Having an Adventure

Going on 1st adventure in 2013

I remember our first “adventure” on Clove Island. We hadn’t been here long and I was invited to some kind of event for a wedding and told to bring our daughter (who was barely five years old). I had no idea what we were going to, how long it would take, whether they would feed us, whether there would be bathrooms, I was clueless. All of which would have been par for the course, except that I had a little kid in tow and kids do better when they know what’s coming (especially if it ends up being disagreeable). So I was honest with her, I told her I had no idea. I told her it was an “adventure”— we were doing something new, not knowing exactly how it will turn out. She liked the idea that we were co-adventurers together.

Since then we’ve dragged our kids on lots of “adventures”. Somehow calling it an adventure  adds excitement that isn’t necessarily inherent in the event. We could say, “We’re going to an event that may very well be long and boring… and you may have to politely eat something gross.” Instead it’s an adventure into the unknown— we may have to brave things that make us uncomfortable, but we don’t give up, we see it through! Often it has helped my outlook on things too.

This weekend was my (Megan’s) birthday and I wanted to go on an adventure. One of Tom’s students had claimed that he could take us by boat to a beach that you can’t get to by foot. It sounded exciting, so we took him up on the offer and asked if we could go Saturday.

On boat near beach in 2019

With any island adventure you have to keep expectations low. It’s possible that the guy won’t be there even though he said he would be. It’s possible the boat will be broken. It’s possible that a thunderstorm will roll in before we can leave. We might have to wait for hours before we go or not get to go at all. It’s all part of the adventure. It’s also possible that the beach will not be as cool as it sounds. It might be trashy. It might have no shade. We could have a bunch of island fishermen staying with us the entire time and expecting us to feed them. Or they might leave us there alone and be really late in picking us up….Or it could just be awesome and great!

Vine swing

So many unknowns— that’s what makes it an adventure.

We had our adventure on Saturday and it was a great day. Tom’s friend never showed, but he had arranged for some others to take us. One fisherman stayed with us to “protect” us (we’re not sure what he was protecting us from, but we had enough food to share with him). Another guy took the boat away but came back when he said he would. The beach was not all we hoped it would be— not actually that far away, still accessible by foot, and a little trashy, but we didn’t have to wait around at all and there were cool tide pools.  We saw over 38 different species for my 38th birthday! (The animal highlights were a family of tiny hermit crabs, hundreds of brittle star fish, sea worms, beautiful coral fish, a giant hermit crab and a bunch of big eels!) Plus there was a vine swing from one of the trees for the kids to play on. We got back home from our adventure just in time, before the afternoon thunderstorms started.

Can you see the eel?

Life on the islands is full of unknowns. On a daily basis it is easy to characterize the unknowns as frustrations or annoyances and blame the lack of infrastructure or dependability or work ethic. It can lead to discontentment. We’d probably do well to think of it more often as a great adventure!

PRAYERS  ANSWERED
The kids finished their exams without being stressed at all. Thanks for praying. Most people don’t seem to expect further unrest for the next few weeks. It’s nice to feel people relax a bit. Our friend had her tough conversation with her family and it went better than expected. Megan had a nice birthday!

Kids & teammate on boat

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Some colleagues on our island are having some serious difficulties. There is someone here from their organization this week to hopefully find some resolution. Pray for wisdom and discernment for all involved.  A single woman worker on our island was attacked by a mentally-unstable man in her village. She has recovered and he is in prison, but please pray for them both and the spiritual dynamics at work. Our Australian guest from last week is still stranded on the big island— her flight off the islands has been cancelled no less than three times, leaving her here almost 2 weeks longer than she planned. Pray for patience for her and a clear way forward. It is obvious that the airline she has tickets with is falling apart. The group of men that Tom studies with each week is struggling with some big, hard truths— pray that their understanding would become clear.