Our First Week and our Third Cyclone 

Our first week has been very wet on and off and quite windy at times, thanks to TC Hola, which should be making landfall in northern NZ as I write this. 

It crossed Vanuatu to the north of us and did damage to Pentecost (where one man was killed by a falling palm tree), Ambrym and Malekula Islands, then sat almost still to the west of Vila for a couple of days, growing to Cat 4! It was eerily calm at times and we were ready in case it changed direction back toward us, but fortunately it moved safely away between us and New Caledonia. Hopefully it will lose its intensity well before reaching Northland and Coromandel.  

All this wetness has made getting washing dry a mission, and we have had to walk around the block more than once as the 'great lakes' almost connected into one big one.

But at least we can keep our spirits up with card games!

Making another couple of small improvements at the flat also helps - we replaced the shower curtain, which needed cutting down to size and hemming (by hand, my machine wouldn't fit into the suitcase 😏 ) and putting up a nice calendar from home.

Here are the aforementioned puppies, all 8 of them. 

On Sunday the sun came out again, and we were able to enjoy a coffee and a lovely stroll along the waterfront with Neville and Gloria after church. A big cruise boat was in and people were enjoying Fatumaru Bay. 

The waterfall opposite the park was spruced up and decorated for the Pacific Mini Games last December, but the water wasn't running today.

2018 - The Vincents are back in Vanuatu!

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Well, we're back in the same flat we had last year, here for another 6 month stint. We've spent the first few days cleaning, unpacking and settling back in. It hasn't taken us long to make it feel like our home away from home this time.

It's hot but we are coping much better than last year. There were times then that I really thought I would just melt right off my chair and end up as a puddle on the floor that someone would have to mop up! We have been for a couple of swims which were lovely, no problem getting into the water - it's not cold! It's more refreshing once you get out and stay in your wet things than when you are in.

Great catching up with other PCANZ volunteers here Neville and Gloria Jones, and Nicola Young. Hoping to meet Dawn Daunauda who is up on Santo soon.

The harbour still looks lovely when the sun is out.

A few things have changed in the neighbourhood: big Chris (Mary's brother) is back from Pentecost and staying with Tony and Mary again, and Tony and Mary are expecting their 3rd child in September .  Storm, who was just a puppy last year is a lot bigger, old Barty is still chugging along. Chris and Mahana have grown a bit more, and Mahana is still very shy with us.

We have new neighbours - Ram, Sonia and their daughter Molly from Philippines are in the flat next door to us, along with their 2 dogs and 8 tiny puppies! Carla, also from Philippines and who manages the large corner store that we frequent, is staying on till September in the studio flat. 

 Here is mama dog (don't know her name yet) and Barty sheltering from the rain on our front terrace.

 Mama dog being hopeful while we prepare dinner.

The back terrace is covered in mud from doggy wanderings so we can't even get to the washing machine without putting on outdoor jandals (we have indoor ones as well). We are going to erect a barricade at each end to keep them from walking through there.

So it's really full house in our little compound. Tony, Mary and the children have moved into the new top floor of their house, and the roof has been removed from the back half where they were living, ready for a new concrete floor for a new storey to be added. The floor was supposed to have been poured by now, but you know how it goes...

Monday was a public holiday, so Tuesday was our first day back in the PCV office. A few minor changes have happened but mostly it is the same as when we left. We were given a very warm welcome back at devotions first thing in the morning. 

I have yet to find out what I will be doing, but Martyn will be working from Charlie's (the previous accounts clerk) desk, and there is work to complete to enter data into the general ledger from when Charlie and Martyn left in  Oct/Nov. He will be sharing the office with Elder Job. Last year there were 4 people working in this office, so it was very crowded. The office was tidied up shortly before we arrived in Vanuatu. The extra room makes it a much better space to work in. :-)

It is definitely still rainy season here, with heavy showers coming frequently, but with sunny spells in between. Even with all the roadworks on this main route through the city there is still a problem with flooding.

Big news - it looks like we are getting fibre installed! Will this fix our poor internet service at the flat?? In the background, you can see the great lakes are back in our road outside the flat . There was just enough dry-ish ground to get around them this morning without having to go the long way or get our feet wet and muddy. This is why I leave my pretty shoes at home!

We decided we needed a clock in the flat, so we found one at the supermarket and made another hole in the concrete wall so we could hang it safely above our pantry shelves (for those who have just joined our blog this year, we built those shelves last year with typical Vincent over-engineering, so the flat could fall down in an earthquake and the shelves would still be standing 😆).

2018 - Counting Down to Going Back to Vanuatu

We have been home in Hamilton for approx 3 months and we are now counting down the days to going back - only 6 left!

We have spent our time catching up with family and friends, and getting some things done around our property. 

Martyn built some new garden beds for our family to grow more vegetables in.

My sister and I and two of my girls took our Mum/Grandma to Ohope Beach for a girls' weekend. The weather wasn't nice but we still had fun. Mum turns 91 tomorrow so she is doing really well.

 Martyn, Nicola, Jai and Kirsty did 'Bike the Bridge' - a 23 km ride that goes over Auckland Harbour Bridge twice. I went as pit crew - I'm much better on two legs than two wheels.

And Martyn and I have been invited to a couple of local churches to tell them about Global Missions and what we have been doing in Vanuatu. What a privilege to be able to share about the amazing things God is doing in our lives and the lives of the people of Vanuatu. 

Meanwhile we have both found casual work for  half of January and February. Martyn has been travelling to and from Wellington to assist the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ (PCANZ) while they find a new finance manager, and I have been working as a Quantity Surveyor in Cambridge for a construction management firm. It's been good to have some income for a few weeks 😉.

What Happens Next?

This was the question asked in our last blog posting in November. The answer has come sooner than expected:

We go back to Vanuatu in 2018, for another 6 month stint. 

We had been praying about it and seeking what God wants for us to do, and the answer came pretty clearly this time, and was soon confirmed. Thanks to anyone who was praying for us to know His will. We are clear now that we are meant to be there for next year, whatever the year holds. 

Once again, Martyn will be working with PCV staff to get on top of the accounts, and I'm not sure yet what I will be doing, but there are possible projects simmering. We are leaving in early March, so enjoying R&R with family and friends for now. 

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, may you experience God's love for you this season.

Last Few Days in the Tropics - Monday 13th & Tuesday 14th Nov

One of our last tasks at PCV was to give a report on what we have achieved throughout the year, as did every staff member. This process took so long that it had to be split into 3 separate sessions (about 3 hours each), so everyone could give their own report, and allow time for discussion and positive suggestions for going forward for each staff member. We were both warmly thanked again for our work during the year.

With our desks cleared and the last few documents handed over, we made our sad goodbyes to the staff at the office. Many of them have become good friends and were very sad to see us go, telling us to come back next year!

While clearing out the flat, we had a visit from Grek, one of the boys from the after-school reading class. We gave him a pencil case and a poster with the times tables on it. He was with his little sister Lisa.

We also had a visit from Elder Jonathan and his family, to say goodbye as he wasn't in the office on our last day at work. Martyn and Jonathan worked side by side, and gave each other lots of cheek!

On our last evening in Vanuatu, we went out for dinner with our landlords Tony and Mary, Chris and Mahana. It was lovely spending our final evening with them, they have been so good to us the whole time. Mahana wouldn't smile (she usually has a lovely smile) , but she put her arm around me for the photos.

 5.00am on the 15th and we were ready to say goodbye to the flat,

and to Barty. He's a bit blurry because he wouldn't sit still, he kept wanting to get closer to Martyn.

Neville and Gloria gave us a ride to the airport, very convenient as their son Ray was flying home on the same flight as us. Tank yu tumas Neville and Gloria, lukem yu.

 All aboard Air Vanuatu, farewell to the Friendly Isles. What a wonderful time of challenge and blessing - Praise the Name of the Lord!

So what's next? That is in His hands 🙏 and this is possibly our last blog post. For the time being, we will be at home in Hamilton, looking for some contract work, and spending time with our parents.

Thank you to everyone who has taken an interest in our adventure, and especially to those who prayed for us and sent messages of encouragement. Please continue to pray for the people of  Vanuatu.