Blue over the flu...no longer

Many of you have heard and have been praying for our family as the flu hit us. Thank you SO MUCH. I thought that I should post an update on this as so many have asked how we are now doing.
Seems as if we are all healed. Houghton was the last to get it...sadly while he was away on a survey trip... but seems as if he is now on the mend. Addy never did seem to catch it so we are so grateful for that.
Houghton will be coming home via plane tomorrow at lunch time and we could not be more ready! :) Well, that is not entirely true...there are a lot of things I want to get done before he comes home, but we are otherwise very ready for his arrival!
I cannot wait to hear the stories of his trip and to share them with you! So keep checking back and I hope to give you an update within the week!
Thanks again for praying for us! I ask that you would continue to pray for our health as Dengue Fever is now sweeping through Vila. Pray that we would be kept safe from this! Thanks.

Some quick turn of events

We came to Vanuatu for these short months to not only learn Bislama and get some idea of the culture here in Vanuatu, but also for the guys to get a chance to trek throughout the islands to get a better idea of what is out there by way of ministry opportunities. God has been faithful to bring along local contacts willing and excited to show our team their native villages and islands so it was only a matter of time before we were able, logistically, to start these "survey trips".

It came to be that during the week that Houghton volunteered along side a medical team sent to Malekula (the first month we were here) that Houghton made a contact from the island of Ambrym.
The team felt that now was the best time to start getting some survey work done. Soon it will be getting a lot more hot and we are starting to enter the Malaria season as well. So to try and get some work done while the weather is a bit more tolerable...they set off on their first official survey trip TODAY.

They were hoping to fly to Ambrym tomorrow but when they went down to book tickets, they found out that the flight was full so they took the next route...off to Ambrym by BOAT. Hought is NOT a good "sailor" so we ask that you PLEASE PRAY for him as well as Brad and Jim as they have a LONG (about 15 hour) voyage by sea ahead of them. It was a bit nerve racking as we were planning to have one more evening as a family together before he headed off...and this was not the case so it all felt a little rushed...BUT God had it all worked about and they are now on their way.

Wanted to post this so you could all be aware and begin to be praying as they are gone this next week thru Tuesday the 28th. To think that they may actually step foot in the very village that God has predestined us to live in is an INCREDIBLE thought.

The point of this survey is to simply survey...they will NOT at this point be presenting any villages with the option of us coming in. We are only info gathering at this point.

As always: please PRAY that these days would be fruitful and much would be learned. Also that they would be free from sickness (as Brad's family and our family too have just recovered from the flu). Ambrym is NOT a completely safe island. It is known as THE island most steeped in animism and spiritism. Therefore, also PRAY for their bodily safety as they wander through these trails! PRAY for the girls and kids back home too...For me I know that I need much prayer by way of sanity! ;) Seems that Houghton brings a lot of sanity to my days so to be without him this week will be difficult. Also for safety for us as a family at home here in Port Vila too. Also not a totally safe city.

Thank you all for "holding the ropes" for us and keeping us in your prayers. This ministry is AS MUCH YOURS and it is ours!!!!! Remember that! We covet your prayer and are so thankful for you partnership!

Just some pictures to bring you up to date

Jesiah making sandcastles with friends...
Addy being the ham she is. :)

Gwenny helping me clean the corn

Addy taking a nap in her new bed. YAY...for more info check out my journal for the 11th of Oct.

Just a picture of what Hought got at the market this morning...fulap banana, tomato, green pepper, a pomplamouse (like a huge green grapefruit...only better) some spring onion (these are pretty old...) cucumber.

WOW...and in walks October

Is anyone else completely amazed at how quickly time goes? We have been in Vanuatu a total of 65 days! Is this not incredible? On one hand it feels as if we have been out of America forever, and on the other hand it feels like we only just arrived here. We are so privileged to be where God has us. His timing is perfect and we cannot ever add to His plans to make them any better than what they are.

You are now experiencing Fall (except those of you who are overseas like us!) and I am missing the smell of crisp mornings. Crisp not as in "burr" but crisp as in "mmm, a hot chocolate would be nice". ;) We are now entering into our summer. There isn't a whole lot of change going on (that I can tell anyway, maybe when I am more used to seasons here I will tell see a difference) by way of nature. You can tell what season it is by what is in the market. Mangoes are "fulup" in the market now. Pineapple on the way as well. So a little change on the dinner table is always welcomed. The kids LOVE just snacking on the fruit here. They eat at least 3 or 4 bananas a day plus a mango here and there, some grapefruit along with the veggies that are also in season like tomatoes, green peppers, cabbages, and some others that are native to this climate that you all would probably not be all to familiar with.

Some good friends that we met here, Pete and Liz, are heading back home to Australia tomorrow. Houghton has been working with Pete and two ni-vans here on the grounds. Although Pete is leaving, Houghton will continue to work with the guys (Joe and Lewi) and be able to get even more language under his belt as there will be NO English going on and so it will be Bislama "nomo" or only Bislama.

We feel pretty confident in getting around with Bislama. Still blubbering fools in most respects of new language speakers, but able to get around well enough. More and more each day. Jesiah is learning all kinds of handshakes and little phrases that the guys (Joe and Lewi) teach him. It's great.

Enough talk...and now comes what everyone wants to see.....pictures. :) Thanks for your partnership! Couldn't be here without you there!



A centipede that the guys found while fixing the fence in our yard. They pulled out its "teeth" so it became harmless...otherwise could be deadly for children and cause serious harm to adults.

One of the centipede's "teeth" on the end of a stick...so as not to even touch it and thus get the poison on your skin.

The full centipede...
A pig (or what was left anyway) that Lewi and Monique bought for Pete and Liz's going away party. This was the next day...and the pig was still in the pot being snacked on throughout the day as the guys took breaks...interesting eh? So much for keeping it refrigerated. :)

Clara and Rebeka with AddyShowing how tall everyone is. :)

Jesiah eating some pomplamouse with friends

Winny and I - Winny is also referred to as "big mouth" :) She calls herself this and I LOVE IT. She is super fun and a great person to talk with as she is animated and clever. :)

Addy getting some attention just before we ate some laplap.

Winny holding Addy and a little chick as Si waits to hold it too

Houghton, Laura and I singing with Lewi and Monique at a fund raiser for Lewi and Moniques Sunday School program

Papa Gad em i gud tumas a?

I have an awesome update on our last blog entry. Today, God fixed our quarry with Internet and insurance. So if you have read our last post you would know that our insurance went up 100.00 a month. Therefore causing Hought and I to question whether or not we could keep our Internet connection at our house. Well, today it was announced that TVL, the one and only phone and Internet company in Vanuatu, is lowering the Internet charges by **** get this **** $100.00 a month. So you can now see how God was working it all out. Not that He had to grant us this plea to keep our conveniences, but that He desired to get the glory in it all. Thank you to all who offered to help us financially in this way. We are thrilled that we will be able to keep our connection with you all! What a huge blessing it is to be just a click away huh!

Jisas, em i gud long yumi!