‘Rotuma changed me as a minister’

September 24

Standing in the crystal-clear water at Mofmairo Beach, helping to baptise people who had chosen to follow Jesus, I could only praise God. That Sabbath, 31 people were baptised—all from one evangelistic site in Rotuma. I felt deeply privileged to have a part in that moment. The credit belonged entirely to God. I believe the Holy Spirit had been working in ways we could never have accomplished ourselves.

Just weeks earlier, Rotuma had not been part of my plans.

As an associate minister serving in Suva South Zone One, I had been fully involved in preparing for our local harvest program. The invitation to serve in Rotuma came only a few days before the evangelistic meetings began. It was an unexpected change, but I recognised it as God’s call.

Looking at the churches back home, I could see how much preparation had already taken place. Members and leaders were engaged and ready to serve. I believed God had prepared them to carry the work forward while I was away.

Even so, I left with some uneasiness. I wondered whether things would go as I hoped, and I felt unprepared. Prayer became essential as I learned to entrust the assignment to God.

I arrived on Wednesday, four days into the evangelistic program. Talatala Billy Opetaia had already been preaching, and we then alternated the evening messages at Motusa Seventh-day Adventist Church. We served alongside Talatala Thomas Albert and Joeli Turaga, and during the day we also spent time visiting people.

What made the experience particularly meaningful was the welcome we received. People from other Christian backgrounds attended and expressed appreciation for the messages. A chief from Pepjei came with his young people to an evening meeting, and they returned for the baptismal Sabbath. Their presence was one of the highlights of our time together.

The local church members played a vital part. They invited people, prayed and cared generously for us. Every evening there was a meal—and often more than we could finish. Their hospitality made us feel at home, and their commitment supported the ministry throughout the program.

One response to the preaching has stayed with me. During an appeal, a woman stood to express her decision to follow Jesus. I went over and shook her hand. Despite opposition she had experienced, she was determined to continue trusting God. “I will never leave this faith,” she told me. She was among those baptised that Sabbath.

Her words gave a deeply personal meaning to what we witnessed at Mofmairo Beach. Each person entering the water had a story, and each decision mattered.

I was told that a previous large baptism in Rotuma had taken place in the 1970s, when 24 people were baptised. That historical detail would need confirmation, but hearing it helped me appreciate why the baptism of 31 people meant so much to the church community.

Rotuma changed me as a minister. I went with questions about how things would unfold. I returned with a deeper understanding that God’s purposes will stand, and that my responsibility is to depend on Him faithfully.

When I remember Rotuma, I remember its beauty and the generosity of its people. Above all, I remember standing in that clear seawater, thanking God for the privilege of witnessing lives committed to Jesus.—Dawn Ravulo, associate chaplain, Pacific Tertiary Evangelistic Church, Fiji