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.