another visitor

Dear Friends of the Choates,

The Choate family welcomed another visitor to their house on Sunday.  A Wycliffe colleague went out for a short stay.  Her name is Cynthia.  She is trying to help them get their Saber recording devices to work.  Aaron says that they are doing the same things that he has already done, but this time some of the units are starting to work.  In fact, he played a little segment of recorded speech to me over the radio.  Some of the Sabers still aren't holding a charge, but enough of them are working that they think they can finish that project.  Cynthia has agreed to help out with the Sabers while the Choates are on furlough so her trip has the added bonus that she can meet some of the people who will be working on the Saber project.  Tomorrow they are going to another village to say their goodbyes and to do some recordings for the Sabers. 

Please pray for them as they are packing up.  That is always a crazy time, but it is more so this time because they won't be back out to their village for a long time.  Please pray that they can accomplish all that they want to in their final week of being in the village.  Please pray that they will all be able to finish strong.

Joanna says that her leg is around 90% back to normal.  Thank you for your prayers, but please continue to pray until she is all healed.

sincerely,

Andy

PS.  As usual, if you would like a message passed to the Choate family over the radio please feel free to send one to deputy_solomon-islands@sil.org.

 

Choate update

Dear Friends of the Choates,

Thank you so much for your prayers the last couple of days.  The Choate family has received a couple of really nice long rains and that has taken away the burden that they were feeling for water. 

Aaron has pretty much recovered from a bout of malaria.  Joanna's leg continues to improve.  She can move around for a while, but if she stays on it for too long then her ankel starts to swell.  Please pray for both of them to recover completely.  Pray that they will be able to finish their time out in the village well. 

sincerely,

Andy

Pray for rain

Dear Friends of the Choates,

On the radio today Joanna mentioned that they could use a lot of prayer for rain.  They are restricting their normal use in the hopes that they can have enough to finish out their time before they run out.

Joanna said that her leg continues to get a little better each day.  Please continue to have that in your prayers.  Today she was able to walk around their village for a little while.  When she is at home she trys to keep it elevated.

Please pray for their health and stanima while they are in the last couple of weeks of their village stay.

sincerely,

Andy

Choate update

Dear Friends of the Choates,

I have just finished speaking with Joanna on the radio.  She wanted me to pass along an update for everyone so that you could know how best to pray for them.  Joanna’s leg is continueing to heal.  Her swelling has gone down, but it is still sore.  Please pray that she will quickly finish the recovery process.

 

Aaron is currently in Hae village (pronounced “hi”) leading the last session of a “Translators Training workshop”.  The rest of the family is hoping to join him in Hae on Tuesday evening in time for the final celebrations on Wednesday.  Please pray for the safety in travel and that the workshop will go well and that the final celebration will be memorable.  This is also the last chance before furlough that Aaron will have to meet with his Translation Committee.  Pray that meeting will go well.

 

They miss hearing from you all and they can’t wait until they return to Honiara in April and are able to better communicate with everyone.  Thank you for your patience during this time.  As usual, if you have any message for them, please feel free to send it to: deputy_solomon-islands@sil.org. 

Sincerely,

Andy

Thanks for Praying!

Joanna is definitely on the mend! Her malaria symptoms are gone, and her leg swelling is steadily decreasing. Thank you so much for continuing to lift the Choates up in prayer!

Small Update

Email is still not working for the Choates, but here is a small update for you.

Never-ceasing prayer is such an important part of supporting this precious family, but sometimes it’s hard knowing how to specifically pray! Here are a couple of specifics. Joanna has had malaria and is now on the road to recovery. But, she also has experienced a return of the cellulitis that infected her leg in December of 2008. So, she needs prayer for both issues!

And, as always, pray for them as they press through the second half of their last stay in Marulaon before furlough.

weekend happenings

Dear Friends of the Choates,

It has been a while since I last posted an update for the Choates.  They are doing well in the village.  Joanna has now finished recording two Bible stories.  Aaron is planning a trip for this coming weekend.  He will be traveling with the translation chairman to the village where they will be hosting a workshop in March.  That workshop will be the final of the series and so there will be a big celebration afterwards.  They are going to make sure that everything is ready for that time.  Please keep them in your prayers.

 

Aaron's home

Dear Friends of the Choates,

Here is another update on our friends in Marulaon.  They are all doing well.  They have been getting a lot of rain recently which has kept all of their rain tanks full.  They are appreciative of that. 

Aaron has safely returned from his translators training workshop.  It went well in spite of all the rain.  Thanks to all who prayed for them.

They look forward to being in touch with you more regularly come April.

Sincerely,

Andy

Doing well in the village

Dear Friends of the Choates,

They wanted me to pass along that things are going well for them.  They have received the Saber recording devices that I sent out on a ship.  Joanna is working with some of the women to record two Bible stories.  They have one completed and the second one is in the works.  Aaron is getting ready for a translator's training workshop that will run Sunday the 5th of February through Wednesday the 8th. 

As far as email contact is concerned, we were able to get the radio system up and running, but at almost the same time, they developed troubles with both their computer battery and their radio modem.  They have a spare battery that I am sending to them this coming weekend.  We are waiting for another modem to come in from the village of a different missionary family and then that will be sent out to the Choates as well.  Thank you for your patience as we try to reestablish their radio email.  As usual, if you want any message passed along via the radio, please feel free to send a note to deputy_solomon-islands@sil.org  Until next time...

sincerely,

Andy Pierce

Safe and Sound

Dear Friends of the Choates,

The email system that we use with teams in the village is no longer working.  Both the regular and the backup modems are inoperable at the moment.  That means that you should not expect to have regular contact with/from the Choate family until they return to Honiara in April.  That being said, I will try to post updates for them so you can know how things are going for them. 

 

If you would like to contact them, you can do so by writing directly to their email addresses.  They have given me permission to pass along emails to them via the radio.  You could also write to deputy_solomon-islands@sil.org and I will pass along your email to them via the radio.

 

Now, for the update:

The Choates traveled out to their village on the MV Kosko.  It was their first time to travel to their village on this ship.  A nice feature that this ship has, is that they own a warehouse so you can take your cargo down a couple of days before departure and the crew will load it on the boat.  This means that you don't have to fight the crowds at the wharf as you try to load your cargo on the boat.

 

The day they left, they had smooth seas and a cloudy sky.  Those are the best conditions for boat travel.  When they arrived in their village a motor boat made several trips back and forth to the ship shuttling them and their cargo to the shore.  They are settled in and unpacking.

sincerely,

Andy Pierce

Deputy Director

Time to go...

Our ship should be leaving Honiara around 4 p.m. CST, Saturday afternoon and arrive in Marulaon about seven hours later.  We would appreciate your prayers as we push hard through the next eleven and a half weeks to finish well in Marulaon.  Village e-mail hasn't been working for the last month.  SITAG's old system is gasping for its last breath.  Even if the radio/e-mail system does get up and running, please keep e-mails to us "text only" and know that it may take days to get to us, if at all.  We plan to be back around April 4, and we look forward to catching up!  I'll update the blog when we return...

Anybody know...

...what these are? 

These little bugs have been making a home on one of my hanging plants for a couple of months now.  They swarm and multiply on one little leaf, then after a while they have to expand to another leaf.  When I bought a new hanging plant last week, the insects extended their apartment complex and added some leaves from the new plant.  The leaves eventually shrivel up and die, so I'm not too happy about these bugs!  My guess is that the leaves serve as an insect breeding ground and nursery.  Any suggestions?

Proposal-versary

My amazing husband has the knack and the stamina to be our packer-in-chief, and I'm so thankful!  Today also happens to be our proposal-versary.  Fifteen years ago, Aaron asked me to marry him.  So, even though today has been a crazy busy day, I've heard "happy proposal-versary" at least a dozen times today as we pass (and smooch) each other in the hall.  This is what the "packing room" looked like early this morning as the sun was streaming through the windows:

I took a break from packing just before lunch to walk up the hill and say goodbye to some friends from Marulaon.  They are moving way out east in the Solomons because of a new job.  It was good to see them one more time and hold their sweet baby girl who has the fattest cheeks you've ever seen!  Wish I had taken the camera.

This afternoon, I drove Sarah and one of her friends to the hospital to deliver some blankets and a cap.  I know, it seems crazy in this climate, but you ought to see how those mamas bundle up their babies!  These two young ladies (along with a SITAG colleague) have been crocheting blankets for newborns. 

The girls also took some of their own money and delivered everything to the nurse in charge of labor and delivery.  I'm super proud of them!

When we returned to SITAG, it was time to load the truck with our boxes for the village.

One of the things I love about our SITAG family is that everybody works together.  We really do feel like family.

And the truck just kept getting fuller and fuller...

...until finally they had everything strapped down and headed out to the warehouse.  I think I really like this loading 36 hours ahead of time instead of only 12 hours.

As soon as Aaron returns, we'll head over to visit some more SITAG family for supper.  Again, everybody has been so generous to help us through this transition.  Because it's our proposal-versary, and Aaron proposed with a container of Rocky Road ice cream, we made some Rocky Road (with marshmallows that just came in a care package from our sending church) to share with our hosts tonight.  It has been a great day!