Making a List and Checking It Twice...

Sunrise over Efate

No, we're not thinking of celebrating Christmas in July! 😁But, we are making a list. With only 3 1/2 months till we bid farewell to our home of 18 years, our minds have been full of many things needing to be done before we leave. Some of the items on our list are training meetings where we spend time helping others be ready to take on our responsibilities. We're so thankful for the people who have committed to taking on those roles! Though they have much to learn, they come with skills and knowledge that makes the learning easier. They also have an eagerness to learn and willingness to give their time. We're praising God for our SPNTC administrative team!

Some of the items on our list are things we're really glad to be checking off the list! Things like registering our Toyota RAV4 for the last time and the last time to face the process of renewing our residency visa. The process to accomplish these tasks seems to change every year and involves many attempts to finally get them checked off. 

Our list includes some "lasts" that are difficult because they mean letting go of something that we've really enjoyed and found very fulfilling. David is nearing the end of his last SPNTC class, and Sylvia finished teaching her class last month. As difficult as it has been to be prepared and ready to teach each class, the opportunity to be connected with our pastors, church leaders, and faculty as their teachers has brought so much joy across the years. It has been exciting to see several of our graduates move on to become teachers who are eager to make a difference in the lives of their students. 

In the midst of checking off things from our list, things that are fairly familiar, we are having to learn some brand new things which then get added to our list to pass along to others. We appreciate your prayers as we get familiar with GNECsis - the Global Nazarene Education Consortium system of recording students, classes, and grades for SPNTC. This system has been under development by people in the Nazarene Church to help small schools like SPNTC with record keeping without the cost of expensive software. We have been joining other SPNTC principals and registrars from Samoa and Fiji and another Bible college representative from Portugal via Zoom to be trained by Kindra Bible from her office in the USA. It's a huge jump from the Microsoft Word and Excel documents that have kept our records for the last 15 years here in Vanuatu. Please pray for us as we figure out the tasks and procedures for entering our information and train our SPNTC registrar and new principal, Rev. Jenny Isaac.

Our GNECsis training takes place on Zoom across many time zones.

Meriam joined students from Samoa via Zoom.

In our last newsletter we mentioned that the CALD program from Nazarene Theological College in Brisbane, Australia, was set to begin for Nazarenes in Vanuatu. Rev. Meriam Naunga has completed her first 25 hour intensive and is now working to complete her assignments in the first CALD class, Introduction to Pastoral Theology. She is finding it to be very challenging with all the lectures and discussions in English, as well as the reading assignments. She is learning to submit assignments online that she first writes in Bislama and then translates to English. Thank you for your prayers for Rev. Meriam as she pursues this training, and pray that other Nazarene graduates will join her.

Pastor David and Rev. Meriam Naunga

"See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" 

Isaiah 43:19

Learning in Our New Classroom

Our first SPNTC class of 2020 was taught by Rev. Gideon in the new classroom! Three newly enrolled students and four continuing students met for three hours each evening during the first two weeks of March to learn about Johannine Literature - the Gospel of John, the letters of John and the Revelation. We are very thankful for this dedicated space for our pastoral training courses to take place. We are looking forward to setting up the library, computers, and teacher resources to increase learning opportunities for both the teachers and the students.

Discipleship Training Seminar

We praise God for all who participated in the Discipleship Training Seminar that took place February 29th! Three ni-Vanuatu pastors and all four missionaries worked together to translate into Bislama the materials that we received at our Asia Pacific Regional Conference in October. Pastors and leaders from all the Port Vila churches and two from the churches on Tanna attended the one-day training seminar. We are so excited to see how God will use this training to help us be disciples of Jesus who lead others to be disciples also! 

Pastor Gideon (upper left), Brother William, and Pastor Taku (lower right) listening 

as the Asia Pacific Regional Discipleship Model is discussed.

We had many break-out sessions to give all of us a chance to talk. 

Pastor Anthona (front left), Pastor Morison from Tanna (second row center) and Malo from Tanna (second row right) share with each other about how they each came to be followers of Jesus.

Pastor Meriam shared the concept of "Equipping" (Bislama - Mekemrere) 

and how important it is to help people grow in their understanding of God's Word.

Three of the presenters: Pastor David Naunga (left), his wife, Pastor Meriam (center) and Pastor Jenny Isaac (right). We all learned from each other! 

It turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year (notice the fans, electric and handheld)!

Pastor Aileen (right) and Pastor Metas (center back) discuss with their small group 

about what discipleship might look like for Women's Ministries. 

Please pray for our pastors and leaders to continue to grow as disciples, 

and that God would continue to lead our churches to be faithful in making disciples in the nation of Vanuatu.

The SPNTC Board of Trustees Meeting Comes to Vanuatu!

(L to R): Rev. Pau'u, Principal of Fiji Campus; Rev. Leilani, Chancellor; Joani, Field Financial Coordinator; Inise, Fiji lay delegate; Selina, Pau'u's lovely wife; and Rev. Ulisese, Principal of Samoa Campus

You may wonder who would ever get excited about a board of trustees meeting!! WE DO!! We really enjoy getting to be with the other leaders that make up this four-nation Bible college. It only happens annually, unless we happen to have a regional conference, then we might see some of them twice in a year! We have been attending these annual meetings for many years and have come to love and admire the people who make up this board. 

Samoa and Fiji campuses have hosted all the meetings for the last 10+ years, but at the 2019 meeting, Vanuatu leaders agreed to see if we could work out all the details of accommodations, meals, transportation, hosting, and venue for the group of approximately 20 people to meet in Port Vila for the meeting of February 3-4, 2020. With the help of a small committee of our Vanuatu pastors, plans were set in place for all the details and preparations were made. And together, WE did it!

L to R: Rev. Gideon (Welcome and Farewell Coordinator); Rev. Meriam (Guest Reception Coordinator); and Pastor Seul (Transportation Coordinator). Not pictured: Pastor Raela (Venue Preparation Coordinator); Pastor Anthona and wife Emmie (Meal planner and cooks).

None of us had predicted that COVID-19 was going to take hold in many countries at the very time when we planned to gather. Our own airport in Port Vila began to institute strict health precautions the very day that our first delegate from Solomon Islands arrived. Each passenger was screened by medical personnel as they arrived at the airport. A few days later, the Fiji delegates were delayed for hours because they found out at their airport that they needed a health certificate in hand before they were allowed to board the plane. The principal from Samoa departed from his airport and was detained in Fiji because he was required to get a medical certificate after landing in Fiji, and arrived a day late to Vanuatu. By the first day of the meeting, all the board members finally arrived!

Those that arrived on Saturday, were taken to various Nazarene Churches in Port Vila on Sunday morning to share the message and be hosted for a meal with one of our congregations.

Rev. Leilani shared the sermon with the Bellevue Park Nazarene Church and Sylvia translated to Bislama.

We were pleased that our small SPNTC classroom was sufficiently completed and large enough to seat everyone around the tables. It turned out to be the hottest days we had experienced in months! With Rev. Kafoa Muaror, Field Strategy Coordinator and Chairman of the board, the agenda was completed in just 1 1/2 days.

We were glad that Rev. Bruce Allder, Asia Pacific Regional Educational Coordinator, was able to join us from Australia.

Alice, first on the left side of the table, was elected by the Vanuatu SPNTC board to be the lay delegate this year for Vanuatu. Alice is a student in SPNTC-VU and a faithful member of the Malapoa Nazarene Church.

Most of the Board of Trustees: Back row: Inise (Fiji), Rev. Pau'u and Selina (Fiji), Rev. Dolasi (Solomon Islands), David (Vanuatu), Rev. Ulisese (Samoa); Front row: Sylvia (Vanuatu), Rev. Leilani (Chancellor, Fiji), Alice (Vanuatu), Mary Esther (lay delegate, Solomon Islands). Missing from the picture: Rev. Kafoa Muaror (PNG), Rev. Bruce Allder (Australia), and Rev. Peter (Vanuatu D.S.).

After the meeting was finished, there were a few hours for the board members to visit Port Vila downtown and do a bit of shopping before the final meal together. That evening, we had an amazing farewell with the Vanuatu teachers and students serving the meal followed by a beautiful program of giving gifts and songs. 

 The success of the meetings was celebrated with ice cream - four different flavors, because that's how David Potter celebrates! Needless, to say, there was none left over.

 One of the things we loved about this board of trustees meeting is the connections that were made and the friendships that were formed as the members of the board worked together for the best Bible college possible and as the members from the various nations got acquainted with the Nazarenes of Vanuatu!

Inise (FJ) and Mary Esther (SI) with their new friends, feeling like the time was altogether too short!

SPNTC Classroom Completion

Last September, Sylvia received the news that her Aunt Phyllis had passed away at the age of 92 years old. Phyllis had faithfully lived her life for Jesus, and had designated that a tithe of her estate would be given to the Lord's work. What a surprise when we were contacted by Sylvia's cousin David letting us know that $7000 was being given to support the ministry in Vanuatu! 

The timing was just right for the gift to be designated to help in the completion of the SPNTC classroom. Lots of work needed to be done: Electrical outlets needed to be installed; the walls needed to be plastered and painted; the floor tiled; a dropped PVC ceiling installed; curtains and fixtures installed; and equipment like computers, printers, scanner, file cabinets, and security doors would need to be purchased. 

We were so thankful for the volunteers that pitched in to do so much of the work - the Isaac's sons, Ennrich and Junior, and a high school student from one of the Port Vila churches, Christopher, joined his uncle, Pastor David Naunga. Even David and Sylvia put on their carpenter hats for the month of January. The goal was to have the classroom and district office sufficiently completed to host the SPNTC Board of Trustees meeting planned for the first week of February. Here's a few pictures of the guys at work:

District Assembly and Ordination 2019

Once a year, all the Nazarene Churches in our country get together to celebrate what God is doing. This year we had delegates from nine churches on two islands, Efate and Tanna. We were disappointed that the Ikaokao Nazarene Church was not able to make the journey this year from Aniwa Island. The celebration started on Sunday evening, November 10th with Pastor John Nato sharing a tremendous drama showing what it was like for him to bring the light of Christ to the village of Inapoas on Tanna Island.  

We began to get acquainted with Pastor John Nato when he was just a small boy at the Black Sand Nazarene Church in 2007. David had the joy as his pastor to dedicate him to the Lord when he was 12 years old. The church was right in his front yard, so it wasn't hard for him to attend Sunday School and Bible studies. 

Six years later, David issued John his first local preacher's license. Three years after that, he graduated from South Pacific Nazarene Theological College with a Certificate in Ministry. We are glad for John's commitment to serve God and the fruit that is being produced in him and through him. 

Pastor John with Jimmy, a special member of this church with a chronic sore.
John is learning how to be nurse as well as a pastor.

In April of this year, he took a ship to Tanna to share the light of Christ. The village of Inapoas is a "kastom" village where the people have chosen to remain separated from the influences of education and Christianity. We had visited this village 9 years ago. Within 7 months, Pastor John had built relationships within the community, baptized 7 new believers, built a church, and received 15 people into the fellowship of the Nazarene Church. He was also able to teach a course for South Pacific Nazarene Theological College. 

Inapoas Nazarene Church

We were excited that this year, he was ordained an elder in the Nazarene Church with 10 of his church members to witness his commitment to serve God and the Church throughout his lifetime.

God met with us during that ordination and many people came forward when Dr. Eugenio Duarte, the Asia Pacific General Superintendent, invited anyone who would like to make a deeper commitment to Christ to come forward for prayer. We give praise to God for the way he is unleashing his power and love in his church and in his people through his Spirit!

Our pastors and district leaders

The delegates wore name cards for the first time.

(L) Rev. Dr. Eugenio Duarte's first visit to Vanuatu.
(R) Rev. Kafoa Muaror, the Melanesia South Pacific field strategy coordinator and his wife, Aggie.

Home Assignment 2019

 We headed for the United States for our tenth home assignment (furlough)at the beginning of April. Every home assignment has been unique, but all of them have been filled with wonderful reunions with family and friends and establishing of new friendships with people we meet along the many miles of our travels. We traveled to ten states in the USA and three provinces of Canada to share in over fifty churches about the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Vanuatu. Our Honda Accord traveled from Michigan to Alberta, Canada, and over to New York City before stopping at our son Jeffrey's house in northeast Michigan until the next (and final) home assignment. We traveled by air after that to Georgia for a WinShape retreat for missionaries and to Texas and California and Colorado before we headed back home to Vanuatu. We are thankful for the Lord's bountiful provision for the work and ministry in Vanuatu; for the opportunity to connect with some young people who are sensing God's call to cross-cultural missions; for the tender loving care of all those who provided accommodations for us along the way; for the time to be face to face with our family and friends; and for God's people who prayed his blessing over us and commissioned us again to the work God has called us to do. God has indeed dealt bountifully with us!

Following are some of our favorite things along the way!

Our first district tour was in North Central Ohio. We got to stay with Jim and Kathy Radcliffe, friends from PNG and the ones with whom we share so much, including granddaughters and friends like Lincoln and Betsy Stevens.

The Church of the Nazarene is in 162 countries of the world! That's impressive!

We became very fond of flags this home assignment.

So grateful that Ray and Becki Neu surprised us at our first deputation service. 

They came to Vanuatu in 2013 to Tell the Story. Read more here.

Did you know that northeast Ohio is the covered bridge capital of the world?

We visited several while we were in the area.

We loved the beautiful mangoes that you can buy for a dollar in the USA! They would cost much more in VU where they grow.

 We enjoyed the signs we found in various homes and places that we visited.

Flags at the Medina Church of the Nazarene made by the children of the church.

Kathy and Mike Pelley and their daughter Grace have been beside us on our journey since we became North Central Ohio Nazarenes. So thankful for Kathy's ministry as District NMI President on our home district and for their blessing to missionaries in so many ways!

Jim and Sandy Sycks have been our friends since 2002 when we based in Coshocton, Ohio, for our home assignment. They shared their home with us again for a few days and found some papaya and mango to help us feel like we were home in the tropics!

We visited wintery Wisconsin District after leaving Ohio. It had been many years since we had visited this district last. We almost missed our speaking engagement on Easter Sunday because we got headed in the opposite direction when we started out in the morning. We bought a road atlas after that and set down some rules about plugging in the next address to the GPS!

We had a short few days to rest in northern Wisconsin where we found all the boats in dry dock and a new-to-us language. We enjoyed some time to hike and bike. We also found a little coffee shop with some interesting decorations.

Our next stop was Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we stayed with Russell and Patti Boyes who served in PNG with us. Patti is the local NMI President for her church and had scheduled us nearly two years before. They blessed us in many ways during our stay with them.

 

Patti volunteers at the Siloam Mission each week and gave us a tour of the facility that provides so many services for the homeless. 

Patti took us to the symphony - something that Sylvia hopes to enjoy when she comes back to this side of the world. It was fantastic!

Do you see how the colors in Sylvia's dress matches the table runner for our picture display? That was totally unplanned!

We are always so pleased when we get to speak with the children in a church. David was just five years old when God spoke to his heart and asked him to be "His" missionary. 

When visiting in Canada we were introduced to maple leaf cookies. 

We loved them and bought some to share with our kids when we met up with them again!

We traveled through Saskatchewan after speaking in Regina to the interesting sounding city of Medicine Hat in Alberta. We had a wonderful time with the Nazarenes at the church there.

Drumheller is the dinosaur capital of the world! We had a good visit with the Nazarenes in Drumheller and our hosts provided us with a tour of the town and entertainment by their lovely Golden Retriever.

Sylvia, the selfie queen, was glad to meet Jolene who is the new NMI President at her church where we shared an international dinner together with the international Nazarenes at Skyview Church in Calgary.

We were happy to run into some more colleagues from PNG days - Merle and Shirley Ewing - while we were there.

We had a few extra hours to stop in at Lake Louise in Banff National Park on our way south to Lethbridge. The lake was still frozen for the most part, so the beautiful reflection photo was not possible this time. It would be fun to return and enjoy this beautiful place for a little longer.

We woke up on Sunday morning to a winter wonderland! 

We were glad that the snow didn't stick on the roads.

We met up with this beautiful pastor family on a side trip north to Edmonton.

Jennifer (Farthing) Blake was on the first Youth In Mission trip to Vanuatu in 2004. She returned in 2005 with a Point Loma Nazarene University Loveworks team. Now, she and her husband Jonny co-pastor the Southside Nazarene Church. Such a blessing to spend some time with this family!

[You can read a short paragraph about the first trip she made and its impact in Vanuatu at this link.]

We were so blessed to stay with John and Laurie Watton at their home near Rocky Mountain Home, Alberta. We first met John in PNG, but became good friends following Cyclone Pam in 2015 when he came to help us with disaster relief in his role as Asia Pacific Regional Nazarene Compassionate Ministry director. 

We learned several furloughs ago what a joy it is for us to go out of our way to visit friends as we travel. But, Rev. James and Joy Johnson were not out of the way at all! It was truly a blessing for us to stop for the night at their Montana country home. James was the Field Strategy Coordinator for Melanesia and South Pacific Fields for many of our years in Vanuatu. He helped the Work and Witness teams that came to build our home. And, he and Joy hosted our son Wesley as he helped them build their Montana home. 

 We got home in time to celebrate Mother's Day with Sylvia's mother and our son, Wesley. So thankful for the blessing of a godly mother!

The days were warming up, tulips were in bloom, and Wes treated us by taking us to the Frederick Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Botanical gardens are one of our favorite things!

Our next stop was Northern Michigan District where we spoke in several churches as well as the District NMI Convention. We stayed in a hotel right on the shore of Lake Michigan where we watched some beautiful sunsets. Our son Jeffrey is the NMI president for his church in East Tawas and was intending to be at the convention. On the day of the convention, at 2:30AM, we received a phone call from Jeffrey saying that Kristen was in labor; thirty minutes later, our sixth grandbaby was born! We couldn't get back to sleep after that! A few hours later we arrived at the Convention where we spoke six times and were honored with a Distinguished Service Award.  Then...

...we quickly drove to the other side of the state to meet Isaiah Gene Potter when he was just barely 12 hours old!

Next morning, we drove to Jeffrey's church and shared with his congregation about Vanuatu! 

We were happy to spend a few days with Kristen's parents, and we were happy for a few days to be Abu and Grandpa!

Our next stop was Warwick, New York, where we stayed with Metro New York District NMI President, Rev. Yelssy Manza and her husband, Paul, at their home in the woods. They took us for a hike near the Appalachian Trail. 

We spoke in four churches on the Metro New York district. We met with old friends and made new ones too. Queens Springfield Church had not had a missionary speaker for many years; we were pleased to be invited to share with them!

Our home base this furlough was Sylvia's parents' home in Michigan. We enjoyed being able to gather around the dinner table with her dad and mom and the family.We spoke on all three districts in Michigan this time! It was a blessing to get better acquainted with these lovely people. We loved hearing about the community outreach that the Nazarenes at Grand Ledge, MI, were doing. It was our delight to meet Rev. Judy on the Eastern Michigan District and her daughter. We enjoyed staying in their home and getting better acquainted. Her enthusiasm for missions was such an encouragement to us!After 10 weeks of deputation speaking, we were excited to fly to Alaska for some time with our oldest son and his family, and our youngest son joined us! We went salmon fishing, bike riding, played on the playground, read books together, ate out, cooked together, and lots of other things!

After flying back to the lower 48 states, we were able to take Sylvia's parents to visit their newest grandson, and namesake of her father. And, we enjoyed a few more days of vacation this time at the Lake Huron beach.  

WinShape Foundation blessed us with four days of R&R at their beautiful retreat center in Rome, Georgia. We hiked and biked and enjoyed fellowship with 12 other missionary couples from different mission organizations and countries. 

Our next stop was the great state of Texas! We were welcomed to Dallas by our friends and colleagues, Jim and Linda Dortch, who came to Vanuatu last year to teach English to our Bible college students. They opened their home to us and treated us like we were part of the family and  gave us a great tour!    This is what Texas is known for - longhorns and cattle drives.

We had never visited Pilot Point, where in 1908 people from across the USA joined together to celebrate the birth of a new denomination - theChurch of the Nazarene.

We were honored to be the missionary speakers at the North / East Texas District NMI Convention. 

The people of N/E Texas District made us feel so loved! We enjoyed getting re-acquainted with some old friends and meeting many new friends! It was our joy to spend a little time with General Superintendent, Rev. Carla Sunberg and her husband, Rev. Chuck Sunberg while Carla officiated at the District Assembly. They were first appointed as missionaries in 1992 to Russia when we were first sent out to PNG. 

It was a joy to share with the children who came to the District Assembly and NMI Convention. We always hope and pray that God will use us to inspire and call some to serve Him in missions.  You will notice in the picture that the murals on the walls in the children's department are upside down! That's because when Jesus comes into our lives he turns our world upside down!

We were able to visit several churches on the district during our two weeks. It was our special joy to attend the Lone Star Cowboy Church in Nevada, Texas! We were their first missionary speakers, and they really "showed us the ropes."   We liked the Cowboy Commandments, the saddle pulpit, and the horse trough baptismal!   

After we shared a meal together and introduced our work in Vanuatu, they let us ride on their horses in the corral behind the church! 

Later that week, they took us to a rodeo nearby where the pastor and several church members rode their horses in the parade.  

We moved to Dr. Scott and Gloria Nelson's home for the remainder of our stay in Texas. 

Gloria's parents were our partners in mission while we served in PNG and Vanuatu. George Miller and his new bride, Jeanne, drove down to spend the weekend with us. We cried together over George's loss of Nancy, but all who know George, know that he loves to laugh, and so does Jeanne! So blessed to be with these friends!  

Scott and Gloria have a lovely home with a fantastic view. It was a wonderful time of rest and renewal! 

Our next destination was San Diego, California, where we would finish up our speaking at two Nazarene Churches. We were meeting two of our college friends there and were staying at the Point Loma Nazarene University alumni house. It felt like we were coming home in so many ways! We stopped at the Prayer Chapel which has been remodeled since that day so many years ago when the Lord met David there and directed him as to which major to declare as a student. 




We have known Ken and Beth Freed since 1976 when we were very young and finding our way at that beautiful campus. 











It was a joy to visit some of our favorite places like the Hotel del Coronado and Cabrillo Point Lighthouse and cliffs.

On Sunday morning, we headed to Mission Church of the Nazarene, one of our "home" churches. Before it moved to Mission Valley, it was located at University Avenue. David knelt to pray at that altar as a 5 year old boy acknowledging God's first call for him to be a missionary. 

It was there that we met during our college years, became good friends, and got married to each other. Our two oldest sons were dedicated to the Lord at that church. And in 1992, we were sent out by that loving congregation to our first mission assignment in Papua New Guinea. It is hard to describe the joy we felt as we acknowledged the partnership we felt with the Mission congregation - their many years of investing in our lives, their prayers and offerings. Indeed, the Lord has dealt bountifully with us!


In the afternoon, we drove to downtown San Diego where we gathered with a new congregation, Living Water Church of the Nazarene. We arrived early to get acquainted with the pastor and his people. As people came through the doors, they came with shopping carts and other conveyances filled with all their earthly belongings. Most of the people who attend the church are homeless, but are finding the church a place where they can gather for fellowship as the Body of Christ. We shared communion together and a lovely Thai meal after the service. It was a place where we felt the presence of Jesus. 

Our last week in the USA was spent in Colorado with family. We had a few days with Sylvia's brother and then a few days with almost all of David's siblings. 

We enjoyed quite a few thunderstorms while in Colorado Springs. The clouds were very impressive!

We began our long ride back to Vanuatu refreshed and ready to re-connect with our friends there.

And, we're here, enjoying some incredible sunrises on our morning walks. We thank the Lord for his care and protection over us during our home assignment and trust him for this final term of service!

"Return, O my soul, to your rest;

for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you!"

Psalm 116:7