The Solomon Islands with TSSF - Day four:

Care Centre for abused Women build with NZAid money.

Friday was quite the casual day really. Well, after we had met the Archbishop. I was able to talk a little about the third Order, who we are and to ask him to encourage them in COM. I left him some material about TSSF. We missed each other at St. Johns by a January Holiday. He replaced now Bishop James mason as the Melanesian student at St. Johns. He was about to leave to go to Fiji for the installation of Winston Halapua as the new Archbishop. So that was a nice link.

Then we tried to meet people at the Diocesan office, particularly Chris Taro, the provincial youth officer, but he was not in.  So we went off to the Care Centre West of Honiara run by the sisters of the church and Melanesian sisters. This is for battered women, a place of refuge and healing.

Sarah and Br. Martin SFF in Provincial Cathedral

We came back in to Honiara after that because William our driver needed to go to the airport to pick up Br George SSF, the Minister Provincial returning from PNG chapter. So after discussions Br. Martin SSF (from England) Andrew, John Ama, Sarah Helene and I went off for traditional fish and chip lunch (chunks of kumara for chips, large chunks) and then John, Sarah, Helene and I caught a taxi out to Vura parish where I preside last time, and then to the Cathedral. The dean showed us around, showing us proudly all the renovation work he is doing including new tile on the ground and repainting the whole place, new weaving around the sanctuary ad along the side. The provincial cathedral looks really good.

The Dean and I in the Lady Chapel. Note new tiles on the floor.

After clean up we went to Jimmy and Daisy’s for dinner that night which was really nice. Daisy is such a nice person and their daughter Jamiee is such a delight. The food was unbelievably yummy. Wonderful fish and to die for pork. So good. I am nearly healed of my phobia over pork now. It was bad pork that made me really sick in Tonga three or so years ago. And I have struggled with it in Pasifika situations since. So we will see.

Then Helene and I had a great adventure. We went off looking for a place for a beer. I thought the “Quality Inn” below us had somewhere to sit and drink, so we went to down to the main road looking for an entrance. We failed to find one. John Ama told us that the gate was up above and was locked at 8pm. (I have now worked out how to get in and am sitting in there now typing this) So we set off looking for another place. As we walked a RAMSE stopped to talk to us. He was a policeman from Invercargill. He wondered what we were doing. So we said looking for a beer. And then Helen asked where he was from, while He (Andrew was his name) and I looked strangely at him. He had a big kiwi on his uniform. We talked for a while and he told us where we could go. We set off gaily chatting. Then he drove up to us, asked how long we would be at the bar, and said he would drive us and then take us home. He was worried about these dumb New Zealanders walking around Honiara at night, the week before and election, in a place with 95% unemployment. So we went with him, and he came back half an hour later walking into the bar to call us out. The looks from other well dressed patrons was great. He was a very nice and kind guy. And such a good story, John and Helene sitting in the back of the PADY wagon after being taken out of the bar!! The Melanesian brothers and sisters loved, and were a little annoyed we had gone off on our won like that, even with John Ama with us