The Fire Hose, the Slow Drip, and Taking the Plunge

 There’s a wonderful proverb in the Clove Island language that goes like this:

Sun setting on Clove Island

“Better a drop of water that falls each day ‘trwa, trwa, trwa’
    than a river of water that falls at one time.”

We’ve found this to be a very helpful proverb indeed.  It comes in quite handy with our friend Muki.  Muki loves to teach our new visitors some of the local language—he is an expert after all.  Yet in his excitement to teach them something, he quickly overwhelms them with a hundred examples.  We’re always telling him, “That’s enough!  They can’t learn everything in a day.  Trwa, trwa, trwa.”  Muki laughs and seems to back off saying, “You’re right, you’re right—but just say these ten more phrases!” And launches back into the river of language our guests can’t possibly understand.  

His enthusiasm considered, we don’t set up new people with Muki as a language helper.  We try to find someone patient, who will go slowly and can resist the urge to add 5 more, 10 more, a hundred more phrases.

This proverb is also helpful for eager English students.  We’ve had English students determined to write down and memorize all the vocabulary from a dictionary.  Needless to say, there are much better ways to learn English.  Reminding students that they need to go slowly, that they will need lots of practice, that they shouldn’t get discouraged, that they should keep going even if they don’t see progress, are all very helpful reminders to English students, reinforced by this simple proverb.

We have a similar saying in English.  “Drinking from a fire hose.”  The idea being that it really doesn’t work very well—drinking from a fire hose.  You get very little water down your throat and you get drenched, soaked and bruised in the process.

For all our good advise to our language helpers and our English students, we’re afraid we have trouble remembering this wisdom when people come to visit us.  We’ve noticed that what seems like a simple and innocent question never seems to have a simple answer.  We find ourselves saying things like, “Well, let me back up a bit,” or “To understand that I need to tell you about something else.”  No, despite our better judgment of “trwa, trwa, trwa” we’re afraid that we often turn on the fire hose and drench our visitors in language, history, culture, technique, methodology, values, flavors, smells, people, visits, and places, that they leave them looking a bit dazed, confused and overwhelmed.

Taking our guests for a hike

Could we be better about this?  Surely we could, but it’s difficult.  Another saying comes to mind—  “taking the plunge.”  As nice as drops of water are each day for learning, sometimes we have no choice but to jump in.  That’s what it feels like when people come to the islands.  They’ve just jumped off the edge of a cliff—the world they knew—and are plunging down into a mysterious tropical pool far below their feet.  There’s no turning back.  You will get wet.  You will be plunged under the water and will have to fight to bring yourself to the surface.

We’d like to think that all the information we give our visitors is helpful, like a life ring, thrown out to help them find their way, to give them something to lean on, let them catch their breath in this strange murky pool in which they find themselves treading water.  But we wonder if sometimes, instead of a life ring, we accidentally throw a bucket of water—dousing them again in confusion and information that they simply can’t handle, can’t take in.  It’s hard to get the balance right.  When people are with you for a short time, when they ask lots of questions, when they seem eager to understand, it’s hard not to turn on the fire hose.

Maybe this is the difference between a short visit and a long visit.  For a long visit, after the initial plunge, we try to slow it down.  We put them in a home, get them settled and help them learn language, culture, methodology, etc.  bit by bit, step by step, day by day.  

But for a short visit—We throw them in, fish them out, and send them on their way, bewildered and befuddled, hoping they will be able to process and grasp some of the significance of the experience on the flight home.   

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our visitors doing their weeklong site visit made it safely, were thrown in for a plunge into island culture, life and work, and were sent on their way today and made it safely to the big island. Despite some sickness, their visit went well and it was good to get to know them and to consider together what it might look like for them to come and join the work here. The men had their gathering and Tom was encouraged by how it went.  Megan was able to watch the livestream of the funeral of her uncle and celebrate his life and how he blessed others. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We have had a stretch with lots of visitors and hosting— pray that we could rest well this week and get back into more normal rhythms. Pray for Tom as he brainstorms new ways to do teacher training- he has several far away villages that want him to do teacher trainings with them, but it would be very difficult to manage with the bad roads increasing commute times significantly. Pray for a breakthrough idea that could work. Ma Imani has traveled to the big island in the hopes of catching a visiting specialist there to check on her health problems. Continue to pray for us that she would find healing! Our island sister Elewa has been trying to encourage the local brothers and sisters to pray and be open to God using them in powerful ways in 2026— she believes it will be a big year for the islands— let us pray with her that it might be so. 

Insights

 A few days ago when we reading the story of Isaac and Rebekah, Mtsa sighed, pausing in the middle of the story and said, ““Aha, it’s happening again.  This is the same thing his father did.”  Muki shakes his head and laughs at this surprising turn of events. They’re fully engaged with the story. 

A few days later we read the story of Isaac being tricked by Jacob.  Again they were enthralled by every trick, every lie. “The voice is Jacob’s but the hands are Esau’s.”  Laughter and delight, dismay and surprise. 

I love it when the stories hit them with all the surprise and power of a new story.  These stories that I practically know by heart, can often carry little emotional power for me.  But when I read them with Muki and Mtsa I remember just how good these stories are, how compelling, how real.  That’s something that Muki often says, “They are just like people today.  People haven’t changed.”

I also love reading with them for the cultural insights they give. In ways, their culture is closer to Isaac’s life than mine and so I find myself benefiting from the insights and the similarities of this place and culture.  When Jacob is told to go to another place until his brother’s anger is forgotten—Muki and Mtsa say, “Yeah, that happens here too.  If things get too hot, a guy will move to one of the other islands for awhile until things calm down.”

When thinking about the pressure to take a second wife if the first wife isn’t haven’t children they told me, “Oh yeah, people here call it a ‘bad return on your investment.’ You aren’t ‘making any profit.’  So you need to find another one.”  This is a reality that they understand and connect with. 

Then there are the insights that seem to come from no other place but from divine inspiration.  When you read a passage and Mtsa says, “He was doing the best he could, but he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit like we do.”  Or, “This blessing is talking about someone else isn’t it?”  

Getting back into homeschool

It isn’t always this way.  Sometimes we read a story and struggle to find things to say.  Sometimes, our studies get off on rabbit trails that take us far away from whatever it was we were meant to be talking about and it’s hard to get them back on track. (It’s especially hard to get Muki back on track.)  But more often than not, even with stories I don’t expect to make a splash, our studies together result in insights, connections and truth that I could not have anticipated.  What a wonder.  What a joy.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful for islanders reading and engaging with the Word in their own language. The women’s gathering went well— with a good study and discussion. Our prospective new teammates arrived safely on the big island. Despite flight cancelations and tight connections, our colleague on the medical team made it safely back to Clove Island after months away. The group on the plateau has officially registered and been approved by the island government— this is something that most islanders didn’t think was possible, making others think and pray about whether more groups should do likewise. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the couple doing a site visit with our team this week. Already their interisland flight was canceled so instead of arriving today, they will arrive tomorrow to Clove Island. Pray for flexible attitudes and that they would see and experience what God wants them to experience so that future plans can become clearer and confirmed. There were some missing faces at the women’s gathering— including the new sister. Pray that these sisters would be connecting and studying with others on a regular basis. Pray especially that Dunga and this new sister could make a strong connection, as they live in the same town. Pray for Ma Imani— she is not feeling well and it is not clear if it is just manifestations of the stress of parenting 6 kids (4 of which are not hers) or if there is something else going on. Pray that she and her husband would work together to make sure she gets times of rest and that she would find healing. The men are supposed to have their gathering this week— pray for a good turnout and for deeper, honest communication among them. 

Efficiency

 The contrast couldn’t have been greater. We approached the immigration area of the airport and there was no line. We walked to a machine that scanned our passport and took a photo of our faces and then the automatic door opened and we were through immigration! We couldn’t believe it— it had taken less than 60 seconds total! Compare this to the islands. On the islands, immigration can take up to an hour, with long lines, slow interactions, malfunctioning equipment and a general feeling of crowded chaos. But now in this different country— 60 seconds! Who knew that something like immigration could be done so efficiently. 

At an English ceremony- not known for their efficiency

What is your gut reaction is to the word efficiency? We have known people for whom efficiency is their highest goal— and they find great contentment in being able to arrange things and complete tasks in the most efficient way possible.

Efficiency strikes us as a positive thing— it is something that we value, appreciate and strive for when possible. Not that we want it at the very top of our priority list. For example, at a doctor’s office, efficiency could dictate that the patients are funneled through with quick consultations in a way that feels cold, impersonal and leaves them feeling uncared for. So we don’t want to sacrifice everything for the sake of efficiency. We would prioritize things like health, safety, comfort and relationships over efficiency, but otherwise we are irritated by inefficiency. 

We have learned that most islanders are different. They seem to tolerate a huge amount of inefficiency. Until recently, we would have said that they are just resigned to the inefficiency that comes from mismanagement and corruption.  But our colleague with the boat business has challenged us by saying that islanders actually see efficiency as a bad thing. This was a somewhat shocking statement to us, but he explained different situations where he has been fighting island staff and officials trying to make his boat business run more efficiently and how much pushback he has gotten. 

Final outing of break

Then we thought about the new electricity meters. We would tell our island friends that we understand that the electricity company likes the new meters because they are so much more efficient for them. But our island friends never seemed to recognize this efficiency as a positive. One friend pointed out that this efficiency means that people lost their jobs. The painstaking process of reading the meters every month and hand-delivering the bills employed several people. Now they aren’t needed anymore. Also, this efficiency means the process of getting electricity is less personal— you can’t argue with a meter or ask a machine for a little more time before power is cut. 

We started to think about all the offices on the islands—typically there are a bunch of people sitting around doing nothing with only one person doing any work. We have seen this as a hallmark of island inefficiency— people being paid to do nothing. But islanders see that as a room of people with jobs. For a country where a vast majority of adults are unemployed, this example of inefficiency is therefore seen as a good thing. 

Upon reflection, we were also struck by how much efficiency seems to encourage a more task-oriented approach. In a culture that is more relationship/people-focused like the islands, it is easy to see how efficiency would get a bad rap. Efficiency has us move quickly from one thing to another. It sees time as a limited resource. Islanders want to take their time and they see rushing as a sign of wrong priorities. 

Thinking back to that 60-second immigration process— we didn’t have to interact with a single person. There was only one employee at the entrance if people had issues, but there was no one needed for crowd-control, there were no immigration officials, no small conversations or smiles with fellow travelers in line— it was incredibly efficient, but also completely impersonal and provided a lot fewer jobs. 

We still value efficiency, but we can see where islanders are coming from— maybe we can meet in the middle and value both efficiency and people at the same time!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our two older kids made it back safely to boarding school. They were able to get the schoolwork and college applications done! We had some nice final days as a family. An island sister was able to gather some of the people that didn’t make it to the potluck to study and enjoy a meal together. We’ve had a few rain storms that have helped break up the heat. Our annual English club party was very small, but we still had a fun evening. Our daughter got to share truth with an island neighbor friend. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The women will be having a gathering this week, pray that the new sister would be able to come and that she would feel welcome and comfortable in the group. Megan broached the subject of Hashiri’s neurodivergence with her yesterday and it sounds like it was new information for her. Pray for Megan as she follows up with her and tries to find out what resources are available to help her. We have a couple interested in joining our team who are coming to do a site visit next week— pray for us as we prepare for their visit and for them as they prepare to leave their two young children at home. 

A Word for Potluck

We need to come up with an island word for ‘potluck’. It isn’t an island thing, but this was our third or fourth time doing one with our island brothers and sisters. It was actually an islander who first recommended it. She had lived on the big island and the international body there had done potlucks on big holidays and when she suggested doing it here on Clove Island, the foreigners were all very supportive. Islanders weren’t sure about it. 

Christmas at home

Workers on Clove Island come from different countries, but all had potlucks as part of holiday gatherings in their home countries. The actual name ‘potluck’ doesn’t actually translate, but the idea is the same . In French, their word is ‘shared-meal’. Our UK colleagues call it a ‘bring-and-share’ or a ‘Jacob’s join’, but in each case it still means everyone brings something and everyone feasts on the shared contributions. (Really, ‘bring-and-share’ is a pretty good name for it.) 

Having a word shows that it is part of the culture, part of the normal ways to do things. But there is no island word for potluck. 

Still, we have had successful potlucks a few times now, so this weekend’s came about pretty easily. There were lots of main dishes and some desserts. There was an abundance of dishes with poultry-based hot dogs this year (they have been on sale on the islands lately), but not enough to be overwhelming. In the end, everyone seemed full and happy. 

I was chatting with foreign colleagues beforehand and we talked about our experiences with potlucks— how people often always bring the same dishes to every potluck (I am still working on perfecting what my go-to island potluck contribution should be), how there are often dishes you never make yourself that you always look forward to eating at a potluck, how many people want to try as many of the dishes as possible- you might get introduced to a new food at a potluck that becomes a new favorite. 

Part of our contribution

Generally, we aren’t trying to add lots of foreign customs to island culture, but some additions are a blessing and we are happy that potlucks have been introduced and have so far caught on among the Clove Island body with their local foods and flavors. 

We noticed some islanders kept to only the more traditional dishes— like rice, beans, pilau, mataba— things that were familiar. Others were making a point of trying everything— even asking, after they got too full, for samples of the remaining dishes to be wrapped in napkins so they could try them at home.

As part of the service before the meal, Tom talked about how potlucks are a beautiful picture of us being one body. We all bring different things to the table and we all benefit from what everyone brings. A diversity of offerings coming together in unity and mutual service. 

But there’s still no word for it. In the local language, there is a way of making a verb into a noun. So one local word for a meeting is a ‘seeing each other’, so maybe we could call a potluck a ‘sharing’, a ‘bringing for each other’,  or a ‘feeding each other’.  We’ll have to ask our island friends what would sound best.

Towards the end of the potluck

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The potluck went well. We had a good week both as a family and in community. Megan was able to read the Christmas story with Hashiri and Tom was able to study with Muki and Mtsa. Muki came to the service and potluck. Megan attended three wedding events in the community and had the energy for them plus the holiday gatherings. The lychees and mangoes continue to be in abundance (the payoff for enduring the heat). We were able to hike to the river and cool off in the cold refreshing water one afternoon. We had the wonderful gift of waking up on the 25th to the news that we have a new island sister— she has been on the big island but she is from our island and will be returning soon. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We will have our annual holiday party with our English Club this week (we couldn’t fit it in earlier). Pray for a fun evening and that we’d continue to have chances to share the hope and joy of the season. Pray for the incorporation of this new island sister on her return to Clove Island— pray that she’d make a natural connection with the other island sister in her town. There were some faces missing at the potluck— pray that those that have been walking away would rejoin the group and that they would all keep growing together.  There are several health concerns among the brothers and sisters— pray for healing and for the ill to not become discouraged! Pray for our older two kids as they head back to boarding school at the end of the week— pray that they can both get all the vacation work for their AP courses done and that our daughter can finish her college applications without too much stress. Pray for their safe travels (they will be traveling alone this time) and for a smooth transition back to school. Continue to pray for our daughter’s health— that she wouldn’t catch any illnesses and that she would find healing from her rheumatoid arthritis. It has continued to be brutally hot with almost no rain— pray for some rainy days to break up the heat and humidity (but not to disrupt travel plans). 

Christmas Traditions

 What is important to you when you think of Christmas traditions?  Is it decorating the house?  A Christmas tree?  Is it going to church?  Is it a big meal with family?  Maybe its caroling or buying gifts (or unwrapping gifts) that you most enjoy?  Are any of these traditions essential?  In the famous story, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” he steals all the trappings of Christmas away, but the Whos down in Whoville still manage to celebrate.

Our son getting into the Christmas spirit

Sometimes Christmas on the Islands can feel a little bit like Whoville after the Grinch has come through.  Not that someone has come through and taken away all the trappings and trimmings of Christmas, but rather that they’ve never been put up in the first place.  Christmas is just another day on the islands.  Just today Tom received a message asking if he could help administer some exams on Christmas morning!  Imagine doing an exam on Christmas morning! (He politely declined.)  It is a strange feeling to celebrate a holiday that nobody else cares about.

Over the years, we’ve learned to adjust our expectation around Christmas.  One of them is the day itself.  Although we do take the day off from work and do something as a family, it’s also normal to celebrate a second Christmas or a pre-Christmas.  This year we celebrated a pre-Christmas with our family during our time away on vacation with presents, turkey and Christmas carols all on that auspicious day of December 12.  And we look forward to being together with our island brothers and sisters on the weekend after the day itself.  Our island brothers and sisters are creating a tradition of waiting until the weekend to do any celebrating, and it strikes us that this is probably just as well.

Tree at airport on vacation

While we were on vacation, Megan received a message from an island sister asking us to bring back Christmas decorations for her to decorate her house.  Tom was against it.  Why does she need a Christmas tree?  Could anything be more foreign?  Do we really want to encourage that the only way to celebrate Christmas is to bring things from overseas?  But Megan countered that we decorate our house.  We have a Christmas tree.  Do we expect people to do something different from what we are modeling?  Besides, Christmas trees have become a ubiquitous symbol of Christmas.  Write the word Christmas on your phone and the emoji that pops up is a Christmas tree.  Go to Tokyo, Singapore, Nairobi or Rio de Janeiro and you will see Christmas trees.  Can we really expect our island brothers and sisters to not want to connect to this global cultural symbol?  Needless to say, we got her some decorations, including the small plastic tree she requested.  

So often our ideals of wanting to respect and honor local culture are brought down by the realities of a globally connected world.  As if to emphasize this reality, our house-helper shared that her daughter on seeing our decorations asked her mom about it.  She told her it was our tradition to do it in December to celebrate Noeli (i.e. Christmas).  To which her daughter asked, “Mom, can we decorate our house for Christmas, too?”

We could certainly get together with our colleagues and argue over the pros and cons of decorating our houses.  As much as we may try to not impose our traditions on others, sometimes our traditions are attractive—that’s certainly the case with Christmas.  Our decorations lead to curiosity, conversations and sharing.  On our door, we have 8 little posters.  Four of them are in English and each depicts one of the themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.  The other four have those same words in the island language.  Whenever anyone asks, we get the opportunity to share about the One who gives us hope, and how we find peace in Him, and how joy wells up in a life given over to Him, and how we can know a steadfast love that has been tried and tested and found worthy—a love that will never give up and never end.  

Setting up our little island tree

A great conversation awaits, thanks to some simple Christmas decorations.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We made it back safely to our island home with all our luggage! Megan’s back did great through all the travel. Our daughter’s health was also good. We are very thankful for the time away and also for being home again. Though it is very hot and humid, we are thankful for good power and water since being home. There were some difficult situations while we were gone, but we are thankful for our colleagues that temporarily took over our role as crisis advisers and that God has been present in those different situations. Megan was able to sit and talk with Ma Jadza about her mom’s passing and offer some words of comfort. Tom has gotten to reconnect with Mtsa and Muki and they are restarting their studies together today. Elewa is feeling much better.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the celebrations this week— that we would have more opportunities to share the hope, peace, joy and love of the season with our island friends. Pray for the gathering with island brothers and sisters— some details are still vague, pray that it would all come together and be an encouragement to all to attend. Pray for rain to give some relief from the heat. Pray for an island brother’s wife— she has been a growing presence in the community of island sisters. She is very ill and had to travel off-island— pray for her healing. We’ve heard that there is a lot of sickness on the islands right now— pray for good health (especially for our daughter and others with compromised immune systems) and healing for those who are sick. 

Mango Butter

 A few weeks ago, Tom came into the kitchen and smelled the bubbling mango mixture and said, “Mmmm, it smells like Christmas—Island Christmas.”

Megan with mangoes

It may have smelled like Christmas, but the weather didn’t feel like it (at least from an American perspective). The islands have heated up— the air is sticky with humidity. Everyone is constantly sweating. If you’re not sweating, it means you’re dehydrated. This time of year is a little unpleasant, but there is a trade-off because as the temperature and humidity increases so does the fruit! 

Right now piles of mangoes are for sale all over town. Any major road has people selling mangoes to passersby. If ever we don’t have mangoes in our house at this time of year, it is an error that needs to be corrected the next time one of us leaves the house. 

I am not sure how many years ago it was, but at some point when the mangoes were abundant, cheap and delicious, I looked in the index of our Wycliffe cookbook (written for/by overseas workers) and saw a listing for ‘mango butter.’ Curious, I went to the listed page and found it was a variation listed under the Apple Butter recipe. Actually it is exactly the same recipe, you just replace mangoes for apples and strain the strings out at the end. 

Ready for cooking

I tried it and it was good, and so began a tradition. It is a nice blend of islands and our home culture— the spices smell like mulled cider, hearkening a winter Christmas scene, but the mangoes are tropical and even the spices themselves (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg) are local products. 

So at some point, when the mangoes are plentiful,  we buy 2 or 3 piles at once. We peel and slice the mango away from the pits. We add sugar and spices, let it simmer for a long time. We push the cooled mixture through a sieve and voila, we have enough mango butter to last for the rest of the holiday season. 

Mmm… it smells like Island Christmas.

Pouring into jars

PRAYERS ANSWERED

We are thankful for the time of rest we’ve gotten with family and for the chance to celebrate a late Thanksgiving-early Christmas with them. We are thankful that our first leg of travel on our way back to the islands has gone well and that we get to connect with Tom’s cousin on our layover. We are thankful that after two denied attempts, our island colleague was finally granted a visa to visit his wife’s home country with their baby—we pray for a great visit for them all.  A few new Christmas songs in the island language have recently been recorded and put on youtube.  They sound great.  Hopefully lots of people will listen.


 

PRAYERS REQUESTED

We’ve learned that our close neighbor Ma Jadza lost her mother this past week— pray for her family as they grieve and that she and her husband Makini could be a light to their extended family. Our island sister Elewa has been very sick, pray for her full recovery, especially as she has plans to celebrate the upcoming holidays with some friends and neighbors on the big island- pray that it could be an opportunity to share good news. Pray for the rest of our travels back to the islands that it would all go smoothly and that we’d all stay healthy. 

Change is Precious

 The islands are still very much a cash-based society. When we go to other countries we rarely even bother getting any local cash because most purchases are made with credit cards or phone apps. We’ve been in a new country for over a week and have yet to make a purchase in cash. But on Clove Island, most transactions are still done with physical bills and coins of various denominations.  But probably the most precious are those small bills and coins— in other words, the change. 

Our island change bowl

I remember being in America (back when people still used cash a lot to pay for things). Change was a pain. I remember being annoyed when I got a lot of coins. It weighs down your wallet and is really bulky. Once I got home, I would usually unload the loose change into a bowl which was very rarely touched except when people added more coins to it. 

Not that I don’t realize that enough spare change can amount to lots of money. In elementary school I was in charge of counting and putting into rolls all the coins brought in during a fundraiser. I can’t remember now what the fundraiser was for, but I do remember that all that loose change added up to a significant amount of money raised. But when we say that change is precious on the islands, it is not just the understanding that coins have purchase power. No, change is precious because it feels like a rare commodity. 

Remember that we’re not just thinking of coins— change is both coins and the smallest denominations of bills. On the islands, we don’t assume in a taxi or in a shop that someone will have a lot of change (if any). In the US, I wouldn’t have thought twice of breaking a $20 bill at a store. Here it can be quite rude to make a small purchase with a big bill. If they are feeling agreeable they might go (or send someone) to ask neighboring stores or hail a passing taxi to see if they can find change (or they might just tell you to do it yourself). Sometimes, they will just refuse and say they don’t have change.

When getting in a taxi, the polite thing to do is to tell the driver as you get in that you have a big bill so he has the whole journey to potentially stop and ask people for change. Even if someone already has all the change, they will ask and check if you don’t have the exact change and may proceed to give you a disapproving sigh and a miffed-look at having to part with so much change for you. 

The big problem for us has been that island ATM’s usually only give money in the largest bill denominations. Unfortunately, even the bank tellers are hesitant to give out change. Tom used to go into the bank after getting money out at the ATM to ask to change some of the money into smaller bills. They often gave him a hard time, sometimes even refusing, either lying and saying they didn’t have any or suggesting that he had to prove he had a local bank account to get change. 

Most people seem to value and hoard coins and small bills here, and this mentality means that we are always looking to break bills. I am actually disappointed when the total at a store is a nice, clean number because it means that I might not get any change out of the transaction. If a friend repays us with small bills, we get excited! If we have to repay someone and our small bills are running low, we might decide to be generous and round up to the big bill instead of losing a bunch of small ones. 

Enjoying fair food on vacation (bought with credit card)

So you can imagine our excitement that one of the island ATM’s has started giving out withdrawals with a mix of large and small bills! A game changer. Suddenly we aren’t always at a small-bill deficit.  

Looking ahead, it is possible that our days of cash purchases are numbered, even on the islands. A local cell company has an electronic money app that seems to be gaining in popularity.  Maybe the day will come when we can just use our phones to pay at the little shops in our neighborhood, but until then, we’ll guard our small bills and keep a close eye on our change supply. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our teammate made it safely back to Clove Island (despite some travel troubles on the way in) and was warmly welcomed by neighbors. We have had a very nice time with Megan’s parents and brother so far. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our teammate in her first week back home on the islands— that she would reconnect well with friends and neighbors and that how to proceed with hospital work would be straightforward. There have been some difficult situations on the islands, pray for those that are having to respond to these situations that they would have wisdom and discernment to be lights in the dark and for for health and safety for all. Hashiri has asked for prayer that her family would find peace together in their home. Megan’s uncle passed away this past weekend— pray for her aunt and cousins as they grieve this loss.