Vanuatu Adventure

It started with, Kaylene Trembath (from GB NSW) and myself arriving at 11.30pm on Wednesday 25^th January and we were met by our hosts, Jill, National Secretary and Shirley, the National Commissioner of Vanuatu.  The next day the adventure commenced.

The training started with about 18 – 20 ladies for the next three days.  And what three days it was.  There was laughter, tears, blessings and very eager ladies who wanted to learn so much.  They came from islands to the south of the main island, Efate, and islands to the north.  What dedication these ladies had, some didn’t know anything of Brigade so we were starting from scratch.  One of the ladies thought that Girls’ Brigade was all Marching and Flag Raising, she was in for big shock.

Some ladies stayed at the Church Hall and others travelled in each day.  They learnt the History of Brigade, how to run a company, Officers training, programming, different craft ideas and how to include them in the badgework, games, different ways of doing devotions, Brigade Knowledge, the different awards and lots of other Brigade things, and of course drill.

On the Saturday afternoon, we had a special presentation of Certificates of Participation, which they all received, and the younger girls (3 girls aged 13) also received some special things.  There were lots of hugs and big smile on their faces.  All the ladies were excited to go home to their Churches to start Brigade.

On Sunday, we attended a Church Parade service, in which we were asked to take part, at the conclusion of the service we stood at the door to shake everyone’s hands and even received hugs from some of the ladies.  The singing before the service was so magical, they have a wonderful youth group who sang in perfect English.  Even when the words were in Vanuatuan it was still magical.

Jill and her husband, Adous, took us for a drive to showed us their lovely island, white sands, coral beaches and blue seas.  We learnt a lot about Vanuatu.  We also visited some of the ladies in their homes, the ones who live on the main island of Efate.

Monday, we had a day out to unwind and prepare for the next day of visiting the Presbyterian Christian Education Department and also more Churches and ladies.

The stories of some of these women is truly amazing.  One lady, Helen, came along because she wanted to start GB in her Church.  She had not been involved in Brigade and was so passionate to learn.  We visited her on the Tuesday and she told us that God has been so good to her, she is a very simple lady and her granddaughter was so inspired by her grandmother that she went out and arranged to purchase a lap top for her, so she could move with the time, and she was going to teach her how to use it.  I asked Helen how she was doing to get the girls to come to Brigade, and her answer was “on the way to the Church I would just gather them as I pass through the villages on route”.  I was so touched by Helen I just wanted to hug her.  This is just one of the stories that we have to tell.

Three ladies left for their homes on the Monday morning, by boat, these islands were north of Efate.  Jill received a message on the Tuesday morning, to say that they had arrived ok.  It took them nearly 20 hours to get home to their island.  What amazing dedication these women have.

Our visit to the Children’s Education department, was another wonderful experience.  We met with Johnny Albert, the overseer of the Department, and he was so supportive of Brigades.  They would also like to get BB up and running as well, and I sure that this will happen.  Jill, Kaylene and myself came away from the meeting feeling overwhelmed with the outcome.

The whole time that we were in Port Villa we felt God with us, it was such an awesome feeling of peace and we were very blessing to have been able to share our knowledge of Girls’ Brigade and these ladies.

A big thanks to Jill and Shirley for the hospitality that we received during our time with them.

Kaylene and I returned to Sydney on the Wednesday evening full of wonderful memories of these lovely ladies and our training in Vanuatu.

Renelle Neale

IVP

Kaylene Trembath

NSW Training Coordinator

#iamgb story

The sun was shining gloriously as I remembered walking into the Sunday school room at our church with my mum. It was on a Saturday morning when she told me I was going to join a group called the Girls’ Brigade. I was around the age of 9 at that time so I was quite scared to have my mum leaving me alone for a few hours with the GB group.  My mum had to stay with me to attend the meeting that day because I couldn’t let go of her. After the first few minutes I was already interacting with the girls my age as we were asked to do little fun activities.

When the next week came round, I couldn’t wait to go for GB and this time in didn’t care if my mum was with me because I was intrigued by all the activities and the enjoyment of being with my new girlfriends. This was a turning point in my life because I began to learn a lot of important knowledge which I never learnt in school. Like how to have a personal relationship with God,  growing up in the right direction with dignity and respect, and being confident in making right decisions for myself and my future family. From small group discussions to leading the girls in activities, presenting reports on behalf of GB and travelling abroad to share God’s word in partnership with PNG World Mission, has really given me the confidence I never knew I had.

During the Christmas holiday I went back to my home village, gathered all the young girls and taught them what I learnt in GB. We performed plays and creative dances at our normal Sunday services and during the Christmas period. We also performed at other neighbouring churches as an awareness of GB. I also took the initiative to gather the girls to go help out in our church project site (which was to build houses for our church district executives) by cleaning out the area, planting new flowers and providing food for the carpenters who were building the houses.

I am now 18 years old and am doing my first year of studies at the University of Papua New Guinea. Being in Girls’ Brigade has enabled me to speak confidently and be courageous to face challenges in my life knowing that God is with me through it all. Thank you Girls’ Brigade!

Tera from 1st Koki GB in Papua New Guinea

Tonga Training YES Training

It was Tuesday night. Imagine the scene. Blue skies, beautiful scenery, comfortable accommodation and  friendly faces.  That’s what Jennifer (Box) and I found when we arrived in the beautiful Tongan Islands back in August.

So what should you do in such an environment – set off to see the sights? Head for the beach? Go exploring?  We did none of those!   After a restful night we were taken to visit the office of the Christian Education Department at the Free Wesleyan Church Complex.  There we were introduced to the staff and shown where we would be running THE TRAINING!!  Yes, TRANING! The purpose of our visit was not to sight-see (though we did fit in a walk into Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga, lunch at a local cafe, an island tour and a visit to the shops) but our real purpose was to train 14 lovely Tongan ladies who had expressed  their calling to serve in GB.

Thursday morning we set ourselves up and waited for the ladies to arrive.  They all came.  First up were devotions, introductions of everyone and a quick get to know you game.  Does it sound familiar? Just like any other training sessions you may have attended, we covered the history of GB, how to set up and run a  company, programme ideas and ways of presenting them, our awards System, Brigade Knowledge, Leadership Training and networking. These ladies were mostly new to GB.  After two days training,  each lady was presented with a certificate to show that she had participated in the Training. The ladies were very positive with their training and showed good potential  leadership qualities.

Our experiences did not end there, however. We were guests at a most entertaining cultural dinner where  the company, not to mention the food, were great. On Sunday we attended the Church Service at the Free Wesleyan Church and had the experience of the Tongan Choir.  A highlight was the opportunity to meet a GB and BB company at their Church Service where we were entertained by the girls, boys and officers of the company.

Our visit included a meeting with the BB and GB Leaders to discuss the future of BB and GB in Tonga.  The outcome was very positive and there is definitely a future for both organisations. The next step is to set up new companies and then to establish a GB National Council and a BB National Council to oversee the working of these companies. These two organisations are currently  being supported  by the Christian Education Department of the Free Wesleyan Church.

Before leaving we met with the team at the Christian Education Department to say good bye and express our thanks and gratitude to them  for giving us the opportunity to train and encourage the ladies in GB.   God has clearly opened ‘a door of opportunity’ so please pray that this work may grow!

What a wonderful experience that both Jennifer and I had in Tonga.

Renelle Neale

International Vice President Girls’ Brigade

Pacific Fellowship

GB Queensland ‘Leadership 2015’ – all about the ‘shift’

‘Leadership’ (this year attended by 5 GB young leaders from the Solomon Islands) is a program developed by GB and BB in Queensland over a number of years, and is a hugely successful initiative that enables young women and men to grow spiritually and in life and leadership skills.

‘Leadership’ has fostered a strong and lasting community of young women that remain connected into GB Queensland long after their involvement in the program. There’s quite a collection of ‘Leadership’ tee-shirts too – promoted through the annual unveiling of the themed ‘tee’ of the year at the end of the week long course.

As you can see from the pic 2015 was all about Christian leadership calling us to be ready to shift gear to be lead like Jesus.

New Girls’ Brigade opens on the Solomon Islands

It’s exciting to see 3rd Honiara Girls’ Brigade Company reopened at the South Seas Evangelical Church, following a gap of over 30 years! Originally established as a GLB company in 1949, the work closed in the 70’s but now between 45-50 girls and young women are gathering regularly for GB again, and the four leaders are being kept really busy developing the work that began again in Honiara just over a year ago.

This great story of development is now continuing for GB and BB on the Island as Laeheng Sasabule and the GB Solomon Islands GB team, supported by a training team from BB Queensland earlier this year, facilitated training for 11 GB and 9 BB leaders in the area.

As a result of these links GB Solomon Islands was able to send 5 Pioneers (14+) to Brisbane for the 2015 GB/BB Queensland ‘Leadership’ program.

Trip to Kalina Village, Papua New Guinea

On Saturday 21st March 2015 the Hagen Urban Girls Brigade Company decided to go to Kalina Village which is situated  5-6 kilometers  outside  the town of  Mt. Hagen in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. The purpose of our going was twofold.

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