25 January 2012

Greetings to you all and for those I have not seen this year, Happy New Year. May it be a year of great joy and peace.

I am at the airport ready to fly back to the Solomons. It has been a hectic time since I returned from W.A.

I completed preparation for the first two courses I will teach this year.

I enjoyed a wonderful family Christmas

I painted my new fence and completed my new garden.

I prepared for the visit of fifteen Solomon Islanders who came over for our South Pacific Convention.

Before SPC they stayed in two houses on the southside, thanks to dimity and Pete and to Pete's parents. I hired a mini bus and we were able to explore southbank and the CBD on foot and by City Kat. We were blessed that Hills opened their op.shop and gave our visitors freedom to take whatever they wanted. I have rarely seen so much excitement and joy as each was able to find clothing, luggage, shoes and all sort of treasures.  The  next day we travelled to the Gold Coast, thanks to Leisel helping with transport. Everyone was overwhelmed with the size and number of the buildings both in Brisbane and the Gold Coast and couldn't understand how they could be two separate cities as they seemed to be joined. We had a great time at Currumbin Creek but few were keen to swim in the "cold" water. We had some time at the Sothport Spit and finished at Point Danger .

Saturday was meant to be a rest day/free day, but for me it was the most stressful of all. I dropped off some of the women at Garden City and some of the men at Carindale. Eqach group managed to lose some members. The men walked home (with their map) leaving two behind at Carindale. Thankfully I was able to find them sitting by the side of the road with their shoes off. On Saturday night we enjoyed a special time at South Gate church with representatives from the south zone churches sharing a special meal an dimpromptu items of entertainment.

The S.I. group sang in church on Sunday and then we were off to SPC.

It was so wonderful for many people who have been so faithul in prayer and support  to meet our brothers and sisters from the Solomons. They felt the cold buyt were supplied with warm clothes and blankets. After SPC they dispersed to various homes at Caboolture, Nambour and Gympie and participated in their church services on Sunday. Everyone returned home to the Solomons on Monday and I look forward to seeing them again soon.

After SPC I returned to Toowoomba to prepare for my own travels. I also had a special time on Saturday as Dimity had her baby shower. The last few days have been a blurr as I have gradually ticked things off my "to do" list.

PRAYER POINTS

* Travels  I am currently on the waitlist to fly to Gizo  Pray tha tI can fly there tomorrow

* Gizo courses begin Monday 30 January for two weeks  Pray for students arranging to travel to attendL for fine seas and good health and for the host church to be able to feed everyone

* Munda courses follow in two weeks time. Please pray for good attendance and as above.

* Honiara course follow two weeks after that. I wll be teaching both day and night. Pelase pray for strength

* Please pray for Dimity and baby "G" Dimity hopes to teach as long as she possible can. Due date 29 March

 

thank you  Kay

 

17 May 2011

Greetings from the Solomon Islands   

Having found a high speed internet connection in Munda, I had little opportunity to use it. First the power was off for three days running. There are only two computers and they are available from 9 to 12 and from 1 to 4. So to use a computer I had to finish class before 4 and then run and hope there was a computer available.

The Church Administration and management class in Munda went very well. We had 21 students and great role plays and discussions. We had LBA meetings up to National Conference: presenting reports, moving motions and elections. We had lively discussions about traditions and worship and how our living organism can be well organised. We concluded with a worship service on the Friday after everyone chose a number on Wednesday afternoon. to determine their role . We had everyone from bell ringer to tellers. We had a wonderful greeting welcome everyone at the door. Our theme was from Acts 3:!-10 and the “choirmaster” chose a great song and had us all up doing actions. The drama group also re-enacted the story. The person who was chosen as worship leader only became a Christian during the Holy Spirit course and had never spoken or participated in a church service before. He did a great job and was greatly encouraged by the more mature men. Two were chosen to give testimonies and one of these was incredibly moving. One of our Licensed ministers had been through a great trial in his family but he testified to the “resurrection life” he now has. The elders came out and prayed for him. The person who chose the sermon would have been the last person I would have chosen….but WOW! What a great Spirit led message. Well researched, prepared and powerfully presented all with less than 48 hours notice.

Please pray especially for our Licensed Ministers and students. We have had three of our young pastors with such great potential undergo the trial of having their wives be unfaithful. This has caused great pain. Twice it happened when the husband was away becoming a Licensed Minister. The third time I was only just made aware of in the last two weeks. Our keenest and most gifted student had not arrived for the courses and he is usually here at least the day before and always brings with him at least one young disciple. ( he lives on a nearby island). He arrived about an hour after the Holy Spirit course started. I greeted him at the morning tea break and asked him how he was, He cam and sat down and told me that he should not be here. This was Easter Monday. He had a dream on the morning of Easter Sunday that his wife was keeping a secret. He told her about the dream and asked her and she denied anything but late in the afternoon came and confessed that she had been unfaithful some years previously. He told her that he was a changed man and that he was not going to hit her or get angry but that they must spend two weeks doing nothing but praying together. The pain on his face was so evident. I prayed with him and sent him to go back home and pray with his wife.  Please pray for them and for this great spiritual battle our leaders are facing. 

After the course finished I was invited over to a small private island to celebrate two family birthdays and to stay the night. It was a little piece of Paradise and I was especially blessed with being asked to lead the family worship times evening and morning. After returning to Munda I quickly packed and the truck arrived to take me to Noro. 

Noro is a very different town. It reminds me of a mining town or a “company” town. There are more bitumen roads and many more well built houses but they are scattered and the population is not dense. Most of the housing has been provided by the Tuna factory which is the centre of enterprise here or by the Council. Noro is the second biggest port in the Solomons. I stayed in a hotel overlooking the shipping channel going to the west. It was good to sit and watch the canoes paddling in to market in the morning and then returning in the evening. There were also tugs and cargo ships and passenger ships passing through.  

The Noro church is only four weeks old and I was privileged to spend eight days there. Usually I am busy teaching and then I am tired in the evenings. Here I had much more time to fellowship and get to know the people.  We had an early service Sunday morning with 20 adults and as many children in a house. In the evening I went to the Women’s hostel for a service. Here is where about one hundred women live who work at the Tuna factory. Many had been away for Mother’s Day but there were still at least fifty at the evening service.  Most are single mothers who have come to earn enough money to send their children to school. Some are widows and some are young girls. They all have a story of struggle and hardship and are here trying to make a difference for the lives of their children. They get up ant 4am and are taken by bus to the factory where they scrape fish all day with a half hour lunch break. They finish at 5pm and get paid a pittance. I asked one lady on Monday night, “How was work today?” and she replied, “Very nice.” I don’t know how that could be. I got to talk to a few women after the service and on the way to the market on Monday morning I met one of these women walking along the road. I asked if she was not working today and she said that she received news her last born son was in hospital in Gizo and she was going to find transport to go there. I was able to pray with her beside the road. I received news on Saturday that she had returned and that by the time she got to Gizo her son was fine and they could find nothing wrong with him. 

We had evening services on Monday and Thursday night and then a full day on Saturday looking briefly at the Membership course.  Yesterday we had a communion service. “They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.”  In the truck on the way back to Munda, John told me that many people are too frightened or ashamed to participate in communion because they are sinners. I had invited everyone to come and break off some bread and go and break bread with each other. The whole service was built around what communion is. It actually reminded me of Woodridge days where these people who had known each other previously now “know” each other on a completely new level. It is very exciting to see a baby church come to life. 

I am looking forward to a few days rest in Munda before heading to Honiara fro more courses. I am looking forward to meeting Lex Akers and the team at Honiara airport as they travel through to Gizo for the church planting course 23 to 27 May. We have had two churches planted this year. Please pray that this course will real keep the momentum building. Please pray for the team’s transfer and connecting flight in Honiara. 

I am so glad that I will be in Honiara for the first State of Origin match and hope to be able to watch it. GO THE MAROONS! 

God bless you and thank you for your most valued prayers.

Rev. Kay Fulcher
Director of Theological Studies
Wesleyan Methodist Church
Solomon Islands

28 April 2011

Greetings from Munda

Hi it is so good to find a high speed internet connection. Munda has been full of surprises. The internet here has always been the most unreliable and now it is the best yet, although I don’t get much of an opportunity as there are two computers in the Telekom office and I can only get her after class when they are usually occupied.  

It has always been a challenge here as there has not been the same sense of unity and hunger. However, this time is different. Right from when I arrived a week ago I began to run into people I knew who were excited to see me and really looking forward to the courses. I settled into the house I am staying and was so surprised to find I have a complete upper floor fully self contained with a SHOWER electricity, a gas stove, a double bed, full kitchen, dining room and balcony overlooking the lagoon.

 Easter was special. They had services every night of the week leading up to Easter and then after services on Friday and Sunday spent all day doing Easter Bible studies and discussions.  One young man who had not been coming to church came for Easter and was convinced by his sister to stay for the studies. So after a full day of church and study, he went home so excited and insisted that the family continue the study and discussions late into the night. He has come to the Holy Spirit course and is so enthused.  

I must be in the best classroom in the world. Teh Munda church has built a new Chapel and I stand looking at the beautiful lagoon just twenty metres away.

The Holy Spirit course is amazing…not the course…the Holy Spirit. There is a group of nineteen participants including two from the Nazarene church. They are participating so well in all discussions, role plays and dramas and at the end of each day, after we have closed there has been a probing question that has caused us tot stay and have animated discussions. The class is supposed to start at 9am but if I get there at 8.30 (early ready to set up) I am late. They are all there ready and while I am getting organised they start singing so we have never started as late as 9. 

What really impresses me is that there are so many students ready to go into action and wanting to see spiritual change not only in their own lives but in their churches, communities and country.  They have commented, “We have been riding on what happened here 100 years ago. We need the same power just as much today.” 

So please pray for the students that they will each have a clear call from God with His power giving them courage and producing holiness.

Physically, I am still struggling. I was pretty low on Sunday and would have sent out and SOS if I could have, but I have certainly got better as the week has gone on. I have a tropical skin/staph infection that has affected about ten percent of my body. I think I am on to the right antibiotic.  I am weak but He is strong. 

Please also pray for Dimity to have grace, peace and joy in her work situation.

Thank you for your partnership and faithfulness

 Love

Kay

19 April 2011

Exciting news! 

Hall and Gideon have just come back from Noro and have set foot on our land and walked all over it, even though it is virgin jungle. There is a stream of fresh water running through it. It is flat and they have already started to visualize where buildings will be. 

 Our allocation of land has changed three times in the last four years so it is encouraging to actually have the exact parcel of land allocated. Some people have built on unsurveyed land which is exactly what we are determined not to do.  The Town Clerk escorted them. While they were in Noro for the weekend, Sarota came to visit them. She is the lady who could not have children and was supposed to have a hysterectomy but believed God for a baby. she now has a nine month old boy and lives in Noro.  She invited Hall and Gideon to hole church in her house on Sunday morning. However because there were too many people church was held in a house next door to hers. There were 21 people and such great interest that they have planted a church there. The wife of the house owner is SDA but declared her support to have the church in her house and support her husband. I will go after Easter and spend a week there and look at the land and meet the people.  

We had a good meeting planning the curriculum and the schedule for courses and other practicalities. Unfortunately the Bougainville group did not arrive due to transport complications. I managed to talk to Dudley N.S) via satellite phone and they are keen to go ahead and work together. We will just have to communicate by phone and hopefully Kathy and I can meet back in Australia. 

Palm Sunday went well with the children performing a drama and some songs. Hall was supposed to take the service but as he was in Noro I was asked (on Saturday night). We had a different type of service with lots of singing and telling stories. Please pray for Gloria who is now the Pastor in Gizo and for her husband Bendrick who came to church yesterday.

Hall and Dora have a TV but it has been frustrating that there has been no football shown. I've still got my trusty radio so get to hear some games at night. 

I must say I don't miss hearing about the politics and the economy. I trust that you are well and looking forward to a special Easter. 

God bless  

Kay

14 April 2011

Hi,

I am back in Gizo after a great time in Malasova. Paulyn and Ruriko taught Kids EE and I taught English morning and evening. The Kids EE class was the best ever and the teaching excellent.

The English teaching was fun. It wasn't planned but requested. The students all wrote an essay on their favourite topic and presented it as a spec to the class. The favourite topics were, My Family, Working in the Garden, My Tribe's history, The Pig Hunting Trip, Making a dugout canoe etc. It was a very interesting exercise. Teh greatest difficulty seems to be with tenses, especially past.

 The seas were fine for both trips. I am now preparing for our meeting with the Bougainville group and Oliver to plan for our curriculum and our training centres to work together.

 I will be here for another week and then off to Munda.

 The surveyor has made an appointment to survey the land on 25 April. A good day. Hall and Gideon Solo will go with him and they are organizing men from Munda to go and cut down the bush for the survey line as it is virgin jungle. Everyone is getting excited about this project.

Well, I missed seeing Collingwood unveil their Premiership Flag but I heard their win. I have also heard a couple of Bronco games on the radio, Haven't seen any on TV though.

 I hope everyone is recovering from the flood damage.

God bless

Kay

 

4 April 2011

Greetings in the Precious Name of Jesus 

Today is the first time in a long while that I have actually felt like I had some energy. Thank you for your prayers. My voice is almost back to normal. The Holy Spirit course ended very well with a worship service and opportunity for testimony. It was so good to have the students praying for each other. 

On Sunday I went to a Pioneer church Lire and had visitors from two other small pioneer churches come for a combined service, Lembu and Pusingau. I took a team of three young women and young man and two small girls with me. It was about a fifteen minute canoe trip and then into a mangrove area to a very nice small village. The church service went for over two hours and was very special. The team all participated in some way and all did the Shamile drama. 

We began the Church Administration and Management course on Monday with 47 students. This is the first time I have taught this course. It is strange to see students in class waiting at 8.30 ready to start at 9 and the same after lunch. I like to think it is because we “did” the Holy Spirit course last week. It is a combination of the discipline and Chairmanship. We have had a lot of fun role playing LBA meetings, moving motions etc. The students are currently working on job descriptions. I discovered that no church was actually having monthly LBA or LAC meetings so there I snow much excitement afoot. Every church has scheduled their monthly meeting starting in April and at these meetings will schedule the LCC meeting including the AGM.  

Hall and Dorah arrived back from Choiseul on Monday so things are very hectic around here now. All the women from the course are staying here and the men are staying at the church hall. We have run out of water and desperately need rain. 

The internet has not been working very often so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from me for a while. I am off to Vella next week and then will come back to Gizo to meet with a delegation from Bougainville, including Kathy Clifford to plan towards standardising our curriculum. 

I need to start doing some exercise to get back my strength and some semblance of fitness. I do have my skipping rope with me so I will see if I can even manage 100 skips and build up from there. 

I hope all is well in Australia. I don’t miss hearing about the politics.  

God bless you and again thanks for your prayers.

 

Kay

 

22 March 2011

Greetings all, 

I have finally got access to a high speed internet and so I thought I would send you through a message myself. It has been frustrating not being able to access my contacts list and I thank Heather for sending thorough updates.  I have had a couple of quiet weeks recovering and resting and started teaching Doctrine of the Holy Spirit yesterday. It is my favourite course but unfortunately I have come down with some infections which first hit my chest and now my voice. I struggled through yesterday and this morning divided the class into pairs and got  them to answer specific questions in relation to yesterday's class. Twelve of the fourteen groups did an excellent job. I was especially pleased with Pauline after her disappointment with the Kids EE course being cancelled in Choiseul. she is our main teacher. She was not in class yesterday as she had to market papaws to have enough money to support her for the two weeks un Gizo. I had given her the textbook to read. She is a natural and gifted teacher and she shone this morning,

The students are now working on their oral presentations of one chapter of the book each which they will present tomorrow. I trust that by Thursday my voice will have returned and I will be able to resume my teaching role, but there is always more than one way to teach and I believe that this was meant to be. 

We had sad news this morning. Macdonald Qae's six year old nephew died last night. We had been praying for him. he had an operation in Honiara and yesterday we got the report that he was given the all clear and we were rejoicing. then he died at midnight. This is a very hard time for the family. Macdonald's sister, mother and now nephew have all died of cancer.  

It has definitely been a different year with many challenges. I value your prayers so much. I know God is in control.

May you have a day filled with joy

Love

Kay

 

17 March 2011

Hi thanks for your prayers and messages. It is so good to know that I am being prayed for. I got a clear blood test result on Monday and am feeling pretty good even if a bit weak.

I just got an email to say I passed my Cert IV TAFE course so I am really pleased about that.

I am getting ready to teach Doctrine of the Holy Spirit next week. It is my favourite course. Please pray that I actually don't have to teach much as the Holy Spirit will powerfully work Himself.

I also went to the Lands Office and unknowingly spoke to the surveyor.

The Surveyor General has approved the survey of our land and the surveyor is here in Gizo and awaiting three jobs before he goes to Noro and then the three of us will split the cost of his expenses.

Please pray that this will happen within he next two weeks.

Kay Fulcher
Director of Theological Studies
Wesleyan Methodist Church
Solomon Islands

9 March 2011

Greetings everyone, 

I am so glad to be able to get out and get to the Internet. I have been getting stronger every day so felt up to getting a taxi and communicating with the world (and the bank).

We had a great two weeks in beautiful Soneke. They were very well organised with two teams alternating to do the cooking and the nearby village of Papara coming over to cater for us one day each week.

Whenever water ran out, God brought the rain. We had fifty students studying Inductive Bible Study and Life of Christ. I had brought fifty sets of notes and text books. It is great to see the average age of students getting younger. We had exciting times making discoveries in Mark and Luke and developing skills of investigation and questioning.

The students worked very hard on their homework between classes together with 5.30am morning devotions and 7.30 pm evening devotions.

In the second week they somehow found time for a bit of volleyball after class. The first Saturday was NBA and the second Saturday NBMD.

Oliver Virivolomo became a Licensed Minister. He has been elected as District Superintendent for Choiseul.  While these meeting were on students and locals went fishing and diving. I had a good feast on freshly caught crayfish.

On the second Sunday I had the worst headache I have ever had. Nothing seemed to move it. This seemed to come and go for four days and then it was suggested that I should go and get my blood tested for Malaria.

The test came back positive, but the good news is that I didn’t get the result until after the last session of the course concluded on Friday. By then I was pretty low. I started medication I had been given in Australia because I am allergic to some of the medication used here.  Form then on it was hard to tell what affected me worse the medication or the malaria. I lost balance and caught not walk by myself. I got to the point of not even being able to lift my head off the pillow. This was coupled by having to go to the toilet frequently which was down stairs and a little walk.

I met with the three Kids EE teachers who had come to do the teaching in the third week and said that I thought it best that I go back to Gizo. I needed to get to a hospital and be closer to facilities etc.

At first they were nervous but then we all saw it as God’s opportunity for them to “fly solo.” I was never going to be involved in the teaching, only as a back up. So we were all expectant of a great week.

The boat arrived on Saturday morning to take those back to Gizo who were not doing Kids EE. At the last minute, the Choiseul group had a meeting and decided to cancel the Kids EE because I would not be there. They then came to tell me as I lay in the mattress on the floor. It was definitely the low point of my ministry here.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  For two weeks we had promoted the fact that they had their own teachers and that I would not be involved and now they were cancelling without even coming to talk it over. My heart was pounding in my chest.  I asked them to consider how the teachers would feel. Oliver told me that “here in Choiseul we only accept overseas training.”

No matter what they would not reconsider. The course is cancelled and you all have to leave today. The three teachers came in to pack up their luggage having been told the news and we all just cried.  “They don’t trust us.” They said.  I don’t remember a time when I was so physically and emotionally low. Dorah helped me down to the boat and the ladies carried all of mine and their won luggage. To show you how out of it I was, When I was hoisted on to the boat and the captain said , “Good morning Reverend.” I responded by saying, “Hi Babe” I was really in lah lah land. I know I only got through the four hour boat trip home by the grace of God and the prayers and loving care of those on board.

When we arrived back in Gizo I was helped back to Hall and Dorah’s (who had stayed in Choiseul) a quick wash and change of clothes and then to the bed.  We finally managed to get a taxi to take me to the hospital where I was admitted. The time in hospital was a real eye opener. Not that my eyes were open much of the time. I was throwing up constantly and could not even keep down water.  There were at least two people constantly with me. The women and men had worked out a roster to be there for me and the men for the women. It seems like you really need to provide most of your own nursing care etc if you go to hospital.  There was always someone there to hold the dish for me as I threw up and to comfort me and wash my face. I really felt the need for spiritual input and was constantly asking for singing. At one stage I think we have about seven next to my bed singing. In the morning June brought a devotion. It was a wonderfully humbling experience.

During the night someone was brought in making horrific noises. At first I thought it was a child and was praying because it sounded like it could be a spiritual attack of some kind. I later found it was a woman. There were no more beds so she was placed on the floor with a drip inserted and she was subdued. Every now and then the horrific sounds would emanate from her.  I thought that she must have had some sort of mental condition but then I heard that she had a small baby and I couldn’t put the picture together on my head as to how she would have a relationship and a child. What was special was to see how the ladies with me so lovingly cared for her and for her grandmother who was with her. It turned out that she too had malaria and that is how it affects some people. There but for the grace of God go I.

It was so good to get to the first aid kit and find Stemetil. Only then was I able to stop throwing up and keep down my medication and some food. I have since got stronger every day. Thank you for your prayers which I have urgently needed. Please pray that I never get malaria again. I believe that God had some things to teach me. I am the one with the insect repellent and the mosquito net and I am the one who get malaria. God is in control.

In regard to the issues of national training, I have been reassured by the other districts that they do not feel the same way as Choiseul and that they fully endorse the national trainers of Kids EE and those who are being trained to teach other courses. So that is a great encouragement.

God bless you

Kay Fulcher
Director of Theological Studies
Wesleyan Methodist Church
Solomon Islands

 

27 July 2010

Greetings all

I am in Munda after three amazing weeks on Vella. the first week was with the AWSOM team led by David Collins who taught Developing and Mentoring Leaders. It was a great course and the team of twelve modeled beautifully each with a small group of five or six. I was so impressed with the caliber of the team. They were full of grace and of the Holy Spirit, despite some debilitating sickness, there was never a complaint. Some great relationships were formed and the students worked on developing an action plan following the principles in the Master Plan of Evangelism. We had a total of 61 text books. Guess how many students we had?  Yes, exactly 61 

The second week saw the arrival of Joan Guscott to teach Pastoral Care and Counseling. The week began with the Sunday service in which we had reconciliation between the pastor and one of the chiefs, the renewal of marriage vows between a couple who had been unfaithful,  and the installation of four new Licensed Ministers. We again had over fifty students who worked in Triads all week working on the skills of active listening, attending, empathy, reflecting content, reflecting emotions, open questions, developing options. These really stretched the students as everyone immediately wanted to give solutions to problems. We had some great role plays. I am thrilled that there is such a clearer understanding now of pastoral care. Unfortunately the sea was rough when Joan left to go back to Gizo as it was the next day when Kerri and I traveled first to Namatoa on Ranunga and then on to Supato.  
The whole Island of Ranunga was lifted up three metres after the 2007 Tsunami and so it is not easy -to get into the villages. We had a great time of worship and - fellowship there.  

People began to arrive in Supato. I did not expect as many students as I had taught New Testament previously on Vella in 2007. However, we still had 54 students many of them young ones sent or brought to the course by other students/pastors.  We had a great closing service with eleven giving testimonies and then being baptised in the beautiful ocean. The testimonies were amazing, especially from one man, Clay who had been in prison three weeks previously.  It was such a thrill to walk down from the church on top of the hill to the ocean with everyone singing, "I have decided to follow Jesus."  It was sad to leave Supato. The hospitality was second to none. 

We had one night in Gizo but no phone or internet and made our way to Munda. Again I only expected a few students but we have 25 including four from AOG. We are having a ball.

 Thank you for your prayers. I am glad the last boat ride for this trip is over.

I'm looking forward to getting home, having a month off and getting into some serious wedding preparations for Dimity and Pete.  I will resurface after my Mother of the Bride duties.

God bless you and keep you

Kay

25 May 2010

Greetings all

I am back in Gizo briefly after two weeks in Choiseul. I was disappointed that yesterday was a Public Holiday so I had to wait another day to make contact. Not too much to complain about.

The courses in Supezei went very well. Nineteen did the Expository Preaching Course. This was the third course and I finally felt that my teaching improved. Eighteen of the nineteen students preached excellent messages and the nineteenth was just too nervous after making a good start. Many had never preached before and showed great aptitude for exegesis and coming up with a Main Idea. It was an exciting time. I gave out my text book which made the exact number we needed for the three courses. Thank you so much to those who donated the text books.

You don't realise how much it means to the students to actually have their own book that they can keep. 

The second week was Kids EE and the exciting thing about this week is that I took two Nationals, Pauline and Rurico who did 80% of the course. Together with Sarota, I am now confident that they could continue this training without me. Praise God!. Kids EE is such a great course and some did it for the second time and testified that now they "really understood." I guess it made me realise that repetition is a good thing remembering that English is at best their third language ( and that they never use it themselves other than when they read)

The students from the south had a lot of trouble getting their in their large wooden canoe with a 15hp engine.

Supezei is a beautiful small island with sandy beaches. It was extremely hot there, so still and the water warm. the second week it rained most days which was a great relief.

I go to Honiara today for three weeks and look forward to having regular phone and internet access. However, I have learned that these cannot be taken for granted and that 50% of the time the server seems to be down. But there is always tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to the AWSOM team coming over in July and have planned the program for them.

I am looking forward to a Queensland victory tomorrow night. Praise God! I didn't realise that the State of Origin would be on when I planned my itinerary. I'm sure I will find a TV to be glued to.

We are praying for Stan here and our thoughts are with Coral and the whole Baker family. God is a great God and His love is overwhelming.

Thank you for your prayers 

Kay

4 May 2010

Greetings all, 

I am back in Gizo until Sunday and then off to Choiseul. So I will have email for the next five days. Love to hear from you.

 I had an interesting time in the Roviana District. I have written in my journal and tried to cut and paste it but the file was corrupt apparently. I will try again tomorrow. 

The course in Vanikuva went well with 37 participants. The messages preached on the Friday were very encouraging.

Vanikuva is a church that was destroyed in the Tsunami and then rebuilt on top of a hill overlooking the beautiful reef and ocean. It is generally a place for displaced people....from Simbo or from the Gilbert and Ellis islands. It is a long walk from Gizo and I organized a truck for the students to travel from Gizo.

After the course on Monday I walked down to the beach thinking I would have a swim. The water was so hot it was uncomfortable and the long walk back up the hill through the jungle did not make this an inviting endeavour.

After the course on Thursday I again set off on a walk. I thought I would use the road rather than the jungle track in the belief that it would lead down to the beach eventually. I walked and every hill and turn took me further away from the water. I remember thinking that I would not be doing this walk in thongs in Australia because of snakes. Thankfully I did not have to worry here in the Solomon's.  I was having a good time praying out loud as I walked and really having a significant time with the Lord. There were some huts dotted about and whole families would run out to the road to see who I was and where I was going. I had decided to go to the next hill and then turn back. I was full of joy. I then stopped to talk to an old woman  who was working in her garden. She told me that the road did not go to the beach and I think she told me that I should not stop on the road. As I walked off I remember thinking and feeling like "there was an impending sense of doom." I slowed down and became more alert. Something moved in front of me on the road and there was a two metre long black snake right across the road in front of me. I'm sure I would have stood right on it had I not slowed down and become more observant. I turned back and praised God for His protection and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

I'm sure God is wanting to talk to us all the time but we are just to busy or distracted to listen.

I'm also reminded of the spiritual battle and the constant need for prayer and to be alert

God bless you and have a great day

 Kay

 

9 April 2010

THE MONO ADVENTURE

 The return trip to Mono had been planned for over ten months. They were ready to dedicate their new church building and we planned to teach the Old Testament Course and Kids EE. Fifteen students from the west came to attend the courses and to support Mono. Seven members came just to support the Mono church opening.  Arranging transport for 22 people was no easy matter. We managed to arrange passage on a cargo ship. We waited in Gizo for nine days for two cyclones to pass and for the seas to be safe. This was a difficult time because people had left their homes to come to Gizo and the seven had expected to be to Mono and back in nine days. Food they brought had to be used in Gizo. We finally left Gizo at 7pm on Friday 19 March. We arrived in Mono 9am Saturday 20 March.

There were over sixty passengers trying to find space on deck under a hastily erected tarp. The seas were still very rough and many people were sick, not just on the voyage but for days afterward. There was one toilet on board (great for bladder control). It rained most of the way and the tarp leaked so we were sitting in water. It beats sitting at home watching TV.  The people in Mono had been waiting not knowing when we would arrive so they hastily organized the building opening and dedication for that afternoon at 3pm.  The seven who were not staying would go with the ship as it made its way back to Gizo. This would in fact take seven more days. 

It was very humbling to hear how much it meant to the Mono people to have us there. It was also humbling to realise that another ship may not come for up to three months.

We were blessed to be served by members of other denominations, United, AoG and CoC at different meal times. One of the women told us that the Mono people don’t rush to offer to give you food. We experienced that as after our arduous voyage there was not a drink of water, hot or cold or any food offered to us. As a matter of fact, for the first three days we hardly had any food.  This woman went on to say that the Mono people did not have much food and that was why they were so skinny. They wait to be asked and then they are very generous. So we received more and more food each day we were there so that by the end we had a massive feast and food to go. The water however, caused major problems. I think everyone got sick and I’m still feeling the effects.  Even though the water was boiled, the receptacles were not cleaned on the inside and there were no squirts of germicide for those preparing meals.

The courses were very well attended and received. We also had a wonderful healing service and very special Passover service. The Holy Spirit certainly met with us. Great friendships were formed, but more importantly lives were changed forever.

Our trip back was on a small “ship” (boat) which I had chartered. This caused more problems than you can imagine as many people expected free passage to Gizo. We had a pleasant trip back which took thirteen hours on very fine seas. There is nothing quite like the ocean at sunset and moonrise. We arrived however, at Gizo at 2am on Easter Sunday and struggled to carry all our luggage off the ship. We were able to get some sleep before celebrating Easter together with the Gizo and Vanikuva congregations.  We all stayed back after the service to work in groups on an Easter Bible study, making a four hour celebration.

God is good all the time! Thank you for your prayers and faithfulness. 

 Kay

 PS I'm sorry i had to delete the photos. The email would not send with them included

15 March 2010

Hi I'm still in Gizo. One week now we have been waiting for the ship to arrive to go to Mono.It is in Noro but now there is a cyclone warning. Please pray for the Mono people waiting for their church opening and for their courses to commence. Also pray for those who have left their villages to attend the opening. they have already been away from home longer than expected. There have been some good opportunities for worship. George preached an excellent message yesterday on "don't look back". Four of the Licensed Ministers combined to prepare the worship service and it was fantastic. I need to learn not to always look ahead to the next :event" or task and to live in the moment.
 

Thanks for your prayers. Dallas, can you please post the satellite phone batteries to Gizo P.O. Box 176. The existing battery life is less than three minutes.

 

Cheers

 

Kay

Rev. Kay Fulcher
Director of Theological Studies
Wesleyan Methodist Church
Solomon Islands

Ph: (Solomon's) + 677 466 541
Ph: (Australia)   + 61  0421 088 774    

 

24 June 2009

Greetings all 

I am back in Honiara. After four months of travelling through the islands this is like being in another country. It seems to be more westernised than I remember although I am appreciating the showers (even with hot water) but I do miss the village life.

I am holding one class in the afternoons and another class in the evenings for the workers (Old Testament). Surprisingly I have found the internet and the phones less reliable here than they were in Gizo,  and the radio reception is also not very good...which is pretty distressing with the State of Origin being on tonight. This is the first time I have successfully connected to the net since I arrived on Sunday. I am enjoying travelling around on the buses and it has been really good to have visited some of the villages that people here come from. This has given me a real connection.  This is the second "formal" class I have taught in Honiara and there is a positive response. We have twelve students with half being young adults.  

I have not been well since I arrived, just feels like the flu...no not the swine flu...but would appreciate your prayers  as my throat is struggling to cope with six hours of teaching a day.  

The week in Supato was very special. We had thirty seven students come for the Kids EE course.  We had a lot of fun with the dramas, songs and games but amongst that there were significant times of teaching and the wonderful Holy Spirit touching lives. At the beginning of the week over half said they knew they were going to Heaven because they were trying to be good or they were working for the church. The thought that we all go to Heaven is pretty widespread through the islands. Earth is where you live when you are alive and Heaven is where you go when you die. Most of the participants were under the age of twenty five. It was amazing to see young men with dreadlocks wearing the crowns they had made and thoroughly enjoying all the craft and drama. we had sixty children turn up for On the Job Training. this was a real stretch especially as I had told the students that I would not be saying anything, just observing the program. It was very hard for me not to get up and try to organise the children. the students helped each other and it went very well. 

I had the special privilege of conducting my first wedding service on the Wednesday evening. Ambrose and Inety had been together for seven years and have three children. But it was a custom marriage and Ambrose is a ministerial student and felt very strongly that he wanted to be married in the church. He looked resplendent in his suit and Initty had a beautiful place blue dress and white veil and they each had two attendants. The church was beautifully decorated in flowers. After the ceremony the brides family take the groom and carry him to the water. Sometimes they throw him in but they just threw water all over him. Then the grooms family take the bride and douse her with water. the grooms mother was also doused. They had pity on me and just threw water on my feet. 

The most pleasing thing about Kids EE was the growth in Sarota and Paulyn, who assisted me with the teaching. Next year they will be able to run the clinics and I will largely observe. I am very confident in their ability and plan that they can be accredited with EE International as trainers. 

Well, it's only thirteen more sleeps until Dimity comes over. Looking forward to touring around with her.

I really value your prayers and support. 

Kay

 

12 June 2009

Greetings all

I arrived back in Gizo yesterday afternoon and head for Vella (Supato) this afternoon. One month in Choiseul has certainly been an experience. The first week was a tour of north-eastern churches. There's nothing between the north east of Choiseul and the top of South America. Our canoe broke down twice. Once we were able to paddle ashore and the women get out and walk while the men paddled to a village. We were able to get the problem fixed as it was the bush in the propeller but there is much more to the story that I will write about when I  get time. we ended up having to find a place to stay on two separate nights and enjoyed hospitality from people who were not expecting us. We were able to hold church service morning and night wherever we went. I was pleased that we made this tour as some churches had not had a visit from anyone in the denomination age for over four years and were quite discouraged. 

We had a wonderful welcome of Sagitumi where they were expecting us and had three special days of ministry. On the way back our canoe broke down again and we were outside the reef and unable to paddle in through the surf. Praise God we were rescued and Praise God that I had the satellite phone repaired before I left Gizo or we may still be on a beach somewhere waiting to be rescued.  

There was much I had to learn about myself and how I handle crisis. Actually I handled the crises but had difficulty handling the other four adults arguing with each other in their own language and no one the "leader" not wanting to make a decision in case it was the wrong decision.  

We arrived back in Supizae late Saturday afternoon and people had already arrived to commence the Old Testament course on Monday. On the Sunday we celebrated "Wesley " Day and I must say I was unusually moved during the service. I again enjoyed the Old Testament class and found the students quite subdued and lacking in confidence. However, when it came to the closing service, they were not interested in doing dramas or songs they all wanted to give a testimony.  

The next week we started Kids EE and had a great time. There were twenty-seven students,  one third were from the united church and the fellowship was special. Everyone is hungry for more. I was surprised to find that some Sunday School shave 145 children  in them and so very excited about the potential of this ministry. One young man came because his wife is a Sunday School teacher and she works and could not come so she sent him so he could teach her. God really took hold of this young man's life and at the closing service he was commissioned as a Sunday School teacher. he and his wife wrote a song and sang it to us called, "My Testimony". 

I'm looking forward to Kids EE in supato because I was a bit rusty in Supizae. The most exciting thing is that Sarota came with me as an assistant teacher and was great. Pauline will assist me in Supato.  Next year Pauline and Sarota will be able to teach the clinics and I will be the assistant.  

I enjoyed a good night's sleep and will now go and enjoy a vanilla coke. 

Please continue to pray, especially about transport...and, yes, I do have another rat story, but that is for my longer version.
 

Love to all

 

Kay