Vasui SALT

The Vasui New Testament was dedicated in August 2005; and we conducted the Vasui SALT course in March 2006. The following report is by Roman and Carolyn Hostetler, translators of the Vasui New Testament:

On the 2nd of March we met the six members of the Scripture Application Leadership Training (SALT) team at the airport as they arrived in Buka from Ukarumpa. We came to the village that afternoon and arrived here about 4pm. We showed everyone to their sleeping places. We ate supper and everyone was pretty tired from the long day.

Vasui SALT team: Pastor Fred, Carol Saferita, Dave Wake, Kate Semmelbeck, Mick Bandy and Andrew Tiki

Before the team came Mick Bandy, the team leader, had asked us how many books of the outline and class notes he should print. We just did not know how many to expect; and I am afraid our faith was not very big. Demien Kilaon suggested twenty but then we decided to tell Mick to print twenty-five copies. By the time Mick received our message he had gone ahead and told the printshop to print sixty-five copies. When he received our message he didn’t know for sure what to do with all the books. But since they were in Vasui he really couldn’t use them anywhere else so he decided to bring sixty of them.

Roman and Carolyn Hostetler in Vasui SALT class

Again we were made aware of the verse, “Before they call I will answer”. The course started on Monday morning the 6th of March. To our surprise forty-six people came on Monday and on Tuesday eleven more came making a total of fifty-seven participants. Later two dropped out and we had a total of fifty-five students. Now you see why I said, “Before they call I will answer”. The four different churches in the area were well represented at the course.

Dave Wake teaches on "Satan's Strategies"

The six SALT teachers, with the help of the Lord, did a great job in teaching the different subjects. The subjects covered were basic teachings of the Christian life, such as: The Nature and Character of God, What is Truth, The Father Heart of God, Satan and his strategies, The destructiveness of sin, Salvation, Marks of a Christian, Christian Family, Breaking sinful habits. In their teaching the SALT team used posters to try and help make the material come clear. These topics were well accepted as these were felt needs in their lives. The classes were held for nine days and went from 8:30 am to 3:30 or 4 pm and even then some were reluctant to leave because they had learned so much and they were still hungry.

Mick Bandy reviews "Salvation"

During the course the use of the Vasui New Testament was really emphasized. Roman and I had been praying that through this course people would have a hunger to read the Word of God in their own language. Some people have not read Vasui very much and they were feeling somewhat embarrassed and shy to read in public. In order to overcome that we read the Scripture references together as a group and they soon got over their shyness. We just heard that one of the men in the class who really could not read well has now started reading the Vasui NT in his home and teaching his family. PTL!

Participants prepare for outreach

The fifty-five students were divided into ten teams. The people who divided the students into teams decided that they would put members from the different churches on the same team. On the 10th day of the course the ten teams went on outreach to the different villages and taught the things they had been taught. Each team had a different subject and each team used the posters that went with that lesson as an aid in teaching in the village. The reports came back that the people in the villages are hungry for this teaching and asked the teams to come back again and teach some more. During the course and also during the outreach eighty-six more New Testaments were sold. There are around 2,400 Vasui speakers and during the outreach over 600 or 25% of the Vasui speakers were reached.

Praise: The people are hungry for the Word and are using the NT’s. Sunday morning in church we saw people carrying their Vasui NT’s to church and used them during the service.

Praise: This past Friday the ten teams went out again and the reports that we have heard are all really good and encouraging. One village said that one day of this teaching is not enough that they want it on Friday and Saturday. In some of the villages the teaching went on for four to five hours. Everyone is still really enthusiastic. PTL!

Pray: For these same teams as they go on outreach again. Pray for the people who will hear this teaching, that lives will be changed and they will buy NT’s and read it in their homes.

Vasui SALT course graduates

Thank you each one for your prayers, letters of encouragement and your gifts. May the Lord richly bless you!

Your partners for the Vasui people,

Roman and Carolyn Hostetler