Signs of Spring

For an area of Washington that boasts more than 300 days a year of sunshine, February and March are the times we do get rain.  For the last couple of weeks we have been getting wave after wave of wet weather coming inland over the mountains. On my way to Mattawa a couple of days ago I saw the rain clouds hanging on the top of the mountains.It was an amazing sight although I don't think my phone camera caught it very well.

Even the miles of desert on both sides of the road have a twinge of green.  A sure sign of Spring!

Low clouds hug the top of the Rattlesnake mountains

On the return trip the clouds were clearing but still magnificent to see.

 A more colorful signs of Spring are the hyachinths, daffodills, and tulips that are begining to bud. Yesterday I couldn't resist taking a photo of the first daffodill blossoms. We also have rubbarb and bleeding heart sprouting and the lilacs have fat buds. Although I don't have any in our yard, they say the forsythia is beginning to bloom so it is time to prune the roses I didn't get to last fall.  Wonderful signs of Spring here in South Central Washington.

Two weeks later

It is hard to believe it has been two weeks since Jim left for the Solomon Islands.  He had a very busy stay in the capitol, Honiara, before catching the plane to the Roviana language area.  It took Jim a couple of days to get our personal things stored at the translation office and set up in the United Church Rest house flat that we have been allowed to rent when we are in Munda.  The cooking issue was resolved and he was able to reconnect phone and electric service at the office so he seemed ready to settle down to work.  

Unfortunately, his body decided to make sure he took a rest. Either exposure to a new flu bug or old familiar allergens, eating new foods, reacting to the heat, or just a drop in the adrenalin level, caused Jim to spend a couple of days in bed and near the toilet.  Perhaps it was  a combination of all of the above.  Regaining strength and energy was helped later last week by cooler temperatures as some tropical storms passed through the area.  One day he emailed that it was raining sideways – not unusual during a windy rainstorm in the Pacific. 

What a blessing that we have been able to communicate via email almost every day.  Writing him about my day and news from the kids helps me feel like he is a part of it all.  And I enjoy hearing about what verses he has been working on and news from our friends there.

Jim has been working alone since arriving in Munda because our translator and friend,  Rev Aaron Bea (bay-ah) is in Honiara undergoing medical tests.  It looks serious.  

Please PRAY for him and any decisions that will need to be made based on his diagnosis.

Jim leaves for the Solomons February 26th

          As we backed the car out of the garage at 4:30 in the morning we met the lady delivering the newspaper.  She offered for us to take the paper but our minds were more on getting to the Pasco airport to try to beat the crowd at the check in counter.  Yes, at our small community airport, which is only about 10 minutes from where we are living, there is quite a rush between 5 and 6 am as many of the regional flights take off early morning to hub destinations like Seattle, Denver, and San Fransisco.   Jim was hoping to get his luggage book from Pasco straight through to Honiara and he knew that would really hold up the line.  As she had to look up the codes for 4 connecting flights, the check-in clerk commented on the "unusual" places he was heading for;  Nadi, Fiji and Honirara, Solomon Islands.

Jim at home making sure his bags aren't overweight.


I intended to send this post out 3 days ago but had trouble downloading this photo of him groggily waiting at the Pasco airport.

           With hours of layovers in San Fransisco and again in Los Angles, Jim had plenty of time to call me several times and even Jeffrey and Emily to say one last goodbye.  The flight from LA left at 9:30 pm and while he slept, he "lost" his Sunday and arrived in Fiji on Monday morning.  Although he had a couple of "travel experiences" in Fiji, Jim eventually got to Honiara only an hour late.  He said he had the normal reaction on arriving from winter in very dry, eastern Washington to the heat and humidity of Honiara - like walking into a suana! 

          Twenty four hours later he got on another smaller plane and flew to Munda.  While in Honiara Jim had done banking and shopping, met individually with our translator, Rev Bea, the Bible Society consultant, and our SITAG director, sorted stuff from storage and washed the musty linens, and enjoyed the fellowship of other translation families over meals. 

         Now he is trying to settle into a very basic living situation and get back to translation work.