SOLD Out '09

Prayer request

2009-06-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today we are headed to an island to take everyone snorkeling as a last fun thing to do before we head back home to see YOU!

We just found out that Paul (besides his bad back) has dinghy fever. This is a little like malaria but not usually quite as serious. It explains why he has been so uncomfortable. He needs a miracle and we know that God is able! Thank you so much for covering him and the rest of the team in prayer!

Can't wait to see you all!

SOLD Out '09

Free days and HOME here we come!!

2009-06-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

We are alive and well! Many of us have felt the recent earthquakes that have been occurring the past two days here, but there has been no damage on the islands that we have been staying at. We are grateful to God for protection!!

Presently we are waiting to board a plane that will take us to Port Villa, our first stop on our "mini vacation". Here we will be able to see a great waterfall and relax a bit. We will be spending two nights there and then travel on to Efalfal Bay Inn (Pango Village). Our hope is to do some snorkeling and diving and various fun things here. Honestly, most of us are counting the days 'til we arrive back in Yuba DO!

We completed pouring the foundation for the church in the village near Warlep. We were also able to leave them with the fixings for more concrete and instructions for how to complete the work in a way that would last. They were very grateful! It was hard work that we enjoyed, but we are happy to have some relaxing days ahead of us!

We were also invited to go into a hospital to pray for people and saw numerous miracles there!! We are anxious to share all the stories with you when we get home!

The Ni-vans had a huge Melanesian feast for us last night. Of course we had LAP-LAP! They also roasted a pig and chickens, so we are no longer protein starved! :-) It was a lot of fun! Johnny also celebrated his birthday in the bush on the 29th of May. He is hoping to celebrate properly when he gets back home! :)

We are presently healthy, but covet your prayer coverage for us as it seems to be an on going battle. Also, Paul's back is still a huge issue and he needs God to show up for him! We appreciate prayer for safe travel and we look forward to seeing you all on Sunday the seventh!!

With love,
SOLD Out '09

Prayer works!

2009-05-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

We are really enjoying the village (Warlep) that we are presently staying at. It is right on the ocean and we are able to come back each night to sleep in our tents, so that gives us a bit more continuity.
Last night we got to travel to the island across from our base. Following our meeting we were eating lap-lap and actually enjoying it. We thought that it might have some chicken in it, but the bones were a bit long. Yep, you guessed it....we were eating fruit bat! Most of us decided it doesn't taste too bad! :)
We haven't been able to do as much evangelism here as we had hoped, but what we have done has been good. Most days are spent working on projects and nights are spent doing our drama and evangelistic meetings. This will probably continue to be the routine while we remain at Warlep.
Our plan is to join Pastor Dave in Pango Village a week from today. We are looking forward to that, but in the meantime are believing that God has a good plan for us to fulfill here.

Thanks so much for your prayers! We have seen numerous answers today:

1) We are ALL feeling MUCH better!
2) We have been able to steadily prepare for the concrete foundation for the church and hope to pour it in the next day or two.
3) We were not able to fix our speakers, but found some to rent so we can continue to do our drama.
4) Everyone has had amazing attitudes and are working as a great team in spite of cultural challenges.
5) We are continuing to see the miraculous and are able to share sensitively with the Ni-Vans.
6) We were able to barter with the transportation guy for rides the rest of the week in exchange for Leslie painting a sign!!
7) We had food today that we enjoyed, ie: lobster!

The difference we have experienced as you have prayed has been REALLY tangible! Thank you and please continue to remember to pray for us, we can't do it without YOU!

Love,
SOLD Out '09

News from Pastor Dave and the team!!

2009-05-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

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

Happiest place on Earth!

2009-05-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

We are learning from the Ni-Vans how to be content with very little. The people in Vanuatu are very friendly. They are also very happy despite being classified as a very low income country. Apparently the Happy Planet Index ranked Vanuatu number one as the world's happiest place. They really are satisfied with very little, and they are definitely not a consumer driven society. They have given "Happy Meal" a whole new meaning! How much we as Americans need to learn!

Thank you for praying for us! We left our last post thinking we were going to be taken to our next destination any moment. Actually, we arrived after another 18 hours!! There is much black magic in this area and we figure that this must have entered into the equation. There just could not have been as much chaos and confusion over our trip without it! We did finally get some trucks the next day which took us over about twenty river crossings to arrive at our destination four hours later.

We are greeted everywhere we go with leis around our necks when we arrive. Entire villages come out so there is a mixture of people who know God and many who don't. We usually start with our drama, which they all seem to love! We have had some fantastic meetings and many healed, delivered and accepting salvation! Stephany had the opportunity to pray for someone who was completely blind in one eye and was totally able to see out of it after she prayed. People are also getting set free of Kava (their favorite drug) addictions. YEAH GOD!!

Presently we are headed to Urbif Island for more meetings and just sharing the love of Jesus! Thanks for remembering our travels in your prayers. It can be a bit challenging to say the least!

Someone must have been praying for provision for us since our last blog update. The last people fed us well. We even had beef, chicken and fish to go with our lap lap!We appreciate continued prayer for our health. A couple of the students have had a mild bout with the flu, but God has been faithful to heal them when we've stood against the symptoms.

We miss you... and Chipotles! :D
Love,
SOLD Out '09

We are learning to be flexible!

2009-05-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

We are learning to "go with the flow" here in this beautiful third world country. Wherever we go we are expected to line up to be received as though we were in a wedding. They are very fascinated with these white faces of ours, it still gives us cause to smile.

The last two days we have been at the main base (Worlep Village) doing outreach with missions and night crusades through the local churches. The Lord has been faithful as we pray for people. Many have received major healing.

It has been frustrating trying to communicate with you all back home this trip and it may get worse before it gets better. Today has been extremely trying to our patience with the travel plans, but it has meant we were able to call you! We were supposed to leave early this morning for Lamap, but are still patiently waiting for a truck to take us on a three hour ride to our scheduled meeting. This will now have to be postponed to tonight at the Lewis Village.

The present plan, that may change at a moment's notice, will take us for the next few days between Urbif and Rano Islands for more ministry. We are scheduled to help haul sand and gravel here as well. Rano is also known as a beautiful spot for swimming, snorkeling and fishing, so we may try our hands at some of these. Following this our plans have changed and we will go back to Warlop village. From this base we plan to go out to the neighboring villages to preform our drama and minister to people.

We are trying to have a good attitude with the room and board here, but many of us are longing for the comforts of home! :) This morning we had grapefruit and corn for breakfast and a sweet potato for lunch. We are hoping for some dinner, but often the natives don't eat an evening meal. This is a bit of a challenge to our American mindset! We are hoping for the fish and bread to be multiplied!

Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer!
We love you!

SOLD Out '09

Off to Malekula

2009-05-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

We wanted to give you a brief update as we are waiting at the airport to fly off to the island of Malekula, (Warlop village) where we will be ministering for the next few days.

We have been having many adventures here in Vanuatu and are loving it! We were all totally amazed by the Yasur volcano and were able to stand right near the exploding lava sprays. You are not going to believe our pictures when we get home!!

One of the last times we did our drama and open air ministry there were multiple healings. One of them was a person that could barely see who got his eyes totally healed . OK, so that was even more exciting than the volcano! Please continue to pray that the Lord will continue to show himself strong through signs and wonders!

The weather has been very hot and humid lately. We got absolutely soaked last night in a rainstorm. It is difficult to keep things dry and get our tents functional again between travels, so we are hoping for drier weather ahead of us. We will be camping near the ocean the next few days so it should be a bit cooler anyway.

Some of us are a bit tired of all the "lap-lap", which is their national food. In our opinion it is all beginning to taste like burnt banana leaves. We are guaranteed to love anything you cook us when we get back home! :))

Prayer requests:
Continued safe travels-specifically for crossing a big river in the next day or two.
Continued good health - thanks for praying ...it's working!
Continued favor with the natives in each village and multiple salvations- body, soul and spirit.Thanks!

Hugs,
SOLD Out '09

Altar calls and flying banana leaves

2009-05-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Vanuatu! We are missing all of our dear family and friends!

Our days have been filled with numerous adventures but the lifestyle here is very laid back, so we are mainly "hanging out" with the natives. We have had multiple church services here on the island of Tanna at this point and also were able to share our drama three times. Each of the services have included altar calls. It seems like just about everyone responds to them!! We also did a seminar on marriage...well, actually many of us just listened. :) We are invited to attend a double wedding ceremony tonight so that will be an interesting experience. Dave and Warren both have a part in officiating it.

Soon after we arrived here, we were invited to visit the Chief to show respect for his brother who died last week. It was an interesting cultural experience to see their customs concerning mourning. There were multiple villages represented. It was at this meeting that we noticed a sign advertising "Custom Magic". When we asked them what that was all about, they told us that for tourists and others they would set them on banana leaves and levitate the people and fly them around. Obviously we didn't volunteer, but it shows us the high level of witchcraft operating here. Please pray for wisdom and protection for the team in this regard.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to go to see the volcano that many of us saw on the TV show "Survivor-Vanuatu". This promises to be a great adventure and we will likely be out of range to communicate. We are also scheduled to meet with a cult leader whose son has become a Christian and would like us to talk with his father. This man is very influential on the islands and we would appreciate prayer for wisdom and grace in speaking with him.

We will be flying on small planes-(no banana leaves for us!) between islands again on Friday(Pango) and Saturday (Malekula Island) (Thursday and Friday your time). Please keep us in prayer for safe travels. Thanks so much for standing with us, we really appreciate it!

Praise report: Warren is feeling better and the rest of the team is staying healthy. Please continue to pray that illness stays at bay. Thanks!!

From your very own SURVIVORS: We love you!
SOLD Out '09

Setting up camp in Tanna

2009-05-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

The team had a wonderful time at Cookie's church in Pango village with a celebratory send off and presentation of our plane tickets. Of course we had paid for these tickets so it was a bit humorous to us! Six people from that church have also joined us for this first mission to Tanna.

We have set up camp in the jungle. The weather is pleasant, around 75 degrees, which is an answer to prayer. The locals are very intrigued with our white skin since most of them have never seen any whites! They tend to sit chewing their sugar cane, spitting, pointing and staring at us. Pray that we could be culturally sensitive to them.

Shopping is in a small open air market. We have bought some very interesting vegetables that we have never seen before that will be our main diet the next few days. They are some cross between cucumbers and squash. We're thankful that we don't have to figure out what to do with them. God has blessed us with a cook. :)

The plan for the next few days is to do our drama and have evening meetings and prayer for the people here. They have asked us to teach on family and spiritual warfare. We have also been asked to help preform a wedding ceremony, so that should be a fun cultural experience!

Thanks so much for standing with us in prayer. God is faithful to meet our needs. Warren has been battling flu symptoms and we would appreciate prayer that those symptoms would stop and go no further in the group!

We love you!

SOLD OUT '09

YAHOO!! We're here in Vanuatu!

2009-05-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

We have arrived without a problem today after a long flight...thanks for all your prayers!
We will be doing our drama at a church this evening. They have also asked for time to pray for our mission here in Vanuatu. We appreciate all the prayers we can get!

Tomorrow we will fly in two groups to the island of Tanna because we can't all fit on one of their little planes.
Presently the plan is to do nightly meetings and some teaching and evangelism.
Please continue to pray for travel safety and health for the team and that we can be effective to reach this island nation for Jesus!

Itinerary in Vanuatu

2009-04-29T15:54:00.000-07:00

Once we arrive in Vanuatu, here is our day to day itinerary. Of course, as always when in foreign cultures and when being blown by the wind of the spirit, things are always subject to change. If you want to know what time it is in Vanuatu, subtract five hours from the current time here (PDT) and then think a day ahead. So if it is noon on Wednesday here, then it is seven am Thursday in Vanuatu. Of course from midnight to 5 am here it is the same day there but most people won't be calculating during those hours.

Itinerary

10th -11th May = Efalfal Bay Inn accommodation (Pango Village)
- Arrive 10th May, stay at the Resort for one night including breakfast then fly VLI / TANNA.
- Briefing in the church and hand out of Air tickets upon arrival in Pango Village.

11th – 15th May = Lauiaru Village (Tanna)
- May at Lauiaru Village, teaching seminar, night crusades,
- a day tour to Yasur volcano, John Frum Village etc….

15th – 16th May = Efalfal Bay Inn accommodation (Pango Village)

16th – 4th June = Malekula Island

16th – 18th May at the main base (Worlep Village)
- 17th Sunday is our outreach mission, Official Opening
- teaching seminar, night crusades and outreach to nearby villages; community work

18th – 21st May = LAMAP (Lewis Village)
- teaching seminar, night crusades
- out reach to nearby villages in two or three different groups.

21st – 22nd May at the Base (Worlep Village)

22nd – 25th May = URBIF ISLAND
- teaching seminar, night crusades,
- outreach in three different groups.

26th May = Norsup Hospital Visitation to pray for the sick people

27th – 29th May = RANO ISLAND
- teaching seminar, night crusades, and outreach in three different groups.
- Beautiful spot for swimming, snorkeling and fishing also visit the historical sites

29th – 30th May = BENALUM VILLAGE
- teaching seminar, night crusades,
- outreach in three different groups.

31st May – 4th June = Worlep (Main Base)
- teaching seminar, night crusades, and outreach in three different groups
- 3 June is a Farewell Melanesian Feast for everyone

4th -7th June = Efalfal Bay Inn (Pango Village)
- Free days for everyone

7th June = Depart VLI / NAD: End of Mission

Getting Ready Once Again!

2009-03-10T10:51:00.001-07:00

It's time to get ready to leave for the Class of '09 Mission Trip! This year we are heading to the islands of Vanuatu, located among the Melanesian Islands, east of Australia. We are still in the planning stages, but here are the details we know at the moment.

Flight Itinerary:

1 NZ 7L Friday May 8 LEAVES SAN FRANCISCO 9:00PM - ARRIVES AUCKLAND 5:15AM (May 10)

2 NZ 878L Sunday May 10 LEAVES AUCKLAND 7:35AM - ARRIVES VANUATU 10:00AM

3 NZ 879L Sunday June 7 LEAVES VANUATU 11:00AM - ARRIVES AUCKLAND 3:00PM

4 NZ 8L Sunday June 7 LEAVES AUCKLAND 7:30PM - ARRIVES SAN FRANCISCO 12:45PM

While we are in Vanuatu, we are planning to travel between several different islands. However, none of our plans there are definite, and we will see where the native pastors recommend we go and where God leads us!

While we are there, it will be very difficult to communicate between the US and Vanuatu. However, if there is an emergency, here are several contacts:

Phone Number of Pastor Kalpram "Cookie" Kalmet: 011-678-541-6041
Email address of Frank King, relative of Pastor Kalmet: kavatraders@vanuatu.com.vu

We're on our way home!

2008-06-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

We are presently in the midst of a two hour boat ride back to the main island of Fiji that we will fly from. We are all anxious to come home to you, our friends and family.

Our time on Octopus Island was a lot of fun with great snorkeling and swimming and we are grateful for all the beauty of God's creation that we have experienced.

This day of travel will be interesting for us since we will live through it twice. According to our clock and calendar we should be arriving in Sacramento in about three hours! (We are scheduled to arrive on United # 6461 at 7:31 p.m. Tuesday, June 3rd.)

Thanks for praying us home. We can't wait to see you!

Sold Out '08

Heading back to Fiji!

2008-05-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to check in and let you know that we are alive and well!

We had a good time of ministry yesterday in a local hospital here in Port Vila. We also did the YWAM service in the evening. We are beginning to wind down and are looking forward to our trip to Nadi today and our couple days of vacation at Octopus Resort in Fiji.

Please keep our travels and health in your prayers. Thanks!

Sold Out '08

En Route to Port Vila

2008-05-27T20:19:00.000-07:00

We are presently waiting on Pentecost Island to go back to Port Vila where we will be for a couple of days of ministry before heading to Fiji for some R&R, then we will start the long trek home. Thank you for praying for our travel today. We were able to all get on the same plane which was a miracle! We did have a bit of an adventure with the boat rides over to the island. It was still quite windy. Some of us got to travel in style with some American tourists on their yacht. This prevented the main boat from being over crowded and dangerous.

We were able to baptize seven people yesterday following the services and had three people healed after our drama presentation. One of the officials from the Anglican church was healed and baptized and very receptive to the Holy Spirit.

Chief Nelson and the tribe gave us a farewell party last night. It included speeches, flower leis, and a feast of pig, curry and lap lap. It was a lot of fun. Maewo is one of the most beautiful places on earth and we have enjoyed it immensely. The snorkeling and coral reefs are some of the most amazing in the world and we have enjoyed the privilege of seeing God's wonderful creation up close and personal!

Please continue to pray for our last days of ministry here and all the travel we will be doing in the next few days. Thanks so much!

Sold Out '08

Sabbath rest Pacific Island style

2008-05-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

We have been blessed with restful days here on Maewo. In fact, most of the leaders have decided that this is one of the easiest missions we have done as far as hard physical work and heat index is concerned. The spiritual aspect has not always been as easy!

Yesterday (Sunday) pastor Dave did a service on forsaking religious tradition and following the Bible. Warren did the evening meeting on baptism with plans for a follow up baptismal service tomorrow. Since the Christians here follow the Anglican traditions to the letter we have stirred up a bit of opposition.

About eight of us traveled by boat today to minister in another location. On the way back we caught a six pound fish from the tuna family. It will be nice to have a little more protein to supplement the steady diet of rice and yams or tarro.

Today we will continue the work we are doing at the school. This mostly consists of telling Bible stories and painting and helping however we are asked. We have not been able to paint any murals here on the island since everything is made of thatch!

Current prayer requests:
-spiritual understanding and protection for those baptized today
-continued health (some of the team are fighting colds)
-the wind would die down by Tues. so we could take the boat to Pentecost Island airport
-we would be able to all fly together (currently there are not enough available spots)
Thanks so much for your faithful prayers, we so much appreciate them!

Sold Out '08

Doing well!

2008-05-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and friends,

Just a quick post to let you know that we are doing well.

Thanks so much for your prayers for the memorial service. It went well and we spent the day afterwards visiting house to house with the mourners. There was an interesting celebration after the funeral. The men sat on one side lamenting and drinking Kava (a strong herbal, almost narcotic drink) and the women were on the other side making food and doing their lamenting. They gave each of us baskets with meat in banana leaves and tarro root at the close of the service.

For those of you who wanted to know, we are sleeping on the beach. The women are in a couple of huts, the guys in tents. The weather has been absolutely lovely. It is not too hot and we've only experienced sprinkles of rain since you started praying.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.
Sold Out '08

We are getting to know the tribe

2008-05-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

We have had a bit of a slow start to our "planned" ministry here since shortly before we arrived in Maewo there was a boating accident that took the lives of four young people. Today is the 10th day anniversary of their deaths and it is customary here to have a huge memorial service on this anniversary. Our team has been asked to do that service so we are believing for God's presence to minister through us. The entire village has been focused on this tragedy and our first days here have been spent going door to door and being invited into the homes of those who lost loved ones in order to minister to them. Their hearts are very open. Please pray that we could be effective in ministering God's love and grace at this time.

We are pleased to report that the tribal chiefs from the island, (nine in all) decided at their last council to evict the tribe that was stirring up evil powers and operating in the worst of the "black magic". God is faithful and we are grateful for his protection! Chief Nelson is a wise man that is very enjoyable to get to know. We are being stretched but enjoying this cross-cultural experience immensely!

The plan for the rest of the week is to be used in practical and spiritual ways as the chief sees fit. We will also be visiting and ministering to people in the bush and will not have any contact with you during those times. We soooooo appreciate your faithfulness in prayer. We are all healthy (finally) after a bout with Vanuatu's revenge. :)
We miss you all and are grateful that we have a little phone service occasionally so that we will be able to keep you posted!

Sold Out '08
P.S. If you would like to be able to visualize where we are better... there are some good pictures of the chief, local houses and waterfall at this site: http://www.santotoday.com/gowestsf/ambrym.htm
or you can always google earth our location. (Maewo, Vanuatu) We are staying at the southern most tip of the island.

Moving on to Maewo

2008-05-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a quick update as we depart for the island of Maewo.

We ministered yesterday in a remote and very impoverished village. The people there were all very receptive to us and we led sixteen people to a saving knowledge of Jesus! We have also experienced people getting healed every place we minister. God is faithful!

We will not have the ability to communicate with the outside world for the next week due to the remote location we are traveling to. We don't want you all to worry about us, but we do covet your prayers! Our plans include evangelism and helping the chief of the Asanvari tribe in practical and spiritual ways. Please continue to pray for our health, travel, and that the Lord would demonstrate His great power through us in the face of the high level witchcraft.

Thanks for being faithful prayer warriors!
Sold Out "08

We have met our Beau!

2008-05-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

We arrived on Saturday safely in Port-Vila where we were pleased to meet up with Beau Gavin who will be our guide for the jungle portion of this mission. He is a wonderful guy and we are appreciating his expertise immensely.

Yesterday we traveled to a school in the bush to do a program for them in the morning. Last night we were able to do our drama in an open air market for about 300 people. We had a wonderful time praying for people afterwards and the power of God showed up to heal. One lady went to get all her friends for healing after God miraculously and completely healed her! Glory to God!!

Today we are scheduled to visit another school and present our drama. We will also spend some of the day buying supplies for our jungle adventure on the island of Maewo. Tomorrow we have an hour flight and then another hour plus trip in a boat to get to the island before we make the trek into the remote village where we will be guests of the Asanvari tribe.

Beau has been filling us in on some of the traditions here. We found out that the island we are going to is called the "Water Island" and regularly has witchcraft power competitions with the neighboring "Fire Island". Since it is also full moon tonight we would appreciate prayer coverage for God's power to prevail. We would also love for you to pray that the weather would be favorable. We are experiencing torrential rains even though this is the "dry season". It tends to hamper our ministry here!

Thanks so much for standing with us!
Love,
Sold Out '08

Farewell Fiji

2008-05-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! We wanted to give you a quick blog update before we fly off to Vanuatu.

The Fijians gave us a wonderful farewell barbeque last night. The food was great and the entertainment included local dances. They concluded the evening with trying to teach us their unique style of dance. It was pretty hilarious as our hips don't seem to be able to do some of the extremely exraordinary moves! We have had many opportunities to experience total shifts in our thinking as we try to embrace the Melanosian people's culture. We are grateful for our time here and feel that it has been exceptional.

Please pray for our travel today and also for favor and open doors for ministry in Port Villa, Vanuatu. Thanks!

Sold Out '08

Last day of Fiji ministry

2008-05-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

We are winding down on our work here at the YWAM base in Fiji. Today we should finish up with the painting projects we have been working on. Leslie has also been making this city more lovely by doing a beautiful art mural in the local hospital.

We had a very successful mission in the Indian village after our drama. The people were very receptive to our praying with them and one of the local pastors here will be doing follow up with them. We even had a Hindu man knocking at the gate this morning asking what he must do for salvation! God is good!

In the evenings Pastor Dave has been teaching on forsaking the spirits of tradition and the people are really responding to that message. Thank you for your prayers.

We were able to find a similar medication for Raquel to replace the one that was stolen. Thanks for keeping her and the team's health in prayer.

Tomorrow we will be flying to Vanuatu where we will be doing street evangelism in Port Villa for the next couple of days, then it is on to the Maewo island and ministry to the Asanvari tribe. We would appreciate your prayer for traveling mercies.

Love to all our friends and family!
Sold Out '08

Payer request

2008-05-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

We have a special prayer request. Yesterday, Issac, Jason and Raquel were on a short walk. Issac went off a little ways by himself and four guys jumped Jason and took the team's video camera and Raquel's bag which had her iPod, camera, money and medicine in it. We are thankful that they are all alright physically. Please cover Raquel's health in prayer and pray for us to find substitute medication for her if needed. We are believing to see the miraculous power of God working in us and through us!

Yesterday we did our drama for two schools and that went well, so thanks for your prayers! Today we went to canvas an Indian area of town and had the opportunity to pray for many people. Tomorrow evening we will go back there and do our drama. We are doing some painting as well during the daytime. The deliverance seminar is a great success and we are grateful for faithful warriors from home to stand with us!

Your prayers are our lifeline here!
Sold Out

Happy Birthday, Annaka!

2008-05-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

We are settling in nicely at the YWAM base here in Fiji. We were able to celebrate Annaka's 18th birthday with cake and song even though it got a bit lost in the trip over. (We are nineteen hours ahead of Yuba City.)

The evangelism we had planned today got canceled due to torrential rains. The current plan is for us to do a drama presentation at a local school after our time of worship this morning with YWAM. The weather is only in the 70's but already feels about 90+ due to the high levels of humidity.

We are learning to be sensitive to the culture here in Fiji. The locals are definitely not in a hurry about things so we are trying to embrace that as well.

Please continue to pray for the deliverance seminar and that the weather would not be a hindrance so that we would be able to accomplish the carpentry, plumbing and painting they have asked us to do along with the important evangelism outreach! Thanks!

Sold Out '08

We have arrived in Fiji!

2008-05-12T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
Just a quick post to let you know that we all arrived safely in beautiful Fiji!
We hit the ground running. They asked our ladies to do a meeting for the women as soon as we arrived. That is what is happening presently.

We would appreciate prayer for the deliverance seminar that we are doing nightly and the daytime evangelism to the East Indians taking place this week in Fiji.

Thank you for standing with us, we couldn't do it without you!
Sold Out

Itinerary for Fiji and Vanautu

2008-05-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

2008 SOLD OUT Mission Trip Itinerary
Fiji and Vanuatu

May 11
o Fly from Sacramento through LA and to Nadi, Fiji
~ United #6477 11MAY Sacramento– Los Angeles 232P 356P
~ Air Pacific #811 11MAY Los Angeles– Nadi 1130P 0510A+2
o Arrive in Nadi at 5:10 AM on May 13

May 13-17
o Work with YWAM in Fiji
o Day time = Carpentry; Evenings = Ministry

May 18
o Fly from Nadi to Vanuatu
~ Air Pacific #261 18MAY Nadi– Vanuatu 1000A 1120A

May 19 – 20
o Street Evangelism in Port Vila

May 21
o Travel to Maewo Island

May 22-28
o Ministering to the Asanvari tribe and other villages on Maewo Island
o Mornings = House-to-house ministry; Afternoons = Children’s ministry; Evenings = Whole tribe meetings

May 29
o Return to Port-Vila

May 30
o Return to Nadi, Fiji
~ Air Pacific #260 30MAY Vanuatu– Nadi 250P 515P

May 31-June 2
o Rest and Relaxation

June 3
o Return to Sacramento
~ Air Pacific #810 03JUN Nadi– Los Angeles1000P 120P
~ United # 6461 03JUN Los Angeles– Sacramento610P 731P
o Arrive in Sacramento at 7:31 PM

Fiji Contact Info:
Viniaru Guanavinaka
Box 5925
Lautoka, Fiji
011-679-664-0471

Vanuatu Contact Info:
None

Blog Site Address: http://gtsoldout.blogspot.com

We're Back!!!

2008-01-30T15:38:00.000-08:00

Well I'm (Angie) working with Lydia and hopefully my dad to get this thing updated and running!! Please keep checking back for updates!!

Have a wonderful day!! (w/ jesus!!)

Coming Home!

2007-06-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that we are about to board our flight to Singapore here in Hyderabad.
That means that we will back in Yuba City in about 36 hours.
We would appreciate prayer for safety and also that the luggage would arrive with us despite all the confusion and multiple flights. Thanks!
Can't wait to see all your smiling faces!

Warren for the team

Gone to Goa!

2007-06-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

We wanted to update you on our travels......we got a call while at the McClures's that our flight to Goa had been "pre-poned," meaning that it would be leaving two hours early. It was a new one for us, but we decided to get on board and we arrived to our vacation spot a bit early on Tuesday.

The team has really been looking forward to a few special days to unwind at the end of this trip. Goa is known for a great place to relax and enjoy the sun. It is also known as "the pearl of the orient" and is much more than just beaches and sea. It has a "soul"which goes deep into unique history, rich culture and some of the prettiest natural scenery that India has to offer.

This is a good thing since we have been experiencing lots of rain. It is the monsoon season, but we are still believing to see the sun soon! The team doesn't require much to make them happy at this point. A hot shower, a variety of cuisines, air conditioning and real beds is about all it takes! On top of this we have nice views of the ocean, a pool and fire jugglers to watch. OK, we are totally spoiled and we know it!

We will be leaving here Friday morning to begin our long trek home. We would appreciate continued prayers for safety. Also, thanks so much for praying for our health. We are all presently healthy for those of you who have asked!

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Warren for the team

At the McClure's

2007-06-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that we made it safely to the McClure's and are really enjoying our time with them. They actually have a little air conditioning so we are also enjoying the reprieve from the heat!

Most of our time here will be spent at their orphanage loving on the children. We will also be preforming our drama one last time before we head off to Goa on Tuesday. The children have been very receptive to us and it has been wonderful to be able to be such a blessing to them!

Thanks for your continued prayer!

Exploring Hyderabad

2007-06-16T10:38:00.000-07:00

Hello again!

It was Cody's birthday today and since we had finished digging our 80 tree holes and painting the orphanage, we decided to go into the city of Hyderabad and do something special. We did some exploring but mostly went shopping for souvenirs and silk and pearls! We found a Pizza Hut to celebrate this special day with Cody. The people at the pizzeria made him get up on a chair and say, "Hello. my name is Cody Duff and today is my birthday . Won't you celebrate with me?" Cody loved it!

We have been busy teaching our drama to the high school students here so that they can continue to use it as an evangelistic tool in India after we have gone. We also attempted to teach them American baseball at their request. That proved quite hilarious as they kept mixing the rules up with cricket and would run the bases twice and usually with the bat!
We have really enjoyed our work with the children here.

We have also enjoyed the weather, especially watching the lightning storms from a distance. It has been much cooler here than up North. It has only been in the high 80's to 90's. It doesn't change much at night and it is humid so it is not exactly comfortable, but it's been much easier to work in these conditions. Thanks for praying! We appreciate knowing that you, our friends and family, are standing with us. Please continue to pray for good health and safe travels as well. We will be on the road again soon.

Tomorrow we will preform our drama for the church and Warren will speak at the service and then we will be going to visit Doug and Noelle McClure and help them with their vision and love on some more orphans. We will be doing a mini VBS there and helping them in any way we can until Tuesday. From there the plan is to travel to Goa for a little fun in the sun and then we will be coming back to see YOU!

Happy Father's day to all our Dads....we love you!

Warren for the team

Working hard!

2007-06-13T19:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings again from the Meagher compound in Hyderabad! Nothing too new to report but we wanted to let you know that we are alive and well!

We have been busy whitewashing the orphanage, a bit of a challenge as the paint here doesn't cover well. Leslie is busy making the place beautiful with her artwork as well. One of our other projects is digging 80 holes in hard packed soil to plant trees. It is hard work so we are getting our daily work out!

The orphanage here is very well run and the children are well behaved and respectful. This makes our job of teaching them much easier. They are really enjoying and catching on to drama quickly. Warren is continuing to teach in the Bible school daily and seeing good fruit from that.

Paul Bryan made it to India safely and the team is enjoying having him with them.

Thank you for your continued prayers for health, safety and unity. We are so grateful for you joining our team in a very critical way. Everyone says hello!

Warren

We're in Hyderabad

2007-06-10T13:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the prayers for traveling....we arrived safely in Hyderabad after a few adventures. We decided to travel at night since it is cooler and it had been 115 degrees in the daytime! After traveling all night we slept for a few hours at a Seihk hostel which was an interesting experience. We were disappointed to find out that the Taj Mahal was closed to visitors due to a Muslim holy day. We were still able to see the outside of it, which is pretty impressive. We also got to see Akbar's tomb (the husband who built the Taj Mahal) and the fort. We were amazed at the marble in these lesser wonders so our imaginations went wild with the Taj!
We continued on to Delhi and had a 3 a.m. tour of the India Gate! We had a flight to catch at 5:30 a.m. and when we got back into our van it wouldn't start. Thankfully we had another vehicle along and were able to swap out that battery and get the van started, so we all piled into the van and made it to the airport ON TIME!

We are now at the Meagher's compound in Hyderabad. There are 150 orphans here along with many staff. Pastor Dave spoke at their church service today which was wonderful. We have been getting to know the children and that has been a great experience. Thankfully it is a bit cooler here-in the 90's. They have plans for us these next few days to paint and dig holes and plant trees and of course work with the children. Pastor Dave and Warren will also be teaching in the Bible school.
We would appreciate prayer for all of these things and also for the ability to stay healthy. Some of us are fighting that flu bug and that makes things difficult!
We still don't have internet access so we can't promise how frequent these posts will be.
Thank you so much for standing with us in continued prayer!
Warren for the team

Traveling to Delhi

2007-06-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to ask for prayer for travel. We are about to get in the van that will take us to Delhi and then the Taj Mahal. We will be traveling all night!

Thanks for praying for the staff's illness. They are feeling well and we are grateful for answered prayer!

We have really enjoyed our time with the Sandhu's and it is difficult for us to leave them.
They even had a party for Michaelie's 19th birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michaelie!

Everyone says hello.

Warren for the team

Embracing the culture

2007-06-06T09:17:00.001-07:00

We have had many more ministry opportunities in this northern region than we anticipated. We have performed our drama at least seven times! One of the most amazing doors that opened up to us was at a school where we did the drama under the guise of "cultural exchange". It was an exam season for the students so many of them were not available, but there were still over 200 teachers and 100 students at the show. The drama is powerful and ministers deeply whenever it is done. They treated us as honored guests, gave us a plaque and today our pictures and story were in four newspapers! God has totally given us his favor!

We have also been busy working to bless our hosts. We were able to almost totally paint the interior of their huge house. Leslie also left her mark in a new nation and did a gorgeous mural in their living room. The Sandhu family was very appreciative.

India is such an interesting country and we have been experiencing many of it's facets in the past couple of days. We are all getting acclimated to the hot weather and new diet. Even Cody says he's beginning to get a taste for the food! Amazing! Today our hosts took us to ride camels! We can't wait to show you the pictures!

Tomorrow the plan is to go to see the Taj Mahal in Angra, India. We are looking forward to that as a dream come true! On Saturday (Friday your time) we will be flying very early in the morning to Hyderabad to begin our time with the Meagher family at their orphanage and Bible school.

We would appreciate prayer for all the travel we will be doing in the next few days. We could also use prayer coverage for our health. Some of the staff have been fighting a bug and we need the team to stay healthy for all that is required of us. Thank you so much for being part of our team and standing in the gap for us!

Warren

God is alive and well in India!

2007-06-03T20:57:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your continued prayers. We daily find we need wisdom, protection, unity and grace for all God is calling us to do. We are constantly seeing and feeling the effects of prayer and appreciate those of you who are so faithful to remember us! People here are very grateful as well. For example, after God answered prayer for visas to England, the family had a big party to celebrate with us. We really enjoyed being included in all the festivities!

We have had multiple ministry opportunities in the last couple of days in neighborhoods and churches. Even at the church service in the small village where we are staying we saw six people become Christians and many healed as we prayed for them. Our God is so faithful!

We are learning to be flexible with our schedule as it can change at a moment's notice. Today (Mon.) we were expecting to go paint the town, or at least some part of it, but we have just learned that we are to share at a local school, so we are about to go off on another adventure.

It is rather humorous to us that when people ask us where we are from and we reply "Yuba City", they all know where it is... even in this remote part of India. Of course many of them have friends and relatives that live in our town and so they have come to love our part of the globe. It truly is a small world!

For those of you who have asked about the weather: Yes, it is HOT, but we are all managing very well including Nicole. The high has only been around 100 degrees and the low is usually around 90! This is cool for this time of year since it can reach as high as 130, so we are very grateful!

Blessing to you all,
Warren for the team

Update from Shelly for the team!

2007-06-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

We arrived safely...which perhaps you heard by now. We were pretty exhausted after 3 flights, a 2 hour drive - all totaling about 2 1/2 days of travel. But all of the team and luggage made it safe.

As we drove back into the very rural part of india to the Sandu's home i couldn't help but think that without proper connections a person could get lost in a country like this never to be seen or heard from again. The first day we got some rest, had some time for team worship & prayer and met many people who stopped by the Sandhu's. It was very apparent that they are a family of influence here. We had the chance to pray for several people throughout the day - including one man in local government who came by on his break. God answered a prayer prayed for a travel visa for one family within the first few hours. We also refreshed ourselves on our drama. We had to practice with a track in Punjab...it took some work but i think we got it.

Today we traveled 5 hours (round trip) to the Golden Temple. It was quite an amazing experience. So many people searching for truth. It was very sad to see men, women & children of all ages as they offered food sacrifices, bowed and sat praying for the blessing of their gods. The deception of hell leading throngs of people to a horrible eternal destiny. There is great need for the One True God to shed His light into their hearts. Something we hope to see happen to many while we are here.

The team is well. Enjoying India very much. We have had several authentic Indian meals now, and they all seem to love that. The girls are getting Indian suits made this afternoon - something they are very excited about.

The next few days include some work projects, and visiting a church and perhaps a school to preform our drama.

Thank you for your prayers - we are encouraged!
Hope to write soon, but internet is sparse and somewhat slower here.

If you are praying for the team & trip please keep the entire Sandhu family in your prayers - they are a vital part of something amazing that God wants to do here.

Shelly

WE MADE IT!!!

2007-05-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know that we all made it safe and sound to the Sandhu's in India!
We crashed at our wonderful hosts in the country when we got in at midnight only to find ourselves awake again at 4:30 a.m.! (Oh the joys of jet lag!) We finally got some much needed rest and are now about to embark on our first full day in India! We are twelve and half hours ahead of the States if you were wondering.
Everyone says hello! Thank you so much for your prayers!
Warren for the team

Class of 2007

2007-05-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

INDIA ITINERARY

2007-05-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

FOR EMAIL, FIRST TRY:
warren@churchofgladtidings.com

28 May
- 6:30 pm Meet @ church
· Drive to San Francisco

29 May
- 1:20 am fly Singapore Airlines Flight 1 to Singapore (19hr. 20min.)

30 May
- 11:40 am (8:40 am PST) Arrive in Singapore
- 5:45 pm (2:45 am PST) fly Singapore Airlines Flight 446 to Amritsar (6hr.)
- 9:15 pm (8:45 am PST) Arrive in Amritsar

30 May – 8 June
- Staying with Sandhu family.
· Phone # EMERGENCY ONLY: 011-911-821-247239
- Working on a school or hospital
- Performing drama at church service where many unsaved come
- Being a light to Sandhu family
- Fly to Hyderabad June 8 or 9

9 – 17 June
- Staying with Matthew and Angel Meagher who have a
Bible school, Christian day school, and orphanage.
· Contact info:
Phone # EMERGENCY ONLY:
home 011 91 8415 325 695,
cell 011 91 944094 0700
Email: Mathewmeagher@hotmail.com
- Cleaning, painting, and rebuilding a wall
- Teaching children math, English, computers, and guitar/keyboard
- Helping children with worship and devotions
- Performing drama and teaching it to Indian people

17 – 19 June
- Working with Doug McClure who has an orphanage for outcast orphans
and trains them to be in an orchestra.
· Contact info:
Phone # EMERGENCY ONLY:
(510) 962-4086 or (91)(40) 6553-3621
Email: dougmcclure@soundsofpromise.org
- Do a mini VBS and pray for children who have deep emotional wounds
- Possibly go to a college to perform drama.

19 – 22 June
- Staying at resort in Goa and having fun in the sun!

22 June
- 11:45 pm (11:15 am PST) fly Singapore Airlines from Hyderabad
Flight 439 to Singapore (4hr. 40min)

23 June
- 6:55 am (3:55 pm PST) arrive in Singapore
- 5:00 pm (2:00 am PST) fly Singapore Airlines Flight 2
to San Francisco (17hr. 25min.)
- 7:25 pm Arrive in San Francisco
· Drive to Yuba City!