A Report of the 2004 Vanuatu Mission Trip
By Wayne Burger

The Purpose of the Campaign
The purpose for the trip to Vanuatu was twofold: (1) Teach the books of Philemon, James, and Jude in the Pacific Islands Bible College on the island of Efate to sinners and Christians, (2) Evangelize and edify on the island of Espiritu Santo.

Pacific Islands Bible College :
Pacific Islands Bible College is a work of the Forest Park church in Atlanta, Georgia and is directed by Robert Martin who has done mission work in the South Pacific for over thirty years. It has been established to make contacts with those who are lost and to edify Christians. The classes are free and open to anyone who wants to attend. They are conducted in cities or villages where there is a congregation of the Lord’s people meeting. Usually there are two teachers who work together and teach two different subjects. Each subject is normally taught an hour a day for fourteen days. The students take a test in each subject the last day of class. Records of those enrolled and their test scores are kept by the Forest Park church. After a student completes the proper number of classes he/she receives a diploma or certificate or degree of some kind. The Forest Park church conducts these classes all over the South Pacific and has over a thousand students enrolled. Teachers, either the same or different ones, go back to these same villages and cities several times until all the courses that are needed to complete the school are covered.

Last year when the mission survey team was in Port Vila, Robert Martin and Scott Richards were teaching, “The Synoptic Gospels,” and “Public Speaking.” Robert asked me to be one of the teachers this year. This was the first class that I have taught for Pacific Islands Bible College.

Santo Plans:
There were three Christians living in Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu, but they were not meeting as the church. Our purpose for working in Luganville was to encourage them to begin meeting regularly and to evangelize so as to convert others. There were also a few Christians living about forty-five minutes out of Luganville in an area called Shark Bay. They may have been meeting some, but have not really begun functioning as a congregation of the Lord’s people. Again, our purpose was to encourage them to begin assembling regularly and to evangelize in the area in order to convert others.

To accomplish these goals it was decided that Mike Olson and Blu Kropp would live with the Christian family (the Siris) at Shark Bay and work in that area while the rest of us would work in the city. I had made arrangements to rent a building in Luganville in which we could have evening meetings. These meetings were to be Bible studies in which various important subjects were taught, and then spend as much time as those who attended wanted, answering Bible questions. I have used this same building and method before and God has always blessed us with people interested in studying the Bible. Many of these people do not have jobs as we think of jobs in the United States and so we also planned to spend time during the day studying with prospects in one-on-one situations. Exact plans as to how the two men would evangelize in the bush were not made. We had just hoped that they would be able to edify this Christian couple through regular teaching sessions and then talk to people who lived in the villages around them.

The Summary of the Campaign

Pacific Islands Bible College
Scott Richards and I arrived in Port Vila on Sunday morning, July 4 th about 8:30. We checked into our hotel and immediately caught a taxi for the forty-five minute ride to the village of Eton to worship with the church in that village. The classes began Monday, July 5 th and were taught Monday through Friday each week for two weeks and then Monday through Wednesday of the next week. Scott taught “The Mission of the Church” and I taught the biblical books of Philemon, James, and Jude. We had planned, as they had last year, to teach a class in the afternoon in Eton and then in the city of Port Vila at night. But, there were not enough students in Port Vila so we made arrangements to pick up those students, take them to Eton, and teach in only one location each day. Because I was leaving before the scheduled end of the class to evangelize on Santo, we worked our teaching schedule so that I finished on Friday the 16th of July.

There were about 15 people who took the classes for credit. Three of which were not Christians. Several others attended the class sessions, but did not take it for credit. The class seems to have gone well based upon the comments and the good grades the students made on the test.

Espiritu Santo
Thursday, July 15 th the seven campaigners who were going with me to evangelize Santo arrived about noon and we left Saturday, July 17 th at 7:00 a.m. for the hour’s flight to Santo. To our surprise, instead of the normal twelve-seater plane used in the past, there was a nice 46-passenger plane. We found that activity in Santo has increased to the point that they fly this plane eleven times a week in addition to flying the twelve-seater and a twenty-seater plane several times a week. They are also making the airport on Santo into an international airport within the next year or two. They will then have direct flights from Fiji and Australia.

We arrived with all our luggage and teaching materials, managed to hire two pickups, one for our luggage and one for us, to take us to our motel. We then went to eat breakfast and get the day started. We knew that we had to get several things accomplished before noon because the town basically closes-up at noon. Mike and Blu bought food to take to the Siri’s because they were going to be living and working there. Our ladies went to buy groceries since the motel where we stayed had cooking facilities and we prepared most of our meals there. (Joyce DeVaney, an older lady, had come to be our cook.) My job was to try to get the key to the Police Training Center where we were supposed to meet beginning the next morning. Although I had gotten assurance by phone on Thursday that the key would be waiting for me at the Police station, it wasn’t and no one seemed to know anything about it. But, that is not a surprise. In the afternoon we all went to the Siri’s who live about 45 minutes out in the country (the “bush” as they call it). They did not know that we were coming, even though I had written them a letter. We visited a while and then left Mike Olson and Blue Kropp to stay with them. We discovered that there were several people living at the Siri’s. This was good because it gave a ready audience for Mike and Blu to teach. We went back into town and made preparation for our worship the next day and our work for the next three weeks.

In the Bush
Because the Siris now have several people living with them and working on the farm, Mike and Blue had a ready-made audience. Joel and Robina Siri were Christians. Mike and Blu told Joel that they would like to teach those who lived there as well as evangelize in the surrounding area. Joel just announced to all that lived there that they would have a Bible class each morning after breakfast before they began their day’s work and that they would come in from work early and have another Bible class at 3:00 each afternoon. Therefore twice a day for fourteen days Mike and Blue had opportunity to teach. At times there were as many as ten adults in a study. This was better than they had hoped. After a few days when we went out to check on them Mike said, “Man, this is great. I get to do what I’ve been wanting to do – preach in the bush while wearing shorts, and I even get to wear my ‘Bronco’ “T”shirt at the same time.”

Through God’s providential care, Mike and Blu arrived at just the right time. The Christians there had been struggling with meeting. Also, an older couple, who were living with the Siris, had already been taught a great deal and this teaching finished leading them to obey the gospel. They don’t speak much English so after Mike or Blu taught, Joel would then give a summary of the past few minutes’ lesson in the island language. Several days after they were baptized, they were expressing to Joel how much they wanted him to express to Mike how grateful they were that Mike and Blu had come. These were the only two who were baptized, but others were close. They may yet obey the gospel as Joel continues teaching.

We encouraged Joel to build a church building somewhere on his property and encourage his neighbors to attend. It was “cute” one day when I was there and Robina, Joel’s wife, and I were alone she said, “You tell Joel very strongly to build us a church building.” I believe that he will in the next few weeks. The time spent by Mike and Blu really helped solidify them in the truth and to fully make the break with the Presbyterian Church.

In Luganville
Morris Felix who was baptized at Eton in June 1981 has a daughter who lives in Luganville. I was glad when Morris asked if he could come with us to Luganville to work with us. I bought his ticket and paid for many of his meals while we were in Luganville, but he was a great asset. Since he is Ni-Vanuatu (the term used for the locals), he understands their customs and of course, speaks their language. He really helped us as we evangelized.

Since I didn’t get the key on Saturday, the first Sunday the campaigners and the Christians who live in Luganville met in the gazebo at the motel for worship. Everyone worked hard on Monday and got a lot accomplished. I got the key to the building where we were going to meet (The Police Training Center). We got permission and got the city to hang our “The Word of Life Campaign” banner across the street. We purchased booth space for their Independence celebration, and others handed out over 700 printed invitations to the evening meetings and set up a study that led to Eric going the next Sunday to preach in a village.

This society is so “laid back” that most do not operate on a schedule, but only by what happens at the moment. Most of the people who attended the evening Bible study came because we talked to them on the street as we walked to the building. The first night there was only one man who attended, but he never missed another meeting plus he spent many hours with Eric Brandell in one-on-one studies and was baptized a few days later.

Each night we had anywhere from one to ten people present to study. We got names and addresses, as much as possible from people who are not use to thinking in terms of an address. Several of the men returned several times. One other young man was baptized. Several others were very close to being baptized when we left. We believe that we left the mission team a good list of prospects for when they arrive next January.

Several of the good prospects had conflicts in terms of having to work or go to other parts of the island, but overall, we believe that it was a good effort and that much good will yet come from it. The mission team will try to return to Santo as soon as possible after they move to Port Vila.

In addition to the work that we did each evening, three days one week the team conducted a “Vacation Bible School.” Morris’ daughter who lives here was actively involved in this. They had good attendance each day with thirty-two children being present the last day. We believe that these will also lead to contacts.

We also believe because of our efforts and the conversion of these two men, that the Christians who live there, will continue to meet each Sunday. The two Christians who live in town had just become discouraged and were also dealing with some personal problems that kept them from functioning as a congregation. We met with the new converts and studied the way they were to worship and how to lead it. We left them with many tracts and Bible Correspondence Courses that they can use.

Before we left we rented a Post Office Box for the church. I would encourage you to write them and encourage them. The address is: P. O. Box 509, Luganville, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. Please address your letter to “The U.S. church of Christ.” There is another “Church of Christ” which is out of Australia which also has a post office box. It would be easy for the mail to go to the wrong box.

Basic lessons were taught, both publicly, and in the evening Bible studies. Some of these lessons were: “God Has Communicated with Us,” “The New Testament Is Our Authority,” “Sin,” “The Gospel,” “Identifying Marks of the True Church,” “God,” “How Does the Spirit Convict,” “Measures of the Holy Spirit’s Power,” “Conversions in the Book of Acts,” and “Blessings Found in Christ.”

Conclusion 

I believe that both aspects of this mission trip were accomplished. I enjoyed teaching in the Pacific Islands Bible College and believe that several Christians were strengthened in their knowledge of the Bible.

Although we would have loved baptizing more than four people, we do believe that the time spend on the island of Espiritu Santo, was well spent. We encouraged the Christians who are there to put their problems aside and worship each Sunday. With the new Christians there to help them, we believe that they will begin functioning as a congregation of the Lord’s people. It appears that our arrival and work occurred at the right time. It renewed the excitement of the Christians and gave them greater resolve to continue meeting.

With regard to the work that was done in the town of Luganville, there are some things that we would do differently if we had it to do over, but that is true with almost any work that is done. Being there during the time of their Independence may have hurt the attendance at our evening Bible studies, because there were activities in the park for everyone each night But, we did make several very good contacts and some people are very close to obeying the gospel. We believe that when the Vanuatu Mission Team arrives there in six months, they will have good prospects to contact.

Both Eric Brandell and Mike Olson said that they are so glad that they came the second time before moving to Vanuatu. They are more convinced that they have made the right decision to move to that country to work. They saw the potential and became very attached to the people. This trip gave them greater insights into what needs to be done to evangelize. Also, while they were there, they were able to begin putting into motion the things that have to happen for them to move there. They got paperwork from the immigration office finalized and they were able to check on several other needs.