Monthly Archives: April 2017

We are getting closer and closer to the actual time to build our house, many of you have expressed interest in coming over to help us build. We are asking all individuals to talk it over with their families, along with their churches and share with their congregation. We are looking for people who are ready and willing to work, and because of its remoteness, it will be first come first serve. So all you construction, electrical, and plumbing guys, we are asking you to consider coming over and help us build our house in the tribe.

How we see things going…

We are looking for 7-10 men and 1 woman for 3 weeks. Now whether it is a new crew every week, or if some stay the whole time that is entirely up to each individual’s schedule. We think it will take about 3 weeks from start to finish; we are a drive-in location and we will do our best to prep everything before the actual build time. We think 7-10 men will be perfect, not too many and not too little, and one woman to help Nicole cook and help with some logistics. We are expecting people to understand that when they come this is several steps down from camping… no running water, no electricity, etc. for those interested, we will have some things for you to be aware of so you can be prepared. We can talk about that later. Our targeted time is; September 5-26^th. This will be after a busy time for us, hosting other teams and conferences, this gives time for the container to get to Vanuatu, and it is still during the “dry season” so the rivers are not flooded.

Week one-three: Like we said, if just one crew comes or it is 3 crews that come staggered on top of each other that will be great. But this is what we are looking for: Week one, we have at least 1-2 guys gifted in concrete, and then 1-2 guys gifted in framing. Week two, we are looking for 1-2 guys gifted in both electrical (this is going to be in solar-power, so we ask you spruce up on this topic, we have a manual you can read ahead of time) and then another 1-2 guys gifted in plumbing; just basic PVC connections. And then week three, at least 1-2 guys gifted in finishing work, making shelves, doorframes etc.… We broke it down as such, because if YOU are gifted in say “cabinetry”, and you can only take one week off, it would not be the best use of your skills to come the first week, but actually for you to come the last week. We hope that makes sense and is clear. We are also looking for 1-2 men who might not be good at building but are basic laborers; there will be labor jobs each week with digging and helping alleviate labor for the skilled workers. For the woman slot, we ask that it be either a wife of one of the men, or someone who understands that this is not a “relaxing trip”, this is jungle living and is expected to help, some women might be great cooks, but not so great at roughing it.

We have the plans of our house all drawn up, each board and each piece laid out, so for you builders we can send that to you ahead of time so you can be prepared. We are open to suggestions and will trust you and your better judgment in the build process. Please contact us if you are interested in coming, we are not expecting you to sign “in blood”, but we would appreciate your commitment to this ministry. Logistics-wise, we can steer you in the right direction in how to get here. You can expect to pay around $2,000 round trip to Vanuatu from (Pittsburgh). And then expect maybe $500 in country for expenses… and other expenses like souvenirs and buying us gifts are up to you J . Wherever you come from, aim your ticket to be in Brisbane (Australia) airport sometime Monday night or early-early Tuesday morning (our time). There is a direct flight from Brisbane to our Island on Tuesdays, making the trip easier and a little bit more cost friendly. If you need help with other logistical things please do not hesitate to ask!

Thank you for considering us and we are excited to see you over in Vanuatu! We are humbled to call ourselves YOUR feet to the unreached, Seth and Nicole Stokes.

Exterior House Plan

Here is the link to view our video on packing the container: https://youtu.be/lIGzs6j-qeA

Hello everyone! Just wanted to share this brief video with you all from last Friday when we packed and sent off our container. Thank you to the Buckmans for allowing us to use their warehouse for storage and packing over the past few months and for the many workers lending us their manpower on load day. We don’t know how all of this would have been possible without them! Thank you everyone who made packing and sending a container possible and for contributing to our registries, needs lists, and donation lists! We could not do any of this without YOU all. We cannot say thank you enough. We are humbled and honoured to be an extension of so many wonderful people! As Seth said while preaching last night at our home church…

We are your feet and YOU are our knees…

Seth & Nicole Stokes

Well, it is about that time! Trip two of two comes in just a couple of days… as of right now we are scheduled to pack the container on Friday at 10:00am, as long as there are no hiccups. This is a shipping company and it is going around the world so things do come up… even though the title of this blog is called “trip 2 of 2”, number 3 is our number today. 3 days from today we pack the container in Philadelphia, and in 3 weeks from today we arrive in Vanuatu! Our time is dwindling away, piece by piece things are coming together; insurances, taxes, communication, packing and much more is coming to an end. And then, back to our dream job 🙂 .

On the Road Again…

We had a blessed Resurrection weekend worshiping our Risen Lord at our home church; from Good Friday service to Sunrise service to a packed out main service it was a time to rejoice in our Risen Saviour corporately. Christians ought not to be sorrowful people, but joyful people knowing our Lord is alive! For us it was very special. Before this furlough, we had not been in American church services for over two years, and we are not sure when our next time will be, so we have been soaking in the teaching, singing, and all the details people put into each service.

Resurrection Sunday Family Photo!

We have two more Sundays in America, Seth preaches this Sunday night at our home church, and then the following week, we have an ice-cream social after the night service on the 30^th. That will be our last chance to say good-bye to everyone and we hope you all (or at least many of you-we understand we have friends in many states 🙂 ) can make it to both events! We are super excited for the opportunity to share with our home church and then say good-bye to everyone. The time has gone by really fast, and we are sorry for those of you who we were not able to see during this trip, we will make it a point to see you all next time! Do know we love and appreciate you all, we are so thankful for your partnership in our ministry.

We also want to say thank you to everyone who donated things to our ministry, and for those of you who purchased things on our registries, we do not take your gifts and sacrifices for granted, we truly appreciate your love that you lavished upon us! Thank you for being a part to complete all of our registries and help us furnish our tribal house in Vanuatu! We have been soooo blessed by you all!

Your feet to the unreached, Seth and Nicole Stokes.

Happy Good Friday and Happy Resurrection weekend to you all! What a blessing it is to know our Saviour LIVES!

Welcome to PA!

We are coming on to the “home-stretch”! See the welcome to Pennsylvania sign? It is the last time we leave PA until we head to Vanuatu! This was the last week for us to speak at other churches (outside of our home church), to purchase items for our house, and then, Lord willing pack the container next week! We have been overwhelmed with blessings all along the way! Our overwhelmingly large needs-list, along with our registries and donation lists, are being taken care-of one piece at a time. Our needs list is over halfway complete; this past weekend another 10% was raised towards that. As you see below, all of our registries and donation list were (at the beginning) well into the many 100’s of items, and are now in a very manageable quantity to fulfill.

Presenting To Kids Sunday School Classes

Our Display Table

If you have been following us on our journey, all of this is crazy! We have less than a handful of needs left on our needs list, and we see God providing every single thing we need and then some! God slowly and surely is taking one thing off of our list at a time, all we can say is “wow”, we feel so humbled and unworthy of the love everyone is showering upon us, we are at a lack for words.

Our Dear Friend/Pastor at Rosedale

We are continually being blessed and encouraged. While presenting at a supporting church last week, Seth was preaching about encouragement and how it takes intentionality but doesn’t always need to be something big. He used in an illustration and said it could be something like baking a cake for someone. Seth mentioned how he loves cake, and then one family took it upon themselves to bake a rich and chocolaty cake with chocolate frosting, actually two cakes, and they delivered it before we left at 7am the next day! Just an amazing story of the body of Christ and how they/you continually bless us along the way as we head back to Vanuatu.

The Chocolate Cake!

If you look at these lists below, you will see that:

1. There are 20 items left on our donation list:

2. There are 0 items left on our Amazon list:

3. There are 15 items left on our Walmart list:

4. There are 39 items left on our Bed Bath and Beyond list:

Please make sure all items are delivered by Monday, April 17^th.

Thank you for your constant prayers, love, and support, we are humbled by everyone doting on us, we are excited to get back to work in less than a month!

Your feet to the unreached, Seth and Nicole Stokes

This week has been in fast-forward! We drove around all day Monday picking up our possessions from various locations with a rental truck. Then on Tuesday we drove to Philadelphia to work on packing everything for the container all day Tuesday and Wednesday. We knocked out the bulk of the work with re-packing everything, making the shipping manifest, and organizing everything for the container. This will enable us to do a quick transition when its time to pack the container. We were told we would be given a two day notice OR a two week notice when its time to pack the container… so, we have to be ready for the call. We arrived back home in Pittsburgh after 3:30am Thursday in order to see Seth’s grandparents and parents for a meal.

Packing & Friends Being a Blessing

As we write this we are packing (again) to go to a missions emphasis weekend at a supporting church, and then to speak at another supporting church Sunday night. Nicole shares at a ladies Tea, and Seth speaks at a men’s prayer breakfast. Finding time to prepare for messages can be a challenge but God is gracious and supplies just what we need at the right time.

We want to say thank-you to everyone who gave towards our registries! You guys wowed us! We don’t want to list everyone in case we miss someone, but know we appreciate the love you lavished upon us, we feel like spoiled kids. Thank you so much for, as our pastor says, “putting wind in our sails”.

Speaking of registries and time winding down, we have one-week left on our registries… we need to receive everything before the 18^th of April. We do not want to play it too close to the wire, and don’t want anyone to buy something and we are not able to bring it. SO if you are interested in being a part of this, see below. Thank you for blessing us!

Ship to:

3750 Rural Court East

Pittsburgh, PA 15221

Registries:

Our Amazon list: It is labeled “Stokes wish list for house”.

Click Here: Amazon Registry

Our Bed Bath and Beyond list: it is under Seth Stokes-“Housewarming”

Click Here: Bed Bath and Beyond Registry

Our Walmart list: is under “wedding registry”, it was either that or a baby registry… and we did not want to confuse people 🙂

Click Here: Walmart Registry

Donation List:Donate List-Reach Vanuatu

Drop Off at Harvest Baptist Church

224 Harvest Lane

Natrona Heights, PA 15605

Please pray for us! We are heading to New York shortly and it is starting to snow. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging us! We are humbled to be called your feet to the unreached, Seth and Nicole Stokes.

Hello Everyone,

Wow! One month to go?! Where has the time gone? Click on the link below to read our latest newsletter. 

Newsletter February-March

Your Feet To The Unreached,

Seth & Nicole Stokes