Lightning the survivor, the mysterious bite and the sweet tooth of Majuro.

Lightning the survivor, the mysterious bite and the sweet tooth of Majuro. 

We found about four of them at first. Alone on top of a rock, their mother had left them or the kids had scared the mother away. The children came running to us carrying them while their weak little heads bobbed with every clumsy step. Four of the tinniest kittens we had ever seen. Two weeks passed where we almost nonstop took care of the little ones we named vishnu, sailor, siren and lightning. We did our best. Staying up nights sometimes to make sure they were all getting fed. Three ended up dying. We were left with one we had not particularly grown to attached to but one that we now love. His name is lightning and he is a survivor.


Mr. Kennedy is in charge of P.E. for the school and everyday he teaches 4 or 5 classes to the children, so we depend on him to zap their seemingly bottomless energy away. As it turns out he ends up getting a weird bite on his foot that while at first seems harmless, ends up taking away his ability to walk on that foot. So one afternoon I go with him to the hospital and even they don't know what it was.

We started to get a little nervous so all the Student Missionaries decided to take a trip down to the hospital with Ryan and use our love power to heal him. We kinda turned the ordeal into a photo shoot but nonetheless he is much better now and up and zapping the energy away from everyone he teaches. Also while we were at the hospital we met a girl that was surfing on a rolling IV. That was a pretty rare sight.

 All the children here someway or another get their hands on copious amounts of sugar every day. Whether it be koolaid powder, gummy worms, doughnuts, or just plain old sugar. They always, at breaks, find something sugary to eat before they start class again. As sweet as these children really are they can be a rambunctious group of hooligans. The phrase, "Djep ge rro rro" which means, please be quiet, hardly works anymore. They aren't laughing at my terrible pronunciation but more focused on making each other laugh or cry. I'm not going to sugarcoat this, teaching grades 1-3 is the greatest challenge that my small patience span has ever had to deal with, but when I am at the verge of breaking down it's almost like they know that you need them to be quieter. They look at you with their big energetic eyes as if to say, "We understand you, but we just had two pounds of sugar each at break time." It's hard not to fall in love with their beautiful little faces. 

Fin 10/28/13

Teaching, the Ocean and the Flu.

Teaching, the Ocean and the Flu.

"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us."-1 John 5:14

I have spent the last week teaching both music class for all grades and then bible class for 12th grade. I really didn't expect to be teaching bible. It caught me off guard. Honestly I can't really say that I know the Bible all that well but that didn't stop me from trying it out anyways. One of the first verses I lay my eyes on is one that I already knew because of a song. 1 John 5:14. It is such a beautiful verse and I repeat it everyday as part of my personal devotional. 

It feels strange to have left almost all of my (de)vices back at home. It's like what I imagine a very mild rehab clinic would be like. I don't spend as much time on the internet, watching movies, or even listening to music as I normally do. There are children and people here who rely on my to do my job and walk the talk. Most of my life has just been talk. I plan to do this or that but when the time comes to deliver I just flop and pretend like I never said anything. Or at least that is how I feel like most of the time. 

The other student missionaries that are here with me really make all the difference. If I was here by myself I don't think the experience would be close to the same. I recently had my birthday this past week and the people here some of which I only have known for a week went ahead and made it something special. Well special being a relative term, they soaked me with water balloons. They later made up for it with some delicious fettuccine alfredo. Which I don't have a picture of because I don't want my computer getting wet with my dribble. 

In Majuro the sea is the owner. Everything from clothes to coral is subject to the weathering that comes from the sodium rich air and water. The trade off is that you can admire its beauty and live off of it. 

The snorkeling around here is "choice" and I have already broken the 30 ft mark of free diving. I can't really explain it but I feel like this is always something that I was supposed to be a part of. In the ocean you are just a speck that can be tossed and turned whichever way. But when you dive. It's like  nothing I have ever really felt before. I am at peace. You can really appreciate the beauty of God when you are in its presence. Both in and out of the water you are surrounded by beauty. 

The animals around here are also a big part of the landscape. There are many dogs around which make me nervous sometimes because at night they can't recognize you that well and start to chase you which is a little invigorating. Then you find the cockroaches (not pictured...thank the Lord), geckos, moths and the trillions of ants all over the place. We managed to catch a smaller gecko and gave it a small photo shoot. We hope he makes it big in the world like his green skinned cousin already has (Geico).

 Everyday waking up in this place is getting to be normal now. I am beginning to realize that I am going to be here for quite a while. I could get used to this. It isn't paradise but it is really close. 

Anyways, I have the flu right now. I had to skip classes today but the kids made me Get Well Soon cards. So I should be getting better by tomorrow. 

Fin 10/8/2013

Days One and Two

Majuro Day #1 Sep 26th

Arrived at 10:30 AM at the Majuro Airport.

As soon as I got of it was like stepping into a sauna. 

The sun burns.

The stores are much nicer than expected.

Many commodities I though were going to be absent are actually here. (Such as Nutella and Martinelli's adventist champagne) 

The apartment I am staying in is really roomy. We have a kitchen, shower and bathroom, stove and basic cooking supplies. The only problem is the bugs. There were at least 8 or 9 huge cockroaches (deceased) all on the floor and many dead and live ants everywhere. So we cleaned up and it looks pretty homely now. We don't have a working refrigerator yet and the constant temperature in the apartment is around maybe 85 degrees F. 

The children all seem excited that there is going to be a music teacher here now. Which makes me more nervous because I guess that expect a great program out of me and I hope I am the man for the job.

We went snorkeling after school around 5 PM Majuro time.

We saw two sharks, a turtle and sting ray. 

Almost everything gets wet around here. The humidity is so high it makes it a little tough to climatize. I expect to get used to sweating bullets soon.

I wasn't able to sleep easily, but luckily I was exhausted and fell asleep around 10 PM.

I had a minuscule fan at the head of my bed in an attempt to feel a breeze but it was rather useless. 

All in all i am excited to come up with some ciriculum and perhaps even a choir. The children love to sing so it should not be a motivation issue.

Majuro Day #2 Sep 27th

Woke up around 5 AM.

Went outside the room to get some water.

Roommate is also up making coffee.

Oh and my roommates' name is Chase Olson, a really cool and extremely handy guy. He makes his own utensils out of wood. So basically MacGyver.

So he tells me he is going to set up his hammock outside for sunrise so I pull out my camera and follow and get some sweet cloud and sun pictures.

It is now 7 AM and time to make breakfast. Toast and honey. Oh yeah, we have a toaster.

8:00 AM: Scratch that. Toaster 

doesn't work. 

Went to the store. Got some Arizona Ice tea. Had to 

hop a fence because all of them are locked due to a Holiday.

Essentially am having a 4 day weekend.

We ended the day by snorkeling. Which was eventful. We saw 3 sharks, a turtle, and many schools of fish.

I can't wait till I start teaching.