Our gracious God has blessed our efforts in Fiji in so many ways. The country has been covid-19 free for 150 days. The country itself, is still under lockdown. Only Fijian citizens, who have been abroad, and yachts are currently allowed to enter the country, and then they are quarantined for 14 days.
That said, the school is growing. We have had an evening class since the end of last year. It was on break for about 3 months because of the evening curfew. 10 weeks ago that curfew was lifted and we were able to resume those classes. 11 students took the class on Preparation and Delivery of Sermons and 8 students completed this course this past Monday evening. 3 of those students were driving in on Monday afternoons from Nadi, This is a four hour commute one way. They would then stay the night and drive back at 4 AM the next morning so they would arrive in time to get to work!
Because of the covid-19 restrictions on travel, the prices of renting an apartment have come down. Unfortunately, this doesn’t affect current leases, but it does affect new leases. This has enabled us to take out a two year lease in the Nadi area so we have been able to start a Saturday program in the West. Every other weekend, Jason and I drive to Nadi. We have been teaching classes every other Saturday. We will teach two months in Lautoka, and then two months in Nadi. We have had 11 students coming from congregations in Nadi, Lautoka, and Ba. The two classes that we have started with are: Backgrounds of Early Christianity, taught by Jason, and Rebuilding Confidence in Leadership from the Book of Nehemiah taught by me. The classes have been well received.
Because of the covid-19 travel restrictions, we have had to cancel our short-course teachers for this year. However, Terry Pafford from Midland, Texas has gone the extra mile. He has recorded 31 lessons from Psalms and Job that are between 10 and 30 minutes in length. He has provided his notes as a textbook and has provided questions from each study. He will be grading the exams, memory tests, and homework assignments from his home in Texas. While the internet is not robust enough to stream live, we have been able to download his lectures and upload the tests and assignments for his grading. He has done an excellent job with the class and the students are really enjoying the lectures.
Our day program is going well. We have eleven students taking classes four days a week from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Tuesday through Friday. We have six students on tract to graduate on the 31 of October 2020. Debbie and Devan are working on getting things ready for graduation. These students have worked hard and we are looking forward to celebrating their achievement with them the end of October.
We continue to thank God for your prayers, kind words, and support of this work. Your efforts are bearing fruit for the kingdom of God in the Pacific Islands!
Your servants in Christ,
Rocco, Jason, and Emosi