Blog Statistics.

I am amazed by the statistics on our blog readership.  The fact we have so many views from so many countries. This chart is a summary of all our page views since we started our blog by country. The chart shows the top 10 countries , there are many more views from other countries.

Quad bike for transport.

We have purchased a quad bike for transport. Its a AIE manufactured in China.  For the last few weeks we have been working on it to fix a few things.  On Sunday 15th April was riding lessons for Annette.  We went to the car park at Saralana Park for Lesson 101 Riding a Quad bike.  She did very well. We have named the quad Ethel.

HRH Prince Charles visit to Vanuatu

On Saturday 7th April Prince Charles visited Vanuatu.  It was literally a flying visit after he opened the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. He spent about 4 hours in Vanuatu. We went to Saralana Park to see him arrive at the Chief's Nakamal (Chief's meeting house).  The Prince's welcome by the people of Vanuatu was amazing, there were several thousand people at Saralana Park. We only got a brief view of Prince Charles as he drove by.

At the park we meet Samuel and Cindy with William and Christopher .

The view down the road waiting for Prince Charles to be driven into the park

Children from a local school dressed in traditional costume to welcome the Prince

We didn't get a better picture of this young man.

Pastor Dave from our  ICC church went to the Mama Market down at the waterfront by the Nambawan Cafe and he had the opportunity to say a few words, and also gave a blessing to Prince Charles (the Prince agreed to this). Dave did realise afterwards that he forgot to take his cap off.  

Preparations for the VHW Course

There is lots of work to do to get ready for the Village Health Worker Training Course, and I have been working on this with Nicola Young, another PCANZ Global Missions volunteer here. The course is due to start on 23rd April, and Judy Huri is going to be our lead trainer. Some of you may remember that Tracey from Solomons was going to do this but unfortunately she had to move up to Santo.

This is Judy. She has been doing nurse and other medical training for many years but has come out of retirement for this course. We have been having some good laughs this week as we work together to on lesson plans, assessments and information to go in the students' handouts.

She and I were asked to represent Korvan at a workshop at the Ministry of Health on Wednesday, run by some UNPFA staff conducting a big Family Planning in Vanuatu and across the Pacific. It was very interesting but so far out of my normal sphere 😆!

It was good to be there as we can see how the training that the Village Health Workers get fits into the bigger picture. There is a lot of unmet need in the country for Family Planning information and supply of contraceptives.

On a completely different note, Gloria and I went to a ladies farewell breakfast for one of our Bible Study group women, Karen Telford (centre) at the Holiday Inn. We got to know Karen through ICC and she has been a good friend. Unfortunately her husband's civil engineering contract was cut short and they have to leave, destination unknown.

Easter Weekend

We had a lovely Easter weekend with great services at ICC on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, celebrating our risen Lord. 

On Good Friday afternoon, Martyn and I wandered down town in the late afternoon, and ended up having fish and chips right on the waterfront. The sunset was spectacular! 

We and Neville and Gloria had the use of the PCV truck from Saturday afternoon till Monday afternoon, so on Saturday we made use of it to take N & G's neighbours down to Fatumaru Bay for a swim and BBQ. Great fun but unfortunately the rain decided to come down while we were still cooking over Gloria's little camp cooker that she uses for outreach trips.

On Sunday after church, we drove up to Havannah harbour and had a swim/snorkel at the Havannah Beach and Boat Club - great place for picnics and BBQs. There were plenty of locals enjoying it there and an Easter camp church group. Weather wasn't great but not raining.

From there we went on to The Havannah, a posh resort, where we had a drink and enjoyed their lovely outdoor area.

On Monday we went out to Eratap Resort for a coffee. A long bumpy drive to get there but it was beautiful. Unfortunately the tide was out so we didn't swim - you can't get over the coral at low tide without walking on it and thereby damaging it. 

By early afternoon it was time to go and collect Elder Jonathan and his family from Emua wharf on the north side of Efate - they had spent the long weekend on Nguna Island, just to the north of Efate. It is about 40 min drive up there, but it took about 3 hours before we got home again, as there were goods and people to load on and be delivered to Onesua College, and then a very slow trip home for the comfort of those on the back of the truck.