May 2010
Dear Brethren, Friends and Family
Ni sa bula. (Greetings!)
It is May in Fiji and the mango trees are in bloom and
my allergies are driving me crazier. The sugar season starts up again in June
and so they have been getting the rail-line ready and the trains.
As mentioned last month we have been issued (duly stamped
in our passports) a three year extension on our visas to stay and work here
in Fiji. However they have said further renewals are restricted unless we meet
several requirements: (their words)
i position must be advertised
ii provide the reasons why the local understudy cannot as yet fill the position:
iii provide the reasons why none of the applicants in response to the advertisement are suitable.
iv signed employment contract
v should the permit holder is, still considered most suitable, then a local police report is to accompany the application for extension; and
vi the application must be lodged two (2) months before the expiry of the permit
As you can see the immigration people here have not
fully grasped the fact that points i - iv are not applicable in our situation.
They have this concept that The Christian Institute is under the umbrella of
a much larger organization who have allocated funds for the local school. They
don't understand that the funds we get at the present time are only sufficient
for our personal maintenance here and if we leave the funds leave with us. Sometime
in the next three years Joshua and I will go talk with immigration and explain
the situation to them.
This extension gives us further time to raise funds
for a permanent school or decide that it is not feasible again at this time.
The extension studies part of the school continues to
have its busy times and its slack times. The end of March a policeman knocked
on our front gate. When I went out to talk with him he asked what the Christian
Institute of Biblical Studies did. His name is Eremasi Saukilei. He had just
been transferred to the police post which is across the road from our house.
He is a member of All Nations Christian Fellowship and very active in their
church. He had a number of questions so he signed up for the basic course. There
are six sets of lessons which he proceeded to take and finish in early May.
He would have finished sooner but we were out of country for three weeks in
PNG and Vanuatu. He has since started the first course of the Diploma Course
and finding it more challenging. With the first course he would do a lesson
set every day or so and bring then back for grading. I would grade them and
then take the new course to him at the police post. He has given me names for
6 other family members for enrollment in the basic course. He is a very sincere
person and questioning. Pray for his further studies!
This past month The Fiji Water Authority finally found and fixed the water leak at our house on Vuda Point Road I called in over 2 months ago. Here is a picture of the hard working labourers at work. The leak was on their side of the meter.
What was really funny was watching the water guys repairing the line
without shutting off the water flow because they don't have shutoff valves positioned
on the feeder lines. That's how we do things here!
On Sunday morning May 23rd I awoke to a water leak spewing at the back of the house. When we moved in here there was a section of water pipe from the back office door, around the corner to the back of the house where it joined into the main pipe for the toilet, bath and kitchen. This section was black PVC and except for a small part was all on top of the ground. The only problem with that is the black PVC is not ultraviolet resistant to the sun and and since it has been exposed for so long to the sun it became brittle and split, again. This was the same section that broke several months ago and I repaired it.
I just shut off the water and after we got back from Bible classes I fixed it.
This time I have taken all the black PVC pipe out and run white PVC which I have buried to keep it from direct sunlight (even though the white is UV resistant).
Then about 3:00am Monday morning (May 24th) the
power died. I thought it would come back but it didn't and so I sweat the bed
until I got up at 6:45.
Here was my letter to the editor about it: "Recently I have been thanking
different organizations for their "exceptional" service to the public.
(I thanked the water authority in Saturday's paper for finally coming out a
fixing a water leak which I reported two months ago.) I definitely do not want
to leave FEA (Fiji Electrical Authority) out. Around 3-4:00 am Monday May 24th
we lost power to our house in Vuda Point. I woke up sweating because the overhead
fan quit working. (I know, quit whining, at least we have an overhead fan.)
I tried to go back to sleep thinking the power was only off momentarily and
would come back on like it sometimes does. Not so! My first call to FEA was
at 7:15 am reporting the fault. I called again just after 8:00 and just before
9:00 both times being told that they had no record of a fault but they would
report it. Around 9:30 a FEA team came to the house. They had checked around
the area and we were the only house without working power. They checked our
power box and said, "you don't have any power". What a shock to me!
This team said another team was on the way to
check the line fuse on the pole and should be there "soon". By 1:00
pm I have called three more times with no success. I had these times been told
"someone would call me back "soon" on the status of our power
fault. HA HA HA!
Give FEA credit. At 2:20 pm we just now got our
power back on. A FEA SUV drove up with four workers: two got out pulled the
line fuse and replaced it, the other two sat in the SUV, the two workers who
did the work got back in the SUV and the team left. Less then 7 minutes start
to finish (plus 7+ hours waiting). Thank you team FEA."
Last night while reading and watching TV we noticed that during intermittent
rain there seemed to be a sparking of electricity outside and the lights would
flicker a bit. We have a bug zapper on the front verandah and thinking that
is might be having overloads (some of these mosquitoes are pretty big) I switched
it off. That seemed to work. Seemed is the operative word here! It was not raining
by the time we went to bed at 10:00 but about 10:15 it started to rain again
and then all of a sudden it was 4th of July (or Guy Fawks day to some of you)
outside the bedroom window. The power pole outside the bedroom lite up like
a bonfire. The power died to our house and we were scurrying around trying to
find torches (flashlights) to see what was happening.Even after
our power died there were flames and sparks coming off the top of the cement
power pole. (Where are those marshmallows?)
I immediately called the power company and told them what was happening.
The closest fire truck is almost an hour away from us (even though we are surrounded
by propane gas farm, and three major fuel supplies and their huge storage tanks)
so why call them, I didn't. For 10 minutes there was still a small fire on the
pole and finally it died out. It took the power people two hours to get here.
We used candles to read until I finally took out the generator and ran it for
minimum light and the refrigerator. When they did arrive they climbed up the
pole, said there had been a short (surprise me!) and that we would have to get
an electrician out in the morning to run a new supply line from the pole to
the house.
What had happened is that the insulation had rotted out on the wire
strainer bracket (the older models are pinch where the new ones have a roller)
and when it rained - direct short. I don't think the lightning strike last year
helped but nobody bothered to check then. If it had happened on the house strainer
block we would have been burned out, it is attached to wood.
The reason the team in the afternoon had no problem putting in a new fuse is the other fuse had blown in the early morning because we had a bit of rain but it was dry when they came. Also the wire strainer is not part of their equipment so they don't check them. Actually the team who replaced the fuse earlier in the day did it with a long pole from the ground without even going up on the pole.
The team that came last night, after seeing the look on my face that
we would have to get an electrician out in the morning to run a new lead line,
found a new wire strainer in their truck, strung the wire back up and hooked
it up before they left. So they helped us out greatly and the power is back
on. The Lord is still looking after us! Oh, the fun we have in paradise.
Kathy and I are preparing lessons for a Lectureship in American Samoa
we have been asked to speak at in July. The Lectureship is July 5-9. However
because of the flight schedules from Fiji to Samoa and on to American Samoa
we have to leave here July 1st and not come back to Fiji until July 13th.
We leave Samoa to come back to Fiji on July 13th and because we cross the international dateline we land here July 14th at 01:40. We have booked our flight back to the USA for the night flight out of Nadi Fiji at 2200. This means we will have about 18 hours to change out clothes, wash the dirty ones and finalize everything for being gone for three months. We will be flying into LA on to Tulsa and driving up to Joplin.
We received a newsletter from a dear personal friend who is working
in Greece in mission work. He said, "I pray that
the service (CIBS) is offering is acceptable to
and utilized by our great transformational God. I also pray that it is encouraging
to you - our partners in this endeavor. I do want to keep you informed on a
regular basis. But, the normal events that take place each day, each week and
each term do not have great variety. This is not discouraging. This is simply
stating the reality. Even with our ongoing inconveniences and annoyances (water,
power and transportation) we are still encouraged in our belief that there will
be long term benefits for the expansion of God's kingdom in (Fiji)
and the surrounding nations.
Whether our place of service is with the student in the classroom or the graduate in the field, it is not one mountain top moment after another. It is a long-term obedience towards the goal of glorifying God as He transforms us. God is the one doing the building. His Word is planted in our hearts. Day after day we teach, rebuke, correct and train with gentleness and patience. The days and weeks flow by like a river. Sometimes it breaks on the rocks or shores of obstinate attitudes that the river of truth will eventually erode or remove. Sometimes we enjoy the gentle flow as the river meanders at an indiscernible and languid pace. We are a process in progress. We are convicted that if we simply trust and obey - God will accomplish His purposes. I do not believe (here on earth) that there is really ever a completed body of work. That is what Christ will evaluate the day we see Him face to face.
We do live in a very unstable world. Our process at (CISB) is to allow God's Word to constantly point out the only One true stability. This daily examination of God's absolute, revealed and inspired Word forces us to recognize, admit and repent of the placebos we have accepted from the pluralistic world culture that constantly bombards us with its deceptions and false promises."
Except for me inserting our personal areas (in red) I could not have said it any better so I quote it for your consideration. Thank you Steve.
We have decided that we need to come back due to various factors. Mainly so you know we are still alive and these newsletters are not just auto generated by a computer. We thank all of you who partner with us in this work. We do believe that this is a long term work with long lasting benefits. We pray that you believe this also.
As mentioned in previous newsletters I have been teaching a series on "The Road to Maturity" on Sunday mornings (which sometimes stretches into the early afternoon). The most recent lessons have been on "Improving Family Dynamics". Though different cultures have different family structures we are learning that the Bible teaches the best way for the best dynamics within the family as seen by God. Some of this deals with discipline which in itself is training. We have two families at Sabeto who have teenage children and as I have been teaching this series serious problems came up in both families. I did not address any of these problems individually but through the lessons that I had already prepared was able to give advise which saw resolution and reconciliation in both these families. Sometimes I would say the Holy Spirit moves me to teach a particular series at the most opportune time. I am blessed to have been here when this was needed.
With this in mind we are coming back to report, re-evaluate and recharge. We need your help. This trip has drained our finances. We do not have a vehicle to travel in while in the States and wonder if someone out there can help us. We will need a vehicle for 3 months and we will be putting many miles on it travelling from Joplin to Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and other points. To rent a vehicle would cost us around $4,000 for the 3 months which would be better spent we believe. We also need for everyone who receives this newsletter to think of ways you can help us make contact with people and congregations (even companies) who might be able to help us raise needed personal support and especially support to be able to come back to Fiji and buy land and build a facility that "The Christian Institute of Biblical Studies" can use to get on with the task of Biblical training so we can equip more workers for the Lord's work here in the South Pacific.
We are praying that the majority of our partners will continue their support while we are there reporting and when we come back. If others of you can help with one time help it would be appreciated. Contacts for prospective support would be worth their weigh in gold (gold is acceptable as well). You can contact my son or myself.
Jason Huff
c/ Mt Hope church of Christ
2834 Mt Hope Rd
Webb City MO 64870
email: j13huff@yahoo.com
PH: (417) 396-9122
Thank all of you for your prayers and support that allow us to work
in the lives of people here in Fiji and the South Pacific.
Your seed sowing workers in the Kingdom.