Sabbath on the Islands

Church in Delap doesn’t quite sit with me. It’s like a predictable montage, if such a thing exists. These fragments and elements are taken from different views on how church is supposed to be, then put together to create a sort of formality they call worship. Sermons are given, often word for word, by slides on a projector. I have hymns memorized. I wear skirts past my knees because heaven forbid anyone see that bony part of my leg. I sit, I stand, I kneel when they tell me. And I bring paper and a pen, so I can draw--but they frown at me. I go--Wednesday, Friday, and twice on Saturday--because I must. “It’s part of my service as a student missionary.”

Yesterday I did not go to church. But I did experience Sabbath. Travis, Carrie, Scott, John, and I grabbed breakfast, packed our bags, and headed out. We were off campus by 8:30, and with packs on our backs, we started walking toward the edge of our atoll. Before we hit the water, Carrie and I freed ourselves from the skirts we had over our shorts, slipped on our water shoes, and treaded the first stretch of knee-deep water to get to the next island.

We did this for six hours and eleven islands--picking up shells, talking, climbing trees, forging paths, and laughing all the while. Our last stop was a lovely, little, unoccupied island with a small, but beautiful wooden house, lawn chairs, open gazebo, and a dock where we settled to eat lunch. Scott noticed some gray clouds coming our way, and we realized that with the speed of wind, it’d soon rain on us. And it did, a rather cold and hard-hitting shower. We huddled under the shelter of canoes until the rain passed, and then decided it’d be best to start our trek back.

Walking back over the coral and through water held less laughter and excitement as the bottoms of our feet and exhausted muscles fought against us. But as we were in-between islands, I told our group that for the first time in a long time, I enjoyed my Sabbath.

God is seen in more than a building filled with pews. He can be found where you earnestly seek Him. And just as much, he can be hidden behind a forced routine and set of rules. We sometimes lose sight of God, and focus on us, on Adventism, on doing it right and looking good, rather than sharing and experiencing Him in, what seems to us, an unconventional way, but perhaps in a way others see Him best.

Stopping at our first island

Wading through the water

Travis, me, and Carrie (probably playing "I have never...")

Huddling under the canoes

Starfish :)

Wish List

A lot of people ask me what I would like them to send me. Honestly, I feel funny asking for stuff, but getting packages does make me happy. And this way, I can refer people to this list next time they ask again, perhaps in frustration because I haven't yet told them.

So if you reeeaally love me that much . . .

Laundry soap in little baggies.
Goldfish crackers!!!
Games/cards (we Sms can get rather bored at times)
Latex gloves
Goggles (a sweet, seven-year-old broke mine)
Books
Audrey Hepburn DVDs (I always feel happy after watching one of her movies. Always)
Oven mits
Paper (my high schoolers go through my stacks fast)
Jelly
Chalk
Splenda (addict)
Red pens
Air Freshener/spray (my students get sweaty)
Instant tea
Flip flops
Copy paper (I’ve been printing tests and quizzes on lined paper)
A Nalgene bottle
Gum
Clear nail polish
Tupperware
Pictures (I miss everybody so much, and I'm unhappy that I didn't bring any photos with me)

P.O. Box I (letter "i") - SDA Mission
Majuro, Marhsall Islands, 96960

English Teaching (for lack of a creative title)

A friend mentioned my slack in blog posts. I didn’t feel guilty until I realized I had people who thought I was still teaching second grade. My bad.

About five or so weeks ago, I was asked to take over high school English; a long story--one I don’t have the energy to get into, but as of today, I have been teaching sixty-three high school students for one month.

I’m now sitting in my new(ish) classroom. Notes on the American Romanticism period are scribbled across my chalkboard, and I’m hoping my Juniors study for their quiz tomorrow. I like it here. The other day, Carrie said to me, “I can tell you’re happier these days.”
I believe I am.

I’m surprised at how quickly I’ve fallen into the drawl of this high school routine. I was too intimidated to apply for English when I chose my positions early in the year. A few students are my age, and some are even older--no lie. Thankfully, that hasn’t affected my work, or their cooperation in learning. Maybe because they don’t know.

I do miss my little second graders. They still visit me on occasion. I hear them running up the steps to the high school hall after school, screaming, “Miss Julie!!” Miss Julie is their new teacher, and I’ve stopped responding to that name. I think I may sometimes glare when they call me that. Dillon told me yesterday, “I’m scared to call you Miss Julie now, because I don’t want you to be mad.” I might have to rethink my response to the accidental and automatic mix-up of our names.

And though I miss the little people, I’ve grown surprisingly attached to my new students. Very much. They give me my good days. I thought I’d have a hard time leaving my second grade students at the end of the school year. I had no idea. In chapel, as I watched some of my sophomore boys sing up front, the last thing I wanted to think about was having to leave them. I didn’t know one could care for non-family/friends this much. I smiled this week when Nikko told me he wanted to call me Sister. Though he’s younger, he does look after me. He and Keja. They would not fit so easily into my suitcase like Aana. I may have to come up with something else.
As the days go by, I fall more in love with English (I officially decided that, had I lived in the 1800s, I would have asked Washington Irving to marry me), and more in love with my students (I’ve turned down only three proposals so far). I would say life is good right now.

Keja & Nikko (Miyoshi)

What my boys do when I give them time to study for their quiz

"Freshladiez"

Keja

Mailon, Bokie, & Tyo

Sophomore boys

My ESL students