Wow, so much has happened in the past month and a bit. I truly can’t believe I am writing this post from my room in Canada. It has been such a whirlwind, a never-ending journey of seeing God’s goodness, learning about Him and being stretched in so many different ways. I’ve completed outreach phase in Vanuatu, reentry week back in New Zealand and have safely made it home. I want to try to give you the best possible picture of my time, so I’ll be splitting up the blogs into a couple week chunks.
Vanuatu- Week 3-4
These two weeks were absolutely fantastic, draining, busy but so special. It really felt like our outreach had officially begun and now I can say that God has really given me his heart for this country and people group.
At the end of our 2nd week, we helped run a youth camp with our affiliated church. The campsite was breathtaking! We pitched our tents on a white sand beach under palm trees. The water was so blue and clear. The beach was filled with cute little hermit crabs and we loved picking them up and marveling at these little creatures. At low tide, you could wade out and see the beautiful reefs, colourful fishes and unique organisms. The kids were so fun, inclusive and willing to chat. It was normal to see a bunch of them splashing in the water, throwing pumice stones around, putting the bright blue starfishes on their head, or climbing the various trees around the site. We held devotionals, worship nights and an encounter night. I really loved pouring into these kids and just trying to shine Jesus’ love onto them.
That following Monday, we packed up all our belongings from where we were staying, and boarded the Vanuatu Ferry; the boat that would be taking us from the island of Efate, to the island of Espiritu Santo (literally “Holy Spirit Island” - so cool). This ferry ride was quite the journey, to say the least. It really felt like we were Jonah in the belly of the whale, as we traveled 22 hours in what seemed like a jam-packed sauna. People were sprawled all over the floor, navigating was quite difficult. It was so hot and sticky, you were sweating even laying down. It smelled so horrible and the bathrooms were questionable to say the least. Through the use of baby wipes, PB & jelly sandwiches, Oreos, orange cordial and the grace of God; we survived.
For the next few days, my team tented in the backyard of a lovely missionary couple’s house. These days were so special as this couple were so hospitable and welcoming. There 3 kids were so much fun, and it really felt like our team bonded during this time.
That Thursday, the husband of the missionary couple took our team to an outer island called Malo; where we would be staying for the week. This was hands down my favourite week of outreach. We were completely immersed in the culture and I really got to improve my bislama skills (the language spoken in
Vanuatu). I had to really rely on God’s strength, and in return He blessed me with so much energy and joy. I found out that village life is really the life for me! We arrived on this beautiful island after taking a little banana boat. The village we were staying in was right on the water. This village was absolutely breath-taking; complete with small little straw houses everywhere, chickens, dogs and pigs everywhere and beautiful hibiscus and many other tropical plants. The first day we helped repair the church floor with cement (I can now say I’ve mixed cement with my bare hands). I would help with the floor, then go play with the pikininis. These kids were so friendly and adorable! They knew 101 crafts and tricks to do with the trees or plants they had; I learned so much!
For the next 3 days, we did clinics, two in the village we were staying in and 1 on either side of the island. It was so exciting to be able to apply the knowledge I learned in the lecture phase, and help people. We had multiple different stations; wound care and triage. In wound care, we would clean and tend to the many wounds kids and adults had. Due to the heat, Vanuatu is a breeding ground for infection, so we definitely saw a lot of nasty wounds. In triage, we would check vital signs (blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. ) then give them basic health education, and ask if they had any other problems with their body. I really enjoyed doing triage as it was VERY stretching. It really helped me with my language skills, and I loved building relationships, educating, and trying to figure out what the best way I could help was. We got to pray with every patient we saw, and I was really challenged to see every single person as God would, not just another number. Clinics were extremely tiring, but so satisfying. It was also really awesome to see our team work together, if we ever had a question, we would ask each other for help, or go to the doctor or nurse on the team. There was so much trust and teamwork, it was amazing!
Our team also got to run church that Sunday, we ran worship, my teammates shared a sermon (in Bislama, wow!) and a testimony, and I also got to share my testimony. We finished with our drama/skit, which they really loved. It was so special to see how this village does church, and I was honoured to be able to share with them what God had done in my life.
Every night, our team would go to this little stand, where mamas were selling food for 20 vatu each (that’s 20 cents for each item!). This was such a special little tradition, as the food was delicious and we got to build some special relationships with the mamas working there. We would eat our delicious Vanuatu food out of our banana leaves, under coconut trees, surrounded by dogs and little kiddos! It was pure bliss!
When we weren’t doing ministry; I would be playing with the kids; either colouring; exploring, or playing in the gorgeous water with them. I learned so much from them, and really had a special bond with them. This week was not glamorous; bucket-showers, heat-rash, no electricity, an unpleasant pit-toilet accompanied with pigs, rats and maggots, but yet my saying for this week was “I’m thriving!”. I saw God’s love and beauty so clearly, and fell madly in love with Vanuatu culture.
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