22 May 2026

Training the Trainers – Lyndal Webb

The Train Your Thinking course continues to be developed. While the core Critical Thinking lessons are taught over three different modules, the trainers now have one volume of all the lessons – with all the answers!

The trainers left with renewed confidence in their ability to manage and teach the course. Norman described it as stepping up one more step. For trainer John, the time we spend together poring over God’s Word is the highlight of any training session.

What of the future of the course? Rising costs of travel, general living and the expense of printing more permanent materials present a challenge. However, the trainers agreed that Trenem Tingting is relevant to the Vanuatu context. There was discussion on how to link in more with churches and how to regionalise the courses.

The ripple effect we have longed for is slowly happening. Thank you for praying for and considering supporting this training programme.

24 July 2025

2024 Updates 

For many years we have been printing out simple booklets of the drafted translation and photocopying them for distribution.  We were not getting much feedback.  Finally, some of the leaders said, “It does not look like a Bible, there is only one column and we want two, the format and feel are not right!” 

So, we invested a significant amount of time and money in formatting a compilation of the 17 books approved so far and had it printed in a neighbouring country.  The whole process took many months longer than planned, and then just as the books were printed the assassination of a key Kon church leader made the idea of bringing books across the border and distributing them even more sensitive. 

This was the year that it finally happened! Things felt safe enough just before Christmas and the distribution began. We have heard many positive comments but many also said they don’t read well enough; can we come and help them practice? 

So, in 2025 we are planning some simple literacy efforts. Praise God with us for the first ever Kon Bible portion that brings hope to the church that their translation will be completed after many starts.

09 July 2024

Risa* speaks the Ndiai language, one of the many languages of Vanuatu, and lives in a small village in the south of Santo Island. For the last year she has been working away with a few other Ndiai speakers translating the Book of Mark. She received very brief training in translation.

Risa recently completed the first module of the Trenem Tingting course. She was one of the keenest students! After a few days of the course she received news that her husband, Lex* was worried about her attending the course without the family so he came to the small town of Luganville where the course was being held. Risa was disappointed, thinking she might not be able to complete the course. But we pursuaded Lex to come and join the class and just listen in. With some hesitation he did and he enjoyed what he heard and reported that he learnt so much in the short time left of the classes.

Risa said that the things she was learning; how to look closely at a text as well as learning the big message of the Bible was just what she needed to be a Bible translator. “I had been thinking,” she said, “How can I translate the Bible if I don’t know what it really says.” “We already tried to translate ‘Kingdom of God’ but now I know what it means we need to work on that one!” she added.

She headed home with her homework book in hand, ready to review what she has learnt and try out some of the teaching with her family before returning for Part 2 in September.

At the final session of the course, Pastor Sandy*, another course participant slipped in a little speech thanking the organisers of the course. “I don’t know who the sponsors are,” he said, “But tell them thanks and that their money won’t be wasted. We want everyone in Vanuatu to know Jesus and this helps us to make that happen.”

Please pray for Risa, her husband, Pastor Sandy and the other participants; that they might process well what they learnt at the course and that God would use it to strengthen their faith and their desire to help their communities to learn too.

*names changed