On October 4th our team held our second Preaching in the Park. Following our preaching from 11:30 to 1:30 pm, Cindy and I went to buy some fresh fruit and vegetables at the market. We sat down on a bench and I proceeded to talk with Morris, a Christian from Eton. While I was talking with Morris, Cindy was holding Kaela. A lady, named Leimawa, sitting down began talking with Cindy and Kaela and asked what we (our family) were doing in Vanuatu. As I was talking with Morris, Cindy explained our story of how we came to Vanuatu to teach the Bible and help the church become strong. Leimawa asked if we would be willing to come to their village and teach her and her family about the Bible. To this question, Cindy promptly answered, “Sure!” Leimawa and Cindy exchanged information on how we could contact her husband, Sam.

It took me a few weeks to actually find where Sam worked. Once I found Sam we decided that I would come to the village of Etas, 15 minutes outside of Port Vila, to teach his family. On October 27th Cindy and I went to Etas and began our studies with Sam, Leimawa, Pbles (Liemawa’s uncle) and his wife, Ruth. Though our studies began with these four people, it quickly grew to a group study that averaged about 8 people each week.

Sam Tabaua is about 35 years old and has three children, Mariam (10), Martino (8) and Barbara (5). He is from the island of Tanna. On Tanna, there are many who are a part of the John Frum cargo cult, which began around the time of World War II. Fortunately, Sam was not a part of the cargo cult, nor was he a part of any group. While he was not agnostic, he basically was disenchanted with the idea of “church.” He had seen many in Vanuatu who preached one message on Sunday mornings, yet lived another message Monday through Saturday. This hypocritical lifestyle which he saw in Vanuatu weakened his felt need to be a part of any church. Sam works for the VMF (Vanuatu Military Force) and is on special assignment to work with the Police Commissioner.

Leimawa Tabaua is about 32 years old and the wife of Sam. Leimawa comes from the island of Tongoa. Leimawa had previously been an active member of the Nazarene church who invited us to come teach in an effort to reach out to her husband and help motivate him to go to church. Little did she know that our studies would be aimed at her also.

Pbles Iaruel (pronounced Bless Yar-well) is about 65 years old. He has several children and great grandchildren. [The problem here in Vanuatu is that when we ask someone how many children and grandchildren they have, they don’t really know. People here simply don’t keep track of information like we do in the states.] Pbles was a member of the Catholic Church and baptized as a baby.

Ruth Iaruel is also about 65 years old and she is Pbles’ wife. Her previous religious affiliation was with the New Covenant church. This is an offshoot of the Presbyterian church here in Vanuatu.

We conducted our Bible studies every Wednesday night. I would borrow Eric’s truck and load up the generator, fluorescent lights, extension cord, my handouts for the study and head out to the community of Etas. Nearly every week Leimawa would have laplap, island cabbage, chicken or some kind of island kakae (food) waiting for us when we arrived.

Our arrangement was for us to pick up Sam, Leimawa and their kids and then head to Pbles’ house where a small corrugated metal roof structure allowed us enough room to study underneath. This open-air shed was a good place for us to meet…except when it rained in sideways. Once we arrived at Pbles’ house we would all eat and then begin our study. Each week Cindy and I would bring bread and peanut butter or cookies to the meeting, while they would serve us traditional island kakae. Sometimes Leimawa would have me eat at their house and then Pbles and Ruth would ask me to eat again at their house. I think they may be secretly trying to fatten me up.

Our studies usually started not long after dark. I would fire up the generator and get the extension cords and lights in place as the sun was still setting. Our studies would last about an hour with another hour of Q&A.

Sam: During our studies I could tell that Sam was really thinking deeply about all he was being taught. With his background in investigation work he really wanted to objectively research and find out what God really was teach through His Word. I am truly grateful for Sam’s ability to objectively look into God’s Word to allow it and it alone to be a guide to his life. Study after study, Sam would take questions or teaching that he has heard in the past and compare them to the Bible. I would continually refer him back to the Bible to answer his questions. He really enjoyed this “back to the Bible” approach as it allowed him to read for himself God’s will for his life. On January 4th, 2006 Sam put on Christ in baptism for the forgiveness of his sins.

Leimawa: Leimawa is an interesting character. She has a fun-loving personality and is an easy person to befriend. Unfortunately, Leimawa was heavily involved with the Nazarene church. Throughout our studies I would have to try to teach Leimawa to think objectively about the Bible. She has the tendency to think with emotions and to do “what feels right” in regards to worship and serving God, rather than to do what God wants her to do. Though she had many friends in the Nazarene church, she ultimately saw how Christ’s church was different than the Nazarene church and that she would have to make a decision. On January 4th, 2006 Leimawa put on Christ in baptism for the forgiveness of her sins.

Pbles: Pbles is a unique individual. He is full of life and fun to be around. While Pbles does not have very good eyesight, but he was glad to come to our weekly Bible studies. His background goes back to the Catholic Church, where he was baptized as a small child. It was not long after our first study on the topic of Baptism when he realized that his baptism was not the same as those who were baptized in the Bible. Quite frankly, he was amazed that he had been duped by the Catholic Church into being believing his baptism as a child was valid. All this time he had been putting his faith in what others told him. On January 4th, 2006 Pbles was baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. He now could prove to himself and others that his baptism was in the same fashion as what knew was in the Bible.

Ruth: Ruth, Pbles’ husband, also cannot see very well, but like her husband she was excited to attend these studies. Week after week she would have food ready for me when I came. In fact, when I mentioned that she should not go to all the trouble of making food for me, she shrugged me off as if the words I had spoken were sheer nonsense. Ruth has a kind heart and a cheerful smile and is always hospitable. Ruth had been a member of the New Covenant church, an offshoot from the Presbyterian church of Vanuatu. She had been attending the New Covenant church sporadically, but was also disenchanted when she saw that the lifestyle of the “Pastor” didn’t match the words that were being preached in his Sunday morning sermon. The idea of a Bible study was appealing to her and she was very faithful in her attendance of all our studies.

The Sequence of Events:Here is the play-by-play of how all this came about. Since October, every study I conducted in Etas I would ask a local Christian to accompany me. Mainly this was to show that A) there were Christians in Port Vila that had made the break from denominationalism and went back to the Bible and B) that if they had any questions, a local was available to talk with them. Morris Felix from Eton went to most of the studies with me.

After two months of studying with this main group of four, Pbles said he knew he was ready to be baptized. Morris and I talked with Pbles and he realized quickly that his “Catholic” baptism as a baby was not a scriptural baptism. However, when Morris and I talked with him about what he was repenting from, he didn’t know. As we had yet to study the topics of True Repentance (Acts 17:30, 31) and Christ’s Church, we encouraged him to think about why he wanted to be baptized and when he wanted to do it.

The next two weeks I was on edge, wondering if this would be the week that Pbles would be baptized or not. To my surprise, Sam also said he wanted to be baptized. However, much like Pbles, Sam had yet to truly “count the cost” of his decision. When it came down to it, both Pbles and Sam liked Kava too much. [Kava is a local root that is ground and prepared like tea or coffee. Water is poured through the grinds to make a green colored liquid. The effects of Kava are much like that of alcohol.] Both Sam and Pbles admitted to liking Kava too much and it standing in the way of their coming to Christ.

On the last week of December, I met with Sam to discuss his decision. He promised me that he had repented of his sins and was ready to be baptized. However, he had not discussed this with his wife (who had also been coming to all the studies). I personally think Sam did not think that his wife would be converted out of the Nazarene church. Thank God for the power of the Gospel!

In the first week of January, preparations were made for our first Bible study of 2006. As always, I would go to Etas on Wednesday night. However, this time Sam called and asked me to come at 3pm in the afternoon, much earlier than I usually came. I gladly loaded up the generator, lights and handouts, and drove by to pick up Morris for the study.

After arriving in Etas Cindy and I sat down with Sam, Leimawa, Pbles and Ruth and they said they wanted to be baptized. After briefly talking with them about their “counting the cost” of such a commitment, we loaded the truck full of people and headed to the ocean where the four of them would be baptized.

At the Ocean:Once we drove about 15 minutes to reach a calm stretch of waters, we unloaded the truck and I gathered in what was about to happen. Here were four souls that were whole-heartedly about to make a life-changing commitment to Christ. Rather than being scared, all were excited and eager. We all gathered at the beach and Morris took their confessions one-by-one. Morris first walked out into the ocean until he was about waist deep. Sam went first and waded out to Morris. Morris then baptized Sam in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of his sins.

After Sam came out of the water, Pbles afforded no hesitation and practically ran down into the water. In fact, he reached Morris before Sam had reached the shore. Pbles wasn’t going to let anything stand in the way of his being baptized into Christ. As he came up out of the water he had an ear-to-ear grin. He was so excited to be a Christian! After Pbles was his wife Ruth. Through all of the studies and questions, Ruth knew what she must do. She also did not hesitate and as soon as Pbles came up out of the water, she began walking out to Morris. Morris then proceeded to baptize Ruth into Christ and His church for the forgiveness of her sins.

Once Ruth came out of the water, Leimawa was the last one of the group that had not been baptized. She had the most confusion to overcome as she had been indoctrinated with Nazarene teachings that strayed from the Bible. She knew that as she went down into the water she was committing herself to Christ and His church. She wanted to be baptized to be forgiven of her sins and to be added to Christ’s church which she read about in the Bible. As she was the last one baptized, a lump developed in my throat as I saw the changes that had taken place in the lives of these four new-born Christians. On the beach we all gathered for a prayer and then headed back to the truck where the four dripping-wet Christians hurriedly dried themselves off as it was “near freezing” to them. On our way back to the truck, one of Pbles and Ruth’s grand-children asked if I was also going to be baptized. I smiled and said, “No, I’ve already been baptized.” It sure was a cute question!

The Power of the GodBefore I began my studies with Sam and Leimawa, they shared with me how Sam would often waste his family’s money on kava and cigarettes. Sam was ashamed to say that he would waste his last few dollars on pleasing himself rather than buying food for his family. Here is the case of the gospel being planted on good hearts. Then as the Gospel grew in their lives, Sam began to change. He gave up kava and smoking and challenged Pbles to do the same. The gospel is alive and at work in the lives of these four.

The Gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation did not remain stagnant in their lives. The Gospel came into these four people’s lives and has taken a family that was constantly arguing because of Sam’s lifestyle and has changed it. As of January 4th Sam has successfully given up kava and cigarettes. Now there are fewer arguments in the Tabaua household. Now, instead of Leimawa going to worship with the Nazarene church on Sunday morning and leaving Sam at home with his hangover, the whole family is united. Now, all get up, get dressed and go to worship as a family. Truly this is one case of how the Gospel repaired and unified a family.

Satan will try his best to win them back. Please join with us in praying for these young Christians to stand strong against his schemes.

AB