Vanuatu Trip

This past spring, a group of ten High School students from the Youth Group of Orchard Church were led by Dr. David Courson, Mandi Read, and Caleb McDaniel to the islands of Vanuatu on a mission trip. The goal of our mission was to deliver the Good News to as many people of Santo Island as possible. We accomplished this through the donation of oral hygiene supplies (generously supplied by Sunlight Dentistry), children’s toys, and water filtration systems to the local tribes.

To each tribe we visited, we gave the Chief, children, elders, and any other tribe members who were present a toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss. One of our missionary students would then give a lesson on how to effectively use the oral hygiene products as well as the water filtration system, which was gifted to the village Chief for the use of his tribe as a whole. After the presentation, our groups would hand out toys such as foam airplanes, pool noodles, and balloons, and then present a fun Bible story to the children.

The tribes we visited are at least an hour and a half long truck ride from any marketplace to buy essentials, such as toothbrushes and toothpaste. For many villages out in the bush (the depths of the jungle) have to hike for days just to get to the nearest town. While the gifts we brought may seem basic and are widely overlooked in our first-world lives, the tribes that we visited received them with joyous welcome and excitement. No amount of words can prove the good works of Faith or the love of God like acts of service.

Due to the kindness of Sunlight Dentistry and their generous donation of all oral hygiene supplies, along with the Orchard Church’s investment in the other gifts and missionaries, our mission was able to change hearts! In Pelmoli village, not only do tribe members get to brush their teeth using real toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss (in place of coconut husks), they also get to attend the new church being built at the heart of their village.