Greetings from the South Pacific!
It is about 11:30 on Wednesday night. We have been travelling for the last 3 days. We made stops in Los Angeles, Nadi, Brisbane, and finally arrived in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. Needless to say, I'm now a whiz at going through airport security. In Brisbane, we spent Tuesday night at the Wycliffe Australia flats, which are very quaint and cute. Being in Australia was wonderful, but it rained the entire time we were there. The weather spawned a cozy evening inside the upstairs flat, complete with the sharing of personal stories, hot drinks, and pancakes. We all had major jet lag, but it was a relaxing time and I found myself loving my teammates more and more.
On the flight to Honiara, I felt the most excited about being in the Solomon Islands I have felt the entire trip so far... and for good reason. We, along with all of the people travelling into Honiara for the fesitval, were greeted with a pan-pipe band and other musical performances. I felt like a zoo animal because everyone watched us white people as we walked around outside the airport. We laughed about the fact that we were taking pictures of them AND they were taking pictures of us! We loaded our luggage into cars and piled into an open-bed truck that had benches along the inside and a brand new canvas roof. Then we rode to the SITAG compound. I can't even begin to describe the squeals of joy and excitement that were coming from our team. We were like little kids on Christmas morning. Everything was new to us and therefore beautiful in its own way. The landscape and vegetation was probably the most amazing part of what we saw today. The building we're staying in on the SITAG property is quite nice... at least a lot nicer than we all had expected. All 13 of us are living in a 4-bedroom 2.5-bath flat with a huge living room and a kitchen. After settling in, we took a tour of the grounds. Some of the views from the houses on top of hills are breathtaking. Some common phrases were "Is this real life??" and "We're home!" For dinner, we joined some Wycliffe missionaries that live a couple of houses away. She cooked rice, kumara, pumpkin tips, and pumpkin in coconut milk and a papaya cake for dessert. The meal was enjoyed by all. They told us what they do and the ups and downs of Solomons life. It was nice to fellowship with them.
After dinner we had a team meeting to discuss cooking rotation, devotional plans, and a team covenant. We will be cooking in groups and taking turns doing daily devotions from sections of Philippians. The team covenant is still being worked on, but I'm excited about it. Tomorrow we will be doing some more language/culture learning and shopping for food supplies in town. Internet access here is pretty good. We have running water and toilets and a washing machine. We don't have A/C, but we have screened windows and many ceiling fans. It's actually pretty cool in the living room when the fans are on.
What's been hard:
- Sleeping on the planes
- Dragging my luggage around the airports
- Calculating currency exchange and time zone differences ( :P )
What's been great:
- Being in Australia
- The first sights, sounds, and smells of the Solomon Islands
- Praying together as a team
Answers to prayer:
- Tracy's knee is feeling much better. She is no longer having pain, only some weakness. Thank you for your prayers!
- Team unity -- I feel very hopeful about our ability to live and work together.
- All of our planes landed safely and our luggage made it here successfully.
Prayer requests:
- Peace and patience for us as we go to the market in small groups to purchase various goods on our own!
- Malcolm, our native Solomon Islander friend, has been held up in Fiji because he couldn't get an Australian visa. Pray that he makes it back home to the Solomons safely and soon!
- The Wycliffe missionaries here. Because they are doing amazing work for God's kingdom.
To God be the glory!
-Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment