Spring News 2010

SPRING 2010

Dear Friends and Supporters,

On the 1st of March 2010 we arrived back home after being away for two months. Once again God made our eighth mission trip to Vanuatu a success. We were able to purchase all of the remaining stock of Bislama Bibles this trip and distributed 400 in total.

Our ministry takes us to remote and sometimes harsh environments. Quite often it takes a lot of effort and resources to reach the people. This trip was no exception. At times we had many hard things to go through, poor sleeping accommodations, very hot and humid weather, slippery jungle trails and unsanitary food. In the tropics every insect bite can be serious and can quickly become infected. When on the island of Tanna we were showing the Jesus film with our big screen projector so we stayed the night in the village. We were given a grass hut. Abby got a small cot to sleep on and Dave was given a grass mat on the floor. We had no idea that the hut was full of fleas. We both woke up with many flea bites which over the next few days turned into large sores.

Fortunately, our friend Jack Reuben, Vanuatu’s Bible Coordinator, was coming to meet us on Tanna from Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital. He was able to bring us anti-itch cream and some antibiotic cream. One expects some hardships in these remote locations!. But praise God it was all worth it, just to see the joy on the faces of the people as they received a Bible or watched the Jesus film, many for the first time. The natives say that they have very few visitors because the environment can be so inhospitable.Bibles For The Poor Society going into remote parts of the world

Just a few days before leaving on our mission trip on January 1st an amazing thing happened. I received a phone call from Georgetta, a lady who I did not know from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She said she had been watching a program on the TV by the National Geographic Society. They had gone to the island of Tanna and had chosen five men from a Kustom village, then took them to the USA to show them our modern society. After watching several episodes, Georgetta became very concerned about the souls of these Tanna men. They were shown many things about the North America culture but had not been taken to even one church. After praying for these men from Tanna, Georgetta felt inspired to call her friend, a Wycliffe missionary in Texas, to see if he knew anyone who has a mission to the island of Tanna. The Wycliffe missionary told her about our Society and gave Georgetta our phone number. I told Georgetta when she phoned that I was leaving for Tanna in five days and we would try to find these men who were now back on Tanna. If we found them we would offer them a Bible.

We did find these men, they live in a remote place in the mountains. I told them about Georgetta and that she had been praying for them. They said it was true they were not taken to even one church while in America. They were so interested in what they were hearing that they brought in an interpreter so they could get all the information from me. I told them I was just delivering them the Bibles that this lady had requested for them, if they wanted them. They were very excited about the news and said ‘this is from God’. After our meeting, when I was about to leave they said, “In 2008 and 2009 we were steering the truck but now this is a new time 2010 and we now want God to steer the truck.” It was so surreal to give out two boxes of Bibles, 36 in total to people who are just learning about God. Georgetta is a senior and confined to a wheel chair and God chose her to reach out to these Kustom people on Tanna. That’s the power of prayer, love, and action.

In February, our last Bible distribution was at the hospital in Port Vila. We only had eight Bibles left; we could have easily distributed two hundred Bibles to the sick there. May God bless the eight Bibles that were given out and Lord willing, next time we will go to the hospital first. We also visited the prison again, taking the desperate prisoners food, Bibles and showing them the Jesus film in Bislama.

We had hoped to go to the Solomon Islands to the mountain people on the island of Malaita (there are new converts there needing Bibles). But our guide informed us that their summer (our winter) time is too treacherous. The monsoon rains make the rivers, trails, and sea very dangerous. Many rivers must be crossed and jungle trails climbed to get to the Mountain people. A better time to go would be in the month of September. Please keep this as an item of prayer and Lord willing, He will open the door.

In our ministry we often see people who are suffering from physical ailments. Jack Reuben’s brother died from complications of a tooth infection while we were in Vanuatu this year. Visiting a dentist, months earlier, may have saved his life. Because our Charity has recently been authorized to operate as a humanitarian Charity as well as a Bible Society, we can reach out to the whole man, spiritually and physically.

In closing, I’d like to share an experience I had in Port Vila. I felt prompted by God to give a man a Bible. To be honest I had little hope for this man. But to my great surprise he came to my lodging place some days later and said he was now changing his life. He said he had made a decision to start reading his new Bible. The Word of God has power to reach souls.

Jesus said in John 8:28 “I always do what pleases Him.” Paul in Ephesians 5:10 says “Find out what pleases the Lord.” It is our desire to be pleasing to God. We have seen the Bibles go out and change lives. In Isaiah 55 we have the promise from God that His Word shall not return void.

We are now back in the Kootenays working with our hands, and available and ready to go when God calls us to go again.

We are thankful to all who support Bibles For The Poor Society. Be assured, you are making a difference in the world through your prayers, love gifts and donations.

Sincerely and with warm regards,

Dave & Abby Dever

Christianity cannot keep at home, Christianity is the travelling religion. Joseph Parker 1830-1902