I'm not one to pass on an interesting conversation with the person sitting next to me on a plane. This time it was a Presbyterian Minister from Espiritu Santo. His actual name was Ps Tueni, but thankfully he was know as Pastor Tony. We were both flying to the same destination - Fiji to Santo Espiritu. My reason to find a beach, his to continue his leadership with the Presbyterian Church. The view out of our plane showed the beautiful blue and turquoise waters surrounding the islands below. Soon we would be landing in Espiritu Santo.
I told him my reason for making the trek to Santo, then listened for two hours to learn about the commitment he has made to bringing Christian values to the native population on Santo.
I told you in my first blog that my travels tended to be about people I met along the way, Pastor Tony is one of those very interesting people. I learned long ago that the more you talk - the less you listen, the less you learn. Traveling is about learning and respecting the roles and livestyles others are living.
The Farm
Pastor Tony picked me up at my hotel to take me to the church's farm and explain how the farm provided food for the many staff including ministers and their families. He was training 10/15 ministers to live in the mountains (which he called the Santo Bush Mission) with remote tribes that still lived very different lives, most without clothes. All the ministers he was providing for were natives of Vanuatu. People living in these remote areas were very suspect of people with lighter skin.
Once the local village chief accepted the minister, he would set up a hut for living and begin teaching basic schooling for the village children. The hut was always set up just outside the village - so the importance of the chief was never put into question.
Church on the Beach
Once we had finished our tour of the farm, we headed to one of the 20 Presbyterian churches he oversees. This one on the beach just west of Million Dollar Point. Very pretty setting with about 70-100 people attending on Sundays. What pride Pastor Tony had in this church, built by its own parishioners.
The more I was around Pastor Tony, the more I realized how much he was responsible for - a lot. But his faith in God to provide things as required (not all at once), allowed him to be able handle the enormity of his task. Very cool guy.
He did sit down with me and carefully go over Ed's photo. He told me exactly were to go. And that is what I did.
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