Last week I was part of a workshop entitled, “Arts for a Better Future” in Dallas.  While ‘arts’ is not something I am actively  involved in, I was asked to attend the workshop along with a group of students who are traveling to the Solomon Islands as part of a Wycliffe Discovery Trip.   The students will use the training they received to conduct workshops in the Solomon Islands during the 2012 Festival of Pacific Arts.

A Solomon Islander, Malcolm, came to Dallas to attend the workshop with the students and help lead the team back to the Solomons.  Malcolm recently completed Bible school in Australia and is interested in using the arts in ministry.  We didn’t know Malcolm before he came, but he was a great addition to the group.

Malcolm was excited to find his language name on this display in our offices, so very far from the Solomon Islands.  (The board has all the language names of the world.)

During the workshop, Malcolm lead devotions and taught the group a song in the Kwara’ae language.  It was beautiful.

Malcolm arrived early for the workshop and stayed at our house until he moved to the guesthouse on the SIL center with the other students.  It was fun to have a Solomon Islander visit us.

Another friend from PNG, Lizzie, stayed with us too. We adopted her into our family a couple of years ago when we met her at a workshop. It was too fun to have a Pijin speaking household for the week – even though Lizzie’s Pijin from PNG is a bit different, we all understood each other.

The meetings have been great and the after hour outings have been fun!  Last night a group of us went to the Night Bazaar.   Each afternoon the venders set up their stalls along the street.  As you can see in the photos, there is a lot to take in!

Each day we have a time of worship.  You will notice the three screens up front with the lyrics of the songs – one in French, Spanish and English.  Of course there are many many other languages represented.  It feels like a little taste of what it will be like in heaven!

I’m settled into Chiang Mai now and we are in the thick of the conference. We are staying in a hotel/conference center.

Participants are from all over the world. The faces at the conference are a sea of color.  There are people here from 65 countries and numerous languages are represented.

Important topics are being discussed and debated.  One the exciting things has been to see God at work in his people.  Coming into the conference there were (and still are) some divergent opinions on various topics.  Many have been praying for this conference and it’s clear that those prayers are being blessed. Please pray as important decisions are made that God’s grace will continue to be on the delegates.

For my part, I am here as an ‘official observer’.  That means I attend the meetings but don’t have a vote in any decisions.  One of the most important things I am doing here is networking – meeting with colleagues who are serving around the world.  Especially important is talking with the folks in the Pacific Area about projects and how I can better serve them.

More later, but wanted to get something up at long last!

This morning I head to the airport to begin my journey to Chiang Mai, Thailand.  The first (16 hour!) flight will take me to Dubai where I will spend about 12 hours.  It will be nice to have a shower and a rest in the hotel room that is included with my ticket!  The next step is a flight to Bangkok where I will catch a flight to Chiang Mai.

The purpose of my trip will be to attend a conference.  Global leaders and member representatives in Wycliffe and SIL International will gather for ‘once every four year’ meetings.  As Pacific Area Communications Coordinator this will be an opportunity for networking with colleagues around the world.  Important decisions will be made in these meetings and being there will help me to be able to share with our region.

I’d appreciate prayers for my time away.

• please pray for our family as we are separated
• pray for journeying mercies
• pray for important decisions that will be made in these meetings
• pray that I will be able to do my job well

Our latest newsletter is available here as a pdf file.  Let us know if you have trouble downloading it.

click below:

Matzke Messenger April 2012

URL: https://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=Guvi2gLy2CE[

Emily was recently inducted into the Army Reserves.  Tim and I were privileged to be at the swearing in ceremony as she took the solemn oath.  You can watch it here.

My first Saturday night in Honiara, I was invited to the home of the pastor of our church in Honiara.  Our daughter Emily and his daughters and niece were close friends.  A small feast had been prepared!

After we ate dinner, we squeezed into the vehicle I was driving and delivered a niece to the wharf, where she boarded a ship going to Noro in the Western Solomons where she works for a tuna canning company.

Then we went up to the house where I was staying so we could connect to the internet and the family had a chat with Emily back in Dallas thanks to Skype.  It was 4 am for Emily, but she didn’t mind.  This family provided a second home for Emily a few years ago.

I’m sorry for not doing a better job keeping up with my blog. The internet in the Solomons is much slower than the USA and I found it hard to upload. As soon as I get connected to the internet with a good connection, I will catch up with the blog!

The main reason I came to the Solomon Islands was not to eat tropical fruit and enjoy amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.  Instead it was to meet with my friend, Dennis, who is the Artistic Director of the 2012 Festival of Pacific Arts.  Dennis and I got to know each other when we served together on the the Solomon Islands 30th Anniversary of Independence Committee back in 2008.

The Solomon Islands is hosting the Festival of Pacific Arts in July of this year.  This event will draw thousands of artists from 27 countries around the Pacific. The festival features a wide variety of art forms; dance, music, storytelling, etc.  Dennis and I have been corresponding about how our organization might be able to serve the festival and be a part of this event.

My colleague Cynthia and I had a very productive meeting with Dennis on Wednesday.  On Thursday he asked us to return to meet with other members of the organizing committee and the Festival Chairwoman.

The meeting Thursday morning was very productive.  Our suggestions for involvement were met with a positive response.  At the end of the meeting, the chairwoman thanked us for coming and expressed appreciation for our interest in helping the Solomon Islands.  We are excited to have had such a positive response and are moving ahead with plans to be involved.