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| Peter on the beach on the "Big Island" |
We had to say this simple phrase many times within the couple days of leaving home. Even if you have already told people that you would be traveling, it is considered polite to let them know again the days before leaving.
Islanders usually wait until the latest possible moment to inform people that they are traveling. We think there are a couple factors contributing to this phenomenon:
1. Usually people’s travel plans are still in the air up until the last moment. They don’t know if the proper visa will come through or whether they will be able to gather together the money for the plane ticket. So there is a sense that they think it would be bad luck to talk about their travel until it is for sure-- they don’t want to “jinx” it.
2. Another factor is jealousy. The ability to travel is a sign of wealth and opportunity for islanders. They don’t tell people they are leaving because they sincerely fear the jealously of their neighbors and acquaintances. It is believed that jealousy could lead to unintended curses from the evil eye or even intentional curses being aimed at them by spells performed by a witch doctor.
3. The final reason islanders don’t want to tell people they are traveling is all the requests. There are many things that are hard to get on the islands so people come with requests of things that they want you to get for them. And in our experience the more advanced notice you give people, the more requests you get.
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| On big island, on way out |
Requests aren’t necessarily a bad thing. It is nice to help people by picking something up for them. The problem is that most islanders haven’t traveled internationally. Most don’t really understand luggage allowances. Some just assume everything abroad is inexpensive and high quality. Some are used to businessmen who travel abroad and then fill a container to bring back to the islands-- so they assume that there is no limit to the size or weight of their request. Plus, unless they see themselves as wealthy, they won’t expect to pay anything toward the purchase.
So, we confess, we often wait to tell people that we are traveling too. We will buy things for people but if they haven’t had time to make an unreasonable request then we won’t have to disappoint them.
Here are some of the requests we received this time around, even with limited notice:
- a 3G/Wifi tablet,
- a pair of dress shoes,
- 2 phones (“good ones”),
- an oven!,
- and laptop computers.
We tried to warn some of them that the things they were asking for were expensive or very big, but it isn’t polite to say a direct “no” to a request. So we try to be culturally appropriate and say “we’ll see” and the customary island tag-line “If God wills it.”
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| Bundled up for bed in COLD South Africa |
PRAYERS ANSWERED
The big answer to prayer is that Megan will not need back surgery. Both the physical therapist and the neurosurgeon agreed that her back had shown enough improvement since March to not warrant surgery. Uncle Matt arrived safely to South Africa in time to watch the kids so Tom could come to the appointment with the neurosurgeon too. After a delay of two days, Uncle Matt’s bag finally arrived! Megan’s mom had successful surgery on her foot.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for Megan’s back, while she will not have surgery, her back is nowhere near normal-- the hope is that with physical therapy, she will show significant improvement during our brief stay in South Africa. Pray for a safe, restful and productive time for us in Johannesburg-- we have a number of administrative assignments we’d like to get done while we are here. Pray for our team as they get training in Kenya. And of course don’t forget to pray for our island friends during this special month.
