Admiral’s Update No 8 2017

Greetings Everyone,

We have been away from the boat for ten days staying at Pem, an isolated island village located on a lofty plateau surrounded by mountains. To get there we poled the dinghy for half an hour along the coast then paddled and poled it for nearly three hours up a windy river then a climb up a very slippery slope to the village. It rained all the time. There had been a death in the village and we had to wait a week, first for the funeral and then for the funeral (memorial) feast. I did a three day marriage and parenting seminar which was well attended. Phil painted their blackboards and showed “Fireproof” with increasing difficulty as our film equipment limped along and finally gave up the ghost.

Phil and Pastor Sigi and another man paddled a canoe for five hours to the yacht to try to fix it with no success and then paddled back again — a long day!! We intended to finish off with prayer on Sunday, however, the five year old granddaughter of one of our friends died of TB and the funeral was on Sunday. A sad end to our time there. From there we returned to the Rosma Bible college for a night then another three hour dinghy trip to Abeleti to replace the radio that had failed.

We are now back on the boat again for a rest before our next job which will probably be at Wale village about three hours in the dinghy from here.

To give you some idea of how isolated this place is, we haven’t found anyone who has even HEARD of the name Donald Trump, let alone that he is the US president!!

God bless,

Pam and Phil

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Admiral’s Update No 7 2017

Greetings Everyone,

We have had an AMAZING time at Abelete, an isolated outpost about 3 to 4 hours rough dinghy trip from where the boat is. Last year, after we left, their leader, Linus, was beaten up (the third member of his congregation to have been hospitalised) resulting in complete paralysis down the left side. It was so hard to see this vibrant young man so reduced that he had to be carried everywhere.

We showed War Room on Saturday evening and then on Sunday I preached on prayer and Phil on James 5. He anointed Linus with oil and Sigi and the elders laid hands on Linus and prayed for healing. After the service Phil took his camera and asked Linus to try to move his leg. When we come home you will see on the video how he raised his leg almost vertical and waved it from side to side.

Please pray for the following things for us:

– That Linus will continue to be healed and be able to walk again. Due to lack of use the past nine months his right leg is very weak as well.
– That his brother, Vincent, will grow in confidence as he takes over some of the leadership.
– For the surrounding catholic area, still trying to close down the CRC church. Phil had a long talk with a leading Catholic catechist who wants to rein in his people and to see peace and who is impressed with Linus’s faith and ability to forgive. Usually there is BIG payback.
– For the film equipment to keep going. It blew up and Phil has done a temporary fix-it that he hopes will see the distance.

Thanks for your support.

God bless,

Pam and Phil

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Admiral’s Update No 6 2017

Greetings Everyone,

Sorry not to have been in touch. We have been off the boat up until today. I have done a weeks teaching at the Bible College and a course on using flannelgraph with the Sunday School teachers while Phil has fixed and fine tuned their HF radio, installed a bigger solar panel, repaired the controller and shown films. War Room was really well received. They are committed to prayer. We have daily prayer meetings, 5 am to 6 am every morning and a good roll-up, too. I told them it wouldn’t work at home!!

When we first arrived, while we were waiting for the dinghy to arrive (it was a couple of days), we decided to walk along the beach to church — about a two hour walk. That went well and when we got there they told us we were preaching — that’s the way it goes here!! Coming home the tide was up and we had to go up over a small cliff. The track was very slippery (Phil reckons Rossel Island mud makes Teflon look like glue) with a sheer drop on the seaward side. I found it quite nerve-racking and have put it on my “Not – to – do – again” list.

We are back on the boat loading up with supplies for three more churches on the south coast of Rossel, I’m doing a three day Marriage and Parenting Seminar at two of them and Phil is installing a new HF radio, solar, etc at the third and most isolated one. It’s hard to imagine the difference being able to communicate between islands with the radios makes. We should be away from the boat for a week or more.

Never a dull moment!

God bless,

Pam and Phil

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Admiral’s Update Christmas 2016

Greetings and a Happy and Holy Christmas to Everyone,

A BIG THANK YOU for those of you who have cared, prayed, supported us during the year.

We are settled back in Brunswick Heads for a few months and getting involved in activities. Phil did his first Gideon church presentation in eighteen years. It was his first attempt at a Power Point presentation and the pastor said it was one of the best Gideon reports he had seen. Phil says he still wants to improve it but the Pastor’s comments were an encouragement. Meanwhile I am co-ordinating three Gideon groups on the Gold Coast for the ladies and will be doing a bit of travelling and liaising and have learnt to do “GO2” meetings by computer. Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?

Phil has joined the local VMR (Volunteer Marine Rescue) — pay back for some of the service we have had from them over the years. He also wants to join the local gym which has an indoor heated pool where he can do some laps for excurse. I’m content to walk and swim on the beach and enjoy the beauty of Brunswick Heads.

We have a spare bedroom if you are ever passing this way.

We wish you a happy and holy Christmas and God’s blessing in the year ahead.

Pam and Phil

Admiral’s Update Christmas 2016

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Admiral’s Update No 12 2016

Greetings Everyone,

Today we are packing the boat up and getting ready to set off in the morning for Australia. The weather report is encouraging and our aim is to head for Gladstone if possible.

We’ve had a fruitful week at Rehuwa (after Phil got bitten by a dog as soon as we arrived) with me teaching in the daytime and Phil repairing their LED lights and then showing films in the evening. They have really worked us hard but their responsiveness makes it all worthwhile.

The anchorage is very exposed and even with 10-12 knot winds we have had to wear wet weather gear going back in the dinghy against the chop.

We were saddened to hear that one of the Rossel elders — Linus — was set upon by two men and is now in hospital in a serious condition. Please pray for him. This is the third bashing that CRC Church members have received from the local mainline church people. Also please pray for a safe passage for us across the Coral Sea. I’m looking forward to carrots and snow peas and Phil his chocolate and ice cream.

See you in Aus.

God bless,

Pam and Phil

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Admiral’s Update No 11 2016

Greetings Everyone,

We’ve been off the air for the last few weeks as we have been staying ashore at Jelewaga, a village on the south coast of Sudest Island. It’s been a real encouragement to see the growth in this fairly new church. Last time we were here I challenged them to read the Bible right through and set them a three year plan to do so. They are working on it and Stanley, one of their leaders sets them in home groups, gives them the readings for the week and does competitive quizzes after church on Sunday. It’s a popular event!!

I had also started English classes here before, especially for Ken their pastor who had never been to school. I continued with him and he has made great progress. One of the young men will continue his lessons when we leave and I’m confident he’ll be reading fluently within another couple of weeks.

As well as this I’ve done a lot of teaching with the Sunday School teachers and we’ve shown films most evenings. They really liked “Fireproof” and “Courageous” as there are a lot of marriage problems in this area and the life of Reinhardt Bonke — a real challenge to evangelism.

Meanwhile, Phil has reinstall their radio installation that was destroyed in the cyclone but they lack a battery and are using our little film batteries until we leave. Being able to communicate with the outside world with the radio makes a huge difference for them as there are no other radios on the whole of the south coast of the island.

We were most impressed to see they had kept all the church material safe during the cyclone as this area was the worst affected by the cyclone and many of their homes were completely destroyed. They managed to salvage the solar panel and antenna (the radio and battery died), guitars, Sunday School materials, blackboard, etc and to protect them in a couple of the houses left standing — quite a feat and symbolic of their priorities and depth of their commitment. They decided to rebuild their church building before they rebuilt their own houses. Three young people; a married couple and a single man are planning to go to Bible College next year.

Meanwhile we are waiting on the weather to go to Rehuwa at the end of the island where we would like to spend a couple of days with the church there before we head for home. So far it has stayed wild, wet and woolly!! Thankfully the anchorage at Jelewaga is very secure in the strong south east winds but it is an hour’s trip both ways paddling the banana boat whenever we need to return to the yacht.

God bless you all,

Pam and Phil

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Admiral’s Update No 20 2015

Greetings Everyone,

The wander has returned — loaded up with enough chocolate to open a shop!  Obviously he has indoctrinated a few of our friends with the theory that chocolate cures EVERYTHING.  As for me, Vuda Point Marina was a pleasant place to wait.  I mad a lot of friends — Emily, a Fijian woman with a huge hunger to know more about God; Christopher, a young German man whose vision is to work for renewal in the Lutheran Churches in Germany; a young woman yachtie with marriage problems who came to me for counselling; a whole village of Fijians where I taught Sunday School and enjoyed delicious Sunday lunches and a whole lot of others.

But I was glad to have Phil back and not to have to struggle with the batteries and the fridge and the electrical cord and all the other electrical things that went wrong with the electrician away; with getting off and on the boat with two metre tides giving huge steps to the jetty — and yes — I just missed him!! (  That’s good to know, typist).

We are now on the hard anti-fouling and planning to leave for Vanuatu on Monday, all being well.  Please continue to pray for Phil’s eye.  The doctor said the next six weeks are the critical time when it could re-detach.  Also, we still have the on-going problems with the HF radio modem which means no weather reports or communications when we are away from land, although Phil is hoping to arrange an HF sched with a friend in Gaynder (Qld) who will be able to give a weather report if he can get the contact going.  Hopefully once we get closer to Vanuatu the propagation will be OK for it.

God bless you all,

Pam and Phil

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