Solomon Islands District Newsletter (Volume 3, Issue 3)

Solomon Islands District

NEWSLETTER March 2020 Volume 3, Issue 3

Territorial Women’s Conference On the weekend of the 7th & 8th March, seven ladies from the Solomon Islands District travelled to Port Moresby, PNG to attend the Territorial Women’s Bible Conference. Each of them came back to Honiara deeply impacted by their experience:

to Glory’ during the camp. I wasn’t afraid at all but have this questions why her? And How? Right now I finally ready. Why is it in the camp for me to know His appointed time? To God be the glory great things He has done.”

“I am so thankful to God for His faithfulness and guidance upon the team and myself. Without Him I will not be able to make it through to the Women’s Bible Conference at Bautama in PNG on the 5th – 8th March and returning home safely.

“Thank God that he is at work. I really bless during the Women’s Bible Conference. The theme “Fill My Cup” change my life and challenge with the session. I experience the power of God and I saw that God is a miracle maker.

Our God we sense is a great God. He always at work. I also my experience changes with my children and husband and also teachers at school. Thank God.”

Things I learnt at the conference and experiences: 1. Unity among the whole team.

2. The beauty of God’s glory as reflected from the ladies in their outfits.

Elizabeth Tolilalo

Webster Buakalo

anything for you through this mission. It means a lot to me. To God be the glory great things He has done.”

Freda Ganiomea “It is not a mistake that I join the Salvation Army Solomon Island Women’s ministry to go over to the PNG Women’s Conference.

I’m really blessed that God had a message that He laid ahead for me. This lady Pastor Muru is preaching about the woman at the well. Jesus is asking her to give him a cup of water. This woman answer Jesus and said it is not right for Him to drink with her from the same cup because she is a Samaritan and it against the law of the Jews. Jesus talk to this woman about the hidden

Inside this issue:

Climate Change Presentation

2

Isabel Province Mission Opportunity

2

Coronavirus Impact

2

Area Officers Relocate to Malaita

3

More Soldier Enrolments!

3

International Day of Prayer for Children & Youth

3

Personal Reflection

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3. Tears of joy when I heard the Word of God. Theme - Fill My Cup. I felt like the word was for me on day one.

4. On day two I felt like my cup was running dry, when I went to the camp because I sometimes fill my cup with so many things.

Somehow I was desperately needed the Lord to fill my cup to overflow on that day. So during our dawn prayer I prayed to the Lord to help me to let go of all this unwanted things in my life and empty my cup for Him alone to fill it up. The Lord answered my prayer and filled me up with His goodness (Ps 23) I am so grateful to God for what he has done in my life.

Another experience I have never experienced before was God allow someone to be ‘Promoted

“I am really blessed to be part of the Salvation Army Women’s Ministry in Solomon Islands. It was an opportunity for myself to be a part of women’s convention held at PNG. We learned a lot about God’s Word during the convention, I see how God’s mighty power works through my life as His Word stated in Psalm 23. Fill my cup Lord, fill it up.

Therefore, God is greater and with His greatness He can do

practices that was occurred in her life that was not right. At the moment she was asking Jesus to give her the life giving water. I was blessed with the message and asked Jesus to empty any hidden activity that occurred in my life that make His will not at work in my life. And I want Jesus to fill my cup right up to the brim so that it will over flow with this life giving water.“ Betty Maesala

Special points of interest:  Climate Change  Mission Opportunities  Global Crisis  Leadership Support  New Members  Next Generation

Climate Change Presentation After 8 weeks of reading and research for the subject ‘Climate Change, Justice and Sustainability,’ the scheduled week long intensive in Melbourne for this unit was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Alternative arrangements were arranged by the lecturer for some online classroom sessions, along with a couple of additional assessment tasks.

As a contribution to the online classes, the lecturer asked Major Robert to prepare and present a report on the impact of climate change on Solomon Islands. The research meeting organised last month with Dr Melchior Mataki, the

that stimulated an interactive discussion during the presentation of the report about how Solomon Islands churches can be more proactive in this space.

Permanent Secretary for Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management & Meteorology in Solomon Islands, proved to be very insightful and helpful in preparing a report for this presentation.

It also raised some challenging questions

This presentation provided an overview of the environmental challenges facing Solomon Islands, mapped out five major issues, summarized the science behind these issues, discussed them from a community perspective, addressed some of the risk management concerns and raised a number of questions for discussion with the intensive class that stimulated some productive and creative ideas for mitigation and adaptation.

Isabel Province Mission Opportunity Last year an invitation was received by one of the members of Honiara Corps who did some work in the Isabel Province for The Salvation Army to commence in the capital Buala. Since then, another request was received from neighbouring Taruna Settlement. Major Robert and Festus Ganiomea met with two men from this settlement before they returned to Isabel to discuss the mission and ministry of The Salvation Army.

Their enthusiasm was clearly evident as they heard all about how the ‘heart to God, hand to man’ mission is spreading throughout the Solomon Islands. The

holistic nature of this ministry really captured their attention and they were eager to return home to relay what they learned to their village. One of the cultural complexities in responding to

this request is ensuring other churches in the area are happy for The Salvation Army to coexist alongside them. The Salvation Army has no desire to take people away from other congregations, rather recognizes that each church is a vital part of the body of Christ. Each church has a specific mission role to play and needs to work in cooperation with other parts of the body. The District leaders will continue to pray about this request and await any further response from Taruna Settlement. Navigating cultural and religious sensitivities is all part of doing mission in Solomon Islands.

Coronavirus Impact The global Coronavirus pandemic is having a huge impact on every area of life across every nation. While at the time of publication of this newsletter there are no confirmed cases in Solomon Islands, the concern here is still very real with a ‘State of Public Emergency’ being declared by the Governor General.

Under these circumstances the following changes to the District Calendar have become necessary for the next few months: District Easter Campaign (April): The Nominees will not be travelling from

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Honiara to village churches in Malaita to conduct Easter services. Instead Envoys Joshua & Edith will relocate to Malaita to coordinate the Easter Services with the support of locally based village leaders.

Celebrate Recovery Training (June): The planned visit by Aux. Lt. Deb Strapp from Australia to conduct this training has been cancelled and will be rescheduled at an appropriate time when life returns to relative normality.

District Congress (July): Given the uncertainty surrounding internal sea travel and the risks associated with large

gatherings, this event cancelled for this year.

has

been

This disruption to the District program for 2020 is disappointing but it is very important that responsible decisions are made in line with official information and advice from government and WHO authorities to ensure the safety of all Solomon Islands citizens.

In the event of a confirmed case of COVID-19 the entire nation will be locked down with travel between the provinces shut down and restricted within Honiara.

These are indeed challenging days!

Solomon Islands District

Area Officers Relocate to Malaita In response to the current ‘State of Public Emergency’ and declaration of Honiara as an ‘Emergency Zone’, Area Officers Envoys Joshua and Edith Aebata were sent to Malaita to establish a mission base to ensure Salvation Army leadership is accessible in the event of the boats between the provinces being shut down.

Over the past week, thousands of people from Honiara have returned to their home provinces at the direction of the Prime Minister to reduce population in Honiara, as this is the expected entry point if the Coronavirus reaches the shores of Solomon Islands.

With so many people moving back home, The Salvation Army wants to be well-positioned to care for their existing congregations and to respond to new mission opportunities. Envoys Joshua

and Edith travelled to Malaita with their teenage children Jade, Irene and Lloyd, who are very much a part of their mission. The Aebata family will set up home at their family property in Trinity Hill, which will become the site of a future new church opening. From this base, the Area Officers will travel between the Salvation Army churches throughout Malaita to provide support and encouragement to congregation leaders during these uncertain times.

Their presence also means they can maintain the momentum of growth that is occurring across Malaita.

More Soldier Enrolments!

This month has seen another wave of Soldier enrolments at Honaira Corps and Ramah Fellowship. Malaita Area Officer Envoy Joshua Henry started the wave by enrolling 11 Soldiers at Ramah, followed

by Honiara Corps Officer Envoy Wency Ramo’oroa enrolling three one week and two the next at Honiara, ending with

Envoy Joshua enrolling an impressive 28 Soldiers from surrounding villages near Ramah who heard about the first group.

A total of 44 new Soldiers were enrolled between these two churches during March. Together, with the 13 enrolments at Fouele New Opening last month, 57 Soldiers have been added to the

Solomon Islands District so far in 2020!

This wave of growth shows no sign of slowing down with Envoy Joshua now following up an expression of interest for another new opening in Malaita.

The global challenges that have brought the world almost to a stand-still cannot stop this move of God.

International Day of Prayer for Children & Youth The theme for this year’s International Day of Prayer for Children & Youth, ‘The Power of One’, was based on Isaiah 6:8: “Then I heard the Lord saying, 'Whom should I send to my people? Who will go to represent us?' I spoke up and said, 'I will be the ONE. Send me.'“ Young People’s Sergeant Major (YPSM) Webster Buakalo was invited to speak into this theme at Honiara Corps. She spoke powerfully about how one life can make a difference in this world and called upon the congregation to “be careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15).

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The youth in the service led an amazing time of worship, using their gifts and talents in a manner that really did make a difference to those who were present.

They personified the theme for the day by stepping up and saying, “I will be the

one” use me. Major Vanessa led a children’s story for about 25 children, which is a typical weekly number for Honiara Corps. These ‘pikinini’ are a vibrant bunch of young people who not only represent the church of tomorrow, but who are very much an active part of the church today.

The annual International Day of Prayer for Children & Youth provides The Salvation Army worldwide with an opportunity to celebrate our young people and inspire them to rise up and fully engage in the mission and ministry of the church out in their world.

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Support Needs:  Mission Travel Budget You can support the follow-up of 12 mission requests for The Salvation Army to commence in other villages by contributing to travel costs between the Provinces.  Building Funds for construction of Officer Quarters: You can support by donating funds to support the construction of Quarters at each of our village churches.

The Salvation Army Solomon Islands District Officers - Majors Robert & Vanessa Evans PO Box 323 Honiara, Solomon Islands Phone: (677) 30344

 Additional School Fees Loan Funds: You can support by donating funds to distribute to parents applying for a loan to pay School Fees for next term.

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.

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

Prayer Points:  Protection from Coronavirus  Mission expansion across the provinces  Malaita Area Officers - Envoys Joshua & Edith  Honiara Corps Officers - Envoys Wency & Fostina  District Easter Campaign

Personal Reflection...

The first weekend of March a group of 7 ladies travelled to PNG to attend the first PNGSI Territory Women’s Ministries conference. With all the complexities of organizing tickets and finances it was a relief to land in PNG and to travel to the campsite. There was a buzz amongst the ladies from across PNG and Solomon Islands as we came together to worship the Lord.

Friday night was a great night of worship and prayer as we celebrated World Day of Prayer and prayed for the country of Zimbabwe. Each of the ladies dressed in bright colors and we all wore headdresses just like they do in Zimbabwe.

The theme of ‘Fill My Cup’ was something that challenged each one of us. The messages challenged us to fill our cups with the character of Christ rather than our own desires and attitudes. One of the main things that stood out to me

throughout the weekend was how much we were under a spiritual attack. First of all one of the members from the Highlands was praising God and collapsed and passed away, this event shook the whole camp.

However, it gave us an opportunity to grieve and minister to the ladies of Lae as well as show our love in a practical way to Lt Col Chris & Tilitha Goa, as it was Lt Col Chris’s sister-in-law that passed away.

That very night some of our ladies collapsed and many thought that they too were going to pass away. After each one of these ladies collapsed they were covered in prayer. I was thankful that my ladies were so concerned with my well being that they prayed over me and I slept through the whole thing. I truly believe because of the prayers of my ladies that God protected me and I was reminded of the verse in Ephesians 6:12 that says “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but

against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” I am thankful for the opportunity of going to PNG with my ladies and I believe through this experience we now have stories that we can share with each other as well as spiritual moments that will unite us as women.

Major Vanessa Evans