It was certainly a significant moment in the year; heading across to the Solomon Islands with a team for the dedication of the Solomon Islands Pijin Bible. Gerry (my father-in-law) had been one of the key translators on the Pijin Bible project for about 10 years, and so it was a very special moment to go over with the crew and be a part of the dedication service – as well as doing what we could to get as many bibles into the hands of locals as we could.
One of the things I always intended to write about the experience was trying to understand the impact that colonialism has had on the community in the Solomons. We went to a church service which, if it wasn’t for the stifling heat and the beautiful accents, could well have been transplanted from a small English town, and yet this was quite clearly hitting where the church community was at. We saw the independence day anniversary ceremony, which ironically could not have had more pomp and ceremony even if the queen were there. So as much as there was a natural reaction inside us, as representatives of the colonial powers to want to let these people break away from the impact the colonialism had created in their culture – the things that had come in with the British rule, had ultimately ended up becoming a part of the identity of the Solomon Islanders. To the point that to try and strip that away again would be making the same mistakes that the original colonisers had made in assuming that they new what was best and proper.
Well that probably just came across as a big brain-spew, but it was an amazing time, and a great chance to see the place that had shaped Rebecca so much as a little missionary kid. The Solomons is a very special place, and I’m sure we’ll find reasons to go back again.