Bindy walks alongside the ‘beautiful Acts 2 church’ in Vanuatu
- simoneworthing
- Oct 10
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 12
Major Bindy Lupis is National Response Manager for The Salvation Army’s Emergency Response Service (SAES) – now merged into the new Emergency, Aid and Development department (EAD), led by Daryl Crowden (General Manager). As EAD oversees The Salvation Army’s work in the South Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu, Bindy is supporting Lilyrose (corps leader in the capital, Port Vila) in a mentoring role. She shared some reflections about her recent visit to Vanuatu in an interview with Salvos Online journalist SIMONE WORTHING.
Can you share some of your experiences during your recent visit to Port Vila?
I was in Vanuatu from 28 August to 4 September. The visit was a mix of working with Daryl Crowden (General Manager EAD), checking in on the development work following the earthquake that struck near the coast of Vanuatu on 17 December last year, a visit to one of the schools where we have installed a water tank, and meeting with other stakeholders.
This was also my first visit to meet with the faith community at The Salvation Army’s 21 Jump Street site and see all that happens there. I spent a few days getting to know them and their community. This included a church family outing to the beach on the Saturday, leading worship along with Lilyrose (who currently overseas the corps) on Sunday, and visiting the property that helps support some of the women to grow and cook food to sell so they have an income to support their families. There were also lots of opportunities to sit and chat, see the food gardens and the Mama’s kitchen, play with the children and just do life together for the few days.
What does your mentoring role involve? How will you manage this from Australia?
The ‘overseeing’ of the work of The Salvation Army in Vanuatu is currently in a time of transition, and there are conversations with International Headquarters (IHQ) about what it will look like going forward. However, during this time it was identified that what would be most helpful for Lilyrose is to have someone in more of a ‘mentor’ role. So, for me, this looks like chatting when we can via video calls, and a couple of visits a year. Really, it looks like me cheering on my sister, praying with and for her and advocating for her when needed, from Australia.
What did you love about your recent visit, and what was challenging for you?
There was so much to love and, to be honest, I am hoping The Salvation Army takes its time deciding what is next so I can continue to do life with the Vanuatu family as long as possible. I am part of them now!
The Salvos in Vanuatu are blessed to have stacks of young people as part of the faith community. I was welcomed beautifully by them, and it was pretty rare to go anywhere without holding hands with two or three children at once.
The young people are leading the way there. They are using their gifts to serve their community, they are passionate about visiting elderly community members to sing and give food, they are proud of the food gardens and all that their church is doing and their part in it, and they love to worship. This excites me!
However, it is also one of the things that challenged me. To know that, despite so much incredible potential in these young people, not all of them will have the opportunities to fully discover and step into their strengths and passions.
How are the corps and Jump Street residents coping since the earthquake?
From my point of view, having not been there after the earthquake, I see a resilient community of faith who have gotten back on their feet to continue loving and serving each other and their community. They want to learn from it, and Lilyrose has a dream to build a bigger, stronger church building that will be a safe shelter for the community during the next earthquake or cyclone.
There are still visible signs of the damage the earthquake caused, but there are also signs of life returning to normal. There was a sense of excitement and busyness on Sunday when a cruise ship was docked off the coast and tourists filled the markets buying local handicrafts. This is so vital for the local economy.
What would you particularly like to share about getting to know the Vanuatu Salvation Army family?
There were so many special moments, conversations, stories I could share, but my one little subtle ‘soapbox’ is that The Salvation Army in Vanuatu understands what it means to be an Acts 2 church. They don’t get caught up in what they don’t have or complain about lack of money or resources or an inadequate building. They are generous with the little they do have, and they just get on with doing life together and serving their community in all that they do. It’s a beautiful expression of the Kingdom.
