If You're Going to Travel...

 If you are going to travel—don’t tell anybody until the very last minute.

At the airport on Clove Island

This is an unsaid rule in island culture.  One that confused us for quite a long time.  “Why wouldn’t you tell people?”  On numerous occasions, we have had people come to us the night before traveling, call us from the airport, or we would just find out in passing that our good friend, our colleague, our neighbor, etc. has just traveled and wouldn’t be back for weeks, months, or even years.

It seems so strange at first, because there is also an important tradition in the islands of saying goodbye.  They even have a verb for saying goodbye before traveling.  When you are leaving, you are expected to “laga”  people.  If you don’t do it, you can expect them, upon your return to complain, “You never “laga-ed” me!”

A culture of saying goodbye and a culture of not telling anyone you are leaving???  How can that be?  But over the years, we’ve come to understand why this is so.  We believe there are three major reasons (although there may be others we’re not aware of).

The first reason is sudden opportunities.  In a culture where forward planning is not done, travel opportunities appear suddenly and when they come, the rule of thumb is to jump on them and allow the details (like money, housing, food) to work themselves out.  The fact is, islanders may have vague ideas to travel but the actual planning for that remains vague until only a few weeks before it happens.  Then, there is so much to do and organize before a trip, perhaps people don’t “laga” as they should because they simply don’t have the time.

The second reason is shame.  Plans so often fall through on the islands.  They can both come together quickly and fall apart quickly.  Little items like having a valid passport or necessary visa or vaccination can suddenly bring those plans to a grinding halt.  Traveling is an honor—something rich and important people do.  Having your plans fall through is shameful.  Islanders are so used to having their plans fall through, that it is best to hide them until you are sure they are happening—and let’s face it, you can’t really be sure until you’ve boarded the plane.

A goodbye visit

The third reason (and perhaps a main reason) is gifts.  When we tell someone we know that we are traveling, we often see them get a faraway look in their eye as if they are thinking about something.  After a moment or two, they come back into focus.  Then between the time we have told them and the time we part, there will be a request.  “Can you bring me a …?”  These days, the most frequent request is a phone.  A quality smartphone is hard to come by in the islands—even if you have the means (and most don’t), so why not ask it of the person traveling (since the assumption is that it will be cheaper and easier to get off-island).  But the requests come in all shapes and sizes.  This time we’ve had requests for a laptop, soldier boots, sneakers, large photos, kids’ clothes, phones, and fixadent (denture cream).  We got off pretty easy this time.  At least we didn’t get any of the outlandish requests that we simply can’t fill—big items that would never fit in our bags or items we’re not allowed to bring on an airplane.  

You can imagine the weight upon an islander of all the requests from their friends and extended family to bring back things with their little means.  It is a heavy burden.  So, the best way to avoid it? Don’t give them a chance to ask!

As evidenced by our list of requests, we didn’t follow this advice and we did tell people we were traveling. But we were selective in whom we told in advance. We don’t need requests from all of our acquaintances, but for our good friends, we want to be able to bless them and honor those relationships, whether it’s with a new phone, clothes, or denture cream.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The islands have started a campaign for vaccinating against cholera and we have seen a drop in the daily numbers of new cases. Pray that it continues! We were able to have needed medical check-ups, as well as a follow-up with our daughter’s specialist. Praise that we are doing okay health wise and praise that our daughter woke up this morning pain-free for the first time since April. After some initial trouble that caused her to have to rebook her flights, our teammate was able to leave her home country to head back to Africa. We are thankful for the stories from our medical team of great opportunities to share with and pray for islanders as well as some answered prayers for healing. Praise that one of island friends was able to travel and have a needed surgery.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
There was a landslide on Clove Island that killed three young people who were trying to mine rock from the hillside. This is second time in the past few months this has happened— pray for comfort for those grieving and better safety protocols for those engaged in this dangerous line of work. One of the local sisters on the small island has been very bold lately and she is now being told that she will lose her job and be taken to court for her boldness. Pray that she would be encouraged and have the words to respond to those in authority with truth and respect and without fear. Continue to pray for our daughter that she find healing and have lots of pain-free days. Pray for our kids as they finish up their school year and head into final exams. Pray for us as we try to get administrative work done this week so we can be free for July and August when we are traveling to the US.