Profession

Last night as we left his mom's birthday dinner, JE said, "I'm going to hold Sawajoy's hand." His mom said, "you love SJ, don't you?" Very gravely he said,

"I weely do, mommy. I weely do love Sawajoy."

Ah, the love of a three-year-old. Nothing like it to warm the heart and boost the self-esteem. :)

Incidentally, the very next bit of conversation went like this:

JE's mom : "Do you want to marry her?"
JE (with equal seriousness as before): "No, I don't want to mawwy Sawajoy."

Reminiscing

Looking back at my pictures from vacation and wanted to post some memories (as always, be sure to click on picture collages for a better view--then you'll be able to read the signs, too)....

Moving day. I arrived at midnight and we moved apartments the next morning.
I hadn’t planned my wardrobe too well, so borrowed some pants and didn’t have a belt. Why spend money when you can improvise?


In case you didn't know, it's all about food in this family.... :) Sushi to celebrate mom's birthday, steak at Swenson's to celebrate Father's Day; you already saw the dinner cruise buffet for anniversary; Ikea just because you can; Indian vegetarian because it's AWESOME.

















Charis was taking photos of different signs she saw around the city. Talk about an efficient place! They think of everything. Laundry goes on a pole that you stick into a slot outside your window, 11 storeys up (or however high you may be). That’s a long way down to lose your knickers! The mailboxes have a trench for your junkmail—you get that instant pleasure of tossing it on the floor, only it is orderly tossing! I forgot to get a picture of the trash chute—Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout would not mind taking the garbage out in Singapore. Open up your kitchen cupboard door, and there is a special trap door where you toss your garbage—right down the trash chute! Wow. And when you’re talking about the beauty of this city, you can’t forget transportation. It is lovely! Tried to take a family shot from our reflection on the subway doors while waiting for our train.


Fun at the botanical gardens after church on Sunday.
Mom and dad look like a welcoming statue! :)



That was a great Sunday. After a yummy lunch at the botanical gardens, we went home and crashed. After naptime Charis gave us a class on water painting. I had no idea all that went into water coloring! Here are my samples of the techniques she showed us. Vanilla ice cream with home-made hot-fudge topping plus nuts afterwards, and I think we watched A Knight’s Tale after that. Family not as entertained by it as I am. :)

Twenty minutes before I needed to leave for the airport, we tried to cram in a family photo. Lighting and angles were tricky with no one to help; improvising with multiple stools and someone’s outdoor coffee table. Charis posed for test runs.

Good times!

Python!

Yesterday morning while warm and snuggled in my bed I could hear the kids next door saying, "Ular! Ada ular!" Hmmm, I wondered, There's a snake? Should I get up? I do love seeing snakes, but what if it's just a small black one? It's probably not worth it.

Later that day, as I began asking around, I quickly wished I hadn't stayed in bed. The kids said it was about the length of our porch, and they couldn't find a stick big enough to show how big around it was. I asked another neighbor if it was as big as my calf, and he said, "Bigger. Like your thigh. It was probably 3 and a half meters long and weighed like 30 kilos."

"It can kill people."
"That kind can swallow a whole baby goat. They unlock their jaw and swallow their food whole."
"Sometimes they wrap around their prey and squeeze it to death."

A little chant began to stir up from the cobwebs of my memory:

Oh, I'm being eaten
By a boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
A boa constrictor,
I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor,
And I don't like it--one bit.
Well, what do you know?
It's nibblin' my toe.
Oh, gee,
It's up to my knee.
Oh my,
It's up to my thigh.
Oh, fiddle,
It's up to my middle.
Oh, heck,
It's up to my neck.
Oh, dread,
It's upmmmmmmmmmmffffffffff

Apparently at 11 pm, 3 doors down, Di's dad discovered the snake after it had eaten one of their chickens. He hacked it up and disposed of it in the morning.

"Where is it???" I asked.
"He threw it away."
"Where???"
"Far away over there," they motioned to the ocean.
"Is it still there? Can I go see it?"
"The ocean might have taken it away. But if not, it smells!!!"
"I'll follow my nose then," I joked.


So as the sun was setting, I trotted off down the beach to see if I could find the thing. I didn't know how far or close to the water to look--it's a bunch of exposed coral. At first I did see a trail that might have been where a snake had been drug along, but I soon lost it with the coral. Then I actually prayed. I wanted to see that snake so bad! And would you believe it? God answered my prayer. Who says He doesn't care about the little things in our lives that give us pleasure?



He wasn't quite as big as my thigh, nor 3.5 meters long (at least 2, maybe even 3), but he was well worth hunting down. I ran home and got my camera and found C, and we had fun taking shots of him. We could even see the chicken feathers (check it out in the photo)! I haven't been able to get Shel Silverstein out of my head since. After looking online today, C determined it was probably a Python reticulatus. Welcome home to the jungle.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jog

I am just about to close my computer and head back to the island. Feeling a bit panicky, as the internet is not working out there, so I don't know when I'll be on again. I have lived without internet before; surely I will survive? :) Didn't get to do more posts as planned, but oh well.

39 Years

June 20 is my parents' anniversary. Unfortunately I wasn't here to celebrate as planned, but they pushed their plans back a week and dad surprised us with a dinner cruise in the world's busiest harbor! We almost missed the boat, but fortunately we made it even though we arrived 15 minutes after they told us to be there.

















The first Youth Olympic Games were getting ready to start, so there were lots of helicopters on the skyline. Notice in the background, the world's tallest ferris wheel/"observation wheel," standing at 165 metres (541 ft) high. It has 28 "capsules," each one able to hold 28 people.












As the evening finished, we were starting to talk about a recent discussion mom and dad had started, talking about the last 39 years and the merging of their family values and traditions. Good times. I am blessed beyond belief to have parents who are happily married after 39 years.

Another Kind of Stuck

Talk about a sticky situation…. I bought some super glue yesterday to fix some shoes for a friend and a ring of mine that had broken. The glue was advertised as having “Up to 2 tons holding power!” Yeah, right, I thought. Talk about false advertising! But I’ll give it a try.


Back at the ranch, I poked a hole in the top, applied the head to the tube, and started squeezing. Nothing came out. I kept squeezing. Some was coming out. Then I was aware of a warm feeling on my hand, and realized that I was stuck. The glue was leaking out at the mouth and not flowing through the attachment. All my fingers except my pinky were holding 2-tons-fast to the tube.

That was about 6:00. I had just returned from an afternoon of running errands. After searching the guest house for acetone, I decided there was nothing left for me to do but turn around and go back to the “mall” to see if a nail salon could help me out. Then I read the instructions and saw that I could try hot, soapy water as well. Eventually I did find some nail polish remover, too.

So, while watching Anne of Green Gables—the Continuing Story, I soaked and pried, using a butter knife to help. First the ring finger came loose, then my index finger, next my middle finger, and last but not least, my thumb was free at 8:15! The thumb was the most painful, but today my hand feels fine. What an adventure.

Waiting on the other end

My family is taking pictures of them waiting for me. :)




Just found out that it will probably be late Thursday night that we'll be together.

Stuck

I left the island on Wednesday, headed to Singapore to have a 2-week vacation with my parents and sister. For months I had been planning a reunion with a good friend in my supply town before she returned home. We were even booked on the same flight Thursday night--she had a layover in Singapore. We had a great 30 hours hanging out together before we hopped in a taxi for the airport, 2 hours ahead of our flight as recommended. After sorting through several luggage complications at check-in, we proceeded to taxes and immigration. A man behind a desk looked at my brand-new passport and asked me when I last entered the country. I racked my brain to remember.

"Where is your old passport?" he asked.

"I don't have it with me." I said, with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as he began to question me about various things. Eventually he waved me on to get a pass for paying an exit tax. I thought everything was ok, but wondered if I should run back to the guest house where my old passport was (thankfully I didn't leave it on the island!!!).

In immigration, I was ushered into a superior's office, and told that I definitely needed my old passport. By this time there was less than an hour left until departure. I called the guest house, and someone graciously retrieved my passport and brought it to me--just after they called our flight to proceed to the waiting room. I handed my old passport to the immigration man. After thumbing through it, he said, "Your multiple exit/re-entry permit expired in April. You cannot leave the country."

Suddenly I felt like I was in a dream (or nightmare?). It isn't real. This isn't really happening. It can't be. Am I going to cry? No, because this isn't really happening. If I do cry, will this guy let me get on the plane? There HAS to be a way out.

There were less than 30 minutes left. More brain-racking. Who could I call? Surely there was a way to fix this. Well, there wasn't. If I got on that plane, I would not be allowed back in the country. My passport needed to be sent to the capital and I needed to apply for a permit. It was 8:30 at night. The next day was Friday. Even with same-day shipping, nothing could be done until Monday--government offices are only open half-days on Friday, and are closed Saturday and Sunday.

So here I sit, stuck in my supply town, Monday morning finally approaching. I have reason to hope that I can obtain a permit in 1-2 days, then wait for my passports to be mailed back to me, and hopefully the airlines will have an open seat for me. School is out, so a lot of people are traveling now. Despite the kafuffle, there are some things to be thankful for, like:

1. As long as I fly within 2 weeks of my original plans, the airlines will not charge me extra for the flight changes.

2. I was refunded my airport tax.

3. My parents now live in Singapore, so they are not going anywhere for a while. Charis is planning on taking some classes there this summer, so I will still be able to see her, even with the readjustment of my plans.

4. I was able to see another friend who was headed out to the island to keep C company in my absence.

5. I am super tired from these last 2 months of island life. It wore me down more than usual. My body and spirit are welcoming pre-vacation isolation and rest. It will be even more enjoyable to see my family on full tanks of gas.

Please pray that the permit is obtained quickly, and that the airlines has a seat for me! Thanks.

De-husking

Earlier this week I learned how to get the husk off a coconut without injuring myself. Tough stuff! I had a couple tutors. Apparently a big storm had come in the night before, so the girls went and collected a bunch of coconuts that fell so they could sell them--about 80 cents per kilo.

Hard Work

We went out for lobster the other night and had some yummy "fan" lobster. Other times when I've had it, they whacked it in half, but this time I had to break it open wit my bare hands. I nearly bled! :) But it was worth it.

Random chillings....

So, our internet has been out of comission for a full week. Great to have it back! I tackled my 52 new emails, and now posting a few pictures from my week....


The neighbor's kitchen turned into a coconut factory last Sunday.


Me and my buddy JE enjoying some watermelon.

Cake!!! C brought cake back as a gift for the neighbors, so we had a bit of a crowd in our kitchen yesterday morning.

the Newleyweds

Grandma returned last week with her son and new daughter-in-law. Although the wedding and festivities occurred in the bride's hometown off the island, there were some celebrations held next door a few days after their arrival. Being considered family, and being next door, there was no escaping the activity. Our living room became an overflow "dining room" for about 20 men, and all the cooking occured behind our house. We had front-row seats since our kitchen is screened-in like a florida-room. :)

Starting from the top left photo and moving clockwise:
creative island-style shade from the intense sun while grating/shaving up gobs of coconuts for the ladies' cooking; me and the ladies preparing napkins for guests; the couple, dressed up again for the occasion of the bride meeting the groom's village; friends observing a blessing ceremony from the window; a procession of family members and friends speaking words of blessing and sprinkling the couple with water and yellow rice (uncooked); gift-wrapping station in our kitchen; outdoor cooking station created in the space between our house, the neighbor's house and the well (a temporary shelter was set up that became a hangout for the ladies); friends stirring a big veggie dish.

Center photo: a close-up of greeting the bride and groom. Note the painted fingernails of both bride and groom. They use some sort of thick paste (henna-like?) that leaves the nails dyed when removed. It stays on until the fingernails grow out again.

More on Waiting

Another Streams in the Desert.
Meant to post this sooner (click to enlarge).

New baby

A friend just had her baby, so we went to visit.

Transformation

New battery = new computer.

At least that is what it feels like. The last few weeks were pretty stressful, as my laptop battery zeroed out. Electricity was rarely on, and when it did come on, it wasn't steady. It would go off and on. I would be booting up my computer, all excited to have electricity, then the electric would die for a few minutes. But the instant it died, so did my laptop. Then I coudn't be bothered to reboot. I can't count how many "unexpected shutdowns" it endured.

And then, I ordered a new battery, and someone brought it to me this week. Now when the electric dies, I have over 7 hours of battery life! My stress level dropped, and I feel like I have a brand new computer. :) And I say to myself: what a wonderful world.

W.C.

Tried a new toilet this morning. I was recently informed that they built a WC behind the mosque next door to us. I trotted/ trekked through the jungle behind Mindy (my 7-yr-old buddy who lives next door on the other side) to try it out.


She hopped in the first "stall" with a torn curtain, so I went round to the next one. Turns out a torn curtain is better than no curtain, which was the fate of stall #2. I stood there, considering for a moment whether or not to go. I decided to risk it. After all, there was a fair amount of jungle foliage near the "doorway," and I was wearing a sarong.



After a few moments Mindy called out, "Kak" [term for older sister], "you finished yet?"

"No, go on ahead of me."

She appeared in the doorway. "Are you done?" she asked again.

"No, go away! I can't poop with you standing there!"

As she stood there observing my squat, I tried not to die a thousand deaths and made sure my sarong had my behind covered. Sarahjoy, let go of your privacy. Let it go, let it go, let it go. Don't let her know you're mortified. Die, mortification, die. Perspective, SJ. Keep it in the balance. This is no big deal to her.

"Do you have water?"


"Yes, now go away so I can poop!!!
I'll be along in a minute. You go on home ahead of me," I tried to reason with a firm voice.

She stepped inside to look in the bak [water storage] and assess my water situation for herself and then stepped back.


After looking at me for another moment, she said, "Kak, I'm gonna go on home first, ok?"

"OK!" Great idea. Who thought of it? :)

I took care of my "reporting" in grateful solitude and trekked the 10 yards/meters or so back home, deciding, I think I prefer less adventure for my morning constitutional. I'd rather walk 3 doors down the other direction and tell eveyone I pass where I'm going and what I'm going to do and then have a secure door to hide my behind behind.

*** By way of a disclaimer, I have used the word "poop" freely here to give you a taste of conversational life here (not saying life tastes like poop--maybe poor word choice?). People talk about it as casually as we might talk about brushing our teeth in the U.S.

The Road Again

So, it's great to have a paved road, but now when I need to send the aqua jug to town for refilling, I have to sit by the road and wait for the trucks to go by, because they go way too fast to yell at them and make them stop!

Mmmm...

Sorry if you wish I would post something other than clips from Streams in the Desert. I just can't help myself.

Do you know how to... pray prevailingly? Let sight give as discouraging reports as it may, but pay no attention to these. The Living God is still in the heavens and even to delay is part of his goodness.

- Arthur T. Pierson

It is nearly 3:30 a.m. The electric has been horrible lately. Apparently the island has 5 generators, and 4 are broken. To top things off, my computer battery is now non-existent. As soon as the electricity dies, my computer dies with it. What happens to a computer after many repeated, unexpected shutdowns? Anyway, I got up to go to the bathroom at 2:30 am, and since the electric was on, I plugged in the laptop to try and order a new computer battery, to be hand-carried here next week. Fortunately I succeeded. I think I am about to shut down my computer myself for the first time in a week (rather than having it die with the electric).

Good night, all.

Waiting

I once thought that, too.... Wait a minute... Really? Am I not supposed to think that? Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?... Hello. What a wake-up call. Waiting is so hard for me. Call me Madame Precipitancy.










Since February 1, there is not an ounce of physical productivity I could hand to anyone to show for my time over the last 3 months. We collected local stories for the cultural handbook at the end of January. We did print certificates and pictures of our story-collecting weekend and deliver them to the men, along with CDs of the stories (those CDs were the bane of my existence for 2 months—I could NOT figure out how to make a CD that would work on their players here), but other than that, nothing.

After the workshop, our plan was to transcribe the stories with people in our village. However, they said the stories had too much of the national language mixed in and that it was weird to hear men telling the stories—“Grandmas are the ones who tell stories” they said. So, plan modified. We would ask the older ladies in our village if they could help us by retelling the stories using the cultural experts’ recordings as a resource. With each request, we were denied—“I am not a good story teller;” or “I am not good enough in the local language;” or “Your neighbor needs to do it.”

We call our next-door-neighbor “Grandma Charley.” She is a middle-aged-woman, twelve years a widow, who adopted us as her own daughters from the day she met us, and we love her dearly. She has 6 grandchildren with another on the way. After listening to some of the recordings, Grandma Charley said, “These are good stories. I didn’t know all the details before. I’ll help you with them, but I’m busy right now.” It has been 3 months. After asking and poking and trying other people, we are always directed back to this woman, and here we sit, obstructed by her busy schedule. Today she left the island for her son’s wedding....

I feel like I’ve been on a very steep learning curve. Most days I feel I am tumbling backwards. Character work is so much harder than physical labor. A couple months ago, a friend sent me a questionnaire that included the question, What do you fear most?. I have given it a lot of thought since then, and have come to the conclusion that one of the things I most fear (if not the most) is man's disapproval. God’s disapproval probably seems like it ought to concern me more, but—depending on the day—I have a fair amount of security in that arena, knowing His Word says I am accepted because of the work of His Son. While I say that, I must admit I am concurrently dealing with the question, Do I really believe that God is pleased with me? I can’t really distinguish lines between who I am trying to please/who I am trying to please more—God, or man? All I know is that these questions are ever before me as of late. I pray I am making progress in understanding and believing God more--even if He is the only one who can see it.

Kittens!

Butch, the camp kitty, had some kittens early last week. This is her second litter. Sadly, all 3 from her first litter died. A very sad time indeed at camp as she wandered around crying, looking for her babies. :( These, however, all seem to be healthy and strong!

Streams in the Desert, L. B. Cowman

Another clip, this one from April 5. I'm afraid I traditionally prefer to be on the treadmill, thinking I can calculate what will happen. I want to learn to "live in the gap," as my teammate says--that chasm between my abilities and God's, where I cannot--do not--stand on what I can do...