Extreme extremes

Our stay in Vanuatu has been filled with extremes…the heat is to the extreme, the quantity of sand we have had to carry was an extremely large amount, and even the incredibly and unexpectedly cold nights were cold beyond what the word extreme can adequately describe. Even the spiders, moths, and crabs which occasionally find their way into my tent are extremely bigger than usual.

 

But the most extreme extreme that I can think of, which to me can truly justify the use of the word, is the way that everybody here has put in their most extreme efforts to achieve the wonderful work that has been achieved thus far. From day one, everybody put in 110% effort, knowing the task at hand that was to be completed, in the limited time we had. While there have been slight ups and downs, these were none too extreme so as to throw us from the track – the dedication and support shown by everyone, to everyone, has ensured that with only 3 working days to go, the school (while plenty remains to be done) is near completion. Unified through the love and message of Christ, the children of Eratap will come to school next year with a Year 4 classroom to go to.  

 

But it is not solely us who have led to the final stages of this work. The community of Eratap has shown extreme kindness and generosity in inviting and welcoming us into their homes and way of life. As one of our number said, I cant imagine having a guest in my house who couldn’t drink my water, and always looked suspiciously at their food. Our incessant need to question what we are eating and to continuously purify water has simply been taken as another little quirke of ours. The support that individuals within the community have shown to us has simply been amazing too; a lot of the time it seems that they run around looking solely after us. It is for things like these that it seems difficult to see how we will ever repay this small community.

 

But one way will be too spend the next few extremely hot days working extremely long hours to achieve the extremely gratifying end of leaving behind a finished classroom. While we still have a few more extremely tiring days left ahead of us, we all know that none of us could extend ourselves to reach these extremes without the will and the extreme ways of the Holy Spirit. For this power that we receive, through thoughts and prayer, we are extremely grateful.

 

- JP

Advertisement