News from Pastor Dave and the team!!

Greetings from Pango Village, Efate, Vanuatu!!!

I (Dave) have just returned to Pango (our main base in Vanuatu) after a long stint on the island of Malekula. Malekula actually means ("pain in the rear" or "bad ass" island, as they would say over here! :) In may ways, it was a rough go of it. We were several times taken advantage of by the locals who KNEW we were at their mercy, needing transportation, etc. We figured they charged us 4 or 5 times the going rate wherever they could. Communications were a NIGHTMARE!!! Messages from us to the team from Pango to those we were trying to deal with were USUALLY twisted and distorted. We had CONSTANT setbacks, one time waiting under a tree by the side of the road for an ENTIRE DAY waiting for trucks to come pick us up to take us to another village. The Chief of the village kept saying he had sent the trucks, which apparently were detained as they waited for a river to subside until in was low enough to cross with the trucks! When they finally arrived, they were too small for us to fit in, and one of the4m had picked up an entire truck-load of people along the way who REFUSED to get out of the truck. The confusion that ensued was truly LEGENDARY!!! Too little time to describe it now. Suffice it too say that after waiting ALL DAY for them to get there, we had to PAY for transport BACK to Worlep village where we had come from, and try to re-negotiate transport to Lamap village the next day.

We also have had some sickness, with some getting the mysterious "rot" that some of the team came home with last year. I have a hole in my right shin about the size of a quarter, and can hardly hold weight on that leg yesterday. I started a regular dose of antibiotics, and feel a little better today. Warren was a bit nauseated and feverish the day before yesterday, and some of the team had BAD diarrhea, etc. with fevers hovering around 102-103 for about 24 hours. (Ten were sick with "whatever, whatever" including Warren, Ari, Leslie, both Lydia's, Amethyst; Barry, Mary and Kiethley (from Pango Village, who are all travelling with us) and two or three from the village we were staying in (Worlep). Paul was feeling "OK" - but had managed to throw his back out somehow, and was in quite a bit of pain because of that!

Despite all the "woes" of "Pain in the Butt" Island, we had some good ministry times. Costs of travel prohibited us from making it out into the "mid-bush" as they call it, where we had REALLY hoped to go. That's where MOST of the "men-bush" are living much like they did 1000 years ago, and have little witness of the gospel. As it turned out, we spent MOST of our time in settings where the gospel has been for sometime. Still, we have seen some come to Christ for the first time, as well as some healings, etc. that I'll let the team share when they get home.

The most FRUSTRATING factor is NOT the lack of electricity, running water, or funky tasting "lap lap;" The most frustrating thing that any of us had to endure was CONSTANTLY WAITING, WAITING and MORE WAITING!!! We would plan something to happen at 8:00 AM that would finally get started... kinda... about 10:00 or 10:30! We were about all "stir crazy" sitting around doing nothing alot of the time... and there was NOTHING we could do about it, except have devotions again. It was a little easier for everybody when we finally quit EXPECTING anything to happen, and just found something to do until things would FINALLY get going!

The day before yesterday, we were back in Worlep ANXIOUS to start our work project. Even the "sickies" were excited about the thought of being busied with something. The plan was to help them build a multi-use meeting house that could house guests like ourselves, be used for the church to gather "in the dry" whenever necessary, and also be used as a general purpose village meeting place for co-op meals, etc.

We had planned where to put it, measured the corners, given them money for the cement, re-bar and bricks (which we would have to make from a single brick mold they had borrowed) and were anxious to begin hauling up sand and coral to use in leveling the building sight, and mixing the concrete. the team was standing by "chomping at the bit" to get going Monday morning, but the nationals all acted like it was just the beginning of spring break. We had to tear down a make-shaft bamboo & thatch structure that was in the middle of the building site in order to start work, but when we suggested it was time to begin "demolition" they sweetly suggested that they'd like for us to WAIT UNTIL FRIDAY to begin, so that we could still use the thatch roof as a place to eat and drink tea!!! We couldn't believe our ears!!! (and were "all stocked up" on sitting around) - so we injected a healthy dose of American Enterprise into the situation by kindly telling them we WERE going to build something SOMEWHERE starting TODAY!!! They only questions were WHAT AND WHERE!!! When they saw we were willing to pack up and "take our show on the road" rather than spend another 5 days of "leisure" they stepped aside an let us go to work! HALLELUIA!!! It felt SO good to be able to work hard and get something done!!! It was like heaven to have a job to do that nobody could post-pone, slow up, or mess with! Of course, it only lasted one day, and the next day (when I left for a week of teaching here in the YWAM base in Pango Village, they were back to "waiting" on materials which Warren was off by rented truck to try to locate somehow and somewhere.

Pray for the team for:
1) Everyone to stay healthy (as it's NOT an easy place to be sick!);
2) The materials necessary to complete the work project;
3) Them to find a way to get our portable speakers working again, as they were dead and wouldn't recharge off a generator when I left;
4) Everyone to back up and not get weary in well-doing despite the many challenges of the culture and environment; and
5) Healing, deliverance, and spiritual breakthroughs for those prayed for;
6) Continued grace in teaching the people of Worlep and surrounding villages;
- Even the "Christians" have LOTS of cultural baggage, like going to witch doctors when their kids are sick, or the village custom that a women has the right during a certain time in her menstrual cycle to have sex with ANYONE RELATED to her husband, including uncles, brothers, cousins, and sons! They also have many who are addicted to drinking Kava and smoking Marijuana. (Lots of work to do in some of these areas!)
7) Protection from bad food and water, as well as malaria or the dreaded "rot!"

The team will be joining me back here in Pango a week from tomorrow, all VERY ANXIOUS for a warm shower, a flushing toilet, and a real bed!!!

Please greet the church family for all of us, and keep us in your prayers!!!

Dave & the SOLD Out team