Team member LaBerta Funston listens to the heartbeat of a child on the medical outreach to Vanuatu.
Beyond the Stethoscope
Team member LaBerta Funston listens to the heartbeat of a child on the medical outreach to Vanuatu.
June 1

In May of 2009, HealthCare Ministries, with missionaries Bryan and Renee Webb, took a team to Vanuatu to hold a medical evangelism outreach on the island of Tanna.  The team ministered to the physical and spiritual needs of the people in the Emantange Valley, carrying out the missionary’svision to plant more churches.  Read on to see how God orchestrated divine appointments to reach village leaders and one of HCM’s team members.

God Gets Saved

Before HCM’s team ever set foot on the tropical island of Tanna, missionary Bryan Webb was communicating with chiefs of various villages to lay the ground work for church planting.  One chief in particular—Chief Jack, as Bryan calls him—consented to having a church built in his village, even though he claimed to be a god and refused to believe in the one true God of which Bryan spoke.

To carry out his vision of planting churches in the Emantange Valley, Bryan invited HCM to conduct a medical evangelism clinic as a way to reach out to the community.  During the HCM outreach, team members took a day, divided into three groups and held church services in three villages.  One of the teams visited the “kastom” village of Chief Jack and held a service where permission had been given for a church to be built.  In this service, Chief Jack abandoned his claim of deity and, led by team member, Dr. Mike Wolford, prayed the sinner’s prayer.

Long-term Results

The Emantange Valley, which is over four miles long, has 23 villages that are reachable by footpaths through the jungle.  There is a church located at each end of the valley.  The medical evangelism clinic was strategically placed in the village of Isaka, located in the middle of the valley.  There were 929 people treated, including  the students of Isaka Grade School.  Of those seen, 105 prayed the sinner’s prayer, nine of which were baptized during a special service.


Chiefs from several surrounding villages came to the clinic.  Paul Dean had the privilege of leading one to the Lord after fitting him with a pair of eyeglasses.  After the chief prayed for forgiveness, Paul asked if there was anything else he wanted prayer for.  The chief replied:

“I want to have the same power that you have so I can go back to my village and tell them about Jesus Christ.”

Eternal Impact

  • 929 people were treated in medical, dental and optical.
    105 prayed the sinner’s prayer.
    Services conducted in three different villages.
    Solidified church plants.
    Many village leaders accepted Christ, including chiefs who were considered deity.