Imprint - September 2018

TONGA MISSION UPDATE
House as built by team one in late 2017
In the December 2017 edition of our Imprint magazine we
informed you that in late September 2017 a team from Albury
under the leadership of Wally Hromis flew out to Vava’u
to lay the foundation for the extension of a one-bedroom
house that was inhabited by a pastor and his wife and their
three children.
A local company had continued with the building of the walls
of the house early 2018 and now we are happy to inform you
that a second team from our Conference under the leadership
of Phil Hampton from Bathurst Church has completed the
building and that a happy pastoral family is now living in a
beautiful house. Thanks to your generosity we were able to
bless our partner in mission, Tonga and in particular a pastoral
family on the island of Vava’u with a lovely accommodation.
We want to express our deep appreciation to the two teams
for the tremendous job they have done.
As mentioned in earlier reports we would still like to build
a second parsonage on the same island located on the
property of Mizpah High School, a school of remarkable reputation
on the island.
The pastors house is very old, full of mildew, with many
holes in the walls and broken wooden floors that are
dangerous to walk on. One pastor’s wife fell through the floor
and got hurt.
Please continue to give generously to our Tonga Mission Project.
You can do so through e-giving on our website or by contacting
our Conference CFO directly.
- Mike Faber, President SNSW Conference
Final day with house lock up ready
Trans Pacific Union President Pr Maveni
Kaufonoga left and Tonga Mission President
Pr Saia Vea cutting the ribbon into
the Utungake Pastors home
Here is the report from Phil Hampton who took the second
team to Vava’u to complete the first house.
On Sunday, the 28th of May 2018, a team of volunteers flew
out of Sydney for a Fly N Build to Vava’u, Tonga. The team
consisted of Phil Hampton, Brendan Hampton, Pr. Raymon
Paletua (Bathurst); Graham Sinclair, Brenton Hore, (Albury),
Toa Kofeloa (Parramatta), and Joe Paletua (Wahronga).
The mission was to put the roof on the house that was started
by the team from Albury, in late September last year. The
house was for the local minister and his family, in the little
village of Utangake.
Arriving in the capital, Nuku’alofa at 1:30am, there was very
little time to rest before embarking on the final leg of the trip
to Vava’u.
Due to some logistical issues beyond the control of the team,
some building materials needed to be taken over as excess luggage
from Sydney to Vava’u. It was decided that the most
practical and cost-effective way was to travel with the building
materials via boat from Tongatapu to Vava’u. The nine-hour
boat ride was certainly an experience, and one that none of
the team wish to ever encounter again. After enduring bouts
of sea sickness, we finally arrived late in the afternoon at our
destination “Vava’u.
The Utangake SDA Church family embraced us and were very
hospitable, and we soon felt that we were part of their church
and community. With the help of the local church members,
and others from the village, construction went smoother and
faster than we anticipated.
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September 2018 | IMPRINTmagazine