A Bowling Tournament

As the public relations assistant for Saipan SDA School, one of the larger roles I play is to help organize fundraisers throughout the year. Having only done very minimal fundraising before this year, I was/am very grateful to our office manager, Virle, for helping me navigate this part of my job. I have learned so much from her in three months! One of the first big fundraising “events” we hosted this year was a bowling tournament.

As this was the school's first time hosting a bowling tournament, we were glad that one of the parents volunteered to help us organize the event. With his help we got all the details of the event figured out. I designed posters and large tickets for the tournament. We then composed a letter to all the local businesses requesting support of this event. We got a lot of support too! Even Subway sent us gift certificates. With the cash prizes and raffle prizes taken care of, all that was left to do was to sell tickets.

The capacity for the event was 60 participants. Only a handful of tickets were pre-sold, so we all held our breath the day of the tournament to see how many would come. Thankfully the little bit of advertising and word-of-mouth brought out over 40 people to participate in the event.

Although this event wasn't a huge success monetarily speaking, a lot of the people who came did not know about our school previously. We made many new friends, got our name out in the community, and had a fun time. I’d say it was well worth the effort.

 

Fall Week of Prayer

There are so many reasons why I love working at the Saipan SDA Elementary. One of them is that although I spend a lot of time working on fundraisers and other exciting stuff in the office, I also get the chance to break away from all my exciting chaos and spend Friday chapel time in the mornings with the kids. During our Fall Week of Prayer, every day was like Friday. Every morning we gathered in our snug chapel area to sing songs and listen to a short worship thought. Our theme was “God’s Promises.”

At Mt. Ellis Academy, Week of Prayer was a big deal. We always had a group of students lead out in songs, there was some kind of decoration put up and lots of effort went in to creating an atmosphere of worship and reverence. I wanted to help create that for the school here. Our Principal Mr. Berglund is quite genius at encouraging so many elementary age kids to participate in the reverent atmosphere of chapel time. Still, I wanted the week to stand out, so the art teacher Becky Bailey and I created a large banner with our theme to put on the wall up front. Kuya Joe, our schools maintenance man and carpenter extraordinar, built us a wooden cross that could stand on the chapel stage.

That last bit of preparation was in planning the music. I had never led out in singing up front before, and I had also never played my mandolin in public before. The two made for quite an exciting time for me. Like my speech teacher always said, “fake it till you make it.” However, if one is learning to play an instrument or lead out in song service, (or both in my case), an audience of elementary students is the best place start. They don’t judge you for messing up. In fact, they were so enamored with my mandolin that they didn’t really seem to care that our theme song “Shout to the Lord” was both off tempo AND off key. Sorry Dad, I don’t think I inherited your musical ability.  

One of the mornings I also was the worship speaker. My topic was on listening for Gods voice. I told the kids a short story about a farmer and a lawyer who went walking in busy downtown Manhattan…..

Right in the center of Manhattan, the farmer seized his friend’s arm and whispered, “Wait. I hear a cricket.” His friend remarked, “A Cricket? This is downtown New York, you can't possibly hear a cricket.” The farmer persisted, “No, I really do.” “It’s impossible!” was the response. “You can’t hear a cricket! Taxis are going by. Horns are honking. People are screaming at each other. Brakes are screeching. Both sides of the street are filled with people. Cash registers are clanging away. Subways are roaring beneath us. You can’t possibly hear a cricket.” The farmer then declared “wait a minute!” He led his friend along, slowly. They stopped, and the farmer walked down to the end of the block, went across the street, looked around, cocked his head to one side, but couldn't find it. He went across another street, and there in a large cement planter where a tree was growing, he dug into the mulch and found the cricket. “See!” he yelled, as he held the insect high above his head. His friend walked across the street, marveling, “How in the world could it be that you heard a cricket in the middle of downtown, busy Manhattan?” The farmer replied, “well, my ears are different from yours. It simply depends on what you’re listening for. Here let me show you.” And he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change--a couple of quarters, three or four nickels, and some dimes and pennies. Then he said, “now watch.” He held the coins waist high and dropped them to the sidewalk. Every head within a block turned around and looked in the direction of the farmer.

I love sharing that story because so many lessons can be taken from just a simple story about listening. When I wasn’t playing music or setting up projectors I was taking pictures for the yearbook. Lots of fun moments to capture. Here are some snapshots from the week:

Wrong Side of the Reef

One of the perks of living on an island is that you have almost unlimited access to some of the greatest places to snorkel. Obyan, Laulau, and Pau Pau beach are some of the ones we frequent most. The beaches vary only a little. Each has warm, clear water and a decent variety of coral and fish to see. Unfortunately in most places the water isn't very deep. Sometimes only one or two feet deep, and in shallow water you have to either turn around or stand up and awkwardly make your way over the coral rocks with your fins on. I can see why people like to swim past the reef to the deeper water. I have only been beyond the reef once. The water was cooler, the fish were bigger and there was so much extra room to swim around. It was nice. There were four other people in the group I went out with. We swam for a half hour before we decided to head back to shore. One of my friends turned to me right before we turned back and warned me about the strong current. "Do not stop swimming," she warned.

The current didn't feel strong at first, but the closer we swam to shore, the stronger it got. I began to swim hard. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate on moving forward. Several seconds later I opened my eyes and realized that I had been swimming over the same rock. In fact, even with my fins on I was loosing ground to the current that was slowly pulling me back out. I had a mini freak-out moment, and then I began to scan the ocean floor. Earlier on our way out I had noticed a rope that the scuba divers use and figured that if I could find it again I could use it to pull me to shore. I was in luck, the rope was close. It was anchored to the ocean floor about eight feet below me, so I dove down and grabbed it. I felt the current surge around me as I began to pull myself forward. When I finally reached the edge of the reef a wave picked me up and carried me the rest of the distance. Back on the large rocks at the edge of the reef, I stood and marveled how I hadn't hit anything on my "ride" in. I watched as the rest of my friends slowly swam in and thanked my lucky stars for that rope. I never have been strong swimmer. 

A couple weeks ago our school was on the front page of the newspaper. A doctor and several nurses who are working as missionaries in Guam flew out to Saipan to give our students a free health screening and teach them about the 8 laws of health. I had been able to get in contact with one of the education reporters for the Saipan Tribune and have him come out to write about the school event. Incidentally, the caption for this event didn't draw as much attention as the article right below it about the five people who have drowned in the last couple months. 

Needless to say I will be swimming close to shore from now on. I am sure glad my guardian angel was swimming with me that day beyond the reef.

When the unexpected happens, God has your back.

I woke up Sabbath morning with a terrible ache in my jaw. It was almost like how my wisdom teeth ached before I had them removed. After a quick look in the mirror I passed it off as nothing more than an irritated gum probably caused by a popcorn kernel.

Three days passed... After three days of not being able to eat or swallow anything without this dull ache I knew it was time to stop procrastinating. I had a nagging feeling that I should take a trip to the SDA Dental Clinic. "Convenient!" I thought to myself. This is probably the one location I could have chosen to come that has a state of the art dental clinic just a mile down the road from where I work. By now I knew that whatever was going on was probably more serious than a popcorn kernel. I just didn't know how serious until I sat down in the dentists chair.

The hygienist took a quick look and then brought over two of the dentists. They took two x-rays of my jaw. As soon as the results were out I sat helplessly in my chair while the two dentists, Dr. Berglund and Dr. Creed, began making comments about how "strange" it (the x-ray) was and how I would be needing antibiotics. It was around this time that it dawned on me that numbing agents, shots, and gauze were in my immediate future. Dr. Creed made an incision and drained the fluid that had built up. Then they broke the news to me.

About a year ago when my wisdom teeth were taken out, the dentist also accidentally removed the bone that separates your gums from your maxillary sinus. The infection in my gum was a result of the absence of this bone. Is this "TMI"? Haha well anyways, although Dr. Creed has taken care of the issue for the present, I will most likely have to deal with reoccurring infections unless I have a bone graft.

The silver lining in this is that a periodontist is coming to visit the dental clinic the first week of November! If I remember correctly, the periodontist only visits once or twice a year. Talk about great timing. November 7th is my consultation for surgery. I would be bummed and a bit scared about the whole thing, but all I can think about is how God had my back with all this.

So that's this weeks adventures. Stay tuned for part two.... the surgery!
"Da da da dum!"  :)

A Typical Day

Mornings:        On a typical morning I wake up around 6am. I have devotions and make breakfast, and am usually out the door by 7:15. Staff Worship is at 7:20. The office opens at 7:30, and by 7:40 I am diving into the days tasks. There are two blessings I enjoy daily: air conditioning in the office, and a never ending variety of jobs. Much of what I do is online, be it updating our school facebook page, website, or designing new posters and brochures. Every other Friday I design/publish a newsletter for the school. (Below is a link to one of October's newsletters.) This month I am tackling two fundraisers and the compilation of our school yearbook.

October's Newsletter

Afternoons:        By lunch time I am ready for a break from sitting in front of a computer. On rainy days I like to escape to the CDC classrooms and play with the kids. It doesn't take much to entertain them, and picking them up and spinning them around is a really great arm workout. On sunny days I like to stand in the sunshine! The weather on Saipan has (Praise the Lord) started to cool down. Lately weather is in the mid 80's and humidity is down to the mid 80's as well.

Evenings:           Around 4:30 we close the shutters to the office and have what we fondly call "office spa time." Office hours are over and it is time to visit. Some days everyone is busy and running off to get errands done. Other days many of the teachers join us. On Mondays and Wednesdays my roommate and I teach at Dream Academy, so by 5pm we are already up the three flights of stairs to the Dream Academy classrooms.

Days end:          At the end of the day my roommate and I come home, prepare our lunches for the next day, and then sit down on the two big chairs in our living room and take a moment to exhale. I love this part of the day. Time to write and reflect, time to plan for the next day, and time to just be.

So there you have it! A typical day for the student missionaries on Saipan.  

Foooooooood!

     Some have asked me about the food here on Saipan. The food is delicious. Potlucks at Central Church are practically the best thing that happens all week. During the week when we aren't trying out some of the local restaurants, my roommate and I are perfecting our culinary talents. We are very fortunate here, because it is a huge blessing to have fresh local produce available at affordable prices on the islands. One of the best places I know of to buy good produce is the San Jose market. Right down the road from the school, their produce is cheap, and as a little bonus they put this cheery greeting on their labels! Keep in mind, English is the business owners second language. Carrots, green beans, cabbage, cucumbers, tofu, potatoes, garlic, honeydew melons and more. About two weeks ago I made the decision to become a vegetarian. If I took San Jose's for granted before, I certainly don't now! 

Left to right: Teachers Enmanuel Alberto & Carolyn Benner

      In addition to what we get in the stores, my roommate and I also get our produce at the school. Below are pictures of several kinds of fruits that are in season right now. Bananas, coconuts, starfruit, and soon, papayas! I have never tasted better fruit. I did not used to like coconut, but now I am considering buying a machete just so I can enjoy them more.

       One of the exciting developments happening at our school right now is the start of a huge garden. Mr. Alberto (pictured to the left) is the head of this gardening project and has been hard at work composting and tending the soil in preparation  for all the vegetables we plan to plant. Unfortunately there is no fence around our school, so wild dogs and the chickens that our neighbors own have been destroying the raised beds and the first few seeds we planted. Next job for the Public Relations Assistant - promote a fence building fundraiser!

Almost ready to pick - a whole bunch of bananas

Fresh cut coconut - delicious!

The Child Development Center

        The Child Development Center at the Saipan Seventh-day Adventist School is separated into three classrooms and three age groups. The toddler room, preschool room, and pre-kindergarten room have two teachers in each room, and each year enrollment is completely full. Our school has a very good reputation for the quality care the kids get in the CDC. As any student missionary is aware of, working at a school requires that you be flexible. "You will be asked to do more than what is in your job description," I was told before I left Walla Walla. Hearing that prepared me for working here at Saipan. There are many occasions when an extra pair of hands are needed to do a variety of jobs. I find that I enjoy the variety! When I am tired of working in front of a computer there are always other outlets where I can be useful. 

One of my favorites is subbing for the teachers in the CDC. After working there, I am a firm believer that people need at least eight hugs a day. These children are so sweet and so loving! It took them only a couple visits before they warmed up to me, and now when I enter the classrooms I am greeted with several hugs and children calling out "Teacher, Teacher!" If that doesn't completely melt a heart, I don't know what does.

One will learn a lot about taking care of young children from working here. One of the first things I learned is that sugar in any quantity and any form is enough to send all 16 of them bouncing off the walls. I've decided that they can multiply the energy and share it among themselves. It's too bad they don't share their energy with their teachers. Mom, if you are reading this, thank you for putting up with two rambunctious twins! Nap time always follows lunch time, and I haven't yet decided if this is a grand idea or a terrible one. The kids are usually so hyper afterwards that it takes no small amount of convincing to keep them on their own mats. Nap time lasts two and a half hours, and by the end of those two and a half hours of monitoring the classroom I am about ready to take a nap myself.  

          The other day when I entered the preschool classroom to give one of the teachers a message from the office, I was invited to sit down and take a couple pictures with them. The minute I sat down, several kids crawled into my lap with their books and posed. It is moments like this that make me stop and realize just how fast the year is flying by, and just how much I enjoy my job.