August 3, 2007

The gate is open!

You may remember the cover article in the last Highlights (Presbyterian World Mission’s magazine). It featured the conversion of 7,000 former John Frum cargo cult members. We recently visited what was the headquarters village of that cult at Sulphur Bay on Tanna Island in Vanuatu.

The inside of the nearly completed Presbyterian church at Sulphur Bay on Tanna Island in Vanuatu.

When we got there, the gate was wide open! This was is in marked contrast to all of my past visits, in which the gate was closed and only after summoning the village chief were we allowed to enter. This village is the only one I’ve seen in Vanuatu with a fence around it.  All others are wide open and welcoming. Once when I asked why the village was fenced in I was told that it was “to keep the pigs out.” However, it was obvious that it was to keep other people away.

Now you can walk right in. After we were greeted, we were led up the hill with singing, to the new Presbyterian church that we helped build. While it is still not officially open, the walls are up and the roof is on. Those in the village and many from surrounding villages eagerly look forward to worshiping there soon.

Perhaps a bit of history is needed at this point. Back in 2001, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in response to a need expressed by the Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu, generously funded the construction of a new church building at Sulphur Bay to replace the small red-and-white thatched one built by lay pastor Maliwan Iaruel. When construction began in early 2005 people came from all over the island to help with the building. Sand, cement, wood and all the other materials were hauled up a steep hill by hand. No vehicle could possibly make it up there. In part because of this, the people of the cult began to look at Christianity in a new way. Then last August, 1,030 of them walked—many for two days or more—to shake hands with the moderator of the church and to bring gifts of peace.

Somehow that open gate spoke louder to me than even the new building. It symbolizes a fresh new approach to the rest of the world. While there was not a “welcome” sign on it there might as well have been one. Surely this is in the spirit of Jesus who welcomed all who came to him. The people at Sulphur Bay who previously had kept the outside world at bay, even if it meant no education for the children, now realize that they have brothers and sisters in Christ who care deeply about them and stand with them as they begin their faith journeys.

This village is one of the poorest in Vanuatu. Situated at the base of Mt. Yasur, a very active volcano, life is hard. They are geographically isolated, ash from the volcano frequently ruins the crops, and they thus must keep their gardens up and over a steep hill, some four kilometers away. Having had little or no education for more than 50 years, they are ill equipped to deal with their many problems. But now they have the church and its people to help them become prosperous, both economically and, more importantly, spiritually.

Please pray for these new Christians. Their journey will be long and difficult. They have opened their gate and their hearts. Let us open our hearts as well.

David Walter

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 105