Honiara Woman's Daybook

 Just for today...Monday, January 19

From the learning rooms...only three days of school this week so we can pack up the books for the village.  Sarah and Benjamin are finishing up Oliver Twist and their research projects, Katherine is learning about compound subjects and reviewing her times tables in math, and Olivia is studying countries in the Middle East and learning about genetically modified food in science.  So proud of my kids for their diligent school work!

On my bookshelf..."The Last Heathen:  Encounters with Ghosts and Ancestors in Melanesia" by Charles Montgomery.  Don't let the title put you off, this is a must read for anyone coming to serve in Melanesia or just wanting a better understanding of the world in which we live.

Crafting in the kitchen...pumpkin pecan streusel breakfast braid.  Living in Honiara means we can bake to our heart's content (or at least as long as we can afford to buy the expensive baking ingredients).

Pondering these words...
"We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.  In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.  Quite the contrary -- we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!" 

Romans 5:3-5 The Message

A heart overflowing with gratefulness...for electricity.  Both Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, Honiara's power went off for 4-5 hours.  SITAG has a generator, but it's not working.  No electricity means no pump to get Honiara water into the houses, so the kids had to haul buckets of water and grab a cup for their showers.  I sat on the porch and enjoyed the view

and the breeze while I wrote letters and made myself be still and quiet.  I'm so thankful for electricity and the things that run on it (especially the fridge and the washing machine!).



One of my favorite things...this practical planner that I just found on a bloggy friend's page.  The planner doesn't really work for me here, I don't have carpets to vacuum, a dishwasher to unload, or a vehicle to clean, but I'm looking forward to using the beautiful pages to keep me on track when we return to the States.

Around the house...Saturday night one of our thoughtful SITAG colleagues hosted us for supper.  This freed us up to cook.  All day long. 

We had lots of hands to help, whether it was chopping onions, mixing banana bread, or washing dishes.  My sweet Sarah spent more time than any of us mixing and following recipes.  But now we are prepared to finish this week well and begin the next week in Marulaon a little more easily. 

Wearing out my knees in prayer...for the chaos of the future.  Would you please join me as we give everything we've got to live well in Marulaon Village while planning and preparing to return to the States in just a few months.

A few plans for the rest of the week...just packing up and getting on a boat early Sunday morning!