Because when the sun finally comes out after the heavy rain warning, you've got to take the opportunity to dry your clothes.

Simple Sunday Supper

Shared by a SITAG colleague years ago, this easy meal helped make our Sabbath a little sweeter today.

Carolyn's Quiche

(I double and use ramekins for our family of six)

Combine and place in well greased pan:

1 cup or more cooked cabbage (we usually choose Chinese cabbage)

1/2 cup sautéed onion

1 cup grated cheese

Mix and pour over cabbage mixture:

1 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

pinch salt

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) for about 40 minutes.  Let stand for a few minutes before eating.

Odds and Ends

-A sweet friend of mine recently posted about our cooking in the Solomon Islands.  It's feels a little strange for our normal, everyday lives to be featured on somebody's blog, but in case you are interested, go take a peek.

 

 

-I've found a new favorite salve:  Badger Sore Muscle Rub.  Not only do I like the ethos of the company ("This generous act built around a shared meal strengthens our culture, builds community, and fosters cross-departmental relationships that otherwise might not happen. Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had at Badger occurred during lunch."), but the rub smells amazingly like fresh ginger.

 

-Aaron called the ship yesterday afternoon.  The office reported that the ship is now operational and plans to make a trip to Auki on February 9th before it leaves for our area on February 12th.  If everything stays the same, we plan to be on that ship next Sunday!

My nine-year-old is growing up way too fast.  When I plopped down in the hammock and pulled up the winter book basket, I invited Katherine to get in my lap so I could read books to her.

She was less than thrilled.  Maybe because it's too hot to make believe at winter weather.  Maybe because she's outgrowing her mama's lap.

But it didn't take long before she ditched the long face and we lost ourselves in "The Blizzard".

 

We've added a few books to our winter book basket over the years.  "Winter:  An Alphabet Acrostic" by Steven Schnur and "A Snowflake Fell:  Poems About Winter" compiled by Laura Whipple are a couple of my favorites.

It did seem a little bit funny to be pretending the snow was blowing around us when our feet were bathed in sunshine



and I could peek through the porch rail and see the coconut trees that are being attacked by the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle.

Snuggles, books, lemon snowballs, and lemon ginger tea made me one happy mama.  No pretending necessary.

 

Next door, in SITAG's training center, the Jesus Film Project is holding a five week training for ten languages in the Solomon Islands.

 

It is busy over there!  This afternoon, when I snuck over to take pictures, small groups of people were scattered in every available space.

And quietly, working behind the scenes, sweet Judy takes care of everybody in the very full training center.  I sure do love her servant heart!

 

 

Yet another reason why I love school at home.  Because sometimes you just need to get comfy and balance your science book on your feet.

"Noah is remembered as a man of faith because he built the ark, but to me, the real act of faith was lived out beneath that first rainbow.  Noah surveyed the empty, post-flood landscape and did not collapse under the weight of his to-do list.  Instead, he put one foot in front of the other and began, in faith, at the very beginning.  Sure of what he couldn't yet see, Noah cleaned up the mud.  He fed the animals.  He planted a garden.  He did this all by the light of God's colorful message." 

~Christie Purifoy

 

 

Last night's rain left diamonds on the banana leaves.  I discovered these jewels when I went outside to hang up laundry this morning.

 

 

The rain also cleared out the worst of the humidity.  Instead of the usual haze, I can see the nearby islands clearly.  And the fishing boats that congregate each night in the harbor like sheep herded into a fold.

 

Aaron called the Kosco's office yesterday morning before his meeting.  The ship still doesn't have the part it needs to run again.  Instead of calling and calling and stressing about the maybes and calling again, we've decided to delay our return to Marulaon Village until February 12.  That should give us enough time to know for sure and to proceed in an orderly, somewhat calm (if moving is ever calm and orderly!) way.

I'm so grateful for the extra week for Aaron to focus on the back translation of Ruth and Jonah and for me to keep chipping away at all of Sarah's paperwork for financial aid this fall.  Yay for the internet!  We refuse to "collapse under the weight of the to-do list" and commit to following Noah's example.

Sweet Sabbath

"Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you.  Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ -- that's where the action is.  See things from his perspective."  Colossians 3:2 MSG

We are thankful for a slower day today to restore our bodies and our spirits.  Some White Christmas tea, with its peppermint and ginger, soothed my sore throat this morning, and Sarah is on her second round of antibiotics for a staph infection.  So, focusing on Christ's perspective today provided an important weapon in our arsenal against being absorbed with temporary things.

Aaron is slowly but surely moving through the list of ways to be prepared for the consultant check of Ruth, Jonah, and portions of Matthew in March.  We're excited that the Lavukal are beginning to have portions of God's Word in their heart language.

I sensed God working in Benjamin when I heard pre-calculus and praise songs interspersed with each other during school.  And when the family spent time together to watch an opera this weekend, God's creativity shone as we marveled at the wonder and beauty of the music and the staging.

I saw a servant heart developing in Sarah when she chose to stay up late on Thursday night to do school ahead so she would be free to bake on Friday morning for a special morning tea for Pacific leaders from groups like YWAM and the Jesus Film who had gathered here at SITAG.

I want to start each day by putting on my Jesus glasses instead of getting caught with my "eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front" of me.

Homecoming. The Last One. Really.

 

A Canadian colleague arrived in Honiara today.

The only thing better would have been if his entire precious family had come.

Once again, we whooped and hollered for the arrival of another SITAG family member.

And there was some talk about how good it was for the cerebral translation types to be able to let loose and enjoy themselves.

Grateful for so many safe trips in the last two weeks and especially for this crew and the ways we support each other.

Homecoming. Again.

 

 

One of my favorite things about our SITAG family?

 

Togetherness.

Whether we are crying together or laughing together,

 



working together or playing together,

or even taking some personal space at the same time.

But yesterday, that "together" time was spent the time waiting for the plane with some good fellowship and fun.

At last we were rewarded by yet another SITAG member disembarking from the plane and walking through the orange cones.

 

 We've missed her sweet smile and servant's heart.

Our family, our microcosm of the Body of Christ, just keeps growing!

Australia Day

 

 

To celebrate Australia Day, Sarah had some little friends to help her make lamingtons.

 

We made enough to share with some friends here at SITAG,

but this year, no Vegemite was included in the recipe.

Heavy Hearts

"Every word of God is pure; He is shield to those who take refuge in Him." Proverbs 30:5

 

Our week has gotten off to a rough start.  We discovered that some dear friends of ours had been killed in a head on collision.  I had just sent an email asking them to meet us for breakfast in May.

 

The Kosco is still waiting for a part so it can be up and running again, and the ship's office is telling us that it will be a couple of weeks before the normal schedule is resumed.

 

Several of you have offered wisdom and concerns about Olivia's cast needing to be on longer than three weeks.  We appreciate the concerns you've shared.

 

All of these things are driving us to take refuge in God and in His unchanging Word. 

Sweet Sabbath

photo credit:  Benjamin Choate

"The rest of God -- the rest God gladly gives so we might discover that part of God we're missing -- is not a reward for finishing.  It's not a bonus for work well done.

photo credit:  Benjamin Choate

It's sheer gift.  It is a stop-work order in the midst of work that's never complete, never polished.  Sabbath is not the break we're allocated at the tail end of completing all our tasks and chores, the fulfillment of all our obligations.  It's the rest we take smack dab in the middle of them, without apology, without guilt, and for no better reason than God told us we could." 

~Mark Buchanan

"The Rest of God:  Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath"