A new country but an old celebration

As we are only 19 days away (haha 20 days for most of you) away from celebrating the birth of Christ, I have had some random thoughts cross my mind. When you have kids, you look at them in a way that only a parent can. As I was sweeping my house yesterday (oh man does it take FOREVER) I was thinking of Christ's coming as a man and as a baby. When I look at Addy or even Si and Gwen, it is SO MUCH weirder (is that a word?) to think of Christ in that way. The vulnerability of it all. Not only did Christ become man but He became BABY and then CHILD and so on. What would that have looked like? I am bummed that we don't have any Biblical stories of His childhood ( I am sure there is a very good reason God decided to keep that out of our Scriptural Canon). What a sacrifice. What a bringing of such lowliness. Amazing.

Our Christmas will look a bit different this year. Today we are going out into the yard and making a Christmas tree out of palms. I am looking forward to the new traditions that we will be able to start here. It is a struggle for our family to keep traditions. We don't have any real concrete ones that we will be bringing from America. So we are now free to make up new ones and think of old ones to keep.

I DO need to put up some lights and some small decorations though as it DOES NOT feel like the Christmas season at all. There are stores here with a ton of Christmas decorations up and what not but it is all Santa stuff. Cannot say that I even remember seeing any manger scenes etc...but I haven't been looking too hard. I am excited to have some of our own decorations (like my manger scene) when we are able to bring a container over.

We will be starting to focus more on stories to the kids about Christ's birth. Si has been asking about heaven more lately so that has been exciting. It is fun to hear the concepts that a four year old can come up with.

I am working on getting some videos made to add to our youtube.com account. Make sure you check that out in a couple days. The next ones I will be loading with be LARGE files as they are interviews that Houghton did with a Ni-Van guy while on his Ambrym trip. You will love watching it! So hang in there while I get it ready to view and then load it (this takes forever!)

Missing you all and praying Christ will be real to you all.

Lap Lap

Getting ready to eat. The lap lap is on the ground in the middle of us all. Winnie is holding Addy, and Jen is in the forground with her 5 month old Willi.

Wrapping up the lap lap with leaves. You can see onion, coconut milk, and island cabbage. There is wild yam mush inside the island cabbage. And large lap lap leaves around the outside ready to be folded to completely cover the food.

Winnie and Addy.

Great story behind this pic...Winnie put Addy in the sling and so part of the fabric hangs down and so Gwen thought that it was me...because she is probably used to seeing the sling fabric hanging...so she was cuddling up to Winnie (as she was scared all day and wouldn't leave my side) So in this pic Gwen is looking up at Winnie realizing that it wasn't me. It was great.

This little man was only 5 months old. He is HUGE. But SUPER adorable. Gwen wanted to hold him all day. :)

Scratching coconut for the lap lap...while gwen waits to snitch little pieces to eat.

I'm not sure who this kid was...but Si played all DAY... this is the only pic I have with him in it as he was gone off doing something with all the kids while we were taking all the pics.

The crew. Tania and Gracie came up with us.

Preparing island cabbage for the lap lap. We are sitting in the yard of this community. The whole family (and then some) live in this section of land. So you can see some houses and clothes lines in the background.

cultural blunders

I am almost daily amazed at how different our minds can work. We are all humans. Created by one God. All descendants of one man and one woman, but through thousands of years we have gone and done things differently depending on the groups we separated into. A book that I found incredibly enlightening on cultural differences just because of climate is "Foreign to Familiar" by Sara Lanier . It has been somewhat challenging to understand the magnificent people that we are seeing daily here. Our minds work totally different. I am intimidated by this in many respects simply because of the effects of these thought differences can lead to. I pray that I would be seen as genuine and humble despite by blunders.
I cannot recommend this book enough. It gets into the mind of not only our own culture, but the mind of the culture that I am now living and expected to function and prosper in. I love these people and I desire for that love to grow more and more...but I do feel that I need to also love their ways of going about life and their personalities etc. It is sometimes so foreign that I struggle to see past it. There is beauty in differences. But there is a HUGE challenge in understanding.
Check out the book and let me know what you think! If only you could be here experiencing the differences with us. ;)

Been a while now...

Sorry it has been a while since we have posted an entry about what is going on in random everyday happenings. (But be sure to read Houghtons "part one" entry of his Ambrym survey trip) We have been experiencing some time consumers.

Thankfully, as I blogged previously, we are all healed from the flu. Unfortunatly just after Houghton came home and then recovered from his bought with the flu, a nasty cold set in and took his voice away and also left him not feeling totally 100%. And to add to it...he accidently cut his finger badly and so he had/has to nurse it while it heals. (Sores do not heal quickly in this climate and one has to be gentle and slow while it heals or else you will be facing a much bigger problem. So he has had to take it easy because of his finger too.)
He cut it while making an arrow for Si. It is kinda funny because as soon as our friend Louis heard about it, he told Houghton..."oh the next time you want one you need to have me make it!" It goes along with "Oh, if you ever want to get a coconut out of the tree you have to have me help you get it." Its funny because "black man" (this is what Ni-Vanuatu call themselves ) dont think that "white man" should do anything that could cause harm to thier soft, white bodies. SO it is really funny that Houghton DID actually cut himself.
To add to the reason for the tardy blog post...Addy contracted Dengue Fever. Houghton was suspicious when she was running high tempts early in the week and she was crying a lot (this is NOT her normal behavior). And when a rash came, his suspistions were confirmed. She is now on the mend and is sleeping better and eating better. She had a rough go of it. I am so thankful that she is a trooper and hung in there quite well through it all.
Check out the journaling tab to read more details of these events...
I just wanted to let you all know what was up with us. I am hoping to get into more of a swing again to update the blog with pics and Houghton with the rest of his Ambrym report.
Thanks for praying and loving us.

"They will Poison You!"

"You will be eaten by Cannibals!" A word of warning desperately pleaded over 100 years ago to John G. Patton in Scotland. John G. Patton was one of the first missionaries to step foot on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. In fact Man Tanna did eat people. In Patton’s auto biography he testified that they did attempt to eat his deceased wife and infant son who both died with in the first four months of landing on the island of Tanna presumably of Malaria.

Above is the first thing i thought of when i heard, "They will poison you!" A statement made by two of my language helpers, Loui who is from Epi an island just south of Ambrym and Joe who is from Malekula an island renown for being the last hold out for Cannibalism. Interestingly Monique, Loui's wife, is from the island of Tanna. An island who's inhabitants are currently and historically recognized for having irreconcilable differences with everything that breathes or doesn't breath but we can get into that later (Animism). They are thought of as trouble makers and "strong heads" of Vanuatu. Always ready to fight. Gretchen and Laura recently witnessed a knife fight between two Woman Tanna in the park of Port Vila. Believe it or not she, Monique, had words of warning and concern for me during my planning for a survey trip to North Ambrym as well.

The words of warning may have been because just a year ago in the capital city of Port Vila, Vanuatu one Man Ambrym was rumored to have poisoned a Man Tanna. The event that occurred after was a multi day knife, Machete, brawl throughout the streets of Port Vila. At times literally 50 yrds from my front door! A number of people were maimed, and killed due to the conflict. We heard first and second hand accounts of it from Man Ambrym during our trip.

Its funny. As we are “safe” and “comfortable” with them in their villages when they tell us stories of black magic and knife fights. It is quite surreal and almost fiction. Then when I begin to retell the story I become a bit more concerned. Please pray that our acclamation and acculturation doesn’t numb our sensitivity to serious and potentially fatal situations but as is already predestined by “The Master”.

Man Ambrym are notorious for black magic and abilities to poison others. And I have to admit I came down with such an explosive case of Diarrhea while in North Ambrym that the thought did cross my mind :). Warnings and stories, shared to back up the warnings and stories we heard in Port Vila, were often reported during my planning for Ambrym while in Port Vila and continued to be reported during my 23 hour camp out while aboard the Brisk.

The Brisk is a 20 to 30 meter barge who's main function and money maker is carrying cargo throughout the northern islands. They also carry passengers to the outer islands. It is the number one mode of travel for the Ni Vanuatu. If you read my (Houghton) last post about my trip to Santo / Malekula you know that I don't fare well on the high seas. So this was definitely something that concerned my belly. We tried to catch a plane but the flights were booked for two weeks in advance. As God would have it we then decided to find another way, any way, to get there. We priced a helicopter, talked to a very "colorful" sailor from New Zeland, and we walked down the water front of Port Vila hoping to hear the local gossip in regards to the ships. To be savvy in regards to the coming and going of the ships of Vanuatu is a comical and at times a heart wrenching game in this least developed country. You must be at the top of your game and constantly have you ear to the ground. Once savvy it is a very strategic game that must be played without emotions and full of patience. Easier said than done I assure you. We have dear SIL, Summer Institute of Linguistics, friends who have been playing the “game” for three months now and were just informed it may be a few more. They are literally stuck in Port Vila hoping to make it to Tanna to resume their work. Please pray for them.

Not having an authoritative handle of Bislama, the local trade language, and not even having a clue as to the names of the ships or where they go we were subject, no dependant, on the fullness of His Grace and Mercy and just when we couldn’t do it our selves HE DID IT! While walking we came across a couple of Ni Vans who told us that the Brisk was in port that very moment. So we did what any adventurous missionaries would have done. We caught the nearest bus (van), for a dollar a piece, to the warf where the Brisk was loading. Sure enough it was there and preparing to ship out at 1800 that night! We had planed on flying out the following day and that is what our wives and backpacks we prepared for. Needless to say we had a lot of work to do to ship out by 1800. By Gods and Gretchen's Grace :) We shipped out at approximately 2000 that night. Though we boarded at 1800.

As you can see below while on board you just kinda have to find a place to fit. There is next to no accommodations for passengers except for the crew. My teammate, Jim Kenner, and I slept on top of a couple of deep freezers that were loaded on the top level. Our heads were flush with the upper edge of the boat and only about 1 meter away from it. Every time a good size wave came aboard throughout the night we felt the moisture. The impact alone would at times move me at least 6 inches closer to the edge and thus to the sea. I didn't sleep very well that night:). I would love to go on more about the ship but this story must go on . To conclude in regards to the Brisk God was good. He even set it up in such a way that Loui my language helper from Epi traveled with us as far as Epi. He was on his holiday and traveling to visit his twin sons who school there. He was a huge help and blessing. Even though he wouldn’t even let us even breathe for ourselves.

When we woke up while aboard the brisk we had tea and breakfast biscuits (crackers) or "tack", of which I’ve grown very fond of. About 12 hours later and after a couple of stops on Epi and West Ambrym we arrived at Ranon, Ambrym. During my trip to Santo in August I had met a Man Ambrym, Philip at Telua College. (Yes the same college that Laura just blogged about). To see that go to www.psalm96three@blogspot.com. I had gone there with Steve Gibb a team mate here in Vanuatu to check out the college and meet an American who is teaching there. Philip is currently preparing to enter into a BD, Bachelor of Divinity, Program at the college. He is also heavily involved in producing a Bislama commentary for the Bislama Bible with a small group at the college. The commentary will be a huge contribution to the theological development and education for the country, pastors and people. There is a huge void in Vanuatu for Theological resources and education especially and most importantly theological material available in the trade language (Bislama) and local vernaculars of which there are approximately 109 varying languages.

While visiting with Philip at Telua he mentioned his Village on North Ambrym and stressed a particular interest they have in attaining a Bible for their local language. He said that they have approximately 4000 who speak his language. We are still uncertain as to how many speak his language but we do know that it is a very strong language used by the masses and especially the children of which is a huge indicator as to how healthy and preferred it is. Every conversation that went on around us was in the local language and I don’t believe that it was to keep us out of there conversation though I’m sure a lot of that went on .

Before I left Telua, Philip said that December would be a great time to show me his village. Though through the coconut communication here I heard that he would not be around in December and that I would have to wait an entire year or more to visit his village. Well I didn’t like that answer and so I was smitten to find a better one. My team mates and I were trying to figure out what island to survey first anyways so I just decided to throw a few phone calls out and see where God would lead. As the Lord would have it when I called Andrew, the American professor at Telua, he told me that Philip was at his village that very moment and thought that he would remain there until the first week of November. I thought, “Are you kidding me? This is the kind of stuff you can’t make up.” So I told my team mates and the decision was made, “Ambrym it is!” There were just a few problems. I didn’t know exactly where he lived, how to get a hold of him or even if he was really there. My information was given to me with a disclaimer, “this is a rumor and I'll try to find out if it is true or not.” I never heard back, but we went, on a boat (yuck), by faith and faith alone. I’m still not sure what we would have done if he wouldn't have been there .

When we arrived it was quite the snap shot. Can you think of those snap shots that you have in your mind like the first time you met your future wife or newborn baby? OK, I wont go that far, but it was gorgeous! As pathetically shown below as it is. Human hands nor clever inventions will ever be able to capture or reproduce the beauty of the creation of God. But we can try so please use your imagination . The ship literally drove right up to the side of the island surgically dodging all of the coral reefs and then it dropped its lid right on the black sand beach. The colors were so vivid and contrasted with each other between the black skin, luscious green canopy, black sand beach, deep purple water, I could go on forever and I haven’t even mentioned that brilliant rainbow. It was the first rainbow I had ever seen where you could see where it started and stopped all in one look. It literally came down right in front of where the boat dropped its lid. Each color popped individually so brilliantly yet accented the other it was just breath taking. Hard to take the eyes off of anyways.

We weren’t mesmerized for too long before the Ni Vans insisted, “Whiteman Bae yu go nao!” or, “hey white guys its time to go. This is your stop.” So off we went. Below is a picture of the boat from the beach.

I will end on this for now. Please check back again. I will have more in the near future. Thanks!

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!

some interesting twists

We have received some bad news from our mission organization. Seems that our insurance company is raising the monthly rates by 100.00 each month starting October! This was some staggering news as that is a HUGE increase in our monthly budget. As a result, Houghton and I feel that we will probably have to cancel our Internet connection at our house in order to be good stewards. I wanted to post this so you could be involved if you so wish. I am not sure what will happen but I thought I would throw it out to you...our sounding board, friends, and supporters... If you feel that us having the Internet has been a benefit to you personally and you could give toward this (just until January) than we could keep our connection. If you want to give towards this just let us know.

I do want to say that we will still try to keep you all in the loop by updating our blog and doing emails on a regular basis through an Internet cafe. These updates would just be less frequent. So if we do need to cancel it is NOT THE END of the updates! ;)

We will keep you updated as this unfolds. In the mean time...until October...KEEP IT COMING! :) And as always we LOVE getting emails and comments on our blog. Thanks to so many of you who have been involved this way.

Posted more videos

Continue to check youtube and search "richards road vanuatu" we are adding more videos occationally!

ENJOY

copy and paste this address into the web browser:

http://www.youtube.com/user/hgjgrichards

check out our blog additions...

If you haven't noticed, at the top of this page (our blog home address) there are now TABS which you can navigate to various parts of our blog. From here you can check our new praise and prayer for the month...our latest newsletter and also NEW a journals page. I , Gretchen, have been trying to journal on a somewhat consistent basis. I want to share these journals with you so if feels a bit more like you have been part of my day and carry on a conversation type relationship with me! Just a view into my mind a little. Hope you enjoy...these tabs are still in the works. I hope to have ALL my journals on the journal page...so that is a work in progress and so on and so on...so keep checking in and as always..let us know how you are doing.

Thanks!

Updates! :)

Our website: (FYI-I have tried again and again to update our website (richardsroad.com) ....HOWEVER...it appears that it is not going to work. SO I apologize but all our updates will now be on our blog. Including our praise and prayers...SO keep checking this for all such things.)

Bislama: This week has been great. A successful week in another culture and another language. Houghton and I both have become comfortable as we talk with people here. It does get a bit overwhelming though as there is A LOT of the language that we cannot speak. But thankful that we can function just fine in what we have learned thus far. Praying everyday for an opportunity to LEARN more language. (For me, I hear new words and phrases constantly, but for my brain to hold on to it in such a way that I could reproduce it is different all together - thus LEARNING) Thanks for praying for us in this way. We are thrilled that we are able to learn as much as we have. God has been gracious to our ears and tongues.

Family: Si is LOVING all the playmates. He gets right in there in ALL situations. I will go hours without seeing him because he is off playing outside. Gwen is right behind him! She is a bit more cautious (which is okay in my opinion) but LOVES all the attention and being outside! Addy will soak it all up with smiles all around. Dear thing.

Here are some pic's for you to enjoy.
By the way, I am sorry we don't have much for pictures in the respect of talking with the locals here. I feel a bit awkward pulling a camera out. These people have so little and I want to fit in as much as possible and pulling out a camera makes me feel (and look) more like a tourist than a friend to those I am chatting with...so I am so sorry that we are lacking in that aspect. I hope to show you a bit as time goes on though! Still working on more videos for youtube.com (richards road vanuatu - is the key search on that website).

THANK YOU ALL for prayers and encouragements and giving!!!!! CANNOT BE HERE WITHOUT IT!

Putting flowers in the Birthday girls hair

Addy and I enjoying the nightime weather

Gwen making faces with other people on the bus

A moth that Gwen wanted to hold

Si loves all the gecko's and they are in plentiful amounts...so he can play endlessly...even if he accidentally kills them... he is still learning how to hold them gently

Last weekend we celebrated Gwen's 2nd birthday!Addy and her stunned camera face. :)

Gwen with cake on her forehead! But still cute.

This gift was wrapped Vanuatu style. I went to the yard and (with some help) got two banana leaves and vine and flowers. I thought it was the best wrapping paper!

Houghton has been teaching literacy at "won smol bag" (kinda like an after school program minus the after school - most are unschooled) Gretch is hoping to start singing with a choir group that meets here on Wednesday.

YouTube

We are on youtube.com....check us out... we are just starting to get some video on there so be patient with us as we upload and create videos so you can see our life here in Vanuatu.

Go to youtube.com and search "richards road vanuatu"....there we are!!!

LOVE keeping in touch with you this way. Let us know what you think.

Houghton's trip to Santo and Malakula

Gretchen usually updates the blog but every now and then i have something to contribute :). Ill let the pictures do most of the talking and add a bit of narrative as you scroll down to see the following pictures. To put the post into context i recently went to the islands of Santo and Malakula with a medical team from Australia and New Zealand. The Doctors, Nurses, Physio Therapist, Paramedic, and Social Workers who were on the team had just finished a four week intensive course studying tropical medicine and community development or International Health and Development. The course is offered through and on the campus of Tabor College. Tabor is a Bible College in South Australia. Once completed it can be counted for credit for the Graduate Diploma and or Graduate Certificate in Intercultural Studies (of which it forms 75%) of the course work. It was a huge blessing to be a part of the team and get to know the Doctors who teach the program as i hope to attend the program in January 2010 following our Bible translation and Literacy program in Melbourne, AU November 2009. It was also a great opportunity to practice more Bislama and get a birds eye view of some of the outer islands and villages.

On FridayI flew from the city of Port Vila, the capital city, on the island of Efate to Luganville on the island of Santo in the north. From Santo I and the team woke up early Monday morning, 4:30, and met our ship the Kiangah or "sip" in Bislama on the water front. Below is a great picture.

There wasn't much to it. She may have been 15 meters at best which made the waves that much more exciting :). I have a bad history of sea sickness and it didn't let me down. Sickness subsided for the first three hours so i was able to have great conversations or "storian" in Bislama. By hour four the wakes began to hammer the side of the boat and the side to side churning was relentless. At that time i found my old friend Mr. Horizon and the prayers began to be sent up to heaven, "God, for all that is Sacred and Holy let this cup pass from my mouth". He must have thought i needed to get used to the sickness as this is going to be the rest of my life. The nausea didn't relent. I didn't "traot" or throw up and as long as i prayed and looked at the horizon i was ok. To God's great mercy and about 100mg of antihistamines flowing threw my body on the way home i don't remember much other than the inside of my camouflage fisherman's hat and the first part of an audio sermon i hoped would lull me to sleep.

To the right is another soldier called to arms, Monique. She suffered from the "sickness" as well :). Monique is as beautiful, bright, and dedicated servant of the Lord. Ironically she comes from a long line of fisherman from the island of Tutuba just off the coast of Santo and she still battles the sickness. Her brother Kimi an energetic and comical Ni Vanuatu is an almost legendary fisherman catching lobster with his bare hands and every kind of sea creature you can think of in a single hunt. To be in his presence while he tells his stories is a real treat. Though, i couldn't understand 75% of his Bislama the non verbal communication of a Ni Vanuatu can tell an entire story simply with their eyebrows.
I spent most of my time on top of the sip with my back to a dozen or so copra bags riding out the waves and being victimized by the sun every second i was hostage to its death rays. Copra is simply the shelled out raw coconut flesh that eventually makes it into your almond joys and other delicious teats. Though the copra is a real treat the bags that it is transported with is like a giant 100 kilo bag that smells like a pair of old moldy pair of socks. I wish i was exaggerating
but due to my acute sense of touch and smell as brought on by my "sickness" i will never forget the smell. Please look at the pic below. It shows the top platform of the sip. That was my home. the copra bags are on the center of the platform.


One of the men i was able to storian with was a man from the Maskalene islands just of the south coast of Malakula. they are known for their dark skin, maritime lifestyle and sea faring abilities.

When we got to land all of our travel was by foot or transport via Truck. Elections are going on in Vanuatu now and rumor had it that an opposing political party and its supporters had dispersed a plethora of nails along the jungle roads of its oppositional parties roads. Thus the continual blowing of tires below. As well as doing medical work and talking / translating Bislama for the medical team. Ya, i did translation work. Please don't be fooled i struggled a lot but was able to get the gist, I think :). I was able to observe Zack rough cut lumber with a chain saw. Zack is a Kiwi bloke, from New Zealand, and was cutting lumber for a local village. he used a Huskavarna with a 28 inch bar that struggled with the width and density of the of the hard jungle wood. Below is a before and after picture. My team is entertaining the idea of framing our homes in the same way. The log that Zach cut the chruches foundational beems from was about 4 meters long and 24 inches wide. He was able to harvest 9 4x4 from it.

Sadly i didn't get a picture of The Ni Vanuatu, Kinzie, who helped with the project that would justify his frame and demanding presence. It was his land that the Tree was harvested from. Kinzie is about 28. He is approximately 6'4" 230lb with 1% body fat and as dark as iv'e ever seen a black man. He was not your average Ni Vanuatu. As agile and coordinated as i have ever seen any athlete he guided us into the jungle and through his coconut plantation and grazing land for his bullocks. I was privileged to do a skit with him and others later that night. It was a comical skit dramatizing the days when the Ni Vanuatu used to kill and eat missionaries. Ironically we performed for his village. As he dressed himself with the local calico, palm and banana leaves, he didn't hesitate but innately shredded and pealed the leaves and tied them accordingly to his body undoubtedly just as they had done for centuries. He obviously played the part of a Ni Vanuatu who had caught a missionary and literally carried him into the village on a bamboo pole singing out with his resonate bass tone, "kakae blo mi, kakae blo mi" or, "my food, my food" and all the while animately leaping into the air. I was one of his partners though i couldn't sell the part as he did for reasons that don't need to be explained :).




While in the Jungle i was able to get a few pics of the local arachnoid community!!!





















The village that we stayed in had a prefered way of fishing. Yup, with a bow and arrow. Im telling you this is the stuff boys dream of. Below is a local villager demonstrating his "bow skills":) for all you Napoleon Dynamite fans out there. Below is where all of the meals were eaten. We had lap lap every night which is impossible to explain unless you have ever had it before. ( go on youtube.com and search for preparing lap lap and you will probably find video of people making it) We also had rice, chicken wings, and fresh fruit every night. In the mornings we we had Wheat bix, its an AU and Kiwi thing,. its like shredded wheat, granola, and rice paper all wrapped up into one. I hope they don't read this b/c im probably way off :).








This is where i slept. The kids loved the hammock. They each had their turn in it. They were alway cautious of it and were more than happy to let me sleep in it. They told me that they wouldn't be surprised to see me on the ground before the week was over b/c of it breaking on me. Praise God it stayed strong and kept me from all of the bugs, crabs, centipedes, rats, mosquitoes, etc. Once she proved herself the Ni Vans thought it was great. The big man in the village even gave it a try.

Well i better stop with that. I could go on and on. To summarize it was a great trip and i can't wait for my teammates to show up so we can do some real survey work and get into a village. Keep praying and we praise God for you all.