Sabbath Services in Suva, Fiji

By Jim Franks

My wife, Sharron, and I are currently on a trip to visit the brethren in Fiji and New Zealand.

Sabbath, April 5, was an extraordinary day. Sharron and I attended services in the city of Suva, Fiji, with 15 members of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. Three were missing, but they were able to make it for the evening meal, giving us a total of 18. It was a festive day since the members in Fiji do not have a live service very often. Most of the time they tune in to a webcast from New Zealand.

Sharron and I traveled from the U.S. more than 10,000 miles to the earth’s “paradise,” otherwise known as Fiji. We were met by the local pastor, Jeff Caudle, who arrived a couple of days ahead of us from New Zealand. From Nadi, where the airport is located, we drove to the other side of the main island to the Novotel Hotel in Suva for Sabbath services. Even though rain was falling during most of our trip, it was obvious that we were in a tropical paradise with all sorts of exotic colors to greet us. Flowers and tropical vegetation regaled the eyes no matter which direction you looked.

We followed the Queen’s Highway for more than three hours in the trip from Nadi to Suva. Even though we were hugging the coast, the rain and clouds prevented a clear view of the ocean during most of the trip.

Sabbath services began at 3 p.m. local time. We were led in the opening prayer by a deacon and longtime member of the Church (since the 1970s), Emori. Because of the difficulty with pronunciation, we did not try the last names, but referred to everyone by his or her first name.

There are 15 members of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, in Fiji. Along with Jeff Caudle, Sharron and me, we had a total of 18 present for this special occasion. It was a profound joy to spend the Sabbath with such a lovely and friendly group of people. All the men were dressed in the traditional skirt worn in Fiji.

I gave a Bible study for the group on the subject of Christ’s sacrifice.

Interviewing members

After services we set up a table to video record interviews with a few of the members. The group in Fiji consists of four families, so I interviewed the heads of these four families—Emori, Bulewa, Sangeeta and Ulai.

Emori and Bulewa are the two oldest members in Fiji. They came into contact with the Church in the late 1970s while in prison. They both heard the radio broadcast and read the literature from the Worldwide Church of God while they were incarcerated. Upon being released, they made contact with the local pastor of the Worldwide Church of God and became members of the local congregation. In the 1980s there were two congregations in Fiji with a total attendance of more than 100.

I hope to show the video of these interviews on In Accord when we return to the office after the Days of Unleavened Bread.

Next, on to New Zealand

From here, Sharron and I leave for Auckland, New Zealand, on Monday, April 7. We are spending Sunday, April 6, touring the area of Nadi. The weather has changed for the better, and today there was bright sunshine with very few clouds. The water of the South Pacific is a beautiful dark blue color. The temperature is in the mid-80s. We only wish we had more time here in this beautiful island country, but our schedule has been set for several weeks, and we must move on.

I will write again once we arrive in New Zealand. We plan to spend a couple of days with the Verschoors and Van Belkums in Napier, New Zealand, before returning to Auckland for the Sabbath, Passover, Night to Be Much Observed and services on the first day of Unleavened Bread.

We are looking forward to seeing many new brethren before returning to the U.S. To me, meeting the brethren is the most important part of these trips. One of my goals is to visit all the brethren and especially those who live in isolated locations. There is such a joy in these visits that I wish everyone could travel with us. Since that simply isn’t possible, I will do my best to describe it all for you.

From Nadi, Fiji,

Jim Franks