No Island is an Island

Our kids with their vacation countdown

I think our family might have island-fever. We came back to the islands at the end of February and haven’t been off since. We mentioned going on vacation to the kids and they immediately created a large countdown on the chalkboard. Our youngest takes almost everyone that comes to our house over to the map of Africa and shows them where we are going for vacation (just 14 more days!). The islands can feel pretty isolated sometimes. But there are different kinds of isolation.

When we first came to live in Africa (over 10 years ago), we went to Chad. Chad is sometimes nicknamed the “dead heart of Africa” because it is a landlocked country right in the middle of the continent. Our village in Chad was isolated geographically, surrounded by the desert-like sahel landscape on all sides. But we were less isolated logistically— it is not hard to coordinate the logistics to overcome the geographic isolation.  In Chad you could always get in a car and drive away. If there was an emergency, you could always just drive and drive—right out of the country even—until you found the help or civilization you needed. On the other hand our village in Chad was isolated socially.  Most people in the village were uneducated and had little contact with the outside world.  In many ways their world was quite small.  In Chad we remember having to explain that the world was round and covered in oceans.  We had to explain that you couldn’t simple drive to America.  One Chadian friend scoffed in disbelief—as if so much water was beyond comprehension.

Our town and then the endless ocean

On the islands, the surroundings are completely different. Endless desert is replaced with endless ocean.  Islanders scoff in disbelief when they hear that there are people in the world that have never seen the ocean! Everywhere you look here you find ocean. Socially, the islands are not nearly so isolated.  While many islanders have never been to other countries, many know of opportunities abroad and want to go.  It may not be exaggerating to say that the vast majority of islanders have family members living abroad. But we are certainly geographically isolated—in some ways more so than in Chad. We’re surrounded by ocean.  Hundreds of miles of water and land separate us from any major metropolis. Sometimes we can see one of the other islands far out on the horizon, but most of the time it is just endless blue.

So we have to deal with that geographic isolation but also logistical isolation. We can’t just get in a car and leave, the logistics of getting off the island are often complicated, unreliable and/or expensive—and this more than anything can lead to feeling island fever. 

Some co-workers at our office opening

Last week our co-workers on the other islands came to Clove Island for a meeting.  We work with some amazing people and it was so good to see them.  Yet the reality is, we are lucky to see them more than twice a year.  Geographically many of our colleagues are within 40-80 miles of us.  On a good highway, that’s less than an hour drive.  Why, many people commute that far just to go to work.  But the water which separates us and the lack of reliable transportation makes these distances vast.  Some of our colleagues were delayed by more than a day because of the lack of logistical possibilities—one airline, no boats, full flights.  Imagine if your only option to get from the north of Boston to the south of Boston was to fly in a 12 seater airplane that serviced the entire North Shore—or imagine if the only way to get from San Francisco to San Jose was on a slow ferry across the bay that would take most the day.  Despite this geographical and logistical isolation, being together with our co-workers and friends from the other islands, we were comforted with the reminder that we are not alone.  And thanks to technology and networks of connection, we are not socially isolated.  We have network of people who understand, who are there to pray for us, challenge us and encourage us.  So send us a text, drop us an email, give us a call—we’re not so far away…well, yeah, we are. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Two islanders went for a special swim this past week. We were happy to celebrate with them. We had a good time with our four visitors and were excited for them to understand more about our life and work here on Clove Island. An old friend from the big island that we haven’t seen in 5 years (he’s been studying abroad) is on Clove Island right now! We’re excited to see him and hope that we can encourage him while he is here.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Pray for the island group to continue to grow in maturity and purpose and for us to know our role in that process. There have been a number of tummy bugs going around. One of our teammates fainted at the market yesterday and is still sick. Pray for her quick recovery and that no one else would get sick. Continue to pray for our kids and the anticipation of island school starting soon. Pray for calm hearts and a good experience (we still don’t know what day school is starting!). We need some dental and medical check-ups while we are off island— pray that we would be able to make the appointments that we need to before we leave. We’re hoping to get the medical/dental stuff done in the first few days so that we can then just relax

A Bright Future

Tom talking to group at office

Things were finishing up. Most people had eaten their plate of snacks and were chatting. Suddenly one our island friends asked for everyone’s attention. It looked like we were going to be blessed with an impromptu speech (islanders love giving speeches).

We were officially opening our NGO’s office on Clove Island. We have lived on Clove Island for about 5 years now without an office. This office reflects the way in which English teaching and our roles have been changing.  On one wall of our office we have put up bulletins which advertise all the different English learning opportunities on the Island.  When we first began there were only two.  Now there are more than 10 different English teaching programs!  All of which are completely organized and managed by islanders and (for the most part) run with only island teachers.  We have trained numerous teachers and many of these programs reflect their hard work and effort.  So our role has changed, we have become advisors, trainers, and mentors. People who started in our level 1 courses are now confidently teaching level 1 themselves.

Our island friend waited for the group to quiet down and began to speak.
“When I was a young man, I dropped out of school, left home and went to the big island to sell goods on the streets of the capital.  Then one day I saw two white ladies walking down the road. One of them was this lady here.”

He pointed to our old teammate from the big island who was visiting for the leaders’ meeting. He was referring back to over 10 years earlier (before our time) when she was new to the islands.  A sense of longevity settled over the room.

Kids looking in office window

“I wondered.  Who were these white ladies?  So I followed them,” he said this seriously, pausing dramatically, for effect. “They did not know it, but I followed them to a building in the middle of town.” The westerners were a little startled by this admission, a man following women unawares is a little creepy.
“I followed the white women until I saw them go into a building.   I asked around about what they were doing there and I learned that they were teaching English. That day I decided to sign up for English.”  (A quiet sigh of relief—creepiness factor mostly neutralized.)
“I was their student.  I came to love English and I realized that I needed to go back to school and get my degree.”  Now we were all started to smile, enjoying his heart-warming story.

“I got my degree and thanks to this NGO, I received a scholarship to study English abroad.  Now I am back home in my country teaching English at the main high school.” 

From an uneducated, street seller to a respected educator. It was a beautiful story of hope and betterment (that aren’t very common here). It was encouraging because it was about more than just learning English, it was about finding a bright future.

No island gathering is complete without snacks.

Our success in seeing English grow gives us hope for other more than just growth in English, we want to see Clove Island changed for the better in many ways.  Many times we look at the teachers we are working with—most of them young men and young women, and we wonder if they are the future leaders of the country.  Will they learn more than just English from us?  Will they learn a spirit of service?  Will they learn to put others before themselves?  Will they learn to be honest and responsible?  Will they give hope and light to the people of their islands?  As we look around at the people we work with, we find hope.  We see their hard work and faithful service.  We see their great potential.  Then we remember that great things are possible and we pray for a bright future for all of them.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
It was a big weekend. We had guests from both of the other islands for a leadership gathering. It was a great time of fellowship and talking. It is exciting to hear what is happening on the other islands and just to be with our colleagues that we don’t see often but whose company we very much enjoy.  We had the grand opening of our office— we’re glad to have it over with and to be able to use the space fully.  Our plans for getting off the islands for some vacation is finally coming together (the kids are already getting excited about it).

PRAYERS REQUESTED
At the leaders’ gathering we talked about some of the resources and strategies that we haven’t used much. Pray that we would have opportunities to use them to good purpose. We have our bosses with us for another day. We pray that we would have good times of reflection and prayer together. We have only recently learned that we will have more guests coming on Thursday for around 5 days. They are here to encourage us and learn about our lives and work. Pray for the logistics of hosting them and facilitating their time here. Island school is supposed to be starting in the next couple weeks (though no one will say for certain yet when the first day will be). Our boys are anxious about school starting, please pray for a good transition and for good recollection and comprehension in French. We’re hoping that they have some positive school experience before we go on vacation.

Walking Through Open Doors

At the table at Markabu's house

There are many blessings to being a family on the islands, but one downside is that we rarely get invitations that extend to the whole family.  It is common for singles to get adopted into island families and regularly invited for meals. But islanders are less likely to invite a family. It is assumed the wife of the family can cook for them. Also some islanders feel like they have to have an extravagant spread if they are inviting an entire family of foreigners (something they may not feel if it is just one or two people). Then there is the reality that men and women just don’t do things together very much. Other than the month of fasting, men usually eat and relax separately from women and children. So Megan usually gets invitations to women’s things, Tom to men’s things, but family to family invitations aren’t common.

Tom had been talking to Markabu and Faswiri (two of our English Club attendees) a few weeks before and had mentioned enjoying meeting people’s families. Markabu had responded by saying that he had always wanted to invite Tom to his home but something had made him self-conscious about it . So then last week we were pleasantly surprised when Markabu came up and asked not just Tom but our whole family to come to his house and meet his family on the holiday this past weekend. We quickly accepted.

The ladies of the family

We are often looking for open doors, doors toward deeper relationships, doors toward getting to know whole families, doors toward meaningful conversations. Even more we look for door openers, people who act as bridges into communities. Our friend was opening the door and inviting us in.

Now nothing overly dramatic happened on this visit. We learned where Markabu lived. We met his family (mother, sisters, nieces, nephews). The women didn’t eat with us, but they surrounded us with words of welcome and giving gifts to Megan. His mother and oldest sister had made the food except for the one treat which was the traditional holiday gift of his grandmother. We learned about how his brothers have studied abroad, each in a different country. We learned that his father had died. We learned about how he met Faswiri and about their shared past times. The visit ended with pictures taken on multiple cameras and with sincere words of thanks all around. “My family is very nice,” our student said, encouraging us to return and visit.

It was a deepening of our relationship with him, a beginning of new relationships, a new opportunity.

The men

We didn’t necessarily know this opportunity was coming. Markabu had been one of Megan’s first students when we got to Clove Island in 2013, but he hasn’t been a consistent visitor to our home or club. Why after 4 years did he suddenly decide to invite us into his home? So perhaps it was Tom’s comment about families that cracked the door open and then Markabu held it open. Whatever the case, a part of us being here on the islands is being faithful to walk through the doors opened before us— who knows where they will lead. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The tummy bug ended up hitting Tom and our older son too. But we are thankful for our answered prayers that it passed quickly and that Megan and our youngest were spared. Thanks for praying for our kids— this morning our older son prayed for God to come into his heart and change him! We are very thankful for this desire planted in his young heart. Pray that it would continue to grow. He’s excited. Megan just got back from an all-day women’s retreat organized by island women. It was a great chance to connect and encourage each other. We are thankful for the island women taking on leadership roles.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We pray for Markabu and his family and our relationship with them. This week is very full. We just had the women’s retreat, we have visitors coming, we have  the leadership gathering that we are helping host and we have the grand opening of our office (which means having up to 50 islanders to the office for speeches, prayers, blessings and snacks). Pray that we would get everything that needs to be done finished. Pray for a good leadership gathering— that people would find tickets to travel to us,  for unity and mutual encouragement. Two islanders have asked to pray for things— Bweni has asked for prayer for her youngest brother who is often mistreated and bullied because his skin is much darker than the rest of the family. He is a kind boy and we pray that Bweni can be a light to him and the rest of her family. Ma Imani’s mother also asked for prayer for her health (she struggles with hypertension) and also with feelings of being alone— she’s getting older, has had grandkids thrust into her care and she has had tense relationships with various children. We pray that her children could come around her and that she could feel supported and loved.

Being Our Kids

This week I sat down with our kids (now 5, 7 and 9 years old) and we talked about how their lives here are different from life for kids in America. So for a glimpse into our kids’ world, here are the top ten ways you know you’re one of our kids on the islands.

Our kids (7yrs, 9yrs, 5yrs)

1. You always stand out! There are no other white kids anywhere near us, no other English-speaking kids on the island. Strangers will try to reach out and feel your hair or touch your skin. Adults yell things at you that you can’t understand. Our 7 year old says, “People aren’t like me.” They don’t look the same, they don’t speak the same language and they don’t follow the same rules.
2. There’s no winter, spring, fall-- there’s rainy season, mango season and wedding season! We don’t have four seasons here. It can be raining everyday and humid or dry and dusty, but it is almost always hot. The things that really mark time for us is the fruit seasons (our kids can’t wait for mango season to start!) and all the weddings in July/August. Christmas for us is hot and humid but is also in the middle of lychee season (yummy!). Our kids love to hear a downpour of rain and ask if they can get their swimsuits on and go play in it.
3. No water, no electricity… that’s what bucket baths and headlamps are for! The water is rarely on in the evenings when our kids are washing off the sweat and grime of the day before bed. So usually they are just scooping water from a bucket to wash themselves. Electricity has been pretty good lately, but our kids aren’t scared if it suddenly goes dark. There are always several headlamps around the house!

   

   Can you see the baby gecko in this picture?

4. People don’t have pets but there are plenty of geckos, goats and bats around.  There are animals everywhere. Every night we can hear the feral cats howling and fighting. Sometimes the neighborhood goats will play king-of-the-mountain. Sometimes they’ll even come onto our porch or climb on our roof. Then there are the ever present geckos running around on our walls. Sometimes we find little baby ones, but be careful or you’ll make their tails fall off.
5. Local school isn’t much fun. Island schools are in French and sometimes you can’t understand everything that is going on, but the teachers are strict and yell a lot. (Corporeal punishment is common too). Island schools stick to the basics mainly (reading, writing and math). Most of the time the teacher just writes things on the board and the kids have to copy it down. The best part is recess where you can trade snacks, run around the courtyard and play tag. Our kids like homeschool too, where they learn in English and get to study extra things like science and history.
6. You can just walk down the road and go to the ocean! We don’t go as often as we’d like. But the ocean is a short walk away and our kids love to play in the water and sand. Watch out for floating trash though, islanders throw their garbage in the ocean. Also don’t be surprised if a group of naked boys follows you around the beach (they’re not used to seeing white kids).
7. You’re far away from everyone. We can’t just go and visit people. We can’t go and see our grandma and grandpa, aunts, uncles or cousins. It is expensive to get off the islands and most places are far away. Even though we live near Madagascar, we’ve never been (maybe we’ll get there someday soon, our kids really want to see all the lemurs).
8. We go to someone’s house on Sunday. Sunday mornings consist of us gathering with our small team at our house or someone else’s. No big building, no organized children’s program. We sing songs in English, French and the local language. The kids will read a story and draw pictures while the adults read and discuss a passage.

9. 

   In the hammock on our porch with some friends

   There are no playgrounds! Nowhere on the whole island. No teeter-totters, no slides, no swings. This is always one of the first things our kids say they miss from other places and no matter what country we go to… if it has a playground then our kids are excited about it. For play here our kids run around, make up obstacle courses, ride scooters on the porch, swing in the hammock or play pretend. Neighbor kids often come to play on our porch. 
10. There are some things we don’t have here but some things we do. There is no peanut butter (so no PB&J). There are no pork products (so no bacon, no ham, no breakfast sausage, no pepperoni). We almost never have cereal or ice cream or most cheeses. But our kids like eating meat kebabs sold on the side of the road and “mataba” (cassava leaves cooked in coconut milk) and fresh yellow-fin tuna (sold from a wheelbarrow down the road) and freshly fried breadfruit or green bananas. Island food is pretty good.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our daughter was hit by a tummy bug this week— we’re thankful that she has fully recovered. Megan’s back has recovered from a marathon wedding event that had left it tender.Several of our island friends passed their BAC this year (the big exam that allows them to go to university). We rejoice with them for this big accomplishment.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We hope that this encourages you to pray for our kids. Most of the time life here is just normal life and our kids don’t know any different but sometimes they are very aware of the challenges here and life feels hard (especially since being in the States this past year and especially for our 7 year old son). Pray that they would continue to grow in their knowledge of both French and the local language. Pray that they would have good friendships with island kids. Pray for us that we would be good parents, listening, comforting, encouraging and challenging them as we should. Plans have come together for island team leaders to come to Clove Island for a leadership pow-wow in just a couple weeks. We excited for the opportunity to connect, plan and pray with them. Pray for logistics and planning of that time. We are hoping to have an official opening of our office— pray that we would remember to honor the right people (important in island culture) and have everything ready.

Did He Really Say That?

Men's Event-- sitting for sermon, etc..

Have we been writing about weddings a lot these days?  Well, that’s because we’ve been going to a lot of them.  We each had village wedding ceremonies to attend over the weekend.  Village wedding ceremonies are always more tiring as they usually involve a long car ride, a greater part of the day, and a gut-busting amount of rice to eat!  But they are also a chance to deepen friendships and see how things are done outside the capital.

So that’s how I (Tom) found myself at a men’s wedding ceremony about 30 minutes away from the capital with a good friend who is also an islander and an English teacher.  I was happy to be able to sit next to my friend this time around instead of being whisked away to the “honored guest seating” where I’m often seated whether I like it or not. The typical men’s wedding ceremony is pretty simple really, it consists of an opening prayer, reading from their holy book, a sermon, singing and dancing, speeches, more singing and dancing, more reading from their holy book, a closing prayer, and party favors.  This is good listening practice time in the local language!  But often I have no one to check my understanding with.  So when we got to the sermon, my friend leaned over and asked if I agreed with what the teacher was saying.  I replied with what I thought he was saying:
    “So, is he saying that it’s better to marry a smart woman than a dumb woman?”
    “No,” my friend informed me, “he saying you need to pay a smaller dowry for a dumb woman.  If she is smart, you will have to pay more.  Also if she has a deformity, like a problem with her eye or leg, you should pay less. Do you agree?”
    “Is that really what he said?  No I don’t agree.” 
A little later on in the speech my friend asked again.  “Do you agree with that?”
    “I don’t know.”  I answered, “What did he say?”
    “He said that if your wife refuses to sleep with you than you should cut off her money.  You should punish her.  Do you agree?”
    “No I certainly don’t agree.”  I told him.  “He is wrong.  This man is a fool.”  My friend laughed.  The teacher then finished his brilliant speech by reminding men not to sleep with their wives during her period as that is a big sin.

Tom & kids at bedtime

After the ceremony we talked some more. “So,” I asked my friend, “Do you agree with what the teacher said?”
    “You know,” my friend replied, “These teachers, they say many things but no one really listens to them.  I believe, if you love someone it doesn’t matter what they look like.  If she is a good woman that is more important than her physical appearance.”
    “Yes!”  I agreed.  Glad to hear that some light had penetrated the darkness. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We have managed to make it through many weddings and are very hopeful that all this good face time will result in more quality conversations in the future.  Tom had a good time of study with a friend.  The airline is flying again, but not at full capacity.  The language project computer problem turned out to be a faulty keyboard.  A new keyboard has been purchased.  Ma Imani’s daughter seems to be healing well.  We celebrated 14 years of marriage this past week!  We are thankful for teammates willing to watch our kids and let us go on a date for our anniversary.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our youngest has worms (very common here) so the family is taking worm medication again—ah, island life!  Pray for worm free living!  All the weddings have been hard on Megan’s back.  Pray for strength and healing there.  We are looking into traveling in October for some vacation and medical/dental checkups.  Pray that the plans would fall into place.  As always, pray for the translation work and for lots of opportunities to share and spread light and love to islanders all around us.

English Club, Marriage & Weddings

Relatives posing with the bride and groom

“What is the difference between ‘marriage’ and ‘wedding’?” we asked our English club. This is an important distinction since mariage in French can mean both the ceremony and the life together.  We shared our sentiment that the marriage is so much more important than the wedding. The wedding lasts a day (or here a week) but the marriage is your life.  Our English club attendees seemingly agreed with this idea, but we’re not sure if all islanders agree with us.

Parade of gifts for groom

Weddings are such a big deal here. They are talked about a lot. They are a huge investment.  The nature of their wedding will mark a change in how the bride and groom are treated in society. We’ve heard of islanders getting divorced right after a wedding— seemingly marrying just to move to the status of “married” in the culture. Big weddings last a week, but they are then dissected for a long while after. Details are written down and compared. Proceedings are videotaped and then watched multiple times. Weddings are even played on the local TV channels— hours of dancing and face shots of everyone who attended. And people actually watch them!

Weddings here are both important and complicated. We’ve learned a lot by just living here, but we wanted to learn more. What better place to go than our English club!  For the past few weeks we’ve been asking our students about marriage and weddings. This past week we asked them to tell us all about the different wedding events on the island.  We thought we’d share with you some of the surprising insights:

The food gifts

• There are at least 12—that’s right!—12 different kinds of possible marriage ceremonies.  Each is distinct.  No one does all of the ceremonies.  Certain ceremonies are paired together but only one ceremony is religiously required.
• Nearly all ceremonies are gender exclusive and there is only one ceremony (for women) where the bride and the groom appear together in public.
• The bride and groom are expected to pay a “dowry” of gifts to the family of the respective partner.  The gifts for the bride always include gold jewelry, but the amount will be greatly reduced if she is found to not be a virgin.
• In one event the groom and his entourage get full body massages from old grandmothers skilled in this art.  (Tom has thankfully, never had to participate in this ceremony)
• In another ceremony, the groom’s gift of gold for his bride is the center of the ceremony.  In this event women dance suggestively with each other and with the gold.
• Though a long way from Oman, the dress of the groom has been strongly influenced by Omani culture.  He wears a turban and dagger and holds a sword in the style of Omani grooms.
• In the only ceremony that brings bride and groom together, the bride dances her way up to the groom.  Upon reaching him she starts to fall down at his feet, to show her servitude to him.  However the groom grabs her before she can fall at his feet.  Instead he pulls her up and embraces her and showers money over her.

Groom and "best men" in Omani garb

We’ve learned a lot and are eager to understand more, especially as the wedding ceremonies give insight into how islanders view marriage. As a team, we have been looking more deeply into the meaning of marriage, here on Clove Island, in our home cultures, and finally in God’s plan.  It is a rich and intriguing study we hope will result in new ways to talk about life, love, and meaning. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our English Club is very well-attended lately (we struggle sometimes for enough seats). We’re thankful for the thought-provoking discussions and cultural insights that have happened via our English club— we pray it would continue. We’re thankful that after some bouts of illness this week— our family is feeling better.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Megan is on her third night in a row of  late-night wedding events— pray for perseverance and that going to all these wedding events would be relationship-building and would result in opportunities to share with people. Pray for our kids as we start our homeschool year and try to balance homeschooling with our different commitments. Tom has two men that he has been studying with semi-erratically. Pray for more chances to study deeply with people and that he could find more regularity with these two. Pray for Ma Imani’s 9 year old daughter who fell down some stairs and hurt herself badly—still not sure the full-extent. Pray for healing. We haven’t heard anything new about the country’s airline problem or the computer problem with the language project- so keep praying about those too.

Always be Prepared with a Speech

Boys receiving their gifts at event

It was another last minute invitation to some kind of event. As usual the specifics were vague— both timing and the nature of the event was unclear. But a friend had asked us to go and going to events is usually about relationships here. We knew the approximate location, the approximate time and that it was for her son who was involved in some kind of vacation soccer program. We imagined a bunch of boys getting awards or something.

We weren’t that off. When we finally got to the place, it had already started long ago. The surprising thing was that there weren’t that many people attending the event. We imagined waiting along the outskirts of a big crowd and coming forward to give our congratulations to our friend’s son at the end. But there wasn’t much of a crowd, there wasn’t much room along the sideline of the soccer field. Our friend was front and center with our teammates. As soon as people saw me, they asked me to come forward. Tom begged off— he wasn’t dressed to be upfront with men in full suits, so he stayed with the kids. While I crammed into a non-existent opening on the bench in the middle of everything.

Soccer exposition

All the boys were given gifts of cleats and socks, already being dressed in matching soccer outfits. Then it seemed like it was already over. The boys left the field and young adults started playing a game. Apparently it was an exposition game to show-off the program. Neither me or my teammates really knew anything about the program. We didn’t know anyone involved in running it. All we knew was one kid who played with the young kids. As the sun was starting to go down we all stood up. The young adults were getting certificates now. Tom and the kids were getting antsy on the outskirts. I considered trying to slip away but I didn’t want to be rude and it seemed like it was almost over.

Men with the microphone kept giving little speeches in the local language as they moved on to giving the coaches certificates. I could see the man with the certificates, this was the last one. I grabbed my purse, ready to make my exit as soon as it was over. Words were still flowing from the man with the mic but I wasn’t really paying attention. Until suddenly there he was in front of me saying, “Now, let’s hear from this lovely lady…” Our friend supplied my name and I was handed the microphone, along with the final certificate.

Megan just before the fateful moment

They wanted me to give a little speech with some nice words and give the final certificate. The problem was I didn’t know the person I was giving the certificate to nor what he had done to get a certificate. Not to mention it was in a foreign language which doesn’t flow quite like my mother tongue under pressure.

I managed to fumble through a couple very short sentences of generic thanks and congratulations before I handed the certificate and mic away as soon as possible, thoroughly embarrassed by being thrust so unexpectedly into the limelight and by my failure to be more eloquent.

My teammates and husband thoroughly enjoyed my discomfort, mainly because they were so glad it didn’t happen to them. If only I had been given a moment to prepare, if only I had been paying more attention, if only it made any sense why I would be chosen to give a mini-speech, I wasn’t involved in the slightest! 

At English ceremonies we expect that we may be asked to give a speech at only a moment’s notice, even if it wasn’t discussed beforehand. So we always have generic comments about learning language, about the importance of study and words for congratulating students in our repertoire for spontaneous speeches— looks like I need to broaden my repertoire. You never know when you might have to give a speech.

Note: Sorry for no blog last week, not sure what happened. We just forgot— hasn’t happened to us in a long time.

Visiting a newborn

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our teammate made it back safely to the islands! As a team, we had a week of meeting regularly to push our local language deeper (we do this a few times a year)— we’re thankful to be continuing to grow in the extent and depth with which we can communicate. We are thankful for our youngest— who turns 5 years old this week! We are thankful for his life, energy and excitement. Our friend had her baby— a beautiful little girl! We are thankful for a smooth delivery but continue to pray for a better relationship with her husband.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The islands are without an inter-island airline. The final airline stopped flying because of problems with the government. This is a huge problem for the islands as a country and for many of our friends who count on traveling easily between islands and connecting to international flights. Pray for some kind of solution and especially that greed/corruption would no longer cripple this country. We’ve been looking into taking a few vacation days but all our plans to get away keep falling through— pray that we could get break when we need it.   Continue to pray for the two ladies preparing to come out to the islands long-term. Their target is to come in November, pray that the funds and logistics would come together. The language project has been hampered by computer problems— pray that they can have reliable computers to keep the work going.