Trip of a Lifetime

Trip of a Lifetime

  What an AMAZING journey! Words cannot describe how awesome, faith strengthening, and breath taking the last 8 months of my life have been. Before coming to Micronesia I was told by the District Overseer that it was a very special place, and I did believe him. But now I can fully understand what he meant, and why he said that. Micronesia is truly a wonderful place. It also is a place you cannot really get the full picture of until you have been there. With that being said, my ensuing description of my trip will not do it justice, but I'll try my best to explain in full detail why this trip was so unbelievably memorable.

  If you've been following my blog for some time I'm sure you can tell by the pictures and experiences that the people in Micronesia are some of the nicest people I have ever met, and this doesn't only go for the witnesses. Almost all of the people I have come in contact with are nicer than I am used to, which makes my goal of Serving where the need is greater and preaching to people a whole lot easier and enjoyable. Micronesian people are so kind and hospitable, and being invited in to their house and offered food is very common. This has been one of the reasons that my trip was so awesome. Preaching and teaching people who are hungry for the truth, and are more than willing to talk to you about the bible is such a blessing and enjoyment that many witnesses around the world find to be very rare. But in Micronesia it happens everyday, and in some places. at almost every door! This aspect of my trip was really faith strengthening and encouraging, yet, it was not the part of my trip that stood out the most.

  The scenery that I have witnessed throughout the duration of my trip was unbelievable. It seemed like everyday I was gasping at the beautiful sunsets in Guam. The untouched beaches in many of the Micronesian islands seemed to be spots where only the rich and famous could vacate. And under the surface of the ocean, a whole nother world is revealed. The places that I was able to snorkel at have been some of the best diving spots in the entire world, and I am not exaggerating. The breath taking beauty of creation was definitely a high point of my journey, but there still was something that exceeds this.

  If I had to explain the best part of my trip in one word, it would be 'Love'. I have never received such a great amount of love from such a vast majority of people. It is truly beautiful to see how open people are to expressing how much they love and care for you. I admit that I did underestimate the love that Jehovah's people can and do show. The love that was shown to me in the past 8 months was definitely undeserved, and was obviously true, unselfish, Agape love. This was the highlight of the past 8 months of my life, and I really feel that without this, my trip would have been average at best. So to all of you from Micronesia who are reading this, whether it is from Majuro, Ebeye, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Palau, or Guam, thank you SO MUCH for all the love that contributed to the greatest vacation I could have ever asked for!

  

Spearfishing in Guam

If you know me well you know that I LOVE to go diving, or spearfishing. It's one of my favorite things to do. Some people say that diving in Hawaii is very good compared to many parts of the world, and I'm sure that's true. But I had no idea how awesome diving in Guam would be! I have never caught, or even seen so much fish in my entire life! It's awesome!

A brother here that came from Maui has a boat the we go on to go night diving. Because of the use of his boat we are able to go to some spots that poeple without boats aren't able to dive at. So the spots that we hit are very fertile, and we're able to pick up a lot of fish! Here are some pics as proof just in case you don't believe me :) (btw all the fish are put to good use, either being eaten or sold, and then eaten (: )

What a Horrible Blogger!

   Wow it's been a while since my last post huh? Whoops :/ Sorry! I've been so busy. As you may know I return to Hawaii in 10 days, on the 22nd. So with that in mind I've been trying to fit everything humanly possible into my schedule. Things have been so hectic lately, that I haven't been able to find the time to update my blog. I hope to be able to put up a few more posts before I leave.

   Anyways things have been great here in Guam. I have really been enjoying my time with the congregation at the meetings and out in service. I've also been trying to hang out with all the friends from the other congregations here before I leave. The hospitality of all of them continues to surprise me. They're making it really hard for me to leave! But that's a good thing.

    Here are some pics of the friends.

Sigua Falls Hike

Above is a panoramic view of the refreshing end of a LONG hike. It was a lot of fun! Probably the funnest hike I have ever been on, and definitely the hardest one. But hikes are always worth it when there's a treat at the end. :) Check out all the pics and videos from the hike by clicking "Sigua Falls Hike" at the top right of your screen.

Pioneers from Palau

The brothers and sisters that came from the island of Palau to attend the Pioneer School this year wanted to sing a song in appreciation. Click the link below to view the video. Btw we did NOT rehearse this. haha

Pioneers from Palau

Sing to Jehovah- Micronesia

Sing To Jehovah- Micronesia

Click the link above to see a compilation of a few videos I recorded of our brothers and sisters singing throughout Micronesia. As I went through the different islands of Micronesia I had the priveledge of joining all the brothers and sisters in singing Kingdom songs in their language. Here are just a few of the places I got to visit. Unfortunately I wasn't able to record all the islands due to limited memory on my phone. Enjoy :)

Guam Branch Tour

Before I start this post I want to say that I'm so sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated my blog! My new computer has been out of commission since my last post, so I haven't really been able to work on any posts or upload any pictures.. But a brother helped fix it and now it's working again.
So it's back to blogging. :)

A few weeks ago some of the friends wanted to take their bible studies on a tour of the Branch here in Guam. They had to do it on a holiday since their bible students are also actual students and still go to school on weekdays. So we went on Labor Day I think? Not sure which holiday it was (and I don't really care haha) I got to tag along with them and tour the Branch for the third time. It's really nice because I get to see all the friends again and I always learn something new every tour.

Our tour guide was brother Eric Lee who always does great in his tour guiding and who also has just left to Philippines to attend Bible School for Single Brothers. The kids really enjoyed the way he did the tour, especially little Kaylee, who fell in love with him:)

I was really surprised how much the kids appreciated the tour, and how much they got out of it! The kids were so into the the entire tour, and were intrigued every minute. They really liked how all the workers at the branch, although not rich or famous, are so HAPPY! It's a great experience for these young ones to go through, and it's also a reminder to everyone of where the true source of happiness is. "Unless you use your life to serve Jehovah, you will always feel empty." Sound familiar? hehe

 

 

 

"Safeguard Your Heart" District Convention

On August 3-5th was this years District Convention here in Guam. It was the first convention I've ever been to out of Hawaii, and it was Amazing! Not that conventions in Hawaii aren't awesome as well, but it was a great and totally new experience for me. 

Convention time in Guam is great. One reason is because there are so many brothers and sisters coming from the many outer islands to attend the Convention as well as the Pioneer School which is held the following week. So many Missionaries, Need Greaters, Special Pioneers, Translators coming from outer islands, and also Bethelites serving here in the Guam Branch.  It was such a joy to see all of my friends again from the 6 different islands I got to visit, and also being able to meet all the brothers from the islands that  I wasn't able to go to. With so many many people visiting from different islands, which are considered different countries, it was just like an International Convention!

The talks were Awesome. There were so many great speakers! And the diversity of the speakers was cool too. Brothers originating from Hawaii, California, New York, Micronesia, Japan, Guam, and even Australia! All these brothers did excellent in their parts, and contributed to probably the best Convention program I've attended.

What made this time most special to me was having my family with me. The three months apart from them was the longest I've ever been away. I missed them a lot, and I know they did me as well. I was SO happy to be able to spend time with them. Being apart from them reminded me of how much I love them and how I should never ever take them for granted. Guam really accepted them well. The brothers and sisters here were super hospitable to them, and treated them like Ohana ['Family' if you didn't know :)]. My family fell in love with Guam, and vice versa.


Below are some of the pictures taken during the convention and a little while after, with all the friends from the many surrounding islands. Enjoy!