A team of staff and students from Norwest served practically and spiritually in Fiji. It was an awesome experience!

We served in a variety of ways ranging from physical labour to connecting through conversation; with each opportunity presenting its own challenges. We had the privilege of serving in a village, in a school, in churches and youth groups, and in support centres.

We helped build a storage room for the women’s ministry in the village, we experienced what billeting in another country is like and we discovered a pace of life that is far more relational and less cluttered by possessions and demands on time than our lifestyle in Sydney – our Fijian friends have both less and more at the same time…

Our students took classes in a K-8 school, having prepared Australian cultural lessons and activities, as well as Bible stories. We shared our faith by sharing testimonies in church and youth groups.

We completed manual work in ‘Homes of Hope’ (a refuge for young women who have experienced abuse). We dug trenches, painted, prepared garden beds for farming, while the biggest challenge was clearing a field to become pastureland. It was tiring, we were sore, we learnt how to use machetes, and how to serve with refreshed hearts.

Through it all, God was incredibly faithful, as He always is!

We are so thankful for the answered prayers, for the way in which our students served with generous hearts, grew connections, grew in their personal faith in Jesus, and are now ready to share that boldly with their family and friends.

We are so thankful for the support from the College community and families. For the many conversations, the many prayers on our behalf, for allowing us to practice presentations and for the wise advice. We are extremely grateful for you all.

We are also so thankful for the funds raised to be able to purchase building materials and bless the village community.

Our team are not the same people we were before Mission Fiji. We have been prompted to reconsider our priorities and align them with God’s plan, knowing that so many Fijians thrive with much less in terms of possession and convenience, but so much more in terms of community and faith.