2007 News

Great News!!!
The chair of SOMA NZ Richard Ellena, has been elected as the new bishop of Nelson. Richard will be consecrated bishop of Nelson on February 3rd.










Rev Gradon Harvey with the new bishop of Vanuatu Bishop James Ligo and his wife Patricia.



We’re still needed!!!


Rev Gradon Harvey, National Coordinator of SOMA, in October 2006 visited Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu to evaluate the worth of faith sharing teams into the Pacific. He writes as part of his report…...
I arrived in the Pacific with the question “Why should we send short term teams?” This question had arisen because of the following objections that have been voiced over the years:
There were already lots of teams coming into parishes in the Pacific. There was a Christian holiday experience mindset happening according to some.
The Pacific had a huge percentage of the population as Christians, while NZ spiritually is dying. Why should we come therefore and share our faith?
They can’t afford to host these teams as they are so poor.

What I discovered in each of the four Pacific countries I visited was that none of the above was true. That there was an observable need for teams to come and help through testimony, relevant biblical teaching, introducing people to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, helping with evangelism and worship and to come alongside leaders and pray through their deep hurts that had happened along the way in ministry.
The Pacific is going through a time of transition as its children are exposed to the values of the West and the music culture of MTV. It realises that traditional worship is not going to hold the young people especially in the cities. There is a rise of Pentecostal churches with good music that Pacific folk love.
1. There a few ministry teams coming in (painting, building etc) but in the one area of Fiji that I suspected had many visits. I discovered that they only had one other Australian team and that they preferred to work with SOMA. The New Zealand teams all work very hard so it was no holiday. I realised that there is a need to factor in rest times which has not happened.
2. There are a few “on fire” parishes (Dreketi and Lautoka in Fiji being the only ones that I observed) that are seeing people come to Jesus in any significant way. Many churches are still strong because of tradition, but the tide is turning.
3. The general rule if people stay in homes is to budget a koha , if an area is desperately poor there are always guest houses, which especially work well for most youth teams which tend to be larger in size, to deprogram each night. The pacific folk are very hospitable and often will have four different kinds of meat at meals so they do expose themselves financially.
There is a need for teams from the Pacific to come and share their faith in New Zealand. As we exchange teams each nation sending its best we sharpen and encourage each other. The Anglican Missions Board have been great in helping us achieve this objective by offering us a grant toward airfares.
What I identified in conclusion is that SOMA teams are much appreciated as they come alongside with testimony, with a call to discipleship and a call to evangelise while living the Christian adventure. The Christians in the Pacific often feel isolated and feel a deep need to connect with the wider church. There is a growing call for SOMA teams to help raise the spiritual temperature and to allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of conviction, empowering and enthusing.


Sharing Our Ministry Abroad sends short-term mission teams in response to invitations from churches throughout the world. Most New Zealand teams serve in the Pacific basin though sometimes further a field. SOMA teams aim to encourage and empower leadership in their host parishes/dioceses, encouraging people to develop their spiritual gifts. SOMA teams are self-funded, often with sponsorship from their home parishes. All SOMANZ leaders are volunteers we have no paid staff.

This year we have had a special youth focus with two youth teams to Fiji’s Vitu Levu West and another into Suva.
We also held a gathering of Youth Pastors to explore with them the possibilities of SOMA missions and produced a dvd to promote Youth teams. We also bought to NZ for training the diocese of Vanuatu’s youth director Rev Henry Butu for the month of May. He visited youth ministry in Waikato and Wellington diocese and attended “Praxis” training courses.


Youth Pastors from around New Zealand




Fiji—Vitu Levu West .We had a Miracle Team….
As the team Leaders Justine and I were so blessed with the team that God had put together for this trip. Each day one of them shared the story of their personal journey to Jesus and what God was doing in their lives. It was amazing to hear of how God had done such amazing and wonderful things in the lives of those who were on our team. There were stories of deliverance from drugs and addiction, healing from physical and sexual abuse, rescue from suicide and hopelessness, protection from death and physical harm and each story opened up the hearts of the Fijian youth more and more. By the end of the week the relationships we had with the students at the camp were deep and strong. They really opened up and shared their struggles and fears and family concerns though their honesty God was able to do some wonderful and powerful work in their lives. Some shared their struggle with suicide and received encouragement and support. Some shared their issues of abuse and other’s their struggles with addiction and we were able to provide peer counselling, prayer and hope. At the end of the camp one young lady expressed how our camp had saved her life, because she was planning to end it before we came but now she felt God’s love and had hope for the future. We showed them how to deal with issues of unforgiveness and dishonesty and above all were able to share the life and love that God gives us through Christ.
Andy Eldred ,Waikanae

Fiji— Suva . Our goals for mission
I had plenty of opinions regarding Fiji being a tourism spot for mission teams, and that the last thing they needed was another “do gooder” team to learn from the mis-fortunes of the Fiji people. I wanted to go because I wanted to add value where we went, and to grow the young people we took. And I wanted to learn from the richness of the Fiji people, and how they model family and community life. I wanted to build relationships and establish links for future missions. I believe that our visits to youth groups and villages went some way to achieving this, and taking ourselves off the usual mission team destinations was important.
Peter Lewis , Blenheim

The experiences of both teams were captured on Dvd by Hils Hurricks, Hils has created a professional video clip that is six minutes long. You can see this video clip on our new website www.soma.org.nz .



The Rev Hamish Thomson, vicar of Tawa.

Singapore clergy experience.
The Rev Hamish Thomson has been involved in six SOMANZ missions over the past ten years. This year he led a team to Singapore and Nepal. Describing the experience in November 06 as the best by far!!

Briefly the trip was in two parts; one to Nepal and the other spending time looking at what and how the Diocese of Singapore was with respect to mission, and in particular talking to a couple of parishes working with Indians. We have a growing Indian population in our parish that we need to learn to connect with.

The trip to Nepal was to help teach at a leaders conference in Janakpur where All Saints English Congregation is working with the Maithili - an unreached people group. This work was first started by Chris Ponniah when he was Vicar of the All Saints English congregation prior to coming to New Zealand.

While there I also had the opportunity of ministering at a local church where the Lord moved powerfully and healed several people who where suffering from various ailments such as lameness and tumors.

While there I also assisted Bp Moses Ponniah (Bishop of Malaysia) in confirming 120 new converts from several villages where the Diocese of Singapore has been developing a work for several years.
Back in Singapore I was thoroughly briefed on the mission work in the Deaneries of Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and Laos as well the Diocesan disaster and response work; ACROSS.I found this, along with visiting several parishes and the Cathedral, most inspirational. Taking the Great Commandment and the Great Commission seriously, the Diocese has a very intentional strategy for helping to reach the surrounding nations. Locally the Cathedral plays a very important part in terms of the Diocesan mission plan and leads the way for other parishes by seeking to plant a church every two years! (and we're talking born again tongue speaking congregations not choirs and evensong) Currently the Cathedral has fifteen worshiping congregations from which it plants new congregations in various
parts of the Diocese.

For me, the time in Singapore was the most significant time that I have experienced in ministry. Given that on the most part in New Zealand Charismatic's and Evangelical's don't have the easiest of roads within the Anglican Church, to go to another part of the Anglican communion and see what can be achieved was truly inspirational and I would recommend clergy to make visiting Singapore and to see what they are doing a priority.
Why not get your vicar excited spiritually? Send him this year to Singapore on our Clergy experience outreach in November! It just takes a few people to sponsor your vicar and you will get a transformed vicar and possibly your church as well as a result!!! Talk to him/her today.

Samoa/Tonga









Phil Harris , somanz administrator was part of the healing team—he shares his highlights.
Samoa
The morning spent at the special needs school "Lotto Taumafai"- the school for the disabled, seeing the children really doing their best at singing with action songs, haka's, being able to encourage the teachers and then being able to go around and pray and anoint each of the children and teachers to encourage them in their work.
It was very encouraging being able to commission with Father Ricky’s blessing the new prayer ministry team and to see them praying with people after church and hearing that this has grown.
Tonga
The 5 to 7am early morning intercession at St Paul's was most encouraging for the people and for the words and vision that flowed to for the local church.
Visiting the special needs residential home “Alonga” ( means the soul) and experiencing the very anointed music written and played by the two blind young people and praying for them. They were all lovely people despite the very poor living conditions but had very supportive voluntary staff.
Going to the TV studio on Sunday evening, as I had not realised that I would be involved until we arrived, and the 30 minute live interview when the interviewer at the start turned to me and said Phil will you share how the Holy Spirit has impacted your life.
Of course the lovely people, hospitality, and their giving nature, and food and more food was all tremendous.
I now have a much deeper respect for the Samoan & Tongan people and their culture.


We have SOMA youth teams requested for the following countries:
Banks and Torres Islands (Vanuatu)
Pentecost Island (Vanuatu)
Santo (Vanuatu)
Viti Levu West (Fiji) Youth Camp in August
Island of Bohol (Philippines )
Suva
Tonga /Samoa

SOMA teams have been requested for:
Vanuatu—invited clergy and lay leaders retreat
Bishop Richard Ellena to lead

Fiji— Painting St Marks in Suva plus crusades in evenings. Led by Pastor Jeremy Neeve of the Edge Church Paraparumu.
Vanua Levu— Rev Rory Pilbrow to lead
Fiji— Vitu Levu West.
Singapore clergy experience in November

SOMA ministry to New Zealand
Diocese of Wellington by SOMA Fiji in August.
Fiji youth team to Blenheim from Suva