Sunday 17 July 2016
The last few days...
Wow, it has been a few days. Sorry about that, we have either struggled with internet or been 'on the go' and unable to sit down to write a blog.
Friday was an amazing day. It started like normal with 5.30am devotions. Then, after breakfast it was straight to the class room for two classes in a row. In the final class one of the teachers informed us that at morning tea they wanted us to lead a full school assembly with songs, games and prayer. This gave us a total of 6 minutes to plan for this full school assembly. It went well and we managed to get a great photo of the team with the entire school.
After assembly we went back to the primary school up the road to do some music with them and then play some games. It was once again full on as the primary school students smothered us and wouldn't let us go. The primary school did a little farewell for us which was really moving and then it was time to say goodbye.
In the afternoon we had a bit of free time as the entire school was preparing for our farewell dinner on Friday night. We went for a walk through the shops at Lenakel before heading back to Black Sands beach for a final swim. Then it was time to quickly change before heading to the farewell celebrations.
The farewell celebrations were simply amazing. I don't think I can capture with words what we experienced that night. Unfortunately Rodger got sick and was vomiting so he missed the farewell dinner but he recovered fairly well and hasn't missed anything since. Please keep him in your prayers because he is still not quite right. Anyway, the farewell dinner was just out of this world. Lots of singing. Lot's of very moving speeches. Lots of gifts (both for us and for our friends at the school from us). Lots of laughter. And LOTS of tears. After what was probably one of the greatest weeks of many of our lives we really couldn't believe that it was time to say goodbye. It is amazing how close you can draw to people in such a short time and we felt like we had made life long friends in only 6 short days.
After all the celebrations it was time to try and get to bed for some sleep before a very early flight in the morning.
Air Vanuatu had told us to be at the airport at 6.30am which was two hours before our flight. We thought this was ridiculous but Air Vanuatu kept telling us that we needed to be there at 6.30am. Anyway, we arrived at the airport at 7.15am for our 8.30am flight to find the airport completely empty with no one around. True testimony to Island Time! Anyway, but 7.30am some people had arrived and we began the check in progress. However, the check in progress soon had us wondering about what kind of plane we would be travelling on as they not only weighed our bags but they weighed each one of us as well. It soon became apparent why they had weighed us as a tiny plane arrived to take us to Port Vila. Our team pretty much took up the entire flight. There were only 3 passengers on the flight that were not part of our team (so 17 passengers on the plane) and only 2 empty seats (so the total plane capacity was 19 seats). We could see into the cockpit and the plane really sounded like it was struggling when it took off! The un-pressurised cabin meant a cruising altitude of 3200 feet and the co-pilot continually tapping the gauges as if they were not working did not fill us with much confidence. But we landed safe in Port Vila!
We were at the Hotel way before check in and were working out what we would do with our time before check in when they told us two of the rooms were ready. We thought this would mean the other rooms would be ready soon so stayed at the Hotel however the other rooms took a couple of hours before they were ready. This didn't bother Esther, Jeremy or Rodger as they soon found the beach cheers by the pool and were relaxing in the sun while the teenagers stayed in the lobby where there was free internet - go figure!
The hotel had a great special on lunch so we decided to stay at the Hotel for lunch and then after lunch it was off to Hideaway Island. Hideaway Island is a little Island just a 2 minute boat ride from the mainland and it is surrounded by a reef and the snorkelling did not disappoint. For ours the team swam around looking at the most amazing array of tropical fish. It was simply amazing. After snorkelling we joined in for a BBQ dinner on the beach before heading back to the Hotel for some much needed sleep and a shower for many of the boys who hadn't showered since their departure for Tanna.
Saturday began at a much later time to what we are used to in the last week - 7am and it was a swim for some of the team members while the other team members ate breakfast by the pool. The breakfast is included in the cost of where we are staying and it was amazing. A buffet with amazing food which included pancakes in the shape of fish.
After breakfast we went to church but we were told the wrong time so were an hour early! We decided to go down to Port Vila and explore the shops for an hour before heading back to church. The church service was completely run by the Sunday school and it was amazing. It was quite long - 2 hours 15 minutes but it was just an amazing service.
After church we grabbed some lunch before heading back to Port Vila to explore the shops. Unfortunately, on a Sunday most of the shops shut at lunch time but the team managed to find a few open shops and started purchasing some gifts. Then it was to a cafe as Jeremy, Esther and Rodger were craving coffee. This turned out to be an amazing time of team bonding.
Then we had a nice dinner before having quite time to start our debrief after our time on Tanna.
Anyway, it is getting late and my eyes are starting to shut so I might leave it there. Thanks for all your prayers - we are really noticing them.
Thanks and God bless,
Jeremy
Friday was an amazing day. It started like normal with 5.30am devotions. Then, after breakfast it was straight to the class room for two classes in a row. In the final class one of the teachers informed us that at morning tea they wanted us to lead a full school assembly with songs, games and prayer. This gave us a total of 6 minutes to plan for this full school assembly. It went well and we managed to get a great photo of the team with the entire school.
After assembly we went back to the primary school up the road to do some music with them and then play some games. It was once again full on as the primary school students smothered us and wouldn't let us go. The primary school did a little farewell for us which was really moving and then it was time to say goodbye.
In the afternoon we had a bit of free time as the entire school was preparing for our farewell dinner on Friday night. We went for a walk through the shops at Lenakel before heading back to Black Sands beach for a final swim. Then it was time to quickly change before heading to the farewell celebrations.
The farewell celebrations were simply amazing. I don't think I can capture with words what we experienced that night. Unfortunately Rodger got sick and was vomiting so he missed the farewell dinner but he recovered fairly well and hasn't missed anything since. Please keep him in your prayers because he is still not quite right. Anyway, the farewell dinner was just out of this world. Lots of singing. Lot's of very moving speeches. Lots of gifts (both for us and for our friends at the school from us). Lots of laughter. And LOTS of tears. After what was probably one of the greatest weeks of many of our lives we really couldn't believe that it was time to say goodbye. It is amazing how close you can draw to people in such a short time and we felt like we had made life long friends in only 6 short days.
After all the celebrations it was time to try and get to bed for some sleep before a very early flight in the morning.
Air Vanuatu had told us to be at the airport at 6.30am which was two hours before our flight. We thought this was ridiculous but Air Vanuatu kept telling us that we needed to be there at 6.30am. Anyway, we arrived at the airport at 7.15am for our 8.30am flight to find the airport completely empty with no one around. True testimony to Island Time! Anyway, but 7.30am some people had arrived and we began the check in progress. However, the check in progress soon had us wondering about what kind of plane we would be travelling on as they not only weighed our bags but they weighed each one of us as well. It soon became apparent why they had weighed us as a tiny plane arrived to take us to Port Vila. Our team pretty much took up the entire flight. There were only 3 passengers on the flight that were not part of our team (so 17 passengers on the plane) and only 2 empty seats (so the total plane capacity was 19 seats). We could see into the cockpit and the plane really sounded like it was struggling when it took off! The un-pressurised cabin meant a cruising altitude of 3200 feet and the co-pilot continually tapping the gauges as if they were not working did not fill us with much confidence. But we landed safe in Port Vila!
We were at the Hotel way before check in and were working out what we would do with our time before check in when they told us two of the rooms were ready. We thought this would mean the other rooms would be ready soon so stayed at the Hotel however the other rooms took a couple of hours before they were ready. This didn't bother Esther, Jeremy or Rodger as they soon found the beach cheers by the pool and were relaxing in the sun while the teenagers stayed in the lobby where there was free internet - go figure!
The hotel had a great special on lunch so we decided to stay at the Hotel for lunch and then after lunch it was off to Hideaway Island. Hideaway Island is a little Island just a 2 minute boat ride from the mainland and it is surrounded by a reef and the snorkelling did not disappoint. For ours the team swam around looking at the most amazing array of tropical fish. It was simply amazing. After snorkelling we joined in for a BBQ dinner on the beach before heading back to the Hotel for some much needed sleep and a shower for many of the boys who hadn't showered since their departure for Tanna.
Saturday began at a much later time to what we are used to in the last week - 7am and it was a swim for some of the team members while the other team members ate breakfast by the pool. The breakfast is included in the cost of where we are staying and it was amazing. A buffet with amazing food which included pancakes in the shape of fish.
After breakfast we went to church but we were told the wrong time so were an hour early! We decided to go down to Port Vila and explore the shops for an hour before heading back to church. The church service was completely run by the Sunday school and it was amazing. It was quite long - 2 hours 15 minutes but it was just an amazing service.
After church we grabbed some lunch before heading back to Port Vila to explore the shops. Unfortunately, on a Sunday most of the shops shut at lunch time but the team managed to find a few open shops and started purchasing some gifts. Then it was to a cafe as Jeremy, Esther and Rodger were craving coffee. This turned out to be an amazing time of team bonding.
Then we had a nice dinner before having quite time to start our debrief after our time on Tanna.
Anyway, it is getting late and my eyes are starting to shut so I might leave it there. Thanks for all your prayers - we are really noticing them.
Thanks and God bless,
Jeremy
Thursday 14 July 2016
Our near death experience!
Name blong mi Amber!
Our day on Thursday started at 5.30am once again and we were leading chapel. The team is struggling with leading chapel at such an early time but God is giving us strength to stay awake. Most of the team are struggling to get out of bed!
After chapel we taught one class before getting ready to head over to White Sands. Then it was onto the back of two Utes and off to White Sands. When we arrived at White Sands the team in the second Ute almost looked like locals because the dust and volcanic ash from the Ute in front had sprayed into their faces from all directions.
We were taken to the beach and had a look at the project that we were meant to be helping with. The team was ready for some hard labor. Unfortunately, the boat had not arrived with all the equipment (the boats are on Island Time) so there was actually not much for us to do. The team didn't mind because this meant a bit of sunbathing and swim on another beautiful beach.
Then it was lunch time which was an amazing experience because the local village invited us in and made us feel very at home.
After lunch the team wanted to make the most of a difficult situation (as there were not many practical jobs for us to do) so we went to the local primary school and did some games and activities with the students. This was amazing! The boys played soccer and Jeremy managed to score two goals!
After soccer it was time to head to the volcano but unfortunately the Ute coming to pick us up was also on Island Time. We waited an hour and a half before the Ute arrived. And only one Ute came for us - this meant 14 people on the back of a single Ute. It was a tight squeeze but we made it work.
The Volcano was magnificent. Words really can't describe the power and majesty of an erupting volcano at night and it really is testimony to our amazing creator God. Some of you might be intrigued about our title 'Our near death experience' and this is when we can share with you what probably was the most scariest moment of most of our lives. There was a HUGE explosion sound which lead to a magnificent eruption of lava in the night sky! Unfortunately, it was a lot going all directions which included our direction. All of a sudden our Tour Guides were screaming "watch out - watch out" as lava literally travelled over our heads. One huge piece of lava landed only five meters behind where we were standing. At this point our tour guides frantically tried to get us down the volcano as quickly as possible however some of our team managed to get a photo of the lava that landed so close to where we were standing.
As we travelled down the volcano we asked the Tour Guides if this kind of thing is common and apparently it is not - we were just very lucky (or unlucky). So thanks for prayers and kind thoughts because a scary situation has probably become a highlight for many!
Then it was back to Lenakel for a quick feed before heading to 8.30pm chapel once again.
Then bedtime for a VERY tired team!
Lata bol (Blake)
See ya on the flip side!
Amber and Jeremy
Our day on Thursday started at 5.30am once again and we were leading chapel. The team is struggling with leading chapel at such an early time but God is giving us strength to stay awake. Most of the team are struggling to get out of bed!
After chapel we taught one class before getting ready to head over to White Sands. Then it was onto the back of two Utes and off to White Sands. When we arrived at White Sands the team in the second Ute almost looked like locals because the dust and volcanic ash from the Ute in front had sprayed into their faces from all directions.
We were taken to the beach and had a look at the project that we were meant to be helping with. The team was ready for some hard labor. Unfortunately, the boat had not arrived with all the equipment (the boats are on Island Time) so there was actually not much for us to do. The team didn't mind because this meant a bit of sunbathing and swim on another beautiful beach.
Then it was lunch time which was an amazing experience because the local village invited us in and made us feel very at home.
After lunch the team wanted to make the most of a difficult situation (as there were not many practical jobs for us to do) so we went to the local primary school and did some games and activities with the students. This was amazing! The boys played soccer and Jeremy managed to score two goals!
After soccer it was time to head to the volcano but unfortunately the Ute coming to pick us up was also on Island Time. We waited an hour and a half before the Ute arrived. And only one Ute came for us - this meant 14 people on the back of a single Ute. It was a tight squeeze but we made it work.
The Volcano was magnificent. Words really can't describe the power and majesty of an erupting volcano at night and it really is testimony to our amazing creator God. Some of you might be intrigued about our title 'Our near death experience' and this is when we can share with you what probably was the most scariest moment of most of our lives. There was a HUGE explosion sound which lead to a magnificent eruption of lava in the night sky! Unfortunately, it was a lot going all directions which included our direction. All of a sudden our Tour Guides were screaming "watch out - watch out" as lava literally travelled over our heads. One huge piece of lava landed only five meters behind where we were standing. At this point our tour guides frantically tried to get us down the volcano as quickly as possible however some of our team managed to get a photo of the lava that landed so close to where we were standing.
As we travelled down the volcano we asked the Tour Guides if this kind of thing is common and apparently it is not - we were just very lucky (or unlucky). So thanks for prayers and kind thoughts because a scary situation has probably become a highlight for many!
Then it was back to Lenakel for a quick feed before heading to 8.30pm chapel once again.
Then bedtime for a VERY tired team!
Lata bol (Blake)
See ya on the flip side!
Amber and Jeremy
Wednesday 13 July 2016
Hallo from the team! Another beautiful day on Tanna :) Our day started with the 5 o'clock bell again and then we were taking devotions at 5:30. This morning Caitlyn was on doing her testimony and she did an amazing job! We took two classes today and then introduced the group skipping rope which was a great hit with the kids. In the afternoon we walked up the hill to visit the local Primary school and joined in with their sports afternoon. At the College the students can sometimes be quite shy and reserved but not so with the primary school kids! It was like ants to the honey pot! Our team was swarmed and had an exhausting but very rewarding time interacting with these children. In the end we had to leave as the children just weren't going home. (the teacher had told me that often at 2.30 the children say that they have to leave so they can walk home before dusk - even year ones, so if school finishes at 3.30 then need to get home by 5.30) Even then a huge group of them came with us - which you will see in the photo that we have just posted. We all had such an amazing time with these children we hope to be able to get back to see them if time allows before we go home. Then it was swim time again! Our daily ritual - and every time more and more students join us which is really cool. The girls are all sleeping in with the girls in the bunkrooms and the girls have been so welcoming to us. They have showed us how they do their washing - with a brush and a wooden board, and always go out of their way to make us feel welcome. Today in the showers after the swim - the showers are a concrete room with three kind of showers (cold of course), we had just started washing our hair and the water stopped, so two of the girls went out and got buckets of water for us so we could finish washing! Their kindness to us is very humbling! On that note - none of the boys have washed ANY clothes or had a shower - TYPICAL! Other then that - any parents reading this blog should be incredibly proud of their kids. They have just been amazing! I cant really emphasize enough what a pleasure and privilege it is to be on this trip with them. They have ALL just been so great at mixing with the kids, getting alongside them, doing their testimonies, prayers or anything else that has been asked of them. I'm sure they will all fill you in o the details when they get home. I think that's enough from me tonight, so thank you for all your prayers - we have really been blessed by this trip so far. Just a wee note - we are all well other then a couple of very slight tummy upsets but nothing major at all! That's all for me tonight, Regards to all, Esther
Tuesday 12 July 2016
Jr. Hacky
Hello my fellow church citizens, it is Pastor Jr. Hacky.
Today I am here to share to you about some of the stellar adventures over the 12th July. At the crack of dawn we rose out of our slumber to the brisk fresh air. After having a joyful feast on some trusty bread with Nutella, we began our teaching for thy day. However, little did we know, the year 12 class were not on campus as they were on holiday. Plan B was to organise books within the library. This unfortunately took a solid 2 hours. :(
After lunch we planned on going for a half hour walk to the coffee factory. The leaders were very keen to buy coffee beans, but were sadly rejected much to their dismay as they were told they couldn't purchase any. This was because it is all sold on Port Villa, #Vanuatu=logic.
Instead this turned out to be a 3 hour trek, with no coffee factory. Despite the lack of success, we got a personal and intimate tour from Mr Roger, where we walked along a beautiful beachs in the smoking sun (some members got burnt). We were also lucky enough to experience the best tasting pineapple/ coconut in the world!
Due to the droning walk in the blazing heat we cooled off in the deep blue sea (Black sand beach). A delicious and well deserved dinner was prepared for the team, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. I am now sitting here typing the blog. Once I a done, we will head to the school hall with the crew, and singing some worship songs, and listen to Ryan do his testimony.
We are all happy and healthy, and loving the joyful and vibrant people around us. I must also add that we taught more children to dab. :)
Thank you for you time, hope all is well with my possy.
Btw, Jr. Hacky = Emily Hackfath ;)
Today I am here to share to you about some of the stellar adventures over the 12th July. At the crack of dawn we rose out of our slumber to the brisk fresh air. After having a joyful feast on some trusty bread with Nutella, we began our teaching for thy day. However, little did we know, the year 12 class were not on campus as they were on holiday. Plan B was to organise books within the library. This unfortunately took a solid 2 hours. :(
After lunch we planned on going for a half hour walk to the coffee factory. The leaders were very keen to buy coffee beans, but were sadly rejected much to their dismay as they were told they couldn't purchase any. This was because it is all sold on Port Villa, #Vanuatu=logic.
Instead this turned out to be a 3 hour trek, with no coffee factory. Despite the lack of success, we got a personal and intimate tour from Mr Roger, where we walked along a beautiful beachs in the smoking sun (some members got burnt). We were also lucky enough to experience the best tasting pineapple/ coconut in the world!
Due to the droning walk in the blazing heat we cooled off in the deep blue sea (Black sand beach). A delicious and well deserved dinner was prepared for the team, which we all thoroughly enjoyed. I am now sitting here typing the blog. Once I a done, we will head to the school hall with the crew, and singing some worship songs, and listen to Ryan do his testimony.
We are all happy and healthy, and loving the joyful and vibrant people around us. I must also add that we taught more children to dab. :)
Thank you for you time, hope all is well with my possy.
Btw, Jr. Hacky = Emily Hackfath ;)
Monday 11 July 2016
Ice Breakers ;)
So its been a few days! Sorry about that team! :/ I hope you haven't missed us its been quite the struggle finding internet!
On Saturday our misey with planes continued!! #shotaucklandairport. After finding out that our flight was delayed, the airline gave a mean as voucher for a feed and I tell ya what we were happy campers?? ;) We finally landed in the magnificent islands of Vanuatu. Once we walked off thy plane blimmey did the heat us! It was worse than a suna! If you know what I mean! ;) ;) We finally made it to our 'hotel' where we thought we wouldn't make it through the night. Apart from that we were going off like a cut snake that we had made it to Vanuatu.
So after an awful nights sleep we got out of there reasonably quick to go and catch our last flight through to Tanna Island!! :D The only hiccup this time round was that we about to board and then they told to us to a pay the departure tax! Finally we made to Tanna! As we boarded our utes we hit the dirty, bumpy roads towards our beautiful slice of paradise. Once we settled in to our humble abodes, we hit the beach up after having the most lunch we could ever dream of. The black sand that was dumped upon us from the intense waves that continued to put us pressure. Once we got back we hang out with the all the students of the boarding school! After such a huge day we couldn't wait to get in to bed for our early 5:30am start! :/
After having a cracker of a sleep we fully realised how immersed this culture is in our Lord Jesus Christ! it was such a beautiful sight! We were given laves which were so beautifully crafted! Once the formailites finished we knew that work was about to begin! (Din Din Din!!!!) We were told that we would be teaching different classes throughout the day! Our first class was shaky for sure but by the time 3pm rolled around they didn't want to finish the class! We also hit the stadium up were we played with the locals in football (soccer). As you all know, shes pretty hot here, so we decided that would be rude not to go have a swim at Black Sands again!!!!
That's all for now folks, since we'vegot some internet capabilities, there will be daily updates for you all!
Hey Cheers, Catch ya on the flip side!
Rodge, Martin, Caitlyn
On Saturday our misey with planes continued!! #shotaucklandairport. After finding out that our flight was delayed, the airline gave a mean as voucher for a feed and I tell ya what we were happy campers?? ;) We finally landed in the magnificent islands of Vanuatu. Once we walked off thy plane blimmey did the heat us! It was worse than a suna! If you know what I mean! ;) ;) We finally made it to our 'hotel' where we thought we wouldn't make it through the night. Apart from that we were going off like a cut snake that we had made it to Vanuatu.
So after an awful nights sleep we got out of there reasonably quick to go and catch our last flight through to Tanna Island!! :D The only hiccup this time round was that we about to board and then they told to us to a pay the departure tax! Finally we made to Tanna! As we boarded our utes we hit the dirty, bumpy roads towards our beautiful slice of paradise. Once we settled in to our humble abodes, we hit the beach up after having the most lunch we could ever dream of. The black sand that was dumped upon us from the intense waves that continued to put us pressure. Once we got back we hang out with the all the students of the boarding school! After such a huge day we couldn't wait to get in to bed for our early 5:30am start! :/
After having a cracker of a sleep we fully realised how immersed this culture is in our Lord Jesus Christ! it was such a beautiful sight! We were given laves which were so beautifully crafted! Once the formailites finished we knew that work was about to begin! (Din Din Din!!!!) We were told that we would be teaching different classes throughout the day! Our first class was shaky for sure but by the time 3pm rolled around they didn't want to finish the class! We also hit the stadium up were we played with the locals in football (soccer). As you all know, shes pretty hot here, so we decided that would be rude not to go have a swim at Black Sands again!!!!
That's all for now folks, since we'vegot some internet capabilities, there will be daily updates for you all!
Hey Cheers, Catch ya on the flip side!
Rodge, Martin, Caitlyn
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