Saturday, December 30, 2006
Seeking higher articulation...
Okay well I have wanted to say this for a long time. You see I have come to terms with the fact that I am not an amazing writer. I read a lot of my friends writing and stand in awe of the emotions that one can stir through their writing. I often dream of being able to one day do that, yet find that I may not work that way. You see I have all these ideas in my head, and they sound good when I run them through my head. Often times when I am sitting on the toilet or doing something mindless I think about how I will express these moments and memories in words. And it all comes out good in my head, yet when it comes time to write it, I find that I fail miserably at being able to truly articulate the moment and the emotion that I would like to. I long to write in a way that moves people, but I find that when I try to do that, I am lost and often times come out being a lot more the opposite. So, in coming to terms with my mediocre ability to write, I wanted to just let you all know that there are people here that are far better with words and expression than I am. So, I want to urge you strongly to check out what they have to say, because often times they speak of the same experiences that I am but in a far more articulate matter. You can check out there blogs by clicking on any of them in the Links section to the right of the page. As for me, well, don’t give up on me. I will still continue to write in the only way I know how, from the heart. I will no longer attempt to be the kind of writer I am not in hopes that my genuinity and sincerity will speak more the emotions that I wish to express. Just me writing as me as the thoughts come to me from my head to the paper or computer whichever it makes it to first. Kinisou!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
You Win Some, You Lose Some
During my time here in Chuuk, I don’t think that I had experienced a moment of speechlessness as I did yesterday afternoon. I was not prepared to do what I had to do. I think this might have been my feeling about the whole thing from the get go. I don’t think that I was prepared for what I was about to do. About 12 weeks ago me and thirteen other guys set off on a journey, to become one. I was unprepared, unskilled, and so very lost. Yet, the guys had faith in me. There has not been one moment that has not been difficult. And still it is very difficult to capture into words. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, or how I was going to be able to help, or do much at all. You see, I was probably the least likely candidate for the job. I knew very little about basketball, I hardly played any sports, and when I did I always rode the bench. How would I be able to lead a team? How could I help teach these players anything, when every single one of them could “school” me in the game? I must say now, that it would have been impossible if I would have done this alone. Lincoln was there by my side the entire time. Whether or not he was actually at practice, due to the fact that he had a lot of other things to run himself, he was a rock that I stood on. He gave me the encouragement that I needed, and he believed in me so much. I could not have made it through this season with out him. That is the beauty of our community. The many dinners that we spent talking about strategy and going over techniques, and things that we could do to help our players. Our team may not have seen much of him, but he truly embodied the idea of being a silent leader, behind the scenes. And so we set off on the journey, I dove into as many books as I could steal from Xavier High School. I pretty much had to learn the game from scratch. I owe so much of what ever I was able to accomplish this season to Basketball for Dummies, let me say that those books are awesome. I placed my faith in God, and let it all ride. Aside from Basketball for Dummies, I owe so much to my dad, who has always been my coach in life. Not for sports or for clubs or competition, but simply coaching me on how to be a better person. My dad taught me everything that I knew about coaching, and if I had any success this season as a coach I owe so much to him. My dad is an amazing man, and I am so blessed to have him in my life. And so the season began, and the boys were amazing. You see I lucked out being blessed with such amazing and talented players. Having time to work together and build a strong team was such a huge blessing. We set out building a family developing a relationship of trust and understanding. Becoming strength for one another when one another was down. I became so enthralled by the game and the joy and excitement that these boys brought me. It gave me such encouragement and strength to get through those difficult and challenging days of teaching, knowing that we had practice right after school. Time for fun. We had a lot of fun this season. Of course it was challenging when half the team didn’t show to practice, or everyone showed up half an hour late, but that’s life, and these guys are in high school. Oh there is so much joy and my heart is filled so much as I look back on the season. There are so many good memories that we shared and created that I will treasure with me for the rest of my life. And no win or loss can ever take that away.
Yesterday, we lost in the first round of play offs to Berea High School. It was a difficult loss, knowing that for some it would be there very last game at SCA. We finished off the season ranked 6th with 3 wins and 4 losses. We were a good team, a strong team, yet we made a few mistakes, and lost a few more games than we had hoped, but it wasn’t a bad season. We went into the play offs very hopeful. We had been working hard, and were ready to take on the world. Yet the world had different plans for us, which is okay. The game had been postponed and postponed again, until finally the day was set. We got ourselves ready, and all hyped up. A great friend from home, had her students make good luck cards for our team, and so at our meeting before the game, I gave them the cards, and we were set. We walked out the court heads hung high ready to play. New secrets and new tricks to beat the team that had beat us in the regular season. Our crowd was huge, there’s was small. We had the home court advantage; everything was looking our way, everything except for the fact that the referees had yet to show up. We waited and waited, and they never showed up. 45 minutes later, we had to postpone the game. We set the game for the next day, I prayed that I could find the referees in time. At 3:30 PM I got final confirmation that all was ago and we began the hyping up and getting ready. We walked on to the court, again, ready to take on the world. It started off good, they were unprepared to handle the new defense that we had been working on for the past three weeks. I was simply amazed that I was able to teach them anything let alone the fact that it was actually working to stop the other team. I was thrilled, calm on the outside, but thrilled on the inside. Yet we still had four quarters to get through. We lead the first quarter 8 to 4. By the 2nd quarter our boys started getting lazy and they began to catch up. We were tied at 16 in the half. It was anyone’s game. I told them like I always had, that “the team that wants it more is going to take home the win, you have to want it more than them”. And so we went out strong and hopeful. Still God had another plan. By the end of the third quarter we were down by 7. Still okay, we still had a chance. Within the first three minutes of the 4th quarter we had closed the gap to being down by 1 point. It was now time to step it up get the ball and take the lead. Yet the stepping up never happened. Our center was fouled out, sending us into bonus, and sending them to the free throw line. Our 1 point margin, grew to 3 points. Another foul made it grow to five. With nine seconds in the game, we did all the fighting that we could yet knew that it was time. Saram had played its last. As the last seconds ran out my mind went blank. I had not prepared for this moment. I don’t know if I had prepared for any moment, but I surely did not prepare for this one. I watched our captain to make sure he did not run out, he was the first one I thought of to hold and comfort. He would need to help me with the team. It was amazing and beautiful to seeing him rise up as the leader that day. Through out the season Jeremiah, our captain, struggled with loss, often times running away from the team after out of fear and frustration. Yesterday he stood strong and fast. Yesterday we lost, yet we lost with honor, we lost with dignity, and we lost with our pride held high. It may have been our last game, but for us it was a glorious moment of culmination, of God bringing together all that we had worked for, all that we had worked on for these past many weeks. And as I approached our boys all seated at the bench huddled together, with tears quelling in their eyes, I was left speechless. I was at such a loss for words as what to say to our team, who has given their heart for this game and for this team, for our family. But I let the team speak, I let the captain say his piece. He spoke with such heart, and such love for his team, for his brothers, and for the blessing that it has been to play with them. And although he spoke in Chuukese, I was reminded again, in the beautiful fact that things like love and heartfelt emotion are not limited to any language but can be felt so plainly, and that the face of God shines that love as he did in the faces of my players yesterday. I told my boys, that in no way did we lose this season. We walk away from this season so much richer, so much greater than when we started before. We were not walking away empty handed. We made history this season, beating Xavier High School for the first time in SCA history. We built friendships and bonds, and last memories that we will hold with us for as long as we allow ourselves to. We learned so much from the many mistakes that we made, and the many things that we shared with one another. We left with a family built strong on a foundation of love and trust, and no scoreboard or referee can ever take that win away. Because in the end its not about scores and points, and good calls and bad calls, as cliché as it may be, its not about who wins and who loses. Its about who allows themselves to be changed by the experiences that they have had and allow themselves to become better people for that. And in allowing ourselves to be changed comes the true grace of winning, bringing God the greater glory.
As we drove around to drop all the boys off at their homes, someone from the road asked if we won or lost. I think our captain answered it perfectly, “It happened just the way God wanted it”.
Yesterday, we lost in the first round of play offs to Berea High School. It was a difficult loss, knowing that for some it would be there very last game at SCA. We finished off the season ranked 6th with 3 wins and 4 losses. We were a good team, a strong team, yet we made a few mistakes, and lost a few more games than we had hoped, but it wasn’t a bad season. We went into the play offs very hopeful. We had been working hard, and were ready to take on the world. Yet the world had different plans for us, which is okay. The game had been postponed and postponed again, until finally the day was set. We got ourselves ready, and all hyped up. A great friend from home, had her students make good luck cards for our team, and so at our meeting before the game, I gave them the cards, and we were set. We walked out the court heads hung high ready to play. New secrets and new tricks to beat the team that had beat us in the regular season. Our crowd was huge, there’s was small. We had the home court advantage; everything was looking our way, everything except for the fact that the referees had yet to show up. We waited and waited, and they never showed up. 45 minutes later, we had to postpone the game. We set the game for the next day, I prayed that I could find the referees in time. At 3:30 PM I got final confirmation that all was ago and we began the hyping up and getting ready. We walked on to the court, again, ready to take on the world. It started off good, they were unprepared to handle the new defense that we had been working on for the past three weeks. I was simply amazed that I was able to teach them anything let alone the fact that it was actually working to stop the other team. I was thrilled, calm on the outside, but thrilled on the inside. Yet we still had four quarters to get through. We lead the first quarter 8 to 4. By the 2nd quarter our boys started getting lazy and they began to catch up. We were tied at 16 in the half. It was anyone’s game. I told them like I always had, that “the team that wants it more is going to take home the win, you have to want it more than them”. And so we went out strong and hopeful. Still God had another plan. By the end of the third quarter we were down by 7. Still okay, we still had a chance. Within the first three minutes of the 4th quarter we had closed the gap to being down by 1 point. It was now time to step it up get the ball and take the lead. Yet the stepping up never happened. Our center was fouled out, sending us into bonus, and sending them to the free throw line. Our 1 point margin, grew to 3 points. Another foul made it grow to five. With nine seconds in the game, we did all the fighting that we could yet knew that it was time. Saram had played its last. As the last seconds ran out my mind went blank. I had not prepared for this moment. I don’t know if I had prepared for any moment, but I surely did not prepare for this one. I watched our captain to make sure he did not run out, he was the first one I thought of to hold and comfort. He would need to help me with the team. It was amazing and beautiful to seeing him rise up as the leader that day. Through out the season Jeremiah, our captain, struggled with loss, often times running away from the team after out of fear and frustration. Yesterday he stood strong and fast. Yesterday we lost, yet we lost with honor, we lost with dignity, and we lost with our pride held high. It may have been our last game, but for us it was a glorious moment of culmination, of God bringing together all that we had worked for, all that we had worked on for these past many weeks. And as I approached our boys all seated at the bench huddled together, with tears quelling in their eyes, I was left speechless. I was at such a loss for words as what to say to our team, who has given their heart for this game and for this team, for our family. But I let the team speak, I let the captain say his piece. He spoke with such heart, and such love for his team, for his brothers, and for the blessing that it has been to play with them. And although he spoke in Chuukese, I was reminded again, in the beautiful fact that things like love and heartfelt emotion are not limited to any language but can be felt so plainly, and that the face of God shines that love as he did in the faces of my players yesterday. I told my boys, that in no way did we lose this season. We walk away from this season so much richer, so much greater than when we started before. We were not walking away empty handed. We made history this season, beating Xavier High School for the first time in SCA history. We built friendships and bonds, and last memories that we will hold with us for as long as we allow ourselves to. We learned so much from the many mistakes that we made, and the many things that we shared with one another. We left with a family built strong on a foundation of love and trust, and no scoreboard or referee can ever take that win away. Because in the end its not about scores and points, and good calls and bad calls, as cliché as it may be, its not about who wins and who loses. Its about who allows themselves to be changed by the experiences that they have had and allow themselves to become better people for that. And in allowing ourselves to be changed comes the true grace of winning, bringing God the greater glory.
As we drove around to drop all the boys off at their homes, someone from the road asked if we won or lost. I think our captain answered it perfectly, “It happened just the way God wanted it”.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Finding God in All things
November 18, 2006 (102 Days in Chuuk) 5:30 PM
I put a sign up on my door about a month ago that reads, "Find God in all things". I wrote everything in the colour green except for the word God, I wrote that in pink. Due to the sun exposure, the word God has since faded away, leaving only the words, " Find in all things". I htink this fits in very well with my life. God can sometimes be seen so plainly in all things. But with time especially difficult times God can eventually fade, or become hard to see. Yet, God's still there, I just have to look a little harder to see God in those situations.
I put a sign up on my door about a month ago that reads, "Find God in all things". I wrote everything in the colour green except for the word God, I wrote that in pink. Due to the sun exposure, the word God has since faded away, leaving only the words, " Find in all things". I htink this fits in very well with my life. God can sometimes be seen so plainly in all things. But with time especially difficult times God can eventually fade, or become hard to see. Yet, God's still there, I just have to look a little harder to see God in those situations.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Scoreboard!!!
Okay so for those of you that have been wondering here are our stats until now...SCA vs SDA: SCA 80, SDA 62 Won
SCA vs CHS: CHS 35, SCA 33 Lost
SCA vs BCS: BCS 38, SCA 28 Lost
SCA vs XHS: SCA 29, XHS 25 Won
SCA vs PLHA: SCA 44, PLHA 15 Won
So all in all we have 3 wins 2 losses! If you are more curious about individual players stats and break downs of who made what and which guys are the mvps I can get you that if you send a request with a postage marked envelope to: Head Basketball Coach Saramen Chuuk Academy Jesuit Volunteers International P.O. Box 662 Chuuk, FM 96942 Federated States of Micronesia We still have to scheduled season games before we head to the play offs, if you would care to pray the prayers would be appreciated! they will be... Mon, Nov. 6: SCA vs. Mizpah @ SCA 4 PM (+8 or +7 GMT) Wed, Nov. 8: SCA vs. MHS @ SCA 4 PM (+8 or +7 GMT) Hope you can keep our team in your prayers especially as we enter into the play offs. Now, I have a special request. There will be a tournament in Pohnpei, this Christmas, and our boys are planning on going, yet we are trying to raise about $3,000 to pay for our travel expenses, and accomodations. If you are able to help contribute to sending these boys on this amazing opportunity it would be greatly appreciated. All checks could be made payable to Saramen Chuuk Academy, and can be sent to the above address as well. If anything prayers are what we can use the most of! Thanks for watching, and stay tuned for more up to date news about the Boys SCA Varsity Basketball Team!
Notes from the coach’s desk…
October 30, 2006 (Day 82 of Chuuk)
And another one bites the dust! We claim another victory for Saramen Chuuk Academy. This victory is sweet and it is way sweeter than defeat. Yet the defeat we dished out left a very bitter taste in that of the opposing team. Pentecost was not happy to lose. We showed them that we were there to play and win from the moment that we ran out on that court! It is a great feeling to have the boys run from the locker room (the teacher’s office on the 1st floor) to the court passing all the cheering fans and the high fives. People joining in, running along. I like the rituals we are starting, I hope they continue. People are trying hard to find ways to beat us! Which means that we have to work harder on our practices to come up with something new! Keep other teams on their toes! By us beating Xavier High School, Chuuk High knows that isn’t the only team to beat anymore, but we are!!! If anyone wants the championships they know they will have to get through us first! And we aren’t going to let them!!! We have been practicing the longest, working the hardest, striving the most to be the best team. This only means that we have to run harder, work faster and continue to be the best that we can be 100% of the time and to give that 100% as much as we possibly can!!! We have created a team to beat! We are a team that other teams want to be and are afraid of! We instill fear into the hearts of other teams!!! Oh, I love being a coach!!! What is amazing is that we started this season we were not a team to beat. I remember sitting in the ISC meeting at Saram, and the coaches were not even considering SCA as a team they will have to work hard to beat. We weren’t even on their radar. I remember sitting there listening and wanting so bad to put Saram on the radar. To make people in Chuuk know that SCA knows how to play basketball! I remember thinking before our first game about whether or not we actually had what it takes to go as far as I had dreamed. To do the impossible, to beat Xavier High School. To make history. And so we are and so we did!!! We are making history as we speak, and forever we will be remembered as the first team in the History of Saramen Chuuk Academy to beat Xavier High School in a basketball game. What’s amazing thinking back to those first few weeks of practice, and thinking about those early speeches I gave to the boys. I had always talked about beating Xavier for some reason that became my agenda. When I first announced the team at assembly, I announced them as the team that would beat Xavier HS. And now that prediction has come true! They have fulfilled the prophesy and the path is coming true. I believed in them, and they now believe in themselves. But, I still remember the very first time I spoke about the championships, I spoke about the possibility of us becoming the Chuuk state champions, and I remember how their eyes lit up. It gave me goose bumps just thinking about it. A light went off in the boy’s heads saying, “Oh yeah, we could win that too!” The first glimpses in belief of themselves, of something to strive for, of something to run for, to work hard for! We have a goal, and we go out to every practice, to every game to accomplish that goal. To move ourselves one step closer to that goal, to make that dream a reality! To play basketball with all your heart, body and soul! Mind, body and soul!!!
Our team has become one. We are a family, we trust each other, and we play with that trust! We have been practicing for a long time. We have built trust and bonds! Our team has developed that sense of trust and that sense of work ethic together. It didn’t happen over night! It happened with time, and dedication. And that time was needed to build a strong team. We work hard as a team, we suffer as a team, and we win as a team, everyone contributes. We all win no matter what! We have to stay together and stick together and Play Hard!!!
You know Elibie (official referee for our games) was saying that a thing that Chuukese people struggle with is commitment. I couldn’t understand why the Campus Ministry office would choose “commitment” as the theme of our school year for the staff. But I think about last year, SCA might have had an amazing team, if it was chosen right. Yet they didn’t win, they didn’t have a coach half the time. And the other half there wasn’t much learning, from what the boys have told me. There was a lack of commitment. I see now why the guys were excited to have the “Americans” come and coach (even though Lincoln is Canadian). I didn’t think that I would live up to their expectations, especially when they spoke of me as having all these mad ball handling skills. But commitment, hard work, determination, effort and dedication to these boys and building bonds of trust has allowed us to do just that! Its all about dedication.
I had been struggling recently with where the place of Living justice in my life was coming from. I was struggling with focusing on the forms of social justice that quickly come to mind when you think of the words. I forgot about the nature of simply loving someone with all your heart and giving them your best just as Jesus did. Giving someone care and letting them know that someone believes in them. Right now I am living justice through basketball, or so I hope I am. Through believing in these boys and offering them an opportunity to learn and to believe in themselves and to see that anything is possible if they want it bad enough. Making the difference in just one person’s life. This is a ministry, a calling and we are blessed. I am blessed to be a witness!!! I don’t know if this is simplifying justice too much or if is me struggling to put it into action, but I struggle daily with the restructuring of the things and words that I once knew! God has brought me here and shattered a lot of what I thought to be one way and just as the Eucharist is, our lives are blessed, broken and shared. I hope that I may take this brokenness, put it together and attempt to come to an understanding of what it is that I can share with the world! Hopefully I am doing so!
And another one bites the dust! We claim another victory for Saramen Chuuk Academy. This victory is sweet and it is way sweeter than defeat. Yet the defeat we dished out left a very bitter taste in that of the opposing team. Pentecost was not happy to lose. We showed them that we were there to play and win from the moment that we ran out on that court! It is a great feeling to have the boys run from the locker room (the teacher’s office on the 1st floor) to the court passing all the cheering fans and the high fives. People joining in, running along. I like the rituals we are starting, I hope they continue. People are trying hard to find ways to beat us! Which means that we have to work harder on our practices to come up with something new! Keep other teams on their toes! By us beating Xavier High School, Chuuk High knows that isn’t the only team to beat anymore, but we are!!! If anyone wants the championships they know they will have to get through us first! And we aren’t going to let them!!! We have been practicing the longest, working the hardest, striving the most to be the best team. This only means that we have to run harder, work faster and continue to be the best that we can be 100% of the time and to give that 100% as much as we possibly can!!! We have created a team to beat! We are a team that other teams want to be and are afraid of! We instill fear into the hearts of other teams!!! Oh, I love being a coach!!! What is amazing is that we started this season we were not a team to beat. I remember sitting in the ISC meeting at Saram, and the coaches were not even considering SCA as a team they will have to work hard to beat. We weren’t even on their radar. I remember sitting there listening and wanting so bad to put Saram on the radar. To make people in Chuuk know that SCA knows how to play basketball! I remember thinking before our first game about whether or not we actually had what it takes to go as far as I had dreamed. To do the impossible, to beat Xavier High School. To make history. And so we are and so we did!!! We are making history as we speak, and forever we will be remembered as the first team in the History of Saramen Chuuk Academy to beat Xavier High School in a basketball game. What’s amazing thinking back to those first few weeks of practice, and thinking about those early speeches I gave to the boys. I had always talked about beating Xavier for some reason that became my agenda. When I first announced the team at assembly, I announced them as the team that would beat Xavier HS. And now that prediction has come true! They have fulfilled the prophesy and the path is coming true. I believed in them, and they now believe in themselves. But, I still remember the very first time I spoke about the championships, I spoke about the possibility of us becoming the Chuuk state champions, and I remember how their eyes lit up. It gave me goose bumps just thinking about it. A light went off in the boy’s heads saying, “Oh yeah, we could win that too!” The first glimpses in belief of themselves, of something to strive for, of something to run for, to work hard for! We have a goal, and we go out to every practice, to every game to accomplish that goal. To move ourselves one step closer to that goal, to make that dream a reality! To play basketball with all your heart, body and soul! Mind, body and soul!!!
Our team has become one. We are a family, we trust each other, and we play with that trust! We have been practicing for a long time. We have built trust and bonds! Our team has developed that sense of trust and that sense of work ethic together. It didn’t happen over night! It happened with time, and dedication. And that time was needed to build a strong team. We work hard as a team, we suffer as a team, and we win as a team, everyone contributes. We all win no matter what! We have to stay together and stick together and Play Hard!!!
You know Elibie (official referee for our games) was saying that a thing that Chuukese people struggle with is commitment. I couldn’t understand why the Campus Ministry office would choose “commitment” as the theme of our school year for the staff. But I think about last year, SCA might have had an amazing team, if it was chosen right. Yet they didn’t win, they didn’t have a coach half the time. And the other half there wasn’t much learning, from what the boys have told me. There was a lack of commitment. I see now why the guys were excited to have the “Americans” come and coach (even though Lincoln is Canadian). I didn’t think that I would live up to their expectations, especially when they spoke of me as having all these mad ball handling skills. But commitment, hard work, determination, effort and dedication to these boys and building bonds of trust has allowed us to do just that! Its all about dedication.
I had been struggling recently with where the place of Living justice in my life was coming from. I was struggling with focusing on the forms of social justice that quickly come to mind when you think of the words. I forgot about the nature of simply loving someone with all your heart and giving them your best just as Jesus did. Giving someone care and letting them know that someone believes in them. Right now I am living justice through basketball, or so I hope I am. Through believing in these boys and offering them an opportunity to learn and to believe in themselves and to see that anything is possible if they want it bad enough. Making the difference in just one person’s life. This is a ministry, a calling and we are blessed. I am blessed to be a witness!!! I don’t know if this is simplifying justice too much or if is me struggling to put it into action, but I struggle daily with the restructuring of the things and words that I once knew! God has brought me here and shattered a lot of what I thought to be one way and just as the Eucharist is, our lives are blessed, broken and shared. I hope that I may take this brokenness, put it together and attempt to come to an understanding of what it is that I can share with the world! Hopefully I am doing so!
Peace found in Piis
October 2, 2006 (Day 54 of Chuuk)
To see the face of god in all things, that is my new challenge. The beauty of this weekend on Piis was that God was so present. With my struggle of wondering where I am, why I am here, and how to find God in it all. Trying to find a place for my spirituality beyond a superficial surface lead of prayer and meetings, but really allowing myself to find God. And I think of the struggle for me is not a matter of me being bad or superficial as much, but rather how I experience my spirituality is different than other people. I found that I experience God in community and I am finding this again and again. It is like Dorothy Day wrote in the postscript of her autobiography,
“Our very faith in love has been tried through fire” “We cannot love God unless we love each other. We know him in the breaking of the bread. And we know each other in the breaking of the bread, and we are not alone anymore…We have known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. It all happened while we sat there talking, and it is still going on.”
This quotation was lived out this weekend on Piis. Perhaps my feeling of struggle with spirituality was just that a long loneliness to feel God to find God in something here. Something concrete. Of course God is in the sunsets, the rain, the calls home. But I need to feel God in others. But it was in the breaking of the bread with the youth that we shared. As is much the custom here in Chuuk. When you are told “Samongo” you are invited to break bread, and invitation into community. Here, people shouldn’t eat alone, people shouldn’t be alone, and that is the custom. And so it went that companionship is born. It was born this weekend in silly faces and guitar playing. We let the other languages we know make up for the ones we could not speak. And through that, love was found. We found communion with each other and it was shared through out. I felt God hold me this weekend.
As I heard Kaspar speak I felt God. My heart was racing to speak, although lost in translation I spoke to the people of Piis my heart. I felt God as I knelt down to pray and as I walked out of the church, I felt God surround me as the people of the community surrounded me, welcoming me in as one of them. I felt at home, I felt exactly where I needed to be. You could’ve left me there for hours, days, and weeks, and I think I would make a home of that place, that small island. But not in all of my time of being here in Chuuk, have I felt so right about being here as I did at that moment. And this question that I have been asking myself of why I am here slowly began to become a bit clearer. Yet it is not answered entirely yet. There was an element of awe that I was left with, in how humbling it all was. For me to be a volunteer, but to be continually served and that is how are lives have been here in Chuuk. We are constantly being served. In so many ways by Sr. Erencia, by the Community and this weekend, I was humbled as my feet were washed so that I may go out and wash the feet of others.
From the moment we walked into the “Ut” and even before as everyone gathered around to hear me play guitar, and then as we walked down the huge collection of people shaking hands. There was really no knowing what God had in store, I had no idea how much my life would be touched by the lives of those people. Who even at that moment I couldn’t see their faces. God had a plan and the Holy Spirit lived and worked and it was most excellent to feel the love that community shared. To see the young at heart come around to see what I was doing with the kids as they watched from the outside and laughed along when I made a silly face. And it was so awesome when I would just stand to play and then all the kids would just run and gather. What an amazing gift! I really think I would love to have kids if that is my calling, if God so be pleased with that, but after my experiences in Siis and on Piis, I am finding that I love children immensely and I see God so present in the face of every child. From the point of walking down that row of people with the “mar mar” being placed on us, till the moment we left, there was something special happening there. In La Bamba, in silly faces, in dancing and in laughter, it was all such an amazing gift. And that sending off, how great it was to be playing with the kids until the moment I left. Then, trying to hide and how they took care of me and watched after me with care. I don’t remember her name but I think it was Atreann, I knew it was something like that. But she was bold and had strength. She will be a great leader one day. Alfred, the president of the youth, I can see why he is the leader. He is a great speaker, and knows how to gather the love of his people. He is fun and serious and his youth group is blessed to have him. As goes for Kaspar, Junior and the other strong, bold leaders. There is a gift that every single one of them has and to unite them in friendship, leadership and God, it is a most excellent combination, to see the fruit of God’s labor. The sending off, walking down the line of shaking hands, again the honored guest, but now, with a history, with memories and smiles. Now with love placed in our hearts. And as we boarded the boat with a little or for me a lot of hesitation, Kaspar holding on to my arm to not let me go, our boat left shore with a mountain of people gathered on the shore to wave good bye till they lost sight of our boat in the sea.
The challenge I face and will continue to face will be of living this experience out daily. Feeling God all around me should not have to stop. As I sat up at the front of the meeting hall, and stared out, and saw the face of God staring right back at me, that feeling is not limited to my time and experiences in Piis. Every time I stand in from of the classroom there are 36 faces of God staring right back at me. That experience of finding God in the laughter and smiles does not and is not limited. It might be a challenge to step back and see God’s face in the trouble makers and those that don’t try or do their homework, and those that aren’t paying attention. But God is in all of them, and I need to make sure that I am showing and shining God through me too. Love knows no boundaries. There is no one language for things like love and laughter, and so I must continue to radiate that love and laughter, and share in the aspects of life that language cannot tie down. God will be there, and there God will shine and so will I.
To see the face of god in all things, that is my new challenge. The beauty of this weekend on Piis was that God was so present. With my struggle of wondering where I am, why I am here, and how to find God in it all. Trying to find a place for my spirituality beyond a superficial surface lead of prayer and meetings, but really allowing myself to find God. And I think of the struggle for me is not a matter of me being bad or superficial as much, but rather how I experience my spirituality is different than other people. I found that I experience God in community and I am finding this again and again. It is like Dorothy Day wrote in the postscript of her autobiography,
“Our very faith in love has been tried through fire” “We cannot love God unless we love each other. We know him in the breaking of the bread. And we know each other in the breaking of the bread, and we are not alone anymore…We have known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. It all happened while we sat there talking, and it is still going on.”
This quotation was lived out this weekend on Piis. Perhaps my feeling of struggle with spirituality was just that a long loneliness to feel God to find God in something here. Something concrete. Of course God is in the sunsets, the rain, the calls home. But I need to feel God in others. But it was in the breaking of the bread with the youth that we shared. As is much the custom here in Chuuk. When you are told “Samongo” you are invited to break bread, and invitation into community. Here, people shouldn’t eat alone, people shouldn’t be alone, and that is the custom. And so it went that companionship is born. It was born this weekend in silly faces and guitar playing. We let the other languages we know make up for the ones we could not speak. And through that, love was found. We found communion with each other and it was shared through out. I felt God hold me this weekend.
As I heard Kaspar speak I felt God. My heart was racing to speak, although lost in translation I spoke to the people of Piis my heart. I felt God as I knelt down to pray and as I walked out of the church, I felt God surround me as the people of the community surrounded me, welcoming me in as one of them. I felt at home, I felt exactly where I needed to be. You could’ve left me there for hours, days, and weeks, and I think I would make a home of that place, that small island. But not in all of my time of being here in Chuuk, have I felt so right about being here as I did at that moment. And this question that I have been asking myself of why I am here slowly began to become a bit clearer. Yet it is not answered entirely yet. There was an element of awe that I was left with, in how humbling it all was. For me to be a volunteer, but to be continually served and that is how are lives have been here in Chuuk. We are constantly being served. In so many ways by Sr. Erencia, by the Community and this weekend, I was humbled as my feet were washed so that I may go out and wash the feet of others.
From the moment we walked into the “Ut” and even before as everyone gathered around to hear me play guitar, and then as we walked down the huge collection of people shaking hands. There was really no knowing what God had in store, I had no idea how much my life would be touched by the lives of those people. Who even at that moment I couldn’t see their faces. God had a plan and the Holy Spirit lived and worked and it was most excellent to feel the love that community shared. To see the young at heart come around to see what I was doing with the kids as they watched from the outside and laughed along when I made a silly face. And it was so awesome when I would just stand to play and then all the kids would just run and gather. What an amazing gift! I really think I would love to have kids if that is my calling, if God so be pleased with that, but after my experiences in Siis and on Piis, I am finding that I love children immensely and I see God so present in the face of every child. From the point of walking down that row of people with the “mar mar” being placed on us, till the moment we left, there was something special happening there. In La Bamba, in silly faces, in dancing and in laughter, it was all such an amazing gift. And that sending off, how great it was to be playing with the kids until the moment I left. Then, trying to hide and how they took care of me and watched after me with care. I don’t remember her name but I think it was Atreann, I knew it was something like that. But she was bold and had strength. She will be a great leader one day. Alfred, the president of the youth, I can see why he is the leader. He is a great speaker, and knows how to gather the love of his people. He is fun and serious and his youth group is blessed to have him. As goes for Kaspar, Junior and the other strong, bold leaders. There is a gift that every single one of them has and to unite them in friendship, leadership and God, it is a most excellent combination, to see the fruit of God’s labor. The sending off, walking down the line of shaking hands, again the honored guest, but now, with a history, with memories and smiles. Now with love placed in our hearts. And as we boarded the boat with a little or for me a lot of hesitation, Kaspar holding on to my arm to not let me go, our boat left shore with a mountain of people gathered on the shore to wave good bye till they lost sight of our boat in the sea.
The challenge I face and will continue to face will be of living this experience out daily. Feeling God all around me should not have to stop. As I sat up at the front of the meeting hall, and stared out, and saw the face of God staring right back at me, that feeling is not limited to my time and experiences in Piis. Every time I stand in from of the classroom there are 36 faces of God staring right back at me. That experience of finding God in the laughter and smiles does not and is not limited. It might be a challenge to step back and see God’s face in the trouble makers and those that don’t try or do their homework, and those that aren’t paying attention. But God is in all of them, and I need to make sure that I am showing and shining God through me too. Love knows no boundaries. There is no one language for things like love and laughter, and so I must continue to radiate that love and laughter, and share in the aspects of life that language cannot tie down. God will be there, and there God will shine and so will I.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Blogs Suck!!
I just wrote this really long and heart felt blog and to the failure of technology so was the failure of my post so instead you get this bitter post...do forgive me but know that there are more happy things coming from me soon, when there is more power to write!!! Much love from across the pacific!!!
kinamwe to all!!!
kinamwe to all!!!
Monday, October 02, 2006
E-mail sent September 28
Hola Familia!!! I hope you are all doing well!!!Another week goes by and still time is flying so fast, two weeks left till the end of the quarter and as of now more than half of my classes are failing Religion! AHHH what am i to do? They just won't do there homework, and i can't do it for them!!! So we'll see, i know its not too hard because some kids are getting A's and B's and i can't make it any easier or else these kids won't learn, if no one ever expects more from them, then they will only settle for the least that they have to do! Say a prayer for them!!! oUr basket ball team plays Xavier high school next week in a scrimmage game, so that will be my first real game as Head Coach!!! Its so wild, i have assistant coaches, i have the final say in coaching matters its so rad! These kids love the game and i am learning so much!!! It is just excellent!!! I am heading off to another small island this weekend!!! WHich will be so awesome it is a reef island which means that it sits on the outside of the lagoon touching the actual huge ocean as opposed to sitting in the middle of a reef locked body of water!!! Thats why you can't really surf on Weno. Island Geography is sooo coool!!! I can't wait to see actual waves again. Maybe i will make a surfboard out of palm leaves and hit the surf!!! We'll seee but don't worry dad i will be careful :) I love you guys so much and am praying for you all!!! Thank you soo much for the birthday wishes and please send everyone my love!!! Hey mom i got a letter from Martha Acevedo, it was such an awesome surprise!!! Its crazy to think that she remembered me enough to send a letter that just blew me away!!! Please give her my thanks and love and tell her that i do remember her and her two hot daughters ;) I love you guys so much thanks for making my birthday most excellently awesome!!! I can't wait to hear from you guys again!!! Hope to talk to you soon but until then send everyone my love!!!
E-mail sent September 18
Ran Annim!!! For those of you that haven't caught on Ran Annim means Hello in Chuukese which i am battling with trying to learn. I pick a few words up here and there but hopefully i can start carrying converations in a few more months. Crazy thing is that it has already been a little over a month that i have been here and time has just flown by. I can only imagine that the next thing i know it i will be on my way back to the states in some form or another after being "Ruined for Life" as the Jesuit Volunteer Motto goes. We have finished off the first half of the first quarter and we have just returned from a retreat off island. What's crazy about retreats, is back home we go up to the mountains to get away. Out here in Chuuk we hop on a small motor boat and head to a small island less than a mile wide or long. But it is so beautiful, I am still working towards putting some pictures online and i assure you they are worth the wait. But School has been going great. I am continually reminded of how blessed i am to have recieved such an awesome education, and there is not a day that goes by that i don't thank my professors for all that they taught me because the knowledge is priceless. So for all of you in school, thank your professors now because there is no way to know the tremendous help and affect they will have on your lives until you are out of school. That goes the same for coaching. Boy is it tough being a coach. Especially in a sport that me and my co coach have no mastery in. But i have my nose in the books for basketball just as much as i do for teaching which is crazy. Me and Lincoln were talking after our first week of school, that When we were in college (how old does that make me sound) all we could think about was not being in school anymore, now that we are out and on the other end, we realize it is so much harder from here and can't wait to go back to school :) But life continues very well and very enjoyable. Chuuk is slowly becoming home more and more each day, and with each sunset that ends our day I am reminded of the thousands of blessings i have in my life, one of the biggest ones is the opportunity to be out here, and to know that there is so much i have to be thankful for back home especially every single one of you! So Kinisou Chapur! Thank you! Muchas Gracias! Know that you are all in my heart and prayers! I love you all and can't wait to here from you!!!
E-mail sent September 13
So quick thing first before power goes out! I have a more permanent phone number, they hooked up a LAN line yesterday so we will still have the cell phone that we connected but i would reccomend using the other line first since we don't always get reception. Here they are call me when you need me :)
Home: 011-691-330-6765
Cell: 011-691-930-5366
I know its wierd for those of you thinking, "I thought he was supposed to be living simply whats he doing with a cell phone" No worries it was given to us since we didn't have any form of communication at all and people needed to get a hold of us, so we are holding on to it for the mean time and just remember that when calling that i live about 17 hours in the future and if it is a week day and between the hours of 8 AM and 5:00 PM our time i probably will be teaching or coaching :) so crazy to say that :)
So about that whole coaching thing!!! Its wild!!! We made final cuts on friday and announced the boys basketball team on Monday it was awesome, exciting and nerve racking and i am still sitting alittle uneasy with my decisions but hopefully they will be the team to beat our rival school Xavier High School!!! I pray that we win!!! Pretty much every day so if you want to send some prayers over to our basketball team that would be sweet!!! Power is running out and i am off to a retreat this weekend on another smaller island so i am super stoked to slow down and take a break and pray and relax, so you will all be in my prayers this weekend as you always are!!! I hope that all is well with all of you back home, can;t wait to hear from you and send you pictures, as soon as i figure out how to do that i will... i promise!!! Take care and lots of love always!!!
Home: 011-691-330-6765
Cell: 011-691-930-5366
I know its wierd for those of you thinking, "I thought he was supposed to be living simply whats he doing with a cell phone" No worries it was given to us since we didn't have any form of communication at all and people needed to get a hold of us, so we are holding on to it for the mean time and just remember that when calling that i live about 17 hours in the future and if it is a week day and between the hours of 8 AM and 5:00 PM our time i probably will be teaching or coaching :) so crazy to say that :)
So about that whole coaching thing!!! Its wild!!! We made final cuts on friday and announced the boys basketball team on Monday it was awesome, exciting and nerve racking and i am still sitting alittle uneasy with my decisions but hopefully they will be the team to beat our rival school Xavier High School!!! I pray that we win!!! Pretty much every day so if you want to send some prayers over to our basketball team that would be sweet!!! Power is running out and i am off to a retreat this weekend on another smaller island so i am super stoked to slow down and take a break and pray and relax, so you will all be in my prayers this weekend as you always are!!! I hope that all is well with all of you back home, can;t wait to hear from you and send you pictures, as soon as i figure out how to do that i will... i promise!!! Take care and lots of love always!!!
E-mail sent August 30
I found tortillas!!!! It is so incredible and they also have the chilli powder that you use to make mole (i think thats what you use it for) OH its so sweet!!! I think it is so awesome because as i walk around the grocery store i am finding all these ingredients that i completley doubted to find!!! But God works wondrous miracles so it is such an awesome blessing!!! I was wondering if you could send me some recipes so that i can work on making some stuff for me and lincoln!! Specifically mole and beans, and maybe how to make enchilada mix from scratch, because there is no El Pato on this island!! (maybe you can send some out) cause cans travel well, oh that would be amazing!!! OH i miss milk so much, they dont really have good milk, and since we dont have power regularly the milk doesnt really last us that long, i have tasted sour milk at least once a week :( but then we just open a new box sadly having to throw another away!!! But life is great!!! challenges here and there but always knowing that there is so much love and support from home helps me keep on going!!! I love you guys so much!!! I was wondering if you would be able to help out with something. We are in need of some balls for our sports!! as you know i am the new basketball coach, but the school does not have balls to play with and they aren't really found on island so if it was at all possible to see if you can gather up some quality basketballs and volleyballs to send out ehre it would be increibdl! Whatever is possible but it would be a most excellent opportunity to tangibly help out and connect with the school and the work that i am doing out here! I love you guys so much and cant wait to hear from you!!! Hope to call you soon but well see when!!! We are still working on getting a phone for our apartment, i will let you know how that goes and when dit does! I love you all and send my love to everyone!!! missing you but loving you so much more!!!
E-mail sent August 27
Sorry its been awhile but you have all been in my prayers! Thanks to all of you who have emailed i will try to send individual replies as often as i can, but here is a little very quick update on how amazing life has been! I have finished my first week of teaching and BOY is it tough!! These kids are incredible and are a huge blessing to my life but man 10th graders are just crazy!!! They are a lot of fun though! I am teaching to sections of 10th graders 36 students each in REligion and Music and Art!!! Its excellent!!! Its so wild to be living my life dream ;) and i can't stop thanking God for bringing me to a such an amazing place!!! It has been so amazing! Last weekend we went off Weno to a smaller island in the lagoon called Siis where they honored us by killing a pig!!! It was a big deal and we got to watch them do it!!! It was delicious and i so often forget that i used to be vegetarian...what was i thinking! No its cool but to my vegetarians the fish here is unreal and it is done so well!!! The beauty of the reef fish that we eat is unbelievable, its like someone went into some rich persons aquarium and then threw their fish on my plate and said "Samonga" Which is so excellent!!! Learning the language has been tough but i am working really hard cause i want to get it down!!! there are just so many amazing things about the Micronesian culture, and how each different island within micronesia is so different as well!!! They have us in charge of Fitness which has been really awesome!!! Being a PE coach! Wow!! I think i always secretly dreamt about being a coach and didn't know it, probably cause of how my dad raised me!!! Always being the best coach any son could have!!! And so ontop of helping out with the jumping jacks and push ups the students are really stoked about having the "Americans" be the Basketball coach especially the one from the home town of the Lakers :) Two problems, Lincoln is Canadian and B. neither of us are any good at basketball :) If you have any pointers send 'em my way!!! If not i will rely on the 80's basketball coaching books that we found in the Library!!! If anything just pray for us I am big on winning so hopefully there will be some divine intervention that will turn me into this all star basketball coach... watch out Phil Jackson here i come!!!! So i would have to say one of the most incredible nights we have had yet was meeting the President of the FSM which was incredible!!! He was here in Chuuk on a tour to the outer islands and Sr. Erencia who has been like our adopted mother and has just taken care of me and Lincoln since we got here, she has been great, but no body cooks like you do mom!!!! she is awesome, and she is related to the president and so she was able to invite us along to a BBQ he was having and i got to hang out and talk to the National Security advisor on Foreign Affairs!!! It was crazy!!! So blessed!!! But i have tons of correcting to do so i am gonna have to peace out but know that i love you all and that I carry you in my heart always!!! I can't wait to hear from you and hear how you all are doing!!! So keep those emails coming and know that i love you all so much!!! paz y amor.
E-mail Sent August 11, 2006
To start off I thought i would just put the few e-mails that I sent home to my family and then I can pick up from their and fill in the rest with whatever I have missed... so Good Luck!!!
Gosh this place is incredible!!! It is such a blessing to be here! I am sorry that i have not been able to communicate more but there are many things that make it difficult to do so, but hey I am talking to you now so I am thrilled to share a little bit about my time here so far. It is almost a month since i have left home and it feels like its been ages and so many lives have been lived since then but I am learning and growing so much already. I arrived in Chuuk on August 8th in the afternoon. I am living on the Island of Weno (pronounced Weda) which is in the Chuuk lagoon, one of the 11 populated islands in the Chuuk state. It is about 3 miles by 5 miles by 4 miles big in the shape of a triangle a bit. It rained for the first two days that we were here, and barely let up a bit last night, but it was wonderful to wake up to a sunny day, but the sun brought the heat :) Everyone here has been so incredible. We have an apartment not to far away from the airport (then again nothing is too far away from anything on this island) But our place is huge! We are living in an apartment built into the school which used to be the old Home Ec classroom but now it is where i call home. Lincoln and I have been trying to make it feel more homey but there is not much we have to decorate with. Since there were no JV's there prieviously it is like starting with a clean slate which is good. But the school has been very accomodating with our needs to help us feel comfortable while we are here. We don't have a phone which is why i can't really call because it got disconnected so I am not sure when we will get one set up but I promise as soon as we do I will call you up! Another big issue the island has is power. There is none! We spend most of the day with no power at all which is really crazy. It goes on periodically for a few hours at a time but it is very uncertain how long it will last. They have set times like between 11 AM and 3 PM or 7 PM to 11PM but we just don't know, and sometimes it doesnt come on, but it hasn't been a problem at all really. We just make do with what we have and if the power goes off and its night time, we just go to sleep :) But besides the power problems the island is beautiful!!! The best thing of all though has to be the school! I am so excited to be a Teacher!!!!! I can't tell you enough, but God brought me to the right place and I know that I am exactly where i need to be! The greatest thing is what i am teaching!!! I am going to be teaching Religion to Sophomores, Music and Art, and an Intro to Theology course. I AM GOING TO BE A RELIGION TEACHER!!!! I couldn't have asked for anything better!!! It is such a huge gift!!! and I am sooo grateful for it! I have dreamed about teaching religion for the past few years now and thought that I was going to have to wait until i got back to the States but no sir, I am a teacher and I am living a huge dream as we speak!!! And i am loving it!!! Oh man its incredible!!! Life is such a gift and I am so thankful for it! I was thinking today that as i think ahead two years seems so daunting when I think about not seeing all of you and I miss you all a ton. But when i think about the experiences that I am having here and all that I have to learn I am so amazed at how short of a time that I have here, and how fast this time will fly!!! I have so much to learn from the Chuukese and I am so thrilled to delve in and start living this amazing life that God has set before me. Time will fly and next thing you know it I will be on that plane landing in LAX speaking like a native chuukese and looking darker than ever it will be excellent!!! But i can't thank you all enough because if it weren't for you, if it weren't for your love then i would not be able to be here, i would not know how to love, how to be doing the things that i am doing. and it is your love that gives me the strength to go on to move forward through anything and everything!!! I am so gratefull for all of you and I carry you with me in my heart, and I am glad to know that God is holding us together in his hand, and when I think about it that way we are right next to each other! I love you all so much and pray for you everyday!!! I can't wait to hear from all of you because it means so much when I do! Take care of yourselves and I hope that you are all enjoying life where ever you are in the world!!! I send you my love and my prayers! Hasta Luego y todo mi amor, siempre!!!
Gosh this place is incredible!!! It is such a blessing to be here! I am sorry that i have not been able to communicate more but there are many things that make it difficult to do so, but hey I am talking to you now so I am thrilled to share a little bit about my time here so far. It is almost a month since i have left home and it feels like its been ages and so many lives have been lived since then but I am learning and growing so much already. I arrived in Chuuk on August 8th in the afternoon. I am living on the Island of Weno (pronounced Weda) which is in the Chuuk lagoon, one of the 11 populated islands in the Chuuk state. It is about 3 miles by 5 miles by 4 miles big in the shape of a triangle a bit. It rained for the first two days that we were here, and barely let up a bit last night, but it was wonderful to wake up to a sunny day, but the sun brought the heat :) Everyone here has been so incredible. We have an apartment not to far away from the airport (then again nothing is too far away from anything on this island) But our place is huge! We are living in an apartment built into the school which used to be the old Home Ec classroom but now it is where i call home. Lincoln and I have been trying to make it feel more homey but there is not much we have to decorate with. Since there were no JV's there prieviously it is like starting with a clean slate which is good. But the school has been very accomodating with our needs to help us feel comfortable while we are here. We don't have a phone which is why i can't really call because it got disconnected so I am not sure when we will get one set up but I promise as soon as we do I will call you up! Another big issue the island has is power. There is none! We spend most of the day with no power at all which is really crazy. It goes on periodically for a few hours at a time but it is very uncertain how long it will last. They have set times like between 11 AM and 3 PM or 7 PM to 11PM but we just don't know, and sometimes it doesnt come on, but it hasn't been a problem at all really. We just make do with what we have and if the power goes off and its night time, we just go to sleep :) But besides the power problems the island is beautiful!!! The best thing of all though has to be the school! I am so excited to be a Teacher!!!!! I can't tell you enough, but God brought me to the right place and I know that I am exactly where i need to be! The greatest thing is what i am teaching!!! I am going to be teaching Religion to Sophomores, Music and Art, and an Intro to Theology course. I AM GOING TO BE A RELIGION TEACHER!!!! I couldn't have asked for anything better!!! It is such a huge gift!!! and I am sooo grateful for it! I have dreamed about teaching religion for the past few years now and thought that I was going to have to wait until i got back to the States but no sir, I am a teacher and I am living a huge dream as we speak!!! And i am loving it!!! Oh man its incredible!!! Life is such a gift and I am so thankful for it! I was thinking today that as i think ahead two years seems so daunting when I think about not seeing all of you and I miss you all a ton. But when i think about the experiences that I am having here and all that I have to learn I am so amazed at how short of a time that I have here, and how fast this time will fly!!! I have so much to learn from the Chuukese and I am so thrilled to delve in and start living this amazing life that God has set before me. Time will fly and next thing you know it I will be on that plane landing in LAX speaking like a native chuukese and looking darker than ever it will be excellent!!! But i can't thank you all enough because if it weren't for you, if it weren't for your love then i would not be able to be here, i would not know how to love, how to be doing the things that i am doing. and it is your love that gives me the strength to go on to move forward through anything and everything!!! I am so gratefull for all of you and I carry you with me in my heart, and I am glad to know that God is holding us together in his hand, and when I think about it that way we are right next to each other! I love you all so much and pray for you everyday!!! I can't wait to hear from all of you because it means so much when I do! Take care of yourselves and I hope that you are all enjoying life where ever you are in the world!!! I send you my love and my prayers! Hasta Luego y todo mi amor, siempre!!!
Welcome to my Life
So... I know that i am really late on this whole blog and updating deal. I have realized that i am not the best at e-mailing large groups and don't really do well with individual e-mail updates. So here I am for better or worse attempting to keep you all updated on life here in the Federated States of Micronesia. I only wish that there was a better way to communicate with you all the beauty, challenges, love and growth that I am experiencing while here in Chuuk, but alas I trust that God try to carry my experience through my words and thoughts and hopefully you may have a glimpse into my heart and soul and share a little bit of the journey that I have now embarked upon. Thank you for caring, thank you for loving, and know that the love is returned to you ten fold all the way from "a tiny little dot in the big pacific ocean". Kinisou Chapur!
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