The Divine Word Missionaries and Holy Spirit Sisters in Papua New Guinea are hoping to gain fundraising support to help expand a university scholarship scheme, which has allowed about 80 students in the last four years to gain a university education.

Fr Philip Gibbs SVD from Divine Word University in Madang, PNG, was in Australia this month and shared the story of the Arnoldus Family Scholarships.

Born in East Timor and raised in Kupang, Indonesia, Agustinus ‘Gusty’ Siga Buu Araujo has arrived at Dorish Maru College in Melbourne to complete his Theological studies and formation as a Divine Word Missionary.

Gusty’s father is from Indonesia and his mother is from East Timor. When he was three years old, in 1999, the family moved from Dili to Kupang, where he grew up.

Ten SVD students from five countries resumed their academic studies in Theology this month at Yarra Theological Union, the University of Divinity in Melbourne.

Both the students and the academic staff said they were looking forward to returning to face-to-face or blended classes again following the shift to online lectures and tutorials during the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

A doctoral thesis by Fr Thien Nguyen SVD, which researched conversion from Christianity to Buddhism in Australia, found that such conversion was a complex and long process based more on dissatisfaction with the person’s Christian tradition rather than proselytisation.

Fr Thien, who graduated from Monash University with his PhD this month, says he hopes his research will help Church leaders to change their pastoral approach in caring for the faithful and encourage all believers to engage in dialogue across faiths.

Divine Word Missionary students and academics might have had their face-to-face lectures cancelled and all lessons moved online, but they are not letting the COVID-19 crisis dim their missionary zeal.

In fact, the students say that the coronavirus restrictions have forced them to adapt to changing circumstances and continue to reach out to people online, in person and in prayer, all of which are necessary attributes for a life of mission in the modern world.