In August, Marine Reach New Zealand sent a task team to the Family Care Centre in Vanuatu to support and serve the FCC staff in practical ways.
Noah Armbruster, who has been serving Marine Reach in the Registrar department since 2019, was part of the task team, and here are his notes from their time in Vanuatu:
“It has been so good to be back in Vanuatu. One of the beautiful things has been seeing the growth of this place – both of the FCC staff and how they have weathered the Covid storm, but also just the physical growth of the plants and trees around the base. Anyone who has been here before really needs to come back again to enjoy it!
We have tried to help where we can. Sarah and Belle (two of the volunteers) deep cleaned the bedrooms, bathrooms, and common areas. I’ve cleaned and organised in the classrooms and the storage room. We wanted to help get this place ready to welcome teams and students again.
Claire (another volunteer – whose mother travelled from the USA to join the task team) and I were also able to help out with the youth group at the local International Church. There are 50-60 kids that come regularly to the weekly youth gatherings. We had a great time teaching and connecting with them.
There was a recent incident that happened that reflects the hearts of the FCC staff so well: Estera and Madeline (two of the clinic staff) got a call from a local friend asking if they could come and check on her father as he was sick. So Estera and Madeline drove to the friend’s house on their day off, and found the father was dehydrated with severely low blood sugar. They were able to get him to drink oral rehydration salts, and once he perked up, they called the ambulance. At the hospital, after further evaluation, the doctors believed the patient would have died in the night if Estera and Madeline hadn’t come and offered help. God really led them to the right person at the right time.
We have been delighted to come alongside the FCC and hopefully serve and encourage them as they faithfully love and serve the people of Vanuatu.”
For more information about the Family Care Centre, go to: www.familycarecentre.org