Thursday, July 26, 2012
The night sky sparkled with stars when we left Visale to catch our ferry to Auki from Honiara. We bought our tickets and actually boarded at 8:00, in atypical Solomons fashion. Cayla and I sat at a table with two men who act as general contractors for RAMSI. One was from Scotland, the other from Victoria, Australia. I got a few cat naps in during the hot, four hour trip...and I didn’t get seasick! Cayla may or may not have purposely used the soft loaves of bread we bought for the bishop and sisters in town as a pillow. There was a nice imprint of her face on the white bread. Bishop Chris, Sr. Matrina, and Brother Roger Poletti welcomed us when we stepped off the boat with beautiful palm necklaces. Brother Roger was my teacher at Kellenberg, and it is amazing that we are working together on the other side of the world.
We drove about 2 km up the road to our home for the next three weeks. Cayla and I will be living with Sr. Loretta and Sr. Matrina. Bishop Chris lives next door. There is a beautiful little chapel and homes for several other people who work for the diocese. We enjoyed lunch before going into town to get internet access. Cayla and I caught up on emails and blog postings.
Our small community said evening prayer and the rosary in the chapel. Cayla and I shook hands with everyone as they exited the chapel. This is a tradition for welcoming and introducing oneself. Bishop Chris chatted with us about PC and Long Island things. We then enjoyed dinner together in a brand new building with our new friends. Most of the village people here are very shy. Hopefully they’ll warm up to us in the coming days. I caught up with Brother Roger during dinner and heard all the recent Kellenberg news.
It is nice to be settling down in a place for more than a couple of days. Auki is beautiful, and I’m eager to be in the swing of things!
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