Baptism Sr Taiva Fuimaono and Farewell of Polistina Family

Baptism Sr Taiva Fuimaono and Farewell of Polistina Family

Saturday 11th March, 2017 was a special Sabbath in Sydney as the two local churches combined for the day at Schofields church in support of a dear sister that had decided to dedicate her life to Christ in taking the next step of baptism. The church was filled with members and plenty of visitors alike to witness Sister Taiva Fuimaono profess and testify of her love for the Lord and her willingness to live faithfully for Him.

Divine service was taken by Brother Peter Lausevic about having freedom in the truth through baptism based on John 8:32, “And Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

The service was not only an encouragement for the baptismal candidate but for all who are in the valley of decision and are wanting to take this step in their spiritual walk with the Lord. It was also an opportunity for all who have taken this step already to re-examine their commitment to the Lord and to re-commit themselves to Him. The sermon touched on our need of true conversion and the importance of real change in our nature and characters which then leads us to us understand the freedom we will have in God’s truth; for a converted man is no longer carnally minded but becomes a spiritual being. If we accept Jesus as our personal Savior, not only do we receive forgiveness, we are also saved from our sinful state and therefore have life through Christ – 1 John 5:12 “He that hath the Son of God, hath life.”

The beautiful sermon then led into the profession of faith which was conducted by Brother Larry Ah-Ching. Sister Taiva gave a short testimony to praise the Lord for His leading in her life and for reaching this special moment in her Christian experience. She was also happy that her husband and children were present to witness this step and she expressed hope that they also will choose to take this step someday.

After a wholesome combined lunch together, we all travelled down to the Hawkesbury River to witness the baptism. We had plenty of spectators that were out and about for the day. We found a lovely spot, and praise the Lord for His mercies in blessing us with the beautiful weather. The weather leading up to Sabbath wasn’t looking so grand, but the sun surely shone for this happy occasion. Everyone met back at Schofields Church for the fellowship service of Sister Taiva into the church. This was conducted by Brother Sas.

Straight after the fellowship service a farewell meeting was organised for the Polistina family. With Sydney losing the Dumaguit family already to neighbouring New Zealand, we now were preparing to lose one of our Sydney Bible workers and his young family to rural NSW. Although this doesn’t sound too bad because they are still in NSW, we will no longer be within “walking” distance.

It was a night filled with different emotions, with a few joining the queue to say some words of encouragement, to thank them for their huge support and hard work not only at Wentworthville, but in Sydney and the various projects they have helped out with over the past few years. There were a few tears, as Domenic and Nadine took the opportunity to share their gratefulness to the Lord for answering

all their prayers and for His leadership in their Christian walk. They are very excited for what is ahead of them in their new home. We shared more laughs and reminisced on happy times with a short slideshow before finishing off the meeting and closing Sabbath with a prayer. We all enjoyed a scrumptious combined dinner together before going our separate ways.

We thank the Lord for the wonderful Sabbath that it turned out to be. We pray that the Lord continues to bless our newest member Sister Taiva in all she does for the Lord. We also wish the Polistina family all the very best in their new home in Wagga Wagga and especially with the efforts of God’s work there and in neighbouring areas.

~ Tanya Ah-Ching