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