Fiji Mission Trip
Fiji Short Term Mission Trip
Bula! (Hello!) A diverse team of ten of us participated in the short term mission trip to Fiji, at least one person representing each decade of life from teens to seventies!
Homes of Hope’s vision is to create a culture where women and children are free from the stigmas and cycles of forced sex. They do this by working with 2 target groups:
First, Homes of Hope work with individual girls and young moms who are vulnerable. These include girls and young women who are pregnant or have a child or children 2 years or younger. The Homes of Hope campus, where we stayed and worked, is a safe haven to ensure these girls can be protected, nurtured and taught life skills so they never have to look to the sex trade to support themselves or their families.
Some of the pregnant young women are in hiding until their child is born and given up for adoption. None of the girls there during our time there were victims of human trafficking. But they all needed empowerment, support and protection. They were identified as high risk because the stigma of being pregnant out of wedlock is so large that they may end up in the sex trade as a last resort.
Second, Homes of Hope works with communities. They work with approximately 40 communities and villages to create safety nets to identify vulnerable girls, to sensitize communities, to provide training and education, and to hire “Gatekeepers”, who are leaders in their communities empowered to work to stop human trafficking. Within the communities, Homes of Hope also teaches life skills, inner strength and financial independence.
Although we weren’t working directly with victims of human trafficking, in the end it became apparent that the work we did was still helping the entire organization achieve their vision.
We would like to thank you all for your prayers, donations, and financial contributions. We were able to bring eight huge suitcases full of supplies, and give Homes of Hope an additional donation to fix their sewing machines, purchase office supplies, and purchase all of the paint and materials needed to ready the Botiki Dorm. Homes of Hope told us that no other group has brought so many donations!
If you might consider participating in a future mission trip with Kihei Lutheran Church, please let Sharon or Dawn know. Vinaka! (Thank you!)
