Captain's Log #22
November 2001

WHAT DO YOU SEE?
This was now the final leg of the last of the journeys on the 'GALILEAN' with the W&W team from Puyallup as we headed out eastward around the tiny island of 'Waya' Fiji. Because this was the last trip I was now 5,600 pounds lighter, most of that change in weight was diesel and water and provisions that we had used up in the first three trips. Because of the change in weight I allowed a total of 20 people's names to accumulate on the manifest for this trip back to the island of Viti Levu. Among them, the School Master for the small boarding school that holds about 120 students from three villages. When conditions permitted a break in my concentration as we navigated through the reefs, he told me what had happened the night before.
 
"Captain...   of course you know that there have been many who have been opposing you and fighting hard to keep the Church of the Nazarene from coming to our village. It was late last night when you left the meeting with the chief and the elders but the meeting went much later and I must tell you what happened after you left. The man who led the group against you only two weeks ago, spoke up. He said he had heard that in the Bible the one called 'John the Baptist' had sent some of his men to go ask Jesus if he was or was not the one from God. Jesus gave them no answer, only asking them to tell John what they saw...    "I want to tell you", the man against you said, "that I have been watching for two weeks and what I have seen has only one explanation. The people of the Church of the Nazarene are from God! I did not know what type of people they were, I am sorry."
 
FOOLISHNESS?
So what is it that would cause such change? At least one of the things that God has been using is this...   we decided that this Nazarene church we would not begin with a church...   building that is. We felt that God was leading us to pour some of the hard earned resources into something that some might think of as foolishness. The truth is people could take advantage. We could be just giving or throwing it away. The church might never benefit from this type of an expenditure of funds and effort.
 
In a village that exists at sea level, the slightest rain turns everything into mud and we decided to try to help by making them a cement walkway around and through their village. And for a church building...  ?  well that will have to wait, for now, high up on the hill we would cut logs and stretch white canvas for shade and shelter from the rain. That will be our church, at least for now.
 
As we began our work on the walkway, the villagers couldn't believe what was happening. They turned out in mass to help us help them. Eventually attitudes seemed to begin to show change...   time will tell. Neither will we stop with this one thing, we have already been trying to bring dentists and doctors and we want to honestly reach out and help meet the needs of these isolated island people and in helping them even with strange things like a cement walkway, show them Christ who says to us when we do anything He tells us to do, even to the least of these, we do it to Him.
 
THE TEAM
What a great team of Americans from Puyallup Washington! These people successfully took part in an experimental new type of Work & Witness venture that did not center around a building project, but instead threw them head long into cutting edge pioneer mission work with the FIJIBoat Project and ministry. It was our goal to take them to the edge of where the Kingdom is moving forward here in Fiji and walk a while with them there. The objective? To be ambassadors of the King of Kings here in the islands of the South Pacific...   nothing less!! To represent the One who created the universe, whom you and I know personally through Jesus Christ His Son.   Also...   for each of them to be open to experiencing God from a different perspective, in a new way, allow Him to keep doing His work in all of us.
 
COMFORT
By their own testimonies these Americans were stretched and pushed and pulled way out of their comfort zones as they followed instructions well and long lists of do's and don'ts. Some worked hard to keep their distance from the Sea Snakes and venomous Lion Fish while chest high on the outer reef, miles from shore, while being yelled at by villagers to do their job right in bringing in the nets of fish for the village. Others worked side by side with the chief himself, or patiently sat cross legged during ceremony after ceremony until the feelings in their legs was gone and they didn't know how they'd ever stand again. Some eventually realized that it was real rats scurrying over them at night while asleep in the village and not someone playing a joke. Among our group we found those who had never, ever been to sea before (I know, I could not believe it either!) for them this was like jumping off the deep end literally, as they watched the GALILEAN'S depth gauge scroll faster and faster downward until finally nothing could measure the thousands of feet of pitch black ocean depths beneath us. Those who were a part of the first trip out watched as in an instant, visibility was reduced to a few boat lengths for hour after hour by torrential, unceasing rain. We moved by instrument across an empty, eerie ocean that seemed to close in around us, then suddenly looming out of the sheets of water on our port side there was the mountainous jungled walls of the southern shores of the tropical island of Ono and immediately to starboard, the jagged reefs of Kadavu and the 'tip toe' process of moving through that coral labyrinth, had began once more.
 
THE LANTERN
But I think the greatest test of faith for me came when Tim, the team leader unwrapped a new generation of lantern made in Germany and brought from the United States that is purported to work on diesel. This lantern was like no lantern you have ever seen, and I told these Americans that. I said; "that lantern is incredible, beautiful and you should be proud and I really needed to get back to check on the boat...  goodbye and goodnight." To my dismay they said they wanted to light it now. "No, no, it's not necessary, that will decrease it's life span, don't do it. Here take my flashlight, please." I tried to convince Tim the leader to no avail. (I should mention that his story varies a little). People came from miles (alright not quite miles) around, running to see what looked like a space ship from Star Wars getting ready to take off. I really don't know how long the entire process took, but I do recall that the sun had still been well up in the Western sky when Tim started. All of my life I have been around lanterns being lit easily, never had I seen anything like this. In the end it became a matter of principle for some and there was at least two or more people (and at least one of which was definitely not me) working so hard that those peoples clothes were drenched and the sound was like a jet engine with impressive flames shooting well into the night sky and beyond and someone I know was burning at the very least their fingers and more. The radiant heat and general resulting climate change in the area from this casual undertaking easily accelerated the ripening process of the village mangoes by one and a half weeks, maybe even two, and I was personally surprised to not see them begin falling from the trees right then. Many people seemed to be looking up and motioning for the children to be ready to catch the ripening mangoes, I think. Very old people who had survived all of their lives with nothing more serious to deal with than the occasional killer cyclone and big sharks, were now having to process this strange and dangerous American ritual that they could not escape. Finally Tim yelled at the top of his lungs, over the sound of the jet engines; "HARMON!!   HEY...    HARMON...   IT SHOULD BE READY FOR THE MANTLE TO LIGHT BY NOW!!"  The message was quickly relayed across, down and around to me that Tim had screamed this over his shoulder thinking that I was still faithfully right there, so I felt that I had to return...   "Did you leave??" Tim said... (his story is somewhat different).

"What do you mean, did I leave...?" I asked without hardly being defensive at all as I found it incredible that he actually thought that I had left even though I had. " Hey, I hunted lions with a flash light as a kid in Africa, do you really think something silly like lighting this lantern would scare me half to death, out of my wits,  making me think that this was surely when and where and how I was finally actually going to die?" (Tim's story varies a fair amount). In the end it worked!! 400 watts of brilliant light, lit up the night! From diesel! As I headed down the river and out to sea in the Galilean's tender, in front of me out towards the ocean it was dark, but behind me the night sky was lit up reflecting down off the clouds and the village people were still cheering and dancing around the American's very impressive lantern.
 
Just please don't let that thing go out, I prayed.
Harmon
Fiji

Be sure to visit our NEW web site at http://www.fijiboat.org
Click on 'Captain's Logs' to read all of the FIJIBoat Email Reports!

The FIJIBoat Project / Nazarene Maritime Ministries is completely funded by designated donations and is a "10% Special Project" approved by the World Mission Division, Church of the Nazarene.

A Big Thank-you to those of you who support Nazarene Maritime Ministries regularly! To be a part of this ongoing ministry you can send support to:
FIJIBoat Project / Activity Fund ID # AFS 1219
General Treasurer, Church of the Nazarene
6401 The Paseo
Kansas City, MO 64131
or you can now contribute online >>

To other Captain's Logs >>