What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor?

An interjection by Aaron, of his recent outing...

This is a shot of the vessel on which Henk and I traveled to the Russells. When we learned of it and I first talked to the crew, I was a little nervous. The ships in my 'vast' sea travel experiences have been getting smaller and slower. This is a wooden vessel that made me think of the S.S. Minnow for some odd reason. I was just hoping that we did not end up with the same fate. As to the question, what shall we do with the drunken sailor, well, that was the question of the crew the night we were to leave. He delayed our leaving by an hour and a half. At one point the second-language-Pijin-speaking-drunk-sailor was sitting on the railing of the ship, doing his best to befriend Henk, my Holland-born-Canadian-immigrant-second-language-English-speaking-house-building partner. Linguistically, I was very amused and intrigued, and felt very sorry for Henk. As the conversation and delays continued I actually considered pushing the guy overboard so we could just get going. Little did I know that he would, only a few minutes later, jump on his own accord. Sure enough, right after the splash off we went. However, the vessel, as aforementioned, is not that quick, and Henk's "new best friend", was able to swim over and get back on board. Thankfully, the rest of the night was uneventful. The following morning was a blessing in the east Russells. I got to see villages in the east side, which was a big help for me, and we watched a pod of dolphins frolic in front of the ship.

The rest of the trip was a lot of work. Not many pictures were taken because both eligible photographers were always working. We found a rhythm of working electrical and plumbing in the day time and walls at night. We were devastated to discover on Sunday night that the ship we anticipated taking back to Honiara was going to arrive a day early. What a bummer, my mind started spinning with all the things undone. We scrambled to complete all we could and to only start what we could drop if we needed to make a dash for the ship if it arrived. After two very tired workmen assembled a bunk bed, the night passed with no ship. The next day we found out the ship was back on the expected schedule and our lost day was suddenly gifted back to us. Thank you to all who were praying! So, Tuesday morning found us working to see if we could finish up the plumbing system after all. This involved a lovely orange tree, a not so level plank, a ladder missing a rung, and me on top of the roof mounting our gravity powered solar heated water system. Don't worry, I was not quite as close to the edge of the roof as it looks like I was : )

So, five days of work this trip, eight days total, lots of successes, a few disappointments, one bird checking out the new yellow walls and a sneaky little rat who just can't get the hint that he is not wanted, our crowning achievement was seeing this running water out of the kitchen tap. Well, what have I learned...I am not a plumber, electrician, or carpenter, but I have learned a lot...I can still work 16-17 hour days, but I am a lot more tired at the end of them...I thrive being a husband and dad, boy it was hard leaving them this time...

This was probably my one shot to give my four Blessings and my Reward the dream house I feel they deserve. It is not going to be what I envisioned, but I hope that with every speck of paint splatter on the window, every light fixture that sags just a bit, the toilet paper holder that is slightly not level...(I want to cry as I write this)...may all the labor of these days not be in vain, but truly be what God himself has done (Psalms 127:1) and may those that I learn to love more every day lie down in peace and sleep, and with contentment and assurance dwell in the safety that God alone has and will provide (Psalms 4).