Going Back: Vanuatu 2010

It's official... We are going back!  After much prayer and wrestling with God about the possibility of a followup trip back to Vanuatu we have decided to go back.  We were very careful not to make a rash decision and do something out of our own excitement. Although I am excited to go back it is not because I just want to take a 2 week vacation and see some old friends.  I truly believe that God is calling us to "followup" with what happened on our trip last summer.  I believe that there is a need for discipleship and Biblical teaching as there seems to be a spirit of confusion across the entire island.  We are planning a week long discipleship conference with roughly 30 nationals for one week in July of 2010.  These select 30 will then go out to the forbidden "kustom" villages around them to share the love of Christ with their own neighbors.  There is no better way to reach the people of Vanuatu than to have them reach each other!

A small team of 4 including myself, my brother, and 2 others (yet to be determined) and a key discipleship trainer (possibly Caleb Bislow) will be going back for 2 weeks in July.  Mike Phipps, who also went last year,  will not be going back this year because he is getting married in June (Congrats Mike!) but will be helping out with the preparation.  Please let us know if you would like to join us in this endeavor through prayer or financial support!  Our goal is to raise around $5,000 to make the whole conference possible!  If you would like to give send a check to:

Keller Park Church

1003 W. Bryan St.

South Bend, IN 46616

Write "Vanuatu" on the memo line to make sure it gets in the proper account. Do not write my name on the check.  Please include a slip of paper which says my name.

Please do not feel obligated to give for this trip, but continue to check this blog for more updated information regarding the trip.  I will be posting more specific details, stories, prayer requests, plans, etc. on this site over the next few months leading up to the trip.

God Speed!

Kory

I am humbled!

It was humbling to know that I had over 50 people praying and fasting for me before I left for Vanuatu a couple of weeks ago.  It was even more humbling to know that 50 people were at my house this past Saturday to hear how the trip went.  I was in amazement to know that a group of people would care enough about our trip to come and hear about it.  Wow!  It literally brought me to tears as I thanked the people that I love the most for making my trip to Vanuatu possible through prayers and financial support.  Without them it would not have been possible.  I am the fortunate one that gets to go while I have a group back home doing the dirty work.  I can't thank them enough for supporting me in my endeavor.  Mike and I made a video to share with those who supported us.  It is just a little way of saying, "Thanks."  So... here it is!

"Forbidden" Village

The following videos help paint a picture of the forbidden village that we entered during the last part of our trip in Vanuatu.  We spent five days prior to our entry preparing for this village that has a history persecuting Christians, deliberately rejecting Jesus, and burning Bibles.  We asked many pastors if they would go with us and none of would.  We even had one of our translators bail on us at the last minute.  We finally found a guy by the name of Keith of had the same heartbeat we did: to reach the unreachables!  Watch what happened...

I'm back!

I will be posting some videos in the next few days helping explain our trip. Thanks for all the prayers!

Final Prayer List

I have to make this quick because I am running behind and need to take off for Nebraska.  We are meeting out in Nebraska for a day of training then driving to Denver to fly out there.  We leave Denver on the 14th and get to Vanuatu on the 16th... weird how we miss a day.  I have put some more things to pray about below, but I would ask that each one of you who are praying to really ask God to give you words to pray.  Ask Him to give you things that we need most at that very time.  Intercede for us!  I appreciate all of you prayers so much.  I have said that a lot lately, but it makes me feel so confident knowing I have warriors like you back home praying.

Pray for:

• Body (Physical)
• Soul (Spiritual)
• Mind (Emotional)
• Discernment
• Energy
• Courage, boldness
• Unity of team
• Compassion for the people
• One day at time... no looking ahead
• Pentecost Island (and possibly others such as Abrym, Malekula, etc. if we go island jumping)
• Translator- native and loves Jesus

Pray against the attack of the enemy!  Satan is looking to destroy our mission!  We can't let Him do that!  We have the power of JESUS...

See you in a few weeks.

"You are only as strong as your weakest man"

Pray for Unity.  This team does not know each other at a very deep level yet.  We have only talked on the phone as all four of us one time.  We need to get deep and get there quick.  There can't be any half-hearted communications and poor feelings toward each other on a trip like this.  We need to be a unified group of guys that learns to love and care about each other quickly.  Fortunately, I know Mike Phipps really well already.  We both went to Bethel together and have become very good friends and accountability partners.  I truly believe that our group is very solid, but prayer could still be used in this area because of the fact we have not spent much time together, let alone in an extremely different environment for all of us.

Please pray against sickness.  I have this feeling that Satan is going to try to use sickness to stop us from accomplishing our mission.  If one man goes down it holds us all back.  As a group we need everyone to be healthy.  Pray that God would protect all that we come in contact with physically through our mouth (food) and through our skin (mosquitos, spiders, etc.).

Thanks again.  I will be leaving in less than 2 days!  Wow...

Translation please?!?!

Please pray for a translator.  This is a huge prayer request.  Vanuatu's primary language is Bislama (pidgin), but the country has the most languages per capita in the world.   They have 113 different languages that are spoken.  The language barrier can be a huge obstacle in this whole process.  Caleb has been in the process of looking for translators.  There are three things that Caleb looks for in a translator:

1. He has a huge heart for God and is willing to do anything for Him.
2. He is a native (knows the culture).
3. He can speak both english and Bislama.

Finding a translator with a passionate heart for the lost people of Vanuatu is a very big request.  Please keep this request at the forefront of your mind.  Thanks for all your prayers!!

Children of Vanuatu "Barrier Breaker"

Please pray for the children of Vanuatu.  Whenever I spend time praying for Vanuatu God keeps giving me a strong burden for the children.  I can't get them off my mind.  I feel that the children could be a huge "barrier breaker" for us.  If the people of the village see that we care and love their children then they may be more open to accept us as well.  I am taking some bubbles, balloons, and coloring books in hopes to interact with the kids.  Please pray that the kids will be warm and welcoming to us and that they will trust us quickly.  Pray that the parents and adults would see the love we have for the children and accept us because of it.

Prayer Team

I just got done sending out a "mass" email to my supporters asking for group of people to back me up in prayer while I am in Vanuatu.  If you did not get an email about prayer, and would like one, then give me your email address in the "comments" section below this post.

For the next few days before I leave on May 11 I am going to be posting specific prayer requests.  Today I have three:

1. Comfort Zone - Pray that God will stretch me out of my comfort zone so that I can rely on only Him and not my own strength.  I want to be completely led by His Spirit and sometimes I do too much with my own strength.  This trip will be a great time for me to put even more trust and faith in God.
   
2. Discernment - Pray that my team and I will have discernment and leading from the Holy Spirit at all times.  Pray that we will not give into the lies of Satan, but will only hear and follow the voice of God.  Pray that we are wise in what God wants us to do.
3. Energy - Pray that we will have supernatural energy.  We could be walking 5-10 miles in some days in the hot weather with large packs (40+ lbs.).  We are probably not going to be sleeping great either so we are going to need energy from God.

More prayer requests will be coming tomorrow!! 

Land Diving

The village we hope to befriend is called the Bunlap Tribe on Pentecost Island. They actually invented "Bungee Jumping" many years ago. They call it Naghol, or land diving. This event will happen during the time we will be there in May. We are hoping that we can see the land diving performed and possibly use it as a way to interact with the people. There are many different reasons why this annual ritual is performed. From what we understand, the Bunlaps believe that if this activity is done correctly then it will ensure them a good harvest of the Yam crop (type of root). They believe strongly in the spirit world and never want to upset the spirits who have the ability to negatively affect their crops. I am very excited about the opportunity to see this event and hope it will provide us with an opportunity connect with these people at a deeper level. I would also like to ask that you pray against the powers of the spirits in this area. Pray that we are covered with God's power and authority through his Son Jesus. Pray that we are discerning in knowing how to go about interacting with the Bunlap people. Pray for open doors. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I am not planning on participating in the actual "land diving' in case you were wondering. I am deathly afraid of heights.

Giving you "the biz"...

Many of you are probably wondering "who" the crazy guy is that I am going with to Vanuatu.  His name is Caleb Bislow and he is an itinerant speaker for Kingdom Building Ministries.  He has a heart for the "unreached" people that have not heard the Gospel.  I met Caleb about 3 years ago through my youth pastor, Derry Prenkert.  Caleb and I hit it off instantly as our passions collided.  From that point on I knew that Caleb and I would venture on an overseas mission trip sometime in the future.  Caleb developed a strong burden for the Vanuatu people several years ago.  He has kept his eye on this specific people group (Bunlap Tribe) on Pentecost ever since.

Caleb asked me to venture with him to Vanuatu a little over a year ago.  I have spent a great deal of time praying and seeking guidance in making this decision for the past 12 months.  I even wrote a semester long research paper on the Bunlap Tribe of Pentecost Island.  I have developed a strong burden to share with these people the hope in Jesus that I have.

This trip is very unique.  It is much different than any trip I have ever been on.  While my previous trips have been scheduled out in detail, this trip will not.  This is what Caleb calls a "scouting trip."  We have no agenda except to learn and love.  We want to learn as much as we can about the culture, people, history, rituals, etc. while loving the people in the process.  Caleb plans to come back sometime in the next year to take the next steps.  If there is one specific thing that can be prayed for at this time it is that the Holy Spirit would lead us in every decision and action we take on this trip.  We plan to spend a lot of time listening to what God wants us to do.  

I am very excited about venturing with Caleb, Mike Phipps (good friend and future cousin-in-law), and Brandon (whom I have not yet met).  I plan to post more and more as the trip gets closer.  

(The picture above includes Caleb holding his son Trace with his wife Jess Bislow.)

23 days and counting...

I will leaving for the country of Vanuatu in only 23 days to minister to the people there.  I am planning on posting several more entries in these next 23 days to help keep those interested informed on what is going on.  I want to thank those who have supported me financially and prayerfully thus far.  It has not been unnoticed, but greatly appreciated.  I couldn't be doing this without your help.  Please pray that God will continue to work out the financial side of things, but more importantly that He will continue increasing my burden and compassion for the people that we will be living with.  I pray that I, as well as my team members, will be completely Holy Spirit lead and obedient to the calling He has placed on our hearts.  As I am nervous for all the "unknown" we will be encountering, I am extremely excited to "love the least of these" as God calls us to!