Sometimes all it takes to spread the giving vibe is just by making the effort to be there - there's nothing like travelling for miles to let people know they're special. Recently Linda Vagana and the Glenfeild PIC tribe spread the giving vibe across the country.
Think community work can only mean your community? Think again. Twenty Samoans spent one week in Lawrence a small (small being that its main road is about 80 meters long) rural town about an hour out of Dunedin. Billetted out among farmers, experiencing 'lambing' and leading a huge youth rally are just part of what these guys did one week in October this year.
Linda Vagana and her team saved up for a whole year to fly down and 'visit' Linda's sister and husband who are ministers down in Lawrence. Having pre-prepared the team with various dances, skits and songs, the local youth groups and Dunedin Pacific Island Church (P.I.C) youth group all got together to be blessed at a huge rally put on by Glenfield P.I.C.
Having a team of young people who haven't gone further south than the Bombay Hills, a week in the South Island sounds like a daunting proposition for any Youth Leader. But when you have young people who literally are in tears at the prospect of leaving a place they have grown to respect, honor and perhaps even love in such a short time, consider that it all could all be well worth the effort.
Reported by Marcelle Mafi, North Shore's Regional Youth Co-Ordinator.