January – the whirlwind month!

by Martha

Our storage unit for our household goods in the USA – a 2 car garage

February 3

On January 7th we learned we had been granted permission to re-enter the Solomon Islands on a repatriation flight. The Solomon Islands remains closed to regular commercial flights, so at the moment, these special flights are the only way to enter the country.

 Then we learned the next flight was on February 7th from Auckland, New Zealand. There was no other word about if/when the next repatriation flight would be scheduled, so we decided to try and make it. 

We made lists of things we had to do;

      • fulfill requirements of Covid testing for the Solomon Islands
      • fill out multiple forms for the Solomon Islands Government
      • pack up our 3 bedroom house and store everything in a 2 car garage
      • purchase items to take with us
      • pack boxes to go in a shipment, help to purchase and pack up linens and baking pans and 10(!) cast iron skillets for our group houses in the Solomons, etc.
      • prepare our house for rental and engage a real estate agent to handle the property
      • etc.!

The weeks flew by and it felt like we were constantly in motion. The delivery trucks made regular stops at our house. Boxes were filled and carried off to storage along with our furniture. The house started emptying. Meanwhile we began getting tested for Covid as we needed 3 negative results in order to board the plane. 

We never could have done it by ourselves. We are so very very grateful for the friends who helped pack boxes, carry furniture, run errands, bring meals and generally encouraged us along the way. 

Tickets were purchased (at a much higher cost than usual) and we made reservations for a 3 week hotel stay for the required 3 weeks’ quarantine upon arrival in the Solomons.  A special launch account was set up to give people a chance to contribute and in a short 3 weeks, the full amount was received. It was such an encouragement and blessing!

The last hurdle we had to ‘jump’ was a Covid test 24 hours before our departure. We found a lab that could provide results in 12 hours and took our test the morning of February 3rd. At about 9:00 pm that night, we received our negative results, clearing us for departure the next morning.

Some of you have followed our travels on our Facebook page, MatzkeMission, but we decided to start to blog our travel and quarantine adventures here. Each day we will try and share an update. 

Progress Report!

by Martha

Things are moving ahead with our plans to return to the Solomons. You can read about where we are this week in our latest newsletter by reading below or clicking here: Progress Report

 

Since we sent out this letter, we have received about 1/3 of the funds needed to cover our ‘launch’ fund. Thank you for all who have contributed!

A New Tool

by Martha

E. Extrovert, that’s me. I come by it naturally – my dad is an extrovert who can, and has talked to just about anybody, including talking to Zsazsa Gabor about our family dog, but that’s another story for another day.

Wherever I find myself, I like interacting with people. And since our lives revolve around working among different cultures and languages, I enjoy finding out where people come from and what language they speak.

I’m excited about a new internet tool that has been developed, thanks to the collaborative efforts of a number of organizations. Scripture Earth is a website that lists languages from around the world and provides links to Scripture-related resources in those languages.

In search for an authentic Navajo meal, we stopped at a restaurant in Gallup, New Mexico. A young Navajo woman waited on us and patiently helped us choose a couple of dishes; steamed corn lamb stew and posole lamb stew, Indian fry bread and roasted green chile.

steamed corn lamb stew, Indian fry bread, posole lamb stew and roasted green chile

Later, when she stopped by our table to check on us, we started chatting. She is a nursing student and is a Navajo speaker. I pulled out my phone and found the Scripture Earth website and pulled up the Navajo page. There we found a list of resources available – online Bible, audio recording of the Bible, and a link to the Jesus Film. With one click on the Jesus Film link, the story of Jesus came to life in Navajo. The young woman cocked her head and her eyes showed she was taking in the words in her language. The woman went and got her phone so she could find the website. I encouraged her to share the site with others and she promised she would.

I asked the waitress if she went to church. She said she did sometimes. One grandmother had taken her to the Catholic church. At one point she felt God calling her to be a nun, but she didn’t pursue that, much to her grandmother’s disappointment.

The waitress asked us what church we attended. I told her that denomination wasn’t as important as going to a church that believes God’s Word is true and teaches from it. I asked her if she had a Navajo Bible. She replied that she had one in English, but added that perhaps she should get a Navajo one as well. I quickly pointed out that with the Scripture Earth website – she could have one right on her phone! I encouraged her to read God’s Word and listen to it.

A few minutes later, the waitress was showing a Navajo woman at the next table the Scripture Earth website and how to find the Navajo resources. The next thing we knew, the waitress was writing down the website address for her.

As we finished our meal and prepared to leave, I asked our new friend if we could pray for her and she agreed.

Eating a Navajo meal was an interesting. Sharing Navajo Scripture resources was even better. Praise God for Scripture Earth and the way it gives people around the World access to God’s Word!