Just to give you a glimpse into the challenges and experiences of some of our colleagues, here is a newsletter sent out by our friends Ron & Roxanne Gebauer after an attempt to leave for their village home last Saturday.
Hi. Well, we packed our town things into storage. Cleaned the stove and refrigerator for the next renters of the dorm we've been living in this time. Packed up all the things for the village, carried them up three flights of stairs and loaded the truck with boxes, bags and gas
cylinders. When I (Ron) say "we," actually it was pretty much Roxanne and Ethan, Matthew, Robyn and Claire. Because of my injured back, my contribution with regard to carrying things was minimal.
By then it was about 2PM, and Roxanne and the gang of four drove the truck into town and down to the wharf. They offloaded the things from the truck onto the ship, the Baruku. Then they headed to the central market to buy some veggies and fruit to take to the village (where they aren't available).
I was alone at the dorm, doing last minute packing of personal items. At about 4 PM, the phone rang. It was the owner of the ship. Emphasizing how sorry he was, he said (summarized):
1. Plans have changed.
2. The Baruku will not be going as far as your port, Wairokai. Instead it will terminate its trip three ports to the north, at Kiu.
3. This has something to do with the dissatisfaction of some people with the outcome of the parliamentary election (the results for W. Areare constituency/district were announced just today).
4. There is no petrol available, so you won't be able to get from Kiu to Wairokai by motor canoe. [my note: this was one of Neil's options, that they would use his 23' bray boat and 55 hp engine at Kiu to take us and our stuff down to Wairokai - though it's doubtful we could have done it in one trip. He was also concerned about weather.)
5.Therefore, please bring the truck back to the wharf and get all of
your things off of the ship.
6.Your tickets will be refunded.
So, Roxanne and the boys went back and retrieved our things.
What additional things to pray for? Here are a few that come to mind
right away:
* Calmness and good attitudes after the election.
* Ships to carry the many people who went to the village to vote back
to Honiara where they have jobs or school awaiting them.
* That we somehow get safely back to the village. (I wonder, are
Roxanne and I too old to take up parachuting?)
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