Art Exhibition for Vanuatu

Hi to all you art appreciators, or Vanuatu supporters, or both!!

We want to let you all know about the special Art Exhibition and Porcelain Display happening during the month of May, opening this coming Sunday 1^st May.

Our friend Pauline Shinkfield, from Crossway Uniting Church (in Warradale, near Adelaide) is hosting an Art Exhibition and Porcelain Display featuring works of local artists, with some proceeds going towards our ministry here with SU Vanuatu. 

See below …

You are all invited to come along. 

For more information, please contact Pauline direct on the phone number provided. (08) 8376 2666

Making history and breaking arms at Easter!

Well … what a weekend!  Ben and I (Jon) have just returned from an absolutely fabulous Easter weekend on Tanna.  We were honoured to be a part of the first ever SU TAFEA Easter Camp hosted by the local SU Committee and volunteers at a boarding school at Lenakel. (TAFEA stands for the 5 southern Vanuatu islands: Tanna, Aneityum, Futuna, Erromango, Aniwa).  With around 100 participants from 4 of Tanna’s boarding schools and local youth groups, we enjoyed an exciting mix of games, sports (including mini-olympics), campfire, Bible studies (that was my contribution), and concert (dramas, music items, etc).  I must say that this camp would have to be one of my all-time favourite Easter camps.  It was just SO GOOD, and such a privilege to be a part of a wonderfully dedicated leadership team.  Ben was my IT expert, looking after the powerpoint presentations and projector, and contributing in the discussions. He took around 900 photos -- we’ll need another weekend to just view them all!

More history was made on the Easter Sunday with the opening of the new SU TAFEA Office and Bookshop. And what a great day that was!  With more than 500 people gathered together, we celebrated what God has been stirring up in the hearts of the SU leaders around Tanna.  You should have seen (or been in!) the dancing afterwards.  So much excitement!  Set under a huge nambangga tree (I don’t know what you call the tree in English, suffice to say that a nambangga is hugely significant (and beautiful) in Tannese culture), the small bookshop is already open for business. Staffed by SU volunteers, the area is a ready-made gathering place for young people. Watch this space!

New SU TAFEA Office

Lyndell and Joel joined with another 100 young people at the SU Easter Camp held at the SU campsite just outside of Vila.  From all reports, they all had a fabulous time together too!  Joel would agree, even though his weekend did start off “differently”.  While playing an informal game of rugby(!) with some friends just before the camp was due to start on the Thursday afternoon, Joel collided heavily with one of his mates.  He was concussed and so still doesn’t remember exactly what happened, however later that night, an x-ray at the hospital in Vila revealed a greenstick fracture of his right arm.  So now Joel is the proud owner of a plaster cast and sling.  It has slowed down his typically exuberant running around a little, but not much.  Joel reckons he would struggle to hold a pen when it comes to starting school again next Monday after the two week holiday break, but he has found that he is able to play his DS (hand-held video game) no worries at all!

SU Vila Camp.  Joel with arm in a sling in the front row

The third SU Easter Camp was held up on Santo Island in a school in the South Santo area.  John Thomas, our schools ministry worker coordinated that camp.  Apparently he and his team of volunteers were inundated with over 190 campers!  And, that’s another story …!

Easter Camps

Scripture Union are running 3 Easter Camps this year.  One at the SU Campsite here just outside of Port Vila.  Albea Nalisa (SU Coordinator) is leading that one.  Another at Tata School in South Santo (northern islands).  John Thomas (Schools Ministry Worker) is leading that one.  I am going down to Tanna Island for the first ever SU TAFEA Easter Camp, and am contributing with some studies.  Ben is coming with me.  Lyndell and Joel will help out with the camp here in Vila.  We would value your prayers.  Ben and I are flying tomorrow (Thursday), and are hoping to return next Tuesday.  We’re looking forward to it.

Back at our other home

Sorry it has taken a bit too long to get back to the blog.  It has been good to be “back home” again in Vanuatu. Having been more or less on the move for the last few years, it is really hard to know exactly where “home” is, and I think we have “home” in a few different places now, without any one place in particular taking precedence.  It was a lovely Christmas season catching up with family (and some of you folk in SA or Vic), and now we can also say that it is good to be back with our Ni-Vanuatu friends and family here in Port Vila. 

We are now house-sitting a lovely semi-rural house and property for friends as they take a furlough leave back in the USA.  It seems we have hit the ground running, and its almost as though we had never left!  But it is good to be back.

A challenging aspect of being back in Vanuatu is hearing the many stories of facing the onslaught of three cyclones over the recent season. Many stories of decimation of houses, large fruit trees and food gardens, particularly in the southern islands (TAFEA), but also amazing stories of survival and subsequent resilience in the face of daunting circumstances. I am always impressed by the dexterity and the creative improvisation of our Ni-Vanuatu friends.

This year we are trying Distance Education for both boys.  Ben (year 9) and Joel (grade 6) through Open Access College in Adelaide. School now depends a lot on a good quality (and fast enough) internet connection, but up to this point, it has been working out fairly well.  We have noticed though that mum and dad’s supervisory role is almost as demanding as it was when we were totally homeschooling!  It has been a good start to the year though.  We have been impressed with the boys’ online teachers.  Certainly a demanding gig for them, especially with all the technological demands!

Back home !

It is so nice to be back with my noisy and energetic family again after two days in the confines of a hospital room.  We are thankful for the health system here in Australia, which is very thorough, and we are praying that the medicine they gave me against malaria will be effective in killing off every trace of the parasites which they found in my blood.  Although I wasn't constantly unwell with the malaria (just having bouts of high fevers and shakes/chills every second day) it seems that the lab technicicans found both vivax and falciparum strains of malaria in my blood, so they were keen to grab me and keep me in the ward until treatment was found to be effective.

But I am glad to report that I am home again now, with the family, at Jon's mum's place in Mt Barker, and enjoying catching up with the daily events of our family.  Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for us all, and we ask that you pray with us that we would be able to iron out all the health issues before we head back to Vanuatu in March.

 Love, Lyndell

Malaria -- again!!

Hi. It's Jon here. Lyndell has been feeling pretty awful for the last few days, and a blood test has revealed that she has malaria -- yet again! That's the third time she's been diagnosed with it whilst being in Australia sometime (let alone being diagnosed whilst in Vanuatu!) Lyndell was admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital yesterday afternoon for treatment and observation. We've really appreciated the exceptional health care on offer here in Australia, and are very grateful for the meticulous attention to detail. She's feeling much better today -- but wasn't too good overnight. Hopefully home again soon. Us boys miss her already! We appreciate your prayers. Love Jon & Ben & Joel.

Hapi Niu Yia !

Hi again everyone.  HAPPY NEW YEAR  2011.  We hope that you have had a good start to the new decade.  Our family are having a lovely 'wind down' as we house-sit for some friends in Mt Barker (South Australia).  It is nice to have a change from everyday life in Vanuatu, but we find that our thoughts and prayers are still very much with our family and friends over there as we hear news of earthquakes, and small tsunamis in the south of the country, and prison breakouts in Port Vila. 

We had a great SU Pacific Region Conference at the SU campsite in Vila from Dec 7 to 14.  It was fabulous to meet more of the SU Family from around the Pacific Islands (PNG, Solomons, Fiji, Tonga, NZ and Aust), and to worship together, and share together in bible engagement and in times of sharing our visions for SU ministry in the years to come in each particular country.  Albea did a great job of pulling together the organisation for the event, and it was good to have some local Vanuatu delegates, who have had a little exposure to SU in the past, but who now have a much bigger picture of the wider ministry of SU in God's world.

Delegates from 6 nations at the SU Pacific Region Conference held in Port Vila, December 2010.

Vanuatu delegates at the Conference

We spent our Christmas Day with Jon's family at Bridgewater. Only one nephew was unable to make it on Christmas Day, and Lyndell's parents, Allen and Val, have also travelled over from Melbourne to stay with us for a couple of weeks, so it was a special time of having all the family together to celebrate Jesus' Birthday.

Ben is off at a CE Camp this week (he's 14 now, so it's his first year at the Senior Camp!), and Joel will be at CE/SU Junior Camp next week - he is really looking forward to catching up with friends from last year.