Campaigning

People arriving for rally outside our house

Election season has begun on the islands. Candidates are only allowed to campaign for one month before the elections. There was no mistaking the day campaigning was suddenly allowed. It began early in the morning with a banner going up in front of our house. It crosses the street with an inspiring message from one of the candidates for governor. By the end of the day, most shops and many houses had signs up featuring unsmiling head shots of various candidates. (Islanders prefer to not smile for serious pictures. Our 3 year old saw a campaign picture and told us, “Ohhh….he’s sad.”)

As I write the music is blaring on the street, announcing that a political rally will be happening shortly —usually consisting of a speech from the candidate and a dancing line of supporters giving money.

We decided to build on this campaigning excitement by having a discussion about the upcoming elections with our English club. We told people about it the week before so they could prepare and we looked forward to learning something about the various parties and candidates and to having some lively debate from our English club members. 

That didn’t happen… the club was a flop, at least as we planned it.

We were able to keep things going, but when we asked about the parties, the candidates, the big issues— all we got was silence and apathy. No one could even tell us any difference between the two biggest parties, except the names of their leaders. No one would claim any partiality to any candidate. We were left with the impression that all the parties were basically the same and that the different candidates just brought different amounts of money and connections— not necessarily different ideas.

Now we don’t think this is actually true. We do think there are issues at stake and different ideas about how to address them— but islanders are fatalistic and they believe that everyone is corrupt and untrustworthy. They don’t listen to what the candidates actually say because they don’t believe they’ll actually do what they say. The club ended up being a discussion about all the different types of voting fraud they had witnessed and/or participated in. They made it sound like all voters are just waiting to see who will buy their vote— either with actual bribes at the polls on election day or with favors/family connections. Some will get paid twice by registering to vote in multiple locations.

Playing in the rainy street

At the end of club, Tom challenged everyone to at least say for whom they were leaning toward voting. No one would do it. One person added completely seriously, “No one has paid me yet, so I don’t know yet.” Another said, “Well, I haven’t found a job yet, so I don’t know who I will vote for.” The implication being that one of the candidates might help her get a job and secure her vote that way. No one batted an eye at these comments— to island thinking these are completely reasonable expectations. It is campaign season after all!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We have been encouraged to hear how our brothers and sisters have been spurred to more prayer from the recent negative attention. We were thinking of doing a prayer week with them— but it seems like they’ve done it on their own. Our fellow island workers have found a new work situation that seems like a good fit for their family and a much needed change from the stressful situation they have been dealing with— it does sadly mean that they will be leaving our island and going to a neighboring island. Our teammates (returning after a long time away) have made it safely to the big island. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our teammates return back to Clove Island tomorrow. Pray for their transition back to island life, especially their two little ones. Pray for us as we have a handful of days left before heading back for Tom’s sister’s wedding. We have a number of important things to do, including setting the vision and requirements for our future team and teammates. Pray for us as we travel back to the States at the end of the week— especially that our kids would do well with the different flights and connections. Two families working on the islands had to leave suddenly this past week— one husband had a bad break that may require surgery and another family left to see an ailing grandfather who is in the hospital.

Marked Improvement

Rains turn everything green & leafy

A few months ago I went to observe the class of an English teacher here on Clove Island.  This was part of the training program we have for English teachers.  The program consists of 3 parts.  The teachers attend a series of training sessions, they create a detailed lesson plan, and finally there is an observation aspect in which they both observe and are observed.  So, it was that I found myself a few months ago sitting in the back of Mr. K’s class of high school students at one of the local private high school in town.

The class trickled in, students showing little interest in their class or their teacher.  It soon became clear why.  First Mr. K. had each student introduce themselves.  The students did this very haltingly and with many mistakes.  Mr. K. with a stern face would not correct them or encourage them.  When the first was done the next went, and the painful process went on until all the students had introduced themselves.  Then Mr. K. went to the board and started writing.  He had soon filled the board with grammar charts and began to explain to the students the grammar point they were to study that day.  The good thing was Mr. K. spoke English.  Unfortunately, he used so much grammar jargon the students were absolutely lost.  He droned on, hardly looking at the students, almost talking to himself.  The students, meanwhile sat in their seats talking to one another, heads on their desk, yawning, completely lost and completely bored.  Having finished his lecture, Mr. K. returned to the board and started writing sentences.  The students took out their notebooks and busily started scribbling.  The students were responsible to copy down all the sentences on the board and then correct them.  This took a good twenty minutes.  At the end of this time, Mr. K. seemed to be finished.  He looked over to me and announced, “Now our guest Mr. Tom will teach you something.”  His class, which still had half an hour remaining, was unexpectedly left to me.

To say that Mr. K’s class was an absolute train-wreck would be completely justified, except that such teaching is the standard here on Clove Island and students and even schools do not expect anything better.  This is partially why our English program is so successful.  Our methods, which seem so basic to those from the West, are “new”, “strange” and in some ways revolutionary.

After class I sat down with Mr. K. and gave him some tough criticism, pointing out all the ways he hadn’t put into practice the things he was learning in the training sessions.  He took it rather well, and only asked if he could come and observe me teaching some more.  So he did,  and for the past month he has been coming to my classes and seeing the techniques we taught in the training sessions put into practice.

Well, it was with a bit of trepidation that I accepted to return this morning to visit and observe Mr. K’s class again.  “I’m just coming to observe.  You understand?” Yes, he assured me.

Tom visits friend with new baby at hospital

He handed me a copy of his lesson plan and with only a short delay because of rain, the class got started.  He began it again with introductions, but the students seemed more comfortable this time.  I noticed that when they struggled he helped them and when they did well he complimented them. “Good job.”  He kept saying.  You could see the difference in the students.  They were engaged and smiling, attentive and listening.  He followed introductions up with a few short review games.  The students were having a great time.  Students from other classes started poking their heads through the door to see what was going on.  After that there was a review of body parts.  Mr. K had them all stand up.  He would say “Show me your head.” and all the students would touch their head.  At one point in the game, Mr K. said to the students, “Show me your nipple.”  which, thanks to differences in cultural norms, was perfectly acceptable and didn’t get one giggle or raised eyebrow, (except from the white guy in the back of the room who was thinking how a phrase like that could probably get you fired in America).  But nipples aside, the exercise went well and he moved on to the day’s subject.  He showed good use of time, he varied his activities, he got the students talking, he did both individual and group work.  In short, he taught a very good class, and I was happy to tell him so.  The difference was like day and night. 
It’s not everyday we get to see our pupils improve so dramatically.  As I left the class I felt excited.  People can change!  Situations can change!  But it often starts one person at a time.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Some big rains have finally come— providing a much needed break from the heat. We found a temporary solution for our internet problems and are still considering different long-term solutions. We ended taking our youngest son out of preschool. We learned that the directrice doesn’t like kids starting mid-year and we knew that he would require a lot of extra attention. We’ll work with him at home and feel at peace with the decision.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the brothers and sisters— though they aren’t meeting as a big group they are being encouraged to keep gathering and studying in their separate homes. We pray that this would be happening. One brother had this shop broken into and lots of goods stolen. One of our team families is making arrangements to come back to the islands in the next week or two after a long time away. Pray for their travel and logistics with two little kids and for a smooth transition back to the islands. Some fellow workers on the islands have had trouble with their work situation are planning on giving notice and transitioning to something else, pray that they would have wisdom in all these decisions.

Driving and AC

A big parking lot! (Don't have those on Clove Island)

Some of the major differences that soon distinguished itself between Clove Island and the French Island was cars, roads and AC.

On Clove Island we don’t have a car.  We get around on foot and by taxi.  This has worked very well for us.  The town is very walkable.  We live in the capital where taxis are frequent, easy and cheap.  (We can transport our whole family across town for just a little over a $1.)  If we want to go farther afield then we cram into taxi-buses.  These are cheap but less frequent, less comfortable, less easy.  The result is, we don’t leave the city all that much.  As our work seems to be expanding, we imagine we may have to buy a car in our next term, but for this time, being carless has been manageable and easy.

Upon arriving on the French Island, we were told we would need to rent a car.  We just wouldn’t be able to get around as a family without it, so they took us to one of the rental car places.  This brings out two differences between these two islands.  First, that renting a car would be necessary and secondly, that rental car places exist.  Soon we had a fun little Ford Fiesta to zip around the island in, and following our friend we drove out of town and across the island.  The trip was quite pleasant: beautiful tropical scenery, good roads, air conditioning and thirty minutes later we arrived in the pretty town of our friends.

Last day of French Island- special treat: a pool!

My first thought was, “Imagine if we had roads like this on Clove Island.”  The roads on our island are so terrible you never get much out of second gear.  Parts of the roads are so destroyed and beat up that cars must crawl over these patches with shocks creaking, undercarriage grating against rocks, and tires slamming into pothole after pothole.  I thought about the wear and tear on the vehicles, the wear and tear on the people crammed into those taxi-buses, the way it slowed down the pace of commerce, and prohibited movement and generally made life more difficult.  Imagine how enjoyable it would be for tourists to be able to pop down to the old coastal town on the Western side of the island with all it’s history and culture, or take a spin over to the south of the island to relax on one of Clove Island’s beautiful beaches.  But we don’t “pop down” anywhere and “taking a spin” sounds like what happens when your tires get stuck in the mud. 

On Clove Island, there is very little air conditioning.  Only a few shops and only a few cars have it.  Most of the time we rely on open windows and fans.  Most of the time this works pretty well, but we do sweat a lot.  But something else is gained by this AC-free culture.  When I drive around in a taxi on Clove Island, I am actively scanning the people we pass to say hello and vice versa.  This culture of shouting out names and waving to passersby is so common that I have friends who do it as a full time job.  They sit outside their shop and say hello to everyone who passes by.  It’s a great way to keep up relationships.

Back on the French Island, we were driving around in our little rental car with the windows up and the AC blowing, when we came upon a wedding procession.  The women were singing, drums were being beaten and the whole crowd walked down the middle of the street, but we heard little of it in our soundproof cocoon.  An old man motioned for us that we could come through on one side.  I smiled and waved to him.  No words were exchanged.  How different from Clove Island.  Later that day we turned off the AC and drove around with the windows down.  Something about it felt right.  But then we hit traffic, the sun started beating down and the kids started to complain.  Up went the windows.  On went the AC.  Between comfort and community, why is it so much easier to pick comfort?

Kids to school

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Ma Imani is doing better and the baby is healthy.  She is back to living with her family which is also encouraging.  We made it safely home from the French Island. Life is more or less back to normal for us here on the islands (although our teammates are away until February) but we are happy for school and English classes to have started again and for continued good relationships with friends and neighbors.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our youngest has started local preschool this week!  It’s been a bit of a rough transition.  Pray that he would be able to go to his class without crying and learn to obey the teacher.  We are thankful that his big brother is nearby and has been able to help out.  Pray that this would go well.  We have heard the disturbing news that some of our brothers and sisters have been bothered by authorities and are now afraid to meet regularly.  We have not been able to confirm anything yet, but this is troubling.   Pray for wisdom, courage and faith in the midst of adversity and fear.  Pray for our teammates who are far away from us this month experiencing all sorts of new adventures of their own! We’re experiencing new internet woes, pray that we’d find a solution.

The Mark of an Illegal

Megan in a shirumani with family on French Island

On Clove Island, all women wear the shirumani. It is a traditional wrap that is worn over your clothes when you leave the house. So anytime I leave the house, I grab my shirumani, wrap it around my other clothes and head out the door. By wearing a shirumani on Clove Island, I show that I appreciate their local culture. They are always happy to see me wearing one. Most people will automatically speak to me in the local language if I am wearing one.

The main covered market and waterfront on French Island

So as I headed for our trip to the neighboring French island*, I naturally grabbed my shirumani. Hardly anyone on Clove Island batted an eye at me wearing a shirumani as I boarded the plane. But once I stepped off the plane onto the French Island, the difference was startling.

Some people looked shocked, some look troubled, some looked pleased. It didn’t fail to get a reaction. Some were so pleased that they complimented me on my shirumani. One car actually stopped (blocking traffic) so the passengers could give me a big thumbs up and congratulate me on wearing a shirumani. Some of those who reacted negatively seemed to warm to me once they heard me speaking the local language. Some remained puzzled.

Kids after being caught in the rain

Now I didn’t get a chance to ask people about their reactions. But as I looked around I noticed that I saw remarkably few shirumanis on the islanders. All of the Clove Islanders that I met personally weren’t wearing shirumanis. I asked one of them about it. “If you wear a shirumani, they will know you are a Clove Islander and it is more likely that the police will get you.”

Shirumani is a stamp of pride on Clove Island, here it is the mark of a disliked minority, many of whom are on the French Island illegally. Clove Islanders flood the French Island for the medical care or just for a better life. They have clogged the health care system and overwhelmed the schools. They are blamed for almost every social problem. Several Clove Islanders said that they didn’t really like it on the French Island. I asked why and one of the repeated answers was, “They don’t like us here.”

Islander on the road in a shirumani

On Clove Island, my wearing a shirumani is a statement, but it is a rather mild statement. Here on the French Island I was making a strong statement. I was associating myself with a group that many think are ruining the island. Women that wear shirumanis here are saying that they are proud to be a Clove Islander, something most illegals don’t feel free to express.

*The French Island, although French, is linguistically, culturally and historically united with our islands.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We made it safely to the French island. We’ve learned a lot about the unique situation here and it’s challenges. Megan turned 35! We have had a great time reconnecting with some people that work on the French Island and making new connections. The kids have really enjoyed playing with some of their long-lost friends! With the better internet on the French Island, we’ve been able to connect with family and secure the plane tickets that we hadn’t been able to do before!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please pray for the immigrant crisis on the French island. It is a messy and difficult situation on all sides. Pray that people would feel called to enter the mess and reach out to people. Pray for all those working on the French Island, for clarity, discernment and unity. Ma Imani called us just as we were entering the plane to leave Clove Island to say she was in the hospital. Pray that she would find healing and as we have been praying for months that she would eventually give birth to a healthy baby.