SCF NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2019
‘Be stong and courageous. Do not be afaid or trrified because of tem, for te Lord your God goes wit you; He wil never leave you nor forsake you.’ - Deutronomy 31:6
HIGHLIGHTS
SCF 20th Anniversary - June -
Pg 2-3 World Assembly 2019 - July -
Pg 4
IVCF in Mauritius
- July -
Pg 5
PANAF Conference - August -
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear beloved brothers and sisters,
Last June, we celebrated our 20th anniversary with a wonderful fellowship time at Casa Florida. This celebration reminded us of God's faithfulness and provision towards the ministry in-spite of different ups and downs. Once again, thank you for attending and supporting us in reaching this milestone.
For the First time in the history of SCF, four participants, including myself, attended the IFES World Assembly(WA) in July in Bela Bela, South Africa. At the WA, we witnessed how God is busy at work in the numerous ‘closed’ nations to draw many to His Kingdom. We were greatly encouraged in hearing testimonies of those who braved persecutions and ill treatments and yet walk faithfully with the Lord. We praise God that many countries were afFiliated with IFES at the WA, which is the fruits of IFES pioneering strategy worldwide. Presently, there are more than 160 countries afFiliated with IFES family. We thank God for giving us the great privilege to attend the WA and we returned back with renewed challenges to reach further students for Christ.
We believe that God is preparing a new generation of students for future leadership. SCF has the great calling to prepare these students to reach leadership maturity through solid Bible teaching and foundation. We also have the vision to open other BEES branches on the island. At the university level, we have the challenge to regularly gather the university students due to time table constraints and unauthorized gathering on the campus. Recently, we have witnessed the emergence of Mauritius as an education hub, attracting more foreign students to the island. We now have an opportunity to reach out to them and pray with us for God to open ways to reach these students.
Lastly, we announced that Emilie will take over from Linda as national SG. However, after much prayers and seeking God’s will, Emilie and Kelvin are currently considering to relocate overseas in the near future. For this reason, Emilie has decided not to commit herself as Acting General Secretary and Staff. They will continue to serve on the Board until the end of their mandate. We request your prayers for the Lord to provide a new staff and a new General Secretary.
Please continue to support us and pray for the above prayer requests as our prayer partners, for we know that our `struggle is not against Flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms` Eph 6:12 NIV.
May the peace of our Lord Jesus remain on you.
- James Lew(SCF President)
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SCF 20th
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION 16 June 2019
The Student Christian Fellowship(SCF) celebrated
its 20th anniversary on Sunday 16th June 2019 at Casa Florida Resort & Spa, Pereybère. It was a beautiful celebration where people from different generations, who have been impacted in one way or another by SCF, gathered together to praise God for his goodness and faithfulness towards the movement for the past years. We also believe that God will continue to do greater things through SCF in the next 20 years and more to come; this is why the theme for this 20th anniversary was “Greater Things Have Yet to Come”.
The event started with a cocktail followed by a dance and skit prepared by BEES(Bande d’Elèves des Ecoles Secondaires), Praise & Worship, testimonies b y USF (Uni versi t y S tuden t Fellowship ) and FAC(Friends in Action for Christ), sharing by Pastor Josian(Goodlands Baptist Church), cake-cutting and ended with a delicious buffet. A video was also made by Kelvin Balloo, our current Vice-President and ex BEES, for this special occasion which you can watch by clicking on the following link:
https://youtu.be/Hv9Zu2u3hAA
Pastor Josian Surju sharing the Word of God.
20 years of existnce
20 years of felowship
20 years of perseverance
20 years of student growt
20 years of chalenges and stuggles
20 years of people leaving te movement 20 years of God bringing new people 20 years of blessings
20 years of experiencing God’s grace 20 years of lives being impactd trough SCF 20 years of Student Christan Felowship.
The SCF20 organising committee consisting of Andrew, Amiirah, Leeroy, Anaëlle, Emilie, Linda and Kelvin.
If you would like to see more pictures of the event, click on the following link to see the album:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/TwH4Q4tkSy4i6rfU6
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Here are a few words we collected from a couple of guests at the end of the celebration:
“I enjoyed the gathering very much. It was nice to hear testimonies from students and how God changed their lives. I firmly believe that God will continue the good work He started. May the blessing of the Lord be on the whole team.”
“Keep it up SCF team. A season for everything and everything in its season. Enjoy the time that you have now. Give your best and know that your Father in heaven sees even what human eyes do not see. He smiles at you every day. Be blessed!”
“BEES has been a huge blessing to me growing up and has taught me how to read the Bible for myself. It helped build an important foundation that stayed with me through university and even now working. And it is a pleasure to be here today to celebrate SCF’s 20th anniversary and to see how God is still at work through this ministry. All glory to God!”
Heartfelt Praise & Worship by N4G(Nightingales for God).
Anaëlle & Amiirah with their welcoming smile at the registration booth.
Skit performed by the talented BEES based on a poem written in creole by Bobby.
Down memory lane - Guests looking at the SCF20 exhibition displaying many pictures from the last 20 years.
SCF would like to thank every person who has contributed in anyway to this celebration and those who continuously support the movement. May God bless you!
John 14:12: Truly, tuly, I say t you, whoever believes in me wil also do te works tat I do; and greatr works tan tese wil he do, because I am going t te Fater.
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IFES WORLD ASSEMBLY 2019 3 - 11 JULY 2019
Daniel Bourdanné, former
IFES General Secretary,
speaking during one of the
sessions.
Dr. Chris Wright conducting
one of the morning plenary
sessions.
A team of five represented SCF Mauritius at the World
Assembly in Bela-Bela, South Africa. Group picture
with delegates from Mali and Burundi.
South African Cultural Dance performance during the opening night of WA.
Group picture with students from various countries.
Having the opportunity to attend an IFES World Assembly was really a great thing. World Assembly is kind of a taste of heaven in the sense that you are cut off from your daily routine, surrounded by Christians, doing bible study together and worshiping the Lord together. As a Christian student, it is rarely possible to fellowship with such a large group of Christian students from all over the world with the common goal of getting to know God more and serving Him. I have been enriched a lot within these 9 days learning from the experience of students, staff members and general secretaries of other movement. It helped me to understand more about IFES itself and gave me a new perspective on the way student ministry can be done.
The message of Hope from World Assembly gave me hope for Mauritius and Rodrigues as well. Seeing new movements being affiliated, especially small islands I never heard of, encouraged me to come back with a more serving heart and a desire to dream for what God can do among the students on our campuses. The theme of this World Assembly was “Messengers of Hope”. The theme itself is a great encouragement for me as a student to be a Messenger of Hope for Christ in Mauritius and Rodrigues. For my story is in God’s story ♥.
- Andrew (USF), student at UoM
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Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ
In July 2019, I was invited to attend the guest program at the IFES World
Assembly. It was an enriching experience.
This opportunity to attend the IFES World Assembly has helped me to
discover more about the IFES vision and mission. It was interesting to learn
about their work in different regions of the world, their challenges and to
listen to powerful testimonies of students being saved.
During mealtime and small group gathering, I had the opportunity to
connect to believers from different parts of the world. It was at times
heartbreaking to listen to their testimonies, how they persevered amid
persecution and how some of them escaped from death. I was greatly
encouraged to see their passion for Christ, their sacriFice and commitment
to follow Jesus.
The different seminars available for the participants were of great beneFits. I had the privilege to learn from experienced leaders how to excel in our service for God. During the ‘salt and light in our society’ seminar, I learned the importance of having integrity and working for transparency in a corrupt world.
The guest program was another strong point of the world assembly. Connecting with great spiritual leaders whether in pastoral ministry or serving in the government was another blessed opportunity- seeing Christian leaders standing Firm in the midst of persecution and against corruption.
Hearing the impact of the gospel on students, it has challenged me to be a messenger of hope to this young generation which will result in transformation and maximum impact in our family, church and country.
In Christ
- Kevin Hon Mong
Students from Guadeloupe leading Praise & Worship. Student from Denmark sharing the Word of God.
Affiliation ceremony of IFES Vanuatu, one of the several countries that have been affiliated to IFES this year.
Farewell session for the former IFES General Secretary, Daniel Bourdanné and his wife.
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IVCF IN MAURITIUS
17 JULY - 3 AUGUST 2019
A small team consisting of Sherami, Luke and Sierra from IVCF(InterVarsity Christian Fellowship) came to Mauritius to conduct a few workshops(Old Testament Survey, Basic Apologetics and Evangelism), preach at some local churches and give some Bible Study trainings throughout a 3D2N camp to student leaders; all these were organised in collaboration with Lausanne Mauritius. Let’s hear from them how they lived this experience!
This summer I had the opportunity to partner with SCF from
IVCF(Intervarsity Christian Fellowship) in Boston! From the moment we
arrived we were greeted with incredible hospitality from SCF staff and
local church members and students. It was such a joy to teach people
from around the island from all age and life stages. The Old Testament
teaching was phenomenal as we got to watch the participants (students
and adults) bring the Old Testament Character stories to life. The next
week felt like a revitalization of my own faith as we heard conversion
stories and learned about world religions. Finally, our student Bible
study camp was a powerful time of seeing the story of Zacchaeus take
deep meaning in each of our lives. It was so fun, enriching and deeply
humbling to serve the students in Mauritius this summer and I cannot
wait to be back!
Just reflecting upon our time in Mauritius brings me great joy. Our time was truly amazing. We were so warmly received from start to finish, had the chance to build great relationships in a short time period, had plenty of amazing opportunities to teach and preach in cross-cultural settings, and of course, had some time to enjoy the beautiful beaches.
I was overjoyed by the deep engagement in the Old Testament skits. As attendees soaked up the story of God in the Old Testament, they helped bring the stories of Biblical characters to life for me in profound ways through skits!
Also, I was impressed by how hungry everyone was to learn and to worship God. During our week of Bible Study Camp at Casa Florida, the University students were extremely hungry to learn about Scripture study as we taught in Luke 19. Each session, it felt as if both their hunger
- Sierra
for and satisfaction in Jesus grew, culminating in a final early morning worship session on the beach. To watch and pour out our hearts to the Lord in worship together was deeply life giving for me. I pray that the engagement and hunger of the students, families, and church members for Jesus continues to
grow as they know his love more!
- Luke
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My second trip in two years to your lovely island brought about so much
joy and opportunity to see God at work. A few reflections stand out to
me:
1. Mauritian hospitality shows the Kingdom of God. We were abundantly
blessed by so many offers to be hosted at dinners and ocean swims,
exploration trips and community gatherings, souvenir shopping and
tasting dhollpuri. The beauty of your island is only outmatched by the
beauty of your people’s kindness in hospitality.
2.Student leadership growth from two years ago to now amazed me! We
were led by students during an early morning worship time at
Pereybère, and we were blessed by the growth in their confidence to
lead and the humility with which they did so. I heard insights from 15
year olds during Bible Study that I have never heard from adults; you have a rich gift in your youth!
3. Partnerships provide rich opportunity. We did much more partnering with churches who support SCF, and I am encouraged and hopeful about this blossoming opportunity. I believe partnerships between churches and parachurch organizations bring great wealth in conversation, learning, and opportunity to be mutually encouraged in faith.
I’m encouraged by the vision that’s been carried by SCF these last 20 years, and I’m hopeful the new season of leadership and experiences will only multiply the fruitfulness of your ministry. May it be so, in
Jesus’ Name!
- Sherami
Pictures from different workshop at CCF and CYP churches.
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Let’s now hear some feedback from the students who attended the Bible Study Training Camp by IVCF at Casa Florida from 31 July - 1 August 2019.
“The aim of the camp was
clear and the studies were to the
point. There were interactions
between students and teacher
instead of full-on lecture mode.”
“From the first day, everyone was
mingling together. No one was left in a
corner and the speakers even came to
have lunch with us. It was really nice to
know them more, to feel comfortable
around them. The first bible study on
Matthew 8 was a huge blessing, specially
the conclusion of ‘Jesus is willing to
exchange our sufferings for His peace and
love.’”
“There was a good synergy between students where we get along well with each other despite coming from different churches, etc…”
“It was a very nourishing
experience. I was reminded that studying the Bible, if done correctly, can be fun and engaging and not boring. We were given the appropriate tools to dissect and dig to the very core of the passage and to find the hidden messages and truths that we would not have if we just read it over once.”
“This camp was preparing us to be the leaders of tomorrow and as an ending note, I pray that God may use us as He wants to and that we may go out in the world and be His messengers of HOPE.”
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PANAF CONFERENCE
11 - 18 AUGUST 2019
PANAF! It was held in Benin, from 10th to 18th of August and it was
quite an experience. Being my first time on the mainland African
continent, it was definitely a new atmosphere for me. I won’t deny that
it had its challenges but overall it was a good experience. A little bit of
context, PANAF is a conference for the IFES ministries (GBUAF - Group
Biblique Universitaire d’Afrique Francophone) in Francophone Africa.
Being there definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone to speak in
French to the people there. It was amazing to have met people from 19
other countries, united by one God and one language. This was really
encouraging in the sense that we are not alone and the journey that
some had to do to be there for the conference was just inspiring. Some
had travel for DAYS to just reach there!
Meeting with all the others, I realised how different our movements were and yet, how similar things were on a certain level. Most of the other movements were bigger in size and they focused more to the University students. Definitely, we all have our set of challenges, though different from each other. The most important thing we all had in common was Jesus and the hunger to bring the Word in schools and campuses. We witnessed the installation of the new Regional Secretary of GBUAF, Dr. Klaingar Ngarial, who took up the baton from Dr. Augustin Ahoga. We had the joy to interact with both of them, knowing that they remember our little Mauritius in their thoughts and prayers. Let’s keep fighting the good fight, together with our brothers and sisters from Africa, remembering them as well in our thoughts and prayers.
- Kelvin
The tent where 700+ participants gathered everyday during the main sessions of the conference.
Map of all the countries of GBUAF and Klaingar Ngarial holding the torch during the opening ceremony.
Group picture with the friendly students from Togo.
Interviewing the Heroes of GBUAF.
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FUTURE/ SPECIAL EVENTS & GET INVOLVED
The following future events are in the pipeline and some of the Uinal dates are to conUirm:
Braderie – 1st December 2019 at SCF Seat. This is our fund raising activity and you can make some very good deals. ‘Venez nombreux!’
BEES Camp – 27th - 29th November 2019 at Flic-en-Flac.
USF Camp – Mid December 2019 (date to conFirm)
Governance Training for Board Members - 21-23 February 2020
Special Event:
On 01.09.19, Varshinee, who has been serving faithfully on SCF board as treasurer,
committed herself for better and for worse to Varshek, before God and before men.
We wish them all the best in Christ and may the Lord be always at the centre of this
partnership.
Get Involved:
We know that many of you support SCF in a variety of ways already, for which we are immensely grateful and we would like to thank all those who have responded positively to our call for help. I would like to hereby make an appeal again for support.
As you can see in the newsletter, there have been many initiatives to build up the SCF leadership and bring afresh the global vision, to strengthen the students in their knowledge of Christ and their faith and to grow our potential christian leaders of tomorrow. All these initiatives, along with the ongoing ministry require resources and with God’s grace, as the ministry grows, we shall need even more resources.
We are confident that God will sustain His ministry and will work through His people to enable His will for SCF in Mauritius.
Every little bit counts to enable greater things to come and if you can help in any of those areas, or any others, please do let us know:
- Constant prayer
- Financial support
- Helping during camps or other initiatives
- Helping with the logistics, transport whenever we organise gatherings
- Provide support as staff
We thank you in advance for your prayers and the generous giving of your time or talent or treasure for the Lord’s glory.
- Jenny Chan (SCF Treasurer)
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Bank details of Student Christian Fellowship:
1. Full bank name: Mauritius Commercial Bank
Bank address: Royal Road, Rose Hill
IBAN number: MU03MCBL0903000000079063000MUR Account number: 000030079063
SWIFT Code: MCBLMUMU
2. SBM – 620---101---001---01612
SCF E-mail: scfmauritius@gmail.com
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