Day Three

This morning we left for Tanna Island. As the plane took off from Port Vila I looked out at amazement at this paradise that we had experienced for our first two days – I couldn’t help but wonder about what Tanna was going to be like?

I honestly didn’t know what to expect! People kept talking to us about Tanna; warning us; giving us advice and to be honest, I was a little nervous. I thought I was going to the end of the earth!

My first impression of Tanna Island as we drove in 4 wheel drive Utes along a bumpy dirt road was that we were now in Island Paradise! There is such a contrast between Port Vila and Tanna. Port Vila is a tourist Paradise whereas Tanna is a different kind of Paradise – not only is it beautiful in nature but the people are so friendly and amazing – it is a natural Paradise with people living more in tune with nature and not as dependent on the technology that we have become so saturated in in New Zealand.

Coming from a world that is always on the go; where people are rushing from one job to the next; it is such a sharp contrast to be in a place where people are so relaxed; they are going with the flow and to them relationships with each other are so very important! As they drive down the road they will even slow down to talk to people walking on the side. As I observed this I couldn’t help but wonder if the Island people understand something of God’s intent for life in a way that we might have lost back home with all our distractions.  

We arrived at the school and were quickly taken into a hall where the entire school was singing and we were taken to the very front to the seats of honour. Although we hadn’t really had time to settle or think about ‘what next’ it didn’t really matter because the children’s singing was so beautiful and perfect that we really couldn’t ask for a better welcome! The school Chaplin gave a short devotion from Genesis where the three men visit Abraham and he brought it into the way that God visits us and how God will be visiting the school through our visit in the upcoming week.

Then it was time to introduce ourselves however because everything had happened so fast the team was not prepared. We had spent a lot of time the day before coming up with our introductions in the native Bislama however our introductions were in our bags. Thankfully Carlton had his with him so we could read his introduction and change the details to fit each of us (i.e. change Carlton’s name for our own name and so forth).

After a warm welcome from the Principal we had lunch before heading straight for the class rooms to teach English. This again, took us by surprise as we were planning on doing sports, games and music with the students and all of a sudden we are teaching English. Fortunately, the team things very well on the spot and we were able to take two different hour long English classes.

The students were very giggly and shy of us at first but after breaking them into smaller groups they were interacting with us and having conversations with us in English – it was so much fun and we are learning so much about the students and their culture here on Tanna Island.

After class we went down to the beach (literally a minute walk down the drive from the school) for a much needed swim. Some of the students came down with us and it was great to have them show us their local beach and the best places to swim.

Soon it was getting dark so we decided to get out of the water and prepare some kids worship songs on the beach for our English classes tomorrow. I was teaching our team ‘move a little bit closer’ and we had some of the local girls from the school singing along with us (and learning the actions). It ended up being a real time of community and worship and it was one of my favourite parts of the trip so far – it really was an un-expected God moment. We continued and sung; ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’ and ‘I believe in Jesus’ and once we had stopped singing I looked up and a whole heap of the local community had gathered and were sitting on the top of the beach listening to us sing and watching us dance. I realised at this moment that we really were ‘dwelling among’. We were a group of people that looked out of place because we were not at the normal tourist spot – just a local beach – and we were living among the people and being noticed by the local people. I honestly can’t thank God enough for this experience on our very first day at Tanna.

We then headed back to school for some amazing dinner and then we did our night time training and reflected on the day. The team is unified in our thought that Tanna is an amazing place and we are excited about what God is going to do this week. We have no doubts that both the school and our team will be blessed this week! After the training we headed to the school hall where they do night time devotions and we were met by the children’s singing again! It is so powerful when the children sing – like a chorus of angels voices flooding the heavens – you just get lost in the moment and time seems to stand still.

Again, I couldn’t help but look at the lives these children live and be challenged! At 8.30pm most nights I’m lying on a couch in Auckland watching TV but here in Vanuatu the children are in a brick building that is falling apart and they are singing to their Lord and God and they do this every night! I also must note that the singing was initiated by the children as the teachers hadn’t arrived yet. My life back in Auckland has so many distractions (a lot to do with technology) but with the more simplified life in Vanuatu you can’t help but see God’s hand in everything around you!

Then, once devotions have finished it is time for bed because the school day starts here at 5.30am. On that note, I better go to bed because my day starts then as well! Day three; over and out!