If at first you don't succeed...

Saturday morning, Aaron got the confirmation that, indeed, the Kosco was sailing that evening.  So he bought a ticket  The girls and I took him down to the wharf where we discovered bumper to bumper traffic because several other boats were also planning to leave Honiara on Saturday night.

We found good old Kosco loading cargo, so we stepped aboard and found a spot for Aaron to spend the night as the ship chugged its way toward the Russell Islands.

We've made so many memories on board this ship!

But there was no reason for us to dilly dally, so the girls and I said our goodbyes and went home to sleep (while praying that Aaron would be able to sleep well on that bench!).

At 4:38, I got a text from Aaron saying the boat was still in Honiara's harbor.  I immediately called him back to say I was on my way to pick him up.  (This has happened before!)  And when we got home, we enjoyed the coffee from the pot he had so thoughtfully set the night before.

We had an extra two year old to enjoy all day Sunday, so Aaron jumped right back in (even though he hardly slept a wink on the boat).  The ship's crew was supposed to call whenever they had more information about the new departure time, so we were waiting for the phone to ring all day.  

Finally, the call came, the ship might leave as early as 7:00.  When the sun began to set, we repeated the previous day's trip down to the wharf (those bright lights you can see in the picture above).

This time, the ship wasn't anchored next to a dock, so we had to climb from one ship to another.  If you look closely, you can see Aaron in between the ships.  And getting on the first ship was more of a challenge, too.  We're used to jumping a little bit from the dock to the ship, but this time we scrambled up a narrow plank, thankful that Aaron's strong hand was there to guide each one of us.

Getting Aaron settled didn't take long this time, and the girls and I were home quickly.  I got a text at 8:30 from Aaron saying, "We're actually pulling out!"  But the next morning, I learned that the ship had turned around after half an hour because they were missing a crew member.  By the time everything was straightened out again, the clock was striking midnight.  Two nights on a ship made a very tired husband, but he arrived late Monday morning in Marulaon and was soon sending cheerful emails.

Thanks for all of the prayers for this trip!