Another special event

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Monday was the opening of the general meeting of the Solomon Islands Bible Translation and Literacy Partnership - a fellowship of our national Bible Translators. Twenty translators from around the country are gathered for this event.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Derek Sikua came for the opening which was a great honor. In this photo, Tim is showing the Prime Minister the new piece of property that our group was recently able to purchase with the help of Wycliffe Associates for the building of a new training center for our national translators.

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posted by Martha @ 6:08 AM   

Photo op

Thursday, August 7, 2008

This morning we went up the American War Memorial to attend the ceremonies marking the 66th Anniversary of the Landing of the US Marines on Guadalcanal. Lots of VIP's attended, including the Prime Minister, Dr. Derek Sikua and his wife, Doris. They happily agreed to have their photo taken with Emily and Sarah. Mrs. Sikua noticed they were all wearing red and black!

The Sikuas are just as nice in person as they look in this photo!

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posted by Martha @ 4:41 PM   

Happy Easter!

Sunday, April 8, 2007

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

We have just returned from an Easter Sunrise Service. Our church holds this service each year at the American War Memorial perched high above Honiara with a commanding view of the sea. We had over 100 in attendance this morning which is great for an event that was scheduled for 5:00 am. (In typical Solomon Islands time it actually started at 5:45 am.)





Tim was asked to preach the message at the service this morning.


Afterward we enjoyed hot cross buns and coffee together as we enjoyed the fabulous view from the memorial.








It was a blessing to again be with some of our favorite people to celebrate Easter today.

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posted by Martha @ 9:42 AM   

Little "Matzke"

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Almost four years ago, a village friend was in town awaiting the birth of her last born child. I had heard via the grapevine that Sandra was a bit worried about the pregnancy, so I stopped by the house where she was staying and prayed with her about the impending birth. A few days later, Tim received a phone call from Sandra's husband to say that Sandra had safely given birth to a boy and they wanted to name him 'Matzke'!

I think that if the baby had been a girl, it would have been named Martha but as this was the last child Sandra and John planned on having, they diplomatically named him 'Matzke' instead of 'Tim'.

Anyway, today we heard someone come to our gate - it was 'Matzke' and his dad, sister and uncle. We hadn't seen Matzke since he was first born so it was very fun to meet him today. As is culturally appropriate, we brought him a gift from the USA - a new soccer ball. I guess you can judge from the look on his face how this gift was received! He's very friendly 3 1/2 year old and easily came to Tim to have his picture taken.

Later when Matzke is ready to attend school, it won't be a big surprise if his parents ask us to help to pay his school fees. The honor of having a child named after you often comes with some obligations as well. We are honored to have Matzke named after us and will be happy to have a part in his education.

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posted by Martha @ 6:03 PM   

Sarah's 10th birthday

Monday, February 26, 2007

Today is Sarah's 10th birthday. It was extra special to be able to celebrate it with our missionary family today. This photo of Sarah with all her missionary 'aunts and uncles' reminds me of this promise that Jesus gave:

"And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.

Of course there are the real aunts and uncles in the United States, but it's a blessing to have Australian, Dutch and Finnish ones as well to help fill the gap on special days like this one.

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posted by Martha @ 5:30 PM   

Coming Alongside

Saturday, February 24, 2007

This is Joshua Lui, a national Bible translator from the Western part of the Solomon Islands. Joshua is the chairman of the Solomon Islands Bible Translation and Literacy Program (SIBTLP), a group of Solomon Islanders dedicated to Bible Translation and Literacy. Joshua is currently translating the New Testament into his mother tongue, Simbo.

This afternoon Joshua gave a biennial report for SIBTLP at our conference. We are very blessed to work who have the dedication to help bring God's Word to their own people. Often they work alone and their efforts are not always understood or supported by people in their community.








After each personal report, we all gather around the person or couple and spend time praying for them, their family and ministry. It's truly a blessing to be surrounded by friends and colleagues and be lifted up before the throne.

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posted by Martha @ 4:58 PM   

A New Friend

Sunday, February 11, 2007


Today at church I got to meet my namesake, Martha! Isn't she cute? Her mother is Priscilla, my friend that taught a number of women to read here in town. We also worked with Priscilla to help her produce a reading book in her language of Baelelea. Martha is a little over one year old. The Pooh bear was one of Sarah's stuffed animals which we gave to Martha this morning.

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posted by Martha @ 2:41 PM   

Amazing Story!

Sunday, January 28, 2007


When we were in the USA last year, we had the pleasure of meeting up with Solomon Islands friends in Virginia where we camped together. Alphaeus, Tiani and their kids are in Virginia where Alphaeus is finishing up his PhD. Check out this amazing article about Alphaeus in the Washington Post! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601371.html

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posted by Martha @ 5:14 PM   

Sweet Reunion

One thing we have been looking forward to has been reuniting with our friends at our church here in the capital city. I was thrilled to be with my women friends at church. Here we are after church. (Boy, do I feel pale!)

My only disppointment - I didn't get to meet "Martha", my name sake who just turned one last week. Martha stayed home because she has a cold, but I hope to meet her next week and I will be sure to include a photo of the two of us! : )

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posted by Martha @ 4:36 PM