February 27, 2006

Dear Friends,

From the sublime to the ridiculous, that is how I am inclined to describe my change in positions with PC(USA). Vanuatu, where I served for many years, is roughly the size of Connecticut. Now my responsibilities include the entire South Pacific Ocean, an area large enough to hold nearly all the continents of the world! Whew! My interests and travels will take me to Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia, and anywhere else that the Hunger Program needs me.

As the liaison for the Pacific region, I am responsible for communication both to our partner churches in the Pacific and back to our synods, presbyteries, and congregations. Since I have come to love the people in this part of the world, this will be a job that I will enjoy immensely. I am also responsible for seeking out opportunities for the Presbyterian Hunger Program.

I was in Vanuatu last year from mid-May through August teaching a special ESL (English as a second language) immersion program at Onesua Presbyterian College. Roughly 70 percent of the children in Vanuatu grow up speaking one of the 105 local languages. Along the way, they also learn Bislama, the lingua franca of Vanuatu. They begin to learn English in primary school. The real shock comes when they land in secondary school, where all classes are taught in English. Can you imagine such a challenge? More accurately, this program should have been ETL (English as a third language). So I spent the summer (actually winter in Vanuatu) teaching English from 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. to the same kid—quite a challenge.

This would not have been possible without the able assistance of my dear friends, David and Beth McShane. David is a retired PC(USA) pastor and Beth was a church social worker. They were wonderful with the students and could not have been better ambassadors for us. Not only were they great in the classroom, they corrected papers, graded tests, and put it all on the computer, which saved us countless hours of calculations. David went everywhere with his camera and now has several DVDs full of still pictures and video clips. Their daughter Kathleen visited us and spent her time working with students on their spoken English.

While we enjoyed time with each of our students, one in particular stands out. His name is Kalo Amos and he showed a particular sensitivity in his work. In particular, when we read The Tale of Despereaux by Kate diCamillo (a recent Newberry Medal winner, which I highly recommend for your children and grandchildren), he drew thoughts and nuances from it that belied his years.

When the principal of Onesua, Jonathan Tarip, read his report he said, “This is amazing!” Kalo lost his father a few years back, and apparently this has given him strength and insight that many of us will never have. I miss him a lot. Since the bulk of teaching in Vanuatu is done by rote memorization, his accomplishments are all the more moving.

It was unusual that all the top students in the class were boys. Being the women’s advocate that she is, Beth was mortified by this and constantly rooted for the girls to improve. Alas, her cheerleading did not help and, at the end, the boys were still on top (as a guy I confess to being pleased).

As a result of the immersion program, there was significant improvement in the English skills. We had tested both year seven classes before and after the program. Our class caught up or passed the other class in nearly every aspect. By monitoring the grades for the next four years we hope to learn if this has a lasting impact. We hope that by improving their comprehension they will do better in all of their subjects, not just English.

Under the able leadership of Jonathan Tarip, Onesua is regaining its position as the best secondary school in Vanuatu. At one time Onesua was slipping in relationship to other schools, but things are getting better. In fairness to Onesua, I must say that the education at Onesua has always been superior in many respects. This is because, as a church sponsored school, they educate the “head, hearts and hands” of their students. In addition to book learning the students also receive a well-rounded education, including religious education. Also, because of its remote location, students at Onesua form a tighter community and are better at sharing the workload and helping each other.

As always, when the Onesua Song was sung it brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat. I would like to close with the chorus, as it illustrates many of the finer aspects of life at Onesua.

Long years we spent in working here
Have taught us all our joys to share
The truths we learn are with us still
Old friends can make our hearts to thrill
Recalling all the hopes and fears
At Onesua through the years.

Peace and love to all,

David

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 243