Birthday girl

Marulaon Woman's Daybook

For Today...Monday, July 19

 

Outside my window...morning sunshine streaming through the leaves

 

I am thinking...about my grandmother and Aaron's dad who both have birthdays this week

 

I am wearing...work clothes, ready to get dirty today

 

I am praying for...my parents who are in the Ukraine helping missionaries there

 

I am going...to move lots of rich dirt to build a bed for transplanting my bell peppers, tomatoes, and slippery cabbage

 

From the learning rooms...studying Mongolia, Sarah finishing up Singapore Math 6B (how can she be so big?!?)

I am remembering...my wedding, thirteen years ago today, and the many people who worked so hard to give our marriage a beautiful start

 

I am thankful for...my amazing husband

 

From the kitchen...cleaning out the fridge before the leftovers go bad

 

I am reading..."Traveling Mercies" by Anne Lamott, it's so bad I probably won't finish reading it

 

I am creating...a yard full of food for my family

  

Pondering these words..."Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean which defies resistance."  E.M. Bounds

 

Around the house...a half finished mural of our house and environment created by Sarah (to complement our study of Diego Rivera), a great National Geographic poster of Mongolia with maps and drawings, a paper skull with several overlays created by my kids

 

A few plans for the rest of the week...community cleanup on Friday, welcoming SITAG friends on Sunday

 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...our bell peppers are blooming!

Happy Birthday, Olivia

Thursday, July 15

My spunky Olivia turns seven today!

Thurday, July 15

Pictures from the farewell for the Community of the Sisters of the Church - notice that the Sisters enjoyed holding Olivia and Katherine!

 

Wednesday, July 14

The Community of the Sisters of the Church sent a representative group of almost twenty ladies to travel around the Solomons, and this week they are sharing with Marulaon.  Many of them went to Georgina's funeral in Baison yesterday, and they postponed one of their programs because of the funeral.  After each prayer service, they present a program that lasts a couple of hours, so our days have certainly been full with learning about them, providing them food, and still trying to get everything else done.  Tonight, they doubled up to make up for yesterday, so after evening prayer they presented one program, took a break for supper, then presented another program.  Aaron didn't get home until 11:30 p.m.!  Getting to know them and their Community has augmented our knowledge of the largest denomination in the Russell Islands. Tomorrow, Marulaon will hold a big farewell for them with lots of singing and dancing, and each of us will come up to shake hands and drop money in the bowl for them.  The ladies are so funny.  They are a hoot to watch when we sing and dance, and they love children.  Katherine likes to hang out with them and be passed around from Auntie to Auntie.

visitors!

Monday, July 12

Yesterday, we were delighted to have three guests arrive on the Bikoi.  A teacher from America, Jolene, came to spend several weeks in the Solomons, and she was gracious enough to come to visit Marulaon for a few days.  An Australian brother-sister pair, Phillip and Naomi, accompanied her.  Their dad is a translator in the Solomons, so they are fluent in Solomon culture and in Pijin.  We are enjoying their company so much! 

 

Early this morning, we heard the church bell ring several times.  We didn't know any reason why it should be ringing so I went down to ask Eileen.  She said that our friend, Georgina, had died, and the bell was to let everyone know.  Georgina was the nurse at the Marulaon clinic when we first came.  When she had some kidney problems, she went to the hospital in Honiara, and our clinic closed.  It has remained closed since she hasn't been well enough to come back yet.  We were so saddened to hear of her death.  She had a sweet spirit and even made house calls for our family after hours when she still lived in Marulaon.  She leaves behind a husband and two young children.  

 

Later in the morning, my friend Grace helped Olivia, Naomi, Jolene, and me take the canoe out for a little bit to give Jolene her first taste of a dugout canoe.  We paddled over to a small island, Butat, where I went diving for shellfish in April.  This was the first time I'd had only one friend from Marulaon in the big canoe with me, and my arms got tired long before we got back to shore.  I could see the current coming against us like a river, and we were going upstream.  Guess I need to spend some more time in the canoe to strengthen my arms.

 

This afternoon, we made lelenga to show Jolene how to make this special food.  I was surprised to hear recently from another translator that lelenga is only a feast food in their village since our neighbors make it every week for their Sunday dinner.  Aaron, Phillip, Jolene and the big kids went down to welcome a visiting group of Sisters of the Church, so just Naomi and I were left to scrape ten coconuts and peel and scrape two big heaps of obikola.  I was very thankful when Isabella stopped by and helped for a little bit.  Our neighbors can scrape coconut and peel obikola so quickly!  I'll make sure to take the sokata out of the kitchen this time when I put the lelenga on the motu.

Fire fighters

Saturday, July 10

As we do almost every Saturday, we made lelenga today. Olivia and Benjamin helped me put it on the hot stones tonight. They were quite proud of themselves for removing and replacing the hot stones and for covering the motu with leaves and copra sacks. Now that we know how to do everything ourselves, I miss the interaction with my neighbors. I think I may plan a language learning lesson around building the fire and record one of my friends explaining the process in Lavukaleve.

We put the kids in bed (early because of the extra early bells for Sunday morning) and had just turned out our own light when we heard loud women's voices quite close to the house. Our neighbors work hard to be extra quiet around our house at night since we go to bed early (they stay up late and take naps during the day), so we were a little surprised. Aaron got up to look out the window and came back to tell me that some of my friends were headed toward the house. I quickly got up and put on a skirt as I heard Eileen excitedly knocking on our door. She had come to tell me that our motu was on fire!

I rushed down with her to find that the neighbors behind us had seen the flames and quickly extinguished them. I borrowed two of Eileen's copra sacks (since ours were "borrowed" while we were in Honiara and not returned). When I had removed the last pieces of not-quite-burned firewood, Benjamin had moved them to the edge of the kitchen close to the fire. I didn't take the time to move them outside the kitchen, and when we placed the sacks on top of the motu they had ignited. Eileen's sacks weren't destroyed, just a little charred, and we took some new munu leaves from our trees to re-cover the motu. I'm so thankful for friends who quickly put out the fire and kept our kitchen from burning. Tomorrow, they will all get some banana cake and lelenga.

Wednesday, July 7

Aaron and I worked out an exercise schedule. The kids and I exercise on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, and he exercises on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings. About 6:10, the kids and I tromp through the grass, still wet with dew, to the little soccer field behind the church at the edge of the bush. We run and walk laps around it, dodging frogs, until the morning bell for prayer rings. I'm still slowly working my way through the Couch to 5K running program, though not at their designated pace. Running here through the wet grass on a fairly flat surface in a skirt is really different from running in Honiara on rutted gravel roads up and down hills in shorts.

My friend, Grace, and her daughter, Frieda (who is in between Sarah and Benjamin in age), joined us this morning to run. We had invited them, but I was still surprised they showed up! Another SITAG mama is also running with me from her village on Malaita where her family works with the Are'Are language group. I need the accountability and the friendship that goes along with having exercise buddies!

Marulaon Woman's Daybook

For Today...Monday, July 5

 

Outside my window...lots of little seeds (green bean, pumpkin, cantaloupe, watermelon, tomato, bell pepper, corn) that I planted last week getting ready to pop up any day now and a few survivors (green bean, bell pepper, umalau, obikola, tomato) from our last trip out here trying to thrive

 

I am thinking...how much I would like to be in St. Paul right now where my siblings and parents have gathered for Christmas in July

 

I am wearing...pajamas

 

I am praying for...language learning, wisdom in parenting, understanding of my neighbors, good choices in cross-cultural living and time management

 

From the learning rooms...back in China now that I have my Instructor's Guide back

I am thankful for...the amazing weather we've been having, a good balance of rain and sun for the rain tanks, solar panels, and gardens.  We must have lots of people praying!

 

I am remembering...about past Independence Days in Olive Branch, enjoying fireworks with friends

 

From the kitchen...a fish fresh off the motu, bought from a neighbor who pulled it out of the ocean this morning

 

I am reading...my language learning notes, always trying to go back and look at old data in the light of any new knowledge I gain

 

I am hoping...that e-mail works soon

I am creating...a smaller pile of clothes that still need to be mended

 

Pondering these words..."A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book." –Irish Proverb

 

I am hearing...Katherine singing

 

Around the house...lots of yummy green coconuts

 

One of my favorite things...understanding what my neighbors are saying (it doesn't happen very often!)

 

A few plans for the rest of the week...getting ready for our company this weekend, the American teacher who came to enrich SITAG kids during the summer break and a brother/sister pair from Australia who grew up in the Solomons.  We can hardly wait!

 

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...wildflowers that remind me of Matthew 6

Sweet Marulaon Sabbath

Sunday, July 04

Sweet Sabbath

-an almost seven-year-old grin mixed with grown-up teeth and baby teeth (J)

-chocolate (S)

-swimming (B)

-this house (A)

-breezy, cool days and three full rain tanks (J)

-language helpers (A)

-pretty flowers (S)

-books (B)

-clean sheets (J)

-Bikoi (B)

-Sarah, Benjamin, Olivia, Katherine (A)

-laughter (J)

even more deidei

 

more deidei

 

Saturday, July 3

Havu season is almost over.  We knew that it would be closed to finished when we arrived back in Marulaon, but we are still disappointed.  Last year, we were able to buy enough at Market to last us until January.  We shared with our neighbors just before Christmas, and they found the havu to be such a treat!  When we are in Honiara, we can buy them year-round, but here in the Russell Islands, June is the only time of year they are ripe, making them a special delicacy.

 

I was delighted this morning at market when two young girls brought some havu that had been shelled but not motued.  I asked Eileen if she would be willing to teach me how to motu the nuts and how to make some maki with them.  She said I could make deidei with the un-motued havu, so after market several of us sat around and removed the inner skin from the havu.  We decided to make deidei instead of lelenga today since they both use obikola (cassava) and stay all night on the motu.

 

When Katherine went down for her nap, the rest of us peeled, washed, and grated the obikola.  Later in the afternoon, we went down and borrowed a nago from a friend to smash the havu and mix it with the grated obikola.  After it was all smashed and mixed, we put it into a tray lined with banana leaves, and it was ready to go on the hot stones.  I had a really hard time getting the fire to start, and eventually Aaron came and bailed me out.  Good thing he's an Eagle Scout!

 

 

Thursday, July 1

July

by Susan Hartley Swett

When the scarlet cardinal tells

Her dream to the dragon fly,

And the lazy breeze makes a nest in the trees,

And murmurs a lullaby,

It is July.

 

When the tangled cobweb pulls

The cornflower's cap awry,

And the lilies tall lean over the wall

To bow to the butterfly,

It is July.

 

When the heat like a mist veil floats,

And poppies flame in the rye,

And the silver note in the streamlet's throat

Has softened almost to a sigh,

It is July.

 

When the hours are so still that time

Forgets them, and lets them lie

'Neath petals pink till the night starts wink

At the sunset in the sky,

It is July.

Wednesday, June 30

It poured rain today during our first day back at school.  We were so thankful for the sound of the rain in our rain tanks (especially since all three had been empty only a few days before we came).  What an appropriate way to begin our new read-aloud, "The House of Sixty Fathers" by Meindert Dejong, while we sat on our rain speckled porch and drank hot chocolate.  From the opening paragraph of the book:  "Rain raised the river.  Rain beat down on the sampan where it lay in a long row of sampans tied to the riverbank.  Rain drummed down on the mats that were shaped in the form of an arched roof over the middle of the sampan...."

 

Tuesday, June 29

God has given us some cloudy, cool days to spend unpacking and cleaning inside the house.    We're amazed at the soot and dust that collects on the window louvers, the bookshelves (and books), and the floor while we're gone.  At this point, we're all a little cranky and thankful that the big cleaning is almost finished.

 

My friend, Naris, greeted me with stories about why she is so thin now.  She is expecting again after a miscarriage last time we were in Marulaon, but she has been very sick with this pregnancy.  She told me that she cut her hair to help her get healthy again, and now she is feeling much better.  I still have so much to learn about how my friends think here in Marulaon.

 

 

Monday, June 28

Aaron and I watched the most amazing full moon rise over the Pacific Ocean tonight.  God's creation astounds me.

Ridin' the Bikoi in Style