Christmas is almost here.

All the students have left the college and most of the staff have returned to their homes. A few are staying on to maintain the facilities and keep the grass down. We have received funds towards some new lawn mowers which has arrived just in time. The temperature is rising in Vanuatu and the cyclone season is close. Give thanks to God for His many blessings on Londua this year and for His continued guidance for the future. Please pray that God will fill the college with students next year and that the staff will be eager to rise to the challenge of lifting the teaching, management and discipline standards. Thank you one and all for your support and pray for Londua. I know that God is please when he sees his children in prayer. Merry Christmas to all and please keep safe on the roads.

Year End

We are back from our last visit to Londua for this year. Thank you all for the prayers for Londua. We have seen many answers to prayer and were fortunate to be at the College graduation of 45 students. Many of these students are now young adults going into the workforce and will be using the skills learned at Londua to find their place in society. We pray that they will take the love of God with them and follow Jesus their Saviour. Londua has a 30 second radio advertisement running for a couple of weeks. We hope this will let all students in Vanuatu and their parents know what is happening next year at Londua. There is a definite improvement in the college with a positive outlook for next year. The 2 Gap teachers will be on their way home by now. They have done a great job, sometimes under difficult circumstances. Most teachers will be having a break over Christmas with a few staying on to look after the college.

There are 2 new Gap teachers at Londua. One teaches at Londua and the other teaches at Lo-one. They are good kids and take part in college life.

Prayer points

Please pray that the advertisements for 2009 Londua staff will get spread far and wide and that God will challenge His people to fill these positions. Please pray that the advertising for student intake for 2009 will get to every prospective student and parent in Vanuatu over the next few months. There have been some radio interviews, advertising posters and we are looking at placing some radio advertising this week. 4 teachers are now receiving government salaries for this year only and we have applied for 4 teachers and 1 principal's salary for 2009. If this is approved it will give us some welcomed financial assistance for 2009 and also give us some credibility within the government system.

Londua Web Info

This page is a small link to let you know what we are up to. Londua Technical College has it's own site now where you can see more about the school. http://londuatechnicalcollege.blogspot.com/
Have a look and let me know if you have trouble loading any of the info. Thanks

The last night

On our last night at Londua the Kingaroy "girls" made dinner for all the students. Baked beans and spaghetti. After this young Keith got the students to play a few games like ship, shark and shore. It was a great time enjoyed by both the young and old. We found out latter that some of the students had never had spaghetti before and were wondering what to do with it.

It is all about partnership

The ED of GMP was welcomed warmly by all. After his talks about the changing face of Global Mission Partners the welcome grew a lot warmer. There was confirmation that GMP are here to support Londua Technical College as it moves forward and transisitions into a full technical college. Both partners need to work together to achieve this task. The Tasmanian team were great as they got to work on every job they saw. One job taken on was painting the outside of the chapel. Here is the finished article. Makes a difference don't you think? There are a hundred more jobs to be done but one by one they will be completed.

Special Sunday

We had a special Sunday while at Londua. Here are pictures of the three girls who were baptised down in the sea. All I can say is that these are the fruits of all your prayers. Thank you for your support.

A big 2 weeks

Hello to all. Sorry for the delay in my next posting but life doesn't stop. We had a great trip to Londua this time. The ED of GMP and I spent 3 days in Santo at a CC meeting which was a very beneficial time for all. The 5 from Kingaroy and Lyn flew out on the Monday and met up with the Tassie group who were just starting their second week. Food was good, weather was good and the work was good. A few opportunities for ministry around the local churches and with the college students. The Tassie group will not be forgotten for a while. There was a few nights of rain which was good to put some water back into the tanks and also a few cool nights. The ED and Lyn and I were part of the College Council meeting which was ½ and 1 day. Good time of discussion and decisions. I found out just before the meeting that 4 of the teachers are now on the Government payroll. Halleluiah! That was a welcome answer to prayer. So many little miracles happen each visit and I am so thankful. The new class room is ready for use. Here are some pictures. Thanks to the Tassie team and the Kingaroy group for a great effort.

Off again

The Tasmanian team are on site and there was a magnitude 7 earthquake there yesterday so they must have started work. Maybe it was a night service that rocked the boat?? The strategic plan is finished and the advertisment for next years student intake is just about completed with the help of Andrew in Sydney. We will take them with us and a good friend of Londua will post them out. We will be 2 weeks away this time. I expect that the temperature will be up a bit. Have not heard if there are many applications for principal and or teachers yet? Lyn and I will be attending a couple of meetings and there are 5 willing workers from Kingaroy prepared to come with us and work on getting some new class rooms ready for next year. John the ED of GMP will be visiting and it will be great for him to see the work first hand. Please pray that God will continue to show us His plan and enable us to follow through. Thanks.

Last term

The last school term is starting and this time next week the Tasmanian group of 10 will be in Santo and ready to fly to Londua the next day. All is ready and the days are warming up. There will be a temperature change from Tassie to Ambae. There are 5 from Kingaroy plus Lyn and I flying in to Londua on the 15th September. The technical college plans for next year are progressing forward and God is in control. We will be send out advertisements in October for student enrolment for 2009. It will provide an opportunity for the 70% of year 8 leavers and 70% of year 10 leavers that do not get selected to attend any further government academic education. This places a responsibility on Londua Technical College and the Vanuatu Church of Christ Conference to meet the demand of student placements in vocational studies and provide the best quality of training that will lead to employment and or small business growth. Please pray for the safe travel and safety on site for all team travellers.

Teaching salaries

Hi all. The discussions with the education people went well although I can not say that we have secured any money for teachers salaries yet. The discussions were very positive so please keep praying and we will keep knocking on doors. We have a group of 10 from Tasmania going to Londua in early September and a group of 5 from Kingaroy going a little later. The paper work my end is still being processed and there are little miricales happening every week. It is exciting to see where God is leading. Thanks to the 2 churches that are supporting the chaplain. There is a lot of maintainence work and paper work to process and it is all getting done, slowly.

Went to visit the Doulos today. Met Aaron from Australia and James from Vanuatu. Good to see them and give them some encouragement.
http://www.doulos.org/

Work team

The following pictures are of the students learning rendering on the new home care building and a concrete top that was poured on one of the ground tanks. The Toowoomba work team had an airless spray gun with them and sprayed 60 litres of light yellow paint on the inside of the girls dorm and the new home care building. Does anyone have contact with a paint supplier that will sell us paint at a very reasonable price? Please let me know. Thanks.

God is good

Had a good time in Vanuatu last trip. Met with some TVET (technical, vocational education and training) Strengthening Program people in Vila and again at Londua where there was a regional meeting of Rural Training Centre representatives. Very interesting to learn about the future direction that the Government is moving with technical training in Vanuatu. I believe that the next Government pay day will see 4 of Londua teachers being payed by the government. YAHOOOO!!! We are in serious discussions at the moment trying to secure government salaries for Londua teachers for next year. It is looking promising but we will see what God has in plan. There were 4 blokes from Toowoomba working at Londua while I was there and they made a good impression on the work and the staff and students. Job advertisements for all Londua staff have been mailed out and we are praying that God will bring the right people for the right positions for next year. The advertisement for the principal has also been sent out. Philemon is the acting principal this year and the position has to go through the official process as per the Vanuatu Conference policy. I heard this week that Londua has been selected to trial a new satellite internet connection. Apart from the obvious advantage of having this service supplied free for 2 years we now need to purchase laptop computers so we can put it to good use. Student, staff and community computer classes are on the way. There are 2 new Gap teachers living at Londua. One is teaching at Londua the other is teaching down the road at Lo-One. We are yet to meet these teachers but the house will be put to good use. Please pray for the discussions with the Ministry of Education in regard to funding and salaries for Londua from next year forward. Thanks heaps.

Time to go

Lyn has a bad back and the doctor said that she has to stay home. She is not happy! Through some intervention from above I have a meeting on Saturday morning with a person who is heavily involved in technical training in Vanuatu. It will be good to get some information on the future direction of technical training in Vanuatu. AusAid are assisting in the development and upgrading of Vanuatu's technical training program and it helpful to know where it is heading so that Londua can aim in a similar direction. Please pray that the meetings will be fruitful and thank God for his guidance. Pray for the Conference office staff and the Londua Technical College School Council in their partnership of moving Londua forward. There is a group of 4 men from Toowoomba heading to Londua this Friday for 2 weeks. They will continue the work on from where the last Toowoomba group finished. It is very supportive to have many willing hands to share the work. With all the effort that people are putting into Londua it is great that God has a plan for next year and beyond. Thanks for your support.

Off again

It has been a while since my last post. Londua has a draft proposal / business plan for the next 3 years. It is in draft form and when it is modified and approved by all I will give you a look. We are heading to Vila on Friday and to Londua on Monday. We will have a bloke from a Sydney church coming to have a look in preparation for their work trip to Londua at Christmas. Met the ED of GMP for a brief time yesterday and we had some good discussion.
IMPORTANT
Please pray for the discussions and decisions that will be made about Londua Technical College over the next few weeks in regard to staff positions for next year, securing of salaries from the government for Londua teachers and for the recognition by the government of the value of Londua Technical College as it continues to provide high quality technical training to the rural students and community. Thank you.

Back in town

Hi all. Have been in NSW for a joinery conference and it was information overload. Took our Ni-Vanuatu daughter to the snow for half a day. She is still thawing out! Am finishing the written proposal for Londua Technical College for next year. It is a bit time consuming to get all the words in the correct order. The Toowoomba team will be back home by now. Will be interesting to hear what went wrong or didn't turn up. There is always something. That's what makes it so much fun. Talked to the electrician and he was challenged in many ways but came through with flying colours. We are booking our next trip for early next month and then for mid Sept. I need to get back to work on the proposal. Welcome home Sarah.

Work team

Today the work team from Toowoomba arrived at Santo and will travel to Londua on Tuesday. Had a call from the electrician at Ranwadi tonight and they arrived from Vila a day late due to plane rescheduling. Most of the materials have arrived at Londua except for the guttering which had to be brought up from Vila. Hope there is food left in the school shop for them to purchase. It will be good to hear back from them in 2 weeks. I need to finalize the local work team dates. Conference has set the date for the CC meeting so we have to work around that. There is a lot of typing and teaching material that needs to be produced by the end of the year so it will be interesting to see how God brings this about. It is a very interesting and exciting time. Please pray for safety of the work team and the ministry that will be shared between cultures.

Where did the week go?

Had a great week with a few meeting to do with Construction Training Queensland and accreditation of high school teachers involved in Cert 1 and 2 in furniture. Amazing how God arranges for meetings that assist us with what is happening at Londua. We met with our "boss" on Thursday and it is good to be on the same wave length in nearly every item that was discussed. Still a mountain of work to do on the technical subject lessons for next year. Writing the teaching material for Construction, Mechanics, Agriculture and Tourism and Hospitality. If there is someone out there who has experience at this and has some time to help please give me a call. I need a draft copy of the lessons for teaching in class that cover all the modules up to Cert 4 for the above subjects. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I have most of the Construction ones done and am starting on the other 3. End of financial year is always a busy time and this year is no exception but it sure does make the time fly by. A boat load of materials turned up at Londua today ready for the work team arriving next week. Some items were out of stock but I am sure they will be kept busy. Pray for their safe trip and return and for the ministry of the team and to the team. God is great!!

A week already gone

The weekend is here and what have we done? Caught up with some work but not much for Londua. Next week is going to be different??? Need to see the Tafe blokes for some info. So better get back to it.

Slow down Christmas I need more time!

When we think back on our last visit it is amazing what was put into place. We do have a great God. Curriculum development is now high on our agenda to be ready for next year. There is assistance just around the corner and I am not ready for it yet but I know it will come. Please continue to pray for Londua Technical College staff, students, school council and the local Conference Executive as they work together.

A great trip

We are back in Oz for a holiday (work). Met with Vanuatu National Training Council about accreditation and registering Londua Technical College as a technical provider and had a very positive meeting. Met with Vanuatu Rural Development Training Centres Association and will have good assistance from them. Met with Teaching Services Commission and have received confirmation that some teachers salaries will be forthcoming. GREAT! Visited the Vanuatu Institute of Technology and met with teachers, one of whom did work experience with us last year. Very helpful visit. Had meetings with the Principal and Chairman of the School Council. Attended the official School Council meeting with the new representatives and it was a long and fruitful meeting. 10am till 10-30pm the first day and 8am till 6-30 pm the second. A very positive meeting with all members giving their input. This is the group that will move Londua Technical College into the 21st century. Their aim for 2009 is 200 technical students from year 9 to year 12. Subjects proposed will be Construction, Mechanics, Agriculture and Tourism/Hospitality. Next year is going to be a ripper. More soon!

Londua Entrance

For those who have visited, worked or had a holiday at Londua this picture should be familar.

Solar Power

We have been talking to some people who have some BIG second hand solar batteries that we would like to use for the office solar system. It needs to run the fax, computer, email and lights at night. At the moment we do not have the money to purchase these items so will have to wait a while until the school finances are in better order with more students at the school. In Vanuatu the cost of rice has gone up 50% in the last 6 months so the cost of rations for the school has gone up likewise. This is not helping with the school budget. We are trying to get a bulk deal of 20 tonne of rice in 25 kg bags from Australia for the second half of this year. It would be used to supply both Londua and Ranwadi schools. 1 tonne per week is needed for each week of school for the remainder of this year.

New Technical Modules

If anyone has some experience writing TAFE modules for carpentry, joinery, mechanical, electrical, tourism, agriculture or business studies I might have a job for you! Over the next year or so there will be some upgrading and modifying of existing modules.

More Teams

There are plans for a team from Tasmania going to Londua in early September and another from Queensland in late September. If you have a group from your church interested in getting a work team together contact the GMP office. http://www.gmp.org.au/ If you are interested in supporting and praying for Londua Technical College students and staff, thank you. Please forward this blog on to friends who may also like to pray and keep in touch with the work. The plans for the new curiciulum are being discussed at the moment so please pray for God's plan to unfold. Pray for the students as they come back to second term. Pray that the student fees will be paid early. Pray for discussions about the future of Londua Technical College with the Government departments and for the payment of teachers salaries. Pray that plans work out for the telephone to be connected to the school in the coming weeks. Pray for the Chaplain as she ministers to the students and staff.

Work Teams

The team from Toowoomba will be heading off in just over 1 months time. We need to get all of the materials sorted and delivered. The home care building needs to be finished as well as the double class rooms.

Progress

Have had 5 emails from Vanuatu with the Londua support group moving forwards. Great. Need to get a paper done on the proposed plan for Londua in the next 2 years. Keep my typing skills up. Had some time in church this morning to promote Londua which went ok.

Forward planing

There are many emails that need to be sent to follow up on the discussions from the Conference. Need to keep on top of it all. Have to get the technical course infomation sorted for next years classes. Feel a bit tired like this old girl.

Time to get back to work.

There are a lot of emails that need to be sent to push the full technical change over through. So tonight I am getting some of those done. My new good friends from Vila are eager to assist and and I need all the assistance that I can get. Forgot to take my malaria medication for a day or 2. I met Sarah the GAP student in Santo for 1 hour before I left. She was eating ice cream. I bought 2 "Jaws of Death" steel rat traps for her to take back to Londua. Ok time to send some emails.

Conference

What a week!! Very early rise, late to bed in the early morning. Lots of late night disscussions. Lots of sitting and concentrating on the Bislama discussions. The Conference is in full support of the direction that Londua is heading. Some financial issues were discussed and prayer is needed. I am sure of that support from the members of the Vanuatu Churches of Christ. What about you! The Vila support group are investigating curriculum and modules that will fit in with the Government policy for Londua to become the Penama Provincial Technical College. The Vila support group are 100% behind Londua Technical College and will be an invaluable help. Londua will receive students from Year 8, Year 10 and the Rural Training Centers and after training will feed them into the Vanuatu Institute of Technology in Vila and the Vanuatu Agriculture College in Santo. Londua has a good reputation with the VIT. 14 students from 2007 and the 11 students from 2006 were all accepted into the Institute and have impressed the teachers. Had 3 meetings with the principal and some school council representatives and have some positive outcomes at the school. A motion was put to the Conference by the School Council Chairman and passed unanimously that the School Council should be an equal representation from all Island Conference regions. Nomination forms to go out soon for Londua Technical College principal starting 2009. Was stuck on Maewo for 3 days and nearly missed the flight back to Brisbane. No boat, found another boat, no petrol, drive 2 hours, still no boat, found another small boat, to rough, large freighter coming sometime???, arrived 10pm, get on boat and sleep on deck till 4am, motor to North Ambae, get transport to airport, exchange ticket, arrive Santo with 3 hours to spare. Thank you God, What a really great week! And Lyn picked me up at the airport.

Conference

What a week,

Tonight we are packing and packing and packing. Tomorrow 6-30am Brisbane to Sydney. Sunday for Allen is to Meawo on Vanuatu for Annual Conference. See if we can raise the support for Londua. Lyn has been recounting the story of the prowler that was caught at Londua while she was there. Sarah and her were burning the midnight oil ( solar) and he was sitting on their front steps. He got away from Stewart the first time, but running full tilt into a shed soon slowed him down. Then with 6 boys sitting on top of him he was not going anywhere. All is well with the shed after some panel beating. The rats have heard that Londua is the place to be so they are immigrating at a steady rate. The girl students enjoyed a breakfast entree of the bread and butter plate sized crab that Lyn caught at 2am in the morning. Thought it was a persistent rat that wanted to take over her accommodation but then found this crab who may have been on the band wagon with the rats. The school will probably be down 12 students next term for misdemeanours. The Government have not come forward with the promised salaries for 4 teachers which is another strain on the budget. God knows the situation so we will seek his lead and keep on keeping on. Please pray for the Chaplain and the staff and the follow up of the students.

Saw pictures of the Doulos in Santo tonight with Aaron and his wife Kim, James, and Sarah eating icecream. Have started downloading info from Lyn for next weeks trip. Pray for Annual Conference next week that discussions on Londua are fruitful. Pray that the locals can see the accountability at the school and support it. Pray for the Toowoomba work team in their preparation for the July trip. Life is great.

Lyn is home safe and has a million stories. It was a big week and progress is being made. The Gap student at Londua is great. She is young and bullet proof, well almost and is doing a great job. Still lots of rain and humidity and the suit case needs airing. The teachers are working well together although there is a little unrest between the students. Principal is rising to the challenge and has stamped his authority on the school and is supported by the teachers and school council. Annual Conference next week and Allen heads out on Sunday instead of Monday to try and get to Longana and then boat to Maewo. Have organised to try and catch up with John to get some Government thinking and policies on where vocational training in Vanuatu will be in 5 years. Also try to see Kathy to get the latest developments on Vocational training. The challenge is soooo big but that is good because we can not do it on our own. Pray for the future of Londua Technical College.

2nd trip to Londua, left on the 20th. Lyn has gone on her own to dig into the finances and get a true picture of the current situation. Says it is a bit warm. New part taken from Santo to fix photocopier and ??? still not fixed. Sent it to Santo for fixing, high priority to get it back as soon as possible. May need to replace it soon. Lots of meetings and discussions this week. Students have been told of there responsibilities while at school and older ones need to set a good example for the younger. Still raining most afternoons just to keep the humidity up. Need to fix the leaks in the cement tanks to maximize the storage capacity. Group from Toowoomba going in June to finish of the Home Care class rooms, Girls Dorm and double class room floor. Need to make sure materials arrive at the school in time. Lyn will be home tomorrow. Another list of priorities.

Allen and Lyn had their first visit to Londua the week before Easter. Lots of talking and lots of questions. There is a great bunch of teachers who are committed to getting Londua up to full potential. It will take a lot of work to reach this potential. This will only happen with the commitment and support from the local West Ambae people. It will also need the support of members of Churches of Christ in Vanuatu and Overseas to get all of the maintenance on the buildings and the equipping of the schools resources up to scratch. The new Chaplain is doing a great job.