Reciprocating

 “We just got gifted another papaya!” 

Last of the papaya & new gift!

We had to laugh. We had been eating papaya with every meal for days and were just finishing the last of it off. But it seemed that papaya was still on the menu for awhile! It’s not that we don’t like papaya— but it can ripen quickly and even slightly overripe papaya is not our favorite. So we try to eat it quickly when we get it. This was a our fourth papaya in a row! Most had been gifts from the two guys that Tom studies with regularly. 

Island relationships can sometimes feel very transactional. We know that most times when someone is befriending us, it is because they are hoping to receive something from us beyond just friendship. Sometimes it is status or connections, sometimes it is tangible or monetary help, sometimes it is knowledge or information.  

Transactional means that when we help someone with their English or give them some food or money or even study the good news with them, that they often feel like they want or need to give back to us in some way. 

We help out Ma Riziki with food and simple medicines fairly regularly, so she will gift us mataba (the local dish of crushed cassava leaves cooked in coconut milk) whenever she happens to be making it.  Two ladies in our neighborhood gifted us with lots of baked goods on the same week because we had helped them in the past and that week there was a big event for which they had been baking. Muki has eaten breakfast at our house most days for awhile, but when he noticed that Tom liked plants, he started gifting Tom with different seedlings and soil.  If a village’s English exams coincide with any kind of harvest, then Tom will come home from proctoring the exams with a bag of fruit or veggies for us to enjoy. We teach English to a wealthy doctor and so now we get invited to fancy meals at his house and he insists we get any services at his clinic at cost.

The idea of relationships being transactional is uncomfortable for many Westerners, but islanders have no problems with it. In every good island relationship, there is supposed to be a give and take. Wedding attendance and the money given at weddings is so transactional that they take video footage of the money lines and record how much each person gave in a notebook, partially so they know how to reciprocate when it is that person’s wedding. Sometimes islanders who live in Europe get Westernized and forget or ignore the expectations. I have heard islanders complain when, for example, an islander visiting from Europe doesn’t reciprocate in the correct fashion. In island understanding, they host the visiting islander—cooking, cleaning and welcoming them, with the understanding that the visitor will be bringing gifts of electronics and/or cash from abroad (not to mention potentially helping with school fees or paying for home improvement projects).  

Last of baked goods & new gift!

We know that we don’t always get it right, but most of the time we are giving willingly and it is actually the receiving that makes us uncomfortable— because we don’t get to choose how someone reciprocates. Sometimes we are gifted things we don’t really enjoy or something of which we already have plenty.  But we’ve learned enough to know that we don’t say that to the person giving. Often, the gifts we receive are coming from people who are poor and they are giving what they can, so we accept with a smile and many thanks— it is their way of giving toward our relationship (and if we end up not using or re-gifting their gift, they don’t need to know that). 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We were able to attend a funeral event for our friend’s mother and Tom was able to share some words of comfort with him. The test results are in and we got to celebrate with several of our friends who passed and will now be able to enter university. Hashiri continues to ask thoughtful questions and to be seeking truth. Megan had a good visit with Ma Imani and they were able to talk about some hard things. Tom had some excellent studies with Muk and Mtsa this past week.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Two island sisters are hoping to travel abroad this week for medical treatment— pray for their healing, for their travels while not feeling well and also for the kids that they are both leaving behind. The rest of us hope to have our monthly women’s gathering and an island sister who has been hesitant to host lately has volunteered her house— pray that it would go well and be an encouragement. We have a visitor arriving on our island today and staying for just over a week to see what work and life looks like for us here on the Clove Island— pray that it would be a good visit. Pray that we would know how to wisely navigate our different relationships with islanders with their varying expectations— pray that our relationships with them would be healthy and draw them more to Him than to us. 

I Wish I Had Said...

 English class was starting. Students were coming into the room and sitting down at the table.  One of the young men in his twenties who was sitting near me noticed a certain girl come in and sit down.  With a less than innocent look in his eye, he called out to her, “Wow, you are so beautiful.”

Recent walk overlooking our town

The girl was clearly embarrassed as was most of the class at this statement, which was just shy of a cat whistle.

The young man looked at everyone defiantly and said, “What?  Is it forbidden to appreciate beauty?”  No one spoke.  And he turned to me and asked in the same haughty tone, “Teacher, is it forbidden to appreciate beauty?”…

What would you have said?

Such unanticipated moments seem to happen quite often.  Rarely do I get them completely right.  Often I walk away thinking about the thing I wish I had said.  I’ve wondered about that.  Why doesn’t the Spirit give me better words, the most clever responses, the best answer for the moment?  Sometimes He does, but more often than not, I don’t say the things I wish I had said.  But then I remember that with most things we don’t expect to get them right the first time.  Musicians need to practice, authors need editors, and athletes need training.  So rather than despairing, we’ve taken to looking at these times as learning opportunities.  We don’t need to get everything right the first time, but we should learn from our mistakes.  What would have been a better answer?  What could I say the next time?  Sometimes we even discuss these encounters together as a team to get more input: “How could we have answered in a way that would have been beneficial and truth speaking?” 

“Teacher, is it forbidden to appreciate beauty?”

After a short pause, I replied, “I am not a [follower of your faith].  So I cannot tell you what is forbidden or not forbidden for you.  I follow [J] and we don’t talk about what is forbidden or not forbidden but about what is good and true.  But I will say, that where I come from, what you did was not polite.”

As I reflect on that answer, it wasn’t bad.  I got to say that I am different and do not adhere to their religion.  I was able to rephrase things in terms of good and true instead of forbidden not forbidden.  I was able to say that what he did was impolite and so bring him down a peg. But after class I thought about a better answer, and as I discussed it with Megan she came up with a similar better answer too.

What would have been a better answer?  It is hard to say, but if I could do it over again, I would have said,  “I am not a [follower of your faith].  So I cannot tell you what is forbidden or not forbidden for you.  But I am a follower of [J], and he tells us that God looks at the heart.  The intentions of your heart are more important than 'forbidden' or 'not forbidden'.  So my friend, did you say those things from a good heart or a bad heart?

Enjoying time as a family

There is one more factor that should be mentioned; one more challenge to crafting a good answer.  This was in English class, so my answer was in English and had to be at a level that the students could understand. Other times the answer would need to be in the local language and would thus be limited to the answerer’s local language proficiency. So as you think about how you might have answered, keep that thought in mind too.  

I hope you are thinking of ways you might have answered (let us know if you’ve got ideas), and we hope you are inspired to debrief similar moments you might have in your context. 

 We might stumble in our responses the first time, but we learn, we pray and often times a similar opportunity will eventually present itself.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Tom had good studies with Muki and Mtsa over some difficult passages. Generally, our daughter’s rheumatoid arthritis has been doing much better this vacation break. We are thankful for the decrease in pain and the increase in energy, but continue to pray for total healing! Hashiri has continued to ask good questions and is really seeking to understand forgiveness. We’ve taken some measures that have helped with the mosquitoes in our house. Plans are coming together for a men’s gathering to start in August. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Tom has started a new English class, which means a new group of islanders for Tom to connect and share with. Pray that he’d have opportunities to share truth with them. An island friend has recently lost his mother, pray that we could be a source of comfort to him. Pray for all the islander students awaiting their test results this week— which will tell them if they can continue on to university in the autumn or if they have to repeat the last year of high school. One of the sick island sisters hopes to travel for medical treatment once all the exam results are released. Pray for wisdom for her family as she’ll probably leave her kids on the islands with her husband and for healing for her.

Battling Dust and Mosquitoes

 There is a war going on at our house! It has always been going on, but only recently the battle has become intense. This Sunday, we were studying a passage from Joel that talked about the hordes of locusts descending. It can feel like that, but our battle isn’t against locusts, it is against dust and mosquitoes.  

On dusty porch with new duster

The dust war is primarily a seasonal battle. In July and August, the rains stop and the ground dries out, so the air and breezes carry the fine black volcanic dust with them wherever it blows. A couple nights ago, it got particularly windy as we slept and when we woke up our porch and front room floors were covered in black. 

The mosquitoes is a new battle for us. The islands have always had mosquitoes, but for some reason they are everywhere right now. Even islanders have commented on it. Our house usually has had very few mosquitoes, partially from being on a second floor. So even though our house has never been fully screened, we’ve never been too concerned about mosquitoes. But now we wish our house was fully screened! We don’t know exactly what is going on, but it feels like one of the cyclic surges you see with some types of trees or bugs in the US, where every so many years they produce several times more than normal. We’ve never heard of mosquitoes doing that, but it feels that way. 

It can feel like a losing battle. You sweep or dust and so quickly the black layer returns. Our boys don’t wear house sandals like we do inside, and every once in awhile we urge them to wash the black bottoms of their feet only to have them complain that they had just washed them off. It’s hard to hold the dust at bay. Meanwhile, we keep killing more and more mosquitoes, but it doesn’t seem to make a dent. They just keep coming. 

Son and Tom screening windows

But even though it can feel like a losing battle, we don’t give up. To give up would be to live in filth and be covered in bug bites and subject to mosquito born illnesses (currently a nasty one called chikungunya is going around). No, we don’t give up. We pray, we equip ourselves and we fight back. This week we screened some windows that hadn’t been. We have started keeping a mosquito zapper always charged, and we bought a new duster. Ultimately we don’t despair because we know how to fight back and we know it will get better. 

Dust and mosquitoes are common parts of life here all year round. Most of the time we don’t even think about them that much— they are there and we live with them in a relatively complacent way. Our house wasn’t fully screened, we weren’t in the habit of dusting regularly. But now the mosquitoes and dust are abundant and overwhelming. We can no longer be complacent, we have to fight back or we will be overcome. 

It feels like a sermon illustration! We haven’t felt that our battle with dust and mosquitoes is spiritual in nature, but it does make me think, what insidious things do I complacently allow to linger in my heart that could one day swarm and threaten to overwhelm me. Sometimes the war is ongoing, but it takes an intense battle to wake us up to the fight. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are so enjoying having our kids around.  Tom had some good studies with Muki and Mtsa this past week.  Muki is starting to understand some important aspects of the good news he hadn’t before.  Megan continues to study with Hashiri and has seen some positive growth in her understanding as well.  

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray that we would see a marked decrease in the number of mosquitos around our house and that the Lord would be merciful and keep mosquito-born illnesses from infecting the population.  Pray for Mtsa to get opportunities to share at his work and Muki to share more with his family.  Pray for all the ones we are studying with to experience life transformation.  Keep praying for the plans for a men’s gathering hoping to start next month.  Keep praying for health and healing for the two island sisters who have ongoing health concerns.  The final set of national school exams are happening right now (these ones are to go from jr. high to high school)— we know several kids taking them. Pray that they would remember all they’ve learned and not be too stressed. 

The Fabled Same-Day Connection

 It doesn’t seem like it would be that big of a deal. All we want to do is travel via the big island without having to spend the night on the big island. But in reality the same-day connection has been a rare occurrence. We don’t usually even attempt it leaving the islands because the risk of missing our international flight seems too great. But since our daughter started boarding school three years ago, every time she has come home for a break (three times a year), we have looked into her and her brother making a same-day connection and it has never worked out…until this time.  

Kids at airport cafe in mainland Africa

 Most of the time the issue has been that interisland airlines often cancel their afternoon flights. They sell tickets for an afternoon flight but then a day before the flight, you get a call saying the afternoon flight is canceled because of lack of passengers and everyone flies in the morning instead. This has happened to us several times. But the combination of high travel season and only one interisland airline means higher demand, so the afternoon flights have been actually filling and running this month. 

The other problem is getting an international flight that arrives early enough for the same-day connection, but our kids’ international flight was scheduled to arrive with plenty of time for them to make their flight in the afternoon. We had even entertained the idea that they might have a leisurely meal with our teammate who was going to wait at the airport on the big island to help them make the next flight.  But flight times are subject to frequent change in our part of the world.

Then there was a perfect storm. 

First, a week before travels, the international flight schedule was moved 45 min later, making the connection a bit tighter. But at the airport that day it was delayed 50 minutes, making the connection even tighter.  Meanwhile another international flight was 30 minutes early, meaning both planes landed at the same time.  You might ask, “Why does that matter?”

The big island airport is currently renovating their international terminal.  This means the small domestic terminal is being used for all arrivals.  So when two flights come at the same time it is chaos— way beyond their capacity for both immigration and luggage. 

So our two kids landed at 1:30pm. Their domestic flight was to leave at 3pm. A tight connection, but seemingly doable, except for all the chaos!  Our kids got through immigration quickly by mentioning their connecting flight, but then waited nearly an hour without seeing their bags.  At that point, we were informed that check-in for the next flight would close at 2:30, we told the kids to forget the bags and book it over to check-in.  (Meanwhile we started making arrangements to hire someone to collect their bags and put them on a later flight.) 

It sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it? But what we haven’t mentioned yet is that our teammate was at the airport outside arrivals to help our kids out and she even knew someone working at the airport. Unbeknownst to us, our teammate’s friend (it’s all who you know) got the kids and took them outside to find their bags amongst those waiting to go on the carousel and then escorted them to the check-in desk where our teammate was waiting for them (urging the employees to not close check-in without them).

They arrived! (In taxi on way home)

So in a last minute rush, they got checked in (with their bags!) at around 2:35. Their local flight left on time at 3pm! 

So was the same-day connection worth it? The kids admitted it was stressful, but when our kids were able to go to bed that night and not have to worry about traveling anymore, they were happy. We said prayers of thanks for our teammate, fast immigration, airport worker friends, and sweet reunions, and then they went to bed…and slept a full 12 hours!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are so thankful to have our kids back home safely and that they made it through their finals week without too much stress. Women’s gathering this past week was very well attended and one sister shared that she had two local women asking her questions and wanting to know more about what she believes. We’re thankful that our teammate was able to visit with a Clove-Island woman who has moved to the big island when she passed through, hopefully connecting her to more fellowship on the big island. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for us as we try to balance with our kids home between quality family time and our normal work. Pray for Tom and other brothers as they consider getting a regular mens’ gathering started— pray for wisdom about the format and how many men to invite. Pray for Mtsa as his job has changed and he is praying for opportunities to have meaningful conversations and share with his new colleagues. Pray for health and healing for a couple of the island sisters who have ongoing helath concerns— one will be traveling abroad for treatment during this vacation time. 

Rude Conversation?

 I was walking down the sidewalk along the busy main road on my way to check if a shop nearby had something I needed. On one corner there were a number of people sitting on a stoop— some selling produce, others waiting for a bus or just sitting and people-watching. 

An older lady greeted me with warmth and I could tell by the way that she looked at me that she thought she knew me, though I didn’t recognize her. Not knowing if I had met her once and just forgotten her face, I made a point to return her warm greeting. Then she asked me, “How’s the baby?” and I immediately realized that she didn’t know me. She thought I was another like-minded foreign lady that lives on the island who has a small baby. 

Our 'baby' is almost 13!

It is a pretty common occurrence that we are mistaken for other light-skinned foreigners. We don’t necessarily have to look anything like each other— there are just so few foreigners that some islanders can assume we are the same person. In this situation, the mother with the young baby has brown hair and wears glasses like me, so it was an easy mistake. 

“That’s not me. I don’t have a baby,” I said with a smile and was about to keep walking when the man sitting next to the old lady, interjected loudly and with some vehemence, “That’s not good! You should have babies!” 

While his loud rebuke was a little surprising, we have been on the islands long enough that the sentiment is not shocking. Islanders believe that marrying and having children is a religious obligation. Everyone is supposed to have babies. 

So I was quick to tell him and the small group of people all keyed into the conversation, that I had three children, but they had all grown big, so I didn’t have any babies anymore. Most of the group nodded their heads and accepted this greater insight into my family status. I was about to walk away again, I was actually in a bit of rush to get to the shop and back home, when the man burst out for one more retort, “Three is not very many. You should have more! Three isn’t enough.”

I ended the conversation by saying that it is all in God’s hands and went on my way to the shop.

As I reflected on the conversation later, it did strike me that it would have been a very rude interaction if it had happened in the West. Even on the islands it was a little rude to say such things to a complete stranger and not taking into consideration that I could be trying to have children but having fertility issues (something that brings a lot of shame to women on the islands). 

Tom and friend at wedding (he has 14 kids!)

But, if he had known me and if I was willingly avoiding marriage or pregnancy, then it wouldn’t be seen as rude at all. Indeed,  it struck me that his sentiments and his willingness to yell them at a foreigner passing by on the road come from the idea that there is one accepted view on the topic. 

This is not a pluralistic place— islanders expect and generally accept that there is one way to view most issues. The details might change— for example, when we first came we were always told that women should try to have 8 kids (4 boys, 4 girls), more recently it has been more common to hear that 4 is enough (2 of each). But whatever the details, at the heart, islanders expect there to be one right way. 

So this man had no trouble yelling his advice for my life because it isn’t controversial. The other people who were listening didn’t correct or contradict him because they most likely agreed with what he said, even if they weren’t going to be so bold. 

To be honest, this wasn’t that unique of an interaction. Generally,islanders don’t mind being bold, even on personal topics,if they feel they are in the right.  As we’ve been on the islands for so many years some of this has worn off on us. We’ve gotten a lot more bold in sharing our beliefs and views, but let’s hope we retain humility and tact to still speak with gentleness and love at the same time. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We’ve been using an electric zapper and burning mosquito coils to stay on top of mosquitos. Our friends on the French Island are finally back in their house, following repairs from the cyclone that hit in December. Megan’s skin biopsy came back clear. Megan got to study with Hashiri again and correct some misunderstandings she has had. Tom continues to study with Muki and Mtsa, they are almost done with another book. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our kids as they go into their exam week at boarding school and as they travel home. We are hoping they can make a same day connection from the big island— pray for safe travels and that their international flight gets in earlier enough for the afternoon domestic flight on Saturday. Pray for our colleague trying to have a medical procedure down in mainland Africa, her appointment was canceled because of protests in the city and she is supposed to fly out to tomorrow. Pray for our teammate as she has her final week on the island before heading home for four months. Keep praying for Megan’s back as she tries to be more proactive with PT stretches to hopefully encourage recovery. Pray for the women as they gather this week— we’ve heard that there may be some tensions in the group—may any needed discussion, repentance and/or forgiveness happen. A colleague from the small island is hoping to visit our island via boat this week— pray for calm seas so she can make it here safely. 

Why is the Electricity so good these days?

 When we were away from the islands last month we were told that electricity had gotten really bad.  We had even read an island article that said it wouldn’t be until mid-July or later for the needed parts to come to fix the malfunctioning generators, but since our return, the power has been particularly good!  Over lunch the other day, we enjoyed speculating all the possible reasons for the recent improvement.

 Our first reason was a joke —Perhaps the electricity company heard we were coming back and made sure things were working better!  A nice thought, except that we do not carry the notoriety, fame, importance or clout to bring such a thing about.  However, we have noticed that when the president comes to town, electricity generally improves for as long as he is around.  So it is not unheard of for electricity to improve due to the arrival of important visitors.

Cloves drying in sun here on 'Clove' Island

Our next thought was on the same theme.  The summer months are the time of year when all the island diaspora that lives in Europe and other places comes back to the islands for vacation.  Could it be they are keeping the power on for all the visitors?  Does that mean instead of rationing the fuel used to run the generators, they are using it up and when the visitors leave, power will be terrible again?  Perhaps.

On the otherhand, the summer visitors come with lots of money.  Perhaps electricity bills are finally being paid and they are using the money for extra fuel.  Is it simply a matter of money greasing the wheels???

That got us onto another possible reason.  The season of summer visitors coincides (quite deliberately)  with the wedding season.   There are multiple weddings every day once things get going, and people pay extra to make sure the power stays on.  Do we benefit from this demand for power?

Then a more mundane answer crossed our mind: Perhaps they simply fixed the generators earlier than expected, and they are running smoothly right now.  Such ideas almost sounds preposterous, but not impossible.  Still the idea of things just running smoothly here seem to be a rarity.

And then another explanation struck us—maybe demand is down.  The weather is significantly cooler this time of year.  Air-conditioners and fans are hardly necessary and many may have been turned off.  Could it simply be that thanks to fewer demands, the system is able to meet the needs?

And then to bring it full circle, we had asked for prayer that power would get better on the islands.  We know there are some real prayer warriors among you.  Perhaps some of you started praying…

Working on homeschool project!

We will probably never know the reason, but whatever the reason, we are thankful for these days of good power.  You may live in a place where you take electricity for granted.  Next time you flip a switch or grab something from your consistently cold fridge, you can say a small prayer of thanks, and think of all the things that help cause your electricity to run smoothly.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful for better electricity! A short-term medical team had a successful trip to the small island with lots of islanders being seen and being intentionally told good news.  Tom was able to meet and study with an island brother who was recently deported from the French Island— while he hopes to return to his wife and kids on the French Island, we’re hopeful that his temporary presence could have a positive impact on his extended family here. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
An island sister on the plateau just lost a brother at sea (one passenger among two boatfuls that are presumed drowned).  Pray for her family as they grieve and that she might be able to be a light to those without hope. The monthly women’s gathering that should be this week is being pushed back a week because so many of the island sisters aren’t around. Pray that in the midst of increased travels during July/August that gatherings of brothers and sisters would still happen. Pray for the follow-up with those islanders who expressed interest in learning more during the medical team’s trip on the small island.  Pray for our kids as they have just two weeks left of school and have many projects, presentations and exams to get through. Pray that they wouldn’t be troubled with stress and anxiety. Our teammate has only two weeks before she heads back to her home country for some months— pray that she would be able finish up well and have good interactions with island friends and neighbors as she says goodbye. There have been so many mosquitoes around lately (the worst we’ve ever seen). Pray for them to decrease and for protection from mosquito born illnesses going around (primarily dengue and chikungunya). 

Cycles

 There are all kinds of cycles and rhythms that mark out our life. There is the cycle of a single day— the sun rising with the accompanying morning sounds and routines of waking up, praying, getting dressed, and ending with the setting sun and bedtime routines. There is a our weekly cycle of school or work, followed by the weekend. Then there’s the seasonal cycle of weather changing and holidays coming and going. Finally there are the bigger changes of life cycles, babies growing into kids, growing into teenagers and so on. They all help us to mark the passage of time. 

Sunrise before morning flight

We were only gone from the islands for a few weeks really and in some ways it felt like no time had passed, but there were several markers when we got back to show us that time had continued. 

• We reach for a dish and find that there is some dust that has collected on it. 
• Our teammate commented that our son looked taller, requiring the mandatory check to see how he stands in comparison to the adults in his life. 
• At 7am every morning, the school behind our house is no longer humming with life, telling us that the main school year has ended. 
• We woke up in the morning and realized that we hadn’t turned on the fan in the night and had pulled the flat sheet up over us, letting us know that the weather has cooled and the season has changed. 
• An empty amorylis stalk let us know that a bloom had opened and gone in our absence. 
• As we passed through the big island, our old teammate’s young baby was holding her head high and giving us smiles in a way that she couldn’t when we left. 
• The hair had started to grow around Tom and our son’s ears, highlighting the need for new haircuts. 
• Some island friends and shopkeepers greeted us with the common phrase, “I haven’t seen you,” to let us know that our absence had been noted. 
• Suddenly idle talk is all about upcoming nuptials and we’ve been handed a few invitations, letting us know that the wedding season of July and August is fast approaching. 
• A new kitten is roaming in the back area behind our house that wasn’t there when we left. 

Back on the islands!

Without markers, it can be easy to lose track of time, but we have these humbling reminders that life and time keeps going forward. Our daughter is needing to think about college. Passports needed to be renewed. Our youngest is becoming a teenager in August. The grandmother downstairs is able to do less and less on her own. We are needing reading glasses more and more often. Students are learning and getting their certificates. Life keeps going with all its telltale cycles of change. 

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8:22

So here we are with our blog, one of those markers— reminding us (whether it feels too quick or too long to us) that another week has gone by!

PRAYERS ANSWERED


We are thankful that we see God’s hand sustaining us in all the short-term and long-term cycles of life.  When we wrote on Monday last week, the passports had not come through.  That was in the morning.  By the afternoon we got a message from the US Embassy saying the passport had been found—so thanks for praying!  We were able to get the passports, and though we had started the process of changing our flights, we were able to change them back without too much trouble or cost.  In the end we were able to travel under our original itinerary and are happily back in our island home.  Thank you for praying for island marriages (last week’s blog).  There has been some positive markers in that area, but do keep praying.  Our daughter got to get some good sleep over the weekend and seems to be doing okay with no arthritis flare-ups.  
One of our former teammates got married this weekend and we were able to watch the wedding ceremony livestream with colleagues and a few islanders. 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We are looking forward to a few months without any planned travel.  Pray that we could get into some good routines—including finishing up home school for the year, starting some new English classes, and getting our English Club going again.  Kids around the islands (and our kids at their school) are entering the time of final papers and exams.  Pray that they could remember all that they’ve studied and do well without stress or anxiety.  Megan’s back has been a little out of sorts after all the travel and a strange bed, pray that it would settle down, be strong and pain-free.  Tom got to study with someone new this week.  They made a plan to study again on Wednesday.  Pray that this new man would remember, show up, and have a hunger for further study.