Some answers to prayer and great encouragements

We have had some great encouragements over the last couple of weeks and we will write some of these in our next toktok. Some students have organised to read the Bible and pray together and believe it is making a difference in their lives. One student told me he didn't grow much during his two years doing the Certificate Course, but that he has grown heaps over the last six months while in first year diploma. He said the difference is that he is reading and discussing the Bible with other students and he can see now how God changes people as they read his Word and pray. Students are also keen to help people in surrounding villages, and many have decided to run Bible studies on basic discipleship as part of their field experience. They are also trying to find ways to use Open Day this weekend as a way to encourage and teach people from the surrounding area.

Give thanks to God for the work he is doing here. Give thanks for students like Temar, Kalmara, John Maite and Matthew who are really keen for these things to happen. Please pray that the discipleship Bible studies will go ahead in many villages, and that people will come to know Christ or grow in their faith and obedience to him. Please pray that students will find ways to glorify God in the way that we run Open Day, and that people who come will learn more about Christ as well as having a good time.

We have also enjoyed having visitors recently including many who came for the opening of the new library, some friends from College, and Glen's mother. We always love having visitors and find it very encouraging and helpful!!!

Thanksgiving for the field experience visits...

Some of the students spoke tonight about their time in the villages
over the weekend.

Bosco spoke about an old man in the village who began to cry during a
bible study and he cried and cried. It was a study on discipleship
and he was crying for his village who were not following Christ.
Bosco challenged the staff here at Talua to give their best as they
teach so that students can go out and give their best in the villages.

Then Manangis stood up. He was bouncing with joy as he spoke about
how they had seen God at work. In his village the people were hungry
for the word of God and begging the students to come more and more to
run bible studies for them. Manganis also said, 'please keep feeding
us so we can feed them.'

Temar, his smile spread across his face, and eyes shining, stood up
and simply thanked us (and you!) for praying for them. God, he said,
answered your prayers. Thank-you.

Glen leaves for Australia amid general family chaos

Greetings,

Give thanks with us for a wonderful term. The last few weeks went well and the students all seem satisfied with their growth through the term. The mission class was difficult, but by the end of the term some of them where getting pretty excited about the book of Exodus. Give thanks for all that has happened this term, and pray for the students as they begin exams on 28th April.

Before exams we have the week of Annual lectures, beginning tomorrow. Two speakers, Greg Anderson and Ma'afu Palu, will look at how to read and apply the Bible from within our particular context. Please pray that they will speak well and that it will encourage the students to read the Bible carefully and take it seriously in their lives and their ministry.

Glen will be away during this time because he is leaving today to go to Australia for two weeks to do a course at SMBC. Please pray for Rachael who will stay behind with the three children. Matthew had a vomiting bug on Friday night and Sophie had it last night so everyone is feeling a little tired. We also had a cyclone pass yesterday but it didn't end up hitting us. These things are all minor, but they make it hard for Glen to get on the plane and go. Please pray that God would give strength and good health to Rachael over the next two weeks, that the children will be cooperative, and that other people at Talua will help and support Rachael.

Lastly, Glen has been talking with an Elder from the church in town about working together on a book store in town. Please pray that God would provide a way for this to happen.

Thank you again for your prayers. We really appreciate them!

Yours in Christ,

Glen, Rachael, Sophie, Bethany and Matthew Connor

Upcoming visit to Australia

Greetings,

There are now two weeks of classes left. Please pray that students would work hard during this time and that what they learn will be helpful in their future ministry. Pray that God would calm those who are worried about exams or outstanding school fees.  Pray also that the students will grow not just in knowledge about God but in true knowledge of him and in holiness and desire to please him.

Glen will be in Australia for almost two weeks, beginning 20th April, and will need to finish marking and a lot of financial matters before he goes. Pray that this work would be completed and that he will also be able to spend good time with the family before he goes.

This week we will try to organise for students to visit the prison. Please pray that this ministry will be able to go ahead and will bear fruit. Pray that there will be no hindrances to this ministry or to mentoring.

Give thanks that Matthew is sleeping much better at night (except for last night!). We can always give thanks for continuing health and safety, the day to day growth of the students in knowledge and godliness, the encouraging sermons we have heard from students, their desire for evangelism, and many other things.

Yours in Christ,

Glen, Rachael, Sophie, Bethany & Matthew Connor

A busy time

Greetings,

Thank you for your prayers over the last few weeks. It has been a busy
time for us all.

The evangelism in town went very well. We had good conversations with
people and the students are keen to go back and do it again. Some of
us chatted with people in the main street, some went to the hospital,
and some went to the prison. The people in the prison are keen for us
to do regular Bible studies with them so we will try to organise for
this to happen.

Rachael and I are both thankful for the opportunities we had to
preach. Rachael preached in Bislama and the women found her words
biblical and helpful. The preaching conference in Vila also went very
well. A lot of people said they were challenged to study the Bible
more carefully and improve their preaching. They are also keen to
continue to meet together in smaller groups to work at preaching.
Please pray that this would go ahead and that God would raise up many
faithful preachers in Vanuatu.

There are three weeks to go in this term and the end of term weariness
begins to set in about now. Please pray that God would sustain us, the
other staff, and the students at Talua. Also, please pray for good
health as there are lots of mosquitoes around from heavy rain and
there have been a lot of cases of malaria at Talua over the last week.

Yours in Christ,
Glen, Rachael, Sophie, Bethany & Matthew

A busy and exciting Easter

Greetings,

There are quite a lot of important things happening over the next two
weeks and we would appreciate your prayer:

Sunday 16th - Rachael is preaching in the afternoon at the combined
women's service. There will probably be a few hundred women from the
local area at the service. The theme is "wisdom" and so Rachael will
speak about how true wisdom is found in Christ and the cross.

Monday 17th - Wednesday 19th - Student's will be cutting copra in the
afternoons after morning classes. This is tiring work and it will be a
difficult three days for the students. Other afternoon activities will
be cancelled.

Thursday 20th 5pm - The mission class will eat at our house and we
will re-enact the passover (as Glen is teaching them Exodus). When we
have done this in the past it has been a very special night for the
students.

Thursday 20th & Saturday 22nd at night - Screening of a movie based on
Matthew's Gospel to help the students reflect on Easter. (All the
words in the movie are from the NIV text of Matthew's Gospel.)

Saturday 22nd 10am - About ten students and one or two staff members
will go to town to do evangelism. We will chat with people and try to
explain to them who Jesus is and what Easter is about. This is the
first time that most of the students have done something like this.
They are very keen!

Sunday 23rd - Glen will preach at Talua for Easter, probably on
Colossians 3:1-4.

Monday 24th - Friday 28th - A preaching conference will be held in
Vila. This is being organised by Ps Andrew Williamson and
representatives from Langham Literature will speak. About 100 pastors
and lay leaders from Vanuatu are attending, and it is hoped that this
conference will be a great encouragement and help to good biblical
preaching in Vanuatu. It is also hoped that smaller preaching clubs or
groups can begin after the conference.

Please remember us and the people of Vanuatu in your prayers over this
exciting and special time,

Yours in Christ,
Glen, Rachael, Sophie, Bethany and Matthew Connor

Prayer points beginning again

Greetings,

It feels like cheating to call this a weekly prayer update, but we
will try to send them more regularly again from now on! We settled in
quickly this year and are finding it much easier now as we are more
familiar with how things work in Vanuatu and our language has
developed. Talua has now had 4 weeks of lectures. Sophie has also
started school and is loving it, and Rachael is enjoying teaching.

There have been several difficulties we faced here over the last few
weeks:

Two weeks ago there was a problem with work permits for Glen & Andrew
Williamson. The College didn't put in the necessary papers and has now
received a fine. It also meant we had to stop work for 3 days. We give
thanks that we are now working again, but it messed up lessons plans
quite a bit.

Last week the main issue at Talua was finances. The budget has a huge
shortfall (about 30%), but people here don't think about budgets or
take them seriously so no one saw the problems coming. But by the end
of February our accounts were all empty even though staff had been
unpaid all through the month. The Staff Council last week approved a
revised budget which drastically cuts spending. They also said that
money can only be spent if it is in the budget. This came mostly from
Glen as he is acting Bursar this year, but it is counter cultural and
will be hard to enforce in practice. Staff are all supportive, but it
is never easy to cut spending. The next few months will be very
difficult! We would appreciate your prayers concerning the financial
situation, but especially that we would be able to continue with our
work of teaching and training the students. (It is likely that there
will be many fundraising events and missed classes.)

Although I think Christians in wealthy nations have a huge obligation
to give to their poorer brothers and sisters, we are not in favour of
asking for funds to be given directly to Talua as there is not a
culture here of transparency or accountability in finances. Money in
institutions in Vanuatu often disappears and is spent poorly. But if
the College as a whole goes ahead over the next few months with the
decisions they have made then I think it would be good for wealthier
Christians to support the College so that staff and students can focus
on classes rather than on fundraising. We will keep you informed of
the situation.

Mentoring is going well and the students are keen to go out and do
ministry. We are inviting anyone at Talua to come to a meeting on
Thursday 13th March to discuss evangelism in town and pray together.
We will then do street evangelism in town on Easter Saturday 22nd
March. Please pray for this. It is a radical step for most students,
but there are big needs in town and many hungry people. We are also
planning on doing some work in a nearby village in April but this is
not definite yet. Please pray that these plans would go ahead.

Finally, please pray for the mission class. There are only six
students, but there is a big variation in their educational
backgrounds. One has finished high school, but another student has
never been to school and is virtually illiterate. Andrew and I are
both finding it a real challenge to teach the class. Please pray that
they will be able to understand what we teach and would learn and grow
through the classes.

Sorry that it has taken a while to get these emails going, and thank
you again for your prayers,

Yours in Christ,
Glen, Rachael, Sophie, Bethany & Matthew Connor