Monday, September 28

Marulaon Woman's Daybook

 On my bookshelf…Life Together in Christ: Experiencing Transformation in Community by Ruth Haley Barton.

A heart of thanksgiving for...the cooler temps.  The tradewinds this time of year keep us a little bit cooler and drier!

Creating in the kitchen...breakfast burritos, bean & veggie salad for lunch, and to finish the day, pizza leftover from our traditional Sunday meal.

On my knees in prayer...for our computers. This feels really selfish to me. The girls’ computer died last year. Having a separate school computer is a privilege and convenience for Aaron and me, but the girls can use our computers to write papers, watch videos for school, and do Rosetta Stone French. Aaron’s computer screen died the same day we got the stomach virus. Thankfully he was able to find an external monitor before we left for the village. But his computer battery died several months ago. Needing to keep both his screen and his computer plugged in is a challenge and a stress, especially with our limited electricity in the village, and also makes traveling for translation workshops quite tricky. Several of my computer keys are dying now.

From the learning rooms...Katherine is studying about longer equations and combining x’s in pre-algebra and she’s having fun in the 1840’s with World History. So we’re listening to “Masters of Classical Music: Wagner” and we’ve pulled out Opal Wheeler’s “Adventures of Richard Wagner” as well as “Gold Fever: Tales from the California Gold Rush” by Rosalyn Schanzer. Olivia is learning about the circulatory system in preparation for dissecting a cow’s heart next week, as well as reading and discussing “Their Eyes Were Watching God”.

Pondering these words: “One of the reasons Christianity has become irrelevant in our culture is our inability to stay together.” -Ruth Haley Barton, Life Together in Christ

Outside my window...a very breezy morning! Margaret and Ribeka came to continue weeding our yard. We paid them to look after our ground while we were gone, but there are some areas that are still rather overgrown. Last night we had a huge thunderstorm, lots of rain and thunder big enough to resonate and rumble through our house. The ground is nice and soft today because of all the rain, perfect for weeding!

A few plans for the rest of the week...Aaron has already walked the two miles to talk to Gesu about any Scripture rough drafts he might have in his computer and walked two miles back home again having just missed Gesu. Tomorrow, Aaron will go to a feast day in another village, and Thursday he hopes to have a meeting on the East/Catholic side of the Russell islands, about a 45 minute motorboat ride away. The girls and I will continue to hold down school at home. Friday is Aaron’s birthday, and we look forward to celebrating this incredible man that God has put in our lives.

Saturday, September 26

Market began around 6:30 this morning, and we were back home with the kitchen counters overflowing with good food by 7:00. Our neighbors are so gracious to share their extra produce, and we’re happy to provide them with a little cash flow in return. As I type on the veranda, it’s mid-morning and a stiff breeze has kicked up the waves. Aaron is down at Belza’s house for a translation committee officer’s meeting, the girls are working with the youth for a church cleanup day, and I’m getting ready to peel cassava for lunch.

Olivia is already getting some practice for her future nursing career. Often, her friends will come to the house to request a band-aid, and Olivia makes sure everyone is in good shape before they leave. This morning, several girls lined up their sores for some of Olivia’s good first-aid.

Friday, September 25

 Aaron was checking our big rain tank stand for water damage when he discovered a small boa curled up in between the wooden beams and the metal that sits on top. We like these guys to hang around because they help control the rodent population.

Thursday, September 24

 Olivia and I were using our “little gray cells” while reading Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories, while Katherine and Aaron were adventuring with Milo through The Phantom Tollbooth. The village was quiet and dark last night, then we heard a knock on the door and Henci showed up with a big plate full of mouth-watering breadfruit that had been motued with coconut cream. What good friends we have here!

Today is really Katherine’s birthday, but we had already decided to celebrate tomorrow, on American time. The few things we bought to help commemorate her special day...decorations, art supplies, and cake ingredients...were still floating on the LC Rusa. This ship has a very distinctive, and loud, engine, so we knew we would be able to hear it coming well before it arrived at Marulaon. Sure enough, we finally heard the throbbing of the engine late this afternoon. We counted the right number of red plastic wrapped boxes, white buckets, a propane cylinder, etc, then headed up the hill with a horde of helping hands. What a blessing to have an abundance of food and toilet paper and supplies again.

Tuesday, September 22

In between bursts of rain Team Choate finally loaded up the truck with our cargo yesterday afternoon.

This is the first time we haven’t traveled with our cargo, and it took a lot of faith for me to relinquish our food supplies for this trip, the girls’ school books, and my old Bible that has stuck by me for more than thirty years.

We drove down to the wharf to discover that the landing craft had changed its departure to Tuesday night, but we decided to go ahead and load and stick with our original program. The constant change in schedule over the last three weeks has really taken a toll on us, and we just wanted to get out to Marulaon.

The boat’s crew helped us quickly move everything from the truck, up the loading ramp, and underneath a tarp. Rain had begun again, and I was super proud of my girls, they didn’t slow down one bit.

We got home and finished all of those pesky last things before we fell into bed. Bright and early this morning, we said our goodbyes to SITAG and loaded ourselves into the truck. This is the first time we’ve tried to bring the cello along, and also the first time the family has taken a motor boat to get to Marulaon.

One of our colleagues drove us to Komibo, and our boat was already waiting. Faithful Belza brought along his wife as his crew, and once again we moved our cargo from one vehicle to another and set out for the last leg of our adventure.

Halfway across, we paused for the expected refuel. It’s always a team effort! We were sopping wet by this point, as the splashing waves leaped over the boat. We made great time across the water, and because we only had a few bags with us, we made it up the hill and into the house just before noon. We rinsed off all of the salt water that was beginning to crust over on our skin, unpacked our few belongings, and grabbed a bite to eat. Then we tackled mopping and cleaning up the grime that had accumulated.

Finally, we set off to say hello to as many people as we could while we still had some energy. I especially wanted to see the baby that had been born in our absence and named after Olivia. Having a baby named after you carries great privilege and responsibility, and our girl is thrilled to be honored in this way!

Trying Again

Friday, we were "all systems go".  The Lavucy finally made plans to leave, and we were going to put cargo on the little wooden copra tub, then follow early on Saturday morning in a motor boat.

 However, Friday morning, Aaron and I began feeling like we had been hit by a big truck, and we went back to bed before lunch.  By the afternoon, we confirmed that a stomach virus had taken up residence in our house, and there was absolutely no way we were going to be loading boxes onto a boat at the same time we were puking up our toenails.

Our amazing SITAG colleagues volunteered to load the boat anyway, instead they provided Friday night pizza for Katherine (who was the only one who didn't get sick), and Saturday ginger ale for the rest of us.  Olivia bounced back beautifully, as teenagers do, but Aaron and I needed the full weekend to recover.  So here on Monday, we are not giving up, we're ready to try again.  We're grateful for God's grace and for the hope of His Word that encourages us to keep our hearts soft.

As soon as the rain let up (it's pouring as I write this), we'll be loading the truck and headed down to the wharf to put our cargo on yet another ship, the Landing Craft (LC) Rusa.  It should sail tonight, and we plan to follow tomorrow morning in a motor boat, leaving SITAG around 7 a.m., Tuesday, our time (3 p.m. CDT, Monday).

Gift of Availability

With the lack of regularly scheduled ships, we've once again been given the gift of availability.  Early in the week, we had the opportunity to do some babysitting for a family whose Daddy was away working in village.  We planted tomato seedlings together,

shared a meal, and helped with the bedtime routine.  Each day, Aaron checked with the Lavucy, while we rotated the two sets of clothes that weren't in storage and prepared meals out of a mostly packed pantry, eager to be able to finish wrapping up loose ends and get out to the village.

We also got to run some errands for SITAG, picking up some things and dropping other things at the wharf to send to faraway translators.  All week long, Honiara sat underneath a heavy wind warning as well as a heavy rain warning, so we were thankful that we weren't attempting to make a crossing in a motor boat!  

We got caught in one of those heavy lines of rain and wind as it blew horizontally at Honiara's Central Market.  After waiting a few minutes for the rain to abate, which it didn't, we made a run for the car, our arms laden with fruits and veggies.  I'm sure we gave many people a good laugh that afternoon, and when we made it under the shelter of the vehicle, our glasses quickly fogged up

 We're still here in Honiara.

Thursday we had to make the difficult decision to delay our plans to leave for Marulaon.  The Lavucy wasn't planning to go all the way to our village, and Aaron couldn't get in touch with anyone in the Russells.  We just didn't have any peace about proceeding.  So we're looking for the next boat that is heading our direction...

"We will not live this week again.  Therefore may our hearts, under the perfect tutelage of your Spirit, now glean wisdom from the memory of our passage through the moments and emotions of those days."  

~from Every Moment Holy, "Saturday's Table Blessing"

In which we explore new foods with old friends...

Our SITAG community always graciously supports us through transition, providing meals and extra helping hands to pack and carry.  Tonight, we learned about delicious Flammkuchen from our German colleagues.  The translation is "flame cake", and originally the quickly cooking dish was a way to test the heat in a wood-fired oven.

Our vote is a big YES to adding this deliciousness to our family's culinary repertoire! 

Time to fly...

Katherine called me out on the porch during school recently, she had sighted several Solomons cockatoos in the tree next door.  They flew off, squawking loudly, as soon as I began taking photos.

And now it's time for us to "fly" off to the Russells.  Aaron finally got in touch with the boat crew this afternoon, and the update is that the Lavucy plans to leave tomorrow evening.  For the first time, we are trying the travel combination of putting the majority of our cargo on the copra ship, and then leaving the next day in a motor canoe (Thursday, around 3 p.m., CDT) with the family and a few bags.  The goal is to arrive in the village not too long before all of our boxes do.

 Prayers appreciated as we navigate the next transition!

"The good news is that God uses transition to move us away from ourselves, away from our idols and false substitutes for life, and toward a greater dependence and rootedness in Him.  Transition is a powerful tool in God's hands to show us where we need to let some things die, let others go, to own and embrace at a deep level God's truth and consistency in our lives."  

~Gina Butz, "Making Peace With Change"

Happy early birthday, Katherine!

"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity."  ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Katherine's birthday isn't until later this month, but we are choosing to begin the celebrations early because we hope to be on our way to Marulaon Village soon.

Over the weekend, Katherine made her own birthday cake, a delicious carrot cake with a topper of "13" made of carrot strips.  The SITAG kids joined us briefly to help celebrate our curious girl.

Katherine finds special joy in God's creation.  Just the other day, she caught a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis and took a short video.  Her curiosity about all things outside makes me smile.

 

For morning tea today, Olivia made a fun cake to share with the entire SITAG family.  And now it's time to shut down the kitchen as we get ready to transition back to the village...

Motu Fun

SITAG recently built a new outdoor kitchen.  This new one is huge and sturdy, with plenty of room for working together while talking up a storm!

To celebrate, we worked together the afternoon before the grand opening.  We pulled, peeled, and grated cassava.  We scraped and squeezed coconuts.

And when I went walking early on the morning of the celebration, I could hear the guys moving the stones and see the fire they had just kindled in preparation for cooking.

We gave the girls half a day off school, and they dove in eagerly to help cook cassava pudding, one of our favorite foods, alongside some of our favorite people.

 

"We're meant to experience the strength and encouragement that flow out of doing life together, helping each other live gospel-adorned lives that in turn adorn the gospel in the eyes of the world."  

~Nancy Wolgemuth, "Adorned: Living Out the Beauty of the Gospel Together"

Everything pulled together just in time for lunch, and we sat around the table eating and savoring every bite of food and every bit of fellowship as we celebrated a new building sure to bind community tightly for years to come.