Liliord, Tony & Maxine
Tony's Story
I am a Ni-Vanuatu, born in 1976 and raised up on the island of Santo. I grew up in a family where my father was a catholic and my mother was part of the AOG denomination. I faced many challenges growing up, including my mother’s death in 2002. The year 2002 was a chaotic, depressing period of time in my life where I had some big decisions to make about my life. Even though I came to know God around the year 1996 and was involved in various short term mission trips around the islands in Vanuatu since that time, it was during 2002 that I laid everything at Jesus’ feet and began serving Him wholeheartedly. From 1997 until 2005, I served God by helping out various missionaries in the ministries that they were doing here in Vanuatu. In 2005 I got to know the Widup family and began helping them out in the ministry work they were doing. I also met Maxine that year, an unexpected encounter resulting in us being married in 2007. This period of 2005-2007 was another learning curve for me as I prepared for married life.
Maxine's Story
I was born in 1980 and grew up in Te Awamutu, a farming community in New Zealand. I was raised up in a Christian family, so from a young age I developed a relationship with God, which saw continual spiritual growth, particularly during my teenage years and beyond. After training and working as a kindergarten teacher, God called me to Vanuatu in 2005 where I spent two years working in partnership with a NGO from New Zealand and Vanuatu’s Preschool Association. I was based in Luganville, Santo and spent 3-5 weeks at a time travelling out to various villages around the 4 Northern provinces training kindergarten teachers and helping them develop their kindergartens. It was during this time that I got to know the Widup family and Tony. At the end of 2006 I returned to New Zealand where God prepared me for the next part of the journey He had for me – marriage and ministry back in Vanuatu. God has taken me in various directions that I never had imagined going in.
Their Journey Together
We've been married for 18 years and have four sons, ages 16-7: Conner, Zachary, Keegan, and Xavier. God continues to be with us along this journey of marriage and parenthood. Our boys are different in personality and bring us lots of joy. It is fun to see each son develop through the various stages of childhood.
We continue to help the Up & Up Ministries team provide logistical support to various bible translating families in remote villages and outer islands around the Northern islands of Vanuatu. We also continue to manage Nabanga Christian Kindy, while at the same time providing homeschooling to our four boys. Over the past few years, we have had the opportunity to pour into the lives of extra people living with us, such as a ‘daughter’ from Maxine’s adopted Ni-Vanuatu family who lived with us for 2 years, followed by the grandson of a Ni-Vanuatu friend who lived with us for almost a year.
We look forward to seeing what God has in store for us, the ministry, and the people of Vanuatu in the coming year.
