The Pijin Bible is Dedicated

The Pijin Bible was dedicated in Honiara, Solomon Islands on July 7, 2008. That date was the 30th anniversary of independence.

We worked in the Solomons so many years ago it seems like it was in a previous life. We went there first in 1976 at the age of about 23 where we did language survey work that was also part of Gary's research toward his Ph.D. We returned in 1979 to begin translation work on the island of Malaita. Andrew was 9 months old at the time. Rachel was bred and born on Malaita, and I was pregnant with David when we returned to life in the USA at the end of 1983. Only once since then were we able to make a short visit back, in 1987, I believe.

We were advisers for several language projects on the island, including Lau and To'abaita. The Lau project was taken up by another team and the NT was published in 1992. The Solomon Islander who worked most closely with us on the Lau project was Aloysius Jack. Why am I telling you all of this? Because Jack went on to also be involved in Pijin translation, and that fact brings us great joy and satisfaction.

Here is a link to photos of the dedication ceremony. Photo #9 shows Jack with the boxes of Bibles. He and two others received the Solomon Islands Medal to honor their work in bringing the translation to completion. Also, here is a link to a press release about the dedication.

Driving in Seattle

We rented a car to use while we were in Seattle for David's wedding. I think this is the only photo I got showing the minivan, parked here in front of the house we stayed in. A minivan costs twice as much to rent as a little car, but with the number of people we had to get from A to B on numerous occasions, and how few of those people were drivers, we decided to go for the minivan rental. It was pricey, but worth it.

I hate driving. I hate driving anywhere, but I especially hate driving when I don't know where I am or how to get to where I'm going. I hate when people rattle off directions followed by "you can't miss it." I'm having to learn to deal with the fact that under those circumstances, I almost always do miss it. And that is embarrassing when the car is full of people who intimidate me, even if they are non-drivers.

Having gotten that gripe off my chest, here is the rest I have to say about driving in and around Seattle. The bad things: the roads are curvy and hilly, the signs are purposely small and hard to see (some of the suburbs must have signage laws), gas was expensive, traffic can be bad, and the house numbering system was logical but cumbersome. The good things: the HOV lanes on the freeway are organized in a fashion much more sensible than the ones here in Dallas and my friend Janet made more than one trip to SEA airport that I was supposed to make.

...Buy Me Some Peanuts and ....

My silly husband had a great idea for watching the All-Star game last night. At least we owned a tarp.

She's a Beautiful Baby

So which grandma do you think competed in the Miss Universe contest??

Hint: not me! :-)