Solomon Islands Ministries - Salvation Army Convention

While visiting the North Malaita Fellowship soon after our arrival to Solomon Islands in January, I met with their leadership team and asked the Fellowship Leader Charles Akwastaloa what his vision and goals were for this year.  He expressed to me a very strong desire to bring the churches together from the surrounding villages to present the mission of The Salvation Army in North Malaita.  After follow-up conversations, his vision developed into an opportunity to also bring together the three Salvation Army congregations from around the Solomon Islands for worship, fellowship and witness in North Malaita.  Six months later, Charles and his family turned this vision into reality by hosting the very first Salvation Army Convention in the Solomon Islands.

Over the weekend of the 19th - 22nd July Salvationists from Honiara Corps and Moscom Fellowship joined with the Kwai Fellowship in North Malaita and with other Christians from surrounding villages, including Lolu and Capernaum where new Salvation Army missions are soon to commence.  The Territorial Commander, Colonel Kelvin Alley from PNG, was our invited guest for the weekend.  He flew from Port Moresby to Honiara where he met us for a connecting flight to Auki in Malaita, followed by a four hour drive on the back of a truck up the North Road to Kwai.  Along the journey we stopped at Forcem Market, about an hour out of Auki, to pick up the group from Moscom who had traveled by mosquito/banana boat from Maro'upaina Bay to Atori the day before, and then embarked on a three hour drive along the East Road that morning.  For all of the Moscom group this was their first time ever on a truck and their first time travelling to this side of Malaita.  The time and effort expended just to get to the convention was indicative of its significance in the lives of those who attended and in this season of growth for The Salvation Army in the Solomon Islands.

Upon arrival we were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, along with some local cultural dancers who ushered us into the conference area prepared by Charles and his family for a very warm welcome. Beautiful floral leis were presented to the Territorial Commander, Vanessa and I, as well as the Moscom contingent.  We were then blessed by a heart-felt welcome song by the Kwai congregation before words of welcome were given by Charles.  The rest of the evening was a vibrant celebration of worship with all three congregations participating through various musical items.  Colonel Kelvin Alley gave the opening address, setting the tone for the rest of the weekend by outlining his theme - "Foundations for a Rock Solid Faith."  It was a truly inspiring evening with nobody wanting it to end, despite their tiredness from a long day of travel.

In addition to some amazing teaching and fellowship over the weekend, the convention reached a climax on the Sunday morning with the Territorial Commander officiating three very significant ceremonies during the worship service.  These ceremonies commenced with the enrollment of two Junior Soldiers from the Kwai congregation.  The enrollment of Webster and Rebecca has brought the number of Junior Soldiers for this relatively new Salvation Army congregation to 12 young people, who are being discipled by Junior Soldier Sergeant Phillip Omelengi.  Immediately following was the enrollment of 17 new Senior Soldiers from the Kwai and Moscom congregations.  Three of these new soldiers traveled from Moscom for this special occasion and the other 14 new soldiers represented a number of surrounding villages in North Malaita.  Unfortunately, the 4 recruits from Honiara, 4 from Manao'oba Island and another 7 from Moscom were unable to make the trip over for the convention.  They will be enrolled in the coming weeks at their respective home churches.  After the enrollments, Colonel Kelvin Alley called to the platform Kwai leaders Charles and Judith Akwastaloa for a history making announcement for the Solomon Islands.  The Kwai congregation has been operating under the banner of the North Malaita Fellowship since it commenced in July 2017.  Over the past twelve months this congregation has become a spiritually vibrant and evangelically active Salvation Army church growing in membership and mission.  In recognition of this growth and development, an application was sent to THQ for the North Malaita Fellowship to be given Corps status, officially recognising it as a fully functioning church in The Salvation Army.  The Territorial Commander took great delight in presenting a Certificate of Recognition of Corps Status, making this the second Corps in the Solomon Islands.  From that moment the 'North Malaita Fellowship' became known as the 'Gateway Corps, Suafa Bay.'  This was indeed a momentous occasion that reflects something of the mighty movement of the Spirit in Malaita.


One of the highlights of this convention for me was seeing the pure expression of joy on the faces of everybody in attendance, especially from the Moscom congregation.  The Moscom Fellowship live and worship in one of the most remote parts of Malaita and rarely have the opportunity to interact with anybody outside of the four villages on Maru'upaina Bay in East Areare.  To come together with other Salvationists in such a way opened up the internationalism of The Salvation Army to this congregation, even in this small corner of the world called Malaita.  All of a sudden they were not alone!  Now they feel as though they are a part of something so much bigger than just their small Fellowship.  They built friendships and made spiritual bonds that will last a lifetime.  We witnessed the Moscom Fellowship leader Miriam come alive and emerge out of the timid cocoon of uncertainty seen in our previous trips to Moscom.  She danced and laughed and cried during worship and boldly declared her passion for the Lord in such a way that Vanessa and I turned to each other at the same time and asked, "Who is this woman?!"  Then there was the row of four young girls from Moscom whom I captured through the lens of my camera during the Friday night worship service.  This was truly a divine moment I will never forget!  Rarely have I seen this depth of worship and unrestrained passion pour out from the hearts and mouths of such young lives.  Words seem so inadequate to describe the full impact of this event, but I am certain it will be spoken of for years to come.


We are immeasurably grateful to Charles, his family and the congregation in Kwai for all their hard work to host this event and for their gracious hospitality; to the Territorial Commander for making the trip to North Malaita and for providing the right word for the right occasion; to Paul Harohau who funded the transportation of the Moscom contingent; to the neighbouring churches who joined us in fellowship and provided musical support; and to those who travelled all the way to North Malaita. Most of all we give glory and honour to God for the mighty movement of His Spirit throughout this weekend!

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.

Solomon Islands Ministries - South Malaita Visit

Our trip to the Moscom Fellowship in South Malaita started and finished with travel dramas!  We were scheduled to leave Honiara at 8:00 pm on the Sunday night following our return from North Malaita but the boat departed at 6:00 pm instead, despite confirming the time with the port that morning.  A second attempt to depart the following day on another boat was also frustrated when transportation at the other end could not be arranged.  Therefore, the trip was rescheduled until the end of the week with a change of route through Auki and Atori.  Instead of a direct 24 hour boat trip from Honiara to Moscom, the change of plans would mean the ferry from Honiara to Auki (as with our northern trip), a four hour truck drive to Atori and then two hours on a small 'mosquito boat' south to Moscom.  This change of plans meant that Vanessa opted not to go on this journey due to her fear of very small boats and open water.  This proved to be a wise decision as we encountered up to 2 metre swells in some sections of pretty rough waters over this leg of the trip.

The name ‘Moscom’ was originally coined as a radio call sign by the local village leader when he worked for Australian Aid.  It is a hybrid of the actual village name ‘Mosipe’ and the word ‘community’, which stuck and has now become known throughout Malaita.  This village leader responded to the need for a church in Moscom by contacting his close friend in Honiara who was instrumental in bringing The Salvation Army to Solomon Islands.  The community wanted a church that cared for more than just their  spiritual needs, so they were very responsive to the message they heard about The Salvation Army through the visit of Captain Soddy Maraga from PNG.  Over the past few years, the Moscom Fellowship has been led by a local Salvationist named Miriam, with the strong support of the nearby SDA Pastor Seke.  Like Kwai in North Malaita, The Salvation Army has grown around a few families in their village, but unlike Kwai, this congregation has a notable absence of men, who watch on from a distance when not attending their watermelon farms.  Miriam is a hard worker who does her very best to juggle her duties in the village as a mother and grandmother with the responsibilities of being the congregation leader.

We were greeted at the beach, further along the shore than planned due to rough waters, by a large group of very enthusiastic village kids, .  This meant a 20 minute walk through the neighbouring SDA village and up a rather steep hill back to Moscom, with the kids super keen to carry our luggage.  We arrived at the village on dusk and were once again blessed by a lovely welcome song by a group of children and a time of worship and fellowship.  

The Saturday program was much the same as Kwai in North Malaita with a session of teaching about Salvation Army symbolism and a session discussing the Sacraments.  Unfortunately Ness wasn't there to teach the kids so they all (25 of them) decided to sit in on the adults session.  I'm not really sure how much they took in but they at least pretended they were interested.  The Sunday Service had quite a different feel to up north but was nevertheless a wonderful time of worship.  The girls performed a vocal item that featured some beautiful harmonies that lived up to the reputation of amazing singing in the Solomon Islands.  On Monday, Wency led four sessions of Soldiership Classes and I got to sit back and watch this wonderful man of God in action.  The questions that followed each of these sessions demonstrated a genuine desire to integrate what they were learning into the realities of living out their faith in a remote village.  These classes resulted in two Adherents being accepted that evening during a Fellowship Meeting.

Village life in Moscom maintained the beautiful simplicity and generous hospitality that we enjoyed in Kwai.  It was such a pleasure to interact in the life of the village through conversations over meal times and even joining in a spontaneous game of mud soccer with the boys!  It was somewhat of a spectacle having the visiting 'white Pastor' playing in the mud and word spread through the village like wildfire.  The boys thought it was hilarious every time I slipped over in the mud while trying to kick the ball.  Another aspect of village life we witnessed was the migration of watermelons from the hillside farms down to the beach in readiness for the boat to Honiara.  The farmers hauled countless bags of melons, weighing approximately 50 kg each, on their shoulders down the steep hills.  I couldn't sit idle watching all this physical activity so I followed one of the farmers back up the hill to lend a hand, which was very much appreciated.
  

Unfortunately, village life is not an Utopian existence.  While engaged in one of our evening conversations, thieves from a neighbouring village broke into our room and stole all the money we brought with us to support this Fellowship from my bag!  This was a significant amount of money that would have been a real blessing to Miriam and this congregation.  The village leaders were devastated that this happened to their guests while in their care and it was a harsh confrontation with a growing problem in this remote area where people have to work very hard to survive.  Nevertheless, this disappointing experience did provide a platform for prayer and teaching from Ephesians 6:10-20 about the spiritual battle in which we are engaged.

I said at the beginning of this post that our trip started and finished with travel dramas.  Well, our trip home was a 38 hour saga!!  We were scheduled to leave on Tuesday but our boat didn't show up.  It was then supposed to arrive at 10:00 am on Wednesday but ended up arriving at around 3:00 pm.  It took three hours to load up the melons from all the farmers waiting along the shoreline that spread across four villages.  When the boat eventually set sail out of the bay it was starting to get dark so it docked at a nearby port for the night because the Captain wasn't confident sailing in the dark due to the lack of navigation equipment on board!  We slept on the boat to stay close to our belongings and woke up very early in the morning to a large crowd waiting to board the boat with their cargo, including a rather large pig.  The journey through the channel dividing Big and Small Malaita was rather calm but got very wet along the way.  It also got very crowded as we were met by smaller boats along the way to transfer even more people and cargo on board.  By the time we reached the last port at the end of the channel our boat was overcrowded with barely any room to even stand with people jostling for positions to get out of the rain.  This was the scene for a cramped, cold, wet and miserable final 10 hours across Indispensable Strait between Malaita and Guadalcanal during the night (fortunately we picked up another Captain before departing the port who was confident sailing in the dark!).  At around 3:00 am we noticed some sparks on the floor in front of my feet.  An electrical wire was exposed between our deck and the engine room below, which was shorting out sending sparks through a rust hole onto the 

metal deck that was awash with sea water!!  Together with rough seas and constant storms, it was a very long night and the sight of land couldn't come quick enough.  We arrived in Honiara port at around 6:00 am but had to wait another hour before we docked as the crew pushed through the crowded boat to collect fares.  Praise God that Wency had the money for our fares in his belongings, which didn't get touched by the thieves a few days earlier!

Despite the dramas and discomfort of the journey, the experience was irreplaceable!  We got to share in the reality of many Solomon Islanders who have no other way to travel between the Provinces.  We got to see island life up close and personal.  Underneath the tropical beauty that surrounds us everyday is a challenging existence that exposes the vulnerability of these incredibly resilient people.  This experience provides us with a deeper understanding of the context in which our brothers and sisters in Christ are serving under the flag of The Salvation Army.  May God give us wisdom to use this experience to inform and guide us as we lead The Salvation Army in this context.