FIJI BAPTISTS

COMING TOGETHER 2016 is a watershed year for Baptists in Fiji.

Two developments led the 14 congregations to cooperate more with each other, unlike what transpired in the past. The Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF),

one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance, held its annual Executive Committee meeting as well as a Pacific Baptist forum and leadership conference from February 1-3 in Suva, the capital city of the archipelago. The conference brought together 100 local Fiji Baptist delegates and 60 other Baptists from 16 other countries, including leaders from Hawaii of the United States. The gathering focused on mission, leadership development, women and youth ministry, Christian education and relief and development, among other topics. Disaster and tragedy in the form of Cyclone

Winston on February 20, just two weeks following the APBF gathering, provided further impetus for Fiji Baptists to collaborate. The cyclone “got us together,” explained Fine

Akosita Ditoka of the Fiji Baptist Convention (FBC). “It got the whole FBC to work together in response to Cyclone Winston.” Despite the loss, she described it as “a blessing that we had this because everybody came together. We put aside all our differences and we responded quickly.” The new togetherness is evidenced in

efforts to reorganize the secretariat. “It was an opportunity to set up our secretariat office,” stated Ditoka, who acted as a volunteer consultant in the process. “We didn’t have any. We never had an office. There was never a national office.”

The cyclone “got us together. . . . We put aside all our differences and we responded quickly.”

FBC leaders, including its president and general secretary, did their duties out of their respective homes or churches. New offices for FBC were opened in early

March. Ditoka identified capacity building and staff development as among the chief needs of FBC. “We want to strengthen that capacity,” she said. “We’re all volunteers. If you want something done then you’ve got to have resources.” She expressed hope. “I envision Fiji Baptist Convention coordinating big things. We’ve seen God’s hand move, even from out of nothing. Things are coming along and we know it’s going to grow.”

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FIJI BAPTISTS ASSIST CYCLONE VICTIMS

In February, Fiji and other island nations and territories of the South Pacific experienced a storm of a magnitude they had never seen before, leaving a trail of destruction that the areas affected are still recovering from. Winston, a category five cyclone, was the strongest tropical cyclone to make

landfall in Fiji and the South Pacific Basin in recorded history. It also affected Vanuatu, Tonga, Niue and Queensland in Australia. Winston left 44 dead and caused approximately US$1.4 billion in damage,

making it the costliest cyclone in South Pacific history. Two Baptist churches were destroyed and several others sustained damage. About 40 Baptist families lost their homes. Baptists in Fiji, who have a history of not cooperating closely, saw the need to collaborate to bring about an effective and credible response. Fine Akosita Ditoka, a former high ranking member in the country’s foreign ministry and a volunteer consultant with the Fiji Baptist Convention, explained that Koro Island, one of the 110 permanently inhabited islands of the Fiji archipelago, was particularly devastated. “The eye of the cyclone passed by Koro Island,” Ditoka said. The cyclone “really hit it.” The displaced victims on Koro Island took refuge with relatives close to the Baptist church, and it was from that base that Baptists engaged in a concerted response. “We invited them. That’s just how it started.” There was a gathering at the church every Monday at 10 a.m. “It was a

time of prayer; just praying. They were helpless. They didn’t have anything. Everything was taken away from them. Their homes. . . . You should hear the testimonies.” Ditoka said it was important that attention was paid to the spiritual needs.

“That’s important. Every other thing will come later.” Trauma counseling was a great need, and it helped to bring healing. In collaboration with partners in Australia and Israel, as well as from the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, Fiji Baptists provided assistance to victims on Koro Island and elsewhere, particularly to female victims of the cyclone. Fiji Baptist women within the seven churches in Silver City collected supplies such as clothing and food items and visited affected areas in the Rakiraki district on the northeast side of Viti Levu, the largest island in the Fiji Republic, where two Baptists churches are. Visits were made to villages and various communities, some in difficult

terrain, and assessment reports were prepared and submitted. Working closely with partner organizations, Fiji Baptist Convention and personnel learned about risk management.

The process led to an understanding as to how connected they were. Even for those not directly affected, “we have relatives, friends and friends of families who were really affected by this tropical cyclone,” Ditoka said.

courtesy of UN Women, photo by Murray Lloyd