Women’s Bible Conference
SPECIAL REPORT January 2020 Feature Insert
Report written by Major Vanessa Evans “I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)
This was the scripture for the first Salvation Army District Women’s Bible Conference that was held on the 23rd 26th January 2020. In 2019 while talking with Mary Vasula, the local CRC pastor, we came up with the idea of having a combined conference with the aim of building up the women in our congregations. As we spoke together we realized that most of our women lacked confidence in themselves and their abilities. Many had grown up with the label of ‘pencil break’ (referring to those whose education has been broken) which is used in a derogatory way. Both Mary and I wanted to encourage our women and give them practical ways of knowing their confidence in Christ. Our special guests for the weekend were Pastor Norma Cayzer, Turning Point CRC Senior Minister, and Pastor Joan Gordon. These ladies spoke throughout the conference and challenged the ladies to ‘Walk In Confidence’. The opening night was fantastic! The CRC youth opened the event with an amazing dance which incorporated the Solomon Islands flag. It was also where 200 women came together from all the different provinces to hear from the Word of God. Pastor Norma encouraged us to take a look at David and to ‘Press into God’ and that when we have troubles not to place our trust in people but in God.
Friday and Saturday mornings saw most of the campers up at 5:00 am for dawn prayer and then it was onto more teaching from Pastor Norma, Pastor Joan & myself. Topics covered included ‘Letting Go – Joseph’, ‘Intimidation – the Enemy of Confidence’, ‘The Names of the Lord’ and ‘Meditating on the Word of God’. Lunch was provided by The Salvation Army Emergency Services men which everyone enjoyed. After lunch there were electives that the women could attend which included ‘Children’s Ministries’, ‘Leading with Confidence’, ‘The World Needs You’, ‘Literacy’, ‘Reusable Sanitary Kits’, ‘Disaster Preparation’ provided by NDC, as well as the RSIPF representative Elizabeth Tavake providing an elective on ‘Family Violence’, which was one of the most well attended electives. I am aware that some women came forward and told Elizabeth that they were experiencing family violence and were needing help. Each of the campers came away from the electives chatting about what they had learned and how they could apply what they had learned to their everyday lives. This was exciting to hear as this was one of our desires, that women would learn different things that they would then apply.
The night sessions were amazing. The messages were ‘Stepping Up – Esther’ and ‘Being a Woman of Confidence’. After each message a group of ladies from the different churches represented put on items that ranged from dancing, singing and drama. It was fantastic not only to see the women come alive and step up in confidence but also to see the men from churches within Honiara that came to
support their wives and daughters at the conference. On Sunday morning as The Salvation Army Honiara Corps and Gateway CRC Church Henderson came together in worship with the campers, God was glorified. The singing was led by Francis which was God glorifying and extremely energetic with heaps of dancing. Pastor Norma spoke on ‘Rising Up – Deborah’.
Lunch was a ‘Motu’ (this is where food is placed on hot stones and are covered with banana leaves and left to cook) that was provided by the CRC Gateway ladies and youth. This was amazing and over 300 people enjoyed the food and the fellowship together. Yet, this was not the end. Sunday night was amazing. First we spent time praising God and again hearing from His Word, which is where I challenged the ladies to not give up and reminded them of the Scripture that had been the basis of our weekend—“I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me”. After this it was definitely party time, where each group danced and sang and again the CRC youth and women closed the program with more amazing dancing. The coming together of women from different parts of the Solomon Islands and from Australia was a true blessing and I am truly blessed to be part of the organizing committee that made this event come to fruition. I want to thank Mary and her team at CRC, Pastor Norma & Pastor Joan and The Salvation Army Emergency Services for their amazing contributions to the weekend.
Report written by Pastor Norma & Pastor Joan Two hundred women gathered from the majority of the provinces of Solomon Islands at Gateway CRC Church over four days for a Women’s Bible Conference. The women came with joy and expectation to hear from God. The evening sessions swelled to over 300.
Topics included:
The Conference was organised and hosted by CRC Gateway and The Salvation Army Solomon Islands District. The committee was under the combined leadership of Major Vanessa Evans and Mrs Mary Vasula.
Confidence in the Names of God
Pastor Norma Cayzer and Pastor Joan Gordon came from Australia to share on the theme, ‘Walk in Confidence,’ based on Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Workshops covered:
The District Director of Woman’s Ministries, Major Vanessa Evans and Mrs Mary Vasula from Gateway CRC were also session speakers with practical messages.
Family Violence
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Pressing into God based on life of David Letting Go based on life of Joseph Intimidation, the Enemy of Confidence Stepping Up, based on life of Esther
Meditating on the Word of God Rising Up based on life of Deborah Women of Confidence
Children’s Ministry Leading with Confidence The World Needs You Literacy Disaster Preparation Reusable Sanitary Kits
Wonderful meals were supplied by The Salvation Army Emergency Services Team and the CRC Ladies. The highlight was a motu feast on Sunday for all in attendance at the morning service. Mornings started with prayer and worship at 5:00 am. The sessions began with vibrant and affirming worship lead by CRC and Salvation Army women. On Sunday the congregation of the two churches joined the women for two wonderful celebration services. The evening service was followed by
traditional dancing and items from across the provinces late into the night. The closing ceremony included the official opening of The Honiara City Women’s Connect 2020. We all sense that women have gone home with a very biblical basis to walk in confidence in the place where God has called them. This will mean developing their God given gifts and talents.
Solomon Islands District
Reflection by Pastor Joan Gordon The gathering was an expression of the unity of the two church movements built out of long-term relationships formed over many years. The unity of the leaders could be felt powerfully and created an atmosphere of love and acceptance. The heart of worship and the simple trust of God was central to all the sessions as each lady was committed to fully understanding and embracing the theme of “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
Reflection by Pastor Norma Cayzer The greatest impact to my life was once again the understanding that we are all brothers and sisters in the Lord – no matter where we come from, what colour our skin and our level of education. We are all chosen by our Heavenly Father who loves us. We have an international family. I enjoyed hearing the stories from the
Special Report
ladies and know that now I am part of their story and them of mine. The passion for God, the love and generosity of the ladies impacted my life. Thank you for all who made our time in Solomon Islands such a wonderful time.
Reflection by Mary Vasula The Women’s Bible Conference was good, it was a successful event from the organizing to the accommodation and the speakers. We spent time in prayer before the event which was good and very much needed. We asked God for good weather
which He provided with the sun shining for the whole time. From what I heard for the ladies they liked the conference very much. The theme was great, they mostly understood what was being said and enjoyed listening to the teaching. This was very important to us. I am grateful that Pastor Norma and Pastor Joan travelled from Australia to be with us and support us in the conference. We were blessed that The Salvation Army
men came and provided lunch for us which gave our ladies a break from cooking. I am also grateful to our youth for their creativity with limited resources to construct the stage and backdrop. It was great co-hosting with The Salvation Army as this has never happened before where two different churches come together for an event like this. The Sunday service was great interaction with each other especially as there was over 300 people at the morning service. The highlight was Major Vanessa dancing. The food for the closing program was
great and there was leftover food which we were grateful for as this doesn’t usually happen. The leftover bag of rice that we had was given to our fisherman Walter who was from Buala, Isabel, who also was our baker who cooked over 200 buns for the tea after the program. We are thankful for his skills. The whole weekend was a blessing and it was good sharing and co-hosting with Major Vanessa.
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