Author Archives: Stokingthefires

Happy Resurrection Day from our family to yours!

If you are watching this video, that means you are receiving our updates, thank you!

We are excited to see what God will do this week, as the Tiale ministry team share the Gospel to a new language group.

God bless you all!

https://youtu.be/rUcXSbs3lSw?feature=shared

As a famous movie once said, “if you build it, they will come”.

From 2017 to 2024, we built building after building, and remodeled the 2 buildings that were already there. We furnished them all and as we learned what the Bible School needed, we would add things like more latrines, more water tanks, benches, a kitchen, and much more.

Now the facilities can handle comfortably; 2 waves of students on different tracks (2 classrooms), 7 married couples dorms, a boys dorm that fits 15 men, a guest house, and a kitchen that can seat 100 people. The main classroom allows 36 students to have adequate space to learn God’s Word. There are plenty of places for hanging clothes, cooking, a garden to supplement the students, not to mention that it’s one of the few villages in Vanautu not to struggle with a water shortage (because of the amount of water tanks).

If you have followed our journey, we made awareness of needs from time to time, but most of the funds came through “random” gifts and one time donations, some very much unplanned by the giver side, mostly just felt led by God to “give”.

This is just one of the testimonies of how God built a facility that literally trains indigenous pastors, is used by the Tiale Christians for a quiet place to learn, host youth events, medical teams, and is used as a place of refreshment for local believers. This place is always being used, and in the “off time”, children flood the area and play soccer or volleyball as it is one of the best kept areas in the country.The countless souls saved, the many lives changed to look more like Jesus, the multiple language groups already reached… and the school has only been truly established since 2022.

(Prov. 29:18) “Where there is no vision, the people perish”. We see a vision that God will use the Tiale people and the Big Bay Bible school to reach the nation of Vanuatu.

Please continue to pray as God uses these men and this facility for His work.

https://youtu.be/JB6DeCn4VKo?feature=shared

Here is our latest update 👇

https://stokingthefires.com/2026/03/08/newsletter-february-2026/

Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu. Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes.

Listen to the heart of a Tiale pastor, who is excited to “mark out” (ordain) another pastor.

Seeing others come to the Lord is exciting in Tiale land, but for those that finish the 7-year cycle of training to become pastors, who then go out and serve in “God’s garden”, moves grown men to tears here in Tiale land.

A one minute video cannot express the heart of this Tiale pastor and the years of work, the decades of prayer, and the excitement of having another coworker who also speaks Tiale. In various language groups, there are many who are in the roles of leadership. But often in Unreached People Group ministries, there are phases where one may literally be the “only one”… and when you see the next generation begin to mature, especially after years of hard work… your heart feels a sense of relief… now you are no longer “alone”.

Please continue to pray for the Tiale ministry, as God cultivates more leaders to serve in His “garden”.

https://youtu.be/tfHNALlosq4?feature=shared

We hope that the Tiale work encourages you!

Continue to pray for us as we have 6 openings (Sundays) available for Seth to share our ministry before heading back to Tiale land!

Here is our latest update 👇

https://stokingthefires.com/2026/03/08/newsletter-february-2026/

Your feet to the Tiale People and the country of Vanuatu, Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes.

The Tiale people live in the middle of the jungles of Vanuatu, centrally located on the island of Espiritu Santo.

With nearly 40+ villages speaking the Tiale language, most of these villages reside on mountain tops.

To get from one village to another, although it may only be a 30 minute hike, it is still up and down a mountain, and through a river (or several-hopefully not flooded).

Being from the USA, we know the levels of comfort granted to us, enjoying nice roads (even in Pgh), riding in temperature controlled vehicles, and yet the excuses to visit our families and neighbors seems to be an inexhaustible list.

The unreached will stay unreached, the nearly 80+ language groups in Vanuatu alone that have no Bible, will stay untouched, until we change our mindset and “go”.

Jesus wants us all to do our part, and it starts with prayer. Matthew 9:38 is the template, having visited many places asking for missionaries, I can attest that it is not from a lack of “want” or “need” from the peoples standpoint, but instead a lack of “sending” from the evangelized churches.

The next time you pray, forego prayer on; your abundant food, your travel amenities, and health care providers available in all directions, but instead have your prayer aligned more with the heart of Jesus, pray for the unreached, and pray for someone in YOUR community goes!

https://youtu.be/qs5wydPsT0E?feature=shared

Below 👇 is a link to our latest Newsletter with 3 crucial prayer requests.

https://stokingthefires.com/our-blogs/

Thank you for your investment in the Tiale ministry.

Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu. Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes

Jesus teaches on the topic of “fruit” several times throughout the course of His ministry.

Several interesting observations about fruit is that; it takes time, not all trees bear fruit, you have to care for the seedling much earlier on in the process rather than later, and lastly, the fruit is for ‘others’ to enjoy. The tree does not enjoy its own fruit.

This July marks 10 years that we have served the Tiale people! God is truly growing many strong trees that produce “much fruit”.

Last week the Tiale leaders were able to complete the second part of the marriage course teaching in another Tiale village.

This week, the Tiale leaders saw the opportunity to do ministry at a local school, now they are presenting course 1 to several students every day.

It is encouraging to see the Tiale leaders take ownership on both sharing the Gospel to people who have never heard a full Gospel and then following up to provide key teachings to develop mature believers.

Continue to pray for the Tiale leaders as they are seeing the need for both their people and their neighboring villages. Whether it is giving the full Gospel or a specific teaching to correct misunderstandings that those believers may have… God is using these men greatly.

{p.s. Yes, those are photos of some of the trees we planted (avocado & orange) from seedlings… this is one of the many proofs of our tenure in Vanuatu}

https://youtu.be/EM6amfbxZew?feature=shared

Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu. Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes

Be on the lookout for our latest update this Sunday at 5pm! We will be sharing 3 specific prayer requests about our time in the states! Thank you and God bless.

For this weeks update, like last week, we wanted to share a testimony that we sometimes present at churches of one of the men that Seth has been discipling for over 7 years.

This brief story is an example and testament of the radical and transformative power of the Gospel. We all too often relegate the miraculous power of the Gospel into some type of ticket to go to a magical place (Heaven), but God’s salvation is much more than that insufficient teaching.

It is our privilege to teach and witness these transformations in Tiale land.

Continue to pray for the various ministries in Tiale land. In addition, over the next couple of weeks the leaders will conduct another course teaching in the local town.

Please continue to pray for safety as Seth drives place to place on the weekends, and that God provides us the right partners (your part).

Thank you as always. God bless!

Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu. Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes

https://youtu.be/ZDIptYOFK1k?feature=shared

Tiale ministry update!

This week we wanted to give an overview of the ministry. Seth does this type of snippet at churches, but we thought we would post one here as well to give you all a feel for what God has been doing these past 1-2 years.

Pray for the Tiale people. This week they will finish the second part of the marriage seminar in a neighboring village.

Also pray for us, as we make new connections and Seth drives almost every weekend, as he is away speaking at new churches. Pray we fill up the remaining schedule before heading back.

If you know of any new churches for us to potentially share at or partner with… please let us know!

God bless.

Your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu. Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes

https://youtu.be/QHqsRnqNSDg?feature=shared

Today we get to boast on what God is doing in a through the Tiale people… having already reached into many of our villages, several of our sister language groups, and even other language groups on separate islands. Truly a miracle of God.

But how did it start? When? As with all things, God does not work through mysticism or unconventional methods, but works within the confines of mankind.

A young man… a boy at the time, left his village and went to school, in a completely different part of the country. He happened to stumble upon someone sharing the Gospel in the national language… and through this, God sparked a fire that would grow to what it is today.

Fast forward 10-15 years, this boy is now a man, and he sees the need for his people to hear God’s message. Instead of passing the work onto someone else, he takes ownership, and seeks out training… but the availability at that time, was minimal to say at best.

He then saw the need to have outsiders come; translate the Bible in their language, disciple them, and give them curriculum…

And now, after almost 10 years of us serving the Tiale people, this boy, who is now an aged man… who caught a glimpse of what “could be”, is seeing his dream fulfilled nearly 40 years later.

God works through people, people who are faithful to His Word… things might not come in a day, week, or even a decade…

The question is, what is your desire? Is it godly like this man’s? He wanted to see all of his people… his island… all of Vanuatu reached with the Gospel… he then made practical steps to do so… you can have a desire… but is it godly? And are you willing to endure for decades to see it come to fruition?

https://youtu.be/qWsKpr1XnDc?feature=shared

Thank you for praying for us!

As of now, we have about 4 more openings from now till May to share our ministry with new churches.

Depending on the timing of the rainy season, the process of getting visas, and strategic planning for the Tiale ministry, our exact return date is “fluid”. Depending on the pace of new connections and the timing God allows, our plan is to head back as early as May, or at the latest, July. If July, that gives us a window of 8 more opportunities to connect with new partners. Please pray for us as our goal is to share the NEED of Unreached people group ministries, while also bragging on what God is doing in and through the Tiale ministry.

Please pray we get closer to that 100% support, as we have the opportunity to share at new churches and connect with more individuals.

As always, your feet to the Tiale people and the country of Vanuatu. Seth, Nicole & Selah Stokes.