Settling In

 

Not only were we assigned our favorite SITAG house, but we found some beautiful orchids, a card, and a chocolate cake waiting for us when we walked in the door.  Oh, how I love our SITAG family!

 



I've been reminded that maybe not everybody has visited us in the Solomon Islands, so our surroundings may be a little bit unfamiliar.  I'm going to try and write through "first time" eyes.  I hang out the clothes to dry in the back yard next to the rain tank.  In the early morning, I watch the sun rise through the mango and palm trees.

 This is the view from our big front porch.  The roof in the bottom left corner is training center, a new building built specifically for our national translators to receive instruction.  The building is beautiful, and we're so thankful for the Wycliffe Associates who worked so hard to complete the project.  In the distance, we can see Savo Island.

 

Thursday and Friday we devoted to driving around town and restocking our house with supplies.  Since we don't have a Super Wal-Mart, we have to make lots of stops at little stores around town, and we get pretty hot and sweaty driving around in the white SITAG van.

 

 

When we got home Thursday afternoon, we created our own White Rhino Coffee House experience with the chocolate cake from our colleague and iced coffee.  I missed my favorite barista, but I was thankful for the decaf Starbucks Via packets I had tucked in my backpack before we left the States.

 

Thursday night, after being in the Solomon Islands for about twenty-four hours, the phone rang as we were tucking children into bed.  It was one of our colleagues who told us that a couple of Lavukal translators had just arrived on the Kosco and were down at the wharf waiting to be picked up.  They had no idea we were here!  Aaron went down to surprise them and found Ezekiel, one of our favorite guys ever.  Simon had also come, but was staying somewhere else, so Aaron brought Ezekiel back up to the training center.  We discovered that Kosco has begun to pick up timber in the Russell Islands, and the ship had stopped at every little village that wanted to load timber.  The ride back to Honiara took over forty-eight hours. 

 

 

Friday morning, we went back into town.  One of the things on my list was to buy a new "basket" or purse.  I found some beautiful handmade baskets, so I bought two from these lovely ladies.  The Choate boys went one way in the van, and the Choate girls went another way on foot so we could get more accomplished.  As the girls and I walked away from the purses, a carver who often sells us beautiful wooden bracelets recognized me and fell in step with us as we walked down the sidewalk.  I assured him that I wasn't ready to buy anything just yet since we just moved back to the Solomon Islands.  But soon I will be ready.  He makes beautiful things!

 





Another way we stay cool is by grabbing some purple yam ice cream at Frangipanni Ice Cream by Honiara's Central Market.

 





We were trying to hurry through our long grocery list because Ezekiel was waiting for Aaron to drive him around town to do some errands, and we also had a meeting after lunch to plan out SITAG's Conference next month.  But we always have time to look for Lavukal people and to get to know them.  When I buy fish or shellfish, I try to find somebody from the Russells, especially after a ship has just come in from our area, and guarding the second ice chest of fish was a young man from Yandina, in the East Russells.  He wasn't Lavukal, but I figured buying fish from him might be the closest I would get.  I can't get the picture of him to download as I'm being reminded that everything takes longer here, especially the internet!  But I'm glad we're here.