Solomon Islands Ministries - Territorial Leaders Conference

Last month Vanessa and I had the opportunity to spend some quality time interacting with Territorial and Divisional leaders from The Salvation Army Papua New Guinea Territory.  Our time in Port Moresby commenced in response to an invitation to attend the Territorial Leaders Conference, which gave The Salvation Army Solomon Islands Ministries representation at the TLC for the first time.  While Solomon Islands has been a part of this Territory since it's launch in 2011, the TLC ushered this relatively new expression of The Salvation Army into a new era of growth with an announcement by the Territorial Commander that IHQ had approved a name change for the Territory, which will now be known as The Salvation Army Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands Territory, with the Solomon Islands being granted 'District' status.  So the Solomon Islands Ministries is now officially the Solomon Islands District, which means Vanessa and my position has been changed from 'Officers in Charge' to 'District Officers'.

The TLC was led by Commissioners Willis & Barbara Howell from the USA Southern Territory, with Colonel Julie Alley from PNG setting the tone for the weekend with the keynote address by declaring, "The kingdom of God does not rise and fall on our ability.  We are to lean into the supernatural ability of Jesus Christ."  This powerful introduction was followed by two days of amazing teaching from the guest leaders who spoke around the theme 'Following Christ, In Leadership.'  In the opening session, Commissioner Willis spoke on the importance of 'guarding your heart' from Proverbs 4:23 - "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do."  Later, Commissioner Barbara led an interactive session inviting the leaders present to share the characteristics of leadership we found most inspiring and then spoke about the nature of servant leadership.

On the Sunday morning of the conference Vanessa and I gave a presentation about the growth in the Solomon Islands over the past six months, which was enthusiastically received by everybody present.  During our presentation, Vanessa spoke about our new Solo Army Lavalava project and presented the Commissioners and our Territorial Leaders with a lavalava each as a gift from the Solomon Islands. This gift made a real impression on Commissioner Barbara who ordered 40 to take back to the USA Southern Territory for a Divisional Women’s Weekend. 

During the week following the TLC, we engaged in a number of meetings at THQ with Cabinet Secretaries and department heads to discuss some of the new initiatives ready to launch in the Solomon Islands.  These meetings proved very productive with a strong commitment of support coming from THQ for the ongoing development of The Salvation Army in this emerging district of the Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands Territory. 

Solomon Islands Ministries - Return to Kwai

After teaching the newly written Soldiership Training Course to our congregations in Moscom and Honiara, it was time to return to Kwai to conduct the final test round of this new material.  The timing of this trip was two-fold:  To finish the final edit of the Soldiership Training Course for presentation at the Territorial Leaders Conference in PNG and to prepare the next round of recruits for enrollment at the upcoming Salvation Army Convention in North Malaita.

Since our first visit to Kwai in January, we have been delighted to discover that the mission outreach of the North Malaita Fellowship has extended well beyond the Kwai River into the neighbouring villages to further north onto Manao'oba Island and down south into West Kwara'ae.  This outreach brought eager recruits into Kwai for the Soldiership Training Course from Lolu, Kolefe, Tabarara, Ona and Manao'oba Island!  Praise the Lord for this extraordinary mission growth, which we pray will produce many new congregations in Malaita!!

The beautiful simplicity and deep spirituality of this village provided the perfect atmosphere for our ministry trip with early morning prayer meetings and evening worship services creating a spirit of anticipation among those gathered.  Once again, the words of the chorus "You are my God, You are my Father, You are my King and I worship You" in both English and To'obaita languages united our spirits with the Spirit of God and became an anthem for the weekend, just as it did during our ministry trip to Moscom. Another song that added to the tone of the weekend was 'Mighty Man of War', which was introduced by my ministry partner Joshua Henry from Honiara Corps.  It somehow seemed very fitting to our purpose to train new Soldiers of The Salvation Army - "Mighty man of War, Lion of Judah.  We bow down and worship you.  Yahweh Yahweh, come and do what only you can do." Well, we are certainly seeing what only God can do with the rapid expansion of The Salvation Army throughout Malaita!

Our schedule for these trips is always fluid to fit into the rhythms of village life.  This weekend was no exception, with our course being moved from Saturday to Sunday morning after the worship service to allow time for those traveling from afar to arrive in time.  The resulting four consecutive sessions in one day didn't seem to phase the very enthusiastic recruits who were eager to engage with the new course material.  Their eagerness was matched by the enthusiasm of the existing Soldiers from the North Malaita Fellowship whose curiosity about the new material had a number of them stay behind after worship to join in.  Of the 22 participants who completed the Soldiership Training Course all 13 of the new recruits signed up to be enrolled at the Convention in July by the Territorial Commander.  

Beside the numbers, the feedback from the participants was equally encouraging.  To hear consistent comments that the material is easy to understand, well formatted and culturally appropriate (my paraphrase of their comments) affirmed the reasons behind the rewrite.  More helpful than the encouraging words were the comments and questions that have contributed to minor edits along the journey.  It is our hope that the final draft will provide a resource that will serve The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands well into the future with a new generation of well-equipped Salvationists rising up in every Province! Joshua's presence was also a real blessing as a translator (when necessary) and an evaluater to assess the effectiveness of the course.  It also served as a training opportunity to prepare him as a future facilitator.

We left Kwai with a deep sense of satisfaction that our purpose had been achieved and God was glorified!  Our expectations were exceeded and our excitement for the mass enrollment of 10 recruits from Moscom, 5 recruits from Honiara, and now 13 recruits from Kwai is almost akin to the early church who celebrated that "the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:47).

Solomon Islands Ministries - Return to Moscom

During our previous mission trip to Moscom Fellowship in January, we determined that a follow-up ministry trip was necessary to fulfill our commitment to provide ongoing training and support for this remote congregation.  Moscom is located on the Maro'upaina Bay in East Areare, which is one of the most remote parts of South Malaita. Access is only by boat via a direct 24 hour journey from Honiara through the Maramasike Passage and up the east coast. Alternatively, an indirect trip can be made by truck along the precarious east road from Auki to Atori where a mosquito (banana) boat is then caught for a two hour journey down the east coast of Malaita.  Both routes are long, expensive and not without their risks.  Therefore, any contact by visiting groups is received with great enthusiasm and appreciation.

This time, I was delighted to take a larger team from Honiara Corps, including Vanessa who overcame her fear of small boats to participate in this trip.  Vanessa and Elizabeth conducted the Home League Leadership Training Course with some of the women in Moscom, as well as the Junior Soldier Preparation Course with the children who belong to this Fellowship.  Joshua was our worship leader and I the preacher throughout the week at the evening Fellowship Meetings and Vanessa preached at the Sunday Morning Service, which happened to be Mother's Day.  I also took the opportunity to introduce the new Soldiership Training Course that I have rewritten specifically for the Solomon Islands cultural context.  Alongside these programmed training opportunities was the informal interaction with village life where just as much ministry occurred as each of our team members spoke into the lives of those present.  I had a lot of fun interacting with the children who eagerly took me snorkeling in the bay and loved the little games we played around the village and Vanessa really enjoyed observing and learning some of the day to day duties performed by the women.

The addition of Vanessa and Elizabeth to the team meant that we could connect with the women at a deeper level than was previously possible with just Wency and myself.  The Home League Leadership Training Course created an intimate learning environment where the women opened up about the issues impacting them personally and their participation in village and congregational life.  One story shared that made us angry was that a Pastor from another church in one of the neighbouring villages told our women that it was inappropriate for them to speak in the church and that they did not have a valid voice because they were "pencil breaks" (uneducated)!  Vanessa spoke strongly into this space, reinforcing the gender equality message of The Salvation Army and reaffirming their value in Christ by having them declare daily, "I am strong, I am courageous, I am beautiful and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Joshua’s presence also added great value to the team.  He led worship throughout the trip, offering strong and sensitive spiritual leadership that stimulated an atmosphere of worship that greatly encouraged the local leaders.  Joshua also came alongside a number of the men who were previously absent as they do not normally engage much with the congregation.  His interaction resulted in some of the men attending the weeknight Fellowship Meetings, with three participating in Soldiership Classes and two committing to become Senior Soldiers.  This trip laid the foundation for a future leadership role we have asked Joshua to fulfill as the Area Officer for Malaita to oversee and support the rapidly expanding ministry of The Salvation Army in this province.

The introduction of the newly written Soldiership Course was very successful and had a real impact not only on the recruits but others in the village as the course manuals were passed around.  We were encouraged that 10 recruits have committed to being enrolled as Senior Soldiers at the North Malaita Conference in July, alongside other recruits from Kwai and Honiara.  The Junior Soldier Preparation Classes were very enthusiastically received by the Moscom children with 18 new Junior Soldiers being enrolled during the Sunday Service.  These are the first Junior Soldiers for the Moscom Fellowship and the second group of Junior Soldiers for the Solomon Islands.  A Junior Soldier Sergeant was identified from among the women who participated in the Home League Leaders Course and was given a crash course in teaching the Junior Soldier lessons beyond our visit.

Joshua and I had the opportunity to visit the Hydroelectricity plant for the three villages on Maro’upaina Bay (including Moscom), which revealed how vital and vulnerable this resource is for village life. This involved about an hour hike through the other villages and up a jungle track that led to the base of the mountain where the Hydro dam was built.  Not long after our previous visit to Moscom the Hydro generator broke down and has not been working since.  The impact of this breakdown has had a significant effect upon the economy for this area.  For example, the fishermen who depend upon the income from the sale of their fish to pay school fees, can no longer refrigerate their catch to sell at the markets.  Therefore, there is no income and they cannot afford to pay school fees, which means their kids are out of school.  The flow-on effect is that dad then has to go to Honiara looking for alternative employment with mum back at the village carrying the load of managing the family and farms alone for long periods of time.  This was a very common story across all three villages!  I suspect the way the children attached themselves to me throughout our visit was evidence of them craving a father-figure who will interact and play with them beyond the provider role of a father.

While a number of challenges remain for the Moscom Fellowship, it was clearly evident that our trip was timely and had a real impact on this congregation.  We left with a sense that these Salvationists are better equipped for ministry and we look forward to reconnecting with many of them again soon as they attend the North Malaita Conference and engage with the wider Salvation Army of the Solomon Islands.