Aussie officers begin ‘challenging but rewarding’ ministry in the Solomons
- 8 hours ago
- 7 min read
Salvos Online international reporter SIMONE WORTHING recently interviewed Captains Brad and Joycelyn McIver, who shared some of their experiences and impressions from their first couple of months in the Solomon Islands. The McIvers replaced fellow Australian officers Majors Robert and Vanessa Evans, who recently returned home after serving eight years in the Solomons.
“The day has finally arrived,” wrote Joycelyn, as she and Brad left Australia on 9 January 2026 to begin their new roles as District Officers for the Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Territory (PNGSI) – based in Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands.
“After a long season of waiting for visas, we are on our way to begin a new season of serving God and his people in the Solomon Islands. The past two months have been a precious gift; time spent with dearly loved family and friends that we will hold close to our hearts. The memories made, hugs shared, and laughter enjoyed will be treasured in the years ahead. Saying goodbye has been incredibly hard, with many tears along the way, but we go forward trusting in God’s leading and filled with expectation for all that lies ahead.”
INTERVIEW WITH THE McIVERS
The McIvers were warmly welcomed to the Solomon Islands.
Salvos Online: How long have you been in the Solomon Islands and what have you been doing so far?
McIvers: We arrived on 9 January, although we had (mainly Brad) been providing support remotely from Australia since 1 October 2025. We have been acquainting ourselves with the District, meeting our leaders, and navigating life in Honiara. The journey has already been incredible and filled with so many blessings, We’ve been warmly welcomed and embraced by the most beautiful people, had the privilege of ministering alongside an amazing team, settled into an incredibly beautiful part of the world, and witnessed God at work moving in lives and opening doors through the bureaucratic and business processes involved in establishing life in a developing nation. There have been challenges too: adjusting to the intense heat and humidity of a tropical climate, navigating bureaucracy and business systems, learning a new language, finding new rhythms of work and life, and feeling the ache of missing family. Yet through it all, we hold tightly to the peace of our calling and are choosing to embrace every moment.
Brad and Joycelyn are loving the beauty all around them.
What are your initial impressions of The Salvation Army here, the country and community, and your new way of life?
We are a young Army taking baby steps in ministry and mission whilst seeking to stabilise leadership and financial structures for future kingdom growth. The country and community are very friendly, and we feel very safe here and have freedom to roam around the city of Honiara. The infrastructure is quite underdeveloped and there are limited types of food and other goods available. This also means adapting to new routines and shopping and cooking differently. We have experienced the Solomon Islands as a culture of just dealing with one thing, a day at a time, with very little preplanning and strategic thinking and this can be quite frustrating at times.
Is there anything completely unexpected there that was a total surprise to you?
A dual economy (two separate economic sectors within one country, divided by different levels of development and technology. It usually features large disparities in income, access to technology, and living standards.) Village life is primarily subsistence in nature, but as soon as people step out of their villages everything costs money and lots of it, which makes life and ministry very tough for them.
You have also visited Papua New Guinea since your arrival – what is the relationship between the two nations and what ongoing contact will you have?
The Solomon Islands is a District of the PNGSI Territory and so we really report to THQ leaders and their departments, and we visit twice a year for leadership gatherings. While we are a part of the territory, being a different country can mean that some policies and procedures need to be flexible to cater for the differing country requirements. Lieut-Colonels Garth and Suzanne Stevenson, PNGSI Chief Secretary and Assistant Chief Secretary/Territorial Secretary for Women’s Ministries, came from Papua New Guinea to instal us as District Officers (with Joycelyn also being District Director of Women’s Ministries). During their visit, the Stevensons also conducted training sessions for church leaders from various Salvation Army congregations across the district.
Lieut-Colonels Garth and Suzanne Stevenson installed the McIvers.
What are some of the lifestyle changes you are making?
While we have freedom to go anywhere anytime, traffic in Honiara means that it can take many hours just to travel a small distance, so we tend to plan a list of things or activities to do and spend the day out running errands. It’s not easy to just pop out to the corner supermarket and back. The heat and humidity take some managing and we are slowly acclimatising, but we have decided not to use air con as power is very expensive, so a cold shower and ceiling fans tend to be the best option. It is hard being away from family and friends, and being the only expat officers in the country can at times be very isolating and lonely.
What are you loving already in the Solomon Islands?
The people are just amazing and we love them deeply. The scenery is spectacular and we have just barely scratched the surface of what there is to see. You have to live a slower life as nothing happens quickly in the Solomon Islands.
What are you looking forward to in the weeks and months ahead?
We have just had most of our Solomon Islands church leaders here in Honiara, which was a real blessing, but we will also be heading to the provinces for the Easter Campaign, so all of the village churches will receive support during that time which will be a blessing for all involved. We hope to sign contracts and move our Honiara Corps officers into their new quarters which was funded by the Australian 2024 Making It Happen campaign. We have also been supported to continue our roles with the Hope and A Future project, so will again be visiting the Gold Coast with this year’s team in the first week of July. This will also provide a quick opportunity to connect with family which is awesome.
What are some of the challenges you face, and how can The Salvation Army Australia be praying for you both?
The heat and humidity are challenging, and travel anywhere is not easy. There are frequent power outages and internet is intermittent and slow. We are a young Salvation Army, so our people are on a steep learning curve. We are a grant-funded Territory and District and finances are tough. We trust God in all things and do our best to be good stewards of the funds we do get. But we have never seen more faithful Christian living and Salvationism in our lives, and we are deeply grateful to be learning and growing with God’s people in the Solomon Islands. We miss family, especially the grandchildren, and pray for wisdom and opportunities to continue to develop those relationships. We are grateful for God’s calling and press into that during the challenging times. We have a deep peace about being here and feel very blessed to minister alongside the people of the Solomon Islands.
Unique snapshot
In February, Brad and Joycelyn spent six days visiting three Salvation Army churches on the Isle of Malaita. Below, Brad shares some of that journey.
“What an experience!
“It was a deeply blessed and equally stretching time physically, mentally and emotionally. Travel included a ferry from Honiara to Auki and back (2.5 hours there, five back after the boat lost an engine), three long rides (one over five hours) crammed into the tray of a pickup truck with 30+ people and supplies, plus an outboard motorboat and a canoe.
We lived without electricity, fans, flushing toilets or hot showers. We bathed and washed calico (clothes) in rivers, used a squat pit toilet, and slept on thin foam mattresses on the floor. We were constantly hot, muddy and sleep-deprived, and I came home with over 50 painful bites. At times I cried, unsure I could keep going. Yet pushing through revealed the joy and beauty of simple, communal, village life.
In every village, we were warmly welcomed. Despite language barriers, we shared kai kai (food), deep tok tok (conversation), amazing worship, much prayer, and learned from one another through laughter, gestures, patience and a shared love of Jesus.
A beautiful elder matriarch pulled me up a steep muddy hill (after I slipped) to teach me how to harvest and cook taro. When some of the villagers took us on an 8km ‘short walk’ and I slipped in the mud and injured my knee, two teenage girls held my hands and helped me through.
We watched women gather at the water source to wash calico and cooking utensils and share life as they did so. We swam in the river with pikininis (children) and young adults (nothing is done alone), and saw the whole village unite to prepare celebrations and raise their pikininis. Western individualism misses so much.
We learned the rhythm of village life, early mornings and late evenings for work, rest and stillness in the heat of the day.
We are grateful to be welcomed back as soon as we can to teach Scripture, sewing, and help train for Sunday school, Home League, and Learning Spaces. We’re honoured, but we have learnt and will learn so much more from them than they from us as we journey in ministry together over the next few years.
I returned exhausted and physically worn, yet full-hearted and overflowing in spirit. We are not taking this season for granted.
To view images of the Malaita trip, click through the slideshow below:
