PROGRESS UPDATE:
Bible Institute at Raiwaqa, Fiji
SUMMER BREAK
The school is currently in their summer break. Seasons are reversed south of the equator. In the words of one of the Fijian ladies to my wife, on a particularly hot day, “If is so hot, it feels like Christmas!”
Our students are enjoying their summer break. They have been staying very busy. Movono has been able do some work in his plantation. He also continues to preach for the Delaidamanu Church of Christ and teach a weekly Bible class.
Some of our students were asked to speak on the Aliesa Lectureship. This workshop was held on the island of Upolu in the neighboring country of Samoa, a little over 700 miles from Suva, Fiji (as the crow flies). Three of our students (Emosi, Vili, and Va) and one of our teachers (Jason) along with four other members of the Raiwaqa Church of Christ flew to Samoa for the workshop which was held December 29 to 31, 2017. The Theme of this Lectureship was “Being Approved By God” taken from 2 Timothy 2:15. Emosi, Vili, and Jason taught classes during the workshop. Sister Va taught the ladies’ classes.
At this same time, Peter Lee, another one of our students, traveled by ferry to the northern island of Vanua Levu, Fiji. He and his wife Moira worked with the Buca Church of Christ in Savusavu. They passed out tracks in the city during the week and Peter preached for the church on Sunday.
Lency, our first international student from the Solomon Islands, flew back to Honiara, Solomon Islands. He then traveled to his home island (four days by boat) to spend time with his family. During his stay, he is conducting Bible studies with his relatives and friends. He sent the following text to my son, Jason:
"Hi brother,
l'm still in the village, here in my village they are all members of aglican church. Only few individuals are from different religious groups. My family and I, we are all fine. At the moment what I'm doing I'm easily teaching some of my relatives to understand the new testament church and the faith that we have in Christ.
Thanks,
Bro.Lency."
LIBRARY UPDATE:
I flew to Denver to pick up 7 boxes of books, from Bear Valley Bible Institute at Denver to jumpstart our library. These books along with another 7 boxes donated by John McCain, (Jason’s father-in-law) and 3 boxes donated by Tony and Cathy Duncan (from Cathy’s late father’s personal library) are being prepared for shipment to Fiji.
In addition to these books, we have had three more laptops and one desktop donated for our computer lab. These resources will be invaluable tools for our students to use in completing their class assignments.
TEXTBOOK UPDATE:
Normally, Jason and I have been writing and printing our own textbooks. Because of the technical nature of the subjects, Jason and I felt it important to use some commercially published books from our upcoming classes on Greek and Bible Geography. Due to the generosity of several congregations and interested individuals we were able to purchase 20 copies each of Basic Greek in 30 Minutes a Day, by James Found The Basics of Biblical Greek, by William D. Mounce, and The History and Geography of the Bible, by Bob and Sandra Waldron
Rocco Pierce, Director