One of Sarah’s favorite treats from the market is pomelo – a close relative of grapefruit. The other day I bought this one for her which you can see is nearly as big as a basketball!

Pomelos have very thick rinds – this one was about 2″ thick. Inside the fruit is yellow or pink and tastes similar to grapefruit, although often they are not as juicy or sweet.

This pomelo cost $10 Solomon dollars which is about $1.25 US. We have seen a big increase in prices at the market. Some produce has doubled in price over the past few months. This is partially due to a lot of rainfall which ruined some gardens and a big increase in the price of rice which is largely imported.

This morning our family had the privilege of going to the National Parliament to witness the swearing in of our friend Matthew is was just elected as a Member of Parliament. The swearing in was extra special because Matthew took his oath holding the Wala New Testament, which he helped translate and which was just launched on Palm Sunday.

Prime Minister, Dr. Derek Sikua, is seen in the photo sitting behind Matthew.

As part of the Year of the Bible, the Solomon Islands Government is sponsoring twice daily 2-minute Pijin Bible readings on the national radio station which broadcasts throughout the Solomon Islands. We thank God for this opportunity!

Download the first Reading for Wednesday, March 5 (mp3 – 2MB)

Recently when we went to the Prime Minister’s office to talk about the government’s involvement in Year of the Bible, one of the things we asked for was for the government to sponsor twice daily 2 minute Bible readings on the national radio station. The Prime Minister agreed and we have been talking to the radio station about what time slots were available for the Bible readings. At first, it looked like we might be able to have time slots right before the news begins, but other sponsors have those times.

Today the radio station sales department informed me that we will have a time slot right after the morning news at 7 am and after the Pijin news in the evening! These are GREAT time slots when lots of people all over the country will be listening to their radios. We praise God for this wonderful opportunity.

The Solomon Islands’ 2008 Year of the Bible was officially launched on Sunday February 24th. You can read more about the celebration on the Solomon Star newspaper website:

http://solomonstarnews.com/?q=node/16999

There is also now a website for Year of the Bible – www.YOTB2008.com to keep Solomon Islanders briefed on what is happening this year.

Thursday morning I walked out the door and found this python coiled up on our carport floor. It wasn’t moving and I assumed it was dead, but hey, I’m married to a science teacher and clearly this was Tim’s domain! Tim checked it out and sure enough, it was dead probably thanks to our cats.

The good news is that there are no poisonous snakes on this island and in fact this was only the 2nd or 3rd snake we have seen in the 10 years we have lived in the Solomons.

This afternoon a team of three from the British and Foreign Bible Society climb on a plane to make the long journey back to London. They have been our guests for the past week and it has been fun to show them the Solomon Islands and help them to get more than 25 hours of raw video. This footage will be edited used to produce dvds telling the story of Bible translation in the Solomon Islands. Some of it will be used at a youth convention in England to raise funds for publication of the Pijin Bible.

This week didn’t go as we thought it would – I (Martha) came down with malaria and a stomach flu which meant Tim had to take them on one trip. Later in the week we were not able to go to the western Solomons as planned because of flights getting canceled. The entire week has been gray and rainy, but we hope that the video they captured will tell the story well when they get back.

This story was in the Solomon Star Newspaper last Saturday:

PRIME Minister Dr Derek Sikua has endorsed 2008 as the Year of the Bible.

This was after he met with a delegation from Solomon Islands Christian Association (SICA) and Solomon Islands Full Gospel Association (SIFGA), Wednesday this week.

The church groups met the prime minister at his request.

The endorsement of 2008 as the Year of the Bible coincides with the planned launch of the Solomon Islands pijin bible this year.

Martha Matzke of Solomon Islands Translation Advisory Group (SITAG) said the launch of the pijin bible is an important achievement for the country.

“The pijin bible will give many Solomon Islanders access to God’s word in a language that is easy for them to understand,†Mrs Matzke said.

“In addition, New Testaments will also be launched in the Natqgu language of Santa Cruz and Wala language spoken on Malaita,†she said.

Mrs Matzke said SICA and SIFGA have been planning for the year of the Bible and are outlining activities that will celebrate the arrival of the pijin bible.

They were also encouraging bible study and raise the awareness of the importance of God’s word.

“A working group has been formed to carry out the plans,†she said.

She added that Prime Minister Sikua was very supportive of the Government declaring 2008 The Year of the Bible.

Dr Sikua had given his Minister of Home Affairs, James Tora, the task of drawing up a cabinet paper for presentation.

The document is expected to be completed by next week when it will go to cabinet for final approval.

The document, to be approved as The Year of the Bible, is a part of the stated government policy.

The Solomon Islands Philatelic bureau has chosen to honour The Year of the Bible with a stamp commemorating 30 Years of Bible translation in this country.

The stamp will be issued on Independence Day.

Mrs Matzke said during the church groups audience with Dr Sikua, they prayed for him and presented him with the plan for the Year of the Bible.

This is the first time for The Year of the Bible to be declared in Solomon Islands.

The Solomon Islands has beautiful postage stamps. For the past five years we have been in talking with the Philatelic bureau about producing a commemorative stamp to recognize the importance of Bible translation in the Solomon Islands.

The churches of the Solomon Islands have declared 2008, the Year of the Bible. With the Pijin Bible coming out on July 7 2008 – the 30th anniversary of the Independence for the Solomon Islands, the timing is perfect.

I guess the Philatelic stamp committee agreed. We are finally getting our stamp and the first day of issue will be on Independence Day. Our colleague, Robin, drew this rough sketch which a professional artist will use to produce the final stamp. We are pretty excited about this project which we hope will honor God’s Word and be an encouragement to our national friends who work so hard on Bible translation.