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.

This week, the post will be a little bit different.

We hope you all had a chance to read our update that we posted a few days ago, if you did NOT get that, that means you are NOT subscribed. If you would like to receive our updates, please go to our website and sign up so you can be more in tune with what God is doing in and through the Tiale ministry.

There are many times, where I (Seth) will be driving in the jungles of Vanautu, crossing rapids in rivers leaving only a few hours before hopping on a plane to head back to America. Several times, upon arrival, I have had to drive through a snow storm.

If one were to look at church history and statistics…

*persecution

*disease

*and now automobiles

..are the top 3 killers of missionaries. From reaching these remote locations to traveling through the night to make meetings at churches… missionaries sure rack up the miles (kilometers).

Overtime, I am sure that traveling will take first place… in saying that, make sure you pray for the missionaries you know… some travel for financial gain, some travel for pleasure, some travel for filial piety. There are those that travel to make His name known amongst the nations, and those to make Him renown in the States.

Thank you for following our journey!

https://youtu.be/VWJuy1r4zsM?feature=shared

Thank you so much for following our journey! We hope you are encouraged as you see God work through the Tiale people. 

If you are interested in one of the many projects for our personal needs, click the link below 

https://stokingthefires.com/stokes-needs-list-2026/

Stokes Current Needs List 2026

If you are interested in one of the many projects for the Tiale projects, click the link below 

https://stokingthefires.com/tiale-projects-2026/

Tiale Projects 2026

To give, click on the link below 

https://stokingthefires.com/join-our-team/

Join Our Team

Please contact us as we are looking to speak at new churches and have them partner with us. We have about 4-5 available Sundays between now and May. Thank you!!! Please help us fill up those opportunities in order to get closer to 100% and brag on what God is doing in and through the Tiale people. 

Please read our latest update! 👇

https://stokingthefires.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/newsletter-1-january-2026-1.pdf

Thank you for everything!

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

Continue reading below or click the link 👇

Thank you so much for following our journey! We hope you are encouraged as you see God work through the Tiale people.

If you are interested in one of the many projects for our personal needs, click the link below 👇

https://stokingthefires.com/stokes-needs-list-2026/

If you are interested in one of the many projects for the Tiale projects, click the link below 👇

https://stokingthefires.com/tiale-projects-2026/

To give, click on the link below 👇

https://stokingthefires.com/join-our-team/

Please contact us as we are looking to speak at new churches and have them partner with us. We have most of March and April available as of now. Thank you!!! Please help us fill up those opportunities in order to get closer to 100% and brag on what God is doing in and through the Tiale people.

Thank you for everything!

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

If you were to come to Tiale land and talk with our leaders, you would hear their desire to share the Gospel with those who have never heard the name of Jesus. Their hearts are burdened for people within the Tiale language group, other language groups on their island, and also for the whole country of Vanuatu. They have a passion and desire to share the full Gospel with everyone equally.

If you continued that conversation, shortly thereafter you would see that their hearts yearn for the next generation (the youth), to know their Creator God more personally than they do. They are not wanting them to believe the lies of Satan and fall victim to his tricks in their custom beliefs and animism.

If you looked at the projected Tiale ministry schedule we posted on the latest newsletter, you would see that it’s almost equally divided into 3 parts:

*New outreaches.

*Developing existing works.

*Youth activities.

https://stokingthefires.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/newsletter-1-january-2026-1.pdf

The youth are not something to be remembered after the fact, but they ought to be the focus for today.

“Youths need to be invited, included, involved, before they can be influenced and impacted”.

–Tane Seow How

“Our youth are desperately searching for purpose and meaning in their lives. They are searching for fulfillment… I believe that a return to Biblical conversion, faith, and conviction would have a great impact in our day.”

-Billy Graham

Our next newsletter drops on Sunday at 5pm, please look for it! If you do NOT get it in your email, please subscribe so you do not miss any updates! God bless!

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

http://www.stokingthefires.com

https://youtu.be/-T6AMi-E0VI?feature=shared

Tiale Youth Conference 2026 started and came to an end!

Even in the midst of heavy rains and flooding, and a cyclone nearly forming… some people chose to still come and swim across the rivers, just to come and be a part of the event!

The 4 teachers are excited to preach about:

^How to be holy and dedicated to God.

^How to find God’s will for your life.

^How to correct those who sin.

^To be pure until you are married.

^Do not get drunk.

And 6 other messages that spoke specifically to practical topics in the lives of the youth… it was just 3 days and 2 nights, but the leaders wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that God gave them.

The leaders know firsthand the traps that their culture, their own sin nature, and animism try to use to deceive them into not following God’s Word.

Pray that these 11 lessons and opportunities that God is giving to the leaders to share with the youth, impacts their lives and radically changes them to look more like God and less like the world.

For me (Seth), this event brings joy as I see not just first generation disciples serving God, but second and third

generations serving God… God is blessing the Tiale ministry.

As one teacher said, “We must reach the next generation BEFORE Satan does!”.

Thank you for your prayers!

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

https://youtu.be/RHMAvZpdfI0?feature=shared