Just an Old Fish?

Last week a fisherman in our neighboring town made a rare catch. He caught a huge and unusual fish from deep in the twilight zone of the ocean. One look and he knew what it was.

Forwarded pic of the fish

On our islands, this is a famous fish! It is featured on money. It’s the mascot for sports teams. I’ve seen it depicted in paintings and murals around the islands and on tourist souvenirs. Everyone knows the name of this fish.

So when the subject of the rare catch came up at the beginning of our English Club, we decided to ask the warm-up introduction question of,  “What do you know about this fish?” Our warm-up questions are meant to be easy, just a way to get people talking. We imagined that everyone would easily say one fact or anecdote about the fish. But as we went around the circle, there were only admissions of “I don’t know” or vague observations like “It’s a fish” or “It’s very important.” One speculated, “Maybe it is very delicious.” Everyone readily admitted that it was a significant fish for the islands and important in their history, but not a single person could say why or provide any basic facts about what made it so unusual.  None of them had ever seen one in person.

We are not islanders, but we had a heads up on all our English Club attendees. We had seen a specimen at the history museum in the island capital years ago and still remembered several basic facts. The fish has been unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. It had been thought to be extinct, when they discovered that there are still a few populations of these “living fossils” in the world. They are critically endangered and fishermen are not supposed to intentionally catch or kill them. All of this was news to our island friends, and one still concluded the discussion by expressing his opinion that he hoped they would get to eat it! (I later looked up and learned that these fish are known for not tasting good and even making some people sick when eaten.)

English Club

How often do the details of an object’s, an event’s or a person’s cultural or historical significance get lost over the years, leaving just a vague remembrance that the thing/person was important? In this case, the vagueness of this remembrance could lead someone to want to catch and eat what is supposed to be marveled at and protected. Now islanders aren’t unique in this phenomena, I am sure there are plenty of things that I have learned about in history class or growing up in the States, things whose name would ring bells in my memory alerting me that they are important but for which I would be hard-pressed to produce any details.

But how do we battle this forgetfulness for things that are truly important?  

We have to keep telling the stories and details behind the things we hold dear! We have to pass down more than “this is important” but the why’s, the who’s and how’s. This week I was reading a storybook with an island friend about Noah. Before we read it, I asked if she knew about Noah. She said she did know about him “Wasn’t he the father of Mary?” she asked.  The storybook helped clear up the confusion, but this happens to us a lot.  There are lots of people/events that we hold dear that islanders only have vague notions of their importance. May it motivate us to learn more local language and look for more opportunities to fill in the details!

Visiting newborn

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Some sections of road have been fully finished this week and some movement towards potentially finishing the remaining sections soon. Normal trash pick-up hasn’t resumed, but the big pile was removed from the corner! We have been enjoying having strong water back on at our house! All our guests visiting from other islands made it back safely to their respective islands. Megan has started to share the storybooks with our house helper and friend on her 40 day maternity confinement. Her baby boy is doing well. We have been encouraged by our newest teammate’s attitude and hard work towards language learning. There was an encouraging story this week of an island brother sharing with a neighbor and seeing him make a decision! We were also encouraged that there is a desire to do leadership training among brothers and sisters on our islands in the next couple months!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Tom is considering restarting studying with two island men, pray for wisdom about how, when and what to study. One of our teammates is really struggling with allergies that have been known to lead to sinus infections. Pray that we might identify the cause of her allergies and/or find some medicine that will relieve her symptoms better and/or for miraculous healing! Continue to pray for the approval for the medical team to begin work! There are only a few weeks before the month of fasting and they are going to be packed with exams, ceremonies, weddings, and picnics. Pray for our stamina through all of these special events and for wisdom on what to attend and what to say no to. One big picnic is this Saturday for an English center, pray for good interactions and conversations and deepening relationship.