Baker's visit [Shawnda]

It was so uplifting and refreshing to have our co-workers, the Bakers, with us last weekend. Friday morning we all woke up early in order to catch a truck to town. The kids were super excited to see the Bakers and so were Eric and I! We knew that the trucks would be full today (since several of the village trucks are "out of commission"). So, we were at the road at about 10 till 6. A truck pulled up at 6 but was headed the other direction to another village (to drop something off). We went ahead and jumped on knowing that it would probably already be full by the time it got back to where we were. And sure enough, we left our house at 6, drove 15 minutes to the other village, dropped off and picked up and by the time we got back to where the truck had picked us up it was already 7:30 and the truck was full to overflowing.

I should also mention that the rest of our trip to town was not uneventful! On the way to town from our village, you have to cross two rivers. The first is right by our village (where we walk to swim sometimes) and is almost always passable...but the second is quite a ways further towards town. The second river is fed by both fresh water and the ocean. And right now the tide is in from about 6 till 9 in the morning - making the river impassable during that time. So when we arrived at the 2nd river, there were three trucks already lined up waiting their turn to cross once the tide went out. It was now about 8:30 and the Bakers were set to arrive at 9:30. We felt sure we wouldn't get there in time. But we knew they would be alright - they are used to Vanuatu travel! Thankfully since the truck we were on is set high up from the ground, we were able to get across the river between tides at about 9. We ended up getting to town just in time to pick them up. The kids were so excited to see each other! They were all 4 bouncing off the walls. As we walked through town we looked like a little parade and I told Cindy, "Sure is too bad that we are so inconspicuous...we just blend right in, don't we?!" Hahaha! :o) We did our shopping & ate lunch in a food stall at the market (the kids were way too wired to be cooped up in a tiny little room to eat...but they did it and we all endured the endless chatter). Then we chartered a truck back to our little village. They said their roads in Tanna are a lot worse, but not as long. And since they have their own truck in Tanna, they weren't used to the jostling they got in the back of the truck on the way to our house. Poor Cindy got a bruise on her back from leaning against the side of the truck. I've been there...got the same exact bruising when we arrived. When we got home, we made spaghetti for dinner, got all of the beds blown up and situated and we all went to bed pretty early that evening. It had been an exciting day.

Since the men of the congregation had already decided that on Saturday they would go get sand at the beach for making the concrete for the church building, we all decided to walk down there with them so the kids could go swimming while the men worked. It worked out great. The kids loved playing in the ocean, Cindy and I got to visit and watch the kids, and the men were busy filling up bags with sand. We were there for a couple of hours and then walked back home. It was a lovely morning. Since we were asked to come make laplap with Leisande on Saturday afternoon, we decided to go ahead and make fajitas for lunch. They were delish and we all enjoyed the treat. Once lunch was cleaned up and the kids were down for naps, Cindy and I headed to Leisande's to start making laplap. Malekula has a special kind of laplap that only they make (sorsor) and it's the best kind if you ask me (or most people for that matter) and Cindy wanted to learn how to make it. So we made it (with Leisande's assistance) from start to finish. I've made/assisted with many a laplap in my day, but this was the first time I've really, really paid attention to how everything was done. I knew Cindy wanted to learn how to make it so she could teach the ladies in Tanna - they really want to learn. So, we paid really close attention since she would have to be the expert next time she made it! :o) Once we got the laplap "in the oven," we helped Leisande weave a coconut leaf mat (not that she needed our help - but she taught us how to do it). It was fun. When we got home, the kids were up from their naps and some neighbors came over, so we just sat in the yard and visited and watched the kids play. Then that evening we went and helped Leisande get the laplap out of the "oven" and brought it up to our house for all of us to eat (they don't have a good place for all of us to sit and eat together). So we spread out some mats on the floor of the verandah and the Bakers, Brandells and Jean Claude’s family all gathered around the laplap and dug in. After we'd all finished, we got the Bislama praise chorus books out and sang for about half an hour. It was a lovely end to the day.

Sunday was busy, busy, busy (as Sundays tend to be). It was a good busy though. We worshipped in the morning, had a fellowship meal together after worship, & came home for a few hours to rest.  Cindy and I stayed with Melia and Lexi while they slept and Eric and Aaron took Kaela and Titus (and a few other boys who live close by) to the river for a swim. When they got home we made dinner, ate and then headed back to sing and have Bible study. It was a great day.

Oh, and right after worship on Sunday morning Lexi got a sliver of wood in her foot. She was crying and begging me to get it out.  So one of the ladies jumped up and grabbed a leaf that’s “milk” is supposed to make the splinter come out on its own without having to dig it out. When she brought it back over to Lexi and a big group of kids gathered around. Eric and I held Lexi still so Stellan could administer the “treatment.” After several failed attempts (because of Lexi moving too much and making the “milk” run off), we finally got one to work. It didn’t come out right away, but by the time she’d had a nap and was getting ready for afternoon Bible study, it was nowhere to be seen! That local medicine is good stuff! :o)

We decided that since the Bakers are used to Vanuatu travel and speak the language that we didn’t need to accompany them on the truck back to town. So, early Monday morning, the Bakers woke up, trudged out to the road, and jumped on the doctor's truck. Since he HAS to be in town every day to work, we knew he'd leave in plenty of time to "beat the tide" at the river so-to-speak. :o) They got off before the sun even came up (about 5 or 5:30) and made it to town with plenty of time to spare.

It was such a blessing to have them here. We were so excited for them to see where we live, meet the Christians here, and just be together for the weekend.