utions, and other manifestations of holiness of life.
From diary and report records I have the following observations:
1. Shouts and liberty and outstreached arms, fervent praying by all … for one hour (24 August).
2. I’ve never seen such passionate fervency (7 September).
3. Abraham (young man) through the day had sought the Lord … at night he was filled with the Spirit (8 October).
4. … these baptisms (in the Spirit) have produced a reverence and spiritual quickening of depth and sincerity (14 October 14).
5. … reverence is prominent.
6. … Stanley (young man) in the classroom broke forth in other tongues during a Bible lesson on 2 Corinthians 4 … prayer … four students committed themselves to Christ (2 December).
7. Thomas (an older man) told me he was drawn by the Spirit to the school building to listen (3 December).
8. Williamson … has thrown away his cigarettes … agitated over temptation … asked for prayer (3 December).
9. … infusion of new life and power in the weekly meetings (2 January 1963).
This visitation resulted in a liveliness not known before. Initially it was mainly among young people. In later months and years it spread among all age groups and to my present knowledge was the first such visitation in the history of the Christian Church in Vanuatu. To me the gratification I gained centred upon the following particulars:
1. The Holy Spirit had animated and empowered a people who were well taught in the Scriptures. Records show a lift in spiritual vitality in all the village churches.
2. It brought the church as a whole into a more expressive, dynamic dimension and also a charismatic gift function. They were much more able to gain victory over spirit forces so familiar to them.
3. It began to hasten the maturation processes in developing leadership.
4. The reality matched the doctrinal stand of the church. There was now no longer a disparity.
5. It confirmed to me the very great importance of being “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58 AV).
6. It led to significant outreach in evangelism, both personal and group. …
In the following years some of the young men and women served God in evangelistic teams, school teaching, urban witness, government appointments, and as pastors and elders to their own people. One of them has with his wife been an effective missionary… in Papua New Guinea.
Similar Spirit movements such as this characterize revival in the islands with their animistic involvement in spirit activity. Christians affirm the power of the Holy Spirit over traditional occult spirits. Many local revival movements have flared up in Vanuatu and the South Pacific. This typical report is from Ruth Rongo of Tongoa Island dated August 28, 1991:
“I’ve just come back from an Evangelism ministry. It lasted for three months. God has done many miracles. Many people were shocked by the power of the Holy Spirit. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, the sick were healed. All these were done during this evangelism ministry. We see how God’s promise came into action. The prophet Joel had said it. We people of Vanuatu say “The spirit of the Lord God is upon us because he has anointed us to preach the Gospel to the poor people of Vanuatu.” Praise God for what he has done.
“In where I live, in my poor home, I also started a home cell prayer group. Our goal is that the revival must come in the church. Please pray for me and also for the group. Our prayer group usually meets on Sunday night, after the night meeting. We started at 10.30 pm to 1 or 3.30 am. If we come closer to God he will also come close to us. We spent more time in listening and responding to God.”
These revival movements continue to increase in the Pacific, especially as indigenous teams minister in other areas with the Spirit’s fire. The church grows stronger, even through opposition. Indigenous Christians live and minister in New Testament patterns from house to house, from village to village.
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1965 – September: Soé, Timo