Solomon Islands District Newsletter (Volume 5, Issue 11)

Solomon Islands District

NEWSLETTER November 2022 Volume 5, Issue 11

Vella Lavella Mission Trip (Report by Envoy Alick Hagi) My wife Esther and I boarded M.V Fair Glory on October 23rd for Vella Lavella Island in the Western Province. Our trip had two purposes: The assessment of two new openings on Vella Lavella and to lead soldiership classes with new recruits. We were invited by two of our new soldiers from Vella Lavella, Philip Vagolo from Valapata village and Kendrick Lonisasa from Barakoma village, who were enrolled at Honiara Corps last month.

We arrived at Gizo port at 4 am on Tuesday, 24th October and walked with our luggage to KHY area where boats from Vella Lavella usually dock while in Gizo to find transport to Valapata. I found a person by the name of Mr. Pingo who had a 40 horsepower Yamaha outboard motor (OBM) at the bay at KHY wharf ready to take a trip to Velapata, so we had to wait for him. However, there was a change to his trip, so he got us another boat from Mr. Malcom, an expatriate who married a girl from Labulabu.

The boat went first to Labulabu to drop off the boat owner and then his skipper took us to Valapata. Philip and his wife Rona met us on arrival and led us to the rest house where visitors stay before they can lead us to the guest house.

Valapata is were Philip comes

from, on the north side of Vella Lavella. Esther and I spent 3 days at Valapata where I led a group of ten interested youth and adults from the community in the soldiership classes. On Wednesday, 27th October, we held our first soldier’s class in the morning with ten in attendance.

On Saturday morning, 29th October, we left Valapata for Barakoma in a wooden canoe power by a 15 horsepower OBM, which took more than 2 hours. Arriving at Barakoma, Philip led us to Kendrick’s place.

We got there but there was no one at the house. We waited for more than 1.5 hours, then Kendrick showed up. He apologized to us and explained that he moved to a new place where he will start a Salvation Army church. The new place is next to the Barakoma airport.

We discussed what we will do and I told them that I will do the soldiership class for those who want to be part of The Salvation Army after our church worship on Sunday, 30th October. Kendrick asked if I could do a child dedication, as

he wanted me to dedicate his grandson. After the church worship, I did the soldiership class for five new people who were interested in joining The Salvation Army. At the end of the session, they all agreed to join The Salvation Army. So at Barakoma we now have five new recruits waiting to be enrolled on our next visit.

I must thank our District Officer for the support of this trip, which resulted in two new openings for Vella Lavella. They both signed the application for new opening, as well as the land usage agreement, giving us the privilege to use their site for church development. It was an exciting moment for our group at Valapata and Barakoma because it was the first time for Esther and I to visit this mission. I am requesting our members to continue to pray, as our top priority is to build a church house.

A lot of people I personally met echoed this because they want to come and join The Salvation Army.

Inside this issue:

MSHT Training at THQ

2

Territorial Community 2 Development Strategy Territorial Leaders Visit

2

Earthquake!

3

16 Days of Activism

3

Prison Ministry

3

Personal Reflection

4

Special points of interest:  Social Justice  Community Development

 Special Guests  Natural Disaster  Gender-Based Violence  Community Care

MSHT Training at THQ While in Papua New Guinea recently, Major Vanessa, Auxiliary Captains Wency and Fostina had the opportunity to take part in the new Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking (MSHT) Training of the Trainer. The training was conducted by Lieutenant April, Territorial Social Justice Officer, as well as other members of the MSHT Committee—Major Velena, Major Ridiah, Major Rita and Major Billy. The training is a culmination of 12 months of working together to develop the Territory’s MSHT Policy and Overview Training Manual. The training looks at six modules, which are accompanied by daily devotionals based on being ‘Made

in the Image of God’. The modules include: (1) Introduction to The Salvation Army PNGSI Vision, Mission and International Position on MSHT (2) What is Modern Slavery? (3) What is Human Trafficking? (4) MSHT Territorial Strategy

& Policy (5) MSHT Case Management and Case Studies (6) How to Self Care. Each presenter is passionate about MSHT and gave great insight and helpful tips through lived experiences and statistics throughout the day. Major Vanessa was extremely grateful to be a part of the MSHT training and to attend a committee meeting in person, as her previous participation in the development of the policy and manual had been via Teams.

Aux Capt’s Wency and Fostina were also happy to be part of the training and are looking forward to conducting this training throughout the Solomon Islands District early in 2023.

Territorial Community Development Strategy The District Officer’s and Honiara Corps Officer’s visit to PNG provided another opportunity to attend a committee meeting face-to-face, with Major Robert and Aux Capt Wency engaging with the Territorial Community Development Strategy working group in person, instead of via Teams. Their consultancy role alongside other PNG team members has been to assist in the development of a Territorial strategy by providing input from a Solomon Islands perspective. The purpose of this meeting was to develop a review and evaluation framework for the new Territorial Community Development

Strategic Plan.

Participating in this process has been of particular interest to Major Robert, as it has aligned with the Community Development subject he has been studying this semester for the .

It also connects with his current research

topic of exploring what a Solomon Islands awareness of community development looks like at a grassroots level by assessing community well-being in remote villages through a cultural understanding of ‘shalom’. There has been a mutual benefit of being a part of this working group that will help shape The Salvation Army’s approach to community development across the Territory.

The PNG term ‘Gutpela Sindaun’ and SI term ‘Stap Gud’ provide a helpful cultural understanding of human flourishing and community well-being to frame this strategic plan.

Territorial Leaders Visit The Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands Territorial Leaders, Colonels Garth and Patti Niemand, visited the Solomon Islands District between the 12th and 19th November. You can read all about this visit in a comprehensive Special Report that has been written about this historic trip. This report is available online on the same sites as this newsletter. The Solomon Islands District Team is very grateful for this visit and extend their sincere gratitude to Colonels Garth and Patti for spending the week with the Salvationists and Leaders of the Solomon Islands.

Page 2

Solomon Islands District

Earthquake!

On Tuesday, 22nd November at 1:03 pm, Solomon Islands was rocked by a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

This was followed shortly after by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake, with a series of large aftershocks for the next four days. The initial damage to buildings reported around Honiara came from Henderson Airport, AJ Mall, Hyundai Mall and the Anthony Saru Building. Other localised damage was limited to shelves in shops, fallen items and shaken nerves. The epicenter of the earthquake was off the ‘Weather Coast’ (south-west) of Guadalcanal, a remote area, which is still being assessed for impact and damage. A tsunami alert was issued but lifted within an hour, with

warnings of unusual sea currents around coastal waters remaining in place. The strength of the earthquake spread fear throughout Honiara, with schools and businesses quickly evacuated to higher ground. The District Officer’s Quarters situated on top of Ngossi Ridge shook violently but sustained no damage. Majors Robert and Vanessa were working from home at the time and thought their house was going to come down as the quake lingered on much longer than they’ve ever experienced. The Honiara Corps Officers reported panic in their community at Burns Creek, which is very close to the coast and river mouth. The messages of support and prayers received were deeply appreciated!

16 Days of Activism The international campaign against gender-based violence ‘16 Days of Activism’ was launched in Honiara on Friday, 25th November. Agencies and organisations gathered at SINU Kukum

Campus for a motorcade parade around Honiara to the Official Launch at the Honiara City Council Mulitpurpose Hall.

The Salvation Army entered two of their vehicles and 14 Salvationists in the parade with Major Vanessa and Aux Capt Wency driving the cars, while Major Robert set-up a stand of social enterprise products to sell at the launch event. The Launch Program featured a number of guest speakers around the local theme “iumi tugeda mekem kandere blo iumi safe for olketa familis blo iumi.” The official speeches were followed by a powerful performance from local group

‘Dreamcast’ and the cutting of a cake by the invited dignitaries.

The launch commenced 16 days of activities by a number of organization to increase local awareness about gender-based violence in the Solomon Islands. The Salvation Army organized a training event with World Vision to take a second group of their church leaders through the ‘Channels of Hope for Gender’ program and introduced the ‘Good Life for Boys & Girls’ ecumenical Sunday School teaching resource at the Learning Space in Burns Creek. This year The Salvation Army had its largest participation in the campaign.

resource about ‘One Life to Live’, referring to Genesis 1:27-31 and Psalm 139:13-14. He encouraged the inmates with how important their lives are and exhorted them to look after themselves in a way that will bring peace and joy to others. He reminded them they are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ as God’s creation and must not live carelessly.

The message was well-received and the time of worship appreciated by both the inmates and officers. The Salvation Army is a part of a roster alongside a number of other denominations who regularly provide pastoral and spiritual support at

the prison in Honiara. Salvationists also pray weekly for prisoners at Honiara Corps, putting flesh on the Scripture, “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Prison Ministry On Friday, 16th November, the Honiara Corps Officer and YPSM attended the Rove Prison for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted as a part of the prison church ministry program. They were greeted at the front gate by the Correctional Services Chaplain, who escorted them to the female block, known as Block 3, which houses six inmates.

After a warm welcome, YPSM Webster Buakalo led a time of praise and worship with the six inmates and two Correctional Services Officers. Aux Capt Wency shared a message from the ‘One Army’ teaching

Volume 5, Issue 11

Page 3

Support Needs:  Building funds for new Officer Quarters: You can support by donating funds to contribute to the construction of Officer Quarters at our village churches in the provinces.  Purchase of furnishings for Officer Quarters: You can support by donating funds to purchase furniture and appliances for Quarters at each of our village churches.

The Salvation Army Solomon Islands District Officers - Majors Robert & Vanessa Evans PO Box 323 Honiara, Solomon Islands

 Purchase of additional equipment for SAES: You can support by donating funds to purchase a deep freezer to store food for Emergency Services and Disaster Relief.

Please contact Major Robert Evans at robert.evans@png.salvationarmy.org for more information if you are able to help with any of these needs.

Phone: (677) 30344 Fax: (677) 30344 Mobile: (677) 749 4524 Email: solomon.islands@png.salvationarmy.org

Prayer Points:

Website: www.png.salvationarmy.org

 Major Robert’s Research Project in Malaita Province  Preparation for Christmas Carolling  Two New Opening Applications received from Western Province  Application for Officership received from Rauai Fellowship

 Planning for 2023

Personal Reflection…

We had a wonderful week in Solomon Islands. As the plane took off from the airport this afternoon, we were blessed with the wonderful view around Honiara. Solomon Islands has 6 main islands and hundreds of smaller islands.

The population throughout all the islands is estimated at around 700’000 people. The average age of Solomon Islanders is 20 years old and the life expectancy is slightly over 70 years old.

The Salvation Army celebrated its 10th

anniversary this time last year. A wonderful country and beautiful people.

We thank God for this opportunity to visit. Like many other countries, Solomon Islands is also a country with many challenges, including poverty, poor governance, high gender based violence, limited education and health facilities, and poor infrastructure (terrible roads).

But, as you can see from some of the photos, it is also a country of great

beauty and tranquility. My prayer is that the country and its people will reach their full potential in years to come. I also pray that The Salvation Army will help in the transformation of communities through the gospel of Jesus Christ. May it be so. Amen. ‘The Salvation Army will actively rebuild, restore and renew where a broken world needs it most.’

Colonels Garth & Patti Niemand