 6pm or later; [2] though we invited less than 40 people, we ended up using all 100 of our paper plates and even ran out (lights + live music = come one, come all!) - oh well, the more, the merrier;  and [3] every crumb of food was consumed.

We also presented gifts to those who sacrificed a lot of time and effort to help us.  We presented them with a heavy-duty cooking pot to say thanks for all the meals they cooked me, an umbrella to say thank you for providing our shelter, and a solar lantern to say thanks for showing us the way to do things in Malekula.  They were all very thankful for the gifts.

Last but not least, the kakae gave us an opportunity to socialize with several non-Christians in the village, and it’s our continuous prayer that we’ll be able to reach them with the truth.  Keep praying!