Projects

Boost to Mission Work in Fiji

Bible Society Fiji Mission Board Members & some of the Comic translators with the David Comic at the launch.

On the 22nd of March, 2021, Bible Society of the South Pacific launched a David Comic in the following dialects:

1. Tavuki, Kadavu.

2. Naitasiri

3. Bau

4. Lau-i-Cake

5. Maumi, Tailevu

6. Toga, Rewa

7. Wainimala

8. & Fiji Hindi

We were blessed to have Rev. James Bhagwan (Pacific Conference of Churches General Secretary) as our chief guest. The comic was launched at the Jovili Meo Mission Center at the Pacific Theological College and we had the translators and church leaders present to witness the auspicious occasion. Watch the Launch address by Rev James Bhagwan of the Pacific Conference of Churches.

Watch some of the pictures from the launch event that had all Bible Society Staff, Board Members, some of the translators of the David comic and some of the donors of the Fiji Mission.

22.3.2021 David Comic Launch pictures.
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FIJI: Mission Visits the Yasawa Island Groups

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).

Bible Society of the South Pacific engaged with churches where the Assemblies of God, Methodist Church and Catholics are the major Christian denominations of those islands. Catholic churches are in specific areas like Vuaki Island and Nacula Island.

The team travelled to the Yasawa group of islands to equip the Sunday school teachers through training and supplying them with Sunday School materials. Bible Society of the South Pacific, specifically the Fiji Mission sees this opportunity to meet the needs of the communities by inviting a guest facilitator like Mrs. Teilai to deliver a one and a half days program in three venues, speaking to Sunday school teachers from all Christian denominations.

The first part of the trip was a follow-up trip to the already visited Naviti Island and Nacula, to distribute the certificates of those teachers who were trained in our first visit in May. Also on the agenda was to deliver some of their resource materials to help them teach their Sunday school classes.

The first visit in May allowed us to train 19 Sunday School teachers from Naviti & Nacula island before we continued the journey to Yasawa island to conduct trainings in Bukama, Teci and Tamusua village.

We were able to train 17 teachers from Bukama village, 13 teachers from Teci village and 11 from Tamusua village.

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Trauma Healing Train the Trainers

An equipping session to train new facilitators for the Bible Society Trauma Healing program was conducted at the St Christopher’s Home in Nakasi (Fiji) on 9-13 January, 2017. Participants at the training included trainees from Davuilevu Theological College, Operation Foundation, Pacific Students for Christ, and the Bible Society South Pacific. Everyone were certified as ‘Apprentice Facilitators’ including the Bible Society Finance Administrator, Mr Isikeli Sila, saying, “The workshop was indeed an eye-opener for me in that
I can see now the importance of healing people of their hurts and past trauma otherwise their hurts can impinge their behaviour negatively.” The Fijian iTaukei translated Trauma Healing booklet is almost ready for use and the Society aims to run some workshops in three areas affected by Cyclone Winston namely, Dawasamu, Ovalau and Savusavu. The translation of the Trauma Healing book into the other languages of the Pacific is still in progress. The Society will be glad to work with interested churches and people who wish to know more about this Trauma healing program should you make contact.
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MagiMagi Stretches to Fourth Community in 2017

Since the launch of the Bible Society’s holistic approach to community development under the MagiMagi project in January 2015, the start of this year saw the extending of the project into a nearby community, Naila village.
A total of 150 bibles and other scripture materials were distributed at the official launching of the program in Naila on Sunday 8 January, 2017. Now, the number of communities has risen to four within the Bau district of the Tailevu province in Fiji. The spiritual capital of this project has been focusing steadily on developing the children’s Sunday School curriculum and its application for the last two years. Discipleship programs has been also woven into this project and a special cell group manual recently published.
A Cell group leader sharing the Cell Group’s aims and approach for the month of February
With the ongoing support of the Bible Society of New Zealand, the economic capital and cultural capital are the other two key areas of focus in the program. The program is earmarked to be trialed out in a community in Vanuatu this year, which is part of the wider goal to bring this innovating program into the Pacific. This is in line with the vision of the Bible Society: “The Pacific to be Communities of the Word.”
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Tongan Bible Project Boosted

Tongan Church leaders serving as Bible translators in the TCOT project

New achievements continue to be realized on the Tongan Contemporary Old Testament (TCOT) project. The prospect of this ongoing work to be a success story in being the first Old Testament project in the South Pacific to be completed in the shortest time possible is quickly becoming a reality. Since the start of the project in Nukua’lofa after the first workshop in October 2015, there are only four Old Testament books left for drafting.

This is a show of true dedication and commitment since this group of translators converge at the Tokaikolo Catholic Centre in Nukua’lofa for bible translation work every morning until lunch time on every Mondays to Wednesdays. The review process is bound to start in March after the planned review workshop on 13-17 March, 2017.

This project is boosted further by the recent appointment of a key translator, the Rev. Dr. Ma’afu Palu, who is now a member of the Global Translation Advisor for the Asia Pacific under the United Bible Societies. In effect, he, as a Tongan native, now becomes the new Translation consultant of the project. The Society congratulates Rev Ma’afu for this great news and for being a first for BSSP.

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Kingdom of Tonga Project Gains Momentum

Tongan Translation Committee

The Tonga Contemporary Old Testament project is progressing steadily since it started in October, 2015. It all began with a weeklong translation workshop conducted at the Toutaimana Catholic Centre in Nuku’alofa, Tonga. This project is quite unique in the sense that each workshop participant from various Christian Churches had to work with a computer as modern technology is now adopted to speed up the translation work.

It is a moving away from the old practice of writing translation drafts on separate books to doing translation on the computer right away. At the end of the workshop, all the participants were encouraged to start translating a book from the Old Testament.

This was led by the former Bible Society Tonga Branch Chairman, the Reverend Lopeti Taufa, and the newly elect chairman, Lord Afu’alo Matoto. A follow up workshop on Paratext (computer software used) carried out in April 2016 at the same venue was very useful to the Tongan project team. An exciting development this year is the recruitment of a key translator and Theological College lecturer, Rev. Dr. Ma’afu Palu, to serve as the Project Translation Advisor in 2017 whilst undergoing training in this field under the Bible Society’s Translation Officer training program at the same time. The LORD is to be praised for the work progress so far which also reflects the great input and commitment from the project coordinator, Bill Falekaono. In addition, big Bill had also displayed his big heart by purchasing two laptop computers recently in October, which are now used by two potential translators/reviewers on the project. On the completion of this project, it will be joined to the already published Tongan Contemporary New Testament (commonly known as the ‘Taulua’) to become the Tongan Contemporary Bible. Almost 65% of the Old Testament books have been drafted so far.

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Bible Distribution and Leadership Training on Tanna and Luganville, Santo

Bible Distribution and Leadership Training on Tanna and Luganville, Santo in 2016
Report by Pastor Graeme and Sally Jackel.
Pastors and Leaders at the Leadership Seminar.

This is a brief report from Pastor Graem Jackel and his wife Sally who have been coming to Vanuatu for the last 4 years distributing more than 2,000 copies of Bislama Bibles to the people of Tanna. This year 2016 they have extended their trip to Santo running short leadership seminar for pastors and leaders and distributing Bibles to the needy people in the remote villages.

Pastor Graem and Sally Jackel came from a Baptist church in Melbourne Australia. They have plans to return to Luganville, Santo in August for another leadership training seminar for pastors and leaders in August this year 2016. They are currently raising funds to purchase another 500 copies of Bislama Bibles for free distribution to the people of Santo Bush mission villages in Santo.

Bible Society of the South Pacific – Vanuatu branch partnered with pastor Graem and Sally Jackel by giving them special mission discount to purchase Bibles for free distribution to remote villages. We also encourage other churches and Christians to come forward and get involved great Bible mission work putting Bibles God’s Word into hands of the poor people in the remote and rural villages of Vanuatu like what Pastor Graeme & Sally are doing.
Sally and I visited Tanna and Santo in April. Previously 400 Bibles had been sent to Chief Tom Numake and these were distributed to Pastors during our stay there. Another 100 Bibles and other Christian materials were forwarded after our visit there We held a seminar for 18 Pastors for 4 days and taught on End Times as outlined in the book of Daniel and Revelation. All were very hungry to receive the Word of God.
Following this we went to Luganville and met up with Wilson Kali (Christian Policeman) and Pastor Bruno of the Praise and Worship Church there. We went to a church about one hour trip away and ministered there. It was a great joy to be able to distribute Bibles to the people from the 100 Bibles that had been sent there previously. So in all we saw 600 Bibles sent out to these two places in both English and Bislama. Praise the Lord.
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