Trip Calendar

Ishmael & Rubby Roberts
Luganville Baptist Church

Pastor Ishmael Roberts, along with his wife Rubby, are a couple you won’t forget serving with! You’ll also enjoy meeting their young children, Jeremy, Asher, and Payne. Pastor Ishmael is from the capital city of Port Vila, but now serves as lead pastor of Luganville Baptist, voted in last year after having served on pastoral staff for seven years. 

We asked Pastor Ishmael to tell you more about the healthcare needs in his area, and here is what he wants you to know: “One of the biggest challenges to accessing health services here is the fact that people have to pay big money to get good health services. Most people here don’t have good jobs, which makes it very difficult for them to get good health services. Another challenge is that most of the health facilities don’t have the right medicines that people need so they advise people to come back next time. Also, we have another massive problem which began just recently, the coronavirus outbreak in our communities. This caused a big challenge to our health workers because they switched their focus to fighting the virust forgetting that the general public are still struggling with normal disease.”

When asked about what makes his corner of the world unique, Pastor shared: “Luganville, like any other town, has a different mixture of people from different islands coming in with different characteristics of the unique culture and lifestyle they belong to. It’s the people of this island that we love because God brought us here to serve and live with them. We have started a few churches in the jungle which gave us the opportunity to reach out and minister to them while on the other hand love the church of believers in town where I preach the gospel and see people make eternal decisions. You know when your heart is full when you see people responding to the gospel. This gives us encouragement and excitement to continue to do more.”

We hope you’ll start following this great ministry now!

My personal FB account - Ishmael Robbie Roberts

Church FB page. - Luganville Baptist Church

Church Mailing address:

Luganville Baptist Church
Luganville
Santo
P.O. Box 281

www.facebook.com/LuganvilleBaptistChurch1

This trip is currently open only to members of the Tribe program. For more information about joining the Tribe, click here.

Vanuatu is a Y-shaped volcanic archipelago of 83 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,090 miles east of northern Australia. It has stunning landscapes, beautiful untouched waters, World War II shipwrecks, rich history and culture, friendly island people, an active volcano, fresh seafood, award-winning chocolate, and the world’s only underwater post office - and it remains largely unexplored.

The islands were inhabited by the Lapita culture around 1,100 B.C. A couple of millennia later, starting around 1,600 A.D., they were colonized by the Spanish and then the British and French, but became independent in the 1970s. Vanuatu has the highest density of languages per capita in the world - over 100 native languages are spoken throughout the archipelago. The official languages, however, are English, French and Bislama. During World War II, Vanuatu (then called the New Hebrides) was the second-largest American military base in the Pacific after Hawaii. More than half a million troops passed through and traces of that military present are still plentiful. In fact, it was stories by an American service man stationed in Vanuatu which became the basis for the musical “South Pacific,” which is set in Vanuatu. Vanuatu has a tropical climate and over 80% of the population lives in rural, isolated villages. The geographically-isolated communities have minimal access to basic health and education services and there is a shortage of qualified healthcare professionals.

For more country information, visit the World Factbook.

Our plan is to offer medical and optical care to this community. If you are a dental or physical therapy professional interested in potentially serving on this team, please fill out an INTEREST FORM to inquire about offering this service. Every patient who receives care will hear the gospel from a member of this local church.

This trip is now closed. Thank you for your interest.

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Brandon's Tips for Vanuatu

Prepare for some serious travel! Vanuatu is a beautiful, culturally vibrant nation and one of the most remote mission fields on MMO’s calendar.  Situated in the South Pacific between Fiji and Australia, this diverse chain of islands is home to over 200 indigenous dialects, some of which are still awaiting their first translated Bible. You may enjoy the pristine beaches, or the island’s WWII history, but it's the welcoming people of Vanuatu that make this a trip to look forward to!

Photos from our last trip to Vanuatu!

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