What an amazing start to 2012 for the university ministries here in Australia! In January, a group of 10 brothers and sisters (4 from Sydney, 3 from Melbourne, and 3 from Fiji) went to Fiji, for a one month internship with the church. A few of them went to Suva, and a few begun in Nadi to then join the rest in Suva.
There, they finished off the internship after two weeks. Since they have returned home Maika and Sau were baptized just the other week!
I asked a few interns to share something brief about their time in Fiji, here is what they said:
Tia Whitton: If you could describe in three sentences or less what you loved about interning in Fiji, what would you say? ... "There are so many things that made the Fiji internship special to me, I wish I could list them all. I'll never forget how much the Fijian campus disciples inspired my faith! Even though they don't have much, it was so amazing to see how rich they are in their relationship with God - and that brings them an even greater joy than an earthly possession"
Steven Darvodelsky: If you could describe in two sentences or less what you enjoyed most on the internship, what would you say? ... "I enjoyed living with the disciples and hanging out with the Fijians everyday, and bonding with them in our spiritual similarities while still experiencing the difference culture!"
Jared Vassallo: If you could tell me in three sentences or less what you loved about being an intern in Fiji, what would you say? "I was so honored to be able to spend a month serving the church in Fiji, and it was so encouraging to be a part of the fellowship there and to spread the gospel! The church there is small in number, but they make up for it with their zeal, generosity and overwhelming warmth. I was so touched by how much they gave to us regardless of what they had. Even though our schedule was always changing, I learnt to be content and remain faithful despite how tiring it became, and God blessed that! The experience was transforming and I will cherish those memories forever"
Now that our ministries are all back home, most internships have come to 
an end and our University classes have begun, the inspiration from a great summer break has encouraged us all to start the year off strong. Our orientation weeks on campus inspired each of us, as we came together to evangelize each week and enjoy the fellowship that God has blessed us with. There is no greater way to begin the year, than with a ministry that is fired up and eager to spread the gospel!
We are all now looking forward to our Uni ministry retreat coming up in April. The theme will be; 'Olympics: Go for Gold!'. 60 plus students will be attending our 2012 Uni ministry retreat in Sydney.
Please pray for our hearts to be inspired by the lessons, and our relationships with God to grow stronger as we grow stronger in our unity with ministries from across the S.P.A region.
Again, Praise God for blessing Australia with growing University ministries and great leaders to pave the way!
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On behalf of our ministry,
Hilary Gumley