Going to the Beach

Kids at local lake beach in US

One of the fun things about being back in the States for the summer is the opportunity to go to the beach.  We've had a great time going to both the ocean and body surfing on waves at Hampton Beach as well as enjoying the ease and pleasantly cool lake waters of the local town beach.  The kids have loved every minute of it.  Playing in the water, jumping off the docks, building castles in the sand.
Now some people are a bit surprised by our enjoyment of the beach. It goes along with the response we often get when we explain to people that we live on a tropical island.  "Tropical island," they respond, "that must be nice." As visions of Fiji or the Bahamas run through their mind.  But the truth is, our life hardly looks like one of those places and although there are some beautiful sandy beaches, it often comes at a price.

For instance, where we are staying right now in the States, it's a five minute drive to the town lake beach and an hour to the ocean.  We can load up our car with all our gear and then it's a short walk to the sandy beaches.  If only it were that simple on the islands.

Trashy beach on Clove Island

On Clove Island we can see the ocean from our house.  We are a five minute walk to the closest beach! The problem is, you don't want to swim in it.  The beaches around the city are akin to a city dump.  Trash is daily dropped onto the sands and the waves break upon the shore with gobs of plastic bags, broken flip-flops, dirty diapers, banana peels, coconut husks, moldy plastic water bottles.  Buried in the sand are crushed soda cans, broken dishes, various car and electronic parts and other bits of metal and plastic for cutting your feet on.  And those nice rocks for climbing and finding tide pools… are also used as a public toilet. (That is not a sea cucumber.) So the 'local beach’ on the islands is a no go except for some pretty walks at sunset with your shoes on.

To find a nice beach you have to get out of town and away from villages, pretty much away from people in general.  The problem is, there are a lot of people on Clove Island.  Plus getting remote means travel, probably by foot.  So that's how we've come to find two spots we like to visit, but both are a commitment to visit.  There's the river.  The taxi ride is only about 5 minutes, but at that point the river is trashlogged. Still too near people. To get where there aren’t people, you've got about a half mile of walking to do.  The reward is a little grass clearing by a calm piece of river amongst the the jungly farmland. But still, that walk is not so fun with little kids. and a bunch of swimming stuff.

Hiking back from the river on Clove Island

The ocean beach we like to frequent is even more remote.  It's a 30 minute taxi ride out of town to a place between two villages.  The beach is beautiful, but here's the catch.  You have to climb down a steep trail to get to it.  This limits the people who go there but again, it's no easy trip with little kids.

By now you may have thought of some of the other problems.  Remote means no amenities. No bathrooms, no restaurants.  No water fountains or showers.  Whatever we want, we have to carry in.  No boardwalks, no shops, no nothing.  It also means getting back home at the end of the day can be tough.  Remote means taxis are less plentiful, and waiting half an hour for one is pretty common.  So when we show you pictures of a lovely tropical beach, either look closely for the trash, or know that finding that beautiful spot came at a price.

Playing in the sand with admirers

There is one other thing to mention about going to the beach on Clove Island.  We've gotten used to it, so we hardly notice it now, but at first it can be rather disconcerting.  Wherever you are, no matter how remote, they will be there.  Often they look a little dirty and will beg for food.  Sometimes they arrive in flocks and will surround you while you swim or sit on the beach making a racket.  I'm not talking about seagulls, but rather small boys.  Wherever you go they just seem to appear.  Often they are naked and they are always curious.  They just have to come around and see what you are doing.  They have no qualms about staring, and you can't just shoo them away. (On the one hand, asking them to leave would be rude and on the other hand, they would just gather around again in seconds). So you just go about your fun and let the boys have theirs.

Someday perhaps the islands will clean up their beaches and figure out a new place for their trash, but for now you have to seek out these island treasures.  So when we do get to that remote beach (which usually only once a month if that) with the clean white sands, coconut palms bending over the waters and waves crashing against the shore, all the hassle seems worth it--I mean, we do live on a tropical island, right?

PRAYERS ANSWERED
This week we’ve had news of someone new interested in joining the work on the islands— we continue to pray for the right people and for the chance to get to know prospective team members. We had the chance to chat with one of our team couples whose plans to return to the islands are heading toward a faster return than originally planned— this is exciting news to us. Our first week of homeschool went well— we’re looking forward to getting into a weekly schedule. Our plan for the coming months is also taking shape. It's a relief to have it more fixed

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for Megan's back which seems to be improving but slowly.  Give us wisdom to know if we need to go and see a specialist.  Pray for our old teammates as they too pursue their next steps.  Some are planning to return to the islands but the timing and roles are still to be figured out.  Other teammates are moving onto new works and need wisdom as they pursue these new endeavors.  Three of our old teammates are pregnant! Pray for healthy pregnancies and for their growing families. Continue to pray for islanders— it is hard to get more than superficial news from islanders without being with them face to face, but we trust and know God is continuing work there during in our absence.






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