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!

A bucket load of tears

Today was a big day for us, and one that will carry many beautiful memories.

It was our last Sunday at Kukum Church. We were looking forward to it, wanting to savour every memory, especially of the beautiful singing. We didn't realise that we (all six of us) would be called out the front and prayed over by the leadership team, and generously thanked for working with the youth. That was emotional enough, but then the youth all stood up and sang 'Friends are Friends Forever' to us. Stella, who introduced the song, was in tears before the song began. Then I really lost it, as did many of the young people, who found it very difficult to sing while crying! We have been so blessed in getting to know the youth group so well in such a short period of time, and saying goodbye was always going to be hard.

After church, we and all the youth headed off to the prison to participate in the opening of the chapel service, and to perform the musical one last time. It was quite a logistical effort getting everyone cleared and approved to enter the prison, and it took ages to get over 40 people into the prison. Many of the girls were really nervous about being near the prisoners, so it was quite a big thing for them to come along.

Geoff, and the men he had been teaching music to, lead us in some wonderful worship songs, and the youth all sang along enthusiastically. The program dragged on a bit though, and in the end, we ran out of time to finish the musical, so that was a shame. But what we did do was done very well - everyone worked hard to encourage the inmates and be a blessing to them.

Geoff was sad to say farewell to the men that he had been working with in the music program for the last 6 weeks. Many of them are changed men and love the Lord dearly yet have a lengthy or life sentence to serve. So saying goodbye to another group of friends was hard.

It was pouring rain the whole way through the 2 hour service (I think the wet season has already started), and it hadn't stopped by the time we got out of the prison, so we had a very wet trip back to SWIM on the back of the truck!

Unbeknown to us, the youth group had organised a farewell for us at SWIM, and by the time we got back from the prison, tables and chairs were all set up, and dinner was ready to be served! It was so lovely.


Many touching speeches were given, and we (all six of us again) received precious gifts from different people in the youth.

Honestly, it was quite overwhelming, and I certainly didn't feel worthy of all the thanks. We have received so much blessing ourselves from working with the youth. It is amazing to see how we have all impacted each other in such a short period of time, and how God has worked through us all.

Proudly wearing some of our new gifts.

More songs were sung ...
more tears were shed ...


... and then it was time to say goodbye.

We ran around, taking as many photos as possible, not wanting to forget anyone.

The boys in the band!

Shirley, Esther, Gail, Kevin and I

Showing off for the camera!

My dear friend Florie.
I will find it hardest to say goodbye to Florie.
She lives at SWIM, and has been like a sister to me.

The Kukum Boys (this one's for you Narelle!)

Brianna and Sophie have found saying goodbye very difficult, (as have Geoff and I), and have shed many tears at the prospect of leaving. Millie and Elora, on the other hand, seem completely un-affected! We all cope with things differently. It will be interesting to see how we all deal with 'reverse culture shock' in a few days time.

Musical celebrations!

We finished on a great note last night!

I'm so proud of all the young people and what they have accomplished.

End of musical celebrations!

Musical fun

I'm on a high right now!

We've just arrived home from the second night of performing the musical, and it was fantastic! I'm so thrilled to see how well it has come together and how much the young people have enjoyed themselves. The audience loved the musical, and all want to come back tomorrow, even though it is a sell out! (I think they will just all squash in - not the same fire regulations here!) It is really the first time many people here have seen anything like this, and they are loving it!

Our opening night was not as exciting - there were a few technical issues and the cast didn't sing as well as they had in the practises. So it was so great to step up tonight and really have fun! And once again, the young people are so quick to give all glory to God for the gifts and talents He has given them, and for enabling them to perform.

So, let's pray that tomorrow night is just as good, and that people are touched with the message that Jesus was willing to die to make us friends with God (and even better, children of God!)

Sorry, no photos - Geoff and I are too busy to take any!

Things from home

Last week we received a large box full of small gifts from the Bowral Girl Guides. They had collected gifts (both handmade and bought) for the local children, and my girls had lots of fun going through the box, sorting everything out into categories.


These lovely gifts will be handed out to needy children at the hospital and elsewhere.

Thank you to all the girls and their families who generously contributed to the box for the Solomons, and to Kim for organising the whole thing! Your generosity is such a blessing to others.





Sophie also received a very special parcel from home. It arrived one afternoon, as she was having her hair braided by Helen.


Sophie opened her parcel to find a beautiful book from her class - everyone, including her teacher Miss Orange, had written to Sophie - a different letter on each page, as well as a photo of each person. It was SO lovely reading through the book, not just for Sophie, but for all of us!


Thank you Miss Orange for going to so much effort! We loved it, and Soph will be bringing it home with her as a keepsake!


And just today, a parcel arrived for Elora from her Prep class! Inside was a beautiful collection of small paintings, one from each child in the class, describing something they enjoy doing at Prep. They are so adorable - we all sat on our bed and read them together. A long letter from Mrs Ross accompanied the pictures, filling Elora in on what has been going on this term at Prep. Elora was thrilled to hear from her class - she is ready to go home and catch up with all her friends!

Reading Mrs Ross' letter

Remembering everyone's names was a bit tricky!

Thank you Mrs Ross and Mrs Straker for sending over such a bundle of love - it truly brightened Elora's day and brought a big smile to all our faces!

Holding the beautiful pictures!

I must add that as I write this I am eating one of the last pieces of chocolate fudge from Cass and Garth - a VERY indulgent gift sent to us a few weeks ago! Mmmmmm

Our final week

One of the things we were asked to do when coming over to the Solomons was to teach the youth group a musical, Friends Forever. We have been hard at work making this happen, and this week we will be performing the musical on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, as well as on Sunday in the prison.

Most people here have never seen a musical, and have found the concept quite new. We've also noticed that the people here, who are excellent singers, very rarely sing on their own - it is all communal singing. It has been a wonderful thing for us to have seen the singers grow in confidence as we've practised each week. These young people have gone from shying away from singing on their own in front of people, to being able to confidently sing with a microphone. They are using their God given gifts, and it is a pleasure to see them give the glory all to Him.

Practising in the leaf hut at SWIM.

Practising in a classroom at Florence Young Christian School.

This group shot was in the paper today, with an article (written by Geoff) encouraging everyone to come along and see the musical!

So it is a HUGE week for us, as we wrap up our time here.

Geoff has his last day at the prison on Wednesday. The men have really loved the music teaching Geoff has given them, and they are looking forward to presenting 10 songs at the opening of the chapel on Sunday, where the musical will be performed too.

I have my last day with the teachers from the hospital school on Thursday. I have loved getting alongside them - I've been able to share lots of new ideas with reading and maths in particular. My eyes have certainly been opened to a very different system of education here. The lack of teacher training and resources makes teaching so much harder. I've just tried to encourage the teachers as best as I can - three months was never going to be enough time to really help!

Then we have the musical to perform each night from Thursday to Saturday, which will be so exciting. Tomorrow we are doing the final set-up of the stage, to get everything ready for 'opening night'! The youth group are doing this as a fund raiser for a mission trip they want to go on (to another island nearby).

Somewhere in there we will make sure the girls are fed and looked after! They are already talking about how hard it will be to leave, but 'all good things must come to an end', and saying goodbye is part of the experience too. Kevin and Machi took us out for dinner last night, along with Mum and Dad, Michael and Salome, Marty, Susan, Simon and Lydia. They wanted to say thankyou for what we had accomplished whilst being here, and Kevin gave a lovely speech encouraging us in the work we've done. For our part, we feel so thankful for the opportunity we've had to come over here, as a family, and fully experience a completely different life!

We are so much richer for it.

16 years

On Friday Geoff and I celebrated 16 years of marriage. This time last year Geoff took me on a ZooVenture at Canberra Zoo, which was great fun. But celebrating it overseas is pretty great too!

We went out to a fancy hotel (Mendana) for a buffet dinner, and managed to get a table, even though they were fully booked out! We had a great night of eating and entertainment, and are both very thankful to God for the wonderful marriage we have.

We took a photo of each other, rather than ask the waiter to take it for us!

The kustom pipe band (who perform there once a week) was excellent - well worth a visit.

Mum and Dad

Mum and Dad leave tomorrow, after spending two weeks here with us. We have LOVED sharing our time in the Solomons with them, and it will be great to be able to talk with them about life over here when we get home.
Their time has been quite busy - Dad has done a bit of tiling and a lot of concreting, and Mum has been involved with a sewing workshop for all of last week. They have been a real blessing to some of the people over here, and in return, have been enriched and blessed themselves. Short term mission opportunities abound in the Solomons - no matter what your gifting, there are opportunities for you to be a blessing to people over here.

We ate most of our meals together, which was really lovely. Mum and Dad have looked after the girls quite a bit as we have been pretty much flat out with musical commitments over the last few weeks. Good timing to have the grandparents visit!

Wraps for dinner! Yum!

Dad bought a great second-hand bass guitar for the church over here. The guys in the band were so thrilled, especially when Dad consented to giving them a demo! The guitar was presented (by Geoff, on behalf of Dad) to the church on Sunday.

The guys were all watching closely.
Dad was amazed at how well they could play - all by ear!

We've also had a few beach and river swims - we went to Mamara River - but it was really busy.

On Saturday we drove out to Benegi Beach for a snorkel. It wasn't as calm as the first time we went, but we still had a lovely morning relaxing and swimming.

Tough life in the Solomons!

There are other better photos on Mum's camera - of the actual work they were involved in, but I haven't got it tonight, and who knows what the internet will be like tomorrow!

The internet is back on!

After an extended internet outage, it's back on. I'll try and post some of what we've been up to later on ...

Out of the Silence

Yesterday we made another trip out to Aruligo, to the Deaf School. They were having a Father's Day celebration, and all the student's families were invited to come along. It was a long day - we left at 7:30 in the morning, and returned home late in the afternoon, but it was well worth it.

We piled on the big blue truck for the one hour drive, comfortably sitting on chairs and benches, but after making several stops to pick up people along the way, we ended up squashed in, fitting about 30 people on the back!

Driving through White River

We travelled along a combination of well sealed roads and dirt roads, through villages, jungle, rivers and along the coast.

Some of the bridges were quite narrow ...

...and some were completely washed away! You can see remnants of the bridge washed away in the last wet season floods.

When we arrived we were given a surprise welcome by some of the students! It was very exciting (and slightly scary - Elora ended up quite freaked out!) as they yelled and hollered, waving their spears around, dressed in their 'kustom' gear.


The sun was blazing hot, so we walked down to the chapel/classroom to sit in the shade before the service started. The students had gone to a great deal of effort to beautifully decorate the hall, with signs welcoming all the different people, and especially the fathers. We waited for quite a while for everyone to arrive, singing many choruses before the service started. At one point Millie asked me if church was finished yet, to which I had to reply that it hadn't actually started!

Eventually things kicked off, and once again I found the whole experience very moving. The students were so proud to have their families there to see what wonderful things they had been accomplishing, and I felt privileged to just be there. Speeches were given, a sermon was preached and items and songs were sung, but the most meaningful part of the service was when the parents were called to the front to receive a letter and flower garland from their son/daughter. As the students filed out the front to hug their parents we all sung 'I Love You With The Love Of The Lord'. There were tears everywhere (especially in my row!) Some students had no parents or family members there - coming from a remote island or village makes getting there very hard, but those students proudly gave their flower garlands to George, who loves the students like they are his own children.

Parent receiving their letters and flower garlands from the students.

Giving the parents three cheers after singing Happy Father's Day to You

After the service was finished, the hall was cleared and lunch was set out on tables. The students started bringing food out from every house - they must have spent such a long time preparing food for that many people - close to 200 we think. The team of students and teachers from QLD were invited to go first, followed by the fathers. (As a side note, the team from QLD is made up of yr 11 and 12 students and teachers from Westside Christian College who have come to build, paint and help however they can. They were organised through SWIM, and have built up an amazing rapport with the deaf students in such a short time.) I was amazed to see how the LONG line of people were all fed abundantly - everybody just patiently waited - the local students going last.

As soon as everyone had eaten, the tables were cleared away and the festivities continued! The boys and girls both danced, and everyone really enjoyed all their performances.

At the end of some of the dances, the boys would yell fiercely into someone's face - Sophie handled it quite well when they yelled into her face!

Even the locals work up quite a sweat!

It was easy to see what an impact being at this school has had on the students. There was a big banner out the front of the hall saying "Out Of The Silence', and these students have all been given a voice here. Brother George pleaded with the parents to help change the culture in the Solomon Islands of putting someone down if they have a disability. He encouraged them to lead by example and help their son or daughter become an integral part of their community.

A lady from the national newspaper was there, and her article can be read online at: http://www.solomonstarnews.com/ It is a shorter version of the double page spread that was in the paper today.