odds and ends

Just an update to let you know that our water tank for the community has been well received.  Several of the small rain tanks have recently gone dry, and we have been so happy to be able to share with our neighbors.

 

I can't believe I forgot to put our Flag Day celebration on the blog!  Sarah and I decided we needed to celebrate, so we whipped up some sugar cookies (with red sprinkles) in place of vanilla wafers, then I made some banana pudding while Sarah created some mini personalized flags to put on top of our dessert.  It was yummy!  We're saving the flags to celebrate again on July 4.

blog post for June 7 2009

Sunday, June 7, 2009
What a beautiful day to travel! When we arrived at the pier, we saw a family that we knew from Marulaon, and I enjoyed being able to greet them in Lavukaleve. We chose the same spot on the boat as we had before � the bottom deck in the back � and settled in for the hour wait before the six hour journey. We are so thankful for the Bikoi and it's dependable schedule! This time we took two big gas cylinders along with a 400 gallon rain tank to hold water for the community.
We quickly found lots of people traveling to the Russells. A teacher at Fly Harbor School (the elementary boarding school on the island of Marulaon) storied with Aaron for a little while. The teacher said that he had come into Honiara on the Bikoi last Tuesday night and that it had been storming. Water had washed back and forth over the deck as the boat chugged on its way to Guadalcanal. This made me grateful for the great return voyage we enjoyed only a few weeks ago. We also made new friends in Rita and Wally. Wally was downing Sol Brew way too fast and decided to take lopsided pictures of our family with his wife's digital camera. He giggled after every picture. About halfway through the trip, Wally fell asleep and remained asleep until we arrived in Marulaon. I wasn't disappointed.
When we arrived back home, we could see a wall of rain just east of where we needed to unload. The kids and I stepped off the Bikoi into a canoe with the chief, the chairman, and a couple of other guys. They loaded our "carry-on" baggage, the gas cylinders, and the water tank into the canoe, and we headed back to shore while Aaron awaited our cargo from under the ship. The kids and I waded ashore from the canoe and called to our friends just as the rain began to fall. So, everyone pitched into carry our bags up to the house in the rain. We had finished all of the water we brought aboard the ship, and we were all so thirsty from the trip, so I asked Sarah to go down and fill a container with water from the tank. (We hadn't pumped the water up to the roof yet, so we couldn't just turn on the tap.) She came back saying there was a lock on the spigot, therefore she couldn't bring up any water. Since it was still raining, I asked her to take the container and put it under the pip!
e on the front of the house. We quickly had some water to drink, and the rain stopped just after she filled the container!
Aaron and the rest of our things began coming up the hill, and then Sarah heard some wailing from one of the young girls who had just gotten off of the ship. We asked the chief and learned that our closest neighbor Eileen (who lives just down the hill) had lost her dad, Albert, last Thursday. The funeral was yesterday, and one of his granddaughters was wailing in mourning as she arrived. This week will be a week of mourning, and the family will be cared for by community members (working their gardens, preparing their food, etc). Eileen's husband, David, lost his dad not too long ago. He is growing his beard out for a year to represent his mourning. We are planning to take some food later this week.
The chief and the chairman also explained the mystery of the padlock on our water tank. Evidently, someone was caught taking water from our tank during the night, so to guard our water, one of our neighbors provided his own lock. However, he was away when we arrived, so we had to wait until he returned to get the key to be able to use our water. Thankfully, it didn't take very long and the kids were able to shower before evening prayer. We really feel loved by this community, and we hope that the small rain tank that we brought will help out!

SITAG, Honiara, Over and Out

We got good news today that the radio seems to be working just fine, so we should have good e-mail access while we are in Marulaon. Thanks for all of your prayers. However, last time we were out in the village, Blogger kept sending back all of my posts. I will continue to try to post via e-mail via radio from Marulaon, but in case it doesn't work, this is SITAG Honiara, signing off for two months. Over and out...

And the winner is...

Amy! We'll get your necklace out right quick before we catch the boat to Marulaon.

Quick Prayer Request

We just heard that the equipment for transmitting our e-mail via radio is having some problems. If it is not able to be fixed, we will have have no e-mail while we are out in Marulaon. However, we will still have daily radio contact with SITAG. Please pray for wisdom, resources, and speed in obtaining the parts needed.

Giveaway

Our camera battery died last week...you can guess where the battery charger is, in Marulaon. But we would like to giveaway the necklace we bought last week at the market. If you look closely at the picture of Olivia, you can see the alternating small flat white and tan (caramel, latte, toasted coconut?) shells. Comment by Thursday, midnight CST to include your name in our scientifically random drawing. Our child powered number generator will select the last name in the bowl to win. Now back to canning and packing...

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...June 1 (Can it be June already?)

Swing by Peggy's to share your own daybook.

Outside my window...frangipani blooming and releasing their sweet frangrance, lavendar sky as the sun breaks through the clouds

I am thinking...about our sweet friends who returned to Papua New Guinea this weekend and trying to plan for the next time we can get together

From the learning rooms...Spanish-American War, Panama Canal, Teddy Roosevelt, Sarah-math review, recognizing propaganda techniques & writing an advertisement, Benjamin-addition & subtraction with money,identifying hyperbole, Olivia-measuring weight, creating synonyms, Katherine-clothespin snap from "Slow and Steady...", hymn study-"O God, Our Help in Ages Past", Lavukaleve vocabulary review, science experiments with light and color

I am thankful for...the sun that has come out after days of rain. I enjoy the cooler days that accompany the rain, but my laundry dries better when the sun shines!

From the kitchen...we'll start the day with baked gingerbread oatmeal, enjoy egg salad sandwiches, carrot sticks, and apples for lunch, then share chili and cornbread (with brownies for dessert) with SITAG neighbors

I am wearing...blue and white floral sleeveless dress, hair in a ponytail, bracelet made from sea urchins

I am reading..."Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II" by Darlene Deibler Rose (a birthday present from a dear friend)

I am hoping...that we can Skype with our families before we leave for Marulaon on Sunday

I am hearing...Integrity's "iworship: experience the sights & sounds of worship" from a thoughtful friend in Memphis

I am creating...Father's Day packages to go in the mail this week

I am praying...that my heart will be sweetly surrendered as we uproot once again and move back to Marulaon for two months

Around the house...the spare bedroom is filling up with 25 kg bags of flour, jars of spaghetti sauce, rolls of toilet paper, sacks of milk powder, etc.

One of my favorite things...the joy and vibrancy of a delightful twenty month old little girl and her quickly expanding vocabulary

A few plans for the rest of the week...finish shopping and packing for the village, preserve lots of carrots and pumpkin, invite several families over to share a meal since this will be our last chance for a while, cook gobs of granola

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

sweet Katherine who loves to help Mama with normal everyday tasks

Honiara through the lens of a friend

We enjoyed our friends visiting for the week. They were a breath of fresh air, and we appreciate them taking the time and effort to visit us. Stacie took lots of pictures, and it's always fun to see your home through the eyes of somebody else for the very first time:

checking mail and finding the Sonlight Catalog of a friend - what a treat!

Stacie enjoyed the beautiful sunsets, too

everybody's favorite - ice cream

at the wharf

singing hymns while Aaron accompanied on guitar

drinking green coconuts at the market

shops in "downtown" Honiara

Aaron giving me yet another birthday present

friendly ladies making and selling beautiful jewelry in the market

I am still my beloved's and he is still mine

Going to town

Yesterday, we took our friends into town to run some errands. We swung by Coconut Corporation to buy some more soap and coconut oil and discovered that they made cassava scrapers! Now, I'm ready to make lelenga when we go back to Marulaon. Then, we finished up at the market. Olivia is holding the "rock melon" (aka cantaloupe), a rare treat here! She's also wearing the necklace we bought at the market for the next giveaway. More details soon...

Sweet birthday

Thanks to all of you who sent birthday wishes, boxes, cards, phone calls (I can't believe you called me, sis). We started the day by making ice cream! By mid-morning, the ice cream was still liquid, so we cheated and stuck it in the freezer. A precious family from SITAG left for furlough today, so Aaron went over to help them finish up the house, and then after lunch he and the big kids drove to the airport to see them off. We shared caramel brownies and ice cream mush with the SITAG crew for tea time, and then the director's wife came over to eat supper. And our friends from PNG grace our days until Saturday. My first birthday in the South Pacific was a marvelous day!

Memorial Day

In honor of those who have given their lives in military service, we thought today would be a good day to take our friends from PNG to the WWII Memorial in Honiara.

The island in the background is Savo, and "Ironbottom Sound" separates Guadalcanal from Savo Island.

"O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,

Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!

America! America! May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine."

Simple Woman's Daybook

Please swing by Peggy's and create your own daybook to share.

For Today...May 25th

Outside my window...the sky is gray, birds are chirping, clothes are still on the line on the veranda

I am thinking...about all of the men and women who serve their country in the armed forces, thank you.

From the learning rooms...we're taking the week off to enjoy our company

I am thankful for...a sweet husband who arranged to fly some friends from Papua New Guinea here to celebrate my birthday this week, woohoo!!!

From the kitchen...to start the day, cinnamon raisin bagels (still trying to perfect this recipe), bierrocks for lunch, and tonight, chicken & veggie stirfry followed by strawberry jello for dessert

I am wearing...pink paisley cotton pajamas

I am (re)reading..."The Power of a Positive Mom" by Karol Ladd

I am hearing...the bell at St. Barnabas ringing for early morning prayer

I am hoping...that this week is a refreshing time for our friends staying with us

I am creating...next school year's composer and artist schedule and book list

I am praying...for my grandmother as she undergoes chemo

Around the house...everything but the daily necessities on hold for this week

One of my favorite things...laughing with my mom and sister over Skype

A few plans for the rest of the week...take our friends to the WWII United States Memorial, drink lots of tea, enjoy sweet fellowship

A picture to share with you...

Katherine after the painting fiasco, she turned the bath water green!

And the winner is...

...Lisa! Shoot me an e-mail (celloduo@yahoo.com) with your address so I can mail the coffee to you. Hope you enjoy!