Solomon Islands District - Renewal Campaign (East Are'are & South Malaita)

Report written by CSM Festus Ganiomea...

Our mission to Moscom and Fouele was truly a challenge for us over the past weeks of the District Renewal Campaign for the recommitment of Soldiers. The trip cost a lot in both finance and physical strength, but through the grace and strength of our God Himself, we managed to successfully complete the campaign. 

We began our mission on the 24th August 2022, when Michael Rautiku and I boarded the MV Ortega and left Honiara for Moscom through a three-day journey trip. We reached Moscom on the 27th August 2022 at 11:00pm and we had a rest for that night.

On Sunday, 28th August we joined the morning devotion before we began our campaign during the main service, where Michael had the privilege of preaching. His sermon was based on Romans 12 and he challenged the congregation on the journey of their Christian life. Right after the sermon I began the campaign based on the standards of a Salvationist and Soldier in The Salvation Army.

On Monday, 29th August after we had breakfast, Michael and I went over to check on the Solar Freezer Project and reinstalled the faulty device that was first installed and was damaged. We checked to see that everything is functioning well again. After the work, we just rested for the whole day and prepared for travelling on the next day.

Tuesday morning of 30th August, at about 10:00am, Michael and I, accompanied by other men and women from Moscom church, travelled to Fouele. We hired somebody from another community to be our skipper due to the rough sea. It took us four hours to travel from Moscom to Fouele, arriving around 2:00pm in the afternoon. In the evening, Michael and I joined the evening devotion and we called it a night.

On Wednesday, 31st August our next campaign session was held at Fouele congregation. We began our service at 10:00am and I had the opportunity to deliver a sermon and present the campaign standards of Soldiership to the congregation of Fouele. In the evening, we showed a film to the congregation about heaven and hell, which really attracted other surrounding churches to attend the film. After the film, two brothers from the Anglican Church surrendered their lives to accept Christ for the first time, which was a great impact of our mission to this community in South Malaita.

Thursday, 1st September at about 8:00am in the morning, Michael and I travelled back to Moscom with other members of Moscom church who accompanied us. The weather during the day was not really fine, so we had to patiently face the heavy rain and rough sea until we reached Moscom at 2:00pm. Later that evening, we showed the heaven and hell film to the congregation at Moscom until late that night.

On Friday, 2nd September, Michael and I boarded a ship and headed back to Honiara. We left Moscom around 10:00am and arrived in Honiara on Sunday, 4th September at 3:00pm. During the three day journey we experienced heavy rain and rough sea but we managed to arrive safely home. Some of the challenges we faced during the mission included our physical strength, as we were sometimes so tired and weary, yet we managed to complete the mission. During our stay at Moscom and Fouele we had to meet our own meals without depending on the community. Also, fuel shortage led to high price of fuel.

The mission to Moscom and Fouele brought a really great impact to these two places. The feedback received mentioned that after the campaign church leaders and members began to live according to the standards and way of a Salvation Army Soldier. It showed that the campaign brought back the life that we should be like Jesus in our Christian life.

Michael and I saw the mission as miracles, because both of us were sick during the time we were ready to leave but the moment we stepped into the field we were healed. All we have to say is ‘to God be the glory, great things He has done!’