Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Monday, February 27

Monday, February 27

Our amazing SITAG team took such good care of us over the weekend. They helped us load the truck Saturday afternoon, fed us Saturday evening, and got up early to help us load the truck on Sunday morning.



We arrived at the wharf in clouds and rain, but it was light enough to unload the truck and move the cargo on to the ship.

The inclement weather meant we were almost the first ones aboard, and we were able to quickly secure our favorite spot on the ship and get our boxes lined up neatly against the wall.

Many hands DO make light work!

We've enjoyed our time in Honiara with the other two SITAG families that have teenagers.

When we return to Honiara in April, both of those families will be back in their villages, and we're not sure when we will see any of them next.


We have never seen so many drums of fuel lined up and ready to go out to the provinces!


After we unloaded the truck, we still had two hours to enjoy spending time together before our ship left.
One of the things that I like best about this job is that we enjoy working with our colleagues, but we enjoy playing together, too.

Can you spot the "big kid" who leaped into this picture at the last minute?

We finally had to call a halt to the fun and games as the time for our departure neared.

Our colleagues gathered around us and prayed for us. They prayed for the challenges we would face and especially for Sarah and Benjamin's last trip to Marulaon Village.

Goodbyes are just hard on the heart. We took pictures and waved goodbye as long as we could.


And then the whistle blew and our ship pulled out, leaving a line of ships pulled up to the wharf like a bunch of piglets feeding at the mama pig's side.

We couldn't have asked for a better trip. The skies were cloudy and cool, and as we left the shores of Guadalcanal we plowed through a line of rain with thunder and lighting. It was beautiful and pointed us to the creator of the wind and the rain.


We arrived at Yandina after six hours, and Aaron was able to buy some green coconuts and a slab of cassava pudding. On the wharf, we found a few friends and shouted down greetings to them before another round of heavy rain forced everybody under cover.

I think the rain also shortened our time in Yandina, which was a huge blessing! We often stay for two or three hours waiting for the cargo, but this time we only waited an hour. By the time we arrived at the area in between our village and Ezekiel's village, we had clear skies and sunlight to help us unload our cargo.



One by one, we crawled over the side of the boat and down the rope ladder, and our friends helped ferry us back to shore. Our family and our cargo were all back at the house with time for me to go hug some necks and say "Happy New Year!" to a few friends before it got dark. Thank you for your prayers for a safe trip!

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