Letting actions speak louder than words at Portland

The Portland SUFM crew were back to full strength this year, and wasted no time in blessing the community who has welcomed them with open arms for over a century. 

Longtime Portland SUFM volunteer and first-time director, Ellicia says this year’s event was one of the biggest yet with a team of just under 100 volunteers who were excited to come alongside locals and holidaying families to listen and share the good news of God’s love. 

But more than talking about Jesus, the team were keen to let their actions speak for themselves. 

“Something we’ve been more intentional about in recent years is giving back to the community. This year we helped the Coastal Creek Group to clean up the Great Southwest Walk. We cleaned up one of the beaches. We did a car wash, helped out at the local Catholic Church, and tidied up the community garden. 

“Our heart is to bless this community that has welcomed us so open-heartedly. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Everybody knows us for running the kids’ program and the evening activities for families and young people, but now we’re also becoming known for our community work,” Ellicia says. 

There were also plenty of opportunities to have those deeper conversations about Jesus too. 

“This year we went door knocking around the local area, inviting people to come, and many of them showed up the following morning for the kids program we were running. 

“We met a number of people who had never set foot in a church, and knew very little about the Bible, but they kept coming back each morning, which was so encouraging to see,” says Ellicia. 

At SU Australia our heart is to equip and support young people like Ellicia to grow in their faith and leadership skills. The exciting part about that is the ongoing ripple effect this has in blessing communities like Portland.

Thank you for all you do to make this possible!

To further this work in your local area, follow the links below.