Solomon Islands District Newsletter (Volume 4, Issue 12)

Solomon Islands District

NEWSLETTER December 2021 Volume 4, Issue 12

Inside this issue:

Christmas Carolling Immediately after weeks of busy rehearsals leading up to the 10th Anniversary weekend, the Honiara Corps Brass Band shifted focus to getting ready for Christmas carolling. This year, the brass band engaged in four evenings of carols the week prior to Christmas across 15 communities at Borderline, Gilbert Camp, Mount Austin, Green Valley, Talise Market (Honiara Central); Destiny, Rice Farm, Bethlehem, Blue Lagoon (Burns Creek, East Honiara); Christian Care Centre Women’s Refuge, Tenaru Corona Market (East Guadalcanal); Central White River, Namoruka, Upper Central, Independence Valley (White River, West Honiara).

In consultation with the Solomon Islands Police Support Program (SIPSP) Team Leader from New Zealand, The Salvation Army District Team offered the Christmas Carolling as a community engagement opportunity for the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF).

This offer was enthusiastically embraced by the RSIPF Crime Prevention Unit and supported by the NZ Police advisors and AFP personnel. Together, positive messages of ‘peace on earth, goodwill for all humankind’ were shared through singing of

carols, Christmas messages spoken by Salvation Army leaders and community safety and well-being messages delivered by the RSIPF. The communities that were visited responded very well to the combined participation of The Salvation Army and Police, with community leaders at each location expressing their sincere appreciation for this form of community engagement. The presence of police alongside musical instruments was a welcomed contrast to the images of riot gear over the past few weeks of civil unrest.

It was a reminder that the police are not the enemy and an invitation for communities to work together with the local authorities to maintain peaceful relationships in the uncertain days ahead.

The District Officers are very grateful to the NZ Police Advisors for taking the lead in facilitating this community engagement partnership with the RSIPF. Major Robert is also proud of the commitment and development of the brass band players, which enabled this ministry to take place. Next year, further opportunities for outreach with the brass band will be explored to build upon this community engagement.

‘The Way in a Manger’ 2 Advent Series

Stranded Village Congregations

2

Learning Spaces Development

2

NZ Police Community Engagement

3

World Vision Good Life Lesson Plans

3

Newman Legacy Funds Honiara

3

Personal Reflection

4

Special points of interest:  Advent Series  Travel Drama  Literacy Training  Community Partnerships  Gender Equality  Community Care

‘The Way in a Manger’ Advent Series The first Sunday of the Advent season in Honiara this year was overshadowed by days of civil unrest, causing the service to be cancelled due to security concerns.

Nevertheless, a video message was provided by Major Robert to ensure the opening message of HOPE was received during these tumultuous times.

Each week, the designated speaker spoke sensitively and passionately into the civil unrest, challenging the congregation to pursue the WAY of Christ.

On Christmas Day, the way of HOPE, the way of PEACE, the way of JOY, and the way of LOVE was summed in the WAY of Christ, as manifested through the incarnation—God becoming one of us and making His dwelling among us (John 1:14). Following the WAY of Christ will lead to the transformation of Solomon Islands if consistently lived out by every Solomon Islander who celebrated the birth of Christ, beyond Christmas Day into the new year!

The theme ‘The WAY in a Manger’ was chosen to highlight that from the birth of the Christ Child in a humble manger, a way of HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE was provided for all humankind through the life of Jesus Christ. This theme proved to be far more timely and relevant for Solomon Islands than originally planned.

Stranded Village Congregations Following the 10th Anniversary weekend, 84 Salvationists who attended from the village churches were left stranded in Honiara due to the riots that resulted in nightly curfews and restricted transport between provinces. The impact of their inability to return home was exacerbated by a supply shortage from businesses burned to the ground, market closures and complete disruption to normal business transactions in Honiara. The threat of further unrest, extended curfews and the usual seasonal travel demands meant a pathway home before Christmas was looking very uncertain. To

assist the families stranded and those looking after them, the Solomon Islands District, through the support of other Salvationists from Australia and New Zealand, provided three weeks of food

provisions and a contribution towards fares for those who had run short of funds as a result of this unplanned crisis.

The first attempt to board a ship back to Malaita Province, once the travel curfew was lifted, was cancelled because of dangerous overcrowding. After a lot of stress and juggling scarce resources, Auxiliary-Captain Wency and Envoy Alick camped out at the booking office the next day to negotiate affordable tickets for the next available ship and managed to successfully coordinate the safe repatriation of all remaining Salvation Army members in time for Christmas.

Learning Spaces Development The Solomon Islands District has taken a significant step towards expanding all Salvation Army churches into Learning Spaces with the appointment of Area Learning Spaces Coordinators in Malaita and Western Provinces. Major Vanessa conducted a training session with the newly appointed coordinators after the 10th Anniversary to develop the literacy skills of these ladies (some who have had no formal education) and to equip them to support the development of village based Learning Spaces. Within a week of returning home to the Western Province, Munda New Opening Leaders gathered

Page 2

30 children from their community who have dropped out of the education system and began teaching them basic literacy skills. The Salvation Army now has Learning Spaces operating out of three churches at Burns Creek Outpost (East Honiara), Gateway Corps (North Malaita) and Munda New Opening (Western Province), providing literacy training for women and children. This is a transformational expression of mission that is bridging a gap in education and changing lives. The scope for Learning Spaces is as broad as the training needs identified in each village.

Solomon Islands District

NZ Police Community Engagement The District Officers were invited to meet with the new team of New Zealand Police Advisors working alongside the Royal Solomon Police Force (RSIPF) as a part of the NZ Solomon Islands Police Support Program (SIPSP). This meeting was an opportunity to get to know each other, learn more about the SIPSP and explore ways The Salvation Army might be able to engage with the RSIPF in the crime prevention and community engagement space.

Team Leader Mike Cook, Advisors Tony Le Sueur, Karen Le Sueur and Alex Pickover are eager to broaden the network of community based operations

views this relationship as an important mission opportunity to help transform society through positive community engagement.

partners to strengthen the capacity of the RSIPF to build stronger community relationships.

This is of particular significance during this period of civil unrest where general community confidence is low. The Salvation Army

As a tangible starting point, the New Zealand team were invited to accompany The Salvation Army Brass Band for Christmas carolling around Honiara. The team enthusiastically embraced this invitation and brought along Officer representatives from the RSIPF Crime Prevention department to sing carols and share messages about community safety and well-being at each location. This community engagement opportunity was positively received by all involved.

World Vision Good Life Lesson Plans (Report by Major Vanessa Evans) Earlier in the year I had the privilege of being a part of a working group to develop a new Sunday School curriculum with World Vision and the Ministry of Education to teach our children about gender equality. This working group is a group of very passionate Sunday School teachers that come from many different church denominations.

This month I had the opportunity to meet with the working group, where we were split into 5 different groups to focus on 5 different modules containing 3-4 lessons each. The aim of the groups was to develop more detailed lesson plans,

which included the lesson structure, equipment used, dramas etc. We also had the task of developing the lesson plans for 5-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds. In the new year, after all the lesson plans have been typed up and put into the manual, the working group will come together again and look over the manual to make sure that it is up to standard and it will then be printed and rolled out to all the churches and communities through World Vision.

I am looking forward to seeing this curriculum rolled out through The Salvation Army churches in 2022.

Newman Legacy Funds Honiara Over the past couple of months, the Solomon Islands District has been distributing material aid to vulnerable communities through the Newman Legacy funds provided by the USA Eastern Territory. The Honiara Corps began preparing personal care packs for distribution to the Christian Care Centre back in August but the process got delayed due a number of other competing priorities. After the riots, the opportunity was taken to deliver these care packages and additional food parcels to a vulnerable settlement in East Honiara. This proved to be very timely

Volume 4, Issue 12

assistance at a time when access to basic supplies was limited, as a result of the civil unrest. Both communities expressed their sincere gratitude to the Honiara Corps Officers for the generosity and practical care of The Salvation Army. The Honiara Corps also appreciated being empowered with the ability to engage in this sort of community care through the provision of these funds. The Newman Legacy funds have been distributed throughout the Solomon Islands District this year to 13 village communities, a rural clinic and domestic violence refuge in Malaita Province and Honiara Capital.

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

 Continued prayer for the fragile peace in Honiara to remain  A peaceful solution to underlying causes of the civil unrest  District Leaders Mission Trip to Western Province  Sponsorship for construction of Officer Quarters  Land for Honiara Corps

Personal Reflection…

Hello, my name is Karen Le Sueur and I am a Police Officer from New Zealand. I am fortunate enough to be living and working in the Solomon Islands as an Advisor to the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF), assisting them with implementing the Crime Prevention Strategy. Part of my role is enabling my RSIPF colleagues to build trust from the community in the RSIPF. My first contact with The Salvation Army in Solomon Islands was with the District Officer Major Robert Evans through our shared interest in sport, namely cycling. I had known Rob for almost two months before I discovered he was a talented trumpet player as well. He invited the NZ advisors to join him and his fellow Solomon Island Salvation Army ‘bandies’ to play Christmas Carols at a number of locations around Honiara.

Rob had planned a tour of Honiara from the East to the West over three evenings of the week leading up to Christmas. I was

joined by my RSIPF counterparts PC Regina Rioaraha and PC Alfred Komu, my colleagues Mike Cook and Alex Pickover, and on the last night we were also joined

by Phil Bradley and Jess Jeffery from Australian Federal Police. The evenings were hot and humid, but this did not stop the music and singing. Many people from the community stopped what they were doing to watch and listen to us. At the end of each session PC Regina gave a short address to the crowd advising them to stay safe and look after each other.

Regina was not a comfortable speaker, but I watched her grow and improve every time she spoke during the program, which made me feel very proud.

When I reflect about the week, I am very pleased that the horns from the brass band drowned out my bad singing. I am also immensely proud of every officer from each organisation and their willingness to work together in partnership to bring joy and a positive

message to the communities of Honiara.

Many members of the community told us they were very pleased to see the RSIPF joining in with the activities and reassuring the community.

Thank you to Rob, Wency and the Solomon Islands Salvation Army for inviting us along.

Karen Le Sueur