Testimonies & Reports
Introduction
I grew up in the Solomon Islands in the 60’s and 70’s, the son of SSEC Missionaries, and my Grandparents before them. Consequently, I have always had a heart for the Land of my childhood and the people of the Solomons, having grown up as a Mish-kid on Malaita, and from going to School in Honiara until the age of 12.
Trip Report to Solomon Islands for In The Gap Ministries
I had been seeking God for ways that I could continue to help the people of the Solomons, and had planned to return to the Bible College my Dad had built and run at One Pusu, Malaita, to install a Solar Power and Charging Station in the College Library, along with some eReaders to compliment the Theological Study Books that were already in the Library as a result of us re-stocking with Dad’s personal Study Books after his Death.
Purpose of the Trip
I joined this Mission Trip to help install two Christian FM Radio Stations as a result of connections with Phil Dunk of UCB Australia, due to the fact that I had known Phil back in the 1970’s when we both lived on Kola Ridge in Honiara, and he connected me with Roly Runciman of “In the Gap Ministries”. When the opportunity came to join Roly and the team from UCB Australia, I realised it was part of God’s plan and provision for me and volunteered my services as a general handyman/builder with the advantage of having local knowledge, and allowing me to accomplish both missions in the same trip.
Meeting the Team
Roly Runciman and I met for the first time at around 0415 waiting in line for our Check-in with Qantas at Auckland Airport. We had communicated by email prior to this, but it was our first face to face introduction. It quickly became clear we were both of a similar heart and mind, and served an Almighty God who had gone before and selected a small but effective team where each member brought differing skills to the party, and while we had different characters, we blended together well in good humour and a common goal to see God’s word spread widely across the Pacific, and the World. Roly and I got on famously, and I looked forward to meeting the Australian UCB Team.
We met Ian Worby and Steve Monro in the Departure Café at Brisbane Airport, and we soon became good friends. Ian was a great team leader, with the organising of accommodation, food and connections well sorted. It was clear that God had a hand of protection and blessing over this project.
Scoping the Task and seeing God's Provision;
The first few days were spent looking at the Job at hand, then purchasing the hardware and materials, plus a few key tools we would need to achieve the task. For Honiara we needed a large 6m Steel Pipe and 50m of good Steel Cable for the stays, plus enough Flooring and screws to begin the work of building the Studio under our temporary office within the kitchen of Roy Funu’s Ebenezer House. The site was amazing and perfectly suited to erecting a Transmitter Aerial, and God’s provision through Roy Funu was evident everywhere.
Two days later we started very early for our Twin Otter flight to Munda, arriving not long after dawn. Munda was just as well prepared by God and Pastor Peri Peter’s House of Prayer also. This was to become a theme where God had picked the sites for His Word to go out on the Airwaves, and Covered it with the power of Prayer.
Munda was to have the biggest Transmitter, being 350 Watt, but it proved to be the most troublesome, causing three days of frustration and random fluctuations leading to wild adjustments of the Aerial. We must have raised and lowered the Mast 20 times in the two days of trying.
We hoped we had got it sorted on Saturday evening, although the power output from the Transmitter was still low, and the reflected energy from the Aerial was worryingly high. We left with it going, but not convinced it would work for long. Sure enough an evening rainstorm had the Radio off-line, and resetting the Transmitter wasn’t solving the issues. That evening as we mentally prepared for Sunday the next day, there were few smiles from Roly as he tried to figure out the problem. It seemed we had set up a dud. Fortunately, Ian had brought a spare Aerial from Australia, so a quick call to Paul (the Airport Manager) back in Honiara, had the Aerial on the Sunday afternoon Otter up to Munda.
These delays meant the work on the lining of the Studio walls didn’t really get going with much momentum until Monday, and I left the beautiful ridge on Saturday evening happy that the Radio was going out, but a little discouraged and questioning how much I would complete before having to return to Honiara on Monday evening.…
Worship the Lord even when it is Hard
The next day, Ian and I had agreed to speak at Peri Peter’s Church in Munda, and so three of us went to a warm welcome of harmonic praise to our Lord and Saviour, and the words we spoke brought encouragement to the people of Munda. Ian shared what the Lord had on his heart about the Radio and its effect in shining out the Light, and driving away the shadows that may frighten us, and I shared my Testimony when God listened to my urgent prayer and stepped in with a wondrous answer and provision of a hidden Airfield when I had run out of Gas in a small plane. The locals enjoyed the novelty of a white man who spoke fluent Pidgin, but also got the message that God is interested in us, and does answer prayer!
We watched the children play and swim in a rock pool with a captive Turtle, then shared a generous Lunch feast of local food, although Steve was struggling to find a balance between Banana and Pawpaw, and returned home early to join Roly who wasn’t feeling the best either. The Aerial had arrived as Ian and I came home, so Roly got things set up well adjusting the Dipole length to get the strongest signal, and everything was looking good before heading up to the ridge the next day.
God's Timing is Perfect and He Supplies our Needs:
The next day, the mast was lowered again and the new Aerial installed with a new cable, and this time, the balance needed only one adjustment and the signal was right. Good Power and very low reflection. Praise God ! We now had His Message ringing out clearly from the Radio Broadcast, and soon we had reports from all around the area getting the station loud and clear. I was able to get onto the wall lining in the Studio, and got a fair bit more done prior to our 1pm pack up and depart.
Our flight that afternoon to Gizo began in pouring rain, but the Radio signal remained strong and clear. Roly and Ian stayed in Gizo to set up another 15 Watt Station on Gizo Hill at the paradise Lodge, beaming out on 107.5 MHz, and God once again had prepared the way for the right location and person to caretake the Radio at Gizo.
Steve and I returned to Honiara to get the Honiara Station up and running. On Tuesday we got the parts ready, and prepared to put up the Mast and Aerial on top of Ebenezer House the next day after Ian and Roly returned.
Honiara on Air 93.5Mhz;
The next day, the mast was raised and wired to the roof of Ebenezer House and the newly repaired Aerial from Munda installed perfect first time with no need for adjustment (Praise God!) with double strength lashings in case of Cyclone or strong winds. The money for the Flooring hadn’t arrived from Australia, so I had the opportunity to catch up with the people at the SSEC Church, and do some shopping for a Battery and Charger Unit for the Solar Power Station at One Pusu on Malaita. Roly returned home to NZ on Wednesday.
New Possibilities for an Auki Station 105.9Mhz;
That night as we were having dinner, an Island man (Eddie) came and asked us what we were doing in Honiara. He was stunned to find out we were there to install Christian radio Stations in the Solomons. He was an Indoor Soccer Futsai Star, and now coached a Solomon island Team that were heading for the World Games in Columbia, and he had just been praying with a friend over at another table that somehow the Word of God would be able to be broadcast on Malaita. He immediately asked if we could set up a Station in Auki.
Steve and Ian immediately looked at me and convinced me I could set up the Auki Station alone before I headed South for Su’u and One Pusu. With some coaxing from Steve, and our new friend Eddie, I agreed to step out onto the water in the deep end. I had seen God at work in preparation of places for the other Stations, but I was wavering in my faith in finding a suitable House to put the Station where Power and height were available, along with the right man to look after it.
I needn’t have worried, as God had it all in hand… It turned out that another relative of Taeasi’s, Eddie (Dading) had a house up on one of Auki’s ridges, and he had had a Recording Studio in the past and was seeking God in how to re-build it after the white ants had destroyed it. Along comes me with the Laef FM Radio Transmitter, and a Computer full of good teaching and great Christian Music, and soon he and his wife were in tears as they heard God’s Word being broadcast again from his house to the people of Auki. We prayed asking God to bless his house and the Message coming out from it, and his family too.
I headed off to Su’u with Eddie in his truck rejoicing that we had been drawn together by God Himself.
God's Finishing Touches;
At Su’u I was to meet up with the One Pusu Bible College Students who were on Outreach at the School there, so when I arrived. I met the Students and both Principal’s and stayed with them overnight, worshipping with them in the Church the next Morning (Sunday) Once again I got the opportunity to share my Testimony to all the Students of Su’u National Secondary School, and the One Pusu College Students.
When we arrived at One Pusu around 9pm, we heard the beautiful sound of people singing in the dark, and as we rounded the wharf to the beach, I realised the Singing was a welcome for me. They had prepared Palm fronds and Garlands for me, and the Pikinins sang beautifully in Harmony with the Wives in a Song specially written to welcome me Back to One Pusu (the home of my Childhood). It brought me to tears !!
Simeon (the Principal) had done an amazing job of getting One Pusu back to a beautiful state with new Coral Paths lined with Flowers and tropical Orchids. I shared again with the Students the next Morning during their devotions, and then installed the Solar Power Charging Station in the Library
I then went for a Canoe Paddle, a swim on the outer reef, and another swim with the Pikinins. That evening after tea shared with the Pastor and the Principal, I had a short sleep, departed by canoe for Hauhui at 11:15pm and once again had a beautiful smooth and moonlit canoe ride to meet the truck back to Auki. After some delays along the road, we eventually got back to Auki in time to catch the Ship sailing for Honiara at 9am. We arrived in Honiara at 3:30pm
By the time I arrived back the Flooring Boards had arrived, and I was able to begin putting down the flooring to begin the Building program for the Honiara Laef FM Radio Station. I didn’t get it finished, but more than half was done, and my tools gave up the ghost by the end of Thursday preventing me from going any further. Steve had left the Friday I went to Malaita, while Ian had stayed on until Thursday, leaving me the last to leave on Friday the 27th. It had been a wonderful trip full of God’s provision and leading, leaving me with a renewed thirst to do more as God leads.
Owen Wilson
We were supposed to leave at 3pm on a Truck to Hauhui where we were to catch the canoe to One Pusu, but it never arrived. Finally after 2 ½ hours wait the Truck arrived, and we got to Hauhui at Dusk leaving the Students to walk down the long Beach to the Wairaha River in the dark, and us to take the Canoe with the Luggage in the dark seas to One Pusu almost 40 Kms away. The seas had been very rough earlier that day, and God put the delay there to allow time for the seas to be calmed to a glassy surface, with Phosphorescence to light our path. Beautiful !!
