Good News Party

45 boys and girls came to the party at Ekoftau Family Worship Centre. These children had been faithful in their attendance over the past year, may coming for the past two years since the Good News Outreach started. During this time they have grown in their love for Jesus and their understanding of His love for them.

The children formed small groups and recited memory verses, sang songs, and shared what learning about Jesus meant to them.

These children live in a squatters settlement, so the party was a big event for them. Mumma’s from the church cooked a nourishing meal for them. Each child received either a Children’s bible or a bible story book that was generously donated by a sponsor in Brisbane. It is the generosity of people that allows us to bless so many people.

Little Evangelists

26  Royal Ranger boys and girls of Tanoliu village made salvation bracelets as part of their activities on Sunday afternoon. They used black, red, white, green and yellow beads threaded on leather stapping. This exercise was a fun time with the older children helping the younger children with the threading.  Some of the parents watching joined is as well and made their own bracelet.

They learnt how to explain the salvation story by using the coloured beads.  These children are going to wear their bracelets to the village school on Monday to share the Good News with their friends.

Puppet Making

Robyn’s “Principles of Teaching class” at JBI  stayed behind today to make puppets to use in their Sunday School Classes. They have spent the last week learning about visual aids.

 

They were keen to make their own puppets. As each puppet was completed the student gave it a name and a personality. They had a lot of fun exploring their new class helper. This Sunday there will be many children enjoying the result of their creativity.

 

Physical Hygiene Award

Seven Royal Ranger boys from the Ifira Island Outpost received their Physical Hygiene Award this morning. Ifira Island is across the water from Port Vila.  Pastor Paul who is the outpost commander runs two Royal Ranger groups. One at Ifira Island on a Saturday morning, and one  at Manples a suburb of Vila, Sunday afternoon.

A Tale of 3 Villages

We have just returned from a research trip out to Malekula  Island approximately 200km north of our island..

We thought we’d share some of our photos with our supporters.

Palu  Village – a village high up in the mountains in the  North West of the island.  The truck went in as far as it could, then a one hour walk up the mountain range to the village. In some places the track was very steep and along the top of the mountain ridge, very narrow.

We were the first white people to ever visit this village which is perched on the side of a steep slope. The positioning of this village is because of the natural spring that forms the head water of the river that flows down to the sea. People drink, wash clothes  and bathe in this river.  The houses are of bamboo construction with Natangora leaf thatch on the roof. The  smaller children of this village (grade 1- 2) walk down to the Breha  village  a distance of 4 kilometers for school and live there during the week. The older children also board in the village below, but walk another 4km each way to a bigger village to school.  The village does have a small kindergarten with 6 students.

When ill or in need of urgent medical aid, people from this village are carried down the mountain on someone’s back to the aid post in the next village. If they need more treatment than the aid worker here can provide, it is another 4km walk to the bush clinic at Leviamp village on the coast. Further treatment would mean a 1 hr ride in a truck to  the nearest hospital where there is one doctor.

If a villager wants to go to the main centre on this island they must leave at 3.30am and walk  to reach the main road to catch a public transport at 6am. Villagers are subsistence farmers who grow their own food and produce copra which is carried down the mountain bag by bag.

The few AOG families here walk an hour each way up and down the mountain range to the AOG outstation Breha village.

Breha Village  – this village is accessed by a dry weather track. The   majority of the people  walk the 4 km downhill   to Leviamp village. Four wheel drive vehicles can only use the road in the dry season as it is impassible when wet.

This village has a basic aid post, a piped water supply from the river, and a Kindy to grade 2 school. Grade 3-6 is at Leviamp village a 1 hr walk each way. Houses bamboo construction with Natangora leaf  thatch roof. The people grow their own food, harvest cocoa beans to sell, and produce copra which is taken down to Leviamp to ship to Luganville.

There is an AOG outstation in this village.

Leviamp 1 & 2

A large village in two sections,  with 2 good primary school’s  that go to grade 6. Beyond this children have to board at another village for secondary. Children must past a entrance test at year 8 level if they want to go further in their education and they must leave the island and board for years 9 -13.

This village is at the mouth of the Leviamp river. The piped water supply  was damaged in a cyclone 20 years ago, because of this  the people walk to the river to bathe, wash their clothes and collect water for their homes. This village has a small but basic clinic run by two nurses.

There is a large AOG church in this community.