A connector

Student leader builds sense of community

Jenaya Lewis had a far from ordinary childhood that continues to influence her life’s calling.

At just five years of age, she moved with the family from Australia to Papua New Guinea, where her parents had received calls to work for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Two-and-a-half years after this courageous decision, dad and mum considered it too dangerous to raise Jenaya and older sister Tiarna in the country. So, the family moved to Nepal, where more work for ADRA beckoned. The girls attended international schools and Jenaya got baptised. The family lived in Nepal for the next four-and-a-half years before yet another move, this time to Auckland, New Zealand. Home is now on the Gold Coast. “Growing up overseas helped me see the many different sides of a situation or person,” says Jenaya. “This has given me a wider cultural understanding.”

Jenaya (secondary) and Tiarna (primary) are studying teaching at Avondale. The family’s affinity for the place is strong. “Dad and Mum attended and have ‘college friends’ they come across all over the world.” Being a faith-based institution also had a big impact on Jenaya’s decision to enrol—she continues to grow spiritually by using service learning opportunities to reach the Avondale community and beyond.

As leader of the campus church’s young adult group, Jenaya is helping produce weekly devotionals on The Collective Instagram account (@the.collectivea) during COVID lockdown. She is also co-leader of a life group teaching basic Australian Sign Language so those in the church community can connect with those in the deaf community. “I feel God has equipped me for leadership by placing me in a supportive environment where I can do my best to make a difference, even if it’s small.”

Jenaya is a creative and loving person dedicated to helping others and connecting communities. And she has such a strong faith. Her advice: “No matter what your interests and talents are, use them for God’s purpose. Nothing is too insignificant. You can contribute in so many ways.”