Palm trees & coconuts

Pele Island - photo by Jane Lean

Beautiful friendly locals, crystal clear water in every shade of blue to green, white sand, palm trees, coconuts everywhere, hot days, cool evenings, medical clinics, school programs, women's workshops, singing, dancing, swimming, snorkeling, island hopping & island time plus more filled our days in Vanuatu. Everything you imagine a Pacific Island to be, Vanuatu is.

A dream come true to be able to take my four on a family missions trip together. How to instill eternity in the hearts of our children? Exposing them to other cultures, people & places so their world view is not just confined to the narrow Australian way. Exposing them to poverty so they appreciate our wealth. We are not rich by Australian standards, but certainly by Vanuatu ones we are. Exposing them to the generosity of Nevans {local people} who give out of their own poverty, not just material things, but their hearts, love & welcoming. This always strikes me the most.

We go to give, but end up feeling we have been given more.

We take store bought gifts, medical supplies, clothes, computers, chocolate, jewellery, art supplies, sewing kits, toiletries & more, yet they give of their own hands & hearts - homemade clothes, share their homes, their food, their time, their joy.

When I asked my four what their highlights were, both the girls commented on 'the village feeling' & 'sense of community' they experienced living in a village. Everybody looks out for everybody {to us independent westerners sometimes an encroaching thought}. My girls were deeply touched by the power of community like we don't experience in Australia. Here neighbours ignore each other & complain about where the rubbish bin gets put on the front lawn once a week! The girls played from dawn to dusk with the village children, seeing them huddled in groups, doing each other's hair, hand games, no iPods, iPhones, Facebook or X-boxes in sight! Just lots of laughing & love!

EQ experienced the beauty of friendships made even with language barriers. Him not being able to speak Bislama or French and locals not being able to speak English, yet finding ways to communicate & feel connected. He also killed his first pig by slitting its throat & learnt the Hakka. 'Man lessons' as coined by one team member. Male bonding time for our team lads to catch & kill pigs to cook island style for the women of Mangliliu. A counter culture experience that brought many to tears, men cooking & serving women is not a usual occurrence .

For DW seeing how locals live with no electricity, no hot water, outside kitchens with fires, simple hut homes, no proper bathrooms or creature comforts like home. You can know these things from TV & books, but to experience them is another. To have the vomits & diarrhoea & not have a flushing toilet makes you appreciate all we have!

Our trip was called, Fan the Flame Tour, our team's {2 Dr's, 3 nurses, 3 teachers, 2 chaplains, 1 lawyer ,11 adults & 9 teens} hope was to fan into flame the health, hopes, dreams, goodly desires, ambitions of those we met. We did this physically by conducting medical clinics {in Magaliliu, Lelepa & Pele}, women's workshops on child health, diabetes & STDs, pamper packages & massages, through school programs, donating to their district sports day, through dance, dramas & fire twirling! Emotionally & socially by testimonies, inspirational talks, giving of our hearts & time to invest in those we met along the way. By staying with host families & getting to know, connect with individuals, families & whole villages. Spiritually by praying & being, connecting and sharing of how we can all find a greater purpose to life by fanning into flame our gifts & calling.

Blessed to be a blessing. Grateful. Overwhelmed. Humbled.

Cherishing devoted family & team time

Cherishing our precious host families & their incredible generosity

Cherishing dreams come true