Well the ulcer is fully closed over so no more stockings. Thanks for your prayers. Also thanks to Andrew and Susie - medical staff at Wairau Hospital.
Yesterday was the Talua Sports Day. It's a fundraising day by the sports committee (committee this committee that - they love meetings here, in fact I think they think that that is all an ordained person is to think about - committee meetings for this that and the other thing). It was a tad wet - bucketing down - but that didn't dampen the fun or the arriving soccer and volleyball teams. With island music blaring in the background, plenty of soup (meat stewing in the pot), stickmeat (kebabs without the marinade), rice rice everywhere, green coconuts for drinking, cakes, popcorn and laplap - yesterday was an agreeable day. In the evening we cranked up our data projector and everyone watched one and a half movies before the generator was turned off. We also watched video footage from the sports day - that created a lot of laughs.
How not to kill a bullock! Talua does not have a rifle, and the Navota Farm manager was away this week in Port Vila - he usually does the shooting. So on Friday, students in charge of killing the bullock spent most of the afternoon chasing one with an axe. What did that stress do to the meat you ask? I went to the kitchen and paid for the fillet and striploin cuts… … … as tough as boots, just like the stew and stickmeat at the sports day. At least our jaws had a good workout at the sports day. The rest of the week has been pretty normal with teaching continuing and all bursar work up-to-date.
The week before last it rained Kiwis and at the end of next week it will begin to pour down. The head honcho of the NZ Pressie Church - Martin Baker (Assembly Executive Secretary), Kerry Jones (Office Manager for the Global Mission Office & one of my bosses) and Ross Davis (Director Youth and Community Projects BGI) visited South Santo. I nearly got them stuck in mud with the Talua truck when out and about on Navota Farm. They had a look around Talua and Navota but were too chicken to swim to Tangoa Island … … I wonder why, and I am still not sure why Kerry wore high heels when visiting a farm … … but it is was great to have them visit. On Friday we escorted them to Arore Island for a swim in the resort's pool and some western kai. It was a hard job but someone had to do it!
Next Saturday 6 kiwis fly in from Katikati to begin work on a new staff house for Talua and then a week later 20 more drop in from the same church. If you are the praying kind of person, pray that all the building materials are here when we need them - because that seems to be the hardest thing to keep organised. The Talua students are making the concrete blocks but time is running out and we need plenty more. Prayer for safety would be a good thing as well.
God bless
Jon
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