A group of Christian women are using Facebook to live stream their discussions, in a bid to reach out to and guide young girls aged 15-years and over during their challenging times.

Calling themselves the Supernatural Fellowship, a panel comprising Sia Kuresa, Peace Aiono, Brianna Bartram, Sanita Tuala and Sera Tuiyalani did a live stream of their discussions on Facebook on Monday night.

The monthly young women-targeted programme will focus on topics such as Godly purity, relationships, depression, suicidal thoughts, abuse, insecurities, peer pressure, unforgiveness and bitterness.

Speaking to the Samoa Observer, the programme’s proponents said the restrictions brought on by the state of emergency (S.O.E.) compelled them to live stream their group discussions on Facebook.

Ms Kuresa said she had a vision close to two years ago on the formation of such a discussion panel which ultimately led to its establishment.

"It was birthed out of a vision the Lord gave me in 2018 and I’ve been sitting on it for a while and I think it was only during this season that the Lord has been highlighting and seeing what’s going on and for us to do this explains how the Lord came through for us,” she said in an interview.

"Some of the things we talked about were things that a 15-year-old me would have wanted to hear when I was in college. Like hormonal changes, being in a group of young people without any understanding of who Jesus is."

And while the group targets young women who are struggling in life and with their faith, they also want to create an enabling environment, where girls are comfortable opening up on their challenges.

Ms Kuresa added that ultimately her colleagues want to talk about their own journey in life and how it is acceptable to be vulnerable.

"Overall, we talked about our journey, for instance, I’ve gone through depression. I talked about that because I’ve been through it. It wasn't so much of trying to counsel people, but more of like going back into our own stories, in the hope of letting women know that it is okay to be vulnerable.”

Culture can also become a barrier for young women to express themselves, which Ms Kuresa indicated can be overcome when shared from a faith-based perspective.

"With women, some of the things we want to talk about we can’t because of our culture and taboos but when we came to the Lord, we learned that being vulnerable brings healing."

It is the hope of Supernatural Fellowship and its members that using social media would enable them to reach out to more women who need help and want to be heard.

For the group, finding a purpose in the Lord can be the key to unlocking the door to one’s identity and purpose in life, according to Ms Kuresa. 

As an example, her colleague Ms Tuala, shared on how individual validation can become a journey of self discovery and avoid making mistakes that can change the course of one’s life.

"Looking back at my own journey, I could have avoided some years of going through the wilderness. I could have avoided some of the mistakes I made, some of the years of heartache, and trying to find validation from relationships,” she said.

"If I had discovered who I was in the Lord and what God says about me, I could have made better choices and changed the direction I was headed. When I discovered myself in the Lord , I knew I had a purpose, I knew God had written a book for me and I knew then that I was not born just to breathe as it says in Psalm 40:7.”

But in the journey of life, the battle is not against flesh but against the spirit, reiterated Ms Tuiyalani.

"We don’t fight against flesh and blood, and the world and enemy has blocked out a lot of stuff for women. Know who you are in Christ because we can be Christians without knowing who our Father is.”