For many of the women present — mothers, teachers, church leaders, daughters — it was a message that met them exactly where they were. The retreat did not ask them to become something different. It asked them to respond to what God had already placed within them, with the same words Isaiah used, the same words Samuel used, the same two words that have always preceded a life of faithful service: “Henani. Here am I.”

SUNDAY MORNING: HEALTH CHECKS BEFORE BREAKING CAMP

On Sunday morning, before the group broke camp and returned to their home districts, health checks were conducted for all attendees — a practical expression of the church’s commitment to the whole person. The retreat closed as it had opened: with care, with purpose, and with a theme that lingered long after the camp was packed away.

VANIMO Town Seventh-day Adventist Church, affectionately known as Tawa Church, mobilised 109 of its members on Sunday, May 3, 2026, for a landmark outreach visit to the Vanimo Correctional Institution Services (CIS), one of the largest single-day church visitations to the facility in recent memory.

The initiative was originally driven by the church’s Youth Department, which had planned the CIS visit as part of its outreach program. When other departments realised they had similar activities on their calendars, the decision was made to combine efforts bringing together Adventurers, Pathfinders, Adventist Community Services and other ministries under one unified mission. The result was a visit of remarkable scale and impact.

Pastor Peter Tony expressed sincere appreciation on behalf of both recipients, acknowledging the church’s compassion and the significance of the gesture during a difficult time. Both pastors left the visit encouraged and reassured, a reflection of the spirit of unity and mutual care that the church community is called to embody.