Not As Advertised

We don’t trust signs. Not that we don’t trust them at all. We know that whoever made the sign at one time at least hoped it would be true. Whether it ever became a reality or still is a reality, who can know?

Sign next to our house, never seen these things there

For example, we see a sign in a neighborhood saying that there is a doctor’s office that does ultrasounds right there. But on asking, the doctor had been there once but had moved off the islands long ago, he had hoped to get an imaging machine but it never happened.

There are a number of shops that have elaborate signs which show pictures or list all kinds of unique wares, but inevitably we go in to find the normal stuff that most shops sell. The sign is hopeful of things they could perhaps have, but it doesn’t represent present reality.

It isn’t just signs. Anything that was printed, we take as more hopeful than real. We go to a restaurant and see the nicely printed menu and we know that someone made an investment in creating these menus— they had no idea what would be available on the island this month. That’s why we aren’t surprised when what we get doesn’t match the description in the menu and we’ve learned to ask about what they actually have before starting to make our choices.

Restaurant menu with unavailable specialities

Sometimes government-written proclamations have to be taken lightly too. “The president says that the COVID vaccines will begin on Saturday on all three islands.” The article with the announcement even listed which hospitals to go to, but when we asked people at the actual hospital, they hadn’t received any vaccines and didn’t know anything about it yet.

This puts a damper on our willingness to believe signage or anything advertised in print. We value personal experience and eyewitness accounts instead of what is written or advertised. One of our new teammates excitedly told us about a sign for a restaurant and we immediately questioned with skepticism. “Did you see them cooking? Do you know someone who has eaten there? It could be an old sign or maybe someone just hopes to have a restaurant there at some point.”

But then, even personal experiences can fail us. This week we tried to go on a date (our first in a long time) and decided to go to an Indian restaurant that our teammates had successfully eaten at. Their hours are prominently displayed and all the dishes they specialize in are not only written in the menu but painted on the walls. Tom had even stopped by earlier to make sure they were really going to be open. But after all that, we knew we were in trouble when the person taking our order looked at us blankly when we asked what curries they had and if they had tandoori chicken. She was obviously unfamiliar with these dishes. Our best guess is that we were there on a Thursday and the chef that actually cooks Indian food wasn’t there that day. Teaches us to get our hopes up.

Now apparently there is a new little restaurant on the main road that makes sandwiches and small pizzas. Our teammates were telling us that it is pretty good. “But there are no signs or anything marking it. Even going inside, there is nothing telling you what they are selling. You just have to know and ask what they have today.” We came to realize that we had passed this place a few times already and wouldn’t have known they made food. Their lack of signage seemed like bad business! But then I thought...maybe signs are poor investment here. After all, you may be a sandwich and pizza place now, but who knows what you’ll be in a month or two!

Son was gifted photo by neighbors

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our teammates recovered from their colds and were able to go into homestays just a few days late! We’re glad they are getting this experience before the month of fasting starts. There was a women’s gathering this past week and we were introduced to two newly written songs in the local language! What a blessing to get to sing new songs together, we pray for more! Only a couple weeks after originally advertised, the island president was the first to be vaccinated against COVID on the islands— we’re hoping this means that the vaccination campaign is really starting now.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please pray for our two new teammates as they finish their homestay with island families over today and tomorrow. May they make strong connections that they will be able to build on in the future. The island president has opened the buildings for prayer and pushed back the curfew an hour so that islanders will be able to do their five times of daily prayer during the month of fasting. It is unclear whether this move will appease islanders enough to prevent unrest. The body of a military official, who opposed the current government, was found not properly buried and reportedly with wounds consistent with torture. This led to an evening of unrest that was dispersed with gunfire by the military. We still hear rumors of more unrest to come, but people are hesitant to embrace violence during the month of fasting (since it is supposed to be a month of peace). Please pray for the islands during the month of fasting. It starts after the new crescent moon is sighted, which should be tonight or tomorrow night. It is often a hard month where islanders are irritable and persecution increases. We want this month to be marked by joy and rejoicing. Pray for us all on the islands that we could find ways to embody joy this month and that it could be a testimony to our friends and neighbors.