On May 5th a team of mission leaders flew to the tiny island of Aniwa near the southern end of the Vanuatu chain.
Dr. Becky, Danielle, Harmon, James, David and Peter
Dr. Becky Morsch, Field coordinator for CBHC, along with James Johnson, Harmon Schmelzenbach, his daughter Danielle, Rev. Peter Isaac, and David and Sylvia planned to dedicate the brand new Aniwa Church of the Nazarene and also conduct an introductory survey for Community Based Health Care. Dr. Becky would also be conducting surveys in the Solomon Islands and Fiji. The team was welcomed by the chief in a special ceremony held on the village commons. It was so special to finally be arriving to the island that we had been hearing about for so long.
In the morning, Pastor Keithly took us on a tour to see the place where his father was buried. His father, Chief Tani Rena, had returned to Aniwa in December 2007 to speak to the leaders of his island about giving land for the Church of the Nazarene, but died unexpectedly. The leaders honored Chief Tani Rena's desire and his family chose Keithly to be trained to pastor this new church.
First on the agenda was dedication of the beautiful new Aniwa Church of the Nazarene that Pastors Keithly and Paul had built along with men and women from Keithly's village of Ikaukau.
We praise God for his provision!
That afternoon leaders from the six villages on the island of Aniwa were called together for the introductory meeting of CBHC with Dr. Becky.
On Wednesday, the survey team followed Pastor Keithly in the morning and afternoon to visit several of the other villages. The team was well received in each village.
On Thursday morning prior to the team's departure to return to Port Vila, gifts and words of appreciation were exchanged by leaders of the survey team and leaders of the village.
After Dr. Becky surveyed villages in Solomon Islands and Fiji, it was decided that she would begin her work in the South Pacific right here on the island of Aniwa. She plans to return for the first training session in late November. Pastor Aseri and his wife La will be flying over from Fiji for training which they will take back to their village on the island of Kadavu, one of the islands of Fiji.
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