A busy Ending

As the school year comes to a close things have gotten busier than usual. The last two weeks have been filled with track & field, field trips, science fairs, spirit week, and more. This next week is finals and I will officially be done with my first year of teaching. It is exciting, bittersweet, and sometimes overwhelming to know that it is coming to an end. However, I still have final testing, grades, and a senior graduation to pull off, so I won't have too much time to think about it.

Chuuk State Debate, SDA Team

Track & Field

The first event I want to share with you is the Chuuk State Debate. Each year the FSM holds a debate. Each state (or island) holds one and the winners from each one of those meet on a chosen island and compete against each other. SDA School has never competed in this and the principal expressed that he really wanted our school to be a part of it. So, I put together a team of two from my senior class. Unfortunately, things got busy with mid-Quarter testing and volleyball games so we didn't actually start researching until a week before! Despite that, we had really good research and good arguments.
So the morning of the debate comes and I am in the car on the way to the Supreme court when one of my girls, Jayma, informs me she hasn't written her speeches out yet. This is a problem. So we quickly write out everything we can once we get there. We soon find out that there are 4 teams competing and each team would draw a number to see who would go first. 1 & 2 would go first and 3 & 4 would wait in a separate room until their turn (so they don't hear the other team's arguments). We start praying REALLY hard that we get either 3 or 4. Sure enough I drew a four. Once in the back room the girls are doing last minute preparations on their speeches. As our time comes to a close Jayma tells me that she didn't write her notes out for the affirmative argument. This is also a problem. So we prayed again, this time that God would help us get the negative side to argue. Sure enough, he answered another one of our prayers.

Xzavier High School

       The debate went well. My girls did amazing, especially in the light that it was their first public speech. The Chuukese culture is rather shy up front and very quiet! The other team beat us, but not by much!. Either way was a great experience for them and they learned a lot (and I got out of a day of teaching). On the way back in our van there was a drunk man on the side of the road throwing rocks (because that is what they do). He had put down his rock and was walking away so I told our driver to gun it. The drunk man quickly found a rock and chucked it at our van, fortunately it hit the ground first before it reached out car. Overall, I really felt like God had his protective and caring hand over us that day.
      Our next event was track and field. This is an event where all the schools in Chuuk meet at Anderson field and compete against each other in track & field events. This included a marathon, sprinting, long jump, coconut husking and basket weaving (of course), and other events. Our school joined with the Pentecostal school because we are so small. Our students did well, but the competition was TOUGH, some of the students who participated have represented the FSM in different Olympic events.There was a teachers' relay, where all the teachers from each school compete against each other and we got 3rd place.. No big deal. I also managed to get a sun burn during this event even tho I wore a hat, had an umbrella, and stayed under the tent for the majority of it. And no, it didn't turn into a tan......

At the Weather Station

In a Traditional Hut @ Xzavier

Xzavier Library

On the roof of Xzavier looking at the view!

Bible Character Day

The next week my senior class and the Freshmen class went on a field trip together. There aren't a lot of places to go to on this island but our students REALLY wanted to do something. So, our first stop was the weather station where they let a weather balloon go and have cool gadgets and weather contraptions. Our second stop was Xzavier high school. This is the most prestigious and rich high school on the islands of Chuuk. It is a Catholic school and is on the complete opposite side of the island. It use to be a fort for the Japanese during WWII, but they converted it into a school. So we took a tour,

Abigail, Esther, & Jezebel

The 8th Grade Boys, So proud..

hung out in their library, and took in their beautiful view. We then drove down to Lei Side, which is a restaurant and had pizza.

Magifer, one of our Kindergartner Boys

Twin Day!

This last week was a super fun week. It was spirit week and the kids got really into it. We had Bible Character day, Twin day, Opposite day, and Crazy day. Each morning we had a program showcasing all the participants from K - 12. Two winners were picked from each class and they received a free lunch for the day. Opposite day was probably the kids favorite day, although, the teachers found it rather disturbing. One of the 8th grade boys dressed up as the principal's wife and it was hilarious. At the very end of the spirit week the principal gave out a special award to him, (referring to him as his wife) and gave him a kiss on the cheek. It was hilarious!! My favorite day was crazy day, mainly because I had a Mohawk  and I felt super cool, it completely went to my head. Unfortunately I had to get rid of all of it at lunch time because I had a parent meeting after school.

Opposite day, the beard was SUPER warm!

Overall,
 it has been a crazy few weeks and they have gone by really fast! It is crazy to think that I only have 21 days until I head home! But there are many more exciting times to have before I leave, and I am looking forward to every one of them.

They eat their Mangoes Green & other Cultural Differences

I have been wanting to write this blog for sometime but it turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Chuuk is culturally different in SO many ways, but yet holds random similarities to America. It has taken me a long time to learn the majority of their cultures and even just last week I learned a new one that blew my mind. So here we go, these are some things I have learned about Chuuk's culture, and yes they eat their mangoes before they are ripe, it is rather disappointing.

                I am sure you have all heard of "island time" the idea that nothing starts and no one is ever on time. The island of Chuuk practices this full force. Before I came to Chuuk I worked at a camp with a thee strike policy. Late once (even by a minute) it's a warning, late twice you lose your day off, late three times and you are fired. Needless to say I didn't lose my job, I like being on time to things. This was a big change for me but it was one that everyone told me to prepare for. It is not unusual for an event to start 2 hours after the said time. There was one time, our high school Christmas program, that was suppose to start at 1. I informed all my students 30 minutes ahead of time that they had, 30 minutes. at 1:10 I went searching for them, they were still doing their makeup, straightening their hair (with actual irons that you use for clothes), and other miscellaneous things. They were late to their OWN program by 30 minutes and that's only because I hurried them along. It can get pretty frustrating.

                Relationships work completely different here. I am still trying to fully understand them. Several of my senior girls have boyfriends (all at other schools) But they never see each other, and there is no official asking of, "will you be my girlfriend." One of my girls wasn't completely sure she still had a boyfriend or if she ever did. They almost never see each other, the only communication they get is a phone call once in awhile or waving as they pass by each other in their cars. girls and guys are NEVER to be alone together. If a girl is caught out alone with a guy it is common for their parents to take her shave her hair off (girls have beautiful long hair here) and even their eyebrows too. that way they are too ashamed or embarrassed to leave their homes. When in groups with their significant other no affection is to be shown, especially in front of relatives and parents. This is still true even if you are married. You never see couples walking around holding hands. At the wedding I attended there was no kissing the bride.

                Once married the man moves in with the woman's family. Families are big here because they keep growing in this way. Everyone seems to be related in some way. Also, if the wife goes off island and the husband is alone it is acceptable for the husband to have sex with the wife's sister. When husband and wife have kids it is also common and acceptable to give your first born to your mother to keep as her own. It is also common, especially in big families, to give your children to relatives. It is a form of adoption and they take on the relatives last name. In one case a family let their sister adopt their son and he took on their last name. The sister never came though so they kept their son. When they try to travel it causes problems because it looks like a couple with a random child with a different last name, but it is in fact THEIR child. It is also common for someone's kids to live at different places. I have 4 students who are siblings and 2 of which live with their parents and the other live with their aunt.

                Along with it seeming like everyone is related, they also have "promise brothers, sisters, aunts, etc." Anyone who means a lot to you or you have a special family relationship to can because a promise relative. I will be talking to my students and they will tell me they are related to someone and I will ask how and they simply say that they are a promise sister or other promise relative. It can get pretty confusing.

                Chuukese have a very unique "look." When I was in Guam over Christmas break I could always pick out the Chuukese islanders. The average Chuukese woman is usually pretty big in size. They wear what are called muumuus that go down to their ankles and then where a Chuukese skirt underneath it that goes down even further. A Chuukese skirt is a skirt paneled together using any color or fabric wanted, whether or not they go together. I have one and it is kind of handy because I can wear any colored shirt I want with it because the skirt has every color possible. Everyone wears flip-flops which are known as slippers here. Woman almost always wear their hair in buns and use special combs to secure them up. It is also common to see females with flowers (fake or real) in their hair. I could tell the Chuukese men apart in Guam because of their betel nut stained teeth (a kind of chewing tobacco). It is pretty uncommon to see girls wearing jeans or short skirts here. Every once in awhile you see it, as Western culture is becoming more and more of an influence here, but it is still uncommon.

                Some other random cultural differences are that you should never throw someone food. I was in class giving a quiz in which I threw candy to the student with the right answer. They all started yelling at me and told me to stop. They wouldn't even touch the food I threw. They apparently think it puts some sort of curse on it. Touching people's faces is offensive. All Chuukese people can speak Chuukese, their language is very alive here. Using the word "faggot" to describe a homosexual is acceptable and not an offensive term. My student used it once and I immediately said they were to never say that again, but they explained to me that it is acceptable here in Chuuk. Everyone spits. They open their car doors while driving to spit, my students ask me if they can step outside real quick so they can spit, and sometimes they even spit inside. They also eat LOTS of cool-aid. They take the little packets (no water added) and just eat it. Their fingers are almost always stained red from it and assignments turned in hold evidence of this.

                One thing I love about this culture is that they are very sharing. They share EVERYTHING. Their paper, their pens, their food, their water, their combs, etc. If a student comes to class drinking a coconut it will then be passed around to everyone so that all may have a drink. During lunch you find them gathered around in groups eating from one container. They love to share. They also almost never use silver wear, just their hands. Even when they eat ice cream, that was probably the most shocking to me, they just eat it straight from the container with their hands.

                These are just a few of things I have learned about the Chuukese culture. Hope you enjoyed!

Bible Retreat 2013

                Each year at Chuuk SDA school the teachers plan and hold a Bible retreat for the high school students. So this last week we had our Bible retreat which was themed, "Give Him All." It started on a Friday which was Parent Teacher conferences, (I only had 3 parents show up), at 3pm. Students slowly trickled in and helped us complete the rest of the set up. That night, after eating we had our vespers program. We split the students into three different groups, brown, red, and blue. I was a leader along with Jessrel (another teacher) of the blue team. During vespers each team presented a special music. After a short welcoming we took the students outside, spread them out, and blind folded them. Then using the animal noise we assigned to their group they had to come together into their color groups. So, if you can imagine, there was a large group of kids stumbling around trying to find each other making animal noises, it was pretty funny. The point was that it can be hard to find Jesus with all the distractions around us, but you have to focus in on His voice and follow Him.

                That night around 2AM a very loud knock came to our door. It was the girls dean who was there to get help. One of our girls was having a night terror that a man was strangling her, and she was screaming loudly. So we all ran over and helped them out. She was one of my students that I am pretty close to so I started talking to her. She needed to use the restroom so I took her but she was totally out of it and couldn't even hold herself up. The next morning I asked her if she remembered walking to the bathroom, she said she didn't. It was definitely a little eerie but our girls took it well and were able to settle down again and sleep again.

                The next day we had our Sabbath school and church program. After that we were planning on going for a hike up a nearby hill. Some of our students said they weren't going to go because they were on bad terms with the locals on that side and didn't feel safe. Later we cancelled it all together because of the recent fights and actions of violence that were happening outside our compound gates (such as rock throwing, knife fights, sling shots, etc). So instead we did several trust exercises with our groups and it turned out to be great fun!

                That night we had our Sabbath closing program followed by a talent show (they did lots of dancing) and then games such as a fear factor game, a game where the guys had to put girl clothes on and walk with a bottle between their legs (hilarious!), and other activities. After that we had a barbecue and celebrated one of the students birthdays. That night I was the dean so I had to sleep in the classroom with the girls. Well, that night a couple locals jumped our basketball court fence and got into our compound. One of them even peeked into the showers. My girls and I weren't feeling very safe up in my classroom because it is near the bball court and my door doesn't even lock! So, at 1 am we all moved to a new classroom near the boys. Although my girls had planned to stay up all night, they were out before I knew it.

                The next morning included basketball & volleyball games, followed by clean-up and our closing remarks and slideshow. The students had a blast! All today at school they kept asking me if the next one we did could be a week long, one of them suggested we do it during spring break, I told him that there was no way the teachers could survive through such a thing. Chuukese culture is continually teaching me patience, when i get back to America I feel like nothing will ever phase me! Overall, even with its bumps here and there, it was a success. 

My struggle

                I am very thankful that God has brought me to Chuuk to be an SM. I love so many things about where I am and the people I am working with. There is one thing, however, that I really struggle with. it isn't being away from home, missing my boyfriend, dealing with frustrating culture differences, or the confinement that this island has. Although these things are sometimes hard what I really struggle with is the mission itself.

                I have been here for almost 6 months now and have fallen in love with the students I work with. Of course, there are days where they drive me crazy and I want nothing to do with them but these days are becoming fewer. My struggle is trying to make Jesus real to them. They seem to have heard it all before but neither do they believe it nor care. Sometimes I think about heaven and what a terrible feeling it would be to get there and find none of my students.

                I do my job each week, teaching them academics, praying before each class, trying to draw spiritual applications from what I teach,  but it doesn't seem to be enough. They are use to praying before classes and sometimes they will even pray  when asked. A lot of times, however, they will just stare at me as I pray or continue what they are doing while I pray (it has become just another thing we have to do each day).

                I do, however, know that they have noticed that I live differently than them. They often ask why I don't do drugs, have sex, watch certain movies, swear, etc.. I love when students ask me questions like this. Not only does it open a door for me to talk about Jesus but it has also helped me realize that everything I do in my life I do because of my relationship with Christ. So I explain to them why I live certain ways. But even then they stare at me and tell me that that doesn't make sense and I should just try it, YOLO. So I explain again and I try to counter their reasoning, but reasoning with what I believe spiritually has no weight to them. They want good reasons that mean something to them, unfortunately God is not one of those things.

                I work at a SDA high school, but only about 4 students are SDA. We have expelled students for drinking on campus, for chewing on campus, and for drug dealing on campus. These kids have grown up fast and probably know things I don't even know. They live on an island where there is nothing to do but sit around, watch TV, play video games, do drugs, have sex, or get in fights. I had a kid who asked me what hobby he should take up because he wants to stop using. We talked about basketball, but fights break out too often, we talked about running, but that's also dangerous, we talked about reading, but there is no library or access to books, he has no internet, access to working on cars, or to a gym, there is nothing to do. So when I tell students they shouldn't do drugs I have nothing to give them to do in replacement.

                 Besides talking about God and showing Him in the way I live, sharing God with them is very difficult. We can't hold meetings after school because most of the students take the bus and around 6pm everyone needs to be in their homes because it is not safe to be outside on the roads. Although we live on an island and everything is close together, the roads are SO BAD that it takes an hour for some of our students to get to school. So holding things on the weekends or after school is very difficult and unsafe. This also makes it hard to get to know the students outside the school setting.

                The students also view our religion as a bunch of rules. They have to wear certain uniforms, no jewelry, the guys can't have beards, they can't color their hair, and they can't bring cell phones or electronics to school. What's worse is that some of these rules are not explained and I personally do not know the reasoning behind them. There is no handbook and often students are suspended or expelled for small things that seem ridiculous. In fact, as a teacher I am scared to send my students to the principal for fear that another one of my students will be expelled. To them our school is made up of a bunch of rules that make no sense.

                Because of these things, my "goals" for ministering have changed greatly. My goal is no longer that they become Adventist, that they follow every single commandment, and keep the Sabbath. My goal is that they would just see their need for Christ. They would see that something is missing in their life and that Christ is the only thing that can fill it. That maybe they will see my life and want what it is I have. I want them to focus on their academics and stay out of drugs, to dream big for the future so that they can get off of this island. I do not want my students to end up like the drunk men I see on the side of the roads throwing rocks at cars and people. I pray that by getting off this island they will see that there are greater opportunities not only career wise but spiritually and that maybe a seed that was planted at this school will eventually lead them to a life that is whole in Christ.

                These goals often seem too high even, but there is a quote that I often have to remind myself of,

                "The challenge to the missionary does not come from the fact that people are difficult to bring to salvation, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, or that there is a barrier of callous indifference. No, the challenge comes from the perspective of the missionary's own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"-Oswald Chambers

                I believe that I serve  powerful God who cares more deeply for my students than I do. Whose heart breaks even more at the thought of them not being in heaven.  I cannot change these students, but I know Christ can.

                So this is my struggle. Living and trying to do everything I can to show these students Christ without seeing any changes. All the while, through faith, believing that Christ is working and will continue to work in their lives even when I can no longer be a part of their lives. Prayers are very appreciated and needed for the students here at our school.

                

Sabbath Afternoons

Here in Chuuk I have the privilege to be part of a program called "branch Sabbath school." Almost every Sabbath at 4 pm my group and I walk to a nearby house. There, we find several children waiting for us. We go inside a church member's home and we do a program for the kids. The kids are all different ages and do not speak or understand English very well. Despite not being able to understand us the kids come and love it!
We start by singing songs with the, then we have prayer (in which they repeat what we say). We continue singing our high energy action songs and then come to our Bible story. This last Sabbath I told the story of baby Moses. I tried hard to use my hands to describe things I was saying and to use small words that they would understand. Next we give them a coloring sheet that has to do with the day's story. We often color with them or sing Chuukese songs with them as they color.
Each week we give them a memory verse to memorize and if they have all the little "memory verse slips" at the end then they "graduate." When they graduate they get a special prize (we don't know what this is going to be yet).


We end the program with a few more songs, another prayer, and passing out a small snack! When we ask these kids to line up for their snack it is the cutest thing ever. They all want to be in front, so, the line is SUPER squished!I have to admit, that I already have a favorite kid her name is OneFirst, and she is adorable. She is the ONLY blonde Chuukese girl I have EVER seen. I may or may not be envious of her amazingly tan skin!





This experience, that started about 2 months ago, was my first time inside the average Chuukese home. I knew that our SM apartments were considered "luxurious" by the student (often time they will ask to come into our apartment during lunch just to sit on our couch). The average home is 1 large room. It is encircled by windows that have bars over them and some have small swivel windows that can help keep rain out. The roofs are nailed down steel panels. If you can see in the picture where there are boxes on a small table, that is everything they own. There are a few other things that they hang from their roof, but that is the extent of what they have.

They sleep on mats that they pile up during the day. The other picture is of their kitchen. they have a small propane stove they use and as you can see, not much else. This house happens to be Right by the ocean, it has a beautiful view. Homes will usually have their own out house a little ways from their house. It is made out of steel panels and looks to me that it could easily be tipped over.
This last week, Typhoon Bopha was suppose to hit Chuuk. The last time they had a typhoon here was 2002, and it apparently did a lot of damage. They have to worry about flooding and mud slides, which can be very dangerous. The missionaries and I would have been perfectly safe, but not all the locals would have. Not only would there be no refuge from the rain, but high winds would easily rip their roofs and out houses apart. The typhoon, thankfully, stopped moving and changed directions, completely missing Chuuk. Although, other islands are now in danger, we are thankful for God's protection over Chuuk.

A Chuukese Wedding

This last Sunday I had the privilege to attend a Chuukese wedding here at our SDA church. Chuukese weddings are much like weddings in America but there are a few things that are very different.
The teachers were in charge of making enough cupcakes to feed about 200 people! Let's just say that Saturday night was filled with LOTS of cake mix! We also were in charge of decorations, which we also worked on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
After much hard work the church was transformed into wedding worthy looks. The wedding, which was scheduled for 12 PM, started at 1:30. The church was ABSOLUTELY packed. People lined the windows outside just to watch the ceremony. Luckily, some of us SMs were able to get a seat inside.
The wedding started with the entrance of important people, family member, adorable flower girls and Bible bearers, and the usual groomsmen and bridesmaids. One thing they did differently is they had the groomsmen come in first and line up. Then as the bridesmaids walked in they, the groomsmen, met them half way, gave them a flower, and escorted them to their spots.
It was then the brides time to walk in (in which no one stood up, which was really different to me). Her father escorted her half way where the groom came and met her with a flower. As they reached the front of the church the groomsmen pulled out a couch for them to sit on (definitely going down at my wedding) during the message. The message was given in both Chuukese and English. Vows were exchanged, a special Chuukese song was organized (on the spot), and the bride and groom exited the church.
The reception was in a tent outside in the parking lot. Chuukese culture includes a lot of food. Full course meals with LOTS of rice, chicken, bread fruit, and of course cupcakes were given out to everyone. The wedding ended about an hour and a half to two hours later.










Some other cultural differences between here and America is that people are not to show affection around their parents. No kissing, hand holding, or any affection was showed during the wedding. In normal, day to day life this is also true. It is also very rude to ask any one besides the bride or groom information about the wedding, or to just simply talk about it around or with them. Even if it is the mother of the bride, you are not to ask. Overall it was a very beautiful wedding!

Car wash!!

Each year the SDA high school puts on a Bible retreat for the high school students. From the way the students talk about it, they look forward to it every year! The Student Association for this year is trying to raise money so that the Bible retreat is free for all the students (they usually have to pay for food). So, during one of our holidays they organized a car wash!

So, Friday morning the high school advisers and a hand full of students hopped in our flat bed and headed out to town. We started setting up in front of the college on the island, but unfortunately we couldn't get the water hooked up right. So our second choice was to set up down the road. The downfall of this was we had to pay $50.00 just to use the spot. This wouldn't be so bad but we only charged a dollar per car!
The kids had great attitudes, however, and started at it. Many people drove by not interested at all, many cars took us up on our low priced offer, while others simply handed us money as a donation. The Chuukese people can be very giving people!!

Overall, we made about a $50.00 profit and the students had a lot of fun! The students were surprised to see me jump in and help, I think they expected the teachers to just sit there and watch them, but I'm much to ADD for that! I also got a pretty nice tan..err.. burn.