Mission Vanuatu the Weldy’s – Oct 12 2015 – Too Much to Tell!
Too Much to Tell!!
“Why do we have to be here if we can’t understand anything they say?”
Lauren asked me that question in church last Sunday. It’s a fair question from a 10-year-old girl who can only say “tanku tumas” (thank you) in Bislama so far and yet is sitting through a three hour service.
This innocent question brought to mind all the people who are trying to learn about Jesus in languages they don’t understand either. That’s why we’re here.
So much has happened since we left the States that it’s hard to know what all to share! In a nutshell…
we got stuck in Brisbane for a week but really enjoyed our time there.
had a dog and two cats waiting for us our first night here! (We share custody of them with the neighbors) 🙂
went to a Sanma Day Festival our second night here and ate flying fox, laplap, tuluk, and several other local foods. Most we liked…some not so much.
went to a “combine” (combined church service for area churches) our first Sunday here.
have learned where to buy the things we need, not to be out after 9 pm, how to flush our finicky toilet, not to shower while someone is doing dishes, what the “dust” all over our countertops is every day, where the geckos hang out in our house, and to watch where you walk outside in the dark (lots of roaches everywhere!!).
The items above are fun to share, but most of them aren’t what we came here to do. We’ve only been here two and half weeks and we can barely ask, “How are you?” but we have enjoyed serving in a few ways already. Matt is leading our Thursday night Bible study that we attend with our teammates this month. I was asked to share a “smol toktok” with the kids yesterday at their church performance. I encouraged them to not wait until later, but to serve God today with their whole hearts. We also hosted the twice monthly Team Worship night last Sunday for our PBT Vanuatu team here. There’s now 10 adults and 9 kids here. That’s a lot of people and food to fit into one room!
We know many of you are serving the world through your giving and prayers on our behalf so we are doing our best to honor your sacrifice. Thank you for making it possible for us to come to Vanuatu and for sustaining us here as we learn to love and serve the people here!
Angie (for Matt and the kids, too)
Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 1 Thessalonians 2:8
Oct 5 – Nov 13 Culture & Bislama orientation for our family
Dec 2-10 Team meetings & retreat
January ?? Our family’s village living time
Prayer Requests
~ Please pray for the VISTA students to finish this session strong. They are halfway done with this 4 week session. There has been much sickness and the death of a child amongst them.
~ Pray for all five of us as we learn Bislama. It’s intimidating to try to use new words and phrases but it means a lot to the local people so we are committed to learning it well.
~ Praise God for our family being healthy right now! We have all been sick over the past 2 1/2 weeks and are so thankful to all feel good now.
L – “Field trips” are a great way to practice what we’re learning in orientation. One day we bought lunch at food stalls using Bislama and discussed culture while we ate at the park.
R – Our first Sunday at Vuna Mele Church here in Luganville. Our team sang two special “items” for the church.
