Resting with intention

Usually the act of lifting weights is considered the moment where strength gains are made, but this would be incorrect.  In fact during a weight lifting session the muscles become distressed and there are little rips and tears made to the muscle tissue.  It is only through rest that the strength gains are made as our bodies fuse together new muscle fibers creating a thicker muscle with a greater capacity for lifting.

Strength isn't gained as we work.  Strength is gained as we rest....

God has created us for both work and rest.  These components function together and one without the other weakens us.  Work is important.  We must expend energy, we must push, we must risk, we must learn; but we are missing a key element to health, both physical and spiritual, if we cannot stop, breathe and rest.  We will not make gains if we don't rest with intention.

~Joy Smalley, from "The Anatomy of Rest"

 

Honiara sunset

 

It's about to be anything but restful around here.  That's why, come the beginning of June, I'm going to hide away.  A little bit of "resting with intention".  Just a couple of weeks of being still and quiet and listening to my Jesus in my backyard, or maybe on my front porch, before I jump back into life in America again.

Basketsful remaining

I begin in weakness and end in strength.  I discover all over again that this is exactly what God loves:  to make his power perfect in our weakness, to show up in splendor when we show up in faithfulness, obedient but inadequate, trusting but inept, with nothing in our hands but our need for him.  "You feed them," he tells us, when we have hardly enough to feed ourselves.  We give what we have anyway and find afterward that everyone has had his fill.  There are even basketfuls remaining. 

 

~Mark Buchanan, "The Rest of God"

 

In the midst of the packing and all of the emotions that go along with leaving your heart in pieces around the world, I'm so grateful for the love and laughter that constitute the "basketfuls remaining".

 

 

Easter Monday Fun Run

 

 

Unlike previous years, for this year's Easter Monday Fun Run, SITAG only sent four participants.  The moms and some of the kids walked over to the race to be cheerleaders and take pictures.

 

Running up Cemetery Hill ain't for sissies!

One of our colleagues paused for a round of high fives from his kids and wife.

We found our friend Barbara in the midst of the runners as a sweet surprise!

After we watched the runners go by, we walked back to SITAG to wait for our conquering heroes to return.

Finally we saw them down at the bottom of Tanuli ridge on top of which SITAG perches.

Their final obstacle was "Jacob's Ladder", a very long and step flight of stairs along SITAG's border.  Benjamin carried Timmy piggy back all the way up, and the dads showed their stamina by running up the steps to meet their adoring fans.

Easter Traditions

 

"Crucifixion and Resurrection"

 

O Lord, I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried.  The sepulcher calls forth my adoring wonder, for it is empty and thou art risen; the four-fold gospel attest it, the living witnesses prove it, my heart's experience knows it.

 

 

Give me to die with thee that I may rise to new life, for I wish to be as dead and buried to sin, to selfishness, to the world; that I might not hear the voice of the charmer, and might be delivered from his lusts.  O Lord, there is much ill about me -- crucify it, much flesh within me -- mortify it. 

 

 

Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation, the shame of being through old-fashioned, the desire to be cultivated or modern.  Let me reckon my old life dead because of crucifixion, and never feed it as a living thing. 

 

 

Grant me to stand with my dying Saviour, to be content to be rejected, to be willing to take up unpopular truths, and to hold fast despised teachings until death.  Help me to be resolute and Christ-contained.  Never let me wander from the path of obedience to thy will. 

 

 

Strengthen me for the battles ahead.  Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.  Help me to be a holy, happy person, free from every wrong desire, from everything contrary to thy mind. 

 

 

Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:  may it rule me, may I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence. 

~ from "The Valley of Vision"

What a joy this weekend to be able to pause and remember Christ's gift to us as we shared family traditions like dying Easter eggs and making resurrection cookies and attending the sunrise service at the US War Memorial.

 

 

Once again, when our flesh and blood family was far across the Pacific Ocean, our SITAG family stepped in to fill in the gaps and to celebrate alongside us.

 

 

This girl.  Every time I looked at her pixie face, she was licking the chocolate icing off of her fingers.  Growing up, we always made "Easter Basket Cupcakes", and now my kids consider it a tradition at our house, as well. 

 

We didn't have colored pipe cleaners for handles, but the cupcakes were still delicious and we had plenty to share.

I pulled the last of the village laundry off the line this afternoon.  Now it really feels like we are packing and preparing to leave.  Only ten days left until our departure, then four weeks on the road (including our re-entry seminar) before we finally arrive in Arkansas.

 

 

During SITAG's morning tea, the uncles and aunties gathered around Sarah and Benjamin to give brief speeches and then to pray blessings over them.  We're so grateful for the faithful men and women who work here. 

 

 

This is just one more step in helping our teenagers finish well here in the Solomon Islands and begin to transition to their next phase of life.  Sarah made a chocolate peanut butter cake to go along with the chocolate ice cream. 

 

 

I loved how Aaron explained that the delicious food was to help make us happy after expressing our sadness at Sarah and Benjamin leaving SITAG.  We also received the good news that our cargo is on its way back to Honiara this afternoon!  I see many loads of laundry in my future...

 

Still waiting, but not bored!

 

While we wait for our boxes from the village to arrive, we haven't been twiddling our thumbs!  We usually do school year round, pausing only to move, then starting right back up again.  This schedule works well for our family and gives the kids routine and stability no matter where we live.

We've finished the 2016-2017 school year, giving us freedom to serve our SITAG family with our time and energy that are usually consumed by school.  Benjamin has been gluing carpet squares onto the bottom of chairs to protect the beautiful hard wood floors.  Sarah has been heating up the kitchen with yummy food to share with new arrivals and to spice up long, tedious meetings.  All of the kids have given time and energy this week to the Educational Resource Center preparing books to go into the database.  We are so thankful for the little library!

 

Only Aaron continues his normal line of work...attending meetings and getting Jonah and Ruth ready for printing so they can head out to the Lavukal as soon as possible.

"One thing I do know and that is to take little steps.  Steps which are short enough and yet long enough so that God is visible to my eyes and so that He can light up my path."

~Julia von Bodelschwingh

 

When Aaron called the Lavusi office yesterday afternoon to find out when the little cargo ship was headed back to Honiara with all of our boxes from the villages, he learned that the ship had gone to a different island instead of the Russell Islands.  We're hopeful that by next weekend, we'll have our boxes and buckets (with contents ranging from our dirty sheets and towels to my precious - but huge - Bible that I've had since I was a teenager).  Little steps it is, as we wait for God's perfect timing on all of the things that need to be sorted and packed for our departure.

 

 

Since Friday night, Honiara's power has been off more than on.  We laugh because our solar power in the village is often more reliable than the electricity at SITAG!  Our communication with the outside world may be spotty if the power continues to fluctuate.  And the food that I put in the slow cooker this morning for an easy meal might not be cooked in time for an early Sunday supper.  But at least with all of the rain yesterday and today, the temperatures have been much cooler and managing the lack of electricity has been relatively easy.

Sarah and I are reading "At Home in Mitford".  She's just dipping her toes in for the first time, and I'm enjoying the memories flooding back from this sweet series.  Last night I was reminded of just how much living in the Solomon Islands exercises my "faith muscles" when I read this passage:

"I've never been one for physical exercise," she said, "but what God does with our faith must be something like workouts.  He sees to it that our faith gets pushed and pulled, stretched and pounded, taken to its limit so its limits can expand."

He liked that -- taken to its limits so its limits can expand.  Yes!

"If it doesn't get exercised, "she said thoughtfully, "it becomes like a weak muscle that fails us when we need it."

He felt himself smiling foolishly, though his question was serious.  "Would you agree that we must be willing to thank God for every trial of our faith, no matter how severe, for the greater strength it produces?"

"I'm perfectly willing to say it, but I'm continually unable to do it."

"There's the rub!"

We made it!

Our family is safely back in Honiara after one of the smoothest and fastest rides we've ever experienced.  Thanks for the prayers as we settle back into life in Honiara and turn our minds to the upcoming return to America (along the scenic route!).

Monday, April 3

We finally got enough shipping information this afternoon to make some decisions about the best way to get back to Honiara. Thanks for everybody who has been praying for our wisdom!

The translation chairman, Leonard, suggested we take the family across in a motor canoe again, followed by our cargo coming on a copra ship.

A ship will be leaving Honiara on its way to our area on Thursday, and Leonard will take the family across in his canoe on Wednesday morning. He wants to leave at 5:30 a.m., which is 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon for those of you living in the USA's Central Time Zone.

In the midst of the sorting and packing, we are saying goodbyes and giving away things and taking lots of pictures.

We have no idea when Sarah and Benjamin might return to Marulaon, and Olivia and Katherine anticipate at least 18 months before they return.

We're grateful for the friendships we've made while living here, and we appreciate prayers for the many transitions that await us!

Sunday, April 2

The bag of cassava that the Fly Harbour Primary School kids gave me turned into a big tray of cassava pudding/lelenga to help feed all of the people that came to Sarah and Benjamin's farewell party last night. We also cooked rice, bananas, kumara/umalau, and plain boiled cassava/uvikola. Families here often hold parties when their older children go away to school, so it was very appropriate for us to do the same. Thankfully, it was a potluck, and we had a table groaning under the weight of all of the good food. We met under the house with a bright fluorescent light run by a friend's generator (and my sweet friend, Kiko, had volunteered to buy the petrol). The darkness outside was a sharp contrast and made pictures really difficult, but I was determined to capture every memory possible for my amazing two who are leaving the village.

The little boys soon clustered around Benjamin while we waited for the party to start. They played games, and Benjamin even taught the boys math tricks, like how the multiples of nine add up to nine when you combine the digits. We've been told that when we aren't here, the little boys play at being Benjamin, like a super hero. I grabbed a baby and was in adopted mama heaven when he went to sleep in my arms. We finally started around 8 o'clock with a welcome song and a brief welcome from our friend, Chief Hensy. The guests of honor were served first, then the host family (that would be us). I love my spunky Olivia, she chose to stay with her buddies and eat with the rest of the village children, who were served after our family.

Then came the big men, followed by the women. At last, everybody had full bellies and it was time to sing a song while shaking hands with Sarah and Benjamin, who were now wearing fragrant garlands of frangipanni flowers. Some people placed necklaces over the heads of Sarah and Benjamin when they came through the line, I think this was the highlight of the evening for me. Sarah ended up with eight necklaces and Benjamin had one. Filming people who have been our adopted family for the last eight years as they hugged the necks of my kids...it left me in tears and shaking the camera. But then I pulled it back together! Different representatives were called upon to make speeches for Sarah and Benjamin. Our friend Janet spoke on behalf of the women in the village.

Walter, as the senior catechist, voiced the thoughts of the church, and Leonard talked from the perspective of the translation committee. Chief Hensy was the last village representative to speak. The recurring themes we heard highlighted Sarah and Benjamin's participation in the village and church activities and how well they played with all of the children in the village, too. Janet especially commented on Sarah's cooking skills and what a good woman she was to share food with the village so often. Then Aaron took his turn and blessed Sarah and Benjamin specifically citing Sarah's heart for God and Benjamin's willingness to help and quickness to obey. Finally, Benjamin, and then Sarah gave their brief speeches. I am so proud of those two. Benjamin mentioned that he was eight when he came to live in Marulaon, and now he is sixteen, and reminded everybody that half of his life he has called Marulaon home. Half of his heart is in the village and half can be in America, and he plans to take the best of both cultures and mix them together. We wrapped up with a prayer by Walter, our favorite Lavukal good night song, and three happy cheers by Leonard. It was a late night, but worth every drop of sweat we put into it.

Saturday, April 1

Over the last few weeks, we've seen roroyo used more and more to ward off evil spirits. When our kids went on a picnic with their friends, the adult chaperone placed three small branches of roroyo along the beach to protect them. And when they began to paddle home, the canoe with the smallest children also received several branches of roroyo. Then one day, I was sitting and chatting with one of my good friends, and I decided to boldly ask her about roroyo. She confirmed all the ways I had already seen it used, then showed me where she had stuck it around the edges of a man made extension of the beach in front of her house.

She said she was afraid of the high tide because it was windy, so she put the roroyo there for protection. I took a deep breath, sent up a silent prayer for wisdom, and jumped in with both feet to ask her how she could layer her belief of Jesus with her belief in roroyo. She looked at me funny and responded that she believed in the power of both! Later, I asked the same friend where the power in roroyo originated, and she told me the Creator put it there. Just like He put all kinds of good medicine in the plants he created. This friend of mine is one of the most active women in the church. Oh, how I need wisdom to walk sensitively in this area, yet I also need the courage to help my friends see what the Bible says about God's power.