July- October 1999
Dear Friends and Brethren;
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Back and Being Kept Very Busy
Many of you are probably wondering if the ol' boy (that being me) has been able to get used to civilization yet. I must tell you the Wal*mart trips have been cut to only a couple a week. There are just too many choices for someone who has not been subjected to that for so many years. And what is it, that here the Cream of Wheat does not have meat (weavels) in it? I feel cheated (in a good way).
Well back to the point where we left you suspended in our last newsletter.........We did get the house emptied, cleaned and back to the landlord. We packed one 20 foot container and moved it to Steven's house and the rest of the stuff we put in a back room at the DHL terminal. We paid for the storage for a year in advance.
We left Vanuatu on July 6th and spent a couple of days in Fiji talking and visiting with Josua and Anna in Lautoka. We talked about the need for the Basic Bible Training School and the idea that it would perhaps be better suited in Fiji as it would be cheaper to build and operate as well as having a larger pool of students to recruit from. Students from other islands who came to Fiji would not be so out of their Melanesian culture setting as well. On July 9th we boarded our flight in Nadi and were able (for the first time in all our travels) to upgrade to Business class. The seat and leg room were fabulous. The extra room allowed us to have a more relaxing rest so we were not so worn out when we landing back in the USA. Our final flight was to Tulsa where we were met by Bonnie (Kathy's mom) and the Davis clan (Terasa, Chris and the two grandkids). Chris & Terasa had just gotten a new (used) van and we strapped our suitcases and trunk to the roof rack and drove back to Joplin (in a driving rain storm part of the way).
After a day or so of rest (and drying out clothes that had been in the suitcase on top of the car) we drove down to West Plains Mo and were able to purchase a 1996 Mercury Villager van for our use while here this year in the USA. A generous Christian brother owns a car dealership there. Thank you Dennis.
After a week of sorting and in preparation for our tenure at Harding University, Kathy and I drove down to Searcy to check out the house we were being provided. The house was fully furnished. The electricity had been turned off for several weeks and the refrigerator was in a stinking condition. We had to have the carpet cleaned and the cabinets scrubbed out as the mold and mildew made it very difficult for Kathy to breath. It is decorated in early '70's scheme with dark paneling throughout the house. Way too dark for these island people! We had hauled a full van load of stuff and we left it there before we travelled on to Vernon, Alabama (grandkids) and Lebanon, Tennessee (sponsor). While in Lebanon, funds were generously given to help us with the down payment on the van and to purchase a more suitable wardrobe for my new work at Harding. Grass skirts and shirts are not in this season, so they say!
New Grandson
While we were in Lebanon, Terasa gave birth to "Jackson Lee Davis", 7 lb 5 oz, 20.5 inches long. Three days later we were back in Vernon and stayed there a couple of days before travelling back to Searcy with Ragan and Harrison. Chris, Terasa and Jackson were right behind and they stayed a week with us while I underwent "New Staff-Orientation" and got my office set up in the Bible building. (During this period we were going to Walmart at least once a day for things we needed to finish setting up house.) We are known as "Abu" which means "respected older person" in Vanuatu. Until December birthdays we have three grandkids under three. Terasa is still the director of a state-run care home. and Chris does a wonderful job of being "Mr Mom."
Harding Duties
My classes started August 25th. I teach two, one hour classes-Monday, Wednesday and Friday. At 8.00am I teach "Acts of the Apostles" and at 1.00pm I co-teach "Mission Principles and Practices". The first class period I had 64 students in my "Acts" class. After I gave out the syllabus (which included a 10 page commentary on chapter 2 of Acts) the next class period I had 48. I have since leveled out to 56 in the "Acts" class. All students at Harding are required to take a Bible course every semester. Many students think the Bible courses should be very easy, I think differently. After all, this is a University! The "Mission Principle" class has 48 students. Tuesdays and Thursdays are used getting class material ready and other on-going projects (Bislama Bible and fund-raising for the Bible School and vehicle). I am trying to get into the swing of being a professor. I brought back all my bright colored pants and wear them to school. The kids get a real kick out of the many colors that I wear in comparison to the khaki and grays most of the other faculty wear. I do have a problem that maybe some of you can help me with. I cannot find any socks to match my pants. If you can source and send me some I would forever be grateful: I need bright yellow, blue, green and red.
The first week of classes ended with the Mission department (of which I am a part) hosting the "All School Retreat" on Friday night, which was attended by over 750 students. The total enrollment on the Harding campus is over 4200. The singing in chapel is superb!
We have attended faculty retreats for the Missions department and the Bible Department, newcomers get-together dinners and a "welcome new teachers" dinner at the president's house. We had a "Bible Major's Retreat" on the 14th of September at Camp Tekotah with Professors from Harding's Graduate school in Memphis bringing the talks.
I just can't believe how deficient these students are in speaking and writing the English language. Some of the term papers I graded I might as well have used a can of red spray paint because there wasn't enough ink in the pen to make the corrections.
Personal Happenings
Kathy turned 50 years young on September 4th and I graduated to 51 on the 17th of September. Thanks to the generosity of a dentist brother in Memphis I have been having some much needed dental work done. While having work done on one Tuesday we had Chris bring Ragan and Harrison up to Memphis and we took them back to Searcy where they stayed with us for 10 days (without Dad and Mom). This same Tuesday we were able to see and visit with Joe and RosaBell Cannon who have returned from the work in Papua New Guinea to settle back in Memphis. RosaBell is suffering from memory loss and Joe is caring for her. Kathy's mom, Bonnie, came down from Joplin during this time when the kids were with us in Searcy. Afterwards we dropped the kids back home in Vernon when we travelled to Lebanon for their homecoming weekend on Oct 3rd. We hope to be able to have the kids for more times. We are only about 5 hours from Vernon. Sure was fun with those kids!!!!! We would take them all over campus in their Red wagon. Remember both are under three! It was like having twins, but born 12 months and 3 weeks apart.
The World Mission Workshop was held at Oklahoma Christian University Oct 14-16th. We had over 130 students and staff from Harding attending. We also drove over and were able to see a number of friends and fellow-missionaries who we had not seen for a long time. We drove back thru Joplin before returning to Searcy for Monday classes.
My grandmother, Geneva Vessels, died on the 17th of October in Joplin Mo. She was 95 years young. Her sister, who is 103, attended the funeral. Kathy and I traveled up to Joplin after my class on Wednesday afternoon and returned Thursday night. We were able to see all but one of my brothers (12 brothers and sisters). My Aunt Betty (Geneva's daughter) and Uncle Bill and some of the cousins, we hadn't seen in years, came from Indiana. This was my mother's mother. Her ashes will be scattered over my mother and father's gravesites there in Joplin.
Vanuatu Happenings
We mentioned that Gomon Mesa, from Papua New Guinea, was working there in Vanuatu with a local satellite TV company. We have received word that he was offered a long-term contract and is presently making arrangements for his family to join him there in Port Vila. We are very excited!
We also asked for prayers and consideration for support for additional workers which we felt were needed in the work on Santo Island in Northern Vanuatu. Obviously the Lord felt the same way and the congregation in Vernon Alabama where our daughter and son-in-law attend has provided the travel funds and monthly support necessary for the Yusi Miopa family to come and work in Vanuatu for two years. Praise the Lord!!! Yusi was a young worker with me when we first went to the Chimbu province of Papua New Guinea in 1976. He has been a minister with a congregation in Lae, PNG since 1978. He went back to school at Melanesian Bible College and graduated last month. We are excited about having him back as a close fellow-worker in the Vanuatu work.
We have talked with Sombo a number times and he says that everything is going along fine in Vanuatu. They had the tract booth at the Anniversary celebration again this year. Sombo said they give out all the tracts I had left by the end of the second day. He said the Seventh Day Adventist pastors and leaders and also the Mormons confronted them with debates but refused to discuss the Bible. After much frustration the Mormons threatened to burn down the show booth but were not brave enough to do it. (A major difference between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu is that in PNG they would have burned the booth. I don't miss that!)
The week after we left Steve and Rose-Hanna Felix had a baby girl named Alfonia Felix. Steve also wrote and said that on September 11th Rose's dad had gone to Santo to visit his mother and died while there hunting with a cousin brother of his. Steve and Rose have since moved in with Rose's mom in Port Vila to help her with the mortgage.
Vehicle Fund
Some of you have asked it there are any special needs that we might have. As long as our present supporters continue we are doing okay. But one of the biggest needs we will have is when we return to the work in Vanuatu next June, a suitable vehicle.. We have talked with our sponsor and it has been decided that it might be best to start raising the necessary funds starting NOW! We will need (approx) $20,000 for a slightly used, 4-wheel drive vehicle with air conditioning. What we would like to ask is that those so desiring please send funds now for the vehicle fund and/or a pledge as to what you will provide before June of 2000. That way you can give on a monthly basis and not have to come up with a lump sum (if you are not able to do so). Please give this consideration as June will be here before we know it.
The Need
The Oceania Region of the South Pacific (not counting PNG, Australia and New Zealand, only because they have training facilities already in place) is made up of over 20 Island nations with over 3,680,000 people on 34,650 sq miles of land mass nestled in over 5,000,000 sq miles of Pacific Ocean with 30 congregations of just over 700 Christians served by 20 local Bible Trained workers and 8 missionary families. We are not getting the job of evangelizing done, we are not even keeping up with the birth rate! We have to find a means by which we can multiply ourselves so that the over 400 language groups will have a chance to hear the sweet message of Jesus Christ. This can be accomplished with the use of local Bible Training Schools.
Bible Training School
For some time now we have talked about the need for a Basic English-Speaking Bible School in the Oceania region. These discussions have been with the brethren in Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. It is recognized that there is a Pidgin English Bible school in PNG and a very good English school in New Zealand but the consensus is that the English level is too difficult for most island English speakers. The cultural stress has been extreme for some of those coming from a more temperate climate and the more mature Christians with families are handicapped from attending the school in New Zealand due to higher costs. So here is the proposal: we would like to have a Basic English-Speaking Bible school in the temperate zone of the Island region; we would like to have an intake of 10-15 students per year with a total enrollment of 25 boarding students; we would like to build the facilities to accommodate these students and at least three teachers and their families.
1. PROPERTY :(location, size 2-25 acres) The property would have to be of sufficient size to build the facilities needed as well as allow us to plant and grow the school's personal food needs and some type of cash crop which would put the school on a "self-sustaining" basis in a time frame of 5-10 years. The choices of location are: Vanuatu (very expensive) or Fiji (more affordable).
2. PHYSICAL PLANT: single dormitory (open floor plan with cubicle privacy); married quarters (apartment block); teacher houses (single dwellings); classroom(s) and furniture; kitchen/mess hall (for singles); chapel/meeting hall with attached office and furniture; water pump house with laundry facilities(?); generator shed; vehicle .
3. PERSONNEL: (all available in Fiji, trained in New Zealand) (1) Principal/ caretaker; (2) Teachers (2-3); (3) Secretary (teacher's wife); (4) Students (10-15 per year)
4. FINANCE: (1) Property acquisition (if the property is donated that will help keep the cost down); (2) Initial development (some of the buildings can be bure (bush) type buildings at first); $25-$125,000(3) Operating expenses: staff salaries; monthly expenditures; office expenses; student allowances ($3,000-4,500 per month)
5. CURRICULUM: Recommend classes be a full year term with no middle intake. This requires more teachers but it is better for the students to go into the program on a basic level and work up to the more difficult (how to study, exegesis, Greek and such) This would also allow the school to come on line and allow the staff to settle into a routine, ready for the second year courses. This would also allow the school to operate without having to build a complete facility for 25 students all at once.
This is a proposal that we are putting out to see if we can find a willing participant congregation which would serve in the capacity as a sponsoring congregation for this project. We would then need other congregations who would help with the financial needs of the building and operating costs not met by the sponsor. We are asking for a 5 year commitment. Please do not let the initial costs frighten you! God is great and able thru us to accomplish that which we can only dream about! (You dream small you get small, you dream big God blesses big!) If you or your congregations, or you know of a congregation who would be interested in this type of a challenge, please contact me here at Searcy and we can talk more in depth.
We envision that once things have been settled, a local School board is in place, the ground ready and funds in place for the initial building phase, that we would ask brethren here in the USA who could help in the building to come and help us put the primary facilities up so that classes could begin. A tentative date of the first classes are Feb 2001 as the public school system runs from Feb-December in the islands. After classes have begun we foresee the use of traveling American Bible teachers who could come and teach for a term or part of a term alongside our local teachers since the teaching will be in Basic English.
Kathy and I plan to help with the intial building and set up of the school but our long range plans are to remain in the Vanuatu area and make teaching trips where needed.
Please pray with us for these two needs: the vehicle and the Bible School! Prayer was answered as we were able to secure a monitor for the computer and a laserprinter. Thank You!
Your servants because of the Cross of Jesus Christ.
Tobey & Kathy Huff