This is 3ABN Now
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with John and
Rosemary Malkiewycz.
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Hello, and welcome
to today's program.
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I'm Rosemary and
this is John, my husband.
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It's good to have
you here with me today.
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It's always good to
be with you, Rosemary.
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Yes, I know, we
enjoy each other's company.
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You know, we've
worked together for 27 years.
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And a lot of
people don't like working
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with their husband or wife.
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They want to get
away from them sometimes,
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but we're together all the time.
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So it's really good, isn't it?
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Yes, it is.
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And it's been good
working in the Lord's work
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for that period of time.
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Yes, it is very good.
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But today on this program
where we're working together,
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we're going to be
talking to a couple of people
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who have been on
the program twice before
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talking about a
specific place called Batuna.
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Now Batuna is in
the Solomon Islands.
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And we have been talking
about the history of Batuna
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but last time we
didn't get to finish,
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we ran out of time
to finish the program.
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And there's some
interesting stories
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that we gonna be talking.
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There are still
some interesting stories
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about Batuna to cover today.
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So sit back and relax
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and listen to
Batuna's history part two,
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when we talk about
the translating work, etc.
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which is a really, really good
and Glynn Lock and Ron Keeler,
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welcome to the program again.
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Thank you.
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They're both still
involved in working in Batuna,
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aren't you?
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More or less. More or less.
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In fact, Glynn has
been on the program too,
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with his brother and sister
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talking about
being missionary kids.
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And that was an
enjoyable program too,
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Glynn.
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It never gets out of your blood,
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does it, Glynn?
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It's a bit like aviation.
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You still want to keep
flying? You get infected by it.
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I thought you're gonna say
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it's like a
virus you get infected.
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Well, you're nearly right.
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It gets in your blood anyway.
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You've got a Bible verse for?
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Yes, yes, I have.
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And it's 1 Corinthians 1:27.
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And the Bible says,
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"But the God,
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but God has
chosen the foolish things
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of the world to
confound the wise.
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And God has chosen the
weak things of the world
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to confound the
things which are mighty."
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Interesting verse,
Glynn, you've chosen that,
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and you mentioned it last time,
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but you like
that verse, don't you?
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Share with us a little bit.
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Yeah, it's, it is a good text.
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And it illustrates particularly
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what we will be
talking about part of today.
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The battle,
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it doesn't
always go to the mighty,
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the people who
are behind the scenes
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who do all the
supporting and the,
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if you can say it,
the plotting the army,
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the front person is
not always the army,
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it's the people who behind it.
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We'll be talking about
a particular person today
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who was one of
those kinds of people.
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Then someone that we
in our church history,
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most of us will
never have heard about.
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That's right.
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Never have heard about,
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but of significant contributor
to the work of the church
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in the early
days of the Solomons.
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Yeah, a very,
very good story, too.
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I'm looking forward to it.
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And, Ron, I have your verse.
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You have chosen Hebrews 1:10-11.
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He actually had three
verses, three separate places,
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but we chose to use this one.
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They're all
about the same thing.
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It says in verse 10,
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"And thou Lord in the beginning
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has laid the
foundation of the earth
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and the heavens are
the works of thine hands.
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Thy shall perish,
but thou remainest.
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And thy shall all wax
old, as does a garment.
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Ron, you explain why
you chose that verse?
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Today, there is
so much publicity
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and protest about
saving the environment.
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But if a person who
studies the scriptures,
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you'll realize the
earth will wear out
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and God has a restoration plan.
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We cannot save ourselves.
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And if people would
read the scriptures,
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especially revelation
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that talks about
the restoration plan
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that God has in place,
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they wouldn't have to worry
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about the issues
that are going on.
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Sure, we should
look after the planet,
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I'm not saying we shouldn't.
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But there's so much publicity
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and always focuses
on the environment,
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the environment,
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let's save ourselves
for the next generation
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and future generation.
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But the scripture says
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the earth will
wear out like a garment.
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Wax old. And wax old.
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Be morph agent. Morph.
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And our clothes do wear out.
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And is, is going to do
exactly the same thing.
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We'll use up the resources,
but God has a restoration plan.
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You know, Ron,
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we actually have to do something
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and I want to encourage
the viewers to take your Bible
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and have a look and see
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what God has
written in there for us
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to know that
we're living in a time
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where this world is waxing old,
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like you said,
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but there's
something that you can do.
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This world is not going to
be our final home as it is now,
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it's going to be a new world,
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and you have the
opportunity to be there.
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It's your choice.
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And you accept the good news.
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That's what the Bible says,
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it's the good news
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that you can
live in a new world,
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a perfect world, in fact,
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and the way to do that
is to find out about Jesus
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because He's the one
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that's going to
make it possible.
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Amen.
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This morning, in our
devotional here at work
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in our worship time,
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we were reading
about the word earth.
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In 2 Peter, where it says
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that the earth or
the elements will melt.
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Yeah.
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It's fermented,
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God is going to
renew everything,
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He's going to purify with fire.
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Yes.
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And make it new.
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So I'm, I think
there's a wonderful promise.
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Yeah.
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It will wax old.
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And there's a text in,
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brought in the beginning
of the Bible in Genesis
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where it talks
about the Garden of Eden.
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With Adam and Eve
we're asked to look after it,
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to look after what was made...
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Stewards.
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So it's incumbent
on us as Christians
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and all our
people I suppose right
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through our nation
and through the world
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to look after what we've got.
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There is, it's true,
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there is going to come a
time when it will grow old.
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But that doesn't mean to say
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that we can be a
derelict in our duty,
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we still need to look after.
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The world still
a beautiful place,
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you know, the
flowers still grow.
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And the earth
brings forth its fruit,
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so you and I can enjoy food,
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the food, but it's true,
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you know, we are really in a way
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not caring for it as we should
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because greed,
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and profit and money
dictate more than caring
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for what God has given us.
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I think it comes
down to the point,
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what is our main focus?
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What are we looking at the most?
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Is caring for the
planet is important?
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We should all be doing that.
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But do we make
that our primary focus
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more than helping people,
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more than
showing people the God,
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who's going to
restore everything.
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So it has to be a
balancing act between them.
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But we should be knowing
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that God says
He's going to renew it
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'cause it's going to
grow old, it's gonna wear out.
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And it's a really
good thing to keep in mind,
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He's gonna do that.
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Now we're going to go,
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just give us a
little bit of a rundown
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on what we covered
last time, just as a recap.
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So that we can then go
on with our story of this,
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of different
people, but especially one.
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The Seventh-day Adventist Church
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made an entry into
the Solomon Islands
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way back in 1914.
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And a Welsh
minister and his wife
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traveled from
Australia to the Solomon Islands
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on a bench full boat,
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along with a little mission boat
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to start the work of the church.
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And that was in
1914. So we're now in 2019.
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So it's 105 years ago
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since the Seventh-day
Adventist Church went
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into the Solomon
Islands and start working there.
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And they were offloaded
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at the capital
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of the Western Solomons at Gizo.
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And then they worked their way
through to some of the islands
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in what is now
the Roviana Lagoon
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was known as the Roviana Lagoon,
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they went to and
into Viru Harbor,
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and then
eventually into the Marovo.
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And there were
three significant people
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to get the
church into the Marovo,
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one of them was Jones himself.
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And there was a
British Commissioner,
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Mr. Barley, Barley,
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and then there was Chief
Tatagu from the Marovo people
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from the Marovo Island
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and the negotiations
that was successful there
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got the church
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onto an island called Sasaghana,
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where, that was the
first mission station in
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for the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
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in the Marovo Lagoon.
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So that entailed
a lot of building
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and a lot of
infrastructure being set up?
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Not so much as Sasaghana
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because there was
a very short history
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of Sasaghana.
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And the reason for that
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is not that the
people weren't responsive,
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or the church,
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the people were
incapable of working,
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but simply because
of the physical size
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of the land that was available.
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It wasn't big enough to
have a school, a church,
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and extensive gardens
that they could grow food
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to feed the students.
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So it was moved from Sasaghana
to another little island
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in a Marovo called Telina.
00:10:00.93\00:10:03.57
And Telina was part,
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the original
inhabitants of Telina
00:10:10.07\00:10:12.87
previously were
part of the Marovo tribe,
00:10:12.91\00:10:16.08
or the Babata tribe.
00:10:16.11\00:10:17.61
But due to some political issues
00:10:17.65\00:10:19.38
in the tribe,
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some of them moved
00:10:20.78\00:10:22.12
out of that
particular tribe and became
00:10:22.15\00:10:23.55
a separate
organization at Telina.
00:10:23.59\00:10:26.15
And then they were brought
after they abandoned Sasaghana,
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they'll have to leave Sasaghana
because of their land problem.
00:10:32.36\00:10:35.33
They went to Telina but by too,
00:10:35.36\00:10:37.67
believe within a year or so
00:10:37.70\00:10:40.00
they were up against
the same problem again,
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not enough land to grow gardens.
00:10:42.54\00:10:45.27
Telina is only a
fairly small island,
00:10:45.31\00:10:46.78
you can paddle a canoe
around in about half an hour.
00:10:46.81\00:10:50.51
Oh, that is little.
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It's only tiny,
00:10:51.91\00:10:53.35
and they have a
headquarters for the mission,
00:10:53.38\00:10:58.35
a school
00:10:58.39\00:11:00.59
and it's supposed it'd
be enough land for gardens,
00:11:00.62\00:11:03.43
but that just wasn't
that much land there.
00:11:03.46\00:11:06.06
It's interesting.
00:11:06.09\00:11:07.43
You're saying about
gardens all the time.
00:11:07.46\00:11:09.83
Because you know,
the staple diet there.
00:11:09.86\00:11:13.67
I don't know, I'd imagine
00:11:13.70\00:11:15.04
there'd be a lot
of fish from the sea.
00:11:15.07\00:11:18.77
But if you wanted to,
00:11:18.81\00:11:20.74
but if you wanted to
have vegetables in that
00:11:20.78\00:11:22.71
you need land, don't you?
00:11:22.74\00:11:24.08
You do.
00:11:24.11\00:11:25.45
And the land on Telina
00:11:25.48\00:11:27.68
as much as what same
as the land on Sasaghana,
00:11:27.72\00:11:31.99
it is a coral island.
00:11:32.02\00:11:33.96
Okay.
00:11:33.99\00:11:35.32
So Telina is very small coral.
00:11:35.36\00:11:38.86
Not a lot, not
a lot of top soil.
00:11:38.89\00:11:41.20
So no place to grow garden.
00:11:41.23\00:11:43.30
That was the big issue.
00:11:43.33\00:11:44.67
So that's the difference
00:11:44.70\00:11:46.03
between a lack
of volcanic island
00:11:46.07\00:11:48.64
and a coral island.
00:11:48.67\00:11:50.01
Yes.
00:11:50.04\00:11:51.37
The coral island
has been built up
00:11:51.41\00:11:52.81
because of the dead
coral and soil deposits on it,
00:11:52.84\00:11:56.61
I presume.
00:11:56.64\00:11:57.98
Yes.
00:11:58.01\00:11:59.35
And then a volcanic one,
00:11:59.38\00:12:00.72
of course, that's all
beautiful organic soil
00:12:00.75\00:12:03.39
from the lava.
00:12:03.42\00:12:04.75
Yes.
00:12:04.79\00:12:06.12
When we were children we
lived not far from Rabaul.
00:12:06.15\00:12:10.09
And Rabaul has,
00:12:10.13\00:12:11.99
the Rabaul Harbor
is ringed by volcanoes.
00:12:12.03\00:12:14.96
Okay.
00:12:15.00\00:12:16.33
And it was in the
old days many years ago,
00:12:16.36\00:12:18.93
it was a volcano itself.
00:12:18.97\00:12:20.44
And when this
massive volcano erupted,
00:12:20.47\00:12:22.27
it blew the side
out and the sea came in
00:12:22.30\00:12:24.77
and that created the harbor.
00:12:24.81\00:12:26.51
And but this one, two,
00:12:26.54\00:12:28.08
about four volcanoes
around the rim of the Rebel
00:12:28.11\00:12:31.71
but it's a magic
place to grow things
00:12:31.75\00:12:33.62
because of the volcanic soil.
00:12:33.65\00:12:35.75
Telina, dead opposite.
00:12:35.78\00:12:39.09
Just coral. Oh, dead coral.
00:12:39.12\00:12:41.26
And because of seismic activity,
00:12:41.29\00:12:43.36
there's a lot of
earthquakes around the Solomons.
00:12:43.39\00:12:45.86
And it was probably
uplifted to some degree
00:12:45.89\00:12:49.86
and people inhabited it
00:12:49.90\00:12:51.97
but it takes a
long time to make soil
00:12:52.00\00:12:53.94
when you haven't
got much to start with.
00:12:53.97\00:12:55.44
Yeah, that's right.
00:12:55.47\00:12:56.81
So what did they do then
if the island was so small?
00:12:56.84\00:13:00.08
Well, some of
them have land on the,
00:13:00.11\00:13:01.74
what they call the mainland,
on, you know, Island Vangunu.
00:13:01.78\00:13:06.48
How big is the mainland?
00:13:06.51\00:13:07.85
Well, it's a
reasonable size island.
00:13:07.88\00:13:11.79
But, excuse me,
00:13:11.82\00:13:14.29
but you've got to
travel to do the work.
00:13:14.32\00:13:17.13
And so that just
complicates the matter again.
00:13:17.16\00:13:21.13
And to get between the
Telina and the mainland,
00:13:21.16\00:13:23.37
it's all by canoed.
00:13:23.40\00:13:25.37
So if you're sending
a work line over there
00:13:25.40\00:13:27.57
to dig your gardens,
00:13:27.60\00:13:29.10
they've got to take
their picks and shovels
00:13:29.14\00:13:30.57
and things with them
00:13:30.61\00:13:32.27
to work and bring
it over back again, so.
00:13:32.31\00:13:33.81
To cross some ocean.
00:13:33.84\00:13:35.18
Well, it's not very far,
but it's protected water.
00:13:35.21\00:13:38.28
So it gets a little bit choppy
00:13:38.31\00:13:39.88
when they have a
really strong wind.
00:13:39.91\00:13:42.02
But generally, it's fairly calm.
00:13:42.05\00:13:43.99
But so, how did
they move to Batuna?
00:13:44.02\00:13:46.32
Well, when they decided
00:13:46.35\00:13:47.69
that it wasn't
going to work at Telina,
00:13:47.72\00:13:51.09
a group of 80 chiefs
00:13:51.13\00:13:52.79
and important people
from around the Marovo
00:13:52.83\00:13:54.83
gathered
together and as a group,
00:13:54.86\00:13:56.97
they went searching for land.
00:13:57.00\00:13:58.60
Okay.
00:13:58.63\00:13:59.97
And they went from the
east to the west and the east,
00:14:00.00\00:14:04.47
the north and the
south of the Marovo Lagoon
00:14:04.51\00:14:08.11
searching for
land, and eventually,
00:14:08.14\00:14:11.05
they, the Babata tribe,
00:14:11.08\00:14:13.52
thought about a piece
of land that they owned.
00:14:13.55\00:14:16.42
Somehow, they owned a
piece of land somewhere else
00:14:16.45\00:14:18.49
not on the Marovo Island itself.
00:14:18.52\00:14:21.32
And they talked about that
00:14:21.36\00:14:22.69
and the decision
of the group was,
00:14:22.72\00:14:25.09
well, let's go and have a look.
00:14:25.13\00:14:27.06
And they went and had a
look and the rest is history.
00:14:27.10\00:14:29.66
That's where they went to.
00:14:29.70\00:14:31.47
There's enough land
there. There was enough land.
00:14:31.50\00:14:33.44
It's not real
good land, mind you
00:14:33.47\00:14:35.07
because it's
still rocky and coraly
00:14:35.10\00:14:37.51
but at least
00:14:37.54\00:14:39.07
there's some water
coming off the hills,
00:14:39.11\00:14:42.61
that washed some
soil down onto it
00:14:42.64\00:14:44.65
and it with a bit of effort,
00:14:44.68\00:14:46.72
they made gardens,
00:14:46.75\00:14:48.35
but now that's what for
best part of 100 years ago,
00:14:48.38\00:14:54.46
1924 I think they
establishes that school
00:14:54.49\00:14:57.39
so it's getting
close nearly 100 years.
00:14:57.43\00:15:01.36
And they work in the same
soil all the time it gets tired.
00:15:01.40\00:15:03.80
Yes.
00:15:03.83\00:15:05.17
So gardening there
is becoming a problem.
00:15:05.20\00:15:09.67
So there is also an issue.
00:15:09.70\00:15:11.47
There's also a
current issue there
00:15:11.51\00:15:13.07
with the tide soil.
00:15:13.11\00:15:16.61
One of the staff
members at Batuna comes from,
00:15:16.64\00:15:20.48
that he did work previous
00:15:20.52\00:15:21.85
or the family worked
previously west of Batuna
00:15:21.88\00:15:24.75
up in the
western Solomon Islands
00:15:24.79\00:15:26.49
on at Kukundu on the
island of Kolombangara.
00:15:26.52\00:15:30.16
And Kolombangara is a volcano,
00:15:30.19\00:15:32.99
an extinct
volcano and the soil there
00:15:33.03\00:15:35.76
is volcanic soil and
you can grow anything good.
00:15:35.80\00:15:37.13
No.
00:15:37.17\00:15:38.50
So can they, can they
move some soil across?
00:15:38.53\00:15:41.80
Yes, it takes the
best part of a day
00:15:41.84\00:15:45.17
to travel by boat
between the two sites.
00:15:45.21\00:15:48.48
So it's a long way to hold
00:15:48.51\00:15:49.88
a wheelbarrow
load of gravel soil.
00:15:49.91\00:15:52.98
That's where I've heard
the term organic volcanic.
00:15:53.01\00:15:56.35
Okay.
00:15:56.38\00:15:57.72
That was from Dr.
Mark Turnbull in Vanuatu.
00:15:57.75\00:16:00.49
In Vanuatu, he's out there.
00:16:00.52\00:16:02.49
Lot of volcanic
activity involved in Vanuatu.
00:16:02.52\00:16:07.53
They have good soil where he is.
00:16:07.56\00:16:09.16
And you know, I
just want to ask Ron,
00:16:09.20\00:16:11.00
Ron, you've been out
there how many times to Batuna?
00:16:11.03\00:16:14.40
I've been out there 24 times,
00:16:14.44\00:16:16.27
Glynn has
probably nearly as many.
00:16:16.30\00:16:17.91
Twenty four times and
you said earlier on that
00:16:17.94\00:16:20.78
you're heading out
there very shortly.
00:16:20.81\00:16:22.14
Is that right?
00:16:22.18\00:16:23.51
Twenty first of this
month, we'll return, yeah.
00:16:23.55\00:16:26.21
So there's a bit of
you out there in Batuna
00:16:26.25\00:16:28.45
and you keep going
back there, is that right?
00:16:28.48\00:16:31.35
Oh, it looks like he's
got still all of his fingers.
00:16:31.39\00:16:33.62
Yeah. Yeah.
00:16:33.66\00:16:35.72
Haven't left any behind?
00:16:35.76\00:16:37.13
No, not yet.
00:16:37.16\00:16:38.49
Unless there's perspiration.
00:16:38.53\00:16:39.86
But he's got a
bit of heart there.
00:16:39.89\00:16:41.23
Perspiration? Yeah.
00:16:41.26\00:16:42.60
Bit of a perspiration.
00:16:42.63\00:16:44.23
Because you
mentioned in the program
00:16:44.27\00:16:45.93
the climate there
is quite something.
00:16:45.97\00:16:48.20
Yeah, yeah.
00:16:48.24\00:16:49.57
And it takes a
special type of person,
00:16:49.60\00:16:52.74
I was thinking of all
those that went to work there.
00:16:52.77\00:16:55.41
How the climate is so
humid and difficult and hot.
00:16:55.44\00:17:01.52
How you survived,
00:17:01.55\00:17:03.05
you know, do you get used to it
00:17:03.08\00:17:04.42
after a while, Ron?
00:17:04.45\00:17:05.79
I don't think you ever would.
00:17:05.82\00:17:07.16
You don't know.
00:17:07.19\00:17:08.52
I used to go for
a six week stint.
00:17:08.56\00:17:10.63
I would lose six kilos.
00:17:10.66\00:17:12.76
Now I only go for
three weeks stint.
00:17:12.79\00:17:14.96
So you only lose three kilos.
00:17:15.00\00:17:17.33
At nighttime you
sleep under mosquito net.
00:17:17.37\00:17:20.14
If there is a gentle breeze
00:17:20.17\00:17:21.84
coming through
the trees they have,
00:17:21.87\00:17:24.07
you're under
mosquito nets so you don't,
00:17:24.11\00:17:26.01
you don't benefit
from the breeze very much.
00:17:26.04\00:17:29.31
And out there their first
bell is at 5:30 in the morning,
00:17:29.34\00:17:34.22
which is when you
probably just slumbered off.
00:17:34.25\00:17:39.82
Yes.
00:17:39.85\00:17:41.59
You just think it's
getting cool a little bit,
00:17:41.62\00:17:43.12
I can go to sleep.
00:17:43.16\00:17:44.49
Yeah, they ring
the first bell at 5:30,
00:17:44.53\00:17:47.50
then 6 o'clock, then 6:30.
00:17:47.53\00:17:50.00
I remember when
we were in Cambodia,
00:17:50.03\00:17:51.90
our first night there
lying under a mosquito net
00:17:51.93\00:17:54.60
in a partly finished building.
00:17:54.64\00:17:56.91
We'd taken a group there
to finish these two buildings
00:17:56.94\00:18:00.08
for an orphanage and
it was so hot and humid,
00:18:00.11\00:18:03.45
I thought I was
going to die of heat.
00:18:03.48\00:18:06.25
And then about 4
o'clock in the morning
00:18:06.28\00:18:08.45
a thunderstorm came
rolling through so fast,
00:18:08.48\00:18:13.36
the winds swiped up
00:18:13.39\00:18:14.72
and every, all the iron
beds were there to be painted
00:18:14.76\00:18:17.63
all fell down like dominoes
straight outside our window.
00:18:17.66\00:18:20.76
There was no glass in the window
00:18:20.80\00:18:22.13
so it was very loud
and everybody woke up,
00:18:22.16\00:18:24.63
but it cooled down.
00:18:24.67\00:18:26.00
It cooled and
dropped the temperature.
00:18:26.03\00:18:27.37
Yeah.
00:18:27.40\00:18:28.74
Yeah, it was so hot
under that mosquito net.
00:18:28.77\00:18:30.91
I was stifling.
00:18:30.94\00:18:32.27
We shipped there
00:18:32.31\00:18:33.64
so it was some
small refrigerators
00:18:33.68\00:18:36.34
because you just gonna
have some cold water, tap water.
00:18:36.38\00:18:41.92
It can be quite warm
00:18:41.95\00:18:43.28
by the time it comes
through the pipes out.
00:18:43.32\00:18:45.29
Having a fridge say,
00:18:45.32\00:18:46.65
you can at least
have some cool water.
00:18:46.69\00:18:49.46
So, Glynn, they chose that land.
00:18:49.49\00:18:52.23
What did they immediately do?
00:18:52.26\00:18:55.23
Well, it took a while.
00:18:55.26\00:18:57.63
But once they had settled
the ownership of the land,
00:18:57.67\00:19:00.64
the land was leased
from the Babata tribe,
00:19:00.67\00:19:02.47
they had, I think
was a 70 year lease
00:19:02.50\00:19:04.87
to start with.
00:19:04.91\00:19:06.61
They set about
turning bush into a school.
00:19:06.64\00:19:09.71
So the place had to be cleared.
00:19:09.74\00:19:11.75
So lots of swinging of
axes and swinging of knives
00:19:11.78\00:19:14.95
to cut grass and clear the land.
00:19:14.98\00:19:18.62
And once they had space
cleared, they started building.
00:19:18.65\00:19:22.52
And they started building
at about 19, in about 1924.
00:19:22.56\00:19:27.40
Previously there
had been a school
00:19:27.43\00:19:28.76
at Sasaghana
00:19:28.80\00:19:30.13
where the church
started education,
00:19:30.17\00:19:33.37
educating in the Marovo Lagoon.
00:19:33.40\00:19:36.74
And while that was happening,
00:19:36.77\00:19:39.17
and they found
this plot of land,
00:19:39.21\00:19:40.88
they started to develop.
00:19:40.91\00:19:42.84
In 1924 they
started to develop Batuna.
00:19:42.88\00:19:46.11
In 1926 they
actually moved the school
00:19:46.15\00:19:49.78
from Sasaghana to Batuna
and started teaching at Batuna.
00:19:49.82\00:19:54.22
So it would have
been a boarding school?
00:19:54.26\00:19:56.32
It, yes, it was probably both,
00:19:56.36\00:19:58.83
but certainly
00:19:58.86\00:20:00.20
there was a lot of
students boarding there.
00:20:00.23\00:20:02.83
I think their first
intake of students at Batuna
00:20:02.86\00:20:05.27
was somewhere
around 70 students.
00:20:05.30\00:20:08.70
And then it grew from there.
00:20:08.74\00:20:11.41
So there had to be a
place to accommodate people
00:20:11.44\00:20:13.44
who came from a long way.
00:20:13.48\00:20:14.81
And initially they
came from a long walk,
00:20:14.84\00:20:17.78
all over the Solomon
Islands except for Malaita.
00:20:17.81\00:20:21.82
And there's two
Polynesian islands
00:20:21.85\00:20:23.49
down to the
south of Guadalcanal.
00:20:23.52\00:20:25.55
And they didn't turn
up until about 1930s.
00:20:25.59\00:20:29.22
I think they
started coming to Batuna,
00:20:29.26\00:20:31.36
they were 12
students from Malaita,
00:20:31.39\00:20:34.23
sorry, from Rennell
and Bellona who came,
00:20:34.26\00:20:37.07
and they only
stayed for six months.
00:20:37.10\00:20:38.97
And then they went home
and another contingent came.
00:20:39.00\00:20:41.64
So in that six month period,
they tried to learn to read.
00:20:41.67\00:20:45.87
So when they went
back to their islands,
00:20:45.91\00:20:48.54
they could take a Bible
and read and conduct worships
00:20:48.58\00:20:53.01
and things like that.
00:20:53.05\00:20:54.38
Only six months
to learn to read.
00:20:54.42\00:20:56.48
Yes. That's a big ask.
00:20:56.52\00:20:58.15
After the war,
00:20:58.19\00:21:00.06
our family was posted to Tikopia
00:21:00.09\00:21:02.39
which is right down
the end of Guadalcanal
00:21:02.42\00:21:04.46
were previously
prewar Norman Ferris
00:21:04.49\00:21:06.59
had been there.
00:21:06.63\00:21:08.46
And within the first
six months of being there,
00:21:08.50\00:21:11.07
some people from
Rennell and Bellona
00:21:11.10\00:21:13.54
rode their canoes for three days
00:21:13.57\00:21:16.30
across open
water to get to Tikopia
00:21:16.34\00:21:19.41
to ask for a missionary to come.
00:21:19.44\00:21:22.78
And they had
brought with them Bibles,
00:21:22.81\00:21:24.38
and they could read.
00:21:24.41\00:21:27.12
They had learnt
to read in the period
00:21:27.15\00:21:29.48
between those
first half a dozen or so
00:21:29.52\00:21:32.29
Rennell and Bellona
boys coming to Batuna,
00:21:32.32\00:21:35.69
going back home
00:21:35.72\00:21:37.06
and starting to teach
their people how to read.
00:21:37.09\00:21:40.56
And it was English. Yeah.
00:21:40.60\00:21:42.73
They were reading English,
00:21:42.76\00:21:44.10
they weren't reading
in their native language,
00:21:44.13\00:21:45.57
they were reading English.
00:21:45.60\00:21:46.94
So not only had
they learned to read,
00:21:46.97\00:21:48.30
but they had
learned how to explain
00:21:48.34\00:21:50.24
so they could teach the
people back in the villages
00:21:50.27\00:21:52.14
what was going on.
00:21:52.17\00:21:53.51
The three days in an open boat?
00:21:53.54\00:21:56.38
An open canoe.
00:21:56.41\00:21:57.75
Across open
water? Across open water.
00:21:57.78\00:21:59.25
It amazed that they
could actually navigate
00:21:59.28\00:22:02.05
and get to where
they wanted to go.
00:22:02.08\00:22:03.52
Well, the Polynesians
who migrated extensively
00:22:03.55\00:22:06.42
around the Pacific were
very good at navigating.
00:22:06.45\00:22:10.33
They were experts at it.
00:22:10.36\00:22:13.03
So it was no task
as to find their way.
00:22:13.06\00:22:15.93
But there's the water.
00:22:15.96\00:22:19.03
The ocean between
Rennell and Bellona and Tikopia
00:22:19.07\00:22:22.70
on Guadalcanal
could get very rough.
00:22:22.74\00:22:25.91
Very rough.
00:22:25.94\00:22:27.28
It's amazing
what they can do. Yes.
00:22:27.31\00:22:29.14
Let's go, there
was a lot of other work
00:22:29.18\00:22:31.81
going on there at
Batuna, there was a sawmill.
00:22:31.85\00:22:35.98
They had to build
homes for staff, a church,
00:22:36.02\00:22:42.36
different things
like that and the garden.
00:22:42.39\00:22:44.26
And the schools.
00:22:44.29\00:22:45.79
Yeah.
00:22:45.83\00:22:47.16
So there was a lot of
work that went on there,
00:22:47.20\00:22:48.53
which is amazing.
00:22:48.56\00:22:49.90
Yeah, absolutely.
And they had people.
00:22:49.93\00:22:51.43
They had good wood.
00:22:51.47\00:22:52.90
They did have good timber
to do a lot of the building.
00:22:52.93\00:22:55.00
But there were people
00:22:55.04\00:22:56.37
who gathered not just students
00:22:56.40\00:22:59.17
who were studying at Batuna
00:22:59.21\00:23:00.68
but people from the communities,
00:23:00.71\00:23:03.41
sent people to Batuna to
help with the development
00:23:03.45\00:23:07.25
of the property,
00:23:07.28\00:23:08.68
felling the
timber, clearing the land,
00:23:08.72\00:23:10.52
digging and
establishing gardens,
00:23:10.55\00:23:12.65
preparing for students to start
00:23:12.69\00:23:14.59
and the first
compliment was in about 1976.
00:23:14.62\00:23:16.59
So it became a
kind of a big center
00:23:16.62\00:23:18.63
for the Adventists work
in that part of the world
00:23:18.66\00:23:21.26
in the South Pacific, didn't it?
00:23:21.30\00:23:23.26
You're exactly right, John.
00:23:23.30\00:23:25.03
Yeah. It was the center.
00:23:25.07\00:23:28.10
And a lot of things
that went on at Batuna
00:23:28.14\00:23:30.61
had a massive influence
00:23:30.64\00:23:31.97
over the
development of the church
00:23:32.01\00:23:33.34
and the rest of the country.
00:23:33.38\00:23:35.08
To what you did all
that work moved to Honiara?
00:23:35.11\00:23:38.25
I pressed for.
00:23:38.28\00:23:39.85
So at 47 I think
by the time ran 45,
00:23:39.88\00:23:43.02
between 45 and 47,
00:23:43.05\00:23:45.09
the headquarters of the
church had moved on to Honiara.
00:23:45.12\00:23:49.56
The school was
00:23:49.59\00:23:52.66
but there was still a school
00:23:52.69\00:23:54.03
and there remained the
school at Batuna to this day,
00:23:54.06\00:23:56.06
but the main school
went down to Honiara
00:23:56.10\00:23:58.87
to a place called Betikama.
00:23:58.90\00:24:00.80
And the press that
we'll talk about shortly
00:24:00.84\00:24:02.77
that was based at Batuna
00:24:02.80\00:24:06.44
was also transferred
down to Betikama and it work,
00:24:06.47\00:24:10.18
it printed the present
00:24:10.21\00:24:12.78
Betikama survived for
quite a number of years
00:24:12.81\00:24:14.32
after the war.
00:24:14.35\00:24:15.68
Okay, so take us
through the press?
00:24:15.72\00:24:17.52
Take us on the
works that they did there?
00:24:17.55\00:24:19.69
The press was started very early
00:24:19.72\00:24:22.12
in the history of Batuna.
00:24:22.16\00:24:23.49
Back in 1926, the
press was almost operating.
00:24:23.53\00:24:27.96
And one of the first buildings
that was built was the press
00:24:28.00\00:24:32.27
and on the screen
you'll see a building
00:24:32.30\00:24:35.17
on the left hand side,
00:24:35.20\00:24:36.54
that was the
original press building
00:24:36.57\00:24:37.91
and the other two pictures show
some of the activity inside,
00:24:37.94\00:24:41.41
everything from setting the type
00:24:41.44\00:24:44.48
with a
guillotine to cut this pipe
00:24:44.51\00:24:46.25
just pipe it to
size to be printed.
00:24:46.28\00:24:48.88
The colliding,
00:24:48.92\00:24:50.35
putting all the pages together
till it was in sequence,
00:24:50.39\00:24:53.36
stapling, sewing,
sort of they made them
00:24:53.39\00:24:56.93
into little books or booklets
00:24:56.96\00:24:58.73
and it was all
happened there in that room.
00:24:58.76\00:25:02.13
But these are people who came
from a non-written language.
00:25:02.16\00:25:06.87
Yes.
00:25:06.90\00:25:08.24
And now in a very short time
they are producing in English
00:25:08.27\00:25:13.98
or in their language, did they?
00:25:14.01\00:25:15.34
Both. Yeah, they did both.
00:25:15.38\00:25:16.71
So they, they actually
00:25:16.75\00:25:18.08
someone had to
write their language.
00:25:18.11\00:25:19.75
Someone had to
give them an alphabet
00:25:19.78\00:25:21.32
and make up how
to write each word.
00:25:21.35\00:25:24.89
Yes.
00:25:24.92\00:25:26.25
Fortunately,
Melanesian languages
00:25:26.29\00:25:29.09
and I suppose
Polynesian are the same,
00:25:29.12\00:25:31.29
but Melanesian language,
00:25:31.33\00:25:35.33
the way you say the
word is the way you write.
00:25:35.36\00:25:37.07
They're very
phonetic. It's phonetic.
00:25:37.10\00:25:39.67
Yeah, so if you say,
cat, you'll write ca-at.
00:25:39.70\00:25:46.68
Yeah. It's very phonetic.
00:25:46.71\00:25:49.11
So they, these people
though had in that time,
00:25:49.14\00:25:52.31
they had produced
a written language.
00:25:52.35\00:25:55.42
They had been learning English.
00:25:55.45\00:25:57.92
And now they
could print in English
00:25:57.95\00:25:59.59
and in their language?
00:25:59.62\00:26:01.56
And how many
languages are there?
00:26:01.59\00:26:03.66
Oh, fortunately,
00:26:03.69\00:26:05.59
where the Batuna is established
00:26:05.63\00:26:07.50
in the Marovo Lagoon,
you can go from Nggatokae,
00:26:07.53\00:26:10.57
which is on the
eastern end of the lagoon,
00:26:10.60\00:26:13.03
all the way through to Seghe
00:26:13.07\00:26:15.37
and out around part
of the Roviana Lagoon
00:26:15.40\00:26:19.87
around towards Munda
and then up the other side,
00:26:19.91\00:26:23.51
through Ramata
and almost to Kukundu
00:26:23.55\00:26:25.61
they speak the same language.
00:26:25.65\00:26:27.58
Couple of little
inflect differences,
00:26:27.62\00:26:29.52
inflection and dialect.
00:26:29.55\00:26:31.22
But you can move
extensively through the Marovo
00:26:31.25\00:26:33.36
and you can talk Marovo,
00:26:33.39\00:26:34.72
and people will
understand what you're saying,
00:26:34.76\00:26:36.09
and you can
understand what they're saying.
00:26:36.12\00:26:38.03
So how big was Batuna?
00:26:38.06\00:26:41.06
Do you have any record?
00:26:41.10\00:26:42.43
Well, if you walk
00:26:42.46\00:26:44.60
from the transit house
00:26:44.63\00:26:49.34
where the volunteers stay
00:26:49.37\00:26:51.21
through the
school to the airport,
00:26:51.24\00:26:53.78
there's a disused airport there.
00:26:53.81\00:26:56.24
If you walk that distance,
00:26:56.28\00:26:57.68
you can get there
in 15, 20 minutes,
00:26:57.71\00:27:01.48
just not very extensive
then up to go up the hill
00:27:01.52\00:27:04.12
to when they have
a lot of the gardens
00:27:04.15\00:27:06.05
up on the hill.
00:27:06.09\00:27:07.46
So it's not a very big property
00:27:07.49\00:27:09.49
and I don't know
how many acres it is,
00:27:09.52\00:27:11.36
but it's not,
it's not all that big.
00:27:11.39\00:27:14.16
It's not thousands of acres.
00:27:14.20\00:27:16.50
Yeah.
00:27:16.53\00:27:17.87
So in the work in the press,
00:27:17.90\00:27:23.30
there was a specific person
00:27:23.34\00:27:25.37
that we're going to
talk about who was phenomenal
00:27:25.41\00:27:29.18
that obviously had an
extremely active mind,
00:27:29.21\00:27:34.05
very, very intelligent,
00:27:34.08\00:27:37.42
and was able to do this work
in local, a national person.
00:27:37.45\00:27:41.82
Tell us about Peo or Peo?
00:27:41.86\00:27:44.46
Peo.
00:27:44.49\00:27:47.06
You know, some of our viewers,
00:27:47.10\00:27:48.43
particularly if
they're our vintage
00:27:48.46\00:27:51.00
and Seventh-day Adventists,
00:27:51.03\00:27:52.37
you they will know
the name Kata Rangoso.
00:27:52.40\00:27:56.67
Back when we were children
00:27:56.71\00:27:59.77
he was often spoken about
00:27:59.81\00:28:01.38
when people went
off to camp meetings.
00:28:01.41\00:28:04.28
He visited
Australia multiple times.
00:28:04.31\00:28:06.05
He even went to
the general conference
00:28:06.08\00:28:08.45
for general conference session.
00:28:08.48\00:28:10.95
Kata Rangoso was a leading light
00:28:10.99\00:28:13.86
in the church.
00:28:13.89\00:28:15.26
And he would, he had supervision
00:28:15.29\00:28:17.63
of the church
00:28:17.66\00:28:18.99
while the war was happening
in the Solomon Islands.
00:28:19.03\00:28:23.50
So he was very capable person
00:28:23.53\00:28:26.23
and looked after
the whole from the work
00:28:26.27\00:28:29.00
in the Solomons from
Guadalcanal, Malaita,
00:28:29.04\00:28:31.67
all the way
through to Kolombangara
00:28:31.71\00:28:34.81
and further west to Davoli
00:28:34.84\00:28:36.44
and up to the
north where Choiseul is.
00:28:36.48\00:28:38.35
He had supervision
of the whole country
00:28:38.38\00:28:41.18
while the war was happening.
00:28:41.22\00:28:44.89
He had an older brother
00:28:44.92\00:28:47.46
who was the
firstborn son of Chief Tatugu,
00:28:47.49\00:28:51.19
who invited the
church into the Solomons
00:28:51.23\00:28:54.63
and he probably was
not in that 80 group,
00:28:54.66\00:28:59.10
the group of 80 who
went looking for property
00:28:59.13\00:29:02.24
because he died in
about 1928 I think it was.
00:29:02.27\00:29:07.98
And his firstborn son
00:29:08.01\00:29:10.05
became chief of
the Marovo people
00:29:10.08\00:29:14.75
and his name was Peo.
00:29:14.78\00:29:16.38
Okay.
00:29:16.42\00:29:17.75
Yeah, one of the big
reasons for the church
00:29:17.79\00:29:20.62
to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:29:20.66\00:29:21.99
to get into the Marovo
00:29:22.02\00:29:23.36
was so that chief Tatugu's boys
00:29:23.39\00:29:26.86
could learn to
speak and read English.
00:29:26.90\00:29:30.23
That was the catalyst.
00:29:30.27\00:29:32.20
When Jones went with Barley,
00:29:32.23\00:29:35.90
rather went to
talk to Chief Tatugu,
00:29:35.94\00:29:38.04
Chief Tatugu wanted his boys
00:29:38.07\00:29:41.34
and by extension his people
00:29:41.38\00:29:43.38
to be able to
read and speak English.
00:29:43.41\00:29:47.68
And the byproduct of
that, of course, is that
00:29:47.72\00:29:49.88
and the reference text
for reading was the Bible.
00:29:49.92\00:29:54.62
Yes, so they learnt the gospel.
00:29:54.66\00:29:56.02
So they learnt to read
00:29:56.06\00:29:58.36
and they learn to speak English
00:29:58.39\00:30:01.00
with a flyover of
King James English.
00:30:01.03\00:30:03.37
Okay.
00:30:03.40\00:30:04.73
It was that, that was
the text that they used.
00:30:04.77\00:30:08.87
And then I had, of course,
00:30:13.21\00:30:14.84
expatriates to run the
school in the early days.
00:30:14.88\00:30:18.91
And they were English speakers.
00:30:18.95\00:30:20.72
So they got the
more modern English
00:30:20.75\00:30:24.19
as well as the
King James English.
00:30:24.22\00:30:28.76
And it was that language
00:30:28.79\00:30:30.73
that they used
through the schools
00:30:30.76\00:30:32.79
right through
the Solomon's prewar
00:30:32.83\00:30:34.16
and post war,
00:30:34.20\00:30:35.53
where my wife and I
were there at Betikama,
00:30:35.56\00:30:38.03
1968 or 71, I think it was.
00:30:38.07\00:30:41.50
And we did
everything in English.
00:30:41.54\00:30:44.84
So the students who came
00:30:44.87\00:30:46.21
had had primary
school in English
00:30:46.24\00:30:49.14
that now that were in
secondary school in English.
00:30:49.18\00:30:52.11
And when they
finished secondary school off,
00:30:52.15\00:30:53.72
they went to
college or university,
00:30:53.75\00:30:55.98
and the language was English.
00:30:56.02\00:30:57.85
So English was,
00:30:57.89\00:30:59.22
was the language
that was used throughout
00:30:59.25\00:31:02.32
not just with the
Seventh-day Adventist Church,
00:31:02.36\00:31:04.49
but through the government.
00:31:04.53\00:31:05.86
All the education.
00:31:05.89\00:31:07.23
And all the
education was in English.
00:31:07.26\00:31:09.03
It's a very
different ballgame today.
00:31:09.06\00:31:11.33
But in those
days, it was English.
00:31:11.37\00:31:13.50
And so people like Rangoso
and his older brother Peo
00:31:13.54\00:31:18.71
when they went to
school, even at grade one,
00:31:18.74\00:31:22.38
they were learning in English.
00:31:22.41\00:31:24.95
But how old were they
when they went to grade one?
00:31:24.98\00:31:26.98
Well, when they
went to grade one,
00:31:27.02\00:31:28.35
they were probably
around 17, 16, 17, maybe 18.
00:31:28.38\00:31:34.09
So it wasn't
education at age five and a half
00:31:34.12\00:31:36.56
or age six or seven.
00:31:36.59\00:31:38.49
It was those ages plus 10 years.
00:31:38.53\00:31:41.20
Yeah.
00:31:41.23\00:31:42.60
So you mentioned it's
not the same ballgame now.
00:31:42.63\00:31:45.50
What do you mean
by that in terms of?
00:31:45.53\00:31:47.60
Well in, in the Solomons,
00:31:47.64\00:31:50.91
or in Papua New
Guinea, or in Vanuatu,
00:31:50.94\00:31:53.68
they usually start
school now at about age seven,
00:31:53.71\00:31:56.41
similar to what we do.
00:31:56.44\00:31:57.78
Okay.
00:31:57.81\00:31:59.15
But in those early days,
00:31:59.18\00:32:00.52
it was that 17, 18, 19
year olds and even older.
00:32:00.55\00:32:03.82
But to what languages
are they learning these days?
00:32:03.85\00:32:06.86
Is it basically
English or are they using
00:32:06.89\00:32:09.12
their local languages?
00:32:09.16\00:32:10.69
They use two languages.
00:32:10.73\00:32:12.86
There's English, of course.
00:32:12.89\00:32:14.23
And then there's
the lingua franca,
00:32:14.26\00:32:16.77
commonly used
throughout the nation
00:32:16.80\00:32:18.60
is pidgin English.
00:32:18.63\00:32:19.97
Okay.
00:32:20.00\00:32:21.34
So some of the early education
is done in pidgin English,
00:32:21.37\00:32:24.01
or most of it is,
00:32:24.04\00:32:25.37
but they learn
English as a subject,
00:32:25.41\00:32:27.68
not as the,
00:32:27.71\00:32:29.04
as in quite lingua
franca of education.
00:32:29.08\00:32:31.01
Yeah.
00:32:31.05\00:32:32.38
When did you
first go out there, Ron?
00:32:32.41\00:32:34.45
Do you remember what
year or longer was that?
00:32:34.48\00:32:37.89
Oh, boy.
00:32:37.92\00:32:39.25
A long time.
00:32:39.29\00:32:40.62
We're in '19 now.
00:32:40.66\00:32:41.99
The clinic was
opened about in '16.
00:32:42.02\00:32:43.63
Yeah.
00:32:43.66\00:32:44.99
And was 2008
00:32:45.03\00:32:46.90
I think it was when we
started, maybe 2007, late '07.
00:32:46.93\00:32:50.17
Yeah.
00:32:50.20\00:32:51.63
So when I think of the language,
00:32:51.67\00:32:53.97
have you learned to
speak the pidgin English?
00:32:54.00\00:32:57.17
What? What's that?
00:32:57.21\00:32:58.54
What's that Marovo
word for good morning?
00:32:58.57\00:33:00.24
Memorana.
00:33:00.28\00:33:01.61
To me it sounds like memorandum.
00:33:01.64\00:33:05.18
I just say good morning.
00:33:05.21\00:33:07.25
But you're a blessing
to the people out there
00:33:07.28\00:33:09.05
what you're doing, isn't it?
00:33:09.08\00:33:10.42
You know,
that's, that's something
00:33:10.45\00:33:11.82
that doesn't
matter how old you are,
00:33:11.85\00:33:14.39
you know, you can do something
and continue to do something
00:33:14.42\00:33:17.39
to help other people.
00:33:17.43\00:33:18.76
That's a principle
that Christians have,
00:33:18.79\00:33:21.26
you know, it's not
about me or myself.
00:33:21.30\00:33:24.63
But it's about
helping other people.
00:33:24.67\00:33:27.04
And you know, I think
of the early missionaries,
00:33:27.07\00:33:30.71
if you'd like to call them that,
00:33:30.74\00:33:32.31
the people that
gave of themselves
00:33:32.34\00:33:34.24
to go out there and
made themselves available.
00:33:34.28\00:33:37.21
That work continued
00:33:37.25\00:33:38.58
and we're still seeing
the results of that today,
00:33:38.61\00:33:40.25
aren't we, Glynn?
00:33:40.28\00:33:41.62
Yes. The work is
still progressing.
00:33:41.65\00:33:44.25
Yeah.
00:33:44.29\00:33:45.62
I'd like to look at a
couple of pictures of Peo.
00:33:45.65\00:33:48.32
Yes.
00:33:48.36\00:33:50.66
A strapping young man
00:33:50.69\00:33:52.76
in the big photo
there with the family.
00:33:52.79\00:33:55.86
He's the tallest one
up the back, isn't he?
00:33:55.90\00:33:58.63
And the big one,
00:33:58.67\00:34:00.00
the big picture
on the right is Peo.
00:34:00.04\00:34:03.54
And the other one?
00:34:03.57\00:34:04.91
The scene, the scene behind him
00:34:04.94\00:34:06.31
that lie the
land behind tells me
00:34:06.34\00:34:08.91
that that picture
was taken somewhere
00:34:08.94\00:34:11.35
near Batuna.
00:34:11.38\00:34:14.05
Then in the big picture
00:34:14.08\00:34:15.42
that's Peo's
siblings and his mother,
00:34:15.45\00:34:18.92
the lady, the
shorter lady in the middle,
00:34:18.95\00:34:22.12
in the middle row.
00:34:22.16\00:34:23.49
There's two small
children in the front.
00:34:23.53\00:34:24.86
Yep.
00:34:24.89\00:34:26.23
And the one immediately
behind, she's dressed in white.
00:34:26.26\00:34:30.57
That's Peo's
parents, that's her mother.
00:34:30.60\00:34:33.37
Tatugu, the
father was dead by now.
00:34:33.40\00:34:35.70
Okay. He was dead.
00:34:35.74\00:34:37.77
And starting from
the right hand side,
00:34:37.81\00:34:41.24
the back row that's Peo.
00:34:41.28\00:34:43.28
The next one is Kata Rangoso.
00:34:43.31\00:34:46.18
And the next one I think
is another brother Liligetto.
00:34:46.21\00:34:49.85
And then in the front
row on the right hand side,
00:34:49.88\00:34:52.12
I think that's Jimiru.
00:34:52.15\00:34:54.52
And the little boy
in the front is Joseph
00:34:54.56\00:34:57.93
and the older girl is
the, older sister Dioni.
00:34:57.96\00:35:03.37
And I'm not sure
who the little girl is.
00:35:03.40\00:35:06.63
But Peo is, was
fairly tall bit like his dad.
00:35:06.67\00:35:12.74
But his mother being so short
he wasn't as tall as his dad,
00:35:12.77\00:35:15.38
he's from what I learned is that
00:35:15.41\00:35:17.71
his father Tatugu
was really a big man,
00:35:17.75\00:35:20.42
which is unusual in
the Melanesian people.
00:35:20.45\00:35:23.42
But that was, that
was his mother's baptism?
00:35:23.45\00:35:25.85
That I think was
his mother's baptism.
00:35:25.89\00:35:27.52
And the conclusion is based
00:35:27.56\00:35:29.19
on the sort of
dress she was wearing.
00:35:29.22\00:35:31.29
Yes. Yeah.
00:35:31.33\00:35:32.66
Then Tatugu never
became a Christian.
00:35:32.69\00:35:36.46
He was supportive of the work,
00:35:36.50\00:35:38.70
he enjoyed a
Christian fellowship,
00:35:38.73\00:35:41.67
but he never became
a Christian formally.
00:35:41.70\00:35:44.54
He was never baptized
into the Christian faith.
00:35:44.57\00:35:47.91
But interesting when he died,
00:35:47.94\00:35:50.31
he requested that he be
buried in the Christian way.
00:35:50.35\00:35:55.52
So you can go to a little island
00:35:55.55\00:35:57.32
not far from his village of Chea
00:35:57.35\00:36:00.26
on the island of Marovo,
00:36:00.29\00:36:01.86
and his grave is
there and beside him is his,
00:36:01.89\00:36:05.59
excuse me, his wife's grave,
00:36:05.63\00:36:07.63
and just looking at
the size of the grave
00:36:07.66\00:36:09.76
can tell you
that he was a big man.
00:36:09.80\00:36:12.70
Really big man.
00:36:12.73\00:36:14.47
There's another picture
of Peo at work, um, doing.
00:36:14.50\00:36:20.28
He was doing translating?
00:36:20.31\00:36:23.08
We'll start from the
top left-hand corner.
00:36:23.11\00:36:26.08
In that picture,
Peo is on the left.
00:36:26.11\00:36:28.52
Yes.
00:36:28.55\00:36:29.88
And he's busy writing.
00:36:29.92\00:36:32.39
The expatriate next
around with a tie on,
00:36:32.42\00:36:38.19
with a white shirt and a tie on,
00:36:38.23\00:36:39.56
and it amazes me that
those early missionaries
00:36:39.59\00:36:42.73
dressed that way.
00:36:42.76\00:36:44.10
In that hot
climate. In that hot climate.
00:36:44.13\00:36:45.53
And I think
00:36:45.57\00:36:47.50
due to what's happened
with the climate these days,
00:36:47.54\00:36:49.54
it wasn't as hot.
00:36:49.57\00:36:50.97
Even the locals out there
00:36:51.01\00:36:52.34
and they are
complaining that it's hot.
00:36:52.37\00:36:54.91
That's Pastor H.B.P. Wicks.
00:36:54.94\00:36:58.71
Behind him with the
typewriter is another person,
00:36:58.75\00:37:04.89
but he comes from
a different island.
00:37:04.92\00:37:06.72
I wanted to say
Reni, but it's not Reni.
00:37:10.26\00:37:13.13
And the other person
on the right-hand side
00:37:13.16\00:37:15.46
is Kata Rangoso.
00:37:15.50\00:37:17.00
And they are sitting around
all sitting around the table.
00:37:17.03\00:37:20.00
And they are busy translating
00:37:20.04\00:37:21.94
and preparing
documents ready for the press.
00:37:21.97\00:37:25.37
So the chap is on the typewriter
00:37:25.41\00:37:27.31
is typing it up
as they translate,
00:37:27.34\00:37:29.51
Peo is looking up the
text and when he was working,
00:37:29.54\00:37:35.22
the story is that
when he worked at his desk,
00:37:35.25\00:37:38.55
he had two books.
00:37:38.59\00:37:40.52
While the manuscript
that he was translating...
00:37:40.56\00:37:42.62
Yes.
00:37:42.66\00:37:43.99
The Bible so
that he could turn up
00:37:44.03\00:37:45.56
the text and read it.
00:37:45.59\00:37:47.13
And beside him was a dictionary.
00:37:47.16\00:37:50.03
And they would
read the total resources
00:37:50.07\00:37:52.53
that he had when
he was translating.
00:37:52.57\00:37:54.74
Interesting.
00:37:54.77\00:37:56.10
Interestingly in,
at the Batuna school,
00:37:56.14\00:37:58.87
coming up to I think about 1934
00:37:58.91\00:38:03.38
they started teaching
00:38:03.41\00:38:05.31
at the Batuna school a
subject called translating.
00:38:05.35\00:38:08.92
Because as the school grew,
00:38:08.95\00:38:10.55
and the influence
of the church grew,
00:38:10.59\00:38:13.15
the local
people, the missionaries
00:38:13.19\00:38:15.69
from within the Solomon Islands,
00:38:15.72\00:38:17.79
the indigenous missionaries,
00:38:17.83\00:38:19.83
they went to places
like Malaita and Guadalcanal
00:38:19.86\00:38:22.90
and up to Choiseul,
00:38:22.93\00:38:24.50
where the
language was not Marovo.
00:38:24.53\00:38:27.60
And they had to do
two things, they had to,
00:38:27.64\00:38:30.41
one, carry the gospel.
00:38:30.44\00:38:32.61
They had to learn
the local languages,
00:38:32.64\00:38:35.14
so that they could
communicate effectively.
00:38:35.18\00:38:38.01
And then they had to translate
00:38:38.05\00:38:40.32
so that the people
in those communities
00:38:40.35\00:38:42.28
would get the scripture portions
00:38:42.32\00:38:44.55
and the Sabbath School lesson
00:38:44.59\00:38:46.19
and the mission stories
00:38:46.22\00:38:48.26
and all those things
in their own language.
00:38:48.29\00:38:50.63
And those
documents were translated
00:38:50.66\00:38:53.36
and sent back to Batuna
00:38:53.40\00:38:54.73
and printed and
circulated through the country.
00:38:54.76\00:38:57.20
Brilliant idea to teach
kids in school how to translate.
00:38:57.23\00:39:00.50
Well, the kids were...
00:39:00.54\00:39:01.87
So that they can
go on and do that.
00:39:01.90\00:39:03.44
The kids were of
course, 17, 18, 19, 20.
00:39:03.47\00:39:06.21
Yeah, but to
teach them to do it,
00:39:06.24\00:39:08.31
so they could then
go out and do something.
00:39:08.34\00:39:11.28
But coming back to Peo...
00:39:11.31\00:39:14.05
We'd have a look
at that picture again.
00:39:14.08\00:39:15.42
Do you want to?
Yes, there he is.
00:39:15.45\00:39:17.95
The one underneath,
00:39:17.99\00:39:19.32
the one we were
talking about earlier,
00:39:19.35\00:39:20.69
Peo is sitting at a typewriter.
00:39:20.72\00:39:22.06
And that's another subject
that they taught at the school,
00:39:22.09\00:39:24.26
typing.
00:39:24.29\00:39:25.63
So when the
missionaries went from Batuna
00:39:25.66\00:39:27.60
to wherever they went,
00:39:27.63\00:39:29.50
they had the skill to type
00:39:29.53\00:39:32.87
and therefore to write letters
00:39:32.90\00:39:35.17
and send them back in
the appropriate languages
00:39:35.20\00:39:37.67
back to Batuna to get printed.
00:39:37.71\00:39:40.21
So Peo is typing away there.
00:39:40.24\00:39:42.34
In the middle
picture is Peo again.
00:39:42.38\00:39:45.11
And in his left
hand, he's got two books.
00:39:45.15\00:39:49.15
And those two
books are significant.
00:39:49.18\00:39:52.29
The one underneath is his Bible.
00:39:52.32\00:39:55.82
And I would love
to have seen his Bible
00:39:55.86\00:39:57.19
because I'm sure
00:39:57.23\00:39:58.56
it would have
been very well used.
00:39:58.59\00:40:01.70
And the book on
top is a hymn book
00:40:01.73\00:40:04.03
that was used extensively
00:40:04.07\00:40:05.53
by the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:40:05.57\00:40:07.00
back in the 1920s
through to the 30s.
00:40:07.04\00:40:10.21
Post war, we
got a new hymn book.
00:40:10.24\00:40:12.87
But before then
that was the hymn book.
00:40:12.91\00:40:14.94
And those two books
00:40:14.98\00:40:16.31
would have been
very proud possessions
00:40:16.34\00:40:18.85
of anybody who lived
in the Solomon Islands
00:40:18.88\00:40:21.28
or anywhere around the Pacific.
00:40:21.32\00:40:22.82
But that book, that song
book was called Christ in Song.
00:40:22.85\00:40:26.15
And some of the
viewers will remember that.
00:40:26.19\00:40:28.59
In my library, I have
one, a couple of copies of it.
00:40:28.62\00:40:31.53
But that's the book
that Peo used to translate
00:40:31.56\00:40:35.03
from by the Bible to
translate both biblical things,
00:40:35.06\00:40:39.87
and the hymn book
to translate hymns.
00:40:39.90\00:40:42.40
And there may be a
picture coming up on...
00:40:42.44\00:40:46.34
What's he holding? About books.
00:40:46.37\00:40:47.94
What's he holding
there in that other photo?
00:40:47.98\00:40:49.54
In the third, the fourth picture
00:40:49.58\00:40:51.05
one on the extreme
right, that's Peo again,
00:40:51.08\00:40:53.55
and he has a arm
full of documents,
00:40:53.58\00:40:55.95
that is the first edition
of the Sabbath School lesson
00:40:55.98\00:40:59.69
in the Marovo language.
00:40:59.72\00:41:02.29
So Peo would have been
00:41:02.32\00:41:05.56
that significant person
in the translation process.
00:41:05.59\00:41:09.53
He probably would have
typed up some of the manuscript.
00:41:09.56\00:41:13.07
And then it was
published and given
00:41:13.10\00:41:16.91
to circulate
throughout the school.
00:41:16.94\00:41:19.44
I am just amazed at
how they could do that
00:41:19.47\00:41:21.71
in such a short time,
00:41:21.74\00:41:23.08
not even having
00:41:23.11\00:41:24.45
in their own
written language here.
00:41:24.48\00:41:25.81
When you think that
the church, our church,
00:41:25.85\00:41:27.55
the Seventh-day
Adventist Church arrived
00:41:27.58\00:41:29.52
in 1914.
00:41:29.55\00:41:31.59
And the publishing of
those lesson quarterlies
00:41:31.62\00:41:33.82
was happening by 1928.
00:41:33.86\00:41:35.62
That's only 14 years later.
00:41:35.66\00:41:37.83
And in those years,
00:41:37.86\00:41:39.83
the schools that
Sasaghana and Telina and Batuna
00:41:39.86\00:41:44.30
had been established,
00:41:44.33\00:41:46.00
the press had been installed
in about I think it was 1926.
00:41:46.03\00:41:53.01
And a couple of years later,
there were, there was a...
00:41:53.04\00:41:56.18
There's a product.
There's a publication.
00:41:56.21\00:41:57.55
Yeah.
00:41:57.58\00:41:58.91
And Peo had been in
through the whole process.
00:41:58.95\00:42:01.98
He'd been to school
00:42:02.02\00:42:03.35
for probably no
more than three years,
00:42:03.39\00:42:05.55
up to grade three.
00:42:05.59\00:42:07.16
Now he was
translating into English.
00:42:07.19\00:42:10.33
And then he was,
00:42:10.36\00:42:11.76
had this wonderful resource
of the Sabbath School lessons
00:42:11.79\00:42:14.86
ready to circulate
through the Solomon Islands,
00:42:14.90\00:42:17.67
particularly for the
Marovo speaking people.
00:42:17.70\00:42:20.14
Now, Peo,
00:42:20.17\00:42:21.50
if you had
something to say, Ron?
00:42:21.54\00:42:23.27
I'd like to get back to the tie.
00:42:23.30\00:42:26.01
If you're out there now,
00:42:26.04\00:42:27.38
and you're invited
to go to a community
00:42:27.41\00:42:28.88
and laid out in
Sabbath services,
00:42:28.91\00:42:31.48
and you turn up like Glynn
and I with a round neck shirt,
00:42:31.51\00:42:34.85
the deacon will kindly say away,
00:42:34.88\00:42:36.58
there's some ties hanging up.
00:42:36.62\00:42:38.29
And you're given the option.
00:42:38.32\00:42:39.65
Do you want to
wear a tie or not?
00:42:39.69\00:42:41.02
You don't have to.
00:42:41.06\00:42:42.39
But they've got quite
a few ties hanging up.
00:42:42.42\00:42:43.76
They would prefer you to.
00:42:43.79\00:42:45.13
They prefer you to wear a tie.
00:42:45.16\00:42:48.63
Well, you know what,
that shows some respect.
00:42:48.66\00:42:51.73
Yeah.
00:42:51.77\00:42:53.10
And that's important when,
00:42:53.13\00:42:54.50
you know, if you're representing
00:42:54.54\00:42:56.50
and I always think when
you're representing God,
00:42:56.54\00:42:59.77
there is, there
are two standards,
00:42:59.81\00:43:01.44
there's your standard
and there is God's standard.
00:43:01.48\00:43:03.68
And so when you,
00:43:03.71\00:43:05.05
when you want to
introduce people to God,
00:43:05.08\00:43:06.72
you want to take
them up to God's standard,
00:43:06.75\00:43:08.48
not remain where we are,
00:43:08.52\00:43:10.19
because that's
part of the growth
00:43:10.22\00:43:11.99
that comes from
knowing, knowing God.
00:43:12.02\00:43:14.52
So I'm coming back to Peo again.
00:43:14.56\00:43:16.56
Sorry to interrupt
you. That's all right.
00:43:16.59\00:43:18.16
Coming back to Peo,
00:43:18.19\00:43:20.36
his influence in the church
00:43:20.40\00:43:21.73
in the beginning
was quite remarkable,
00:43:21.76\00:43:24.93
right back in the
early days, about...
00:43:24.97\00:43:28.27
See, Batuna was
established in 19,
00:43:28.30\00:43:31.64
it was ready to
be inhabited by 1926.
00:43:31.67\00:43:36.11
In about 1918,
18, 19 somewhere there
00:43:36.14\00:43:40.82
Peo had been at
school for a little while.
00:43:40.85\00:43:43.82
And there was some
interest coming from Malaita.
00:43:43.85\00:43:47.72
Now Malaita had the reputation
of being a pretty tough place.
00:43:47.76\00:43:52.19
Fiery.
00:43:52.23\00:43:53.60
And Peo volunteered to
take the gospel to Malaita.
00:43:53.63\00:43:59.70
Is that right?
00:43:59.73\00:44:01.57
And he knew that if he went,
00:44:01.60\00:44:04.91
the chances were fairly
high that he would be murdered.
00:44:04.94\00:44:08.91
But he was willing to go
00:44:08.94\00:44:11.51
and volunteered to go
00:44:11.55\00:44:13.82
to Malaita to
take the gospel there.
00:44:13.85\00:44:16.38
And it's not like
Malaita was just down the road.
00:44:16.42\00:44:18.25
No, it was...
00:44:18.29\00:44:19.62
It was on the other
side of the Solomon Islands.
00:44:19.65\00:44:21.76
Yes, it's on the
north chain of islands
00:44:21.79\00:44:23.83
rather than on the south chain.
00:44:23.86\00:44:25.19
And it's, if you get to Honiara,
00:44:25.23\00:44:26.59
you've got to go
sort of northeast
00:44:26.63\00:44:28.10
to get to the,
00:44:28.13\00:44:29.46
but that's where he
was prepared to go there
00:44:29.50\00:44:31.47
and risk his life for
the sake of the gospel.
00:44:31.50\00:44:34.77
And so he was quite
an astounding person.
00:44:34.80\00:44:37.54
And if, you were
gonna say something, Ron?
00:44:37.57\00:44:40.11
No, no, no.
00:44:40.14\00:44:42.24
And it wasn't long after
that, that he was married.
00:44:42.28\00:44:45.08
Yes, we've got a photo. Yes.
00:44:45.11\00:44:47.05
Photo of his wedding.
00:44:47.08\00:44:49.78
Okay, on the
left wedding is Peo's,
00:44:49.82\00:44:51.89
on the left
picture is Peo's wedding.
00:44:51.92\00:44:55.12
And the, his lady,
00:44:55.16\00:44:56.99
his wife is the short lady
holding a bunch of flowers.
00:44:57.03\00:45:00.46
You can see the difference
in the height of the people.
00:45:00.50\00:45:01.83
Yes, you certainly can.
00:45:01.86\00:45:03.26
So the women, and
there's a male there
00:45:03.30\00:45:06.03
standing beside Peo
00:45:06.07\00:45:07.47
behind the two
women on the right.
00:45:07.50\00:45:09.70
You can see how
tall Peo is. Yes.
00:45:09.74\00:45:11.87
Quite tall, significantly tall.
00:45:11.91\00:45:15.24
And that was his wedding.
00:45:15.28\00:45:16.78
And within a couple of
years after they were married,
00:45:16.81\00:45:19.91
they had a daughter.
00:45:19.95\00:45:23.65
And Peo became
quite ill soon after.
00:45:23.69\00:45:27.66
Who's in the other photo?
00:45:27.69\00:45:29.42
The other photo is
Peo's younger brother,
00:45:29.46\00:45:31.49
the next born
that's Kata Rangoso.
00:45:31.53\00:45:34.26
And his second wife.
00:45:34.30\00:45:36.30
When Kata was married,
00:45:36.33\00:45:37.83
both times he picked a wife
00:45:37.87\00:45:39.63
and chose a wife
from a different island.
00:45:39.67\00:45:42.10
So not from the Marovo.
00:45:42.14\00:45:45.61
But soon, not long
after that photo was taken,
00:45:45.64\00:45:49.24
well, within a
couple of years anyway,
00:45:49.28\00:45:51.51
their child,
their daughter was born.
00:45:51.55\00:45:54.18
And before she
turned one, she died.
00:45:54.22\00:45:57.62
Tragically. Tragically died.
00:45:57.65\00:46:00.12
And it wasn't long after that,
00:46:00.16\00:46:01.62
within a year
after the daughter died,
00:46:01.66\00:46:04.93
Peo for quite some
time had been suffering
00:46:04.96\00:46:07.56
the effects of tuberculosis.
00:46:07.60\00:46:10.47
And within 18 months or
so of the daughter dying,
00:46:10.50\00:46:14.77
Peo died.
00:46:14.80\00:46:17.54
What year was
that do you recall?
00:46:17.57\00:46:19.84
It was about, well,
they were married in '24.
00:46:19.87\00:46:26.65
And so I've got a
date here somewhere.
00:46:26.68\00:46:29.38
But it was probably around
'28 I think when Peo died.
00:46:29.42\00:46:34.32
And at that time
Wicks and Pastor Wicks
00:46:34.36\00:46:37.66
and Pastor Bulmer both at Batuna
00:46:37.69\00:46:41.56
and they had been teaching now
00:46:41.60\00:46:43.43
with all the
translating and those.
00:46:43.47\00:46:46.43
You've actually got some
things you've got written here.
00:46:46.47\00:46:49.37
And this is Peo
translated many hymns
00:46:49.40\00:46:51.97
into Marovo language.
00:46:52.01\00:46:54.11
And one of which was
sung at his funeral at Telina.
00:46:54.14\00:46:57.95
Yes.
00:46:57.98\00:46:59.31
On March 9, 1926.
00:46:59.35\00:47:01.25
So that's only two
years after he got married.
00:47:01.28\00:47:03.32
Yes, that Batuna
was only two years old.
00:47:03.35\00:47:05.55
Yeah.
00:47:05.59\00:47:06.92
So in a very, when
you look at his life
00:47:06.96\00:47:09.06
in a very short time, he
accomplished an awful lot.
00:47:09.09\00:47:12.69
Oh, great. He became...
00:47:12.73\00:47:14.53
Very, very smart.
00:47:14.56\00:47:15.90
He became the
coordinator for all the churches
00:47:15.93\00:47:19.87
in around that part of Marovo.
00:47:19.90\00:47:22.27
So he was given a huge
amount of responsibility
00:47:22.30\00:47:25.87
very early in the piece.
00:47:25.91\00:47:27.98
Oh, he must have shown great.
00:47:28.01\00:47:29.84
Great talent and great, yes.
00:47:29.88\00:47:32.31
And you mentioned
that he translated hymns.
00:47:32.35\00:47:36.05
There was a book published,
a hymn book published,
00:47:36.08\00:47:38.35
the majority of the hymns
in it were translated by Peo.
00:47:38.39\00:47:42.96
And one of those was
sung at his funeral on Telina.
00:47:42.99\00:47:48.83
I like the concept.
00:47:48.86\00:47:50.57
The missionaries go to a place,
00:47:50.60\00:47:52.87
they help develop and do things.
00:47:52.90\00:47:56.34
And then those
people like Peo did,
00:47:56.37\00:47:59.07
he went and became
a missionary himself
00:47:59.11\00:48:01.84
to do the same thing.
00:48:01.88\00:48:03.21
Exactly. And you know what?
00:48:03.24\00:48:04.58
We're here in 2019.
00:48:04.61\00:48:06.41
And we're doing the same thing.
00:48:06.45\00:48:08.45
You know, and so
the work never stops.
00:48:08.48\00:48:10.49
And the gospel commission
still continues, go ye,
00:48:10.52\00:48:13.79
that's you and I, that
are there to do something.
00:48:13.82\00:48:16.66
And you're doing that too, Ron,
even in your retirement years.
00:48:16.69\00:48:20.10
You're going out
there and doing things.
00:48:20.13\00:48:22.26
And tell me, do
you feel that it's a,
00:48:22.30\00:48:27.57
it's something
that you have to do,
00:48:27.60\00:48:30.27
it takes a lot of effort?
00:48:30.31\00:48:32.64
It does take a lot of effort.
00:48:32.67\00:48:34.68
But it is rewarding
00:48:34.71\00:48:36.04
because we'd
like to take students
00:48:36.08\00:48:37.65
who are involved
00:48:37.68\00:48:39.01
in any part of the
construction industry
00:48:39.05\00:48:41.52
and bring them down
to where we're working.
00:48:41.55\00:48:44.05
My last episode out there,
00:48:44.09\00:48:45.75
I took a nail gun out
00:48:45.79\00:48:47.86
and these guys just saw
00:48:47.89\00:48:49.22
that was better
than sliced bread.
00:48:49.26\00:48:52.09
To be able to use a nail gun,
00:48:52.13\00:48:53.66
but we'd like to
take the students
00:48:53.70\00:48:56.30
and teach them the Aussie way,
00:48:56.33\00:48:57.67
that's what they say, Ron
teaches us the Aussie way.
00:48:57.70\00:49:01.27
Just improve their skills.
00:49:01.30\00:49:03.54
So when they
graduate because at this,
00:49:03.57\00:49:06.27
at Batuna Vocational
School they only teach theory,
00:49:06.31\00:49:10.08
not very much practical.
00:49:10.11\00:49:11.45
Okay.
00:49:11.48\00:49:12.81
So the boys have to,
00:49:12.85\00:49:14.18
and the girls that
are doing other courses,
00:49:14.22\00:49:16.79
need to find
some practical work.
00:49:16.82\00:49:19.32
So the
electricians have come out,
00:49:19.35\00:49:21.72
take boys, the plumber comes out
00:49:21.76\00:49:23.56
takes boys and we...
00:49:23.59\00:49:25.03
They are all learning
from anyone that goes out.
00:49:25.06\00:49:27.86
Yeah, so it's just
lifting the standard,
00:49:27.90\00:49:32.33
a better way to do it.
00:49:32.37\00:49:33.80
So we don't only
go out there to show
00:49:33.84\00:49:36.34
the spiritual side
about God in the Bible,
00:49:36.37\00:49:39.07
we're actually
showing a practical things
00:49:39.11\00:49:41.28
because that's the
balance a school should have,
00:49:41.31\00:49:43.14
isn't that right, Glynn,
00:49:43.18\00:49:44.51
that we should be
able to teach them
00:49:44.55\00:49:45.88
how to garden, how
to feed themselves.
00:49:45.91\00:49:48.35
And that's what the
early schools were doing,
00:49:48.38\00:49:49.78
weren't they?
00:49:49.82\00:49:51.15
And now teaching people
00:49:51.19\00:49:52.52
how to translate
and read and write,
00:49:52.55\00:49:54.62
which is and type.
00:49:54.66\00:49:56.56
I have trouble typing.
00:49:56.59\00:49:58.49
Now a bit what Peo did was
00:49:58.53\00:50:00.60
astounding for
such a short period
00:50:00.63\00:50:02.36
in the short life.
00:50:02.40\00:50:03.73
Had he not died as
a fairly young person,
00:50:03.77\00:50:07.27
he would have been
a magnificent leader,
00:50:07.30\00:50:10.61
right through the war year.
00:50:10.64\00:50:11.97
Well, his brother managed to be.
00:50:12.01\00:50:13.34
Well, his brother
took over basically.
00:50:13.38\00:50:15.64
When Tatagu died
Peo became the chief.
00:50:15.68\00:50:19.21
And when he died,
00:50:19.25\00:50:20.62
his next brother Kata
Rangoso became the chief.
00:50:20.65\00:50:24.95
At Peo's funeral the
theme that he alluded to
00:50:24.99\00:50:29.59
was one that he had translated.
00:50:29.62\00:50:33.13
And we know it is,
00:50:33.16\00:50:34.73
I'm thinking today
of the beautiful land
00:50:34.76\00:50:36.63
I shall see when
the sun goes down in it.
00:50:36.67\00:50:38.93
Will there be any
stars in my crown?
00:50:38.97\00:50:41.30
Will it be any
stars in my crown?
00:50:41.34\00:50:42.74
He translated that
into the Marovo language.
00:50:42.77\00:50:47.24
A.R. Barrett, Pastor Barrett
00:50:47.28\00:50:49.91
translated it back into English
that what Peo had written it.
00:50:49.94\00:50:56.05
And it's, it's a bit different
to the one that we know,
00:50:56.08\00:50:59.45
when we sing it, we sing
00:50:59.49\00:51:01.82
but I'm not sure it's
in our current hymn book,
00:51:01.86\00:51:03.56
but we sing.
00:51:03.59\00:51:04.93
Will there be any stars
in my crown, in my crown,
00:51:04.96\00:51:07.06
when at last, the sun goes down?
00:51:07.10\00:51:09.33
When I wake with the
bliss in the haven of rest,
00:51:09.36\00:51:12.03
will there be any
stars in my crown?
00:51:12.07\00:51:14.90
But when Peo wrote it,
00:51:14.94\00:51:18.11
he changed the sense
of it just a wee bit.
00:51:18.14\00:51:20.84
And I think that what he wrote
00:51:20.88\00:51:24.25
reflects what he
learned at school.
00:51:24.28\00:51:29.02
When he was taught the gospel
00:51:29.05\00:51:30.92
those early
missionaries who have, who were,
00:51:30.95\00:51:36.02
how can I say it?
00:51:36.06\00:51:38.86
Probably died in the wool,
00:51:38.89\00:51:40.53
certainly died in
the wool Adventist,
00:51:40.56\00:51:41.90
but they understood the gospel,
00:51:41.93\00:51:44.00
and they taught the gospel,
00:51:44.03\00:51:45.97
and when Peo
translated the hymn.
00:51:46.00\00:51:49.67
I'm going to read it now to you
00:51:49.70\00:51:51.07
from what A.R.
Barrett translated
00:51:51.11\00:51:53.54
back to English
from what Peo had read,
00:51:53.58\00:51:56.14
had written.
00:51:56.18\00:51:57.71
And this is the way it goes,
00:51:57.75\00:51:59.08
I'm thinking today
of that very good land,
00:51:59.11\00:52:00.98
but we can't recognize that
00:52:01.02\00:52:02.35
but for I must go
there when the sun goes down.
00:52:02.38\00:52:07.19
Will there be any
stars in my crown?
00:52:07.22\00:52:08.92
That's the end of the verse.
00:52:08.96\00:52:11.76
And then he goes on,
00:52:11.79\00:52:13.40
will there be any
stars in my crown,
00:52:13.43\00:52:15.00
when at last the sun goes down,
00:52:15.03\00:52:17.63
when I wake in
that beautiful place,
00:52:17.67\00:52:20.87
and here comes the
bit that's different.
00:52:20.90\00:52:23.00
There will be stars in my crown.
00:52:23.04\00:52:25.97
So it's not a question anymore.
00:52:26.01\00:52:28.18
It's a statement.
00:52:28.21\00:52:29.98
And that tells me that
he understood the gospel.
00:52:30.01\00:52:34.78
One of the significant
people in the church recently,
00:52:34.82\00:52:37.72
the editor of
the Review and Herald
00:52:37.75\00:52:39.09
write a book called
An Absolute Confidence,
00:52:39.12\00:52:41.82
and Peo was merely, was
saying that in this hymn,
00:52:41.86\00:52:46.29
there's confidence,
00:52:46.33\00:52:47.73
there's no need to be in doubt
00:52:47.76\00:52:50.47
as to your status
when you accept Jesus.
00:52:50.50\00:52:53.77
They will be, he said,
they will be stars in my crown.
00:52:53.80\00:52:55.80
They will be stars in my crown.
00:52:55.84\00:52:57.17
Just a wonderful idea.
00:52:57.21\00:52:58.67
That is a beautiful idea.
00:52:58.71\00:53:00.34
And on that note,
00:53:00.38\00:53:01.71
I just want to go
to our address roll.
00:53:01.74\00:53:03.85
We love to hear from you.
00:53:03.88\00:53:05.71
And if you have any questions,
00:53:05.75\00:53:07.42
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00:53:07.45\00:53:09.62
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00:53:09.65\00:53:13.92
or just let us know
00:53:13.96\00:53:15.82
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00:53:15.86\00:53:18.16
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00:53:18.19\00:53:20.60
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00:53:25.37\00:53:27.54
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00:53:27.57\00:53:29.54
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00:53:29.57\00:53:33.78
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00:53:33.81\00:53:37.91
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00:53:37.95\00:53:41.58
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00:53:41.62\00:53:44.79
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00:53:44.82\00:53:49.52
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00:53:49.56\00:53:53.70
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00:53:53.73\00:53:57.43
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00:53:57.47\00:54:02.64
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00:54:02.67\00:54:08.41
That's
mail@3abnaustralia.org.au.
00:54:08.44\00:54:15.78
Thank you for all you do
to help us light the world
00:54:15.82\00:54:18.42
with the glory of God's truth.
00:54:18.45\00:54:22.56
Don't forget we
love to hear from you.
00:54:22.59\00:54:25.03
Now, I'm going to
come back to you, Ron.
00:54:25.06\00:54:26.93
We're going to switch
from a local native person Peo
00:54:26.96\00:54:31.30
who is brilliant.
00:54:31.33\00:54:33.13
But we're going
to go now to a doctor
00:54:33.17\00:54:36.00
who had gone out
there, Dr. Muriel Parker.
00:54:36.04\00:54:38.84
What can you tell
us about Dr. Parker?
00:54:38.87\00:54:41.34
She was a nurse, not a doctor.
00:54:41.38\00:54:43.14
All right. Okay.
00:54:43.18\00:54:44.51
When we first went there,
00:54:44.55\00:54:46.01
we noticed this grave
with Muriel Parker on it,
00:54:46.05\00:54:49.75
when she was
buried there in 1930.
00:54:49.78\00:54:51.85
There's a picture of the grave.
00:54:51.89\00:54:53.86
Yes, that's the
picture of grave.
00:54:53.89\00:54:55.52
When we came
home we gave a report
00:54:55.56\00:54:57.46
in Port Macquarie Sabbath School
00:54:57.49\00:54:59.23
and Glynn put that picture up
00:54:59.26\00:55:01.26
and at Sabbath School
member jumped up all excited,
00:55:01.30\00:55:03.77
and he said,
00:55:03.80\00:55:05.13
"Is that where my
aunty Muriel is buried?"
00:55:05.17\00:55:08.27
And Glynn is sort of
missed him a little bit,
00:55:08.30\00:55:10.27
perhaps he's
got the facts wrong.
00:55:10.31\00:55:11.64
So we did some research,
00:55:11.67\00:55:13.91
and it was his
dad's older sister,
00:55:13.94\00:55:16.41
and her maiden
name was Muriel Stace.
00:55:16.44\00:55:19.45
And as a young girl,
she grew up in Yarra,
00:55:19.48\00:55:21.68
which is which is halfway
00:55:21.72\00:55:23.15
between Woolhope and
Wonka in New England.
00:55:23.18\00:55:27.19
And she went
out there as a nurse
00:55:27.22\00:55:30.19
with Evelyn
Totenhofer and her husband,
00:55:30.23\00:55:32.76
who was pastor, Arthur Parker,
and she died there in 1930.
00:55:32.79\00:55:37.57
That's before
the Second World War.
00:55:37.60\00:55:40.60
Yeah.
00:55:40.64\00:55:41.97
What can you tell
us about her, Glynn?
00:55:42.00\00:55:44.37
Well, she and her husband,
I think was Arthur Parker,
00:55:44.41\00:55:47.94
Pastor Parker anyway,
00:55:47.98\00:55:49.38
had only been in the country
00:55:49.41\00:55:50.75
and as
missionaries for six weeks.
00:55:50.78\00:55:53.62
And they had, they had gone
to Batuna to learn something
00:55:53.65\00:55:57.55
about the experience
of being missionaries.
00:55:57.59\00:55:59.79
And a lot of other missionaries
had gathered there for this,
00:55:59.82\00:56:02.22
for a meeting.
00:56:02.26\00:56:03.96
And she became really ill.
00:56:03.99\00:56:06.83
And she died on
a Friday evening,
00:56:06.86\00:56:11.67
and was promptly buried
00:56:11.70\00:56:13.03
because there's no refrigeration
00:56:13.07\00:56:14.60
to look after someone.
00:56:14.64\00:56:16.40
She had an ectopic pregnancy.
00:56:16.44\00:56:19.07
And basically
hemorrhage to death.
00:56:19.11\00:56:22.48
And it was...
00:56:22.51\00:56:23.85
Very painful death.
00:56:23.88\00:56:25.21
Very painful death.
00:56:25.25\00:56:27.22
And we,
00:56:27.25\00:56:31.45
we saw this grave,
00:56:31.49\00:56:32.82
and we learned about the story
00:56:32.85\00:56:34.19
and some other relatives
00:56:34.22\00:56:35.56
came to Port
Macquarie Sabbath one day
00:56:35.59\00:56:36.93
and told us the whole story
00:56:36.96\00:56:38.33
about the Stace family
00:56:38.36\00:56:40.70
of which she was a member.
00:56:40.73\00:56:43.77
But there's,
00:56:43.80\00:56:45.20
there's an
interesting bit in her obituary,
00:56:45.23\00:56:47.24
which if I want to
read it if we have time.
00:56:47.27\00:56:51.27
And this is what
she said to her husband
00:56:51.31\00:56:52.87
in a very soft
voice as she was dying.
00:56:52.91\00:56:55.71
And she was quoting a
hymn out of Christ in Song,
00:56:55.74\00:56:57.98
the book that Peo had.
00:56:58.01\00:57:00.35
I'm trusting Thee Lord Jesus.
00:57:00.38\00:57:03.18
And then she said to her husband
00:57:03.22\00:57:04.75
just before she died,
Jesus is all the world to me.
00:57:04.79\00:57:08.89
And that is
captivates the spirit
00:57:08.92\00:57:11.99
that largely
infused the missionaries
00:57:12.03\00:57:14.46
who went to the Solomons
and everywhere basically.
00:57:14.50\00:57:18.73
A wonderful testimony. Yeah.
00:57:18.77\00:57:21.47
So she had her husband
sing as a hymn from the book.
00:57:21.50\00:57:24.97
No, she was singing
to her husband there.
00:57:25.01\00:57:27.84
It's beautiful.
00:57:27.88\00:57:29.51
To go out there and die so soon
from such a tragic way was sad.
00:57:29.54\00:57:34.45
But one of the things
I learned from this story
00:57:34.48\00:57:36.48
is that those
in the native areas
00:57:36.52\00:57:39.62
are not cannibals,
they're not heathen,
00:57:39.65\00:57:41.52
they are smart people
that God uses for His work.
00:57:41.56\00:57:44.79
So until next
time, God bless you.
00:57:44.83\00:57:46.56