In May, one of our Elders - Craig Lambert - responded to a call for help from a missionary family our church supports in Vanuatu. Their house was breaking down, becoming unsafe for the family; and there were problems with the local water supply; so the village needed a more secure and reliable way to receive the water from the only source, the local springs.
Craig wrote about his experience going over as part of a team, and the opportunities they had to bless the Pike family and the villagers, in more ways than they expected; his experiences really highlight many of the reasons missions are so important. Read more below.
A Short Report on the Vanuatu Project
by Craig Lambert
I am just writing a few words to report back and thank our church for their assistance and prayers during my recent trip to Vanuatu. The trip was to assist The Pike family and the local village in which they are living so as to translate the bible into the local native language.
Tanks for the village church's water supply have finally been installed! Praise God!
The Project involved the replacement of the whole floor of the Pike’s house; the installation of a solar panel, battery and lights in the Community Church and upgrading the water supply from a spring to the Pike’s house and to two new water points within the village. The local village is very remote, so a significant amount of work was undertaken. Where possible, the team worked alongside young men from the village who were always very keen to help and learn new skills.
Apart from myself, the team of nine were from Victoria Point Baptist Church. Each one covered their own costs and the money required to complete the project, I believe well in excess of $15,000, was otherwise raised from a number of churches, including Cornerstone.
The team worked together very well and achieved all that it set out to do, apart from a few minor matters that were completed by Adam and the villagers very soon after we returned home.
I first visited Vanuatu 8 years ago with my wife Alison, so for me personally, it was a joy to meet up again with Norman, the local Pastor; Chief Paul, and some of the locals who I'd met in the first visit. It was also great to hear Adam preach at church, without any need of a translator, and later to experience the warmth and generosity of the village at a feast that they prepared for us.
We also shared a time of devotion and prayer each morning and had many wonderful spiritual conversations during our days. I am also sure many of us had the chance to refocus or recalibrate our lives and were challenged to deepen our relationship with Our Lord.
I personally believe, that whilst a project like this may assist a local village and allow their local church to sense the love and support of their brothers and sisters in faraway churches, one cannot go home without being truly blessed and spiritually encouraged through the experience.
Thank you again for all those who assisted, and we should continue to uphold Adam and Hester in the translation work, that ultimately is most likely to yield the treasure in heaven that endures:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
(Matthew 6:19-21)
