Loved ones,
Things have been going great here in the beautiful Solomon Islands! We have been doing lots of activities as a team, such as shopping for food and supplies, cooking, cleaning, and visiting Wycliffe missionaries on the compound here. Today we went to an Anglican church on the corner. It was the first liturgical church service I have ever attended! It was definitely different than what I'm used to, but I rather enjoyed it! My two complaints are that it was long and the communion wine burned my throat. But I think that's probably just the nature of wine. We were the only white people in the building and we sat almost at the very front. Anyway, it was cool and I met this sweet girl named Stephanie.
Last night, my friend Laura and I had what we call "real talk". I've found over the last few days that I am craving one-on-one time to just talk about what's on my mind and pray with someone I trust. I've realized that I really need that, especially in situations like this where everything is new and strange. It's hard because while these people are wonderful and Godly, they don't know me well enough to read the signs I show when I'm upset. However, I roomed with Laura in Dallas and I know how much she values "real talk" (talking about deep, real things). She picked up on my mood and I decided to go ahead and open up to her. We talked about some frustrations we had and what we could do to remedy the issues. Then we prayed over each other. I'm so grateful that we had that time. I think what God is showing me that I need to be willing to tell people when I need help or prayer.
Friday night, Kit, Candice and I met up with James and Karen Ashley, the missionary couple with whom we will be working at the festival. We did a mock-up of our booth and figured out what needed to be done to make things fit. It's gonna be so cool. We're gonna have people come in, tell us what language they speak, give them a chance to sign a laminated map next to their language community, do a video recording of the "word of the day" in their language, and learn more about SIL! My job will be to transcribe the words that people say and write them on the board with the word of the day. This meeting was a very tangible representative of my actual role in this trip, so I loved it. The Ashley's are way cool, super nice, and super smart. It should be a great few weeks. :)
Tomorrow (Monday), the majority of my team is leaving at 6:00 a.m. to hop on a boat headed for Malaita, a neighboring island. There, they will split up into pairs and stay with village families for the whole week! They will also be doing their Arts for a Better Future workshop at the festival there. Kit, Candice and I will stay here in Honiara. We will miss them greatly, but it will be a great experience for them.
What's been hard:
- opening up to my team
- making myself talk to the very shy Solomon Islanders
- feeling overpowered by some of the stronger personalities on the team
What's been great:
- fellowship with my team
- getting to experience local food
- meeting the missionary community
- being amazing at picking up Pijin. :)
- a story-telling workshop we had yesterday!
Answers to prayer:
- Malcolm arrived. We haven't seen him, but we know he's here somewhere.
- successful trips to the various stores in the area
Prayer requests:
- my teammates in their 4-hour boat ride to Malaita
- Laura's gluten allergy while she's living with a village family and gluten-free options may not be available
- courage and wisdom for those running the arts workshop
- boldness for me in my role at the language booth and speaking to nationals
Thank you... and to God be the glory!
-Lauren
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