Well here I am: in Pohnpei, Micronesia. I am going to be teaching Kindergarten here at the Pohnpei SDA school. Needless to say, I am very nervous.
I got back from my program in Spain the night of the 28th of July and left for Hawaii the morning of the 29th. I was very jet-lagged but I think the adrenaline rush helped me get through the day. We had orientation in Hawaii with all the island SM's. It was amazing seeing how many college kids were willing to give up a year of their life to go help others! There are 14 of us here in Pohnpei. Less than the usual amount that come every year, but we are making it work with people teaching various classes even though they are not the ones they signed up for. During the Hawaii orientation, we were taught how to teach classes. It was not nearly enough time to learn everything that we needed but the speakers were very helpful. Tropical storm Flossy hit Hawaii while we were there. It did not hit Honolulu as hard as some of the other islands. But it was raining quite a bit and there was a lot of wind!
On Wednesday at 4:00 am, we left for the Honolulu airport to head to our islands. It was a long trip because of all the stops we had to make at the other islands where we dropped off the other SM's. Pohnpei was the 3rd island down the line. When we stepped off the plane, we were immediately greeted with the humidity and the lovely people who brought us beautiful leis for our heads. At the school, we settled into our apartments, had an amazingly yummy lunch made by some church members, and then went for a hike to a waterfall where we were able to get cooled off.
The next day we got to go to a small little island to snorkel. Oh the beauty! It was truly the definition of paradise on Earth! There were so many little fish and coral to see! After our boat ride back, we hopped in our truck for the 40 minute ride home. We ride in the back of a truck for transportation which is quite fun, cools you off, but can become quite uncomfortable! We had fun trying to get a leaf or some other greenery from the side of the road while the truck was going and I got a pretty long one! I had made a deal with Riley earlier that week saying that if he caught a fish while spear fishing like he said he would, I would try a tiny bite once he cooked it up really good. So in the truck I made a deal saying that if he could get a flower from the side of the road, I would take a regular size bite of the fish. I thought it was pretty much impossible to get one but, he did. So now I have to try fish. I'm not sure if I will like it or not! Vespers that night was mostly for youth but we had a great message and some wonderful singing! Not sure what we would have done without the fans in the church though! It was so hot!
Church was a great experience! There was a sermon talking to us about what our story was. How did we get here? At first, the speaker spoke in their native language and we had absolutely NO idea what he was saying. It was quite amusing I'm sure to see all the confused faces of the SM's in the front couple of rows. Then we had a dedication prayer in the front of the church for all the SM's which I really liked. We are here to teach the children about God above all else. Half way through the service, the electricity went out, along with the fans. Oh my word I thought I wouldn't be able to endure the heat! It was crazy hot! The potluck after church was fantastic! Such yummy food!! I eat as much as I can at these events because one, the food is very delicious, and second the food is so expensive here I don't buy as much stuff. Vespers that night consisted of us telling our stories about how we got to Pohnpei. We all had such amazing stories! It's amazing how God brings us all together even though it wasn't necessarily our plan in the first place.
Today was our first day of orientation. So much stuff to know and kind of overwhelming! I mean, now I'm a teacher! Parent teacher conferences, staying after school, phone calls to parents, helping kids understand, ahhhhh! I know it is only Kindergarten, but still it is a little crazy! We got to see our classrooms today and start working on them. My classroom is so cute! It is mostly decorated already, but there is SO much cleaning to do! I had Riley and Roy help me kill all the spiders and move all my desks today. There is still so much to do but I have a whole week to do it.
Tonight we had a dedication dinner for the SM's put on by the members of the 4 churches here on the island. Each SM got "adopted" by a family and whatever family you got adopted by, their church was your home church. Riley, Roy, Danny, and I are now part of the Kitche (I'm not quite sure how to spell it) church. It is about 30 miles away from the school so it is quite the drive! Our host families are very nice and loving. They seem to be very happy that we are here to teach their children. They are so accepting! I thank God everyday that He gave me the opportunity to be here on an island where I am needed. I only hope I can demonstrate God's love through my actions and teach the children about Him.
Although I was not planning to become a student missionary this year, or even at all, I am so glad I did. God has something extraordinary planned. I can feel it! I am so excited to be with these other awesome SM's and local people. I'm sorry about the super long post. I promise the rest of my posts won't be as long, I was just trying to cover everything I haven't blogged yet!
Keep me in your prayers!
So much of what you've written reminds me of my year in Palau, and brings back great memories. Having SM'd in the islands I will just suggest this: pray a lot, trust God, expect the unexpected and don't worry God will give you the strength to get through it all. It will be challenging,and it will probably seem like you got far more than a year worth of experience out of it. Sometimes it will seem like its too much, just remember that if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it. May God bless your year of service and show you that you are capable for far more with Him than you ever imagined!
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