FIJI — Meet Ravina Kumar, national discipleship coordinator for Operation Christmas Child in Fiji. She is one of 6,100 people globally who volunteer on National Leadership Teams to guide the efforts of Samaritan’s Purse in evangelism, discipleship, and multiplication within their respective countries. The ministry is advancing the Gospel in the Pacific through gift-filled shoeboxes and a follow-up discipleship program, The Greatest Journey in Fiji.

Anand Singh – Operation Christmas Child:

A lot of people, when they think of Fiji, the first word that comes is that it’s a paradise. “I want to go there.” Some of them have said, “This is my bucket list to get there.”

Ravina Kumar – Operation Christmas Child:

Fiji is a paradise with lovely beaches, friendly people all around. You can see beautiful hotels and resorts and all the luxurious life people are having here.

Yes, Fiji is a paradise. But weather plays up a lot. There’s a lot of storms here. There are a lot of rains here.

It really floods a lot from November to April here in Fiji.

Pauliasi Masau – Operation Christmas Child:

The flood waters went through my house twice. After the first one, I do my cleanup trying to bring my family back home. And the second flood came in.

Ravina:

And during this flood, most of the children, they have been affected. Sometimes their school books, school bags, food in their house has been washed away.

Anand:

Rain becomes an obstacle. But it also gives us an opportunity to see what else God can do.

Eddie Molia – Operation Christmas Child:

When our containers comes in, it always comes in a very challenging time for us, especially it’s a cyclone season, it’s a rainy season. And so, our boys worked so hard to get all these boxes out of the container in time.

Pauliasi:

All these changing of weather does not slow down the work of Operation Christmas Child in Fiji.

Ravina:

Rain or shine, flood, cyclone– but ministry has to move forward. And so, this Operation Christmas Child ministry, national team, regional team– we push through it. Sometimes, we have to go in the weather to reach out to those children.

Pauliasi:

Operation Christmas Child motivate us to push through, for us to reach out for the unreached– especially children. And what we are doing about it is to go through any challenge that comes across, and grab every opportunity, and open doors that open for us, and above all– the Gospel message.

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet the needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the Church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Samaritan’s Purse International Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) program is committed to meeting the critical needs of victims of war, poverty, famine, disease, and natural disaster. We stand ready to respond at a moment’s notice whenever and wherever disaster strikes. The DART specializes in providing water, food, shelter, and medical care while sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

CONTACT: Kaitlyn Lahm, news@samaritan.org

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