Weekend catch-up

Oh, the new experiences keep piling up! The internet was down all weekend, so I have a bit to catch up on.

FRIDAY: I had my first visit to the hospital school. It is a small room built and run by SWIM, and is a bright, colourful oasis in amongst much suffering. I can't write about that yet. There are three local teachers who are responsible for providing the children who are at the hospital with school work. This includes patients and brothers and sisters of patients, because sometimes the whole family will travel from another province or island, and stay at the hospital for however long it takes (one girl has been there over 18 months). My task is to encourage the teachers (none of whom are trained) and help them with lesson ideas, etc. They work in three areas of the hospital - the school room, and two other wards, where the children are on their beds. I am looking forward to throwing myself into this task, and consider it a privilege to be able to help in any way. It is hard though, comparing how little they have with what is on offer in Australia.

Whilst I was at the hospital, Geoff and the girls loaded the blue truck with children's wooden desks and chairs (donated from someone in AUS or NZ) and then in the afternoon took them down to the wharf at Honiara to be put on a ship for Gizo in Western Province. Geoff had to negotiate a price for the cargo to be delivered, so his pigin musn't be too bad, because Machi said he got a good price!


SATURDAY: I spent the morning cooking muffins, biscuits and cake. I'm getting quite good at adapting recipes to suit the ingredients I have, although the biscuits were more like rocks this time! I've put the muffins in the freezer for the girls to take some to school each day. On that note, we have been told the girls can go to a small Christian school called Emmaus (the one Ian Pennicook was talking about at church!) We will visit there tomorrow morning.

Another trip to the markets - something that has to be done most days - no such thing as a two week shop over here! Sophie, Millie and Elora went along and were treated with an icecream afterwards!

Geoff and Machi took all the girls out to the Disability Centre and I enjoyed a lovely quiet afternoon by myself! I did a few pages on my xbook photo album - very enjoyable!

We finished off the day with a trip to the local beach. Kevin and Machi drove this time, so the truck was loaded with heaps of kids, all hitching a ride. Machi casually asked one of the kids if they had lice, to which they nodded yes. Then Machi informed me nearly all the kids have lice, and it is virtually impossible to erradicate. She said when they get to the 'ten finger itch' she usually treats their hair which brings it to a 'managable' level. So as I watched my girls bumping along in the truck, head to head with all the other kids, I reminded myself that this too was part of 'going with the flow'!

SUNDAY: Today we went to a different church, because Kevin was preaching there. It was in a beautiful building - one that has taken many years to build. There were about 300 people, with men sitting on one side and women on the other. It went for nearly three hours and I was glad that this time I brought something for the three younger girls to do during the sermon!

Once again I loved the singing - everyone gets into it so much - it is such a meaningful thing to be a part of and I find it very moving. At this particular church, they have a 'choir' item each week. I knew it would be a long service when we had four different 'choirs' sing today! Machi told me later she went there once and they had 8 'choirs'! The one I loved today was six old ladies, all in their seventies, stand out the front and sing a beautiful song in their kustom language. The joy of the Lord shone on their faces and I knew God was pleased with their offering of praise!

It was suprisingly cool inside the church, despite the heat outside.

I also love the praying. Each time the leader talks about what we will pray about, (eg. pray for the preacher as he teaches from God's word) and then everyone prays out loud at the same time. It is very hard for your mind to wander during the prayer when you are praying aloud!

One more thing that I love is the Solomon way of welcoming. Lots of people came up to us, both before, during and after the service, and shook our hands, saying hello. Not just Geoff and I, but all the girls too. And people were doing that to everyone, not just the new white people. It was like everyone on the church was on the welcoming roster! There is no way you could not feel welcomed!

Truck ride home from church - very hot and sunny. The four girls continue to be quite a spectacle riding around in the Solomon way. Lots of smiles and waves from people everywhere.

After a long morning at church (sitting on wooden benches) we were all hot and hungry. We came back to the SWIM base and enjoyed a special birthday morning tea for Mikey (K & M's grandson), who turned three during the week. Then we went to Honiara Hotel for a swim in their pool - a rare treat over here. We all enjoyed the coolness, which came at the cost of a few expensive drinks (definitely worth it!)

So we are almost at the end of our second week, and are really enjoying ourselves.
The week ahead is shaping up to be quite busy:

We'll visit the Emmaus Christian School tomorrow (the girls have started calling it Solomon Highlands Christian School, just like their own school back home, because this school IS up the mountain!)
We also plan to visit the hospital school tomorrow with the girls and sing a few songs with the kids. Then I'll go by myself throughout the week.
Geoff is doing one week of intensive maths tutoring with three yr 6 students every afternoon this week. Next week all yr 6 students sit three exams, and you need to pass at least two before you are allowed into high school.
Geoff is also planning on beginning some music ministry this week in the prisons (one day a week I think). Geoff's cousin Michael is involved with prison ministry over here, so he has organised it.
This Thursday we are going for a drive (about 1 1/2 hours) to visit a school for the Deaf, run by Brother George.
We are starting musical practises this week with the youth group. Machi asked us to bring over 'Friends Forever', an old 80's musical which she thought would be great to do over here (thanks L for tracking it down for us!) We only have about 8 weeks max to put it together, so we're hoping it can be done. First pracitse is Friday night, followed by Sat arvo and Sunday after church.

So there are our plans, but we'll see what God has in store for us!

Thankyou to everyone who has left comments for us - I find it incredibly encouraging to know we have so many friends and family who are interested enough in us to read this blog!