When news reports came that Cyclone Pam had directly hit the island nation of Vanuatu, the status to the Pioneer Bible Translators team was unknown. Due to widespread damage to the electrical and communication grid, information was spotty.
Early reports were that team members were unharmed, but those reports from independent sources turned out to be estimates and supposition based upon conjecture following the exact track of the cyclone and the nature of the housing of the team members.
Late Saturday evening (Eastern Daylight Time in the USA), reports began to arrive that, “the areas our people are in probably DIDN’T take a terrific hit from Pam.” On Sunday afternoon April 15, confirmation came from other Pioneer Bible Translators personnel serving in the Oceania region that the team was indeed fine and had actually been conducting VISTA classes in the midst of the storm.