WATER TANK WEEK!

From the 14-19th of October, our group got to be a part of making the first water tank building on the island of Espiritu Santo! It was a real privilege to be building a water tank for the locals in the community that we were staying in.  

The first day of building the water tank, we all helped make the wooden form, which consisted of six large elements. It took a lot of elbow grease because we didn't have any electricity (and thus no power tools). We built a screen for sifting the sand, and we started the loooonnnggg sifting process.   

Even the locals helped us because they were so excited to have a water tank near their homes.

On the second day, our team made the skeleton of the lid.  Although it is easy to write about, it took a lot of work and it was time consuming.  Making the skeleton for the lid involved cutting rebar with a dull hack saw, bending it into the shape of circles and twisting TONS of wires around to keep it in place. We made something similar for the foundation and poured it with concrete the same day!

The foundation

On day three we poured the lid so it would have plenty of time to dry before we lifted it onto the tank. 

Day one, two, AND three, we did a lot sifting sand for the concrete. For maybe 30 minutes, the sand was easy to sift. Sadly, the majority of the time the sand was slowly sifted through two screens. It involved us sifting the rocks out first and then sifting out the shells and coral...by hand.

The first batch of cement was mixed in a wheelbarrow, but we all quickly realized that it was easier when mixing it in a tarp. Someone would hold each corner, and each person would lift in turn to mix the concrete evenly. It worked really well!

After pouring the foundation and the lid, we set up the form, wrapped it in fabric, chicken wire, and a thicker steel wire, and put up two coats of concrete. After we plastered the outside of the tank, we took the wooden forms out and then plastered the inside.  In the process of using the cement, we got very messy and even had an accident with the cement spilling ALL OVER Hannah and Abbey.  Whoops!

The last day of building the tank, we all had to lift an EXTREMELY heavy cement lid up above out heads. Fortunately, lots of villagers turned out to give us a hand!

Finally, we put up the gutter to collect water from the roof and direct it into the tank.

We came, we saw, we conquered. 

Over all, we all had an awesome week that was filled with hard work, cement, sand, wire, a few cuts here and there, and lots of bugspray and sunscreen. We were certainly tired by the end, but we had something pretty amazing to show for it! We still got to interact with the villagers while we worked, which was really good, and on Sunday we had the opportunity to lead church again. Brad led worship while  Charlene spoke on wisdom and humility and Dan spoke on finding truth and freedom in Christ. It was yet another really good week on Santo!

~The GO Group

The End of Week One!

This action-packed week was filled with new friendships, delicious island food, rain, leading the church service, and a decent amount of sunburn and bug bites...

Our team in the jungle as we hiked through the rain to visit more homes!

On Saturday,  we all started off the day by waking up at the early hour of 5 to then travel into Luganville (a half hour drive) to buy sand for the water tank, find internet at a cafe, eat lunch, and pick up our foreman  from the airport.  We were all in town until about dinner time and the girls headed home.  The boys stayed in town for dinner and then found a taxi to go to the airport.  Once they had picked up Joshua from the airport, they all got stuck at a music festival for two hours before they could all get home because their bus driver was waiting for more customers. By the time they got home, it was around 11:30 in the night and they went straight to bed.  Sunday included  Abbey giving a sermon using the coconut tree as an illustration for the body of Christ and individual Christians. We had worship lead by Bradley and Charlene and then had another sermon given by Ainsley about "being a passionate Christian".  Given the fact that we were on island time, we assumed that church would start later than expected. We were wrong and actually, island time worked in reverse in this instance where people actually all got to church early and we had to start early  (it started at 9 instead of 9:30).  After church, Abbey and Hannah were doing laundry by hand while Clemont was preparing dinner. 

The girls were both stopped from doing laundry and then "Momma," the house mom took over and taught us how to properly hand wash clothes. 

We then had a time for rest and then went to a really deep swimming hole that  had really blue water (Called a Blue Hole here in Vanuatu).  On the way home, we all met some of the host family's relatives and got to pray for them. 

On the way home, we all met some of the host family's relatives and got to pray for them.


Love,
The GO Team

First Week in Espiritu Santo!

Well, it has certainly been a long, exciting, and action-packed first week in Vanuatu!
We have had so many adventurous moments and times to share God's love with the community we are living in.  These are some of the key highlights of the week...

We went around to the whole community by walking on dirt paths from house to house to invite the people to Intercession on Wednesday, Pikinini Clab (Kids Club) on Thursday, and Worship Time for Friday.  We taught them many new worship songs and did lots of fun kids songs with hand motions.  It has been a wonderful time to learn more about the island culture, learn how to make the traditional dishes (specifically the girls making Laplap), spend time with the family that is hosting us, and teaching English and learning Bislama.

On Wednesday, we were visiting people's houses to tell them about Jesus, pray for them, and pray for healing. When we were walking from house to house, it was pouring down rain for at least four hours.  It was an experience. 

On Thursday, in the morning we had kid's club with all the village children and their moms came too. We played games, colored pictures, sang lots of fun songs, danced and just had a blast! We enjoyed holding the littler ones and praying for the moms. Also, in the afternoon, Ainsley, Dan, and Hannah played volleyball with some of the people. It was rather entertaining how competitive everyone was! And while they were playing Abigail and Charlene were baking banana bread for Friday mornings breakfast.

Then on Friday, we unfortunately discovered ants all over the delicious bread that they had worked so hard over! But we made do with crackers and peanut butter instead! After breakfast we had worship at the small church nearby. And we sang and taught songs to the villagers. It was such an amazing feeling to know that even though we don't speak the same language-that we all love the same God! Also, Friday afternoon we made a traditional dish- laplap. It was so much fun with all the grandmothers teaching us girls exactly what to do! And then, we carefully wrapped it in banana leaves and put it on the fire to cook.

Please pray for us in the next week for safety and strength as we build the water tank and enjoy our last full week in Espiritu Santo! Love, the Go Team!

Praying in Paradise

Well, we all made it safely to Vanuatu!
Upon arriving at The Grace House (Marine Reach Outreach Base House in Port Vila), we all got in a truck and went to look at a water tank to see what we were making once we arrived on the island of Espiritu Santo.  We spent the night in Port Vila and then got up, went to church, and then went to the airport again to go to the Espiritu Santo.  We arrived safely and were welcomed very warmly with handshakes, leis, dancing, music, and lots of good food. 
We went to visit all of the houses with the locals yesterday and got to talk to them, share Jesus with them, and pray for them (and some of them got healed). In return, at each house that we went to, the family gave us what they had in abundance (which was either papaya, coconut, lots of grapefruit, a branch of bananas, and even the first pineapple of the season). 
We did a lot of street evangelism in town today. We got to talk to and pray for dozens and dozens of people (and saw more healings).  We have been having a blast and have been truly blessed. Pray that we stay healthy and that we will be able to learn the language quickly!!
Blessings,
Dan, Hannah, Ainsley, Brad, Charlie, and Abbey

The Team!

Dear Readers,
Welcome to the blog for the GO Group July 2013!
We will be updating this blog during the time while we are on our outreach in Vanuatu.
For the first two weeks, the plan is to stay on the island of Espiritu Santo (Holy Sprit) to build a water tank to provide fresh potable water to the locals. 
After our time there, we will be going to be in the city of Port Villa (on the island of Efate). 
We will be doing street and children's ministry, Bible studies, and basically just sharing the love of Jesus with everyone we meet!

Here is a bit about each person in the group (from left to right):

Hi, my name is Bradley Young from Morrinsville in New Zealand and I am 19 years of age. I came on DTS to learn more and more about God and to spread the Word and hope of Jesus Christ to wherever I can. I am really looking forward to being immersed in a different culture in outreach but seeing how God joins people together.

Hello, I am Abigail Lindquist! I am from Pennsylvania in the U.S. of A. I am 18 years old and came to this DTS to grow in my relationship with God and during my gap year right after graduating from high school.  I am so excited to go to Vanuatu to see another culture and to share God's love to the locals through getting to know the locals, helping them build water tanks, and building lasting relationships with the men, women, and children.

Hey! My name is Charlene Raines, I’m from the golden state of California and I’m 18 years young. I’m a crazy kid with a big heart for justice and mercy. I came on my DTS with the intention of just deepening my relationship with God, living out whatever it was He was putting on my heart for missions, then going home back to my normal life… yeah right! Since I’ve been here God has totally changed my life plan. Instead of heading off to art college after DTS, now I’m off to take a stand for Justice in East Africa. I’m hoping that outreach will really be a time to build my faith and trust in God. I’m also hoping it will be a time to develop God’s calling on my life and really see what I’m made of. I’m really looking forward to working with kids, loving on people, and meeting their spiritual and physical needs.

My name is Ainsley Vickers and I'm 20 years old. I come from Matamata (aka Hobbiton) in New Zealand. I came on this DTS because I knew I needed to strengthen my relationship with God; and I needed something to do this year, but mostly just because God was calling me here. It has been an epic journey so far and I am really excited to see what God has in store for us on outreach, especially since it will be my first experience outside of New Zealand.

Hello everyone, my name is Hannah and I am staff on the Go School. I am 19 years old and I am from Michigan (an awesome state in the USA). The reason I chose to staff the Go School (I was on the Medical DTS in January) was because I knew that it would challenge me to greater depths of love for Jesus. And also, because last summer I did a two week YWAM school of evangelism in Colorado and I knew that even though it may not be my specific call-that everyone is called to tell others about Jesus in some form or another. I’m anticipating sharing my testimony of how God has radically transformed my life in the past year. I am also excited to see how Holy Spirit will give me the words to say when I need to say them. Also, I am looking forward to the miraculous healings (physical, mental, emotional and psychological) and anything else He might have for us!

Hey, my name is Dan Snyder, the leader of the Go DTS. I am from North Carolina in the United States, and I am 23 years old. After graduating from North Carolina State University, I first joined YWAM in July 2012 when I was part of an incredible Justice DTS with Marine Reach. After that I stayed on as DTS staff to continue building my foundations in God while discipling others to do the same. This is the second DTS that I have staffed, and I love how God transforms lives (including mine!) on every DTS, and there is really never a dull moment. I'm excited to have the opportunity to go to Vanuatu as it will be the 4th new country I've been to in 18 months, and I'm anticipating the amazing and miraculous things God is going to do through our team! He has clothed in His power and grace – no doubt some ridiculous things are going happen...