The Work of God in Vanuatu— Part 1

Vanuatu is a country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, comprising a chain of 13 major and many smaller islands located about 500 miles (800 km) west of Fiji and 1,100 miles (1,770 km) east of Australia.

Map courtesy of Ontheworldmap.com

United Church of God-Australia office manager, Derek Lewis, writes that the Church “has been active in serving the brethren in Vanuatu since 2017. Led by Bill Bradford (Brisbane, Australia), the Church has provided manpower and other assistance since that time. We have around 50 members mostly on the main island of Efate, where the capital of Port Vila is located. We support a small congregation in a remote village with the webcast of our Brisbane services each week and also during the Feast of Tabernacles last year (2021).

“Mr. Bradford has made many trips to baptize and perform weddings for members. We have funded and helped build a tabernacle for the Feast on a member’s land, also provided two water tanks, a generator, lighting, audio-visual equipment, etc. LifeNets Australia also contributed. In many ways God’s work in Vanuatu is embryonic, although much progress has been made. We facilitated the Feast of Tabernacles for three years from 2017-2019 and also provided manpower for the Passover and other Holy Days.

“However, we have been unable to travel to the country for two years due to COVID-19 border restrictions. The government of Vanuatu announced recently that they want the vaccination rate up and improved health facilities in place before reopening the border. They said it ‘maybe will reopen this year.’ Your prayers would be appreciated that we can return soon to Vanuatu to provide face-to-face spiritual instruction and guidance.”