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February 3, 2003
Letter 8
We hope that this letter finds you all well. It's fun for us
to think that our friends in the northern hemisphere (and this
includes most of you) are looking forward to better weather, now
that the harsh times will end in a month or two. We in Vanuatu
are in exactly the same position, except that the harsh weather
that we are looking forward to losing is too hot instead of too
cold.
Update: In letter 7, we explained that Cyclone Zoe had hit two
small islands in the south of the Solomon Islands, and that no
word had yet reached the rest of the world about exactly how badly
they were hit. What with the rough seas, and no landing strips
on the islands, it took about ten days for outside help to arrive,
although the first flyover, after six days, reported terrible
damage, as if there had been a volcanic eruption or an earthquake.
Village sites were buried under up to thirty feet of sand, all
greenery had been stripped from the islands, and even the coastlines
had noticeably been redrawn. When Red Cross and other relief workers
landed, fearing the desolation they would find, they were met
by the villagers, who had retreated to caves back from the beach,
where they spent three days during the storm. When they came out,
they ate whatever roots they could dig from their destroyed gardens
and, since the wells are all polluted with salt water, they drank
coconut milk. With relief supplies to clean the wells, restock
a clinic, and keep the people fed until they can replant and harvest,
the islanders will survive. And here's the interesting thing to
me: no one died. No one was even hurt. The traditional wisdom
of the culture, balanced with the aid from the modern world during
the next few months, will see the people through the recovery
period from the strongest cyclone on record. Zoe's winds were
variously estimated at 220, 230, or even 250 miles per hour, which
lifts it up into the tornado range of wind speeds. (Imagine, if
you can, a tornado 200 miles across!) By comparison, Cyclone Amy,
which hit Fiji a week or so later, killed about 16 people when
the church where they had taken refuge collapsed. For people like
us, who work in development, this situation gives plenty to think
about, especially since Amy was just a "normal" cyclone,
with winds in the 150 mph range.
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Zoe also raises the issue of global warming. Here in the South
Pacific, where ocean levels and temperatures are charted continuously,
and entire nations are at risk from rising seas levels, there
is no doubt. For people who do still doubt, a useful question
is, "What evidence would convince you?" To be fair,
I will offer my answer to the opposite question. I will believe
that global warming is not occurring when:
- Glacier Park's ice fields return to their 1950 extent,
- the average date of lilac blooming matches the early homesteaders'
diaries, and
- a ten-year average of tropical storms shows them weaker and
fewer instead of stronger and more numerous. I also suggest
that we, as Christians, ponder our responsibility both to the
creation and to the majority of humans who live in societies
with fewer resources than we have. They will find it harder
to adapt than we will.
Note to readers: skip this paragraph if you are squeamish. OK,
I warned you. Hot season brings its challenges, mostly in the
form of things deciding that the human body is an excellent place
to take up housekeeping. Lora had a toe infection that made it
hard to walk for a bit and Emily's last patch of ringworm keeps
holding on. If it gets much older, we'll have to enroll it in
kindergarten. But at least it's not growing anymore. My ringworm
is the same. Maybe nothing will get rid of this until we go play
in the snow somewhere. I had an ear infection that was very stubborn,
and gave me more understanding for fussy little babies who are
in pain they can't ease, as well as grandmothers who are deaf,
so everybody assumes they're senile. For example, local people
have been surprised at how much Bislama I seem to have forgotten,
until they learn that I can't really hear them well. My ears are
still a little stopped up, but we are nearly through with that
adventure in sympathy for the handicapped. I will be very happy
to be able to swim again. But the big stories about health belong
to Kinsey. In my opinion, she tried a typical teenager thing of
just going through the motions of taking showers, instead of scrubbing
seriously. She had a boil on her rear end that kept her from sitting
down for a couple of days, infections on her eyelid and leg, and
an abscess in her armpit. It swelled and got very sore, and the
local nurse put her on antibiotics for a few days prior to lancing
it. At least that was the plan, but the abscess blew up one night
while Kinsey was asleep, and drained itself. Kinsey felt a lot
better, and was glad to have avoided another trip to the clinic
and getting stabbed. As I write this, we are all healthy. (I think
I'll mail it quickly.) We are looking forward to cooler, healthier
weather.
So, what do you do when you can't walk, or can't sit, or can't
swim, or can't travel because of storm warnings? The girls kept
on working on school, Lora read Up the Down Staircase aloud
to us, I worked on some creative writing that I'd been hoping
to get to some day, and we played table tennis. By pushing together
a couple of tables in the dining hall, we made a useable table,
though the center line tends to introduce random bounces that
keep the games exciting. Most afternoons we went down to the hall
and played with each other, with other teachers, or with one of
the girls' friends. Several small boys started hanging around
watching, so we taught them to play, too. Kinsey has developed
quite a rivalry with the principal, who threatens to suspend her
if he doesn't win. We sweat, and drink bottles and bottles of
water, and share a lot of laughter.
We also learned some small weaving projects, which we have shared
with a Brownie Scout troop in Bozeman, Montana. (Thanks, Sally!)
If you would like to look the instructions over, for use with
either paper or pandanus leaves that we can supply, please check
our web page: www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/profiles/wheartyb.htm
The instructions, suitable for Sunday schools or classrooms, should
be posted shortly, along with some photos of gathering the leaves
from the pandanus trees.
We held our last Sunday morning service of the holidays in the
new shed for drying clothes next to the girls' dorms. Understand
that a clothesline here, if it's to be used every day instead
of just in good weather, must have a roof over it to keep the
rain off. That means it must have cinder block pillars to support
the roof, so it doesn't blow away, and that means that it needs
a concrete foundation, too. By the time you're done, you've spent
a thousand dollars or so, but the girls no longer have to have
wet towels hanging from their bunks or the windowsills, and they
are more likely to shower every day, and avoid Kinsey-like lapses
of health. As part of the Sunday service, we held a dedication
ceremony for the shed, which has nine clotheslines, and complimented
the Presbyterian Women of Vanuatu, who raised the money and donated
it to the school. The new shed looked very nice, with potted plants
around the edges for the service, and classroom chairs on the
white floor of coral gravel. Kinsey and Emily tried hard not to
get the giggles when we were each asked to stand, touch one of
the posts or rafters, and say individual prayers of thanks for
the new construction. It's not part of our tradition, but maybe
it should be. How big must something be before we express thanks?
Students started arriving yesterday, and Kinsey and Emily spent
part of the day with their classes, scrubbing the classrooms and
dorms and weeding flower beds. It was fun to see them get reacquainted
with their classmates. Emily tells how some of the students in
her year eight class, asked to introduce themselves to their new
homeroom teacher, were so shy that they lifted the tops of their
desks, put their heads inside, and murmured their names as quietly
and quickly as possible.
Some of our students come from outer islands, and this may be,
for the year seven students, the first time they have ever left
their family, their village, and their home island. Some of them,
skinny little twelve-year-olds, cried themselves to sleep last
night in the dorms. The older students remember their own transition
to boarding school, and tend to be helpful and kind, even the
boys. This separation is also hard for the parents left behind,
who may not see their son or daughter for a year or more, since
transportation between islands is expensive. It's hard on the
village, too, which pitches in to raise the school fees to give
one of their children a chance at modern education.
Lora will help in the library and will start a preschool class
for staff children. She is also teaching many of the local women
to knit, and could use a lot of knitting needles. If you have
the time, please look through your craft cupboards or your neighbor's
garage sale, and send us a bunch! They travel well in mailing
tubes. Thanks! Kinsey and Emily will add religious education to
the French and PE they took last year here at Onesua, as well
as continue their correspondence courses from the US. I will be
teaching year 10 math and year 12 English, and helping in teacher
development. We feel that it is an honor to have the chance to
help these students who are willing to sacrifice so much for the
chance for an education, even though we will all be stretching
our own comfort zones in trying new things. Please remember us
in your prayers as we begin this school year.
We wish you the chance to help heal those around you, the courage
to face difficult questions, the grace of painful problems that
unexpectedly explode, and continual thankfulness, especially for
the things we sometimes take for granted, such as cinder blocks
and dry clothes. Giggles are allowed.
Love and peace,
Bruce, Lora, Kinsey, and Emily Whearty
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