It is time to take the Vaka Hop’e out of the water for some TLC and some rest. I’m leaving the Solomon Islands in October, but there’s a massive shift within YWAM Solomons in September, and everything needs to be finished by then. To help us take the boat up, Matthew from Australia has come […]
Short Stories
The end of a chapter
We’re about to take the Vaka Hop’e out of the water after 6 months of service. I have felt depressed over the last couple of weeks and I think my mood reflects the mood of the Vaka Hop’e. For the past few weeks, she has been sitting in the water, nobody sailing her or taking […]
Sailing to Honiara
After one month in and around Munda, it was time to set sail for Honiara. The reason being that the main base of YWAM is there, and we wanted to celebrate and invite people into the vision of the Vaka Hop’e. Mark and Mary with their 4 children had just returned from a furlough in […]
Lost at sea
It feels so good to enter the safe harbor at Taro after battling howling wind and massive waves in pitch darkness for the last few hours. I am shaking with adrenalin and from the cold of the rain and the wind. But we’re so happy to be here! Not only have we arrived in the […]
Finding fuel on a remote island
The winds have turned against us, and with it the currents too. I wrote about our sail out of Madang in Winds are changing, where we were fighting the conditions at the cost of our fuel reserve. Using our last drops of fuel, we barely make it to Unea Island, not sure if we would […]
Winds are changing
This voyage was always a race against time. The right weather window to sail to the Solomon Islands ends in May, that’s what they say. The northwest monsoon gives way for the southeast monsoon in the southern hemisphere sometime between April and May. March to April is the transition period where light winds are prevalent. […]
Missionaries before us
Usually, introducing yourself as a missionary in Papua New Guinea gives you good standing with the people. The history of missionaries introducing the gospel to the people of PNG is recent and powerful. They also brought the modern world through services such as schools, medical clinics and infrastructure, good things that benefited the people. Also, […]
Thiefs in the night
I am tired of writing about thiefs in Papua New Guinea, because this is such a beautiful country with such beautiful people. But this robbery was the worst one yet. Not only did they steal from us but I was also attacked by one of the thiefs with a deadly weapon. I wasn’t hurt but […]
Old friends in Madang
YWAM Madang has been pioneered by YWAM Ships Kona as a base for Bible translation and as a base for YWAM Liberty. They have been able to lease a wharf from the Lutheran church in the middle of town, and it comes with a warehouse that they are currently converting and using as living space. […]
Sneaking past the pirate coast
I initially thought that the rumors of pirates along the north coast of Papua New Guinea was overexaggerated and didn’t think it would be a problem. But once we arrived in PNG, the locals kept telling us that the threat was real, and in our second village we were visited by Police or pirates? who […]