Monday, August 25, 2014

Monday bits and pieces...

Just a quick check-in this morning.  Before Aaron left for the village, we enjoyed brunch with these amazing Wycliffe Associates who are in Honiara for a few days.  Have I mentioned how much we love WAs?
 

We've been talking to Aaron on the radio twice a day, and village e-mail has been working beautifully, too.  Here's a tiny summary of Monday's work with the translators:
 

"Twas a good day.  Not so much in dealing with Translation stuff, but lots in just sharing together, making a better team of all of us, better men, followers of Christ.  We wrestled with lots of stuff...   Had a really good time exploring Matthew 18:15-17 together and how our cultures approach the life application of that scripture differently.  Even identified how Lavukal culture veers a bit differently from this passage of scripture and the need to have Holy Spirit expose for us the ways Lavukal culture needs to adjust to have God redeem it.  Good stuff."

 
 Aaron is also trying to work on a cross-cultural miscommunication between one of my friends in the village and me.  I have a friend in Marulaon who wanted to have a special gift made for my mom and for Gayly because they came to visit us in the Marulaon.  Two beautifully carved coconuts showed up with a friend from Marulaon on the Kosco last week, carved by a man in another Lavukal village.  But we are being asked to pay quite a bit of money for them as our part of the "gift"!  So we are trying our best to maintain good relationships yet not set bad patterns for the future.  Would love prayers for wisdom on this situation!


Yesterday, a cruise ship arrived in Honiara for a few hours.  It was a ship from Paul Gaugin Cruises, and we felt kind of special that it stopped in our little out of the way corner! 

Hope everybody's week is of to a great start.  We expect two visitors from JAARS today, and a precious colleague finally returns to SITAG today after leaving the country for a medical emergency two years ago.  And Aaron should be home sometime Wednesday night or early Thursday morning!  Lots of great things to look forward to this week!  What's coming up for you?


5 comments:

Herding Grasshoppers said...

That is some tricky - and important "Bibley" stuff you're working on - the gift thing, and conflict resolution. Tough in one's OWN culture, much less a mix.

Praying for you!

Julie

Anonymous said...

a real victory:

"in just sharing together, making a better team of all of us, better men, followers of Christ"

press on, fellow victorious Choate brothers and sisters!

In my corner of the world, today I'll go pick up my little cousins from school (I feel like a mom!) and later visit some international students at a Bible Study.

<3 Edi

Nahna said...

Prayers in all regards...

Culture stuff is so difficult. Love the picture of Aaron with colleagues...such a genuine, happy countenance. Thanks for the posts you place on the blog...so helpful to keep up with things there.

Love to you 6

Choate Family said...

Wow! Thanks for the prayers, everybody!

Edi, you are just practicing your "Mom" skills for when you come to visit :-)

Nahna, you gave Aaron the genes for that happy countenance. I've got a good looking husband for sure -thanks for raising him so well!

Joanna

Bartokhound said...

I'll add something a bit different and unconventional into the mix. Don't hate me for it. I love the gift and, while I'm praying for resolution, I had a selfish thought that, with our visit upcoming in December, maybe we, too, might talk with this friend in the village (we would cover the expense of the gift)! :-) That's terrible, isn't it?

Love you guys!

Jayla