Two things happened this week, one potentially disastrous, and one cause for great joy. The bad news first: Daniel's fish died. It had been headed downhill pretty much since we got it - didn't each much, didn't swim much. A few times I'd thought it was dead, only to be mildly freaked out when it suddenly righted itself and started swimming unconcernedly around its glass salad bowl, as though it was perfectly normal for it to be lying completely sideways and motionless - taking a little siesta, I guess. We'd tried various things to perk it up, eventually deciding it wasn't sick, just extremely geriatric.
Sure enough, when we came out to breakfast on Saturday morning, the fish was literally dead in the water. I'd been preparing Daniel for the dolorous event, but was still worried it would be a blow to him. But without cause. Instead of being upset at his pet's upcoming date with the plumbing, he ran up to me, and said, "My fish is showing his upside-down skeleton. That's so cool!"
I just hope when it's my time to go that my corpse gets such a glowing review.
The happy news belongs to Sophie. At long last, she finally lost her first tooth! All those weeks of having her finger in her mouth, wiggling, finally paid off Sunday morning, just before breakfast. Alas, the Tooth Fairy only left her one dollar, not five, which, considering the country's financial state, is an awful lot of moola. Sophie, nascent capitalist that she is, considered selling her tooth to a higher bidder, but we talked her out of it, on the grounds that there is currently no other market for used teeth. If she doesn't have the gap-toothed smile you might expect, it's because her adult tooth has already almost completely grown in; it just has to move forward into the spot vacated by the baby one.
Our most recent visitor, my mom, also known as "Grammy," spent a week with us just after Daniel's birthday. Besides hanging out with (i.e. spoiling) her two grandchildren, Grammy especially enjoyed seeing the honu on the North Shore and visiting Camp Homelani, the Salvation Army camp where she worked as a counselor one summer back in the sixties. The cabin where she stayed is still on the property, though much of the camp has been modernized and the grounds expanded. We shot a few baskets on the camp court, and Daniel did his best Michael Jordan imitation - see the tongue sticking out?
We have now been in Hawaii for six months, and we can't believe how the time has flown! We again ask for your prayers as we continue to learn and get to know our neighbors at City Church and elsewhere on the island. Ryan is going to be very busy in the next few months - assisting the mercy team, organizing affinity groups, being very intentional about studying the culture, and gaining more theological training. We have been so grateful to the people at City Church who have given us their welcome, their time, and their patience as we try to adjust to completely different cultural norms and expectations. With God's grace, we are learning, and will keep doing so. We thank you, all of our supporters, family, and friends, for your help along the way. We love and miss you all!
P.S. Congratulations to our friends Blaine and Laurel on the birth of "Quattro!" We can't wait to meet him!
P.P.S. We're not sure why these last sections are in hypertext. Don't click on it - we have no idea where it will redirect you!
