In all my trips to Ba, I planned and travelled on Sunday afternoons. This is to allow me to spend Sunday nights in Ba or near, so that we can start the review sessions on Monday mornings. I treat the review work just like my regular 8.00am – 4.30pm work in the office. So we work with this many hours every day to cover and finish my targeted seven chapters of any book that is to be reviewed on a single trip. For example, Mathew with its 28 chapters was reviewed with 4 trips, Mark with 16 chapters, was reviewed with 2 trips, and John with 21 chapters was reviewed on 3 trips.
Our next book is Romans. With its 16 chapters will be covered in 2 trips.
My February trip took place on February 16 – 18. My target was John chapter 8 to 14. Our venue for this review work was the Ba Mission Assemblies of God church in Yalalevu, Ba. We were hosted in this church by its Senior Pastor Rev. Jone Lesu.
Rev Jone Lesu is a longtime friend and supporter of Bible Society. He has a big church with a good size congregation. Until this project started, the frequency of our interaction has grown due to frequent request from us to use his church – as the venue for our work. Both our February and March reviews was carried out from his church.
On the February trip, I worked with only 2 reviewers. While it still went well, we all felt the need for one or two more people to be added. This was solved when I called and asked Rev Nakeke’s help. Rev Nakeke got back to me in no time with the names and phone numbers of two gentlemen. So by my March trip, I worked with a four member review team.
My March trip took place on March 15- 18. We covered John chapters 15-21 and thus completed the book. The new additions to the team were good and fit in well. They were quick learners and good contributors too.
We finish the book of John before the first Corona virus infected person was announced for Fiji. We are looking forward to our next book which is Romans, which according to our review work plan should be reviewed in the next quarter.
The Four reviewers are:
1. Meli Naivalu (Nailaga, Ba)
2. Mosese Soro (Varavu, Ba)
3. Savenaca Naliva (Sorokoba, Ba)
4. Vatukilagi Ratu (Natalacake, Ba)
When I came into BSSP 2005 as a volunteer, the Fijian Study Bible Cyclopedic index review was already an ongoing task carried out twice a week by a team of reviewers. How far back the work started and those involved in translating the encyclopedic index, I do not know. But work on this material continues down the years till this year. They were some untranslated pages and some missing pages that had to be translated or retranslated by the late Pastor Mosese Waseiyaroi and retired school teacher Tevita Lala.
Plans to final proofread both the bible text and the study materials that will make this bible a study bible took place at Coral coast Christian camp on the 19th of November to the 22nd, 2019. Thirty five readers from different age groups, denominations, and backgrounds took part in this 3 days & 3 nights of proof reading camp.
The Ekelesia Kelisiano Niue is very supportive of the idea of putting their Bible under the United Bible Societies’ Digital Bible Library program so that the Word of God in the Niue language can be easily available and accessible through the people’s smart phones, tablets, and computers wherever they are located. Once the Bible is made available electronically, this opens the door to the development of further scripture products such as the Scripture-Audio Bible and Bible products in different formats (compact, large print, pulpit-size, etc.).
The digitization process begins with the scanning of the Niue Bible and followed by the proofreading of the scanned Bible by the Church to remove any typo error that might be on the scanned version. This partnership with the Bible Society was reconfirmed by the EKN Executives led by the Church President Rev’d Vili Viviani and Church Secretary Rev’d Holo Tafea after their meeting with the BSSP Translation Advisor Rev’d Apenisa Lewatoro during his visit to Alofi between 8-12 July of this year. Former BSSP General Secretary Mr Solomone Duru has made the last visit to Niue in 2017. Work on the proofreading is ongoing under the supervision of the Deputy President Rev’d Nukanuka Tauevihi and his wife Rev’d Taimond Talagi Tauevihi.
Through the leadership of the NCC Council led by the Secretary, Rev’d Dennet Roger Mwareow, the Council then reported at the last day of meeting that the Church still feels that it needed more time to process this move by the Bible Society on their Nauru Bible. However, the visit helped to reconnect BSSP back to the local Churches in Nauru. Rev Apenisa Lewatoro has recommended that BSSP continues to work together with NCC Council and other Churches in Nauru in the lead up to BSSP’s future Bible Advocacy and Engagement programs in the Pacific region. The Nauru Congregational Church was very supportive and hospitable to their BSSP guest throughout. A return trip is highly possible once the NCC Council affirms their decision to go ahead with the digitalization of the Nauru Bible. A visit to express support to the newly elected President of Nauru, Mr Lionel Aingimea, was also arranged but took place the following Sunday after Rev Lewatoro had left the republic on the first day of October. 
It is by grace alone that we were able to make a second trip to the Yasawa’s this year, 2019. The team consists of; Mr. Solomoni Cinavilakeba (Fiji Mission Cordinator), Mrs. Iva Teilai (Sunday School Teacher Training facilitator) and Ms. Teupola Waqainabete (Fiji Mission Administration Officer).
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