Thursday, June 26

Snack Break

Wednesday, June 25

Market this morning was fun!  We never know what food is going to show up for our eating pleasure.  This morning, a nice mud crab decided it needed to be in our market basket! 

And a starfruit (they call them "five corner" here) tree must have been laden with fruit, because several different children from the same family brought fruit.  We were happy to snap them up!

 

 

After market and morning chores, we settled into school work.  I was reminded of how thankful I am to have my children around as we learn together.  

Nothing beats settling into a rocking chair with a six year old on your lap, twining your feet together, and reading "Boxcar Children".

Tuesday, June 24

The kids had just finished school and gone out to play, and I was watching the banana muffins in the oven when I heard a knock at the bottom of our steps.  Barnabas had come by to story with Aaron.  

As I pulled muffins out of the oven, I listened to the two of them talk about the bits and pieces of Lavukaleve.  Barnabas is special because he is one of the few that understands a little bit about how his language is put together.  I remember that none of my friends had been able to successfully explain to me the difference between the verb roots "nore" and "noai" (both glossed as "to plant"), so I hopped out to the porch to ask Barnabas.  He didn't know either.  I've heard possible theories of transitive vs. intransitive verbs, but I always hear both of them used as transitive verbs.  And I've also heard that maybe one of them is to be used when you are planting lots of things vs. when you are planted only one thing at a time.  

When I left to deliver banana cake to neighbors, Barnabas and Aaron were still debating the finer points of Lavukaleve...

Marulaon Woman’s Daybook

Just for today...Monday, June 23

Outside my window...overcast skies, not much sun and no rain.

From the learning rooms...Sarah & Benjamin - the burning of Rome, Polycarp, a biology test; Olivia - history of China, the digestive system; Katherine - similes, seasons.

In the book basket - lots of books about China for the whole family to enjoy:  "The Empty Pot" by Demi, "The Story About Ping" by Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese, "Daisy Comes Home" by Jan Brett, "Yeh-Shen:  A Cinderella Story from China" retold by Ai-Ling Louie; "Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat" by Amy Tan, "Lon PoPo:  A Red-Riding Hood Story From China" by Ed Young, "The Five Chinese Brothers" by Claire Hucket Bishop & Kurt Wiese, "The Seeing Stick" by Jane Yolen; and some great "Heros for Young Readers" (Lottie Moon, Gladys Aylward, Hudson Taylor, and Jonathan Goforth) by Renee Taft Meloche that Gayly introduced to our family years ago

A heart of thankfulness...for this lovely young lady, who is my "right hand woman" and helps keep things running smoothly and beautifully around here.

On my bookshelf...Mimosa, by Amy Carmichael

From the kitchen...shepherd's pie, again made with those lovely dehydrated veggies we got for Christmas.

Around the house...our new favorite leafy green, buna.  Leku thoughtfully gave us a bunch yesterday, and it cooks up a lot like spinach.  We put it on our pizza, then I planted back all of the stalks into a five liter ice cream container on the porch.  I'll transplant it in hopes that we will have more growing when we return from Honiara.

Pondering these words..."Purity is about loving God so much that we hate our sin, hate being tempted to sin.  Purity is doing just about anything to stay in right fellowship with God."  ~Brooke MeGlothlin

A few plans for the rest of the week...Aaron had hoped to hold another workshop this week, but there is a wedding in a neighboring village that will involve two of our translators, so it's a pretty normal, boring week around here.  Oh, Benjamin and Aaron are supposed to go fishing on Saturday with the guy that caught the huge red snapper!

A peek into my corner of the world...my amazing husband studying, studying, studying, to learn more Lavukaleve while the rest of us do school on the porch.

Sunday, June 22

"When you went out before your people, O God, when you marched through the wasteland, Selah, the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain....You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance."  Psalm 68-7-9

Katherine would say that I've been down in the dumps lately.  That is her favorite idiom lately.  Now that we have enough water in the rain tanks, we're having trouble getting enough sunshine on our solar panels to keep our batteries charged up.  I finding myself holed up day after day, checking math problems, monitoring science experiments, and listening to Katherine read to me, which I love!  But those things don't leave much time or energy to pour into my neighbors or to learn their language.  So, I try to be faithful with the small things.  Encouragement came today in the form of this... 

A big red snapper!  When I got up this morning, Aaron said that one of my friends had just delivered this beauty to my family.  Wow, maybe I'm not forgotten, even though I can't be out spending time with my friends and neighbors all day every day.

So, when I walked down to share lelenga this morning after church, the village chairman caught me and asked if we had donated money to the soccer team which was leaving for a tournament in Yandina that day.  I panicked and wondered if we had done the right thing, but I told him that, yes, we had donated money toward the cost of petrol.  He just grinned and said that everybody in the village was pleased with us and would we make sure that we let him know next time so that he could keep a record of contributions?  Nothing is a secret for long around here!  Maybe we are making a difference, even though the translation project is only creeping forward.

And then, when I went to deliver some food and check on a friend who lost her son a few weeks ago, more encouraging words.  She noticed (and was delighted!) that we bought local food and enjoyed eating it.  I had taken some papaya coffee cake to the "catechist of the month" earlier in the day, and she ended up with a piece (no secrets, remember?).  She loved the food, loved that we shared, loved that we cook with a combination of cultures, loved that my kids play with the other kids in the village, loved that I walked to different places in the village to visit with friends each day.  She just flowed with the encouraging words that the Lord knew I needed to hear.

And my refilling day all started with a big, red fish!

Keeping Praying for Rain!

Good morning, friends. Because of some of the e-mail problems recently, the posts you are seeing are all one to three weeks old for now. We are close to getting caught up to real-time, but we’re just not quite there. So, please allow me to step in and give you a real-time request.

The need for rain is still very pressing. The rain mentioned in the June 18th post was the last measurable rain in Marulaon. Rain tanks are very low and the need is great. So, please don’t stop praying!

At the same time, though, please pray for a balance of sunshine. There have been a lot of cloudy days, despite the lack of rain. The batteries rely on sunshine as much as the water tanks rely on rain.

I’ll try to keep real-time updates on rain and sunshine posted, even as the older daily posts are still coming through.

Thanks for praying! And now back to our regularly scheduled posts…

~Ann H.

Saturday, June 21

A sweet, ripe guava showed up at market this morning!  Most fruit is picked before it's ripe (or maybe it's before the fruit bats can get it), so to find a gorgeous, delicious guava made all of us smile and slurp.

Our church district has asked each village to contribute towards its budget for the year, and our village has been broken up into groups of three families each.  We love that they included us in a group, too!  At the end of market, Naris told me that her group was holding a fundrasier by selling fish and cassava balls (cassava smashed in the kolkol and mixed with thick coconut cream).  I was super eager to help them and to get lunch for my family at the same!

I went over early to see if I could help.  Naris' son, Rube, was watching his dad, Dawa, smash the cassava and mix it with the coconut cream.

While they assembled the food, I noticed piles of copra bags waiting to be weighed and taken to be cooked in huge copra driers. 

Several guys lugged the 100kg bags of copra and held the scale steady while another one noted the weight and wrote it down.  Copra is the quickest way for our neighbors to make a little cash.

Soon the food was ready, and I was happy to buy three plates of delicious cassava balls and cooked fish!

But the food didn't make it until lunch, we scarfed it down as a "second breakfast".

Friday, June 20

All during school this morning, several little girls sat in the mogea (bush apple) tree in front of our house.  Eye level with our porch, they munched on fruit and observed school, making comments often.  I'm feeling a little bit like an animal in a zoo today!

The headmaster at Fly Harbour school requested a birthday cake for his son, who turned nine on Wednesday.  They waited to have a family birthday party until the the Kosco came, because his oldest daughter was coming back to Marulaon, and she was bringing some frozen chicken wings for the party.  I was reading books with the kids tonight, when Aaron walked into the room bearing a tray full of delicious food.  We fell on those tidbits like ravenous wolves, even though we'd only eaten supper a couple of hours earlier.  The food was the "thank you" for our contribution of a birthday cake.  I'll take seafood over birthday cake any day!

Wednesday, June 18

Aaron and I lay in bed last praying and asking for wisdom.  We have less than a week's worth of water left in the rain tank.  Do we pack a few things and send me and the kids back to Honiara while Aaron stays in Marulaon to work?  How do we manage keeping one foot in the Solomon culture and one foot in the American culture?  Do we need to go "bush true" and just splash water over our heads at the well like our neighbors (even though I've struggled with skin issues often)?  Do we need to toss root crops on the fire to avoid using water to cook?  How is it right that we can "escape" and run back to Honiara if water gets low when my neighbors have to contend with less than ideal circumstances?  What is the best way to be Jesus' hands and feet here?

Thankfully, God answered quickly and clearly.  This morning, the rain began.  And it kept coming.  The wind blew rain onto the porch and we had to move school inside.  It was still blowing and raining when I read aloud to the kids.  And I soaked it all up, the sweet refreshment, the coolness, the relief at being able to stay in Marulaon.

Katherine loves having her own curriculum.  Today was her day for science experiments, and Benjamin had some extra time to help her.  He's such a great big brother!  Even though the experiment didn't work exactly like it was supposed to, I still heard lots of laughter.  And I'm pretty sure Katherine grasped the science concepts, too.

Tuesday, June 17

My heart overflows with the gift of school at home.  Where else can you do school in a hammock or on your mom's lap?  

My children were so diligent yesterday (and excited!) as they began a new school year.  They tackled new subjects and piano practice and snack time with gusto. 

Much has changed since we began schooling at home eleven years ago so that my three little ones could spend some time with their Daddy, who kept a crazy school and work schedule.  Now a beautiful young lady learns Algebra 2 at her desk while a handsome guy with dimples pores over the biology book at the dining room table.  

They are so independent, and we have some great conversations about life and learning together as the time for them to be under my roof gets shorter and shorter. 

Katherine is delighted to be a first grader!  And I love her enthusiasm, the highs and lows of following the Boxcar children in our read-aloud, and reminding her to check her math problems to see if they are addition or subtraction BEFORE she does them. 

Olivia's grin lit up the day, as she launched into Sonlight's studies of the Eastern Hemisphere yesterday.  I think this will be a great year for her!  How I love watching all of them, following their progress, rejoicing with them (and weeping sometimes, too).  By the end of the day, I'm drained, but it's because I'm pouring myself into my treasures. 

One of my favorite history stories is in "A Child's History of the World".  Here's an excerpt that sums up the way I feel about the gifts of children that God has loaned to me:

One day a very rich Roman woman was visiting Cornelia and showing off all her rings and necklaces and other ornaments, of which she had a great many and was very proud.  When she had shown off all she had, she asked to see Cornelia's jewels.  Cornelia called to her two boys, who were playing outside, and when they came in to their mother she put her arms around them and said:  "These are my jewels."

Marulaon Woman's Daybook

Just for today...Monday, June 16

Outside my window...little purple flowers blooming on the porch.

From the learning rooms...it's the first day of the 2014-2015 school year!  Hard to believe we're beginning our 11th year of school at home, but I'm so thankful for the flexibility it gives us as we go back and forth from Marulaon Village to Honiara and back again.

On my bookshelf... Praying for Boys by Brooke McGlothlin.  A gift left by Gayly, and I'm loving it!  What a great tool to help direct my prayers for Benjamin, and all my girls, too.

From the kitchen...broccoli cheese strata with some dehydrated broccoli that Aaron's dad & mom #2 sent for Christmas.  Yummy!

A heart of thankfulness...for Grace's well.  Water continues to be low, so Aaron and I sat down to figure out what our family's water consumption might be.  He started hauling ten gallons from Grace's well, the cleanest well in the village, and will continue to do so every morning until we get significant rain.  We are using the laundry rinse water to fill up the back of the toilet, drinking green coconuts as much as we can, and finding every way possible to use less water around here while praying for rain.

Around the house...papaya ripening in the basket.  Naris brought a couple more by this afternoon because they had so many ripening on their tree. 

Pondering these words..."Strong Christians do pray more, but they pray more because they realize how weak they are.  They don't try to hide it from themselves.  Weakness is a channel that allows them to access grace."  ~Paul Miller

A few plans for the rest of the week...just learning how to make the new school year work and making changes where we need to.

A peek into my corner of the world...this sweet grandma who lives next door

Father’s Day, Sunday June 15

Away from all of the commercialism of Father's Day and Mother's Day in America, those special days sneak up on us.  We are incredibly thankful for our own parents and grandparents, but we feel no need to buy a tie for dad here.  Aaron's daily "uniform" is shorts and a t-shirt.  He exchanges the t-shirt for a button down shirt for church on Sundays.  We don't celebrate extravagantly here. 

This man with whom I grew up is now turning a little gray by my side (and I'm joining him with my own gray!).  We agree with the old phrase, "Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be."  

God has crafted these four amazing creatures by combining our parts. 

I couldn't ask for a more wonderful daddy for my kids. 

He's passed on his dimples to some of them, and his brown eyes to others.  

 
Aaron works hard and leads by example for his children to do the same.  

He has made a name for himself by squeezing the cream out of the coconut he scrapes to make delicious cassava pudding - and it's not an easy task when only the tiniest bit of water is added to the bowl. 

The simple wedding ring he currently wears, made from turtle shell, fits him and our relationship.  Simple, durable, solid.  

Our children know where to find their daddy in the dark hours of the early morning:  reading his Bible in the pantry, his prayer closet (and also the best place to hide the light from the tiny flashlight he uses).  Aaron goes above and beyond to love his family well - scaling tall ships in a single bound to retrieve a new modem so his wife can stay in touch with the outside world.

Happy Father's Day, beloved.  Life with you is better than I ever could have thought or imagined, a true gift from God.

Flag Day

We celebrated Flag Day on both Saturday and Sunday.  Sweet Gayly brought us some small flags and decorations, so we were prepared.  On Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m., we joined the other SITAG village team and sang the "Star Spangled Banner" over the radio at exactly the same time that thousands of Americans were singing  as part of the Smithsonian's celebration of the 200th anniversary of Francis Scott Key's poem. 
Singing together from two different village in the Solomon Islands was a sweet way to rejoice in being Americans!

Flag Song
by Lydia Avery Coonley Ward 

Out on the breeze,
O'er land and seas,
A beautiful banner is streaming,

Shining its stars,
Splendid its bars,
Under the sunshine 'tis gleaming.
Hail to the flag,
The dear, bonny flag --

The flag that is red, white, and blue.
Over the brave
Long may it wave,
Peace to the world ever bringing,
While to the stars
Linked with the bars
Hearts will forever be singing:
Hail to the flag,
The dear, bonny flag --
The flag that is red, white, and blue.