Trip to Marulaon

Thursday, March 3
Yesterday afternoon, Aaron went back down to the wharf to load while the kids said their goodbyes to the friends and I finished cleaning up the house.  One of our colleagues stopped by to help and another called with the offer of supper.  About 5:20, our friend with supper called to say that the food was ready.  Ten minutes later, she called back to tell us that Aaron had called (expecting us to be at our friend's house) to say that the ship planned to leave at 6:00.  She quickly put the food into portable containers, and we loaded into a van and drove to the wharf.

Thankfully, the "six o'clock" was Solomon Time, and we didn't actually get on the boat until around seven.  We got to watch them load the rain tank, though!  The Bikoi finally pulled out around 7:30 as we waved goodbye to friends who had stayed on the dock until the bitter end.  We sat in the harbor for about 30 minutes, then we finally began to chug away toward the Russells.

The captain's wife had convinced the captain to stretch a tarp across the deck since Bikoi 2 was carrying about 15 passengers, including our family.  The hold was underneath us, covered with wooden planks and a plastic tarp.  We just climbed on top with our mats and back packs, but the ride was much smoother than the Bikoi 1.  Rain began to pelt the boat around 8:30, so we were very thankful for the foresight of the captain's wife.

Sol Brew (the local beer) flowed freely among the crew, and the radio blasted all night.  Around 4:30, the ship pulled in between Karumalun and Marulaon and waited for a canoe to pick us up.  Aaron had given the crew an itemized list of our cargo, and they brought the list back with details of our shipping charges.  We were shocked that they charged about three times the rate of the Bikoi 1, but at that point, there was nothing we could do but be thankful that they allowed us on the boat!  Finally, we saw a light approaching, and Ezekiel and the new District Priest, Wilson, pulled up.  Dismounting the Bikoi 2 was quite different from anything I've experienced before!  Thankfully, we had a ladder to climb down into the darkness and the waiting canoe below.  The rain paused long enough for the kids and me to get loaded with a few things, and we sped back to Marulaon.  A new moon and lots of clouds made the night pitch dark, and I was soooo thankful that several of our friends were standing on the shore with flashlights guiding the boat!

We unlocked the door to the house right at 5 a.m. and began sweeping and wiping off gecko poop and spider webs while we waited for Aaron and the rest of our cargo.  The rain picked up while the rain tank was dumped overboard and corralled by two canoes all the way to Marulaon.  Aaron decided to leave all of our stuff underneath Eileen's small shelter until daylight.  The kids and I crashed about 6 for a little nap while "super-man" stayed up and began to unpack.

After a couple of hours, we began to emerge from our haze and began to clean and carry boxes with a vengeance.  Our neighbors helped get everything up to the house.  It was a little disheartening to hear them say things like, "The rain tank is awfully small," and, "You only brought one?"  We tried to explain where we got the money for the rain tank so they didn't think we were independently wealthy.  Once again, a big thank you to those of you who contributed towards the rain tank.  On Sunday, Aaron will make a public gift of the rain tank to the community.

The rest of the day was spent in cleaning, washing clothes, and unpacking.  Ezekiel came by and stayed for a couple of hours in the afternoon and caught Aaron up with the Translation Committee.  No translators have been selected yet, but a meeting is scheduled for next week.  We're hoping that things will move forward quickly now.

We appreciate your prayers so much for things like calm seas and safe travels.  Only one container of petrol (with fuel for the translation committee) went missing, and we are so thankful to be home again.