Weaver Ants

In Marulaon, we call them naga. National Geographic's May issue has a great article on weaver ants, and the website provides fascinating pictures.  Every time I go to hang up clothes on the line, I look up to see one of their intricately made basket nests.

Snapshots Around the World - Wildflower

This is the clover that our neighbors here in the Solomon Islands like to use for groundcover instead of grass.  You can see more photos at "Snapshots Around the World".

Honiara Woman's Daybook

For Today...Monday, June 13

Outside my window...kids running and playing and banging seed pods like drumsticks

I am thinking...how nice it is to have neighbors!

From the learning rooms...Julius Ceasar, Cleopatra, Augustus Ceasar, Cicero, Mark Antony; Sarah - writing a mystery, multiplying & dividing fractions; Benjamin - research for his paper on Texas, parallelograms, rhombuses, & trapezoids; Olivia - writing an imaginative story, adding and subtracing money; Katherine - learning about the food groups

I am thankful for...family and friends who work so hard to stay in touch across so many miles

From the kitchen...for breakfast Icelandic Almond rolls from "The Great Scandinavian Baking Book",refrito spread from "The New Laurel's Kitchen" on whole wheat tortillas (bought on the sale rack!) for lunch, and tuna bread braid for supper, shared with company

I am wearing...a yellow cotton t-shirt and a denim wrap-around skirt.  I think this is the last week I'll include this prompt.

I am reading..."The Red Sea Rules" by Robert J. Morgan.

I am hoping...that the Baruku (another ship here in the Solomons) actually goes out tomorrow to take our friends some much needed supplies along with some goodies we've prepared for them.

I am creating...a cross-stitched bookmark for Aaron's paternal grandmother's birthday, if I can get it finished in time, the snowflake stitching is on hold until we get some more white embroidery floss.  Oh, I miss the multitude of craft stores in the States.

I am hearing...the very loud percussive sounds of the seed pods on the concrete

Around the house...it looks like a tornado has come through, paper, crayons, schoolbooks, snacks strewn around the front of the house.  Time to tidy up!

One of my favorite things...hearing my children laugh

Pondering these words..."Wash you face every morning in a bath of praise."  --Charles Spurgeon

A few plans for the rest of the week...going to the airport tomorrow to pick up another translator's daughter coming in from the States, tackling the cataloguing of the rest of the books in SITAG's Educational Resource Center begun by a Wycliffe Associate last year

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... Patson and Judy's son, Timmy, playing along in the "seed pod band"

And the winner is...

the Hibbards!  Be looking for the dove to fly into Arkansas in a few weeks.

Sweet Sabbath

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.  I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me."  Psalm 13:5-6

Continuing to number His goodness:

-iced mochas made with this coffee and this chocolate

-Aaron Copland's "Appalcahian Spring"

-beautiful flowers to soften the razor wire across the tops of the fences at SITAG

-reading precious line upon line scrawled across paper by wrinkled hands in a far-away land

-delicious new recipes suggested by friends

-kids opened mouthed in wonder at an ants' nest built in a flower pot

-finally beginning another cross-stitch project after many years

-an almost-twelve-year-old making a "wedding cake" to help us celebrate Pentecost and remind us that we are the bride of Christ

Giveaway

We thought it appropriate to offer one of these beautiful carved doves on this Pentecost weekend.  If you would like a chance to own this, please leave your comment by midnight (CST), Sunday night.

Colossians Day

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ."  Colossians 2:2

An idea has been germinating in my mind for a while.  I'm always wishing that we had more time to do things to encourage and help other people, but I never seem to be able to carve the time out of our daily lives.  It finally hit me that, as a homeschooling mother, especially one who schools year round, I have the ability to make helping others a priority in our lives.  Since our family is still memoring Colossians, I decided to set aside one day each week as a Colossians 2:2 day while we are in here in Honiara this time.  This week, our experiment was a big success! 

Benjamin started by making a banana oat cake for Aaron to take to SITAG's afternoon staff meeting, while Sarah began by crocheting her first baby hat for "Caps for Good".  (After we checked the website, we learned that the deadline passed in February, but Sarah is planning to donate the caps to the many newborns we anticipate in Marulaon.  You ought to see the way those mamas bundle those babies!) 

Olivia wrote a snail mail letter, then she mixed up some peanut butter cookies to share with the SIBTLP workshop participants and the post office workers as a thank you.  Then Sarah shifted to making a double batch of banana bread to share with some of our SITAG colleagues, and Benjamin baked some chocolate chip cookies to send to one of the village teams. 

We finished up with another double batch of of banana bread (with nuts this time), so we would have a little more to share.  It was sooo fun to have the morning set aside to intentionally do those things that I always want to do, but seem to slip through the cracks of my day.  We're already planning for next week's Colossians 2:2 day and looking for the people we can encourage!

E-I-E-I-O

Sarah and Katherine reading "Days on the Farm" by Kim Lewis. 



Making pancakes with daddy using our farm animal pancake molds.

And every morning, a noisy rendition of "Old MacDonald" rings through the house.  Being a mom brings me so much joy!

Tea Party

What happens when another translator's children stop by just as we are getting ready to sit down and read "Mr. Popper's Penguins" out loud?

Eight kids ages three to twelve have an impromput tea party complete with sugar cookies (made by Benjamin) and mint tea!

A Day in the LIfe of SITAG

I went for a walk around SITAG with my camera this morning.  Our family plays such a small piece of the Bible translation puzzle here in the Solomon Islands.

This map, posted in the new translation center, pinpoints every language in the Solomon Islands currently running a Bible translation project.  Lots of people give of their time and energy to help Bible translation go forward.

This week, our friend Paul (far right), who works with a language group on Guadalcanal, is participating in his first consultant check with the book of Jonah.  It's very exciting!  Consultant checking is the last step before a book is ready to go to print.  Becoming a consultant takes lots of education and experience, and Neville (far left) flew in from Australia to work with Paul's team this week.

At the same time that Paul was working his way through the book of Jonah, Peter squatted outside next to some rain tanks trying to fix a leak.  He and his wife, Yvonne, are part of Wycliffe Australia, and they are spending a couple of months in Honiara helping out SITAG.  Although fixing a leak may not seem like an important job, our rainwater supply is vital, especially now that we are in dry season.

When I walked over to the new translation center, sounds of "I Need Thee Every Hour" wafted out the louvered windows to greet me.  This SIBTLP workshop is the first one to meet in the new center.  Debbie helps teach and organize the SITBLP courses and also accompanies their beautiful singing on the keyboard.

Debbie's husband, Greg, teaching the guys about using some of the Bible translation software available, while in another room of the translation center...

...Judy keeps the translation center clean and tidy so the SIBTLP guys can spend their time in class.

When I stepped outside, I found Patson, Judy's husband, supervising these guys as they built a shelter for the clothesline.  Believe it or not, all of these people that I photgraphed with a single hour work to further Bible translation in the Solomon Islands.  We are so thankful for each and every one of the and for the families they represent!

Honiara Woman's Daybook

For Today...Monday, June 6

Outside my window...dark clouds over the ocean and a brisk breeze today.  Think I'll be hanging the clothes out to dry on the porch.

I am thinking...about humility.  Ann's book has me pondering this character trait, especially how it relates to service in cross-cultural situations and with my family.

From the learning rooms...Confucius, Julius Ceasar, Sarah - avoiding cliches in writing, adding & subtracting fractions; Benjamin - beginning a research paper on the state of Texas, triangles; Olivia - exclamations & questions, mulitiplying & dividing by 9; Katherine - it's farm week!

I am thankful for...the bathroom just across the hall and that we have indoor plumbing.  This stomach virus has come back with a vengeance.

From the kitchen...muffins and scrambled eggs for breakfast, ham and cheese sandwiches on the AMAZING cheese rolls from Honiara's Hot Bread Kitchen, and pizza for supper.

I am wearing...my favorite long twirly, lacey white skirt that I found at a second hand store in Australia.  Oh, and a brown and white sleeveless top that my mom left when she was here.  Bare feet, as usual.

I am reading...still munching my way through "One Thousand Gifts" and loving it.

I am hoping...that our internet begins to work more reliably soon.  I think we had better e-mail access in the village than we do here in Honiara!

I am creating...a care package to send out to another SITAG village team.

I am hearing...the doors slamming in the breeze, strains of the workshop down in the new translation center as they get their morning started with praise

Around the house...still boxes waiting to be unpacked, a Yankee "Beach Walk" votive burning sent by a bloggy friend

One of my favorite things...waking up on time and with clarity of thought.

Pondering these words..."I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other, and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we whould reach them.  I find now that God's gifts are on shelves one beaneath the other, and that it is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower and that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts." - F.B. Meyer (from "One Thousand Gifts")

A few plans for the rest of the week...finishing the list I started last week

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...my lovely gloves that help me feel elegant while I'm washing dishes.  Now all I need are the pearls and high heels!

Sweet Sabbath

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations."  Psalm 67: 1, 2

Continuing to count His blessings:

-colorful floral gloves to wear while I'm washing dishes

-orange sparkly pencils

-the sun setting in a scarlet blaze while Rutter's Requiem wafts through the house

-my favorite wooden bracelet inlaid with shells smashing into bits as it cushions my fall and keeps me safe on the sidewalks of Honiara

-knock knock jokes (especially when told by a three-year-old)

-romance in the form of frozen broccoli

-when "just dropping by to pick up something" turns into sitting and chatting for over an hour

-peach iced tea

-father and daughter making Saturday morning pancakes together

Life in Honiara

Just a few observations (now that the internet is working again) about our lives in Honiara:

-Here, Aaron goes to the "office" every day.  Underneath our current SITAG house are a few rooms: one dedicated to housing a small library, one a small sound studio for recording language data, and another small room with the SITAG printer and some chairs and small tables.  Aaron has been immersing himself in Lavukaleve phonology this week.  He frequently forgets to come for lunch!

-One day in town, we observed two van-taxis driving side by side down the road while their drivers passed a cigarette between them.

-Getting used to the water again caused some gastric distress in Aaron and me this week.  Thankfully, we're all adjusted now.

-Olivia's foot looks great now, Sarah's, not so great.  Sarah finished up her antibiotics this morning, so we tried calling the doctor on and off throughout the morning to get his opinion.  A little after nine, the receptionist began answering the phone.  No, the doctor wasn't in, and no she didn't know when he would be in.  A little before noon, the answer was still the same.  A little frustrating, but we'll keep trying to get her a check-up.

-Chief Leonard came by this week and brought our basket!  Katherine was very happy to get her baby dolls back, and I was very happy to get my camera back.  We're so thankful that we are beginning to build good relationships with our neighbors in Marulaon.  He is headed back to Marulaon as soon as possible to take back some cement to finish the installation of the rain tank and some timber to finish the ceiling of our church in Marulaon.

-One of our favorite things about being back in Honiara is getting to visit with our SITAG friends and meeting all of the amazing people that come through Honiara for short trips.  This week, we've enjoying company three out of the last four nights.  We are so grateful for the families who have commited long term to Bible translation in the Solomons and to the short-term volunteers who come for advisor checking and for building projects and for so many things to assist the Bible translation process.

That's it for now!  Hoping internet continues to work well as we wade through our inboxes and get back in touch with friends and family...