Awesome testimonies from Vanuatu!  
 
PROCLAIMING THE GREAT SOUTHLAND

"Let the heavens, the earth, the waters with all their creatures and all those here present witness that I, Captain Pedro Fernandez de Quiros...in the name of Jesus Christ...hoist this emblem of the Holy Cross on which His (Jesus Christ's) person was crucified and whereon He gave His life for the ransom and remedy of all the human race...on this Day of Pentecost, 14 May 1606...I, take possession of all this part of the South as far as the pole in the name of Jesus...Which from now on shall be called the Southern land of the Holy Ghost...and this always and forever...and to the end that to all natives, in all the said lands, the holy and sacred evangel may be preached zealously and openly."

- Edited version of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros' declaration, made on Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu on 14th May, 1606

We had an amazing time in Vanuatu, such a beautiful place, and extreme in its spiritual climate. The roots of animism and idolatry go very deep, and there were many times we felt and saw the effects of it on the people.

HOSPITAL testimonies:

I loved going into the hospital to pray for people. One day especially sticks out to me. I was with my friend Sarah, and we ran into some extreme cases of sickness. Among them were 2 young men.

The first was a 15 year old who when we went up to him had a look of terror on his face, he had very bad pneumonia and could hardly breathe, had excessive nosebleeds and was getting a blood transfusion as we were standing there! He had been there for 3 weeks already. He let us pray for him, and we could see that terror and fear so strongly over him, but as we talked and prayed with him, it lifted and we could speak hope and told him, "You're going to live!" we told him. Sarah went back after a week, he was up walking around, she didnt even recognize him! He came to her and told her that after we left God healed him!

The second was a 22 year old man with arthritis in every joint in his body. Even the vertebrae on his neck were swollen, his knuckles big and painful. He has a rash on his face from an allergic reaction to his medication, he was havin it rough. We prayed a lot with him, and he gained movement in his hands, we felt the presence of God wanting to set him free, we had him pray and ask God for his healing. Again, Sarah went back, and that guy had been healed as well when we left! He was there, having a very small amount of pain, the rash had cleared and he was telling people God healed him!

From one of my students Matt:
We were praying that day about what to do and felt to pray for people and to really battle for them. We came upon a woman with a breathing problem who said she wanted prayer. We prayed, with no results, two times. We dove in again with a renewed vigor the third time and after saying amen, asked her how she felt. In between deep breaths and a shocked and joyful face, she relayed that she had just been healed. It was only after three times that her healing came.

From one of my students Kim:
We were in the hospital one day, going through the ward praying for people. We came across this young boy who had fallen out of a tree and broken his leg. His whole leg was in a cast with just his toes sticking out. He was very still, so i gently placed the tips of my fingers on his toes and started praying for him. When we had finished, as we were talking to his parents, he started to move his whole leg up and down and play around with his toes. We were all astonished, even at the transformation in his attitude. Praise God!

HEALTHCARE SEMINAR

We ran a 3 week "Simple Healthcare, You can do it!" seminar among the poorest in Port Vila.
They responded with such humility and openness. The villages have a big problem with malaria, dengue fever, and diarrhea, among the common sicknesses that you and I also deal with. Through this seminar we were able to give life-saving keys that we saw them immediately put into practice.

There was also training provided in praying for the sick, which they loved putting into practice! We know that sometimes we just plain run out of resources, but God never does.

THE STREETS

On the streets of Port Vila (the capital of Vanuatu) we had public worship & bible reading, which almost always led to sharing the Gospel with people. What is amazing about the people of Vanuatu is their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Many times we would meet "Christians" who didn't follow God and pray with them, and they would immediately hear God speak to them, be convicted of sin, and turn back to God! It was amazing to see God moving in this way among the local people, it happened many times!

Total stats for our time in Vanuatu:

Healing: 21
Salvation: 49
Follow up discipleship: 105
Teaching: 254
Received prayer: 298
Open air proclamation: 71

And all this not because we are amazing, but because God is with us!