Stop #3 - Ebeye, Marshall Islands

   Yes, this is my 3rd stop of this year's exciting journey. Arizona, Hawaii, now Ebeye. Here I am living for 10 months. WHAT?! How can I do that? That is crazy! I mean, I've never even left North America before except for being born in Pohnpei, but I know NOTHING about Ebeye. I don't understand their culture or their language! Well, here I am!
   In Stop #2 I described our arrival in Kwajelein. I will now attempt to describe our first impressions of Ebeye...

  The ferry ride was suspenseful as I waited to see what our new home would be like. Everyone on the ferry stared at us for the ten minute ride while we took pictures with each other and asked a few last minute questions before our arrival.
   The ferry landed and we were greeted by more teachers who took our luggage to our apartments and Mr. A took Ang, Robell, and me on an island tour. We walked around most of the island, and at one point Mr. A walked through a door that looked like someone's home. We ducked into a dim hallway that left us in a restaurant which was actually quite big with two rooms full of tables and booths and even a counter and register. Jun (SM from Thailand) joined us here for lunch, and we all enjoyed becoming more comfortable with each other as we (we being mostly the guys) started to crack jokes and stuff. Also, my meal of tofu, rice, and noodles was excellent! :)
   After lunch Mr. A proceeded to lead us to Ebeye SDA School where he showed us our classrooms. We stopped for 50-cent ice cream cones and we enjoyed the race against the sun's melting power while we meandered back to our apartments.
   We stepped into our apartment where all our baggage had been safely delivered. Side note: The teachers had mistakenly grabbed another passenger's bag with ours. Both Ang and I thought it was each other's bag, so we didn't say anything as we each waited for the other to unpack their extra suitcase. Thankfully, everyone knows someone in Ebeye, and when we spoke up it was quickly - 2 weeks later - returned to the owner. Oops!  Mr. A. was very kind and made sure that we didn't need anything and left us to situate ourselves.
   As soon as the door closed, Ang and I looked seriously at each other. I knew that the stress, confusion, and overwhelming questions I could see in her face were mirrored in my own. Most people say that for the first 1-3 months of your SM trip is the "honeymoon" period - everything is an adventure and you love the people, the food, the language, and the newness of it all. Well, I really feel like I skipped that phase of cultural adaptation. We had just seen a place so totally different from anything I've ever known, and I wasn't excited at all. My heart was hurting for the people and I just wanted to help them all, yet selfishly, I just wanted to go home. Right then. Thankfully, Ang and I have each other. We really understand each other and it meant the world to me to know that she was struggling with the same thoughts that I was, and that she cared to listen and talk about it, too!

First Ebeye sunset from the roof

   After an afternoon of relaxing - during which we were told to take a nap and definitely did not - we were shown around a little more by Mrs. Maan so we could shop for our supper and breakfast. Then we returned to the apartments and Mr. A took us all up on the roof. He built a ladder that goes up past the railing so we can have a secluded place outdoors where we can "get away". Roofs have a special place in my heart, and my roof here in Ebeye has become my sanctuary where God and I meet. I was so excited when he showed us, because God knew that I needed a place like this! :)
   We watched our first Ebeye sunset, and I have seen many beautiful sunrises and sunsets since. God sure paints the sky and the ocean beautifully here! :D The panorama shot below is looking to the south. You can see the lagoon on the far left, and the ocean on the right. If it weren't for a few trees and buildings that block the view a little bit, I think we could see both the northern and southern tips from the roof as well. Small island! But it's beautiful! 

First of MANY times to be on the roof :)

   

A Few Thoughts from Today

   This summer was a time that God knew I needed. As I'm sitting here typing this, I can already look back at so many things I learned this summer that are helping me as I adjust to life here in the islands and learn how to teach! :)
   I'm learning to think differently about challenges; I know God uses challenges to help me grow! To change me from the inside out. To present different issues I'm dealing with as He convicts me of each one. To help me trust Him and not myself. To remind me that I cannot make it on my own. To teach me how to surrender each day...no, each moment... to Him. To not ask Him, "Why is this happening to me? It's so hard!" but instead to ask, "God what would you like me to learn from the new adventure?"

   I would like to pause here and say something. I am sorry for my terribly inconsistent blogging that has, so far, told you absolutely nothing about my actual island experience! :/ I will not make any promises at this point, because I know myself. But I will do my best to fill you in quickly and at least give you an idea of what the last 7 weeks have been like here in Ebeye. My blogs will be entirely confusing as I will jump from what is currently happening, to old stories as I remember, and then back again. :) So bear with me if you are so inclined, and would like to know of my adventures!
   Today was my first sick day. I woke up at 4 AM with diarrhea and proceeded to throw up all morning. I was able to get a nice 4 hour nap when my body had no more fluids, and since then I've been getting better. I've had a lot of time to think about my students, school, and why I am here. Interesting thoughts.
  To summarize them: I will just say we are guilty of losing our focus, our calling and the real goal! As a close friend reminded me recently: 

   "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."                                                                                ~Philippians 3:13-14

The prize being eternal life and bringing others with us. Everything else is secondary.

   I've thought a lot about this today. How easy it is to forget this! Everything else is secondary. I am here in Ebeye because God has called me heavenward and I want my students to know; I want them to move heavenward too! I want them to know Jesus. To have a better life. Hope. Peace. Trust. A Father. A Best Friend.
   My strength is from God, and with Him leading my life, I will continue forward and upward. Toward that prize; toward God.

Stop #2 - Island Orientation. Honolulu, Hawaii

MIRACLE #4:
   To fly to Hawaii for island orientation, I needed to leave camp at 3:30 AM. The ShuttleU would leave at 4:00 AM for Phoenix, where I would check in at 6:00 AM and fly out by 8:00 AM. A friend volunteered to drop me off at the shuttle station in Prescott, which I gladly accepted. They mentioned that I should reserve a shuttle seat. I said that was silly, because it was 4:00 AM on a Sunday and their would not be hardly anyone going. They said I should check. (Good idea!)
   I grudgingly called the Shuttle place on Friday afternoon. They said the shuttles all Sunday morning were booked.... "Except, Oh, I guess we do have one seat left on the 4:00 AM shuttle, would you like to reserve that seat?"
   Wow, God, you really do always take care of your children!!
   "Yes please, I would like to reserve that seat. Thank you!!!"

Summer camp is over. Ebeye, here I come! (PHX > HNL)

   That Sabbath I spent a lot of time contemplating life and situations and people and change. It was a beautiful thing to witness over 20 campers' baptisms just for that week and probably about 100 total this summer (my guess)! My campers continue to be on my prayer list each and every day. I missed not having campers on the last Sabbath, but it was very to sit back from the scene and think over the summer.

    I arrived in Hawaii on Sunday around noon. I was greeted very warmly by the Ebeye SDA Principal, Mr. Alamo, and by the Guam-Micronesia Mission (GMM) Education Superintendent and his wife, MY PARENTS!! :D It was wonderful to see them. We enjoyed talking a bunch and catching up, and also seeing friends from WWU for a few days was great. I met 2 Student Missionaries who would be going to Ebeye with me. Angela (from Southern, my roommate and Pre-S/K teacher), and Robell (Andrews, our Chaplain/Counselor) both seemed awesome! We started to chat and get to know each other. They are both very nice and I thought right away that this would be a great year. I started praying that God would build our friendships in a positive way where we can be a team that is working together and focusing on Ebeye! I believe He is already answering that prayer. :)
   While in Hawaii we had some time to just relax at Hawaii Mission Academy where we were staying. Some of us chose to walk down to the beach and explore the area a little bit. After our chill-time we had a busy schedule with meetings and training sessions all day long on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday I joined the group that hiked Diamond Head in the early morning rain and watched the sun rise. My good friend Kaylie (from WWU, going to Pohnpei) and I ran to the top, and there were a lot of stairs. Just sayin', because it was a GREAT workout. :D

SM team for GMM, 2013-2014

    I enjoyed those few days to connect with the other SMs, and especially the Ebeye Principal and SMs. We were able to discuss some of our fears, concerns, and just general questions. This was all very helpful, and it brought us to a point where we were just ready to go!!! We felt like we were as prepared as we could be, and we were ready to just see for ourselves and find out what all this talk was really about. :)

   We packed our bags Tuesday night and I was too excited to sleep! Honestly, I stayed up all night until we loaded the bus at 3:30 AM and headed to the airport. There is a plane called the "island hopper" that flies from Hawaii > Majuro > Kwajalein > Kosrae > Pohnpei > Truk (or Chuuk) > Guam, so over half of the island SMs were on the same flight. (Those going to Yap or Palau would fly straight go Guam and then on from there.) I immediately fell asleep for most of the 4.5 hour flight to Majuro. Each time the plane stops, security comes through the plane and you must move to first one side of the plane, then the other to give them space to check everything. Many of us took the other option of getting off with our carry-ons and waiting outside. This was where I said goodbye to Dad and Mom for a few weeks, then went to the holding area. Here, Ebeye's pastor and his family joined us for their flight back to Ebeye.
   We flew on to Kwajalein, where the only people allowed off are those who are staying. This was my stop, and since Kwajalein is a U.S. Army Base I was praying for a quick, safe trip through the extra security measures and onto the ferry for Ebeye.

MIRACLE #5:
   To get to the ferry for Ebeye is not a hard thing to do, but I was a little nervous. We lined up our carry-on baggage, and the K9 team came through with their dogs to check it while we sat on the other side of the room. One guy talked to the group (rather gruffly) for a bit before letting us out of the building. We then walked a few buildings down to collect our luggage. In the process of finding our luggage, Angela (Ang for short) and I were seperated from Robell, Mr. A, and the pastor's family. Mr. A was escorted seperately as a "foreign national" (not a local or US citizen), and Robell and the pastor had already jumped in another van. Since my bag was hard to get to, we had taken longer and didn't see them leave. Suddenly Ang and I realized that we were the only two passengers still standing there and both vans to the ferry had already left.
   Okay, Lord, maybe this is silly and I shouldn't be freaking out already, but I'm more than a little nervous. Can you please help us get to the ferry? We don't want to make them wait 3 hours until the next ferry!!
   One Marshallese man who was working with the luggage asked us what was wrong, and then he started jabbering in Marshallese to another guy. Then yelled down the street and two intimidating, large men jumped in a truck and drove up to us. They all promptly started loading our bags without a word. I asked, "We are going to the Ebeye ferry?" just to be sure. One man grunted yes, and we climbed in. Ang and I shared a look, and I realized we had no idea what we were doing. I mouthed, "PRAY!" and she nodded.
   The men drove us with little comment straight to the ferry station and unloaded all our bags.
   Thank You, Lord. Whether we should've been worried or not, thank You, Lord!
   At the ferry station we were reunited with the others and we met Maricel (my mentor teacher) and Maan (principal's wife), who later told me that if we had been 3 minutes later we would've all had to wait 3 hours or so for the next ferry. (I believe I'm remembering that right.)
God is so good, and takes care of even the little concerns!

Pali Lookout, Hawaii