Hey to all of you! We are now living in 2013. CRAZY.
It has been a little while since I have caught you all up on life on the island. I hope you all are comfy cozy because I have some stories to share.
Lets start off with the last week of school before Christmas break. This week was full of adrenaline and sleeping pills for me. I had so many last minute things to do for the Charlie Brown Christmas play and I was pretty stressed out. Luckily, Mrs. Airens, my teaching aid, took charge of my class so that I could run around and do all my director duties. I was in and out of my classroom, decorating the gym, rehearsing with the actors, and figuring out lights and sound. WHEW. Just thinking about it makes me wonder how I managed to stay sane. I had lifesaver friends to help me out. Play rehearsal was rough. Getting the choir off and on the stage and telling my actors when to go on stage was quite the chore. The play day came and I tried my best to remain calm. Now I know all of you are wondering how it went right?!...everything went wrong!
No, I am totally kidding. It could not have gone more perfectly and smoothly. The actors did great and had fun on stage. The different choirs transitioned on and off stage quickly and sang loudly. There was one moment where we realized our charlie brown christmas tree was missing and we had to make another one real fast. I could not believe how perfectly the program went. I wish you all could have been there. You would have seen one proud director. Thank you for all you best wishes!!
Christmas break was a nice, long, slow, relaxing, boring, fun, adventurous break. My body went into shut down mode for the first couple of days. Going from insanely busy to nothing to do at all meant it was time to sleep. So I did. The first week I explored downtown Kolonia. You can probably do it in 30 minutes but somehow we dragged it out. Our surfers went surfing a lot. Campus was extra quiet. At times it was a bit lonely and other times it was exciting. On actual Christmas day I was a bit down. I skyped my folks and may have teared up on them. Luckily, they were there to encourage me and remind me on why I am here. Christmas dinner was a different story and I don't think I have ever eaten so much in one day. We went two dinners and it is extremely disrespectful to not load up your plate. Boy was I glad to be wearing a loose skirt;)
New years eve is where it is at over here! Nothing starts happening until midnight. At 12:00 we dropped our own created ball off the balcony. It was decked out in christmas lights. Who needs New Yorks when we can make our own? Then, we jumped into our trucks; drove around town throwing water balloons at people and banging on our metal drum. Yes, this is what everyone does for 2 hours. I came back drenched.
Today was my first day back teaching. I was beyond excited to see my children again and hear about their break. Although break was much needed, I didn't feel very needed without the kiddos. I am very happy to be back with them. 5 months down, 5 more to go.
I wish you all the happiest start to 2013. Leave a comment if you wish. I love you all!!
Love from Pohnpei.
P.S. Thank you for all the packages. I received Christmas cards that are now hanging on my fridge, supplies and goodies for the kids, and yummy food. Your unceasing thoughts and support will always warm my heart.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Friday, December 7, 2012
Diagnosed with a Case of Island Fever
I haven't been able to write lately because I am burnt out. We all know the feeling of having so many things on our plates that when we finally get some free time all we want to do is sit. Sit and stare. That's how it has been for me.
Directing the Charlie Brown Christmas play has added a lot to my plate. I have never done anything like this before so it is a learning adventure. There is a line in this play where Charlie says, "I don't know anything about directing a christmas play." Oh Charlie, I know exactly how you feel. It scares me to think that this play depends on 7 through 14 year olds. Sure, I can tell them where to stand, never turn their backs to the audience, and use big expressions, but it is up to them to memorize their lines. Yeah, it has been stressful, but they are starting to pull it together and I am very pleased with our lead roles.
My days lately consist of the littles jumping on me and clinging to me for seven hours. If I had a personal bubble before here, it is FAR gone. At 3:00p.m I leave a dirty classroom to head straight over to play practice where those kids talk over me and mean Ms. Williams says, "Really? I have been with 2nd graders all day and they listen better than you" yes, my patience is on the verge of breaking. Right after play practice I work on props until about 8:00p.m. There is not once a sit down break for even 5 minutes in this day. This day is long. On Thursday my body finally had had enough and after practice I could barely talk to anyone. I went in my room and locked myself in there for about 4 hours. I needed peace. I needed quiet. I needed God.
Luckily, I have one more week and then it is break time. I am really excited for the Christmas play too! I will be sure to film it on more than one camera( just in case) because I would love for you all to see it someday.
I have been needing to look for the positives here lately. Routine has definitely set in and I think I have a small case of island fever. The kids are ready for a break and teachers are ready for a break. I can't imagine being off this island right now, even if I want to be. Sometimes it is very hard to be here. Most days are days that test my patience. Sometimes I have thoughts that I shouldn't be dealing with kids not listening and parents getting upset. They are selfish to think they can walk all over a person who doesn't have to be here. Really, I am the selfish one. God calls us to places for a reason. We must have faith in Him.
One of my students said to me this week, "Ms. I am going to miss you over break." A simple saying by a little girl, yet it warmed my heart. This was God's touch of encouragement. My little boy Alex calls me mommy and I have stopped saying I am teacher. He is a lovey dovey, always wanting my arms around him. Sometimes I will stop what I am doing, especially if I am busy, and just give him a long hug. This is God's touch of encouragement.
I have the awesome opportunity to explain what faith is to my children and tell them stories about my childhood and family. It brings me comfort and makes me feel that I am not too far away from home. Through all the stress I deal with here, I receive so much love. I am blessed.
I hope you are all wonderful. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. They mean so much to me. I love you all.
Sending over some island love.
"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7
Directing the Charlie Brown Christmas play has added a lot to my plate. I have never done anything like this before so it is a learning adventure. There is a line in this play where Charlie says, "I don't know anything about directing a christmas play." Oh Charlie, I know exactly how you feel. It scares me to think that this play depends on 7 through 14 year olds. Sure, I can tell them where to stand, never turn their backs to the audience, and use big expressions, but it is up to them to memorize their lines. Yeah, it has been stressful, but they are starting to pull it together and I am very pleased with our lead roles.
My days lately consist of the littles jumping on me and clinging to me for seven hours. If I had a personal bubble before here, it is FAR gone. At 3:00p.m I leave a dirty classroom to head straight over to play practice where those kids talk over me and mean Ms. Williams says, "Really? I have been with 2nd graders all day and they listen better than you" yes, my patience is on the verge of breaking. Right after play practice I work on props until about 8:00p.m. There is not once a sit down break for even 5 minutes in this day. This day is long. On Thursday my body finally had had enough and after practice I could barely talk to anyone. I went in my room and locked myself in there for about 4 hours. I needed peace. I needed quiet. I needed God.
Luckily, I have one more week and then it is break time. I am really excited for the Christmas play too! I will be sure to film it on more than one camera( just in case) because I would love for you all to see it someday.
I have been needing to look for the positives here lately. Routine has definitely set in and I think I have a small case of island fever. The kids are ready for a break and teachers are ready for a break. I can't imagine being off this island right now, even if I want to be. Sometimes it is very hard to be here. Most days are days that test my patience. Sometimes I have thoughts that I shouldn't be dealing with kids not listening and parents getting upset. They are selfish to think they can walk all over a person who doesn't have to be here. Really, I am the selfish one. God calls us to places for a reason. We must have faith in Him.
One of my students said to me this week, "Ms. I am going to miss you over break." A simple saying by a little girl, yet it warmed my heart. This was God's touch of encouragement. My little boy Alex calls me mommy and I have stopped saying I am teacher. He is a lovey dovey, always wanting my arms around him. Sometimes I will stop what I am doing, especially if I am busy, and just give him a long hug. This is God's touch of encouragement.
I have the awesome opportunity to explain what faith is to my children and tell them stories about my childhood and family. It brings me comfort and makes me feel that I am not too far away from home. Through all the stress I deal with here, I receive so much love. I am blessed.
I hope you are all wonderful. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. They mean so much to me. I love you all.
Sending over some island love.
"We live by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinthians 5:7
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving family and friends! I love this beautiful holiday filled with loved ones and scrumptious food. Although, I am far away from many loved ones, I feel so blessed to have another family here.
I told you all last time that I decided to stay home for the weekend instead of going to Ant island. That weekend I ran a 5k that promoted health and wellness. I woke up bright and early and ran the race with my friend Kenny. Kenny and I ended up getting first place for boys and girls. I got 4th over all(I was pretty proud of myself) and I ran 3 miles under 30 minutes. Woohoo. We had no idea that our first place prize would be so great. We got a fan. A fan people! Any person on a island of heat and humidity would be stoked and on top of that we got a gift card to our grocery store. That was a good day.
The next week of school was down right rough. These kids need to be introduced to the RESPECT song. Seriously. I am still learning patience and reliance on God. There are some days that I feel mean and unfit to be a teacher. Then I remember that God did call me here and I choose to trust in His plan. A lot of times people say to one another that God won't give people more than they can handle. I have come to disagree with this reassurance. I am 20 years old and responsible for 17 kids that like to run around like monkeys. This is too much for me handle. The only way I can do this is through God. I believe God gives humans things that are too much to handle so that we must rely on Him. All things are possible through Christ who gives us strength.
This last weekend was quite eventful. Saturday we went to church further away in our big van. On the way back home the van decided to give up on the hills and we all had to get out and walk. This is what you get in Pohnpei. I enjoyed my nice Sabbath walk picking Plumerias. My apartment got a little puppy that day too. My teacher aids dog had some puppies and we wanted one for ourselves. We need him Paliker and he is the cutest one month old pup. Later in the afternoon we visited the hospital to sing and pray over the sick. I always feel so close to Jesus when I pray for the new friends I make in the hospital.
On Sunday the girls decided to have a girls day. We took off in the big yellow truck without a destination in mind. We just wanted to get off campus and experience the island. We ended up at the docks were all the big ships live. We wanted to take a look at the Hawaiian science research ship that was here for the weekend. The security guards gave us badges that said we were allowed to be on dock and we felt pretty important. Lets just say this puppy did us good(we brought him on our adventure) two men from the research ship offered a tour on board. We were stoked! This crew had been on sea for 30 days doing some "research" in the Mariana Trench. After a nice tour we said our thanks and left. Later we went to the Village for dinner. Now let me pause here and say rumor was that James Cameron the director of Titanic and Avatar was on Pohnpei to film a documentary on giant squids. Well, turns out James Cameron likes to eat at the Village too. We decided that there was no way we could not ask for a picture. Kate and myself went up to where he was sitting and asked. I got a picture with James Cameron with his arm around me. By the way, we later realized that the ship we just toured was the one James was on filming squids in the Mariana Trench. Its a long story that I would love to tell so ask me when I get back if you would like to hear it.
This Thanksgiving week has been better. The kids really do pick random days to behave and misbehave. You just never know what you're going to get that day. Today we made Indian hats and had a feast with the 3rd graders. There was an abundance of food. Fruit, rice, chicken, and plenty of desserts. The day was over before I knew it. Tonight we are having a feast with everyone. We(and when I say we I mean everyone else in my apartment) has spent the day baking and cooking. I spent it rearranging my room and sleeping. Tomorrow the sm's decided to have our own small Thanksgiving dinner since our famalies were so thoughtful to send us packages full of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin mix.
I am thankful for my family, new friends and old friends, and most of all that Jesus has placed me on this beautiful island.
Thank you to everyone who has sent me packages! I got an abundance of school supplies from my church's bible study group and some lovely treats from my grandparents, and goodies from my parents. THANK YOU! I love you all.
Happy Thanksgiving.
I told you all last time that I decided to stay home for the weekend instead of going to Ant island. That weekend I ran a 5k that promoted health and wellness. I woke up bright and early and ran the race with my friend Kenny. Kenny and I ended up getting first place for boys and girls. I got 4th over all(I was pretty proud of myself) and I ran 3 miles under 30 minutes. Woohoo. We had no idea that our first place prize would be so great. We got a fan. A fan people! Any person on a island of heat and humidity would be stoked and on top of that we got a gift card to our grocery store. That was a good day.
The next week of school was down right rough. These kids need to be introduced to the RESPECT song. Seriously. I am still learning patience and reliance on God. There are some days that I feel mean and unfit to be a teacher. Then I remember that God did call me here and I choose to trust in His plan. A lot of times people say to one another that God won't give people more than they can handle. I have come to disagree with this reassurance. I am 20 years old and responsible for 17 kids that like to run around like monkeys. This is too much for me handle. The only way I can do this is through God. I believe God gives humans things that are too much to handle so that we must rely on Him. All things are possible through Christ who gives us strength.
This last weekend was quite eventful. Saturday we went to church further away in our big van. On the way back home the van decided to give up on the hills and we all had to get out and walk. This is what you get in Pohnpei. I enjoyed my nice Sabbath walk picking Plumerias. My apartment got a little puppy that day too. My teacher aids dog had some puppies and we wanted one for ourselves. We need him Paliker and he is the cutest one month old pup. Later in the afternoon we visited the hospital to sing and pray over the sick. I always feel so close to Jesus when I pray for the new friends I make in the hospital.
On Sunday the girls decided to have a girls day. We took off in the big yellow truck without a destination in mind. We just wanted to get off campus and experience the island. We ended up at the docks were all the big ships live. We wanted to take a look at the Hawaiian science research ship that was here for the weekend. The security guards gave us badges that said we were allowed to be on dock and we felt pretty important. Lets just say this puppy did us good(we brought him on our adventure) two men from the research ship offered a tour on board. We were stoked! This crew had been on sea for 30 days doing some "research" in the Mariana Trench. After a nice tour we said our thanks and left. Later we went to the Village for dinner. Now let me pause here and say rumor was that James Cameron the director of Titanic and Avatar was on Pohnpei to film a documentary on giant squids. Well, turns out James Cameron likes to eat at the Village too. We decided that there was no way we could not ask for a picture. Kate and myself went up to where he was sitting and asked. I got a picture with James Cameron with his arm around me. By the way, we later realized that the ship we just toured was the one James was on filming squids in the Mariana Trench. Its a long story that I would love to tell so ask me when I get back if you would like to hear it.
This Thanksgiving week has been better. The kids really do pick random days to behave and misbehave. You just never know what you're going to get that day. Today we made Indian hats and had a feast with the 3rd graders. There was an abundance of food. Fruit, rice, chicken, and plenty of desserts. The day was over before I knew it. Tonight we are having a feast with everyone. We(and when I say we I mean everyone else in my apartment) has spent the day baking and cooking. I spent it rearranging my room and sleeping. Tomorrow the sm's decided to have our own small Thanksgiving dinner since our famalies were so thoughtful to send us packages full of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin mix.
I am thankful for my family, new friends and old friends, and most of all that Jesus has placed me on this beautiful island.
Thank you to everyone who has sent me packages! I got an abundance of school supplies from my church's bible study group and some lovely treats from my grandparents, and goodies from my parents. THANK YOU! I love you all.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Love to Love
Hello friends and family!
There is a little girl named Zamara here that loves to hug, jump, and hang on you. She is a smart girl but has trouble staying focused and still. Sometimes in P.E she'll come sit on my lap and I'll hold her for a long time. I love the long, cozy, meaningful hugs with someone you care about. This last week she gave me a big bear hug and as I was holding her she looked up at me with the most worried eyes and said "I am going to miss you when you leave."I reminded her that I am not leaving anytime soon but she persisted that when the next teacher comes she is going to miss me. This tugged at the strings of my heart. I have such a great opportunity to love these children and I am so happy to do that.
Sometimes people like to skip over the ugly things in this world and pretend they don't happen. I know I say a lot of wonderful, happy things on this blog because there is a lot of wonderful, happy things here. But there is also the ugly side. The side where it is okay for parents to beat their children. Nothing can be said or done if we find out. This breaks my heart. Many of my kids come from broken homes, but you'll find that everywhere and anywhere you go. I feel so blessed to love these kids and I do with my whole heart. Sometimes it scares me how much they pay attention to what I say or how I react to a situation. I can get frustrated in the classroom and that's a natural, normal feeling, but it is how I choose to respond to it that matters.
My happiest moments in my class is our Jesus talks. I never plan for our morning worship, but they turn out to be the best conversations. One day I was telling them how I like to picture myself kneeling before God when I pray. I said this just as a passing thought. The next day after morning prayer Caitlin excitingly raised her hand and said, "Ms. I pictured God in front of me when we prayed!" Jesus speaks through me to talk to these children. I love that I am His tool for classroom 16.
We had a three day school week this last week. It was lovely. My students were their typical ball of energy selves and there were head on the desk moments. I can't forget the moments of Mekyva cleaning my entire classroom at recess. I get such a comfort out of people cleaning my classroom. The best thing I can relate it to is the feeling of someone playing with your hair. There was the moment of telling my kids that we were going to chapel and they jumped on me with joy. Literally, they tackled me with excitement. If you could peek into our class you guys would probably either be horrified at the sight or laugh your heads off. On this campus, kids can get wild and teachers can get crazy. At first it shocked me how different things run here compared to the typical American schools. I embrace it now.
On Thursday was our first school fair. I set up a bowling booth. It was fun for the first hour but it was pretty exhausting setting up the pins every minute. Eventually, I had some kind-hearted boys help run the booth. There was a sponge toss booth that all the teachers took a turn at allowing kids to through wet sponges at their face. I took some pretty hard-core throws. Most of all, there was a lot of candy. I may have got hungry and filled up with that instead of real food. Oops. After the fair we were all wiped out.
This weekend most of the student missionaries are on the outter island of Ant. Ant is a beautiful island with sand. Sand! We don't have sand on the main island. I decided to stay back. Although, I really want to experience Ant I needed some alone time. Since I have started this journey with the 20 others we have been together pretty much non-stop. I am just one of those people that need to recharge with some quiet, alone time. Bryanna and Cierra are sick so I stayed with the infected. Yesterday was exactly what I needed and I feel much better! I slept in, watched some movies, cleaned the house, and ate curry at Johnson's house. He is Indian and makes the best curry! My mouth may have been on fire. (It also stormed last night and I was quite happy with my decision to stay indoors;)
Today is Sabbath on this side of the world so I'll be going to church soon and having a potluck afterwards. I hope you all have a beautiful day. Thanks for stopping by and as always feel free to comment. I miss you all!
p.s. I will update you all with pictures from the waterfall we went to soon!
Love from Pohnpei.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Scary Parents, Crash and Burn, and a Merry Christmas Charlie Brown
Hello my friends. I hope you all are dandy. I have lots and lots to tell so lets get to this!
I am going to start off by saying that these last couple of weeks have been really great in classroom 16. My kids do drive me insane, like off the wall crazy sometimes. But its okay because I love them. We have become a family. Even my most troublesome kid and I have the best relationship. It is so true that children need to know they are loved and they definitely return it back to me. They are all hilarious. You guys would love them too.
Last Friday was report card day. This means no school for the students but the teachers had to be in their classrooms to talk to parents. I had this idea in my head that my day would be a successful one filled with redecorating, catching up on grading, and lesson planning. Well, my island sister and also the kindergarten teacher Yosko came by and we were chatting and having a jolly 'ole time. Then she looked out the window to see one of my students father coming to my classroom. Now if you knew Yosko you would know that she is a jokester. She was telling me to get prepared for this dad because he used to make the last year teacher cry. I thought she was just messing with me and of course I could handle any parent. She wasn't kidding. This father comes into my classroom with the most intimidating looking face and I know I am in for a difficult time. I won't go into much detail but let me tell you folks that he had nothing good to say. Of course I put on my "I am the teacher and know what I am doing face" but inside I was crying. This man had made me feel like the worst teacher ever. After talking it out and thinking it out, I realized that he does not know what he is talking about. My 17 students are so important to me and I do my best to teach them, but honestly if they don't understand something like bar graphs, its okay. What is important is that they are trying their best and that they know they are loved. So word got around that Ms. Williams had a difficult parent.
After parent/teacher conferences, some of my friends and I decided to rent mopeds to ride around the island. This is something that my friend J Dub and I had been talking about since being at Southern. I was pretty excited and determined to drive one. So J Dub gives me the bike with a 1 minute explanation on how to drive it. I take a lap around school on it by myself. Then, the boys decide to put Macy on the back. Okay so here is this bike that I have taken around the loop once and now I have this person holding on to me and they want me to take her around the island?! I mean yeah I nailed that loop but I am not pro moped driver. Lets just say the last thing Macy and I said to each other was we are scared and then I crashed. Yes, I crashed. We didn't even make it around the first turn. I was trying to turn, but the parked truck happened to be there and I felt like it would be so much more fun to hit that! I kid, I kid. We both jumped off really fast and I think I went into shock. Did I forget to mention that everyone was there? The pastor, the principal, all the student missionaries, and some students. That was the beginning and end of my moped driving. The boys drove us around the island and it was so much fun. It takes around 2 hours to drive around the entire island. It was so beautiful especially on the other side of the island because there is only little villages. Sometimes it is nice to be out of the hussel and bussel of the town.
The next day on Sabbath a few of us went camping for one night on an outter island called Nahlap. This island is like a mini resort. There are sanded paths and a water slide. We just relaxed all day and hammocked all night. My hammock actually fell down in the middle of the night. It's funny because one of the last things I said before bed was that the hammocks were up really high. Luckily, I was pretty tired, said ouch when I hit the ground, and fell back asleep. You know how there is always that one person who just gets hurt all the time on trips? I realized that I am that person here on Pohnpei. I don't know how that happened, but it did. Everyone says that its because I take it really well. So I guess I'll take one for the team;)
This last school week was fun, crazy, frustrating, rewarding, and tiring. On Tuesday, I had my first Charlie Brown Christmas play auditions. A lot of students tried out and I was very impressed with them. Thursday was call-backs and we re-auditioned a few and then let them know what their roles were. Charlie Brown was so hard to pick! Mr. Martin(the other director) and myself may have been so unsure between two different students that we rock, paper, scissored it. I am so happy that the cast is chosen and we are ready to start practicing. We have our work cut out for us! If you have any directing/ play/charlie brown tips send them on over!
Wednesday was a holiday and I would like to thank the United Nations for giving us that. I love having Wednesdays off because it makes the week go by so much faster. Franky the principal took us out to see manta rays. It was gorgeous and so cool to see a huge manta ray at the bottom of the ocean. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and going into town for a little shopping trip. I am oh so excited to let you know that I am now a licensed driver in Pohnpei and I have driven the manuel yellow truck that I love so much. Here, the driver's seat is on the right side of the car but you still drive on the right side of the road. I have so much fun driving stick shift on a bumpy, pothole filled road. The rest of the week went super fast. Just keeping busy with the play and the littles.
I had an adventurous day today, but I'll save that for next time. Lets just say hiking and waterfalls were involved. I want to give a special shout-out to the Berrios family, my grandparents, my parents, the Brassingtons, and the Magsalins! Your packages/letters were received with great joy. I also want to say thank you for continuing to read this little blog of mine and I hope your day is filled with happiness. I miss you all!
Much love from the island.
I am going to start off by saying that these last couple of weeks have been really great in classroom 16. My kids do drive me insane, like off the wall crazy sometimes. But its okay because I love them. We have become a family. Even my most troublesome kid and I have the best relationship. It is so true that children need to know they are loved and they definitely return it back to me. They are all hilarious. You guys would love them too.
Last Friday was report card day. This means no school for the students but the teachers had to be in their classrooms to talk to parents. I had this idea in my head that my day would be a successful one filled with redecorating, catching up on grading, and lesson planning. Well, my island sister and also the kindergarten teacher Yosko came by and we were chatting and having a jolly 'ole time. Then she looked out the window to see one of my students father coming to my classroom. Now if you knew Yosko you would know that she is a jokester. She was telling me to get prepared for this dad because he used to make the last year teacher cry. I thought she was just messing with me and of course I could handle any parent. She wasn't kidding. This father comes into my classroom with the most intimidating looking face and I know I am in for a difficult time. I won't go into much detail but let me tell you folks that he had nothing good to say. Of course I put on my "I am the teacher and know what I am doing face" but inside I was crying. This man had made me feel like the worst teacher ever. After talking it out and thinking it out, I realized that he does not know what he is talking about. My 17 students are so important to me and I do my best to teach them, but honestly if they don't understand something like bar graphs, its okay. What is important is that they are trying their best and that they know they are loved. So word got around that Ms. Williams had a difficult parent.
After parent/teacher conferences, some of my friends and I decided to rent mopeds to ride around the island. This is something that my friend J Dub and I had been talking about since being at Southern. I was pretty excited and determined to drive one. So J Dub gives me the bike with a 1 minute explanation on how to drive it. I take a lap around school on it by myself. Then, the boys decide to put Macy on the back. Okay so here is this bike that I have taken around the loop once and now I have this person holding on to me and they want me to take her around the island?! I mean yeah I nailed that loop but I am not pro moped driver. Lets just say the last thing Macy and I said to each other was we are scared and then I crashed. Yes, I crashed. We didn't even make it around the first turn. I was trying to turn, but the parked truck happened to be there and I felt like it would be so much more fun to hit that! I kid, I kid. We both jumped off really fast and I think I went into shock. Did I forget to mention that everyone was there? The pastor, the principal, all the student missionaries, and some students. That was the beginning and end of my moped driving. The boys drove us around the island and it was so much fun. It takes around 2 hours to drive around the entire island. It was so beautiful especially on the other side of the island because there is only little villages. Sometimes it is nice to be out of the hussel and bussel of the town.
The next day on Sabbath a few of us went camping for one night on an outter island called Nahlap. This island is like a mini resort. There are sanded paths and a water slide. We just relaxed all day and hammocked all night. My hammock actually fell down in the middle of the night. It's funny because one of the last things I said before bed was that the hammocks were up really high. Luckily, I was pretty tired, said ouch when I hit the ground, and fell back asleep. You know how there is always that one person who just gets hurt all the time on trips? I realized that I am that person here on Pohnpei. I don't know how that happened, but it did. Everyone says that its because I take it really well. So I guess I'll take one for the team;)
This last school week was fun, crazy, frustrating, rewarding, and tiring. On Tuesday, I had my first Charlie Brown Christmas play auditions. A lot of students tried out and I was very impressed with them. Thursday was call-backs and we re-auditioned a few and then let them know what their roles were. Charlie Brown was so hard to pick! Mr. Martin(the other director) and myself may have been so unsure between two different students that we rock, paper, scissored it. I am so happy that the cast is chosen and we are ready to start practicing. We have our work cut out for us! If you have any directing/ play/charlie brown tips send them on over!
Wednesday was a holiday and I would like to thank the United Nations for giving us that. I love having Wednesdays off because it makes the week go by so much faster. Franky the principal took us out to see manta rays. It was gorgeous and so cool to see a huge manta ray at the bottom of the ocean. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and going into town for a little shopping trip. I am oh so excited to let you know that I am now a licensed driver in Pohnpei and I have driven the manuel yellow truck that I love so much. Here, the driver's seat is on the right side of the car but you still drive on the right side of the road. I have so much fun driving stick shift on a bumpy, pothole filled road. The rest of the week went super fast. Just keeping busy with the play and the littles.
I had an adventurous day today, but I'll save that for next time. Lets just say hiking and waterfalls were involved. I want to give a special shout-out to the Berrios family, my grandparents, my parents, the Brassingtons, and the Magsalins! Your packages/letters were received with great joy. I also want to say thank you for continuing to read this little blog of mine and I hope your day is filled with happiness. I miss you all!
Much love from the island.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Think good thoughts, yes I think I will
Sabbath Mwahu! As my Sabbath has passed, yours is just beginning in the States. On an island, you have plenty of time to think about things beyond surface level. Here are some of my Sabbath thoughts.
Can you imagine living on this land by yourself? There are pretty flowers, trees to give you shade, water to refresh you, animals to tend to, but no other people to fellowship with. I most certainly cannot. God knew what he was doing when He gave man another being.
"And the Lord said, 'It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" Genesis 1:18
My Sabbath day has come to a close. Today I reflected on what it meant to be a friend and a child of God. To be truthful with you all, sometimes I feel misplaced on this island. I am not sure if the locals understand English and I feel awkward in some situations we are placed in. In church I decided to sit with a beautiful 76 year old Pohnpeian lady. She was so sweet and endearing and I felt comforted by her presence. She had trouble hearing me, but we made conversation and she took my hand in hers often when she spoke. So as I was sitting in church I was thinking about how God made everyone on this Earth and He loves them all. People have many different types of living, but we all have the same Father. He gave us each other to encourage one another.
I am thankful for people.
As I told you in my last blog, I had a rough time last week. This week was completely the opposite. I decided that I needed to pray for my children and my patience more. It made such a difference in how I responded to them. I worked individually with my child who cannot read or spell a lot more. It meant staying in for recesses and lunch(moments I normally steal for myself). I went over the bones and muscles in science and the kids loved it. I taught them the fruits of the spirit song. I jumped rope and played hand games with my little girls. I gave piggy back rides, held hands, gave hugs, assigned more homework(they asked for more), kept up with grading, and I laughed so hard I cried in chapel. These students have my heart. They are my kids and I love them with every molecule in my body.
This does not mean I didn't have moments where I was completely annoyed. It just means I decided to relish the little joys and accept the challenges. I was also able to work out with Ms. Lindsey, the third grade teacher. Lindsey and I like to go running and talk about life here on this little island. This week we talked a lot about the powerful influence of positive thinking. I can honestly say that I have gotten so much better at being positive and accepting that things don't always go the way you want them to. Think good thoughts people! It will make you a much happier person and others will notice.
This week was quite simple outside of teaching. I did get into a nasty habit of drinking coffee in the morning. I never have been one of those coffee lovers who needs their cup each morning. Well, unfortunately, don't talk to me until I have my cup of coffee here. Golly gee, why does it have to be so helpful in my teaching day? Sorry mom but it really does make a difference. My freaky cleaning lady came out and I cleaned the entire rest of the day after school. I put up white lights, picked lots of flowers for our apartment, baked cookies, danced in the rain, read with our book club, had a frosting fight with Cierra and Brianna, and painted a flower elephant. Tomorrow is Sunday and will be spent hopefully at the water but I do have some school stuff to do.
So yeah, don't think I have crazy filled days everyday as a missionary. I am just living a slow-paced life; cleaning, baking, painting, and teaching children. I have time to think of you all quite often. I hope you had a good week as well!
Much love from a tiny dot on the map.
Can you imagine living on this land by yourself? There are pretty flowers, trees to give you shade, water to refresh you, animals to tend to, but no other people to fellowship with. I most certainly cannot. God knew what he was doing when He gave man another being.
"And the Lord said, 'It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'" Genesis 1:18
My Sabbath day has come to a close. Today I reflected on what it meant to be a friend and a child of God. To be truthful with you all, sometimes I feel misplaced on this island. I am not sure if the locals understand English and I feel awkward in some situations we are placed in. In church I decided to sit with a beautiful 76 year old Pohnpeian lady. She was so sweet and endearing and I felt comforted by her presence. She had trouble hearing me, but we made conversation and she took my hand in hers often when she spoke. So as I was sitting in church I was thinking about how God made everyone on this Earth and He loves them all. People have many different types of living, but we all have the same Father. He gave us each other to encourage one another.
I am thankful for people.
As I told you in my last blog, I had a rough time last week. This week was completely the opposite. I decided that I needed to pray for my children and my patience more. It made such a difference in how I responded to them. I worked individually with my child who cannot read or spell a lot more. It meant staying in for recesses and lunch(moments I normally steal for myself). I went over the bones and muscles in science and the kids loved it. I taught them the fruits of the spirit song. I jumped rope and played hand games with my little girls. I gave piggy back rides, held hands, gave hugs, assigned more homework(they asked for more), kept up with grading, and I laughed so hard I cried in chapel. These students have my heart. They are my kids and I love them with every molecule in my body.
This does not mean I didn't have moments where I was completely annoyed. It just means I decided to relish the little joys and accept the challenges. I was also able to work out with Ms. Lindsey, the third grade teacher. Lindsey and I like to go running and talk about life here on this little island. This week we talked a lot about the powerful influence of positive thinking. I can honestly say that I have gotten so much better at being positive and accepting that things don't always go the way you want them to. Think good thoughts people! It will make you a much happier person and others will notice.
This week was quite simple outside of teaching. I did get into a nasty habit of drinking coffee in the morning. I never have been one of those coffee lovers who needs their cup each morning. Well, unfortunately, don't talk to me until I have my cup of coffee here. Golly gee, why does it have to be so helpful in my teaching day? Sorry mom but it really does make a difference. My freaky cleaning lady came out and I cleaned the entire rest of the day after school. I put up white lights, picked lots of flowers for our apartment, baked cookies, danced in the rain, read with our book club, had a frosting fight with Cierra and Brianna, and painted a flower elephant. Tomorrow is Sunday and will be spent hopefully at the water but I do have some school stuff to do.
So yeah, don't think I have crazy filled days everyday as a missionary. I am just living a slow-paced life; cleaning, baking, painting, and teaching children. I have time to think of you all quite often. I hope you had a good week as well!
Much love from a tiny dot on the map.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...
But these Christmas lights are quite delightful. Oh hello blog family, I thought I would take a little break from grading and update you on my island life. It's raining, the Christmas lights are on, and my soft folk music is playing. So get cozy and enjoy.
This last Monday was a great day. It rained ALL day people. Like nonstop. Now it rains everyday on this pretty island, but the rain is usually scattered and the sun comes out often. On this particular day the sun decided to stay hidden. So I decided to take out a sweater, drink some hot coco, and play Christmas music(Yes, I am one of those people). I love the feeling of being cozy and it was a feeling that was long past due. My kids decided to be angel students too. Monday you were surprisingly good to me. Tuesday through Friday you were not.
The rest of the week was tough in every way. The constant rain continued all week and I missed my sunshine dearly. My students were loud and disrespectful. I had moments in the classroom where I felt mean and frustrated. Worst of all, I missed home. There are so many changes that are happening back at home and I want to be apart of them. Before coming out to Pohnpei I asked God to make this year a challenge for me. I have heard that being a student missionary will change you and that is exactly what I wanted. Praying that prayer is scary because you're asking for a hard time. God has told us that trials will strengthen us and that is what I need at this point in my life. I am believer that this world we live in is a lukewarm world filled with people living in grey. I am a believer that Jesus is coming soon and we need to make a choice.
God has answered my prayers. Not in the way I thought He would, but I trust Him. I am learning that I must seek Him wherever I am. Let me tell you people that it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you must seek God. It is more of a challenge than I expected it to be. So I like to tell you all the funny stories and happy times here on Pohnpei, but there are times when I wish I didn't have 17 students education in my hands. That is the beauty of trials because I already feel like a stronger person and I love my kids with all my heart.
Anywho, I went scuba diving today. My first dive we had to jump off the edge of a wall into the water with all our gear. It was so heavy! We went 60 feet and quite honestly I felt like I was going to die. Every time I breathed in, water came in too. I don't think that is suppose to happen. I made it though and the second dive was much more successful. It really is fun when the gear decides to work properly. We also had Mrs. V's(a teacher here) 60th birthday party. They are the cutest Filipino family and we karaoked like there was no tomorrow!
I forgot to mention that I am in charge of the school Christmas play! It is a big deal. The high school students will be acting and elementary will be singing throughout it. I decided to do the Charlie Brown Christmas play(most of them haven't heard of it). I am so very excited to take on this huge task. Let me know if you have any suggestions!
Monday has come around once again and so I have to be going. Thank you for reading. I really enjoy writing to you all in this little blog of mine. I hope you are all doing wonderfully. Remember to find little joys throughout your days and seek God. Please pray for me and my class of 17 rascals.
Oh and I would like to say a special hello to my mom, dad, brother and sister-in-law. I can't wait to live together in Tennessee. I feel so blessed to have you guys as family. Love you!
Much love from the Island.
This last Monday was a great day. It rained ALL day people. Like nonstop. Now it rains everyday on this pretty island, but the rain is usually scattered and the sun comes out often. On this particular day the sun decided to stay hidden. So I decided to take out a sweater, drink some hot coco, and play Christmas music(Yes, I am one of those people). I love the feeling of being cozy and it was a feeling that was long past due. My kids decided to be angel students too. Monday you were surprisingly good to me. Tuesday through Friday you were not.
The rest of the week was tough in every way. The constant rain continued all week and I missed my sunshine dearly. My students were loud and disrespectful. I had moments in the classroom where I felt mean and frustrated. Worst of all, I missed home. There are so many changes that are happening back at home and I want to be apart of them. Before coming out to Pohnpei I asked God to make this year a challenge for me. I have heard that being a student missionary will change you and that is exactly what I wanted. Praying that prayer is scary because you're asking for a hard time. God has told us that trials will strengthen us and that is what I need at this point in my life. I am believer that this world we live in is a lukewarm world filled with people living in grey. I am a believer that Jesus is coming soon and we need to make a choice.
God has answered my prayers. Not in the way I thought He would, but I trust Him. I am learning that I must seek Him wherever I am. Let me tell you people that it doesn't matter where you are in the world, you must seek God. It is more of a challenge than I expected it to be. So I like to tell you all the funny stories and happy times here on Pohnpei, but there are times when I wish I didn't have 17 students education in my hands. That is the beauty of trials because I already feel like a stronger person and I love my kids with all my heart.
Anywho, I went scuba diving today. My first dive we had to jump off the edge of a wall into the water with all our gear. It was so heavy! We went 60 feet and quite honestly I felt like I was going to die. Every time I breathed in, water came in too. I don't think that is suppose to happen. I made it though and the second dive was much more successful. It really is fun when the gear decides to work properly. We also had Mrs. V's(a teacher here) 60th birthday party. They are the cutest Filipino family and we karaoked like there was no tomorrow!
I forgot to mention that I am in charge of the school Christmas play! It is a big deal. The high school students will be acting and elementary will be singing throughout it. I decided to do the Charlie Brown Christmas play(most of them haven't heard of it). I am so very excited to take on this huge task. Let me know if you have any suggestions!
Monday has come around once again and so I have to be going. Thank you for reading. I really enjoy writing to you all in this little blog of mine. I hope you are all doing wonderfully. Remember to find little joys throughout your days and seek God. Please pray for me and my class of 17 rascals.
Oh and I would like to say a special hello to my mom, dad, brother and sister-in-law. I can't wait to live together in Tennessee. I feel so blessed to have you guys as family. Love you!
Much love from the Island.
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