Solomon Islands District Newsletter (Volume 2, Issue 4)

Solomon Islands District

NEWSLETTER April 2019 Volume 2, Issue 4

Enrollment of New Soldiers!

Last month the Solomon Islands District celebrated a successful Soldiership Campaign that resulted in 24 new recruits completing the Soldiership Training Course at Honiara and Gateway. Along with the 7 recruits from Moscom who were awaiting enrollment, a group of 31 recruits are now ready to join The Salvation Army! Such growth reflects the extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit across the Solomon Islands, who is calling a new

generation of Salvationists to expand the presence and impact of The Salvation Army.

The District Easter Campaign provided an ideal opportunity to simultaneously enroll these recruits across the District on Easter Sunday. With the theme “No Greater Sacrifice” focusing on the verse, “Offer yourself as a Living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1), the stage was set for this group of recruits to enter into a covenant relationship with God

Inside this issue:

Easter Campaign—

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No Greater Sacrifice

as Soldiers of The Salvation Army. Major Vanessa travelled to Moscom Fellowship in East Areare and enrolled six of the seven recruits, while presenting

the Fellowship with their own Flag. Joshua Henry travelled to the newest Fellowship at Ramah in West Kwara’ae and enrolled an impressive 16

Soldiers (one recruit was at another village) as the very first group for this church! Major Robert remained at Honiara Corps and enrolled six new Soldiers, as the seventh recruit was absent. A total of 28 of the 31 recruits were enrolled as Soldiers on Easter Sunday from three congregations. Wency Ramo’oroa traveled to Gateway Corps in North Malaita and took two new recruits through the Soldiership Training Course.

They will be enrolled at the “One Army Congress” in June.

The Solomon Islands District now has 123 Soldiers, which represents exciting growth over the past 18 months for The Salvation Army!

Easter Campaign— Honiara Corps

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Easter Campaign— Gateway Corps

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Easter Campaign— Moscom Fellowship

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Easter Campaign— Ramah Fellowship

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Post-Election Riots in Honiara

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A Personal Note

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Special points of interest:  28 New Soldiers  Easter Campaign  Mobilised Leaders  Growing Congregations  Civil Unrest

Easter Campaign - No Greater Sacrifice! nothing less than what God gave us through Jesus Christ. The movement of God’s Spirit in this space was nothing short of amazing as many Salvationists from Honiara, Gateway, Moscom and Ramah who, “in view of God’s mercy,” knelt at the altar to ‘offer themselves as living sacrifices.’

This year the Solomon Islands District team decided to celebrate Easter across all four congregations through a District Easter Campaign under the theme of No Greater Sacrifice. Such a campaign not only united the congregations through shared ministry but it provided a training ground for emerging leaders to engage in public ministry throughout the District.

On Good Friday, the theme “No Greater Sacrifice” explored ‘Christ’s Sacrifice Once for all’ from Hebrews 10:10—”We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.“ Easter Sunday presented the challenge to ‘Offer Yourself as a Living Sacrifice’ from

Romans 12:1—”In view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

Both services in all locations invited a response to such a sacrifice that asks for

The leadership by those who travelled to Malaita to lead these services further demonstrates how God is at work transforming lives in the Solomon Islands. It is exciting to see the mission priority to ‘raise up indigenous leaders’ manifested as local leaders effectively engage in mission and ministry.

Easter Campaign - Honiara Corps Major Robert Evans led the Easter services at Honiara Corps with Daniel Hagi as the worship leader. The Good Friday service was held at the District Quarters in Ngossi, West Honiara where 47 people gathered to remember Christ’s sacrifice. Daniel led a powerful time of worship, including the song “At the Cross” that connected the congregation with the theme ‘No Greater Sacrifice’ through the lyrics —”There's no greater love than this.” Following the message

by Major Robert the congregation were invited to take a 6” nail tied with a red ribbon from the altar to symbolize their

acceptance of the sacrifice made for them. On Easter Sunday, Major Robert joined with other churches in Honiara for a Dawn Service on Skyline Ridge at the American War Memorial.

This was followed by an Easter celebration service with 77 Salvationists at Rock Haven Inn, where Honiara Corps normally meet for worship. The service was centred around a large cross formed with benches in the middle of the room where worshippers were invited to kneel, offering themselves as a ‘living sacrifice’ in response to what Jesus had done for them. It was an amazing time of worship!

Easter Campaign - Gateway Corps Wency & Fostina Ramo’oroa, together with their son Malcolm, travelled to Gateway Corps in North Malaita to lead the Easter Services. Their trip involved a 4 hour boat trip from Honiara to Auki, then a 6 hour drive on a public truck up the North Rd to Kwai Village. Gateway Corps gathered daily for Fellowship Services throughout the Passion week, preparing their hearts and minds in prayer and worship. The stage area constructed for the conference last year was used for the Easter Services because their Corps building was demolished in

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January after cyclone damage. 30 people gathered on Good Friday and 45 on Easter Sunday for powerful times of worship around the District Easter theme—”No Greater Sacrifice.” On Good Friday people took a stone from the altar representing Christ’s sacrifice and on Easter Sunday they placed a flower on the altar as a sign of their living sacrifice. On Sunday evening members of the Gateway Corps travelled to a neighbouring village to pray with and minister to a hurting family, living out the resurrection faith they had celebrated in the morning.

Solomon Islands District

Easter Campaign - Moscom Fellowship Major Vanessa Evans, together with Tony and Jennifer Kinikoroa, boarded the Mala Mwai Mwei ship for a 28 hour journey to Maru’upaina Bay in East Areare to conduct the Easter services at Moscom Fellowship. Upon arrival, they were enthusiastically greeted by Miriam Panai, the Fellowship leader who hasn’t had any face-to-face contact with the District since the conference in July last year, due to their remoteness. Major Vanessa took the opportunity to connect with the women in the village to provide pastoral and spiritual support during their visit.

Tony led several times of worship over the weekend and Jennifer led a reflective

testimony time on Easter Sunday. Good Friday was attended by 48 members and Easter Sunday 51, which included a number of the men in the village who don’t normally attend church. The cross was constructed by Tony from a Sago Palm branch and beautifully decorated with flowers by the women of the church.

The stone altar built at the base of the cross had stones with a cross drawn on each to symbolize the sacrifice Christ had made.

The congregation thoroughly enjoyed the interactive nature of the services and the ministry provided by the District team. They now look forward to attending the Congress in June at Ramah.

Easter Campaign - Ramah Fellowship Joshua Henry intended to travel with his wife Edith to Ramah Fellowship, but she was unable to go for health reasons.

Therefore, Joshua embarked on the journey to West Kwara’ae alone to conduct the Easter services at the newest Fellowship of The Salvation Army Solomon Islands. The village leaders are currently constructing a new church building for the “One Army Congress” in June, so the Easter services were held in a temporary shelter built just for the occasion. On Good Friday 18 attended the service and 24 attended the Easter Sunday service. Village leader Martin

Lagwai was very pleased to receive Joshua as their leader for the weekend, as they have had a ministry relationship for many years. Martin’s son Chris led worship and Joshua preached powerfully on the theme “No Greater Sacrifice.” He also took the opportunity to publicly present a Dedication Certificate to the family whose baby he dedicated a few weeks earlier.

This community continues to celebrate their decision to join The Salvation Army and loved the idea of a District Easter Campaign that connected them to a common theme with other Salvation Army congregations.

Post-Election Riots in Honiara Following a peaceful National General Election on the 3rd April, the election of the Prime Minister on the 24th April sparked an outbreak of violence across Honiara, with rioting and looting in a few commercial locations. The RSIPF quickly mobilized the PRT (Police Response Team) to bring the violence under control but over the next few days things escalated to a concerning level, resulting in parts of Honiara being in lock-down with road blocks throughout the city. On Thursday night, when Major Robert picked up the Moscom team from the

Volume 2, Issue 4

Port, tight security was in place, which was not allowing anybody to disembark the ship who lived on the East side of Honiara. The following day there was an eerie calm across the city with the

Central Market, local shops and schools closed for safety reasons. The heavy police presence throughout Honiara provided a sense of security but was a confronting reminder of the vulnerability of the city. However, by Saturday the vibrant buzz had returned to the streets of Honiara with businesses reopening and people re-engaging in normal activities.

The Commissioner of Police and RSIPF are to be commended for how effectively they brought a volatile situation under control and for restoring order and public confidence in Honiara.

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Support Needs:  The cost of printing is very expensive in the Solomon Islands: You can support by printing and posting copies of our Soldiership Training Manuals from the original PDF file.  Additional equipment is required for our SAES Trailer: You can support by donating funds to enable us to purchase this equipment from local suppliers.

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

 New signage needed or our DME Plant & Vilij Kaleko Project: You can support by donating funds for us to have signage and banners printed locally in Honiara.

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.

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

Prayer Points:  Continued peace and unity in Solomon Islands  Preparation for “One Army Congress” in June  Final stages of DME set-up and training of staff  Ministry to RSIPF personnel following police operation for NGE

A Personal Note...

This Easter weekend was a time of self discovery and a time of reflection of who I am as a leader and as a child of God. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for each one of us when he died on the cross. As I travelled to East Areare with Jennifer and Tony, I reflected on the fact that this was the first Easter that Robert and I had spent apart in 26 years, also I reflected on how I had grown in those years to become the leader I am. God is forever challenging me to step out of my comfort zone and to not rely so heavily on Robert taking the lead.

I was reminded that God continues to equip me even when I doubt myself and to put people around me who are willing to serve Him and spread the good news of the Gospel.

As I sat and took in the amazing view of East Areare, Psalm 121 came to mind, “I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my

help come from? My help comes from the Lord the Maker of heaven and earth.”

How majestic were the mountains and yet in a moment they could change and bring rain and thunderstorms. A bit like life where things can be going wonderfully and then change in an instant, yet God is there ready to help and to guide me. His love is never failing, He reminds me that I don't have to do anything on my own, that I have been called to empower and equip people to reach their full potential in Christ, and to believe in themselves. This was one of the highlights of my trip, seeing local people step up and take on leadership roles within their community and within The Salvation Army.

God is changing the lives of people in the Solomon Islands and I am privileged to be able to minister in such a diverse land, to grow as a leader and become the woman of God that he has called me to be. God

speaks to me everyday through His Word and His creation and I am grateful. I am His daughter, a warrior and a Messenger of the Truth.

Major Vanessa Evans