Newsletters

Newsletter - Ps Kay Fulcher 13 November 25

• Because of your support, the Polo Regional Health Clinic upgrade is becoming a reality. We were able to raise the necessary funds in just four months. Praise God! 

• I travelled to Honiara on 3 November to meet the Project Manager and Assistant Manager. (Marvon Provan and Rev. Jefferson Qae.) All of the materials had been pre ordered with four different suppliers. However, the processes of actually paying for the materials and getting them on delivered and loaded on to the ship was not simple. Those first few day were very stressful. but one again God proved His faithfulness. 

• One essential item for the project was a generator which would be used by the builder and then kept at the clinic for their use. Generators are hard to come by in Honiara so I did some research and sourced a Honda distribution centre on the south side of Brisbane. We were looking for a Petrol generator of at least 6KVA. The cost of transporting the generator to Honiara was as expensive as the generator itself, not to mention the difficulty of moving such a beast around at both ends. When I arrived at the distribution centre, there was no staff in the display area and having asked a worker that came in for smoko, I was told that they were very short staffed. This worker offered to get me someone from the office. A Young man appeared, looking like an office worker and I couldn't help wondering how much he actually knew about generators. When I told him what I was looking for and where it was going he said. "I have just invoiced a company in Honiara. We sent them over generators last week, including the very one which would suit. (8.5 KVA Petrol). He gave me the name of the company, the contact person, phone and email. So I was able to order the very generator we needed and it was sitting in Honiara waiting for us. I was quoted the price of $18, 000. SBD. When we arrived to pay, the price had dropped to $16, 000SBD. Not only that . but we paid for it on Thursday afternoon and it was delivered and on the ship by Friday morning.

• Other amazing things happened. The clinic had asked for "stretcher beds". Nobody seemed to know what that was and I only remembered canvas army surplus stretchers from sixty years ago. We were having this discussion in a furniture store when a man walked in and overheard us. He said'"follow me." We had trouble keeping up as he turned the corner, crossed the street and weaved his way in between market stalls and entered another furniture store. It wasn't even his store. Somehow he knew that they had stretcher beds. Apparently the only place in Honiara who not only knew what they were but had some in stock. We got three and I even managed to get a good discount (which I never normally bother about)

• Some not so good stories involved getting the money to the Honiara Church account. Even though all of the details were correct, for some reason the money went into the Bank of South Pacific instead of ANZ.  It was only that my host for the week, Myrah, pastor of th eHoniara Church, used to work for ANZ and knew exactly who to contact to trace down the money. But that wasn't the end of the story. Because we had transferred a large sum from Australia and then basically withdrew it on the same day to pay invoices, we were suspected of money laundering. We were eventually cleared. Two of the bigger accounts were easier because the companies banked with ANZ and we could deposit into their accounts. The other two were more difficult.

• I had forgotten how slowly things can be done (or not done). Even though the orders had been placed up to a month in advance, and we had visited every supplier to confirm the orders , nothing was ready.  In fact, they hadn't even started to compile the orders and when they did, they started to realise some items were out of stock. Because we were on a deadline to make the ship, I didn't accept this information. Even though it tooks hours of standing and waiting, everything was eventually sourced. It just took more effort in looking and accessing.  I was more assertive than normal, because I knew there was no other way. (This is not the Solomon way)

• We had booked the shipping and got a good quote only to find out on Wednesday night that the ship had engine trouble and would not be going on schedule. 

• Marvon just "happened" to run into a man from Polo who was crewing on a ship that was loading and heading back to Polo. It was in fact looking for cargo. It was a much better vessel and had better landing craft and when Marvon presented the quote from the first ship, they agreed to match it.

• Within twenty-four hours of paying for all materials, they were fully loaded. This included the medical equipment, and sheets, towels and curtains that we were able to purchase with money that had been saved. 

• I spent Saturday relaxing and even had a swim and then on Sunday attended the Honiara Wesleyan Methodist Church. This was a fabulous time. I met a lot of people I had not seen for many years. What excited me most was that a young woman preached her first ever sermon and it was fantastic. She had no formal training but certainly had a gift. Another woman presented her annual report from leading the Women's ministry. She said how she has no training to lead this ministry and referred to the need for training many times. It was a great report, including six potential  drawbacks to the ministry and then six solutions to the problems. We had a great celebration feast and of course there were many speeches. When I spoke I encouraged them for their giftedness and abilities and that they do not need anyone to come from overseas to "train" them. They manage lives  which are complex and difficult. They overcome challenges daily. They are the trainers and the teachers. Myrah and I gave  a young woman and her three sons a lift to the bus stop. Some travel on two buses for over an hour to get to and from church. Magalily said, Did you get my tithe? I haven;t been able to come to church for a long time, but I put aside my tithe every week and today I was able to bring it. (Sometimes it is tempting to use it)" she said. What a wonderful example.

• I was able to leave with my heart full

Please pray for the completion of the project. I spoke to the nurse at Polo and everyone is so excited.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Note: See Images on the left hand side

Newsletter 3 -Ps Kay Fulcher 27 September 2025

316 Church hosted a Trivia afternoon to raise funds for this Polo Project.  A hard working team ensured that not only did we raise over $3000.00 but we had a great time. The food was amazing. The people were friendly, excitable and intelligent and the prizes were well sought (fought) over. This event was a tribute to everyone involved and I am so thankful to everyone who served and to everyone who came. How great it is to be a part of God’s incredible family and to work together, having fun at the same time.