Goodbye to the Solomons

There is a time for everything under the sun, including saying goodbye.

We have spent the last few days saying goodbye to all the people we have come to dearly love in the Solomons. It hasn't been easy, but as I keep reminding myself, it is all part of the experience.

On Monday, (our last full day in the Solomons), we started packing to come home, but there were so many last minute things we wanted to do, so we didn't get much of it done. I spent the whole morning out with the teachers from the Hospital school trying to organise uniforms for them (long story). It was a long and frustrating ordeal, (not uncommon for the Solomons), but in the end we got it done.

Elora spent the morning playing with Lucy.

Later on we took all the kids from the base out to Frangapani Ice for an ice cream, which was lots of fun.

Sixteen ice creams please!

Helen had promised the girls she would braid their hair before they came home, so she spent a good part of the afternoon doing that!



We decided to go out for dinner, (so we didn't have to cook), and asked Florrie to come along. We loved spending whatever time we had left together.



After dinner we came back and enjoyed some delicious cake (make by Susan) with most people from the base. Michael, Salome, Lovelyn and Mikey were also there, and had some lovely presents for the girls. Brianna was thrilled with her butterfly necklace - a matching one with Lovelyn.

Cousins and friends - Lovelyn and Bri.

Leonia and Salome spent ages doing Elora's hair.

Our little Solomon girl, proudly displaying her new hair style and new bilum bag!

The kids squealed and laughed right into the night, running around the base enjoying themselves (not at all concerned about the many cane toads all over the grass). We said goodbye to Kevin, Simon and Lydia, who were off to Malata early the next morning, and were assured by Kevin that we were always welcome to come back.

Following dessert, Geoff and James worked on getting the musical songs programmed into James' keyboard (for when the youth group perform the musical after we're gone), and I attempted to get our hyperactive, over-tired children into bed (no easy task).

Geoff and I fell into bed at the end of the night, tired and exhausted, yet unable to sleep - so much was going through our minds.

Tuesday was a scramble to get everything packed in time, but we managed! I was quite teary all day, knowing that we had to leave, but not wanting to let go of the people we had come to love. But it had to happen, and by one o'clock, we packed all our stuff on the back of the big blue truck, said goodbye to everyone at the base, and headed off to the airport.

We arrived at the airport, emotions already in a fray, to discover that all the girls friends and teachers from Emmaus Christian School were there to see us off. I promptly burst into tears, which of course set Bri and Sophie off too (sorry girls!) It was very touching though - the kids had made beautiful flower lays for our whole family, and they presented us with necklaces, as well as booklets for the girls with letters from their friends.

Millie and Rose. No sign of tears from Millie!

Sophie did lots of crying! Thankfully she stopped long enough for Mona Lisa to give Soph her new necklace.

Some of the teachers and students from school.

From there it all got quite overwhelming. Most of the youth group were also there to see us off, and they had enlarged and framed a lovely group photo taken at the musical for us to keep. Other people we knew were there as well - people from the base, and well as the Reitvelds.

It was so hard to say goodbye. I'm not sure why we connected so quickly over such a short period of time, but God has certainly blessed this experience for us, and we are just so glad we came.

As we walked onto the tarmac we looked up to say goodbye to everyone on the viewing platform. We held up six pieces of paper, spelling the word 'FRIEND' (as done in one of the scenes in the musical), then climbed the stairs to hop on the plane.


We had a fairly uneventful trip home (always a good thing), and landed safely in Sydney last night. We were picked up by Dad, and slept at their house last night. It was great to chat with Mum and Dad about our last week in the Solomons, knowing that they both understood what it was like. God is good! I guess it will take us a while to process the whole experience. At the moment I still feel strange being here - my heart is not wanting to let go of what we had. I am trying to remind myself of all the things I didn't like about the Solomons (eg. mozzie larvae in the 'clean drinking water', damp sheets and clothes, constantly sweating, always being itchy, etc. etc.)

We drove home to freezing cold Bowral today, and were greeted with a beautiful bunch of tulips and welcome home cards from the Strakers. Then as we looked further, we discovered our fridge had been stocked with generous amounts of food! It was very touching and such a blessing!

Straight into warm jackets - today was only 9 degrees. We ended up lighting the fire - so much for skipping winter!

So there ends my blog. I think I will miss blogging every few days! Thank you to everyone who has followed our adventures - we have been so encouraged by the comments people have left, and hope that you have enjoyed the ride.

If you ever get the opportunity to experience a different culture,
GO FOR IT!