Honiara Woman's Daybook

For Today...Monday, December 5

Outside my window...a dog on the porch waiting for me to go exercise and a glassy ocean, we've had a couple weeks of bright sunshine and calm seas, great for sea travel

I am thankful for...our friends and family who work so hard to stay in touch across the miles

I am praying for...friends going back to the village on Friday:  calm seas and good transitions

I am going...to be writing lots of e-mails about furlough, scheduling churches and housing.  If you or your church is interested, please let us know ASAP.

I am reading..."Re-Entry:  Making the Transition from Missions to Life at Home" by Peter Jordan, it likens coming back on furlough to the re-entry of the space shuttle with all of the heat and stress involved

I am hoping...to make reservations at an Arkansas State Park for Aaron and me to have several days in May to review our time overseas and plan for our time in the States.  Yay for grandparents!

I am hearing...kids practicing piano

I am remembering...going Christmas tree shopping as a child.  The best trees were the ones we had to tie to the stair rail because they were so big!

From the learning rooms...a quick glance at Africa, India, and Southeast Asia in the Middle Ages; trucking steadily along in math, typing, etc.

From the kitchen...veggie beef stew in the slow cooker so it can cook while Aaron and I meet with the director and his wife.  I love the way the house smells when the slow cooker is going!

Around the house...ten pineapples sitting on the school table waiting to be cut up for the dehydrator, Katherine's handy wreath on the front door

Something I want to remember...Katherine's sweet hands and fingers:  making her Christmas "holly" wreath, stroking my face when we snuggle, helping me make cinnamon rolls

On my mind...finishing well and planning well for furlough.  These two things are coloring everything we do right now.  The colors just change - today, I think it's green.

Noticing that...the sun rises so VERY early here - by 5 o'clock the horizon is bright and the heat is building

Pondering these words..."Like the astronaut guiding his craft back into the earth's atmosphere, returning missionaries must negotitate many potential hazards.  They too must cover dangerous territory; dangerous in terms of the emotional, spiritual, and relational damage that can occur if the process is not handled correctly."  --Peter Jordan

One of my favorite things...Skype, I know I've said it before, but there's nothing like sitting down and typing in real time and occasionally seeing somebody you love who lives very far away

A few plans for the rest of the week...our village debrief this afternoon, a s'mores party tomorrow night, lots of AC meetings for Aaron, dehydrating lots of pinapple on Wednesday, company Thursday night, a motu on Friday with Naomi, and lots of work toward scheduling furlough

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...some "school pictures" (thanks, Naomi!)