November 2008

Available site for school

Dear Friends, Brethren and Family

 

Bula Vinaka!

 

Many of you know more than we do that the recent monetary situation is very far ranging there in the USA. We have already received word that we will be losing another $50 per month by the end of this year ($250 total so far). Where it will stop only the Lord knows. However we do not feel that this is reason no walk away from the plans we have for Bible Training here in Oceania.

 

The school was our original mission and it is still our mission. We too have gotten discouraged from time to time in the amount of time it is taking to get this going. However there always comes about that between the "proposed" and the "finished" product of any dream changes have to be made due to either the perimeters changing or the support base for such an undertaking changing. In this case both have changed but primarily the support base!

 

To say the support base has changed is an understatement but we still believe the God who can raise Jesus from the dead can provide the funds necessary for any Bible school He wishes to exist. We pray knowing that His wish is for all to be saved and thus we know and feel a school here would help accomplish that task, especially in a area of the world where there are 3 full-time workers in the kingdom, 2 national men and ourselves, in a country of just under 1 million souls (not counting the many island nations where there are NO full-time workers in the kingdom).
Because we don't have the funds to get the property needed for the school we have advertised in the local newspaper for the first of many of the correspondence courses that we plan to offer through "The Christian Institute of Biblical Studies". The first series is 41 lessons and is called "Studies in the Scriptures". These are courses that I have taught in schools where we have been and schools we have held in the islands. So we have determined that until we can get the funds we need to establish a located, boarding Bible school we will put "bread on the waters" and do what we can in Bible education by offering courses by correspondence. It has just taken me a lot of time to get the courses into a correspondence course format from the classroom notes I usually teach from.  (Our first students from the advertisement came by mail on Tuesday. Here we go!)

 

Tuesday (Nov 4) Joshua and I went out to look at some property which had been advertised in the weekend newspaper. It advertised as "5 acres with 6 (20x15) cabins, 1 (26x30) hall, 1 (22x50) kitchen/dining hall, kitchen room concrete, 1 (2,000 gal) water tank. Suitable for eco-tourism, camping, intensive farming (pigs, chickens), high school. Location Vunamoli (next to Pine nursery). Price $50,000 Fj$ ($29,000 US$) ono. Lease expires 2037"

Camp Location

 

The location (see location map -arrow) is 16 km from the main highway outside of Nadi at 250 meters elevation. About 1 1/2 hours from where we currently live at Vuda Point (asterisk). It is in the Nasuri Highlands. (Shades of Highlands roads in Papua New Guinea and roads in Vanuatu.)
It was used by the South Pacific evangelical church for a camp until about 2 years ago. They have moved into Sigatoka town and have a new compound there. So the property is for sale.

 

So Joshua and I drove up there after I talked with the lease owner who said we would have to have 4 wheel drive. (Don't challenge ol' Tobey!) We drove in on a logging road and drove out on the main (?) road (see "going in" pic). The Fiji Pine people have pine plantations all up in this area. The drive in was not that bad since we have not been having that much rain yet. The little car made it very well! We met with a Fijian family who are living on the property (we had fresh milk/tea with them). The local land owner told them they could live there to look after the property. They have two horses they ride and several cows staked out. They are living in the dining/kitchen building. There is evidence that the cows have used the huts from time to time in rainy weather as they left their poop evidence on the cement floors inside the huts which don't have doors.
The location gives us some challenges but the fact that the huts are all cement block construction means that main buildings are in place.
Positives: beautiful farming area; buildings are in place (probably worth $70,000 Fj$); all long drop outhouses; we should be able to lease additional farming space from the local owners; many small streams, one with a large waterfall where one can bath; Joshua has relatives about 12 kms from the site who have agreed to give us more acreage to plant crops on; the local people have already paid for electrical service to be brought into the area and the electrical people were there last month surveying the route in; metal roofs which could provide rainwater for tanks;
Negatives: no electricity, no telephone service; no running water on site; waterfall half-hour walk from the camp site; primary school 2 kms away; secondary schools on the main road 16 kms away; no bus service but some vans; only have one small car; an hour from Nadi town for grocery shopping; 1.5 hours from Lautoka and the Post office.

 

What we would need to do: replace sections of roof on the hall building (this could be converted into a house) where they had fiberglass pieces to let in the light which have rotted away); replace many of the windows and doors on all the buildings; paint the inside of the buildings; since all the buildings are open plan we would have to build inside walls to make rooms; redo the outhouses; install insulation under the roofs; screen the rafters on all the buildings to keep the birds out; provide a generator for electricity until electrical supply arrives (maybe even a wind generator); wire all the buildings for electrical supply; dig a well; install water pump and piping to tanks; install several large fiberglass water tanks to provide drinkable water; install sinks, toilets and plumbing for when running water is available and drains/sand pits for wastewater; clear the property of brush; plant food gardens around the property; horses (?) for local transport; pick-up truck;

 

I don't particularly care for the layout of the buildings but since they are cement block they can't be moved. Kathy and I would probably not move out there at first. I think we would still have to build at least one wood frame house. We would need a pickup truck for all the hauling we would be doing. This would be another $10,000 we don't have.

 

Josh and I think the property has a lot of potential and it would take a lot of work, which we and several of the Fiji brethren are prepared to do. Since there are a number of buildings already in place we would not have to build everything, just remodel and perform maintenance. However for $50,000 USD we would get just under $90,000 FjD which is a lot less then our original need of $250,000 and with that we would have to build most everything from scratch. If we have the funds in hand we would offer the lease holder $40,000 Fj$ since I don't think he has had many people looking at the property. That would give us more for maintenance. We think if we can get a total of $95,000 US$ ($170,000 Fj$) in the next few months we could get the school started next year. Josh would have to relocate his family there and get their schools sorted out (they start back up January 2009) as the two older girls go to secondary school and two younger ones will go to primary school. We would also need to get the property cleaned, crops planted and one of the buildings sorted out for housing for Josh and his family. As we are going into rainy (cyclone) season the sooner we get things started the better we will be.

 

Here is our request: PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! Is this where the Lord wants us to start? Many of the negative aspects are just cultural things we (Kathy and I) can overcome. The thought of camping out indefinitely does not appeal to us at this point in our life! Having to travel an hour to check mail and shop. hmmm) We can get electricity and running water. Cell phone reception can be found 10 kms down the road. Internet connection is another ball of wax! (Maybe via wireless if we put up a tall enough tower!)

 

Right now we have a lease on the house we are in until September next year so we won't face some of those problems yet. If Josh and Anna agree to the move then we have "a go" if we can come up with the funds ($50,000 USD needed immediately to seal the deal and for initial maintenance with $45,000 USD needed in the next few months for the additional maintenance, remodeling and refitting as outlined above.)
PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! If you know someone who can help let them know about this opportunity or get their name to us and we can correspond with them.

 

Please keep us in your daily prayers for our personal support and especially these funds needed for the school immediately ($50,000 + $45,000) and the monthly support ($3,500) we will need once we get the facilities straightened out and the school up and running with boarding students.

 

God Bless
In Him

 

Tobey & Kathy