January - February 2017
Dearest Friends and family
I must apologize for the lateness of this report. I am combining both months.
January 19th was our 48th Wedding Anniversary but was not the best date to go somewhere. Airline tickets were cheaper after the kids went back to school so we went to Australia for R & R January 26-February 18th. We first went to Tasmania knowing it would be a break from our hot and humid temperature here in Vanuatu. We did not expect that it would get down to 8C (46F) at night and only 17C (62F) during some days. This is the peak of their summer. It is a beautiful island. It has lots of forest and and farm land and don't forget the crooked, crooked roads. It was also one of the penal colonies when England was sending out prisoners. We landed in Launceston stayed a couple of days then drove across and around and stopped in Devenport, Burnie, Queenstown and Sorell (suburb East of Hobart).
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA
Lighthouse
Port Arthur area
Port Arthur area
Queenstown
Non working Copper mine, Queenstown
Tasmania devils
Bed and Breakfast in Sorell
12C is 54F; 23C is 73F
We then flew to Adelaide via Melbourne to visit with Sam and Margaret Kirkpatrick who served in Papua New Guinea as missionaries when were we there. We worshiped with the Metro church when there. We also saw one of their sons who was a teenager when they were in PNG. He had some stories to tell about when they lived in Lae, PNG! Paul is a big boy now!
Paul Kirkpatrick
with his wife and a grandson.
Sam and Margaret Kirkpatrick
Then we flew to Brisbane to stay
with good friends Ross and Elaine Leggatt. I played golf with Ross one day as
one of their foursome was not there. I shot a 93 and won the 9 dollars. They
were as surprised as I was!
We were also able to meet up with Rick and Ruth Niland who also served as missionaries
in PNG. They lived a few hours out of Brisbane. We met they half way at a Hungry
Jack's/Subway truck stop.
The Nilands and Huffs
It was a relaxing time and a change of pace from the heat here. The peaches were in season and I ate some of the best fresh yellow peaches, in Tasmania, I have eaten since 1984 in New Zealand. They also have ChrispyCream donuts at the Sydney airport and many locations at 7/11 petrol stations around Brisbane. I even saw some Twinkies!
We arrived back late in Port Vila, after a 4 hour delay getting out of Brisbane because the pilots needed a nap (they got caught in major storms in Sydney and ran out of flight time). It was dark when we got back to the house and the ants, geckos and cockroaches had taken back over the house. Back to humid and hot!
WEATHER
We ended the year getting 166 mm (6.5") of rain in the last five days.
January over 241 mm (8.4") and to date in February 130 mm (5.1").
Needless to say everything is green again and we are kept busy grass cutting
just to see the place.
SOME DAYS
We are still having fits with the internet connection here in the village. If
I am lucky you will get this newsletter when I post it (our current bite rate
is 250-450 bps). Talking to the company is like talking to a log! They have
finally said it seems to be a software problem on the tower out here in the
village but because very few people here require the service they are dragging
their heels to fix it. Our situation is we prepay for a block of internet time
and if we do not use it in seven days we lose it. We do have a strong signal
but when it connects there is very slow or no transfer of data. Anyone have
any carrier pigeons for sale? I was going to use the tin cans with a string
but someone ran over the string and broke it.
The government here requires all vehicles have a roadworthy inspection every year before you can re register. The inspection is the same time for everyone and ONLY at the government inspection station, all vehicles have until March 31 to be re registered. Usually the station opens in early December as "first come first served" to get an early start but this year they decided to try something different. They said everyone had to pre book, no phone number so you had to go to town and book personally. I did so and they did not even get started until mid January. In years past the inspections have not been very comprehensive and a lot of public busses which are junk passed because they knew someone. Well, this year was different. Very few vehicles passed the first time through including my truck and Kathy's car. Kathy's car failed because it did not have water in the windshield washer, it had hub caps on and the parking brake as not as strong as they thought it should be. I took the hub caps off so they could see all the wheel studs were on, I told them I would fill the washer container and showed them the hand brake was OK that it is not required to stop the car when it was travelling. So she passed - but not mine. They said my rear bumper failed, because I had a strap coming out of the camper shell, which was keeping containers of fuel from slipping around, tied to the bumper. I opened the back up and showed them and they said I should undo the strap because it looked like I holding up the bumper (WHAT????). I had a small surface rust spot on the tail gate they said had to be painted over and one of my shock absorbers on the back had movement. The rear license also had a corner cut off of it (to accommodate the crank to drop the spare tire).
Strap
Rust: had to paint the tow ball also.
Well, I went home and worked on the truck so it would be ready on Friday when we went back. I also wrote a letter to the editor about what the inspection station was doing. I have a copy of the traffic law in relation to inspections and 75% of what they were failing private and public vehicles on is not under the law. In talking with the guys doing the inspection I found that most of them are not mechanics but work for the Public Works which is assigned with the inspections. These are 18-22 year olds. They said they had been told by their boss what to crack down on. So in my letter I said I did not find fault with the workers but the bosses. That is what I wrote but that is not the way it interpreted.
When we drove in Friday for the reinspection I was met by the foreman of the inspection work crew who informed me that he and the boys were not very happy that I "rubbished" their names. Instead of just checking the two failed points they put the truck back on the hoist and started a more exhaustive inspection. I left Kathy watching them and went up to the boss' office. I had a long conversation with him pointing out that he did not have the right to interpret the traffic laws regarding inspections. He tried to explain that they were trying to make sure that all vehicles were in "like new" presentation, which I agreed if I was hauling tourists around the island. I tried to explain that that is not what the law said (and the fact that my truck is 19 years old). He first said I should move my license plate up on the tail gate so I didn't have to cut the corner off until I explained the license plate lights light up the plate on the bumper not on the tailgate, dah! He had a meeting to go to but he said to have the foreman give him the new inspection when they got through.
When I went down there was no talking sense to the foreman and he wanted to give me the new "failure" inspection with 25 new fails. (He had tried to hand it to Kathy but she refused it saying it was my truck he could talk with me about it.) He asked what the boss had said and I told him he was to take the new "failure" inspection to the boss. His parting shot, as I drove off, was "I will never pass your vehicle!"
Well, the next Tuesday (without Kathy) I went to the inspection station but parked outside and went in to see the boss again. We talked and I explained that his boys did not have the right to reinspect my truck but only to check off what had failed before. He said I was right and went down to check the truck. When I explained the law (I thanked him for telling me he knew the law and making me check the law to see if in fact he knew it or not) about the license plate only has to have white letters (3" minimum) on a black background he passed the plate, he saw where I had painted the rust spot over and took my word that I tightened up the shock absorber. He approved the inspection but then said I needed to paint the aluminum strips I have on the bottom of all the doors and the rear wheel wells. When I asked why he said, "to make it look nicer!" Of course a real mechanic would know that the strips are covering where it is all rusted out, from the time it set in the salt water in the container it came over in. It does not make it unroadworthy just not pretty. Vehicles have been failed for have dents, scratches, dirty interiors and a host of other cosmetic reasons and even for not having factory hub caps. It has been fun! The driver seat belt in my truck has not been operational since we got the truck due to rust but they did not even check that! I talked with the foreman before I left and said I was sorry for how it got blown out of proportion and he apologized for his actions.
HOUSE WATER SYSTEM
We have a 12 volt water system (like in travel campers) on the house and the
bladder in the pressure tank died which meant no pressure. Always fun trying
to find replacement parts. I jerry rigged it and Jason has sent me a new pressure
tank.
SONG BOOK
The Song Book is ready to print. Just have to find the time and hope the small
laser printers last.
Christian Institute of
Biblical Studies
Classes were scheduled to start Monday Feb 20. However there was a Public holiday
on the 21st so we did not start until the 22nd. We had 4 students: three boys,
one girl. During the first week we had another boy come and there is word that
one of the congregations will be sending some boys next week.
I had vowed to TRIM my beard when classes started so here is the new look.
before 
after
Kathy assured me it should grow out before we come bad in May for the VA and our granddaughter wedding. Oh, did I forget to mention Regan Davis (Terasa's oldest is getting married May 13th and I was asked to be the minister in charge. I am honored!
The first Monday back we found out the water well at the school was sucking sand. This meant there was no water and the pump was ruined as well. I called my friend the well digger and he came out Saturday. He found the man who dug the former well dug it only 6 meters down and between two running streams of water at 6.5 meters. This was the same digger who dug our first well which dried up as well. So Jonathon dug us a new well which has a capacity of over 20 gallons a minute. (We just use it to top up storage tanks.) It costs up $2400 for the well and the new submersible pump. The Lord provides!
There she blows: enjoying a shower!
We were blessed with a sizable donation from an Austin, Texas congregation which has helped us get our solar power system up for the school as well as plans for the extension of the chicken operation to help the school be more self-supporting in the future. Thank you brethren!
HEALTH
The heat and sweat brings out the worse in my lack of auto immune capacities.
I now find out I seem to be allergic to my own sweat. During our trip to Australia
the dryer (less humidity) weather caused my face to break out with a yeast infection
which also caused many infections. The itching was bad and I had to wait until
I got back home to get my doxycycline. After a week it is clearing up finally.
MOVING
I have been notified that Jason and Mel and family will be moving to Searcy
this summer. She accepted a faculty position in the biology/science/geology??????
department. Since he stores a lot of our stateside junk we will be helping him
move. I will probably have to change my VA provider and banking after summer
as well. Oh, what fun!!!!!!!
Thank you for your prayers - God hears!
We are still looking for additional monthly support for the running of the Bible School with plans to get it up and running in early 2017. If you can help please do and especially remember us and the brethren here in your prayers - thank you!
God is good!!!!!!!!!
Onward and upward!
We especially want to thank all of you so much for praying for
us, supporting us and have contributed to our needs so we can do what we are
doing. God bless you! Thank you for your prayers and fellowship!
Thank you Lord for healing and providing what we need!
Grace & Peace
Tobey & Kathy Huff
Ph: +678 596-4821 (Vanuatu) We do texting.
Thank you for your prayers - God hears!
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Contributions for the Huffs, the
Bible school, the Scholarship fund and/or cyclone/drought relief can be sent
to:
Huffs/Bible School
c/ Mt Hope church of Christ
2830 Mt Hope Rd
Webb City MO 64870
or
Jason Huff
2730 E 24th St
Joplin MO 64804
(417) 396-9122
j13huff@yahoo.com