Solomon Islands District Newsletter (Volume 4, Issue 5)

Solomon Islands District

NEWSLETTER May 2021 Volume 4, Issue 5

Interdenominational Youth Event On Pentecost Sunday hundreds of youth from churches all over Honiara assembled at Honiara City Council to march up to the National Parliament for a public rally of united prayer and worship. Under the banner of “Righteousness Exalts a Nation” (Proverbs 14:34), the young people marched as a united witness and declaration of the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the Solomon Islands.

Around 36 youth from The Salvation Army Honiara Corps enthusiastically participated in the march, proudly wearing their blue Salvation Army Shield t-shirts that really stood out in the crowd. Prior to the march, The Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES) team cooked and served lunch for the large crowd of young people who had gathered.

The event organisers were very impressed by the SAES set-up and expressed their appreciation for their support of the event.

The public worship service on the grounds of the National Parliament was a vibrant expression of faith that could not be dampened by the heavy rain that fell upon the event.

The exuberant joy of the youth, their passionate prayers and powerful testimonies were an inspiration to the church pastors and community leaders supporting the rally.

The Salvation Army youth meet every Friday night for Youth Group at Honiara Integrated Primary School, where they engage in fellowship, worship and service. They regularly lead worship at Sunday services and actively participate in Tuesday evening prayer meetings. The numeric and spiritual growth of the youth over the past year is clear evidence of God at work among this generation of young people. It is also a positive sign that the future mission of The Salvation Army Solomon Islands is in capable hands.

Inside this issue:

Mission Projects Support Funds

2

Red Shield Appeal Resources

2

Jolly Phonics Resources

2

Unexploded Ordinances

3

Youth Street Outreach

3

Connect to Work

3

Personal Reflection

4

Special points of interest:  Funding Support  New Resources  Learning Spaces  Tragic loss  Youth Evangelism  Employment Service

Mission Projects Support Funds While in quarantine in Brisbane, Major Robert prepared a detailed Development Strategy Progress Report for IHQ to outline the current mission activities and future resource needs of The Salvation Army Solomon Islands.

This report provided evidence of how the three strategic mission priorities are being achieved and presented a ‘wish list’ for potential funding support. The Solomon Islands District is actively working towards developing future leaders, financial sustainability and further ministry opportunities. To achieve these objectives, income generating initiatives

are being structured into every new church opening to resource the growing mission presence of The Salvation Army.

Therefore, the ’wish list’ included seed funding for proposed church-based social enterprises. The District Team was delighted to received news this month that the report was well received by IHQ with a significant commitment of Mission Projects Support Funds to assist in the establishment of these proposed projects. This level of support is an example of the many blessings that come from the internationalism of The Salvation Army.

Red Shield Appeal Resources At this time of year in Australia, The Salvation Army is engaged in its annual Red Shield Appeal to raise necessary funds to resource a diverse range of community programs. The Red Shield Appeal is well supported by branded signage, collecting containers and aprons that clearly identifies collectors. Now that the Solomon Islands District has established strong networks throughout Honiara, the District leadership team are exploring ways in which a suitable form of the Red Shield Appeal can be introduced into this cultural and social context.

Fundraising is a common

practice by other churches and community organisations in Honiara, so there are opportunities in this space for The Salvation Army. To assist in this endeavor, support was sought from the

Public Relations Department while in Melbourne for access to some collecting containers. The response was very generous with other supplies being made available to the Solomon Islands District to set-up their own expression of the Red Shield Appeal. Majors Robert and Vanessa are very grateful to Major Bruce Harmer, Territorial Public Relations Secretary, and Major Warren Elliott, Public Relations Secretary - Vic, from the Australia Territory for their donation of these Red Shield Appeal supplies to assist with fundraising in the Solomon Islands.

Jolly Phonics Resources Two years ago Major Vanessa started Literacy and English Classes in Honiara with the aid of some donated Jolly Phonics teaching books. These classes commenced with six women who are now using what they have learned to teach up to 70 other women and children with limited education at the Burns Creek Outpost in East Honiara.

Thanks to funding made available by the Territorial Program Department in PNG, Major Vanessa was able to purchase a complete Jolly Phonics Classroom Kit and associated resources for use in the expanding Learning Space at Burns Creek

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and a new Learning Space at Gateway Corps in North Malaita.

This new teaching material will be an enormous encouragement by equipping those who are involved in these Learning Spaces.

Woman in the Solomon Islands on average have a grade three education and the number of children not in school due to the affordability of school fees or lack of available classroom spaces makes this program an extremely important ministry and community service. The difference in confidence and knowledge displayed by the participants so far is very inspiring.

Solomon Islands District

Unexploded Ordinances Guadalcanal was the staging area for a major military campaign between Japan and USA, and allied forces during WW2.

The Battle of Guadalcanal was fought from August 1942 to February 1943, leaving behind a staggering amount of unexploded ordinances (UXO) that are still being recovered 78 years later!

Throughout this month there has been two instances where UXO’s have been found in suburban areas of Honiara. The first occasion involved a group of young people who had prepared a fire in their yard in west Honiara to cook food for a fundraising event. The fire set off some

UXO’s buried just below the surface killing one person and leaving two others in critical condition (one of whom died later from their injuries). This tragedy impacted Honiara Corps as the first deceased was the nephew of a prominent member of the congregation.

A week later, 101 UXO’s were discovered in a backyard at Gilbert Camp community in east Honiara.

This stockpile of munitions were found by a man digging a hole for a new septic tank. Following the discovery, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) was

called in to remove the US 105mm high explosive projectiles from the site.

The Salvation Army extends its deepest condolences to Sir Billy Hilly and his family for the very sad loss of Raziv Hilly as a result of this tragic incident.

Youth Street Outreach (Report by YPSM Webster Buakalo) This is the first time for the young people to stand in the public and confidently share God’s greatness among the people.

The crowd was about three hundred people. There were 28 young people, plus Festus, Freda, Betty and Webster involved in this street witness. There was also one soul who came to the church on Sunday.

On Saturday, 29th May The Salvation Army Youth from Honiara Corps participated in a street witness outside the ITA Hardware Store in Point Cruz, Honiara.

“The crowd began to come together and the Spirit of the Lord started to work among the young people to share God’s Word boldly and we could see the hands of God move mightily through our young people and there were five males and one female respond to the call for prayer.

And also other Christian brothers and sisters were privileged to share and hear the Word of God.

Thank God for the church leadership for allowing the use of the instruments and for encouraging the young people in this space. And also for Festus and the youth leaders Fred, Solomon, Gideon and Abraham for their support.”

Connect to Work through conversations with some high school graduates, university students and long-term unemployed people from Honiara Corps who were largely unaware of advertised positions that could have suited their interests, experiences and qualifications.

Having wide networks in Honiara exposes the District Leaders to frequent employment opportunities that are advertised on Facebook. Unfortunately, these jobs are often missed by local job seekers who are not connected to the same networks or don’t know how to navigate them. This became evident

Volume 4, Issue 5

To assist in connecting local people to local employment opportunities, The Salvation Army Solomon Islands has set-up a public Facebook Group called “Pasim lo Waka” (Connect to Work).

This group is as a community service to provide a single location to post and access jobs advertised on Facebook. The

groups acts as an online noticeboard to make it easier for people looking for work to find employment opportunities.

It also provides a space to post helpful tips and guidance on how to write a resume and prepare for a job interview.

While the initial target audience has been job seekers from The Salvation Army in Honiara, it is hoped that the group will be shared across a wider audience to benefit anybody in Honiara looking for work.

The Salvation Army has provided a variety of employment services for over 120 years in other parts of the world.

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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

 Sponsorship for construction of Officer Quarters  Land for Honiara Corps  Progression of Nominees/Candidates towards training for full-time ministry in The Salvation Army  Leadership development for village churches  Preparations for 10th Anniversary & General’s visit

Personal Reflection...

Psalm 23:1-4 has really spoken to me over the last 3 months while we have been in Australia on our end-of-term furlough. Spending time with family was just what I needed after 3 years of living and working within the Solomon Islands.

Unlike the rest of the world, 2020 was an extremely busy and productive year for The Salvation Army. We enrolled 82 new soldiers, opened 4 new fellowships and 1 outpost as well as commencing different ministries within our fellowships/corps.

With all of this happening sometimes it was hard to stop and be still in the presence of God. Going to Australia at the end of February and being able to celebrate the 21st birthdays of Rebekah & Adam was just what Rob and I needed. It was a time of reconnecting with our children who have navigated the last 3 years in a way that have made us so proud of them and they

have had amazing support from family and friends who we are ever grateful for.

It was also a time of having good coffee at every chance we could get (there are lots of photos on our social media).

All in all, even though our time in Australia was longer than we anticipated; God used that time. I was blessed to be able to spend Mother’s Day with Bek and Adam as well as with my mum and my mother in law. This is something that we have not done for 3 years. God knew that this mum needed that special time. I remember after spending time with family and being out for a surprise dinner with Rob, Bek and Adam; I turned to Rob and said that I had had a great day and that not only was my tummy full but my heart and soul was full also. God had certainly used this time to refresh and restore my soul and renew my strength in Him. I look forward to what the next two

and a half years has for us as we continue to serve God in the Solomon Islands.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:1-4)

Major Vanessa Evans