In 2012 the Blacktown youth decided to get together to find a way to be involved in an overseas service project. “We didn’t know where to start so we contacted ADRA connections who gave us a selection of projects and countries that needed our help,” says youth leader, Angela Battistini. “The next Sabbath we got together to narrow down the projects. We put the countries in a hat, prayed and then pulled out a project.” Eighteen months later and after much hard work, fundraising $25,000, 13 young people set off to Vanuatu to make the dream a reality.

The team arrived on Epi Island in the village of Nalema, flying in a three-seater plane flown by  Dr Mark (Wings of Hope). “God blessed us with a loving community that welcomed us with heart-felt singing,” says Angela.

The following day, the team set out on a  seven kilometre walk up a mountain, to where the water tank was situated. “We found ourselves struggling to get up but with God’s grace we all made it up there,” says Angela. The team worked on cementing the water tank. “Within two-and-a-half hours, the rain started to pour like we have never seen before, it was that hard and heavy that our heads were hurting from the hard-hitting rain.”

Walking down the mountain was that much harder with the rain, flooding most of the path and creating thick slippery mud, filled with leeches. It was a great experience, thankfully there were no serious injuries.

The team also assisted the community in building 15 standpipes and showers and pulling coiled pipes to connect. Each day, the girls in the team had the opportunity to teach in the local school, teaching the children Maths, English, about the environments, and general hygiene.

On the final day the team received news that the three-seater plane would not be able to land in the village due to the muddy landing strip from the all the rain. The alternative would be to go to Port Villa by boat, something that would take a whole day. “We got together and decided to build a six metre by 30 metre landing strip out of sand and rocks,” says Angela. “The whole community, from your children to the elderly, helped out. We managed to reach Port Villa and safely make our way back to Sydney, Australia.

“Words cannot describe the unforgettable experience we had over there. We made life long friends and we are already planning our next trip to Nalema. We know that God was with us every step of the way. We thought we were helping the people of Nalema but really they helped us so much. The biggest lesson we learnt as a group is that you can live with the simplest things in life and all these materialistic wants mean nothing to us anymore, all we want to do is serve the Lord and our brothers and sisters in need,” says Angela.