Ants & Vans

Christmas morning!

As our final blog of 2018 we thought it would be appropriate to appreciate something about our island home that is pretty astounding.  This very week, there were two things in particular that have stuck us by their particular power and resilience.  One is rather large and the other is rather small.

A few days ago we went on a tour of the islands with one of the English programs.  This was a chance to have fun, promote the English program, and bond with students.  To do an island tour (or really to get anywhere on the island, assuming you don’t have your own vehicle) you will be going in a van or minibus.  To be more specific, a 1987 Toyota HiAce.  These are the type of van found all over Clove Island.  These vehicles are nothing fancy on the outside, but they’ve got it where it counts. 

A van on the tour

A high suspension, strong but efficient motor, and an ability to carry far more than the 15 capacity suggestion—these vans keep the island moving.  It’s amazing enough to see one of these beauties loaded down with 22 people, plus a load of cargo on top that makes you wonder how they balance it all up there, then throw a couple of young guys hanging on the back. You can see how resilient these things are. 

But we were especially impressed by these Toyota minibuses when on our island tour this week we took the new road that has just been “completed” which crosses straight across the island over a high mountain pass.  Completed is a relative term and based upon the guy in the big bulldozer we passed we were clearly passing at our own risk, but our van driver seemed unfazed, and proved himself to be so no matter what we saw on the “road” ahead.  At many points it seemed to be no road at all, merely a muddy slice out of the side of a mountain.  Yet, despite the ruts, gullies and mud our driver drove without the least concern and took us over the mountain in that Toyota HiAce as if it were no more than leisurely drive.  Yes, they may not look like much, but these vans are something.

The "new" road

Which leads us to another equally resilient, mighty, and nearly unstoppable force we’ve experienced this week.  Though in size it is tiny, it is a force to be reckoned with.  I am talking about island ants!  At most times of the year we are in an everlasting battle with ants.  They come from all directions, take any route, and have an ability to find food that must rival a bloodhound.  They can even work their way into some types of packaging. Their trails can lead for yards across walls and floors, and once they have infested a food source, driving them away is nearly impossible.  Bread is particularly bad as the yeasty air bubbles allow for long and complicated passages like their own colonies so even after you brush ants off the outside, ants continue to crawl out of the loaves with astounding regularity.  This time of year, you leave any food on the counter for any length of time at your own risk.

There are ways to hold them off.  Toxic spray is most effective.  It will wipe out the entire line in moments and seems to have a lasting effect that keeps them from following that same path.  But as already mentioned, they are resilient.  And when they can pass through floors, walls and ceilings, and distance is not an issue, the sprayed area merely becomes a detour.    Before long, they have found a way over under, over, around or through and have returned to your kitchen counter as if they owned the place.

Ant trail from roof, past bookshelf, under map

So as we reflect on the creatures and machines that keep going despite great odds, we see a lesson in all this.  May we too be like the ant and the mini-bus this year.  Undaunted, resilient, never giving up and finding a way through.

Happy New Year!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We had a very nice Christmas and were blessed by some neighbors and friends remembering that it was a holiday for us and giving us treats and their holiday greetings. There was a gathering with some local brothers and sisters (a belated holiday gathering). It came together last minute so there weren’t lots of people but it was encouraging to hear different stories of sharing good news with friends and neighbors. We currently have a house guest from Australia (who works in Kenya)— the kids love visitors and it has been fun to have her.  2018 was an eventful year with lots of difficult situations, but at the same time we saw God’s provision throughout, so we thank God for this year and look forward to the one to come.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our kids go back to school on Jan 2nd but they were in the middle of exams when they unexpectedly went on break. Pray that they would remember what they need to in order to get through exams without stress or anxiety. We’ve heard that the debated island elections will happen in March (the constitution says the next presidential vote shouldn’t be for a couple more years, the president pushed through a new constitution that most islanders don’t accept). While it is possible that we won’t see any unrest until March, it is also possible that the lingering tensions could bubble up before then. Keep the stability of the islands in your prayers. A good friend is preparing to have a hard conversation with her family, pray for her relationship with her parents as she tries to be honest with them.

I'm Dreaming of a Wet Christmas

Let it pour! (Christmas Eve downpour)

Although we’ve been on the islands since 2009, this is only our 5th Christmas on the islands. It is very tempting to leave the islands at Christmas-time, because the islands are pretty miserable! Not because of homesickness though, because of the oppressive heat and humidity! This is our hot season. The season when the days are long and our hair and shirts are almost always soaked with sweat.

For our first few years on the islands, we made a point of vacationing off-island with our young kids and meeting up with family for the holidays. We went to cooler climates and had a break from the heat. But it’s a little strange to celebrate Christmas in a rented apartment or hotel room in a strange city. Christmas is a time for family traditions and it’s hard to do that at a vacation spot. Also we missed the opportunity to share with our island friends about the holiday and why it is so important to us.

Leading carols with English Club

So for 5 of the last 6 Christmases we’ve braved the heat and stayed at home on the islands and we’ve had the chance to create some of our own family traditions.  Albeit with two major limitations: it’s the wrong climate/season and no one else is celebrating.

Wrong Climate:
We may still listen to songs like “Let It Snow” on the islands, but we do not hold out hope of a white Christmas. Our daughter has taken to singing “I’m dreaming of a wet Christmas…” because it is the sporadic downpours and the accompanying cool breezes that provide relief to the heat! But with the Christmas heat comes some special Christmas treats— mangoes, pineapples and lychees in abundance! We have transitioned some traditions to the climate: playing in the snow becomes playing in the rain, snuggling by the fire becomes cooling off around the fan, Christmas fudge becomes Christmas fudgsicles!

Christmas celebration food

No One Else is Celebrating:
Now in the States, people are bombarded with the Christmas season (especially once Thanksgiving is over)— on TV, radio, in the shops, in neighborhoods…everything is decorated, carols fill the air and all products and activities become Christmas-themed in red and green. On the islands, our home is a little island of Christmas in the midst of crowds of people that don’t even know that there is a holiday coming up. So none of our traditions can depend on others… there are no Christmas concerts, no sleigh/hay rides, no Christmas tree lots, no services. But we do decorate our home and play Christmas music. We’ve slowly accumulated decorations when we travel to places that celebrate Christmas and there are always homemade ones (especially snowflakes). We celebrate advent with an advent wreath/candles and different calendars. The kids like to decorate our chalkboard.

Mary, Joseph and donkey with innkeeper

Others may not be celebrating, but we tell them about it. We have a Christmas party every year with our English Club. We give Christmas cookies to our neighbors. We answer islanders’ questions about the holiday.  We may be alone in our neighborhood, but we are not completely alone on the island, so most years we gather with the others who celebrate in the days around Christmas (whether our team, other foreigners or islanders) for a time of prayer or fun. We always manage at least one re-enactment of the nativity play each year (though improv style, with no rehearsals and limited props) and we usually have some kind of gift exchange.

The scene on Christmas morning might not be that different from people across the globe.  Our kids wake up early and will be impatient for us to wake up. We will be slow to open up our front door/gate so that we can have some family time together that morning without neighbors interrupting. We try to remember the amazing gift we have been given— unto us a Savior has been born!  Because once we do open up our front grate, we are reminded that outside our house, it is just an ordinary hot-season day on the islands.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We got the encouraging news that we have a new island sister! We have been praying for her for a long time and our colleagues on the small island have invested a lot in her. We were so excited to hear of her decision. Our kids have been healthy and enjoying their break from school. We’ve had some good chances to celebrate Christmas with our teammates (before they traveled) and with islanders at our English Club party. Despite rulings in the political trials on the big island, things have remained calm with no widespread unrest.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The local brothers and sisters wanted to wait until some of them got back from traveling before celebrating— pray that it isn’t forgotten but that we do all gather to remember this important holiday. Some colleagues with a different organization are in the middle of a very difficult situation— pray for wisdom, humility and peace for all involved. The political rumors going around range from humorous to troubling- continue to persevere in prayer with us for peace, justice and good governance on the islands. We pray for a good Christmas for all our loved ones, here on the islands and abroad. May we all remember the hope, peace, joy and love found in the good news!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Setting Precedent

Island sunset this week

A few weeks ago one of our island sisters lost her grandmother.  Her grandmother lived far away.  The following week we were invited by some of our island family to go and pay our respects.  This is a pretty common thing to do.  When someone dies far away, since there are none of the normal island ceremonies, people come by and pay their respects to the grieved.  Sometimes, even groups of friends will come together to do this, so it was no surprise to us for someone to organize such a gathering.  They even asked Megan to say something.  That seemed a bit odd, usually these are more casual visits where people just sit and speak some encouraging words. But sometimes our friends like to be more formal and sometimes with a group, people will choose one or two to speak on behalf of the group. 

When we got there we were surprised to find such a large party present.  And it soon became clear that this was going to be different.  The friend leading the time had us pray and sing songs and then brought a chair out for Megan to sit and teach from.  Megan, shared some thoughts that she had prepared and then our grieving sister came and started to tell us about her grandmother.  She pulled out a picture and passed it around, as she talked about her life.

It was at that moment that it dawned on us: this is nearly the same thing we did for Megan’s grandfather when he passed away a few months ago.  (You can read about it here.)  The format, the things shared, none of it was very complicated, but they had taken the form and used it again.  They had taken something we had modeled and made it their own.

Date night thanks to teammate babysitting!

The things our sister shared about her grandmother were hopeful.  Her grandmother had heard good news and had been deeply touched by it.  There was cause to have hope.  If you would like to know more of that story, you can write to us and we will tell you about it.

Seeing something we have done be copied and repeated is greatly satisfying and at the same time intimidating.  With Megan’s grandfather’s memorial we were very intentional and thoughtful about what we did, knowing that there wasn’t a clear precedent for what we were doing and wanting it to be understandable for islanders. But what about all the things that we have done in the past without necessarily thinking or realizing that islanders might be looking to copy us? What else might they have seen us do?  It makes me think back to Christmas celebrations in the past where it was as much about American traditions as it was about the true meaning of Christmas.  What have we modeled?  What will they copy?

And yet, we’ve not seen islanders putting up stockings or Christmas lights, those things are difficult to reproduce because they are foreign. No, as we think about the memorial service and our efforts to be thoughtful and island appropriate—we know that it made it easier for them to copy.  Maybe they saw something there that they said to themselves, “Yes, we can do something like that.”  We’ve been scared of modeling before because of the weighty responsibility and the fear that no matter what we did, it would still be “foreign”. But sometimes people need to see something first before they can make it their own. We model whether we want to or not, so we are challenged to continue to be more thoughtful and intentional. At the same time we let go of fear. We take comfort and are thankful that it is not all up to us, or even up to those observing us. God is faithful to guide and correct, so we look to Him.

Helpers do the dishes for Tom

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Thank you for your prayers for our kids, especially our 8 year old, who seemed better able to deal with the stress of exams as the week went on.  We said goodbye to our teammate—I think she managed to say goodbye to everyone on the island, which is quite a feet, and will ensure her being well received on her return!  So far her travels have been good.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We were surprised to learn that our children were starting vacation this Monday.  Apparently, unbeknownst to them or anyone else at their school, and despite the fact that they were in the middle of exams, the government announced that all schools must go on vacation.  So our children are free for the next two weeks.  Pray for the governance of this island, and our patience with it, which seems so arbitrary sometimes.  Our 6 year old woke up and vomited twice this morning. He already seems to be feeling better but pray for complete recovery.  There are some political court cases happening right now that could have effects on island stability.  Pray for peace and justice.  We aren’t sure when or if our island family will celebrate Christmas as some had to travel last minute, causing existing plans to go up in the air.  Pray that we would know what role to play in encouraging gatherings. 

Being Genuine 2: Speaking Hard Truth

Our living room at night

“How is that training going?”  I asked the man sitting across from me.  He’s a regular visitor. We see each other every week.

“Oh, it didn’t work out,” he said. 

I expected this answer.  It was one I had heard many times before.  Every time there is an opportunity, it doesn’t work out.  Was I just going to accept it or was I going to say something this time?...  The time had come to say something.

“It never works out with you.  You never have time.  I think you don’t really want to grow.  I think you say these things, but you aren’t really interested.” 

He regarded me with an offended look.  “No, it’s not like that.  I want to do these things.”

“I don’t think you do.  I’ll believe it when I see it.”

A few weeks ago we wrote a blog called Being Genuine.  It was about being honest and truthful in how we portray ourselves and the spin we give to facts.

Sweaty Tom with a friend at a ceremony

We’ve noticed a cultural tendency on the islands.  There are many relationships that aren’t genuine and both parties know it, and yet everyone continues with the charade to save face.  (Saving face is important here.) Sometimes it is harmless, like the man who tells me every time I see him, “I’ve been so busy, but I’ll come to the English Club this next week,” and yet never comes.  My usual reply to him is: “I look forward to seeing you, God willing,” even though I don’t actually expect him to show up. We smile. We nod. We go our separate ways. From the outside this isn’t very genuine, but culturally we both know the truth and are just saying what is polite.

But sometimes it has implications beyond just politeness.  Like the guy above who calls me a friend and brother and yet whenever I try to talk to him about serious things, whenever I want to visit him, he simply doesn’t have the time.  He talks a good game, but he has nothing to show for it.  What does it mean to be genuine with this guy?  Can we play the charade or does our relationship require an honesty that is more truly genuine?  Aren’t we obligated to speak truthfully to one another? 

If we are to be genuine then we need accountability to keep us honest.  This is why we send our newsletters and blogs not only to those we love that are thousands of miles away, but also to our colleagues here on the islands with us.  It is important that those who can see with their own eyes what is happening in our lives can be a check that we are being genuine in our communication.  As we wrote a few weeks ago, it would be easy to mislead others but we can even deceive ourselves.  If we don’t have accountability, we may not only be tempted to be less than genuine, but we might not even be seeing our own faults clearly. One sign of this self-deception is not running away from accountability. If we don’t want accountability, then we probably are not being completely honest with ourselves or others.

Accountability should be a two-way street. It should be something we get from others, but also something we give. And that means speaking hard truths sometimes.

After I said those hard things to my friend, there was a long silence that followed.  Eventually we switched to the subject of politics and he became talkative again.  We prayed as usual and then he left.

I’m not sure what happens now. Will he come back? Will he be willing to go deeper next time?  Or will he act like the conversation never happened?  Will he accept accountability and the challenge it represents to his status quo? I hope so.

Our team

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful for our sister on the little island. She was taken to court and answered truthfully the questions she was asked. Thankfully she was released and we continue to pray for her relationships with her family and neighbors. We were encouraged to attend an event for kids organized by island brothers and sisters— it was fun to see all their and our children together and to see truth being shared with them. We are excited that there are plans for more gatherings to happen on a regular basis as well as for the upcoming holiday.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the brother mentioned above and others like him and our interactions with them. Pray for an island sister who recently lost her grandmother.  We were encouraged to spend time together with her and others and to hear that there was hope for her grandmother’s eternity. Pray for her mother who, due to travel restrictions, cannot be with family and is feeling alone in her grief.  Continue to pray for our teammate who leaves this Saturday for her home country, for a four month time away.  Pray for strong goodbyes and her safe travels. There have been lots of rumors about the president this past week. There is video of him collapsing during a speech which ignited speculations about his health and various possible reasons. The government says he is perfectly healthy but others say he has been taken abroad for treatment. We don’t know what to believe but continue this small nation and for good and healthy governance. Our kids have started their end-of-trimester exams at school. It is our youngest’s first time doing them. (He’s only 6.) But it is actually our middle son (8 years old) that gets really nervous about them. Pray for peace for him. Finally it has been really hot. Pray that we can get good nights’ sleep in this awful humidity and that we would win the battle against heat rash!

A Thesis Defense

Preparing for Defense

About a month ago I had the opportunity to go to a thesis defense.  If you’ve never experienced a thesis defense it’s basically a hearing where a panel of judges (professors) put your thesis (heavily researched paper and work) on trial.  I have been to a few of these in other places, even experienced it once myself.  When the students are well prepared, it can be an impressive display of knowledge and learning.  When the students are not prepared, it can be a seriously uncomfortable affair.  But nothing had quite prepared me for a thesis defense here on our island.

It started out very formally.  Everyone was seated, the room packed with family, friends, students and teachers there to support the presenters.  A camera man moved about making sure the event was well documented.  The four professors of the panel were introduced one by one and then the two students, (two young women who did a joint project) were introduced and told they would have thirty minutes to present their thesis.

The first presenter rose. She was dressed in her most formal island wear.  Taking a microphone in one hand and her paper in the other she stood in front of the audience and professors and read from her paper, never making eye contact or engaging with anyone.  She then proceeded to share their thesis, “The importance of encouraging e-commerce in the islands”

“E-commerce,” she began, “is very important for our island.  E-commerce will greatly help our island to increase its economic capacity.  With e-commerce we will see a bright future for the islands.  Businessmen will be able to do more business, because of e-commerce.  The benefits of e-commerce will be seen throughout the society, in education, economics, and health. E-commerce...”

And so it went, on and on, every sentence lacking any sort of substance at all.  When she had finished, there was great cheering.  Family members came and laid flower necklaces on her as her partner stood up to continue from where she left off.  If the first presenter summarized their paper, I suppose the second presenter summarized the summary of the paper, because she said more of the same glowing language without any real substance to speak of.  When she had finished there was more cheering and more flower necklaces.

Decorating the tree

But now the professor stood to speak.

“May I congratulate these students on their excellent presentation summarizing their work on this important subject of e-commerce.”  The room exploded in applause.  After a moment the professor asked for quiet before proceeding, “I said at the beginning that they would have 30 minutes to present and summarize their topic and they have achieved that in under 15 minutes!”  He said to more thunderous applause.

When things had settled down, he then began the laborious job of explaining that though he would not wish to bring shame upon anyone, it was their job as professors to ask questions so as to encourage the further advancement of knowledge, and so, they would ask some hard questions of the thesis presenters.  The audience grew quiet as the real challenge of the defense began.  Would the students be able to answer the tough questions coming their way?

“Though I do not enjoy challenging you with these questions,” the professor apologetically began, “I must make note of ways you can improve your work…  I noticed that in your table of contents you list your sections with roman numerals, only for your third section you used the number 3 rather than the roman numeral.  We must be consistent in these things.”

And so it continued. All of the questions to the students were just as superficial as the paper itself: a punctuation problem, an illustration that was not clearly labeled, a spelling mistake, etc.  Nothing of substance came from any of the professors.  As the fourth professor, the youngest of the group, finished his appraisal of their bibliographic data, he lowered his head and asked, without looking at his colleagues,

“The difficulties of infrastructure and the slow delivery of goods in our country would certainly impact the effectiveness of e-commerce. How would you address this important issue?”

The Stockings are Up

I perked up.  Finally, a substantive question.  What would they say? They’re in the hot-seat now.  The professor raised his eyes to the presenters.  I also looked their way, wondering about how they would respond.  But if they had heard the question at all, it seemed they were being careful to ignore it.  Their heads looked down at their papers as they flipped through their pages, seemingly looking for an answer?  There was a brief moment of silence as the question hung in the air.  It was clear that they had no intention of answering it.  What would happen now? I wondered.  The awkwardness was finally relieved by one of the other professors who, with a clearing of the throat, remarked on the excellence of the question and then turned our attention to the width of the margins on page six…

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The consultant checking ended well. By putting in a lot of hours, they were able to finish checking the first book! We are thankful for this accomplishment and for the team that worked so hard. We were able to have a few conversations about the too-young bride in our neighborhood. We were encouraged to hear that many of our neighbors did not approve and have spoken against it.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We pray that more islanders would learn to think critically and be able to discuss things of substance in meaningful ways. Pray for our teammate, who has less than two weeks on the islands before going to her home country for several months. Pray that all the logistics of moving out of her house and saying her goodbyes would go well and that her interactions with island friends would be blessed.  An island sister on the small island may be taken to court by her father for her faith. Pray for strength, courage and wisdom for her and also pray for her relationships with her family. Continue to pray for the islands, the president has installed his own governor for our island after arresting the elected governor. We haven’t heard about any backlash yet, but it feels like people may just be biding their time.