Seth is back with the four pastors in training; it was a profitable trip in more than one way, please go to our social media (Facebook and Instagram: @stokingthefires) to see all the pictures.
Heading out
The river
River crossings
The river went over his head!
Seth and the men left midway through a monsoon, the river that was just knee-high 3-4 weeks ago swelled up to head-level as they hiked to the village of Vunakariakara. They crossed that river 26 times and got fatigued because heading to the village you go against the current. There was suppose to be men from that village who would accompany them and would help carry the 40lbs of nails and 70lbs of iron strapping, but they were too afraid of the river and never came, which forced Seth and the men to carry those supplies along with their typical: food, clothes, and tools to help build (Seth’s group brought 2 of 5 hammers in the village, for example).
After fighting the river and getting to the village (Wednesday), they got to work the next day (Thursday). The six men with about 10-12 villagers came together and began to haul the wood which was about two football field lengths away. All of the timber had been cut with a chainsaw by eye and no saw mill, which made cuts vary in thickness from 1-6 inch… yes, not an exaggeration. When the men started nothing was ready, it was marked out in a general area, but several posts got moved and nothing was secured. Seth has never built a truss for an A-frame house by himself before; luckily YouTube is a great teacher and Seth downloaded a few videos before he left. But by God’s grace, lunchtime (on Thursday) came around all trusses were made and the posts were in their general position. By the end of day one: posts were in, trusses were up, and cross braces were installed. All the people in the village were so surprised because they thought it was going to take two weeks… not two days. Day two (Friday), they installed and leveled all of the purlins making them ready for the corrugated steel roofing, and then installed the roofing and caps, by 3:30pm Friday, the roof was on and the men were playing soccer in the village. The weather went back and forth from rainy to sunny everyday, which made for a constant humid mess, but the Lord was gracious and kept everyone encouraged, even a local witchdoctor was surprised to see unity in the men as they served the local pastor, not asking for any compensation but doing the job with a joyful heart themselves. The difference between those who are consumed by fear and those possessing joy is easy to see. The next day (Saturday) Seth and the men went to work and prepared the church for the flat metal sheeting siding, they measured it out and made it ready for them for whenever they can purchase the $700 worth of materials.
Carrying the timbers…
Carrying the timbers…
The trusses in process
Hard at work!
Getting close…
Everyday (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) in the evening, one of the four pastors in training led worship and then taught a message to 40+ people under the new church building. The pastor was so encouraged and challenged, seeing these men, three of which were half his age, handle God’s Word so well, he got up and told his people he is going to Bible School next year to get more training and to be discipled by Seth. He was convicted and saw his inadequacy and knew he needed more for his people. Next year, two of the current pastors in training (Isaiah and Patterson) will take over for this pastor for 6 months while he gets grown up in the faith.
So stoked!
Team work…
Its coming together…
The “thin” guys working on the roof
Playing soccer
Seth taught on what is the church, and what is its purpose, a simple message but one that was needed for the people. They all thought (including the pastor) the church was a physical building, and that it was a place they needed or else God was not be happy with them… some thought they needed the physical building or else they were not going to be saved?! You can now see the plea of their hearts as to why they wanted the building constructed so quickly, as they saw the previous church falling apart and almost unusable, they saw it as a picture of them losing their good standing with God. Seth explained that if a cyclone comes and removes this building, the church is still in the village, with them the believers in Christ, he used 7 of the analogies found in scripture to explain that the church is not a building but those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. As Seth was preaching, the people’s faces looked like lights coming on in the darkness, things were becoming clear, God doesn’t need human hands. God build’s is the eternal, and now they understood their salvation was not dependent on their building, it was almost as if everyone was relieved and took 50lbs backpacks off… This simple and yet profound truth is a testimony of the model our Lord left for us; not to throw John 3:16 grenades everywhere, leaving babies to fend for themselves, but to disciple people to maturity so that they can in tern train others in God’s Word effectively (disciples making disciples).
Kevin teaching…
Working together
Finished side!
The completed Church!
The old Church
Patterson teaching…
Two men from the village of Vunakariakara shared:
“Thank you for teaching us the meaning of what the church really is, before we did not know and now we know and will live out that truth”.
“Thank you for teaching us, some of us thought that coming to church saved us but thanks to your teaching we understand better it is through our belief in Jesus alone that saves us”.
Continue to pray for us as we invest in the Tiale people (and Vanuatu as a whole), not just helping them come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but to have Him become Lord of every part of their lives, which will enable them to know Him and His Word better for themselves.
Because of the temperatures of extreme heat and wet, cold, rain, and living six day in the bush Seth came back with a flu and the “usual” BM issues. After 24 hours, the flu dissipated but the other issues remain, he is now taking deworming and debugging meds and hopefully will be 100% at the end of the 3-day cycle.
Thank you to everyone who prayed for Nicole as well while Seth was gone. She had a great time with the girls that stayed with her. If you would like to see pictures from her time, go to our Instagram. They kept themselves busy with things like baking cookies, going to the river to help Pastor Gabby get sand for his new kitchen being cemented, fishing, catching craw-fish, church, making bracelets, and of coarse making food for the group for each meal. It was a very memorable and special time together!
Thank you for all your prayers!
Your feet to the unreached, Seth & Nicole Stokes
Stoking The Fires 