Fijian Nazarenes Witnessing and Rebuilding
20 April 2010.jpg)
Just over a month ago, the people of Fiji were preparing themselves for hurricane Tomas and the inevitable damage to be inflicted on their small, vulnerable island villages and humble homes. They were united in fear; they were united in the uncertainty of what the extreme weather conditions would wreak on their lives, families, and homes.
Out of the debris of uprooted palms, battered weather-board homes, and woven flax panels, however, another unity was practically and graciously demonstrated by Fijian Nazarenes who labored alongside Nazarenes from Taveuni, the only Nazarene church in the northern island group heavily impacted by the cyclone.
Under the leadership of Tifare Inia, Fiji’s District Superintendent, a seven member Work & Witness team spent four days in Taveuni building a new house for the local pastor and his family, as well as constructing a shed for their worship services and ministry. Inia reflects “The work was intensive and tough. We cut down trees for posts and drifted them downstream to the seashore. There we carried them some 300 meters to the work site. We also collected sand from the seaside and gravel from the river and transported it to the village. Our day started at 5 A.M. and ended between 10 P.M. and midnight. We had our first celebration and worship service on Sunday to a packed shed with many standing or sitting under a mango tree. We dedicated the two buildings on Tuesday morning before departing Vurevure to return home.” District Superintendent Inia was excited about “the participation of our local Nazarenes and their families in Taveuni.” He said “it is simply amazing. Without the help of some 17 men and youth, together with a team of dedicated women, we would not have completed the task.”
In addition to funding from the mission, churches in the capital of Suva generously and sacrificially contributed a further FJ$2,905 - a significant offering given the average wage of a primarily subsistence living population was around FJ$100 per week. Pastor Kafoa Muaror celebrates the images of the team’s efforts saying it “speaks volumes of the sacrifice and hard work carried out at Taveuni. Praise God for the cheerful hearts!!” At the time of writing, District Superintendent Inia provided an exciting update on recent developments from our Taveuni pastor regarding “the opening of yet another New Start church, some three miles along the coast. These folks have relatives in the present church and have witnessed the recent Work & Witness Team ministry of rebuilding and Christian discipleship in the past week. A quarter acre piece of land is being offered for lease for the Church of the Nazarene!”
Another Work & Witness team is proposed for next month, May, to assist with further reconstruction efforts in the area. The task for the team will be rebuilding another four homes and making repairs to two partly damaged homes. The estimated cost of this work will be US$7,900. The Fijian government has embarked on a massive reconstruction process including 14 primary (elementary) and 22 secondary (high) schools with a total damage bill of almost FJ$3.5m (the national overall damage has been assessed at FJ$83m).
Continue to pray for District Superintendent Inia, Pastor Kafoa, and fellow Fijian Nazarenes who continue to extend hands of compassion, laboring alongside their brothers and sisters in not only re-building ‘bricks and mortar’, but fostering a great sense of partnership, collaboration, and gratitude for God’s care and protection, His limitless grace and faithful provision, in the communities where they live and minister.
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