Dear Brethren and Friends
Thank you for your prayers and financial help on our recent mission trip back home. I say home because I felt that that was where I was when I landed in rainy Lae and then in Port Vila. I will have been back two weeks tomorrow from my trip stopping in New Zealand (Auckland airport only), Australia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and American Samoa. My bag didn't get back until the following Sunday afternoon, three days later. I only missed two flights (from Port Moresby PNG to Brisbane Australia) but they had to put me up for the night in a 5 star hotel. It was the first visuals I had of Kratina. Then they flew me to Cairns where we missed one flight (three hours delay out of PNG) but got another in the afternoon. I only got a few hours in Brisbane before heading to Port Vila, Vanuatu. While in PNG I taught at Melanesian Bible College for the week, I taught Hebrews in Pidgin. It was good to get back into the language. I also experienced high humidity again with a roll of Necco candy in my bag MELTING and a flash card for a camera refusing to operate!
It was good also to get back to Vanuatu again and see the brethren. While there I was told that Transparancy International really didn't need the prinitng equipment I had left and I could have it back. I got Goman Mesa to pick it up and store it for us. Kathy joined me for a couple of days in Port Vila before we left for Fiji.
We landed in Fiji with our feet movin. We were there to look at whether the time is right to finally start planning for a Bible Training School there.
After a few days I put Kathy on a plane back to Joplin and I went to American Samoa where I taught a weekend class on "Spiritual Gifts". On my return to Fiji I had two more days before my flight back to Joplin to go around and talk with government officials about getting a school started. They were very helpful and even said they would expedite the application.
When I arrived home the first conversation Kathy and I had was about our future. She said she didn't intent being a missionary widow with me being gone many months every year teaching in a school in Fiji. She said she was ready to get back into full time missionary work, the sooner the better! All the talks and all the signs from this trip point to God working in many ways so that a Bible school can be established in Fiji. (We even got the printing equipment back as well!)
So for you brethren that have said we need to be back in the field, HERE WE GO!
We believe that God's people are the greatest people on earth. We believe that they have the greatest love for the lost the world has ever known. We have everything necessary to do any job God wants done. We know God stands ready and waiting to bless, guide and establish every effort. May we then launch out into the deep to gather a harvest of souls like this world has never seen.
This Bible school "The Christian Institute of Biblical Studies - Fiji" is being established to provide English-speaking Christians in the Oceania region of the South Pacific with Biblical studies to equip them to reach into the far reaches of the South Pacific with a combined population of over 30 million souls speaking over 1,000 different languages. At present there are less than 20 missionary families serving in this region spanning over 50 million sq miles. Providing Biblical training to foreign nationals will allow the kingdom to multiply itself many times over into language groups and countries where we presently have little or no work going on or where there are small groups of struggling Christians. We plan to have a board for the Institute in place with brethren from PNG, Fiji, Vanuatu and American Samoa.
The location of Fiji allows for this Bible Institute to be unique as it will be conducted in the customs, cultures and climate like their respective island nations thus allowing for a minimum alteration of their life styles so as to have a minimum of stress when they return from their studies to their island nation of citizenship. Fiji is also located in the hub of the Oceania region.
Plans call for the school to be operational and have the first students (10-20) in Feb 2007 and to be self supporting in 5 years. We are planning to have a campus of 10+ acres to grow cash crops. There is need for financial help in the initial building and starting stage (upwards to $225,000.00). There is a need for a sponsor and monthly support for the school (of $3500) and a sponsor and support for The Huff family who have over 27 years of active missionary work in this area as they head up this unique challenge.
We ask for your prayers for these needs and if you can point us to someone who can help make this a reality please contact us. Our primary concern at this moment is securing a sponsor and support for us personally so we can give the time we need to raising funds and awareness of the Bible school. Kathy and I both have fulltime jobs and would like to be able to give fulltime to the missions needs starting the first of the year, 2006. We are currently communicating with the Fiji government on the School registration and our necessary work and resident visas.
Thank you for your prayers
In Christ
Tobey & Kathy