A letter from David Walter
April 16, 2009
The gifts that keep on giving
I have often written about the unfailing generosity of the people of the Pacific, and I guess it is about time that I told you a few stories to illustrate that fact. These have taken place over the past several years but their importance has not diminished with age.
When I was teaching at Onesua there was a time when Aniwa Island, one of the southernmost of Vanuatu’s approximately 82 islands and noted for its delicious Mandarin oranges, was experiencing a severe drought. The chaplain organized a gathering with local entertainment, speeches, sermons and a “love offering.” At the end everyone was invited to contribute to help their fellow citizens on Aniwa. We raised nearly 350 dollars that night. One little boy, who had no money to give, gave a tube of toothpaste, another half of a one-kilo bag of rice. That’s all they had. They didn’t give from their surplus but from their hearts.
Charlie and Evelyn with one of their sons.
Back then I was the only one who had access to the email and, because of that, everyone’s emails came through me. Charlie and Evelyn Manai’s daughter was in Australia for nursing training and would periodically email her parents (typical of college students everywhere, she often wrote to ask for money!). I would print out the email and walk it over to their house (about 25 yards away). Without fail, the next day I would come home after classes and find a big dish for dinner. No matter how many times I told Evelyn that it was not necessary, the food was there.
It is virtually impossible to give a gift in Vanuatu without getting something in return. Once, when I was in Port Vila to do my shopping I saw a small toy car that I thought Anthony, Alfred and Lepakoa Bani’s 2-year-old might like. On Saturday morning I saw Alfred and Anthony and gave him the car. He was playing with a small carved dolphin at the time, one of his few toys. He promptly handed it over to me. I was “horrified” and tried my best to refuse it, but they insisted. That dolphin is still one of my prized possessions.
When I attended the Pacific Conference of Churches General Assembly we were hosted by various churches who treated us like royalty, providing us with new sheets and towels and wonderful food, including shrimp, lobster and fresh fish. On the final Sunday, we went in small groups to worship at one of the local churches. I was at a Congregational Church with Methodist friends from Papua New Guinea. After the service we were served a banquet and then the people who had come to prepare the food paraded in with gifts for us. My pile of gifts was nearly three feet high! They even gave us each 50 dollars for our excess baggage charges. Later I asked why they would do such a thing and was told, “When we have guests we feel honored and we must show our appreciation.”
Then too, many gifts have special significance. A mat is a gift of friendship and peace. Those wonderful soft baskets they weave are given so that they might be filled with bounty and signify the hope for prosperity. (In 2002 our group of 16 people were given 91 baskets). Any gift received “requires,” within their culture, that a gift be given in return. Wealth is shared with everyone.
As I contemplate the meaning of all this giving and how I react to it, I think of Jesus feeding the five thousand (which must have involved a lot of sharing). I remember the many gifts from God that have filled my life with joy and how I don’t necessarily give back in return. I realize that what I have only has value if I share. Acquiring and owning something in and of itself doesn’t even make me feel good for very long. Our brothers and sisters in the Pacific live each day of their lives in this way — giving back more than they have received, rejoicing in what they have that can be shared with all. What a wonderful way to practice their faith in a way that is real and has value for today.
David Walter
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 98
