Hi.....here is Vae's final update about his time in
Samoa...Thank you again for all your love, prayers and support.
Report #3
Talofa everyone,
October 6, 2007
I
am home in Canada now, and I have just return from my son, Manuia's
football game. It felt so good to watch him play so well, and
hear
people commenting about his playing skills. I am so proud of Manu, and
as I walked away tonight, I said to myself, " THAT'S MY BOY" It
felt
so good to walk up to him, give him a "high 5" and say; " You played
well son, I am proud of you"
Picture: 8 of the
40+ Samoan missionaries serving around the world with YWAM who came
home for the Samoa 4 Missions conferences. Some of them are leading
teams
of over a hundred staff, making a significant impact on the nations
they serve.
I
am now sitting in our kitchen in Medicine Hat, and I felt the Lord
wanted to say something about the leaders of Samoa and how it blesses
His heart about what they declared during our recent "Samoa for
Missions" conferences.
Some
of you have gotten the reports I sent from the both Islands of Samoa;
Savai'i and Upolu, and as I sit here, the words of the Governor of
American Samoa echo thru my mind:
Missions is our legacy. We must
continue it. It's a must. Not only I challenge the people of American
Samoa
to be missionaries of the Good News of Christ, I also challenge my
family and children.
He also shared the joy of being part of the great event
of Samoa for Missions.
He is a funny and very kind leader, and he
responded to the call to missions with three Samoan hymns which had
been translated to our language when the first European
missionaries landed in our islands. All three hymns were powerful,
but
it was the first one that brought tears to my eyes as he sang it…
"When I ponder on the
Cross of Jesus
All the
desires of my own get washed away
For I will
rejoice only in the death and the resurrection of Jesus
And at that, I
forsake all the things of the world.
(Hymn 40 in the
Samoan EFKS Hymn book)
His heart was very clear:
"THE
LEGACY OF OUR PEOPLE IS TO TAKE THE GOOD NEWS TO THE NATIONS"
We
all felt as if a dark cloud had been moved away from all of Samoa, as
the two leaders declared that this is our legacy, and that without
missions, we will die. At the end of his speech, he blessed us
and
asked that the Samoan people would follow us to the Nations. The people
and the churches in Am. Samoa were very generous and very hospitable to
us. It
was an awesome week of workshops on different mission subjects and
mission rallies at nights, with many from the different spheres of
society responding to the mission call to GO to the Nations.
To
top it off my whole time in Samoa, as walked into the airport in
Western Samoa to return to Canada, a pastor, who had been with us in
the mission conferences was there with his wife. I greeted them and
asked how they were, and he responded; "Vae, yesterday we did a mission
call in our church after I preached about missions. Eight people from
our church of about 40 stood up and said they wanted to be missionaries
anywhere God called them." Isn't that amazing that
almost a quarter of this pastor's church want to be missionaries!
Imagine
if every church were to release a quarter of their members to be
missionaries? I
feel in my heart that the land,
culture and church of Samoa are finally excited about missions again!
Picture: Some of the ladies of the Sapapalii village bringing
gifts.
Once
again, thank you so much for all your prayers, encouragement and
support ... during these past five months as we
prepared for and were a part of the "Samoa for Missions"
conferences. One of my prayers is that one day
Jesus will come up to us, give us a "high 5" and say,
"That's my boy/girl! You did well, and I'm proud of
you."
Please
pray for the release of finances and visas for those missionaries who
are ready to GO and tell the world. Some of them will be going to Asia,
Pacific, Middle East , Africa, South America, and some are praying
about coming to work here
in Canada and the U.S. with "New Waves Ministry" which ministers
amongst the First Nations, Metis, Inuits and Native Americans.
Picture: Silo, Ieru, Fona, Vae and Loren Cunningham, taking
questions at the Samoa 4 Missions conference.
Please
also pray as we endeavor to provide discipleship and training for
these
new missionaries, and then to mobilize them to the Nations.
Thank you again and may the Lord of the
Nations bless you all.
Vae Eli
Picture: Faatui Laolagi and wife
Faatui was the chairman for the Samoa for Missions conference in
American Samoa.
For many years he has faithfully served as a pastor (LMS), educator (independant), and
board member for YWAM.
