Daniel Bula of Vella Lavella
A missionary entered a leaf-thatched house on the island of Vella Lavella, in the Western
Solomons. As his eyes grew accustomed to the shadows he noticed in the farthest and
darkest corner a boy about twelve years old. His hands covered his face, especially his
eyes. On closer examination the missionary, Mr Reginald Nicholson from Australia, saw
that the boy’s eyes were severely inflamed and that he was in great pain and distress as a
result. Peeping out from behind his hands he tried to catch a glimpse of the new-comer to
his island but the light hurt his eyes so much he gave up trying.
Mr Nicholson had come to Vella Lavella with medical qualifications, with the intention
of helping people such as this lad. He had only been on the island four days so this was
his first opportunity to show the people his care for them. He went straight back to his
thatched hut which was close by and mixed up a solution of boracic acid He brought it
back in a bowl to the lad and began bathing his eyes with it. The missionary continued
this for over an hour and his relief was evident as the lotion soothed his badly irritated
eyes. Leaving the lad to continue the treatment for himself, Mr Nicholson returned to his
hut, and opened up a case of personal belongings that still waited to be unpacked. He
finally found what he was looking for, a dark green celluloid eye-shade he had used
during his student days. He brought it back to the lad and put it on his head, pulling it
well down to shelter his eyes from bright light. Then he left him.
The next morning Mr Nicholson returned to the lad, whose name he learned was Bula.
Using sign language he tried to persuade Bula to come to his thatched house so that he
could treat his eyes there. But the lad either could not or would not understand what was
wanted of him. Finally Mr Nicholson took him gently by the arm and led him across to
his hut where he again bathed the lad’s eyes. Every day, morning and evening, he came
to the missionary for treatment, and by the end of a fortnight his eyes were completely
free of the painful irritation.
During that time a strong bond of love and loyalty had been forged between the
missionary and his patient who was to last a life-time and affect both their lives for good.
Bula, a twelve year old, had been trained in all the dark practices of his people. His father
was a notorious head-hunter. Once, when Bula was a small child, he and his father came
across a little lad near a neighbouring village. The child was the same age as Bula, but
there was no thought of care for him. The father proceeded to demonstrate to his son how
to strangle the innocent child. Such was the training a boy received in those days. Bula’s
ambition was to be a head-hunter like his father. On one occasion his father, in a fit of
anger, tied Bula into a basket and hid him in a tree. Then he went off on a fishing
expedition for several days. Fortunately his mother searched for him and rescued him.
Bula’s mother had a great influence over the local women, being very tall with a
commanding presence. She possessed hypnotic powers and practised witchcraft.
By the age of ten Bula was self sufficient and practically independent. The men of the
villages were often away, engaged in inter-tribal fighting and head-hunting, so the boys
very quickly grew up. They learned the fighting skills of their fathers and became self
reliant at an early age.
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This was the background of the twelve-year-old Bula whom Mr Nicholson found and
treated for sore eyes. Kindness and care, love and respect for people were foreign
concepts to him, yet he quickly responded to the loving care of the missionary and they
became firm friends. Bula became Mr Nicholson’s cook-boy, although to begin with his
main duty was to have the fire alight first thing in the morning. It was no easy task to
learn the ins and outs of the white man’s ways with food and setting tables. But
eventually this intelligent young lad had learned to distinguish between items of food and
medical goods which were all stored together on the only shelf in the missionary’s small,
one-roomed hut.
Bula also learned to prepare the missionary’s food and did it well. Mr Nicholson
impressed on Bula the importance of reporting breakages, “If you break a plate or cup, or
anything, you must report it to me. So long as you tell me that you broke it there will be
no more said about it.”
One day Bula came along with a broken saucer. “I’m sorry, I broke your saucer, Nikolo,”
he confessed.”
“That’s alright, Bula,” replied the missionary, “I’m pleased that you owned up, that’s
more important to me than a broken saucer.”
Some time later Mr Nicholson discovered that it was someone else, not Bula, who broke
the saucer. “Why did you say you broke it, Bula?” Nikolo asked.
“You told me that whenever anything was broken I must say I did it,” he replied.
Mr Nicholson realised that his use of the language had fallen short and Bula had
misunderstood his instructions. So they continued to learn from each other.
One day Nicholson found Bula very carefully rolling two eggs in an old pair of his
trousers. “What have you got there, Bula?” he asked.
“I found a nest of alligator eggs in the bush. There were many eggs so I took two of them
and I‘m going to keep them warm till they hatch.” replied Bula. “It will only be two more
days before they come out.”
“I’m not too sure I want baby alligators around the place, Bula,” said Nikolo, “but let me
know when they hatch and we’ll see what happens.”
Sure enough, on the second day both eggs opened up and out crawled two baby
alligators. They kept them for five or six weeks, but finally Nikolo made his decision,
“Those creatures are growing quickly, Bula. I don’t like them around the house. One day
they might do some harm to someone. You’ll have to put them back where they belong,
in the river."
The missionary and Bula became dependent on each other. Bula was invaluable in
helping Mr Nicholson to learn the local language and culture as well as helping daily in
the domestic scene. Bula was learning so much from his new friend about the wider
world beyond his island. Most important of all he was beginning to know the Creator
God and Jesus, His Son. As Mr Nicholson learned the language he was able to teach the
Christian message to Bula along with others who came to hear.
But it wasn’t easy for Bula. “You’re foolish to put your trust in a white man, Bula,” the
village people taunted. “Think of all the terrible things the slave traders did to our men in
the past when they came in big ships and took our young men away. They played nasty
tricks on our people. Don’t trust a white man.”
This piece of history was true, the ‘blackbirders’ did come during the 1870s and take men
unwillingly to be sold as slaves to the planters of Fiji and Queensland. The actions of
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these traders made the Christian missionary’s task so much more difficult. But somehow
Bula knew that this white man was different; he could be trusted. He had done nothing
but good since he arrived on Vella Lavella. Although Bula was quite small for his age,
and he was a lone voice standing up to the taunts and threats of many bigger and older
men. He stood firm and remained loyal to his friend.
The sorcerers made threats against Bula. “We’ll call down sickness on you. You know
our word can bring you death. You should leave that missionary and come back to stay
with your own people.”
Bula remained unmoved by the threats, and showed no signs of the sickness or death the
enemy had spoken over him. Although loyalty to his friend meant loneliness and
unpopularity among his own people he maintained his position steadfastly.
For the first year that Mr Nicholson was at Vella Lavella he lived in a temporary thatched
hut down near the shore. Bula came to live with him when he became cook-boy.
The missionary negotiated with the men in the villages nearby and had permission to
build a permanent house on a hill.
“The place where we will build our house is through the jungle a little way, Bula,” Mr
Nicholson said one day. “We’ll have to clear a path first to get all the building materials
to the building site.”
“I’ll help you, Nikolo. We can work together to get the house built,” promised Bula.
It was a year of hard work but at last the house was completed. This was a severe testing
time for Bula. The village people constantly taunted him, “You know there is a specially
evil spirit living on that hill,” the people jeered. “If you go and live with Nikolo, that
spirit will kill you. You know you shouldn’t go near the spirit’s place.”
The young lad, facing this decision alone, was convinced that he had won through against
the evil spirits that had been an integral part of his life to this time.
“I know Nikolo is a good man,” responded Bula. “I know his God protects him and He
will protect me too. I’m not afraid of the evil spirits because Nikolo’s God is greater.”
Many years passed before Bula told Mr Nicholson of the evil spirits reported to be on the
hill where his house stood, and the struggle Bula had with his people over moving in to
live with the missionary. The fact that he made the decision alone, trusting in God, shows
something of the strength of character Bula possessed.
Late one night Bula woke Mr Nicholson.”
“Nikolo! Nikolo! Wake up! I can hear people coming up the hill. I think they might be
coming to take me away, like they said they would.”
Together Nikolo and Bula went out on to the verandah and were surprised to find a
number of men carrying a small canoe in which a badly wounded man lay.
“This is the result of the fight they had this morning,” thought Nikolo. “I had the feeling
they hadn’t finished fighting when we left them.”
Two tribes had been in a skirmish that morning and Mr Nicholson had gone down to the
village to try and stop them. It took some very loud yelling to get them to stop and listen
to him but eventually the fighting stopped. When he saw the wounded man in the canoe
he knew they had started again.
“Bring him up on the verandah,” Nikolo told the carriers. “Let me have a look at his
injuries.”
The man had a badly shattered knee.
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“I can’t attend to this at night,” he said, “There isn’t enough light to see by. This kerosene
lantern flickers too much. I’ll make him as comfortable as I can and work on the knee in
the morning.”
He placed a boracic dressing over the injury and left him to rest until morning. By
daylight he was able to remove several fragments of bone from the shattered knee, then
he inserted nine stitches in the muscle and eleven in the skin. He had just completed the
task when a messenger arrived with the news that fighting had broken out again. Nikolo
left Bula in charge of the wounded man and went down to the village yet again. This time
he had to yell until he was nearly hoarse before the fighters stopped to listen to him.
This was the first surgical case Bula had seen and it made a profound impression on him,
giving him a great desire to learn more of the medical work.
Bula was given greater responsibility for the house and everything in it, and he grew in
Christian character as he took that task seriously. Mr Nicholson was learning more and
more of the language, filling notebook after notebook with vocabulary and notes.
As the missionary learned the vocabulary and was able to translate parts of the scripture
and hymns Bula was learning more and more about the Creator God and Jesus His Son.
One day, soon after they had moved in to the new house Mr Nicholson heard Bula call
urgently, “Nikolo, come quickly! There is a messenger here from your friend the trader
who lives near the lagoon around the coast.”
The missionary came out on to the verandah to speak to the messenger who looked and
sounded very distressed.
“What’s the trouble?” he asked.
“Please come quickly, Nikolo,” gasped the young man, “your friend the trader, who lives
near the lagoon wants you to come straight away to help him. Something terrible has
happened to his neighbour, the other trader.”
“What has happened?” The missionary pressed the distressed messenger for more detail.
“The trader went off early this morning on a trading trip and left his wife and children in
their house. That chief, Sito, who is wanted by the government authorities, brought his
men and slaughtered the trader’s wife and children. Sito and his men also killed all the
people who worked for him. The other trader, your friend, came to help but he was too
late. He wants you to come, Nikolo and help him. He’s afraid the raiding party will come
back and ransack the village houses and trade store,” the messenger explained, obviously
disturbed and fearful of what might happen next.
Mr Nicholson called for some men to prepare their large canoe, gave Bula instructions to
look after the mission, and set off along the coast. The twenty-mile trip in the large canoe
on a choppy sea took four hours. When they finally arrived in the calm waters of the
lagoon the scene that confronted them was horrifying. But it was just the beginning of
two weeks of horror.
The government authorities were called in. Without knowing the full facts, and being
unwilling at first to listen to Mr Nicholson, they blamed the massacre on the whole
population of Vella Lavella. Government police were sent in on a punitive expedition
with orders to kill anyone they found. The police urged the missionary to leave the island
as Sito had vowed to have his head. To add to the confusion, traders from nearby islands
brought parties of their own workers and placed them at points around Vella Lavella with
orders to kill at random. Mr Nicholson pleaded with the government authorities to allow
the local people to conduct the search for Sito and his gang because they knew the land
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best. For two weeks they refused the missionary’s request, claiming all the islanders were
responsible, but eventually, after indescribable acts of horror, the Resident Commissioner
agreed to the local men joining the search for the guilty parties.
While all the violence continued the Vella Lavellans began to migrate to the land around
the mission house. They saw safety in the presence of the missionary who trusted his God
to protect him. Here was a man who possessed no gun, had no locks on his doors, in fact
he had no doors, just open doorways, yet he lay down to sleep every night without fear.
For the first time, the people, who had for three years been unresponsive, now began to
show some faith and trust in the missionary. For three years the missionary had stitched
up ugly gashes on arms and legs, set broken bones and treated deep-seated ulcers without
any expression of gratitude from the people. Suddenly, in the midst of terrifying events
on their island, the people were responding to his care of them by recognising him as
their protector. Thatched shelters were hastily built all over the hillside around the
mission house and the people flocked to them as the only safe place on the island. In a
few days the men who had been sent out to find Sito and his gang returned with their
captives. The very last one to be brought in was Sito himself, captured by Bula’s brother
after a desperate fight. Mr Nicholson personally delivered the rebel by whale- boat to the
authorities.
During the entire dreadful episode Bula remained constantly watchful of Mr Nicholson’s
needs and frequently commented to him, “I’m very pleased that the people have turned to
you in their trouble, Nikolo. They can see that your God is protecting you.”
For the first time in three years Mr Nicholson could see a response to the Christian
message. The numbers of people attending Sunday worship and day school increased
steadily. Many people built permanent homes for themselves near the mission station.
The missionary rejoiced as he watched the word of God begin to take hold in the hearts
of the Vella Lavellans.
Bula, too, early began to absorb the Christian message into his heart. It seemed he was
given a special gift of simple faith in God and His Word. He heard “God so loved the
world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should have eternal life”
and he simply believed it. So he grew rapidly and deeply in knowing God his Father and
Jesus His Son. The time came for him to be baptised.
“When you are baptised, what Christian name would you like to have, Bula?” the
missionary asked.
“I’d like to be Daniel, please Nikolo,” he responded instantly.
“Is there any reason why you choose Daniel?”
“Yes,” came the reply, “when I first came to you and my people were all against me I felt
lonely and afraid. Then I heard the story of Daniel and how he stood alone. God looked
after him in the hard times and I knew He would look after me in just the same way.”
So he became Daniel Bula.
But Mr Nicholson had known him as Bula for so long that he found it difficult to change
to Daniel and continued to call him Bula. One day Daniel came to him looking very
troubled.
“Nikolo, why do you still call me Bula? God has given me a new heart. I know this. So
why don’t you call me by my new name? I want to be called Daniel. This is my Christ
name. You tell me that when Saul of Tarsus became a Christian his name was changed to
Paul. So now that I am a Christian let my name be Daniel.”
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From that time he became Daniel. His progress in learning about the Christian way,
always choosing to please God in the way he went about his daily life, was a great joy to
Mr Nicholson. There were new Christians from nearby villages now living at the mission
station. Daniel took delight in encouraging them to walk in the way of Jesus, taking every
opportunity to help them know God the Father.
Daniel also enjoyed accompanying the missionary on a trip around the island, visiting
villages along the coast, helping with any medical needs they found. He understood that
the purpose of these trips was to gain the confidence of the people by healing their sick
and relieving their pain. He was sensitive to situations and frequently guided the
missionary in the best way to respond to the village people. Once they arrived at a
village at sundown and tried to make arrangements to rent a small hut for the night. They
approached one villager after another, but every one just turned his back and walked
away without answering. They ended up sleeping that night on a platform used for
cooking copra. At daylight Daniel woke Mr Nicholson early. “It would be good if we
leave straight away, Nikolo. We’ve intruded here long enough,” he whispered. So they
left, quickly and quietly, without even leaving the usual small present. Had they stayed it
might have been a bad outcome. On other occasions it was necessary to anchor in the
whale-boat away from the shore and sleep there because no place was made available for
them in the village.
Daniel took a great interest also in the treatment of the injured and sick. Ever since the
first time he witnessed surgery on that damaged knee he was most enthusiastic about
learning how to treat such injuries himself. He was a fast learner. Once, when Mr
Nicholson was away from the mission a man was brought in from a nearby village.
Daniel took control. “What happened to him? ”he asked the carriers.
“He was getting coconuts from a very tall tree when he fell,” they explained. “His leg is
damaged.”
Daniel examined the leg, found where the bone was broken, and proceeded to set it back
in place. The man fully recovered.
On another occasion a man who had been in a fight was brought in with a severe gash
across the side of the head, the ear and cheek bone. Mr Nicholson was there, but Daniel
begged to be allowed to deal with the patient. The gash was cleaned up thoroughly and
then Daniel proceeded to put in the stitches, which he did very well. The man was placed
entirely in Daniel’s care and he recovered completely. Daniel was learning so quickly and
managing these minor surgical cases so well that he took over responsibility for
casualties. A boy of twelve was brought in one day in a serious condition. He had been
playing in the water with his friends when a shark attacked him, tearing a huge lump of
flesh from his thigh. His friends dragged him from the water, bound the torn flesh
roughly back in place, and brought him to the mission station. Daniel at once took charge,
cleaned up the wound, and sutured the lump of torn flesh back in place. The lad made a
full recovery, eventually getting back the full use of his leg.
The most outstanding work Daniel achieved was seen in his orphanage. He had, over the
years, collected orphans and unwanted children from all around Vella Lavella and
adjacent islands. They were brought to the home that had been specially built for him. It
was larger than the usual village house. Two-thirds of it was partitioned off for the boys
and Daniel lived in the remainder. There were times when he had as many as sixteen
boys with him. The boys learned from Daniel’s example what living as a Christian really
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meant. As a result they learned quickly and many of them became Christians because of
Daniel’s influence.
The missionary watched Daniel develop into manhood, ever growing in Christian grace.
“One day, Lord, “he prayed, “would you have Daniel preach to his own people? They are
still living in so much darkness. They come to worship you with spears and axes in their
hands, still afraid of each other. They would understand You and Your ways more
quickly if one of their own people taught them.”
Mr Nicholson began to prepare Daniel for preaching. He was as usual most enthusiastic
about this new venture, for he realised the importance of presenting the Christian
message to his fellow islanders so they would clearly understand and believe it. It wasn’t
long before he was taking part in the Sunday worship services, presenting the gospel with
illustrations that related to their every-day life.
Speaking one Sunday on the verse, ‘Be still and know that I am God’ he said, “You all
know I was out in my small canoe the other day when that big squall came over us. It
took us quite by surprise; it hit so suddenly and so hard. I was a long way from land so
the first thing I thought was, “I must get back to the shore.” But I soon found how useless
and dangerous it was to try and battle against the wind and waves. So what did I do? I
waited. It was best to be still. That was the safest thing to do. If I had continued
struggling, the canoe would have been swamped and I would have been lost. In fact, the
squall soon passed and I was able to paddle home safely.”
“In our lives we get caught by squalls. Waves of fear, anger and jealousy come over us
and threaten to swamp us. If we struggle in our own strength we make more trouble for
ourselves. The safest thing to do is to be still and know that God is in control. If we obey,
all is well. So I urge you to listen to God’s voice, obey Him, and all will be well for you.
Just be still.
Speaking on ‘Man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart’ he
said, “Men are like bananas. You choose one that looks like the best in the bunch. It has a
clean skin and appears to be very good. But when you take off the skin you find a rotten
patch. God often finds a rotten patch in our hearts. We may appear to be good from the
outside, but God sees the evil thoughts and deeds we hide in our hearts.”
For ten years Daniel preached in the worship services with wonderful results. He had the
capacity to use clear illustrations that resulted in the people growing in the knowledge
and understanding of God.
Another of Daniel’s great gifts was his ability with languages. He was fluent in five
Solomon Islands languages, and learned quickly to speak simple but correct English.
There was no written form of the Vella Lavellan language so an alphabet had to be
developed before any translation could be attempted. Daniel worked with Mr Nicholson
tirelessly in the task of translation of scriptures and hymns. Translation was a part of the
daily routine for both Daniel and Mr Nicholson, as they were both aware of the urgent
need for the people to have God’s Word to read for themselves. Daniel was most helpful
in showing Mr Nicholson the exact shades of meaning in words and phrases to ensure
they used the most suitable word in the end. As the result of their work it was not too
long before the Vella Lavellans possessed St Mark’s Gospel, portions of Old and New
Testament, a Hymn Book, the Lord’s Prayer, Apostles ’ Creed plus other special services
in their own language.
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In 1916 Mr Nicholson brought Daniel and his friend Alex on a speaking trip around
Australia and New Zealand. Alex was one of the first people on Vella Lavella to be
baptised. He was a born mechanic and was engineer of the mission launch, managing it in
expert fashion. He was a loyal and devoted young man.
It was evening when their steamship sailed into Sydney Harbour. Leaning over the railing
on deck Daniel was impressed by the numerous lights along the shore line. “Nikolo, there
must be a lot of your people fishing on the reefs tonight,” he said, having nothing in his
island experience to compare with a large metropolis like Sydney.
They landed next morning and were looked after by a friend who showed them some of
the sights of Sydney.
“We’ll go up to the top of the General Post Office. There’s a clock tower there. You can
get a view right across the city,” he said.
Looking down from the giddy heights of the tower to the bustling Sydney streets, Daniel
remarked, “The people look like ants when their nest is disturbed. Why are they rushing
about like that, Nikolo?”
“They’re attending to their work, I expect,” Mr Nicholson replied.
“It doesn’t look like work to me,” he laughed, “it looks as though they’re just playing.”
That night they boarded the ‘bush-steamer’, as the visitors called the steam train, to travel
to Melbourne. After rumbling through the night, daylight revealed many new sights for
the visitors as they travelled on to Melbourne.
“We need eyes on both sides of our heads. There’s so much to see everywhere,” they
decided.
The first several weeks in Victoria were spent becoming acclimatised and inspecting
places of interest.
“The Bendigo gold mine took us deep into the earth,” Alex said at the end of one outing.
“I wondered if the earth would fall in on top of us.”
“Yes,” agreed Daniel, “I felt the same when we went down the coal mine at Newcastle.
We walked a long distance down there. I wouldn’t like to be a coal-miner working
underground without seeing the sun all day.”
But without doubt the day Daniel spent in the operating theatre of the Melbourne General
Hospital was the highlight of his visit. Mr Nicholson came home one day and announced,
“Well, Daniel, I’ve arranged with a doctor friend of mine for you to watch a major
operation at a big hospital tomorrow.”
“Oh, thank you Nikolo that will be very interesting.” he replied, excited at the thought of
such a special outing.
In the morning Mr Nicholson took Daniel to the hospital, made sure he was settled in the
theatre and went off on some errands in the city. Returning an hour later Mr Nicholson
was surprised to find Daniel enjoying morning coffee with a group of medical students.
“Daniel, how did you get on in the operating theatre? Did you understand what they were
doing?” Mr Nicholson asked.
“Yes, I had a good time,” replied Daniel.
As they went off to have lunch Mr Nicholson asked, “What would you like to see this
afternoon, Dan? Where would you like to go?”
“”I’m going back to the hospital,” Daniel replied confidently.
“Bur you can’t just go to the theatre without being specially invited,” Mr Nicholson said.
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“That’s alright, Nikolo,” Daniel assured him, with a broad grin, “It’s all been arranged.
Your friend told me I could come back early after lunch and stay the whole afternoon. He
said there would be some interesting things going on that I could watch.”
So Daniel spent the rest of the day at the hospital, most impressed with the procedures he
observed.
“I saw an amputation, three appendix operations and a large growth removed from a
man’s body,” he reported to Mr Nicholson later. He sat silent for a while, then said
longingly, “There’s one thing I’d really like to be in my own country, Nikolo.”
“What’s that?” asked Nikolo.
“I’d like to be a doctor of the knife,” was his reply.
As well as visiting Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and South Australia, Mr
Nicholson and Daniel travelled together on a ten-week tour of New Zealand. There were
missionary meetings at towns from Invercargill in the south to Wanganui in the North
Island. Everywhere they spoke there was great enthusiasm among the congregations as
they heard Daniel tell his own story, interpreted by Mr Nicholson. At the end of the tour
the donations to missions had doubled the previous year’s total, an indication of the
positive response Daniel roused in his listeners.
Wherever they went Daniel also visited local places of interest. He was shown the
workings of flour mills, a woolen mill and a paper mill, food preserving works, shipyards
and foundries, pottery and furniture manufacture. With his keen powers of observation
Daniel asked many questions and seemed to comprehend quickly what he was told.
As they walked along a street one day a white vehicle went rushing past with bell
clanging loudly above the windscreen. “What is that car, Nikolo? Isn’t it going too fast?”
Daniel asked his friend. “And why is the bell ringing?”
“That’s an ambulance, Dan,” Mr Nicholson explained. “If someone suddenly becomes
very ill, or is hurt in an accident, the ambulance is called for and the patient is rushed to
hospital.”
“Who pays for the ambulance ride?” Daniel asked.
“The government pays the cost of the ambulance,” Mr Nicholson explained.
Daniel was impressed that the government provided such services.
Another day Daniel noticed a large building with ‘Institute For The Blind’ in large letters
on the gate.
“What’s that big building, Nikolo?” Daniel asked, “I saw the word ‘blind’ on the gate.” .
“That’s the Institute for the Blind. People who are blind or partly blind can go there to
school. They learn a special kind of reading called Braille. The letters are punched
through stiff paper with a sharp pin and the blind person reads it with their fingers.”
“What about writing, then? Do they write in the same way?”
“They learn to use the type writer. They can also learn different crafts so they can earn
some money.”
One of the high-lights of the New Zealand visit was climbing snow-covered Mount
Egmont in mid-winter. Bare-footed, Daniel tramped across gullies in which drifts of
snow were forty feet deep. Soon after this he was enjoying the hot springs of Rotorua.
Swimming in the warm waters of the thermal area was an experience he remembered
long after he returned to Vella Lavella.
Soon after they arrived in Melbourne Daniel had been a guest speaker at the annual
missionary gathering of the Methodist Church in the Melbourne Town Hall. A year later,
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after travelling through Australia and New Zealand he was again invited to speak to the
missionary gathering. His address, spoken in his own tongue and translated by Mr
Nicholson, was a powerful statement that gripped the audience from beginning to end.
“My chiefs and friends,” he began, “I am glad to look into your faces again. We meet as
one family, the great family of God. He is the loving Father of us all. In days gone by my
people couldn’t gather as we are gathered tonight. True, in the past we did gather together
but it was only so we could plan to kill. Of love we knew nothing. If we didn’t arrange to
go to a distant place to fight, we fought amongst ourselves. We were foolish. Our
gatherings ended in quarrels, fights and death.
How different in your country! Here you come together from great distances, yet you can
be friendly, and not only friendly, but truly friends. I’m not blind. I see that you truly love
each other. I want to say that I’ve had a good time amongst you. I’ve been to many places
in Australia and New Zealand and now I’m back in Melbourne again.
Yours is a great country. You have many amazing things—steam ships, steam trains, big
houses. But I don’t covet them. What I do covet is the Christian message. It is the
Christian message that has made your country a good country. You have been very good
to me, but I must tell you that there were times when I have been angry in my heart.
Listen. Once Mr Nicholson was angry with us because we had too many kerosene lamps
burning in one room. He told us we were wasting kerosene. So I say to you that you have
too many ministers and too many churches in one village. You are wasting the light of
the gospel. I do not say to you to give up using your ministers, but what I do say is this—
send more of them to the dark places. Thousands of people on great islands near my
home are living in darkness and you could give them light. Boys and girls are growing up
without knowing about Jesus Christ. Old people are dying in that condition because there
are not enough teachers to tell them about the love of God. Give us more missionaries.
You have so many in this country. Couldn’t you spare us a few? How can my people go
straight without guidance? They are like little children who need to be taken by the hand
and led along the pathway to the Great Father. And they are waiting, waiting.
Another thing - as I go about your country I see the streets of the big cities on dark nights
made as bright as day by many lamps. I see the light of one lamp meet the light of the
second, and the light of the second meets the light of the third, and so on until the whole
street is full of light and there is no darkness at all. Let the time come quickly when there
will be so many missionaries in my country that the light of one mission station will meet
the light of the next, and the light of that to another, until the whole of the Solomons are
flooded with the light of the gospel.
I may not look into your faces again, but let us meet together in the Kingdom of God
where we will all be children of the Great Father.”
Soon after this meeting Daniel returned to Vella Lavella with Mr Nicholson and his
family. He never forgot the wonderful hospitality he enjoyed in Australia and New
Zealand and often spoke about his experiences.
“Our children need a new home Nikolo, there are more children and the house we’re in
now is old.” Daniel commented to Mr Nicholson soon after their return. “In Australia we
saw houses that had been put up in a few days. They gathered all the building materials
together before they started building. I’m going to try the same method to build a new
home for the orphans.”
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Mr Nicholson watched as Daniel made arrangements with his friends around the island to
supply quantities of the necessary materials. One village where bamboo was in good
supply agreed to provide the required amount. Another village said they would be
responsible for sago leaves for thatching and sago wood for walls. In another village
there was a certain creeper growing that they used for binding purposes. Others agreed to
provide the large timber for the framework
When all the materials were gathered in the various villages, Daniel borrowed his
brother’s small boat to go around and collect it all. Then they set to work on the building
with great enthusiasm. Daniel divided his workmen into two teams and in a very short
time there was an imposing two-storied house standing complete.
An incident occurred when the men were collecting the materials in the small boat. They
had made several successful trips when one day the boat was caught in a severe squall
which caused the vessel to capsize. The five boat boys were in a dangerous situation as
they were several miles from land, the seas were crashing around them and the sky was a
threatening black. There was no hope of righting the boat.
“Get the dinghy ready,” ordered their leader. “It’s very small, but we’ll have to send two
of you in it to get help.”
Six hours later the chosen two arrived at the mission station, utterly exhausted. Mr
Nicholson was away at Gizo with the launch that day, so Mrs Nicholson took their
message. “The small boat has capsized and the other three boys are out there in the storm
somewhere, clinging to the boat. We must get help for them.”
Mrs Nicholson thought quickly, then called Daniel. They obtained two canoes. Mrs
Nicholson prepared food for the crew. Then she put in lanterns and matches for she
realised they would be spending some time in the dark. Daniel took charge of one canoe
and went straight to the ship-wrecked men, following directions from the two
messengers. The other canoe was sent to Gizo to inform Mr Nicholson and enlist his
help. This canoe arrived at Gizo in record time and ten minutes later Mr Nicholson and
the crew were speeding in the launch to find the upturned boat and its crew.
When Daniel reached the capsized boat he looked at the three boat boys who had been
clinging to the boat for nine hours.
“You men are exhausted,” he said, “You should go straight back to the mission station in
the big canoe. I’m going to stay here with my brother’s boat and try to save it. I don’t
want my brother to lose his boat because of our building work.”
One of the crew of the canoe spoke up. “If you stay, Daniel, I’ll stay too,”
The six others of the crew joined him and even the three survivors were willing to stay
and help Daniel. For some hours they struggled with the boat and after much difficulty
got it dismantled and turned right side up. It was impossible to bale the water out of it It
was waterlogged. They were miles from land, it was dark and there was nothing they
could do except wait for Mr Nicholson to arrive in the launch. It was a black night for
them.
The launch travelled from Gizo at top speed, following the directions given by the
messengers in the canoe. They had covered the distance estimated by the messengers, but
there was no sign of the boat. After a long search in the vicinity with no result the captain
of the launch suggested, “There is a strong tide running. Don’t you think that they might
be carried miles away by now? I think we should run with the tide.”
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So they zig-zagged their way helped by the tide, calling and searching through the dark
for mile after mile. They were beginning to despair of finding them when a crew member
called, “A light! I saw a light over there!” He pointed in the direction he thought he had
caught a glimpse of light.
The others looked and for minutes there was hope then doubt.
“It’s a fire on a tiny island.”
“No, it’s a light.”
“Yes! It’s moving from side to side. They have a light.”
“It is a light! They’re waving it to get our attention.”
It was after mid-night when the men on the launch located the distressed boat and crew.
Mrs Nicholson’s forethought in sending out the lanterns had saved the men and the boat,
for it was being carried past the last of the islands, twenty miles from where it had overturned, when they found it.
They were soon on the way home in the launch, towing the water-logged boat, which
made the task heavier. They were relieved to see the welcome light in the mission house
as they arrived at three o’clock in the morning. Everybody was out on the wharf to meet
them. The men, chilled after their ordeal in the water, enjoyed buckets of hot tea in the
kitchen of the mission house and sang praise to God for saving them from a near disaster.
Once on a dark, moonless night, a party of men was returning to the mission station in the
launch when suddenly the engine began to race.
“The clutch is slipping,” Mr Nicholson cried.
“No,” called the boat’s engineer, “It’s the propeller. It’s gone!”
This was a predicament. There was not a breath of wind, so the sail was no use.
“There’s a small island just over there,” said one crew member. “Maybe we could try to
land on it.”
But even as he spoke they realised that the strong tide was carrying the launch around the
end of the island. Beyond that was the open sea. They had no dinghy and no oars. The
situation called for immediate action.
They ripped up a few boards from the deck and began using them as oars to try and
paddle to the island but the tide was too strong for them and it was clear they would soon
be out in the open sea. Mr Nicholson began to remove his boots when they heard a
splash. Daniel had dived overboard into the inky, shark-infested sea.
“Throw me the tow-rope!” he called.
Other crew members, inspired by Daniel’s brave act, jumped into the water with the towrope and together they hauled the launch around and towed it towards the small island. It
was a long, hard struggle but eventually they succeeded in anchoring the launch on the
reef out of the clutches of the rushing tide.
Once again Daniel was the hero of the day for his fearless leadership of fellow crew
members.
In 1921 Daniel was married to Rini Vailoduri. People from all over the island gathered
for this great event. Rini had lived in the Nicholson's home from the age of eight, later
becoming the nurse-girl for the Nicholson’s young son. She was practically a member of
their family, with a happy disposition; often she could be heard singing as she worked
around the home. Rini was an ideal partner for Daniel.
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The church was decorated with palm leaves and feathery ferns, brilliant flowers including
graceful native orchids. After the happy ceremony some hundreds of people sat down to a
lavish feast of pigs, fish, taro, chickens, tapioca, and a variety of delicious fruits.
After the feast many men spoke to the gathering. There was one thought above all others
that they expressed. “Before the missionaries came we only met together like this if we
wanted to make war on someone. Now we can meet as friends with love and friendship in
our hearts towards each other.”
These comments were rewarding to the missionaries who had spent years of their lives to
lead the people into that truth.
Daniel became the appointed catechist for the station. He possessed natural leadership
talents which developed rapidly because the missionary gave him responsibility on the
mission station. His people looked to him for guidance, advice and counsel. He was
school teacher, preacher, First Aid specialist and general overseer. But over and above
the duties on the station he became counsellor in matters of land disputes, love affairs,
and domestic problems around the island. All sorts of matters were referred to him and
the people depended on him for leadership and advice.
He accepted responsibility for large tasks quite happily, enjoying the experience of
organizing the men to work in teams.
He was equally adept when it came to the annual Christmas party. Food was gathered and
prepared, games were organised for the whole community, like canoe races, and climbing
the greasy pole, all under Daniel’s leadership.
The reason for his remarkable ability lay in the fact that he was devoted to serving God,
studying His Word and praying. Daniel’s presence brought peace into a situation. He
possessed an inner calm from God, which reflected his faith. “Be still and know that I am
God.” was a way of life for him.
So Daniel Bula grew in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, leading and teaching
his people, knowing intuitively that God had laid His hand on him and called him to this
special task of leading his people into the Kingdom of God.
Daniel and Rini had been married only ten months when Daniel complained one day of a
pain in his side. He wasn’t feeling well but he continued work as usual. After two days he
was running a high temperature that the nursing sister was unable to control. The next
night he became delirious and a little after midnight he died.
It was all so sudden and unexpected that those left behind took some time to comprehend
what had happened and how Daniel’s departure would affect them personally.
Rini, his wife of only ten months, was understandably heart-broken. In a letter to Mr and
Mrs Nicholson, who had returned to Australia because of ill health, Rini wrote:
“Today Dani is not here. I listen for the sound of his voice and long to see his face, but all
in vain. I cannot understand why God took him. I am amazed. But I know He has gone to
be with God, because his face at the time of his going was lit with a wonderful light.”
The nursing sister on the mission station wrote:
“Daniel was both our right and left hand in the work here. Perhaps God knew that we
trusted too much in Dan and not enough in Him. He was always ready. He fixed up the
squabbles and straightened out the difficulties of both non-Christian and Christian. Yet he
always stressed that only God could solve their greatest need. Daniel assured them he
was a poor substitute.”
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Friends in New Zealand wrote, “Daniel Bula was only twenty-eight years of age when he
died, yet he lived to see his people become Christian in character. In his life-time he saw
the banishment of head-hunting and child murder. He saw love-feasts take the place of
tribal fights. He saw notorious head-hunters of their generation take their sons in their
canoes to their preaching appointments. God had brought about dramatic change in Vella
Lavella in just one generation, and much of it was through the devotion of one man,
Daniel Bula.
Rini had a baby son whom she named Daniel Bula, with the prayer that he would grow
up to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“Through his faith he is still speaking” Hebrews 11: 4
Adapted from The Son of a Savage, R.C.Nicholson, Epworth Press, London, 1924
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