Happy Resurrection Sunday to all of our friends and family around the world! Today we celebrate because the tomb was empty and we have been made alive with Christ through his death and resurrection. Praise God for his immeasurable sacrifice! He has risen!
Nearly 9 years ago, our home church commissioned us to go make disciples of another ethnicity/language group. The journey had us take several detours through 3 different countries… finally finding the Tiale people, in 2016.
After 2 medical evacuations, and a pandemic… the Tiale people proudly produced their first Tiale born leader. We officially ordained him as of this Resurrection Sunday, and now he is excited for this next step in the journey… no more a “disciple”, but now a disciple-maker who was given more work to do in the ministry of Christ.
Seth & the Bible School Teachers
As Seth said to the congregation gathered, “we (us leaders) are not doing anything in this process of ordaining Franckie, we are just witnesses and a testimony to what GOD DID in and through him, we just get the privilege to present him to you (the congregation)”.
He is just the first of many to come… two of the Bible school students in the audience watched in anticipation, knowing that in just a few short years, the weight of the ministry will fall onto their shoulders as well.
We will post more photos and videos showing the event once Seth is back in the states.
We thank you all for following us on our journey. We serve a risen Saviour, praise the Lord!
It is our privilege to be your feet to the Tiale people in the country of Vanuatu,
We would appreciate you all praying with us as Seth is currently ordaining Franckie, the first Tiale-born leader of our people; a young man brought to the Lord by the Tiale people, discipled by the Tiale people, and now being ordained by the Tiale people. (See our recent post to learn more about Franckie’s testimony: https://stokingthefires.com/2024/03/28/untimely-born-and-yet-born-on-time/). Stay tuned for an upcoming video post from Franckie himself. We are so excited that God would allow this in our ministry!
Studying for the Ordination Exam & Service
We would also ask selfishly, that you pray with us that the Lord would allow Seth to come back safely and without any issues or hang-ups, on April 5 and to allow our daughter not to come before then.
Thank you for praying with us during this special occasion in our ministry and the very important celebration of our Faith in our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God, He is alive and we too are alive with Him.
Your feet to the Tiale people & the Country of Vanuatu,
As many of you know, I (Seth) am currently in Vanuatu ordaining our first Tiale born leader. One of the things that you may not know is his testimony. I will try to summarize it as briefly as I can in order that you may get to know him a little better.
See video below for more…
Imagine if you would, that when you were born your mother dies in labor. Continue with this thought of living in a context of a people group that is ravaged by Satan and animistic beliefs, and with a father, unwilling to look after his child. When this man was born, he fell partially into a local river, with part of his body being submerged into the cold river. By the grace of God, his aunt was nearby, and saw that the mother had died in childbirth, and the father had run away. This aunt having compassion quickly snatched up the child and did the best they could to feed him, even though she was not producing milk at that time.
As time went by his aunt and uncle adopted him, but unlike the culture of western society, even when one is adopted, they never treated him fully as a natural born child. Typically these adopted children become relegated to a form of a servant-like house member, yes, they are given food, and looked after to some extent, but they are never fully engaged as a biological child because of all of the ramifications that would entail as it is tied to ground and inheritances, etc.
As this young man grew up, he began to integrate himself with the local cult leaders, both in the animistic society, and with the prevailing Catholic belief system. He is one of the few Tiale people to have seen ritual sacrifices performed by the witch doctor, as this is something typically done behind closed doors and reserved for those who are already in that practice. This young man was adept at learning deception, both by the occult, and by the local Catholic priests, so much so that they were encouraged and wanting him to become a catechist, and eventually the next leader of their village congregation.
One day, a distant family member came and encouraged him to listen to a local pastor, and when he heard John 14:6 for the first time in his life, he knew immediately that his whole life had just changed, and he had gotten saved. At the behest of another family member, he began to pursue coming to Bible school. At this time he did not know the path that God would be leading him down.
As he grew in his walk with the Lord, and as I began to disciple him, he took his walk with God, more seriously, and he slowly felt God leading him into full-time ministry. He has now started a church that opposes both the strongest witch doctor on the whole island, as well as the largest (building in the bush) occult in the whole country.
Over these past seven years, he has been stricken with many illnesses due to his health, but each time he realized it was an opportunity to praise God, as God was slowly healed him of each and everyone of those sicknesses. He began to see his marriage with his wife grow moreclosely, he began to see his kids listen to him more, and throughout this time, all of them would come to a saving faith in God and then he and his wife had the privilege of baptizing them.
It is not a understatement to say that where he ministers is easily the most spiritually dark place amongst all of the Tiale people, with constant oppression and persecution of his faith, to the extent that even his own family members do not help him in the garden because he decided to oppose both the witch doctor and the occult. There is a lot of culture to unravel, but praise God he has remained faithful throughout all of these trials.
He is thankful for the opportunity to serve God, and about 3 years ago he saw God stirring his heart to become a full-time teacher at the Bible school. He has seen many come to the Lord over the years of his ministry already. Last week he had the opportunity to lead the witch doctor’s son to saving faith, and now that very son of the witch doctor opposes his own father.
The gospel is overwhelming and can change the lives of anyone, even if they were thrown away into a nearby river, it doesn’t matter how, or where we are born, if we follow God‘s plan for our lives, He will be faithful to perform his part of the promises.
What does the journey back to our home in the village entail during the rainy season when the rivers are flooded? It took Seth 24 hours on a plane (2.5 days travel), a 3 hour drive from the town to the first river then a 5 hour hike, crossing (swimming/wading) two rivers.
When Seth finally made it home, it was well after dark! But praise God, all parts of the house are working: the solar, the water, and our internet (which is a huge blessing to be able to communicate)!
The group had to do all of this with a bunch of supplies for the ordination ceremony next weekend. They are expecting hundreds of people to come to the 3 day event.
Thank you for praying for Seth and his journey home! Please keep praying for him this week as he is in Tiale-land preparing for the ordination ceremony and also working with the teachers to get ready for Bible school. We greatly appreciate your prayers!
Your feet to the Tiale people & the country of Vanuatu,
As I type this, Seth is in Vanuatu and about to embark on a journey back to our home in Tiale-land. It has been raining a good bit which means the rivers have been flooded. Seth will be hitching a ride with a local transport driver and once they arrive at the river, if they find it is too high to cross with the truck, the passengers will then have to walk/hike the rest of the way. Please keep Seth in prayer especially this next week as he will be very busy in the village with a lot of preparations for the upcoming ordination service and getting things ready for Bible school beginning in May.
Thank you for continuing to follow our journey! We greatly covet and appreciate you prayers for us and the ministry that God has given to us. Below is our most recent newsletter with more information about the ordination service and other great things that are happening.
Your feet to the Tiale people & the Country of Vanuatu,
What is it like for kids to grow up in the village? Do they go to school? This video gives you a small glimpse into part of their day. Enjoy the video!
“Nearly every week we try to “get ahold of” our Tiale family through various means. Over the past month or so we have received many reports of their faithfulness to God. Our men are being faithful to their congregations and the women have been continuing to lead the Bible studies we left for them”… to continue reading click on the link below.
We wanted to share a little bit more about our special evenings with the couples and give you a glimpse into their perspective of the teachings. Here are some quotes from several of the Tiale pastors and also a local believer:
“My marriage is sweeter than honey now.” -Tiale pastor
“I am now close to my best friend.” -Tiale pastor
“I wanted to do right by my family, but I didn’t know how.” -Tiale pastor
“Before I thought, I understood what marriage was about, but after the classes I found out that I knew nothing.” -Tiale believer
Thank you for continuing to follow our ministry and the work that the Lord has given us. You are a blessing!
The groupSeth teachingTiale pastor teachingTiale pastors wife sharing
~Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu,
In Vanuatu, there is one day a year set aside to celebrate every child’s birthday, rather than individual birth-days. The whole community joins together to celebrate! We hope you like this video.
Stoking The Fires 