Its good to be back - sort of

I am unsure why but I thought I uploaded this blog 4 weeks ago. Cos the internet is so slow out at Talua, we rarely check out our blog....instead we just send stuff to it, but during the last week we were asked if "parked" could be linked to www.laplap.com so I checked things. My initial blog for 2007 was missing. So have a read of 4 week old news.

 

Today we are OK. It still seems weird having Phill in NZ. Viv and I head to Bali for a Council for World Mission - Global Conference early in April, so we are starting to get ready for that (or at least think about it). My parents will come and look after the kids.

 

Anyway - here is the old blog that never made it

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It’s been a while since writing to this blog. I am very grateful we had a long break in NZ cos it’s been flat tack once getting back. My job has changed, I am also the acting bursar, and it’s taking a while to suss everything, and reconcile who owes what, and a heap of other things.

What’s it like getting back”? This time round its all about commitment - there was no excitement on arrival (except it was good to get back, get back to work and back into “normal life” and meet familiar faces). In some ways I wonder if we noticed the differences more this time round because last time it was all exciting and so the differences were exciting but perhaps we didn’t fully realise what the differences meant, this time coming here life is normal, but vastly different to NZ and so the differences seem more acute. Even getting of the plane from NZ, the first thing to hit was how outside the heater had been turned on to high - the air was heavy and damp. I couldn’t remember that last year - although the kids said they did. Perhaps last year I was too stressed with taking the family on the wild adventure.

Regarding the weather, we have adjusted quickly this year - and to be honest it’s not too bad. Sure we sweat heaps - the bursar’s office does not have much air going through it and so just sitting buckets of sweat fall off - no need to go to a gym!

The day after we arrived in Vila from Auckland, we bumped into friends who live on Pama (translating the bible into local language). It was very good to meet up with them - we had lunch together - it really helped in feeling OK about coming back, because there are days when we wonder. Why? It can be lonely and hard, you know the kind of day you can’t be bothered to cook and takeaways would be sweet - we can’t have those days. We can’t jump in the car and pop down to see our mates. Perhaps Sundays are one of the hardest. Church is not innovative here and in NZ it’s a day to visit, touch base with mates at church and the beach and/or do other family things. Well Phillip is in NZ (enjoying himself from what his emails tell us), so we aren’t not a whole family anyway, and the number of “family things” we can do are limited. Walk to the beach or walk down the road or walk up the road - that’s it.

I am the fortunate one as I am busy. I don’t have time to miss western convenience. If you are the praying kind, pray for Viv and the kids. Pray that the kids make the most of this last year here and that they really enjoy it. Also pray for our health. Connie and William have sore throats and runny noses; and Simon and I have toe infections. About school, the new online correspondence school course for William and Simon is going well, but the learning curve is high for all of us - a few prayers for all this to be sussed quickly would be good.

Final thought
We are very grateful to people in NZ who made our NZ break so good. You have been such a blessing. Mum and dad - thanks for the use of the bach, it was good. Team Wright - thanks for shouting us to Parachute and the host of other things you helped us with. Diane (and John) you have a gift for thinking what would be useful - thanks for the things in the envelope. Bob and Barbara, your help saved us and the GMO lots of money, thanks for your great hospitality, you guys are amazing. To the GMO office - you guys keep us going, thanks. To many other St.C people and others I have forgotten about - thank you.

God Bless
Jon