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WindSurfing_in_the_sun
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Name: Josi
Gender: Female
Interests: My ultimate desire is to serve the Lord with my entire life- I enjoy my dear friends who really help me through times- but especially those who share my same faith and support me no matter what- My family is a blessing to me- Nature is completely inspiring to me- I am passionate about photography- Music is something that I adore- I love life and the challenges God brings my way!
Expertise: I don't have an ultimate expertise- photography, school, and work
Occupation: Student
Industry: Art
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
Member Since:
1/19/2005
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| I am well aware that I arrived home about a month ago, and it's taken me this long to tell the closing story and.......... what has happened since.
It started Sunday the 16th [of August 2009 the year of our Lord]... After eating just a few more dumplings with the new friends I had made, I said my goodbyes to most of everyone. Went down to school and gave tootsie rolls out to pretty much everyone. Then Erica came up with this brilliant idea : Banzai cliff to gaze at the stars one.more.time. So yes, Katie let me use her car. We drove. It was pitch black, I was warned to watch my speed. Why? not because of cops, but because of Cows. Yes. Well, with hot cocoa in hand, we stepped out of the car and were greeted by a most magnificent view of stars. I can say I've never seen stars like that before, and don't know when a site so magnificent will be seen again. We stood there breathless, and full of excitement. Laid a blanket on the road and sat. Talked to God.... brought the last few hours of Saipan to a prefect ending. That was midnight.  Now we're at 3am. I'm at the airport, weary from the previous days events and no sleep. Suddenly, in this small airport we on the island hopper flight to Guam were informed that due to a storm our trip was going to be delayed. And, that would equal me missing my flight to Hawaii. oops. ?!! What was running through my head was the next day unfolding... into a dream come true. I anxiously got online with the little battery life I had left... and messaged my friend who lives on GUAM, told her what was up and that........ I would be on Guam for a day!!!! Yes, the tired, weariness in me quickly evaporated into child-like excitement! GUAM. Hello. The airline even put me up in a sweet hotel.  I had hopes of getting a nap before the festivities with Jaci began, but 20 minutes after saying "goodnight" to the world, the doorbell rang. The fun began. We went on a day-long excursion, which included having another new friend join (Mel)! From Jerk Chicken to Two lovers point... and then driving through rain for most of the day. I got THE grand tour of Guam. Saw almost everything there is to see (haha, probably NOT but I got to see a LOT!).   This is the view..... from my Hotel :)  Sounds romantic? Yes. It is. But as the story goes... ( after a lot more background info that I don't remember..) two [lovers] Chamorros tied their hair together and jumped off a cliff. Died. ...  Then... we traveled throuh some stormy weather. But that didn't stop the tour, or the fun :)  As I said. The island is painfully beautiful! I wish I would have had far more time to soak it in. (and some sleep prior to getting there.. by this time.. I had been up for about ... 30 hours..?)  One of the "fun" aspects of this day was the fact that I was the first "Clearwater" student to see the island!    You see, I had hoped to see the island for a day. I even called the airline to see if I could change my flight. They said "no". I was a little dissappointed; but fine with the airliens decision. Actually, I even thought about it the weekend I was leaving- due to my extra-sick-body [that the Lord healed before traveling!!!] I saw that the Lord knew that sickness would happen and that it would be best for me to NOT be on Guam but rather get home. Okay okay. So obviously the Lord had a surprise in store. And oh, was it ever a perfect surprise and treat! Guam is a beautiful island, but so different from Saipan. Far more people, and the place is busy. I like the slow pace of Saipan a bit more. In the evening, Jaci and I went back out to see some more of the island. She took me to this resort, hotel to see their awesome pools! What a sight. We also enjoyed some sweet drinks (milk drinks with flavors... and stuffs.) In short. the day was rather surreal. --When I got to the airport the following morning (4:00ish) they informed me that I wasn't booked on the flight. Um? ? ? really? They said there would be a fee charged for me missing the previous days flight. I sweetly informed them of what happened. Yes their ticketing person didn't rebook me. :) Standby the rest of the 8,000 miles home. If thats what God willed, I guess I was to be content. So I made it to Hawaii.... but the next flight was over booked. I hear them saying.. "you'll have to try again tomorrow... night." It was -- night in HI.. Time zones. aish. So I was rather overwhelmed. ANOTHER day? Then a lady who had seen me earlier called a different airline to see if they had any seats left. Bingo. So off I was to Vegas. from vegas to houston to tampa. a trip that was supposed to take 24 hours.. turned into a trip that took 52. Was God faithful through it all? Absolutely. And a happy site greeted me on this end. My sister. The one who lives in CHINA was home for a surprise visit. She was only supposed to be home for 2 more weeks, but due to a little sickness... and difficult airlines. She's been here for 6 weeks all together. :) So between school starting and my life being gobbled up in the books.. and spending time - all-4-sisters. Life has been bliss. :) And that concludes the story of Saipan 2009. The vid is on my FB. not sure if the link will work But.. if it does, Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=508928462048Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out! jm. | | |
| My time here in Saipan is coming to a close. The memories will not soon fade away and the growth thats taken place in me I hope will just be the beginning of much more growth. I will miss this place. The blue skies, the rain, the sunshine, the 5 minute walk to the ocean, the faces, the mangoes, the coconuts, the people, the hearts, the love, the streets, the quiet life. Yes all of this I will greatly miss.
Though my heart has gotten attached to this place I know that the Lord has another chapter to write in my life... So I must move on and serve him with all my might.
This final week has been quite the week though. Saying goodbyes is never easy. Friday I said goodbye to my students that i've been with.. We ended our time w/ a Christmas-in August party! Since July is past... We were reading about holidays and I decided that for our final hoo-rah we'd have a Christmas-in August party! What fun we had. Christmas music, Christmas cookies, Christmas presents, Christmas games... and 90 degree weather.... haha.  The feeling of finishing my time of teaching was one of accomplishment. This was my first time teaching like this so it was certainly a challenge but there was always enough grace for each moment.  I know that God chose the students that he would bring across my path this summer and use them in my life in special ways.... Whether they were to teach me to be patient, or learn to be more gracious, or what ever it was.. they will each be missed... the loving ones and the more challenging ones... yes they will all be missed. And.. our favorite game: Signs will be missed too as the group that played will be spread across the world.. Some in Korea, others in Japan and me... in the US.  This week had many fun moments and memorable moments. Last Sunday night I was able to spend some time w/ my two Japanese students, Simon and Jo. We went to dinner at Subway while Chinese church was going on and then we played Yahtzee. It was their first time and they totally enjoyed the game :).  (notice the loved yahtzee box in Jo's hand... :)) On Wednesday Simon and Jo's parents came from Japan to have a few days of vacation. They are such an awesome family and maybe some day I'll get to see them again.. in Japan! Who knows.. regardless I will miss these boys!!  Me with the whole Kondo Family :) Yes an awesome family that is passionate about serving our Lord! Pretty much the whole school has been hit by colds and flu.. its a small area and people are around each other all the time so when a few get sick. they all get sick.. including me. Yes. me. But through the prayers of MANY on my behalf, I am much better and I pray that the trip back will be smooth and that I'll be pretty healthy once I get home. Monday after my school day was over the college ESL class was having a baby shower for a Korean girl who came to the island to have her baby. Yes the baby was due the NEXT DAY. Typically we try to have showers a little more in advance but such is life! I don't think the baby was born the next day though .. but who knows. It was my first time meeting her actually.. but all the college girls who I had taught earlier in my stay.. were begging me to come. How can I say no to a party, come on now....  Tuesday I got to hang out w/ some friends.. go to a coffee shop and spend time together :)  Thursday night pretty much everyone went to Street market for -- my last time-- .  Lots of good food to eat... :) And fun things to do!  Friends to spend time with...  and many memories made. :) Oh How I will miss pearl shakes..!!! And the weekend was marked with me being sick. Not a whole lot to write about being sick... other then feeling....... sick. This morning in church i broke down and used some hand sanitizer after shaking other peoples hands... yes.i.did. So time dwindles down.. I fly out at 4a.m. Travel for 24 hours. Arrive home -- still on Monday.. at 2pm. Yes do the math.. (i'm 14 hours ahead of FL time..). I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed me these six weeks on Saipan. Though I will miss it, I know that HE has great plans for me. If they include me returning here then I will rejoice, if he chooses to send me elsewhere I will praise Him still. "For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." Ps 57:10-11 "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Ps 143:8 And with this I will close. Thank you for praying for this Endeavor.  Jsm | | |
| Yes. I am talking about the sun!
I can't even remember how many days it's been since this island has seen legitimate sun. Today it came out long enough to hit up the beach for a few hours. Oh it was certainly a blessing. Waking up and seeing bright light reflecting on my wall.. and to my delight there was the sun. Sure, clouds were still present but they cleared away long enough to get some Vitamin D. :)
I even managed to go for a nice run, even if it was at my snail-slow pace! Well, I kind of had to stop at one point because there were dogs. Yes, I did quickly claim the "I will never leave you nor forsake you" promise from the bible because that dog sure was looking vicious.. then there were 2!! There happened to be a nice large rock by my foot.. then it was no longer in my foot, but in my hand. I didn't have to use it because i slowly walked away then ran back to the rest of the gang [which was about a mile..]. Oh memories.
There were waves though, which is not normal but there was a typhoon traveling through the Pacific ocean from what I hear. But I have not seen the news in ages because we don't own a TV and I kind of like it that way.
So yes. Blessings for sure!
Then a nice relaxing afternoon followed. I was able to put some of my office collating skills into use and help out one of my roommates w/ some paper work/classroom stuff that needed to be done. :). Not to mention it rained in the afternoon off and on.
Tonight I made a nice mixture of Eggplant, Carrots and beef. I guess you could call it a stew but I didn't realize the seasoning was going to pour out so fast. So it was more like.. Italian seasoning w/ a hint of eggplant, carrots, and beef. Ai Adai! It tasted good in the end.
Speaking of food. This trip has been quite memorable when thinking of the foods I've tried. Hello folks, I ate sushi last night and didn't gag! Yes. accomplishment. My Korean students offer me little sheets of seaweed to eat w/ my daily serving of rice at lunch. I'm actually starting to acquire the taste for Korean food! Yes I even got to fellowship around a table at a Korean restaurant this past week! Dad, I ate liver w/o really complaining. Okay maybe I did grumble a tad bit.. The food in the cafeteria consists of Rice [without fail], Some sort of stew and probably a veggie. AN unidentifiable veggie that is a veggie none the less. So yes. that is all. No dessert. No ice cream. No drinks other than water. Just.. those few items. And people are content, I am content. In fact I kind of like the food and the benefits of (loosing weight!) that come w/ eating that kind of food! And I put my chop-stick skills to use. You will laugh at this. The Asians are the ones using the forks and spoons and the American is..... not. Well long story short I don't want to hear ANYONE complain about cathcart food. ever. k? thanks!
Anyhow I got to eat GUAVA for the first time! I tell you, Island fruit is really awesome. I've also had these custard apples which are really not apples. They look like this-- google pic--
Not only do they not look like apples. They don't even taste like apples. You have to chew the "meat" off the big black seeds. Oh and fruit is super pricey here on the island!! [Korean pears are like 5 dollars a piece!]So I'm kind of saving up the fruit cravings to be fulfilled ....... in FL... not here!
---Okay food story is officially over-----
So tonight I got to go to Banzai Cliff to see the stars that we could see despite the clouds... I don't think my words can adequately express the awe that came over me as I saw the sky lit with a full moon and thousands of stars. I couldn't speak. I just sat there. Mulling over the fact that the GOD of the universe knows me personally? That I can come into His presence, yet he is the one who placed each of those stars in the sky!
When I finally made it to the edge of the cliff I just sat and stared and.. of course took some long-exposure pictures :). But looking out at the ocean w/ the Moon light dancing on the water it was yet another majestic view.
It was so necessary for me to just stop and appreciate the beauty. Stop and remember who made this landscape!
Quite a humbling time spent there on the cliff. Yes.
[And for the week in review...]
My week was spent looking out at... rain. I can't exactly admit to being in love with rain when you stay on an island that is supposed to.. well I guess its supposed to be a place that glorifies God by fulfilling its purpose. And if He chooses that rain will glorify himself, I am fine with that. My personal pref is that there would be sun though... But I can't dodge the subject! It rained for the past week and a half at LEAST Probably more than that! So classroom was where my excitement was found. Another week to grow and learn! Yes learn that there are even more shortcomings in this being! Also, I had to painfully come to the realization that many of these students I will probably never see again. Some of them have already returned to Korea and some more left just this week. It's painful because there is a space in my heart for each of these students! Well, we just move on and live life to the fullest while we can!
Teaching concludes at ..two and my day continues. Typically spending time w/ new friends that are around my age. Yes doing some ridiculous things too.. like having a tootsie roll eating contest (similar to chubby bunny.. no swallowing)...
Final score: Andrey [19] Josi [24] --- :)
One day I got to go eat real Korean food for the first time with these girls:
I fit in quite well with them-- JoANNA, ANNA, and HANNA :) anna's lots of annas :)
2 other days I spent time with a young couple that just came to study on the island. They teach in China but they are an American/Austrian couple with a little girlie. Got to explore stores on the island while we shopped for home necessities like things to cook with and linens and things.. :) Yes it took a whole afternoon/evening! But now after spending several days painting the place and having things to put in the place it looks great! I hope that their two years here will be simply wonderful! I'm giving them most of my everything that I brought with the intentions of giving it away.. like blankets, sheets, towels and so on.
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Friday I had to say bye to one of my students, Lina. I wanted to make the day special so we did our work and the last hour we had a party! I introduced them to some American games.. Like we played put the magnet on the star (pin the tail on the donkey..)
The day before that we all practiced our whistling skills.. Soon to be put to use with the -- "first one to whistle after chewing a cracker wins!" game.
Then of course I gave them cookies, like any good teacher that wants to be remembered would.. :)
and the day ended w/ a nice bunch of rounds of Signs. :)
[we're all showing off our signs. :)]
Yes and i had to say by to this girl:
Even more of a reason to travel to Korea. See all of these awesome students and..... then some :). She wrote me the sweetest note you could probably come up with. I will admit to being teary eyed. I'm not ready to say bye to these people!
Well.................... So the week of teaching finished. One more to go, I hope its the best one yet! I think the hardest part for me knowing that its my last week is the complete uncertainty of whether or not I'll ever be back on this island! I would love to come back to teach but that's not for me to make the final decision. It's up to what HE wants for me! So please pray that there would be wisdom regarding this. I have a meeting on Tuesday and I would covet your prayers.
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As any good week of teaching should close with great fellowship, this week did! Sylvester, Kevin, Carrie and I sat around our table eating 3-way chili --Kevin introduced us to the Kentucky/Ohio way of eating chili. It was delicious and it was nice to just kick back after a long week!!
There are only 8 more days here. I hope to make the most of every moment!
While listening to a Leonard Ravehill sermon titled "Ten Shekels and a Shirt" I was rather harshly reminded that... My only reason for being is for the glory of Christ. Sure I'm on an island doing what he has called me to do... but if I don't live daily for His glory. my time here will have been a waste.
May it not be a waste.
To God be the Glory, for I myself am nothing but He is everything!
J
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| Today really isn't a lazy day. Even though it has been rainy and gloomy for the past two days... Maybe for my body its a resting up day but I've sure had some mental exercise reading a lot and catching up on blogs. I could be a pro at reading blogs. fast. yes. Which reminded me that this week I have not updated.
It could be because this week hasn't been like the other weeks: full of outdoor adventure in addition to indoor adventure.
Nope.
This week has been the week to be either at my place or at school. Sometimes it is just nice to get out but I've enjoyed this week. Teaching this week can be described as nothing short of God's all sufficient grace! I knew the week would be different from last week. I just didn't know what to expect.
Last Friday the Summer school had ended.. but ESL school didn't. The teachers began in-service on Monday and so if there were students.. they'd pretty much be mine!
Oh yes. 28 of them! There sure were no shortage of students but quite the shortage of desks. We had to bring in a slew of desks from other classrooms! Peace overflowed during the chaos. Though the day seemed rather out of control, things really were in decent order and that is only because God was present! In the afternoon we quickly decided that we'd split the class into two. I chose to keep the older students because I had taught them the previous week.
So day in-day out. I've been getting a taste of what teaching is like. Disciplining only as much as necessary (which is certainly not my favorite thing..) and learning to love....... without limits. Teaching can really bring to surface many short-comings in ones character and attitude. Yep. That has definitely happened with me! But... I take each day at a time. Live for the day, not tomorrow, or the weekend. No, just today. Focus on the fact that each day is a new day, full of God's grace and a new opportunity to show the world who I am on this earth to represent.
So another week has passed. I've attempted to bake two times. cook once. run twice. Sounds mundane, huh? But its far from that. This place and this experience is something I wouldn't trade. Through the joy and the more difficult moments I know that though I fail, He never does. And in that. I rest.
".... Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen."... Psalm 72:18, 19
Jm
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| Sometimes we just have to embrace the fact that when our Father says that He is closer than a brother.. It's true.
Life this week has been nothing short of wonderful. Yes, there have been ups and downs but God has been so close through it all.
By HIS grace one week of teaching 10-15 yr olds.. ESL has been completed. Some of the students finished on Friday so we had a little party! Lots of fun. We watched cartoons, served popcorn.. and let them play outside :).
To be sure, the week was taxing!
Tuesday morning I woke super early to head out to Bird Island to see the sunrise. We were greeted by a gorgeous, yet cloudy, sunrise. The views here can't adequately be described. Our Creator is so magnificent that my tiny words of wonder can not even begin to describe the splendor...
Granted... 4:30 is a pretty early wake up call for me.. But the day went really well.. I don't remember what excitement the evening held... Oh just kidding! After we went to see the sunrise at Bird Island.. we hiked down the cliff after teaching in the afternoon. The hike was pretty intense. I was not really warned to bring SHOES so of course my trusty neon green flip flops were my companion.. Actually they were held in my hand. I did the barefoot thing til we got to the bottom of the steep hike. Yep, mud was goozing in my toes but I didn't really care.. We got to the ocean .. and i put the flips back on.. and we started wading out to the island.. like a 10 minute "wade". There was coral everywhere.. and a note to self was made :don't wear flips next time. wear shoes..: Yep well we got out there.. Hiked around the island ..Some parts were more like holding rock and climbing so you could say it was like rock climbing.. it took us only a few minutes to get around.. but on one side there are natural pools of water and we were amazed to see the variety. One pool had an EEL in it!! Another was full of Sea Urchins! we did not want to fall in, thats for sure!! Anyhow we headed back.. and the evening we ate Chinese food at a $3 restaurant :) and ate dumplings which were AMAZING.
Wednesday: Wake up at 4:30 AGAIN.... We went to Suicide cliff to see the sunrise. Because the previous morning was slightly cloudy... Well this sunrise was also incredible!
Then teaching came and went as well as normal life activities. In the evening we had a surprise going-away-party for Philip and the Bruyako family.. That was held at the Wei home and we had a great time, despite my tired body! Then we came back to the house.. and said bye to the Bruyakos (the ones that had to return to Cali..) and we stayed up. up. up. because the 4th roommate was arriving! When she arrived at 2:15 am. (yes i was up for 22 hours.. sorry mom ;) I headed to bed...
Thursday was filled w/ teaching.
There are 3 new teachers that arrived this week .. in addition to the 4th, also known as Sarah! Sorry no pics of her yet. She's sweet and southern. Adds the missing spice to the home :). Anyways.. we all headed down to be introduced to street market: Thursday nights a festival of sorts appears in d/t Garapan. Lots of restaurants selling food for pretty cheap :). Lots of vendors, live music.. and a short walk to the ocean. Hello, can you say fun?!?!
I got to try this thing called a Pearl shake. That in and of its self was worth going. Its a milkshake with huge balls of tapioca <3. And...... I ate Chinese...
Friday. Oh yes, the day we all love to hear : Teaching.. but informing the students that we WILL have a party.. even though they don't deserve it because of some misbehavior. You know, introducing them to the term: GRACE. They were happy and expressed their ..unconditional love for me. Figures. Some of the students were finishing that day.. and Katies class was done.. so PARTY. I mean, watch cartoons and eat popcorn. Thats fun for anyone!
Yes. fun :)
Some of my students.. after they....... performed for us. They had a "present" for everyone.. well it was a little performance to some Korean music. They did a good job, but i was holding my breath that there would be nothing "sketchy.." and there wasn't. Good.
Then a van load of us trekked up to the GROTTO. I had written about the grotto a few weeks back.. but basically its a huge rock area deep down.. and the water is like powerade BLUE.
I jumped in for sure! The water was pretty calm.. I even went to the second-highest cliff on one of the sides of the rock and jumped. Talk about thrilling!!! I also got to go snorkeling in a tunnel and see incredible schools of fish! Oh, it was indeed awe-inspiring!
On our way home... we stopped to pick coconuts!!!
I even picked one :D
Then we had a farewell Philip part:2 and...... ate leftovers and chicken :).
This morning: Saturday.. started early as we got up at 4:20! Wow 4AM likes me for some reason, maybe we've got a thing going...? Anyhow we took Philip to see him off at the airport.
Then we headed to the east side of the island to see the sunrise!!!
I think i'm falling in love w/ seeing the sunrise. Reminding me that His mercies are new every morning!
After eating breakfast we headed out to catch some rays.. :)
This afternoon we friends headed to watch my roommate, Katie, play a soccer scrimmage. She is on the CNMI national soccer team! So we were her fan support :) I found out that there are mothers and young teens on the team! So cool. :) They're heading to Japan soon and then to Taiwan for some more games. :)
This evening I was supposed to go w/ friends to a b-day party for one of our students... well we WENT but he wasn't there... Most people don't share phone numbers round these parts so we decided to make lemonade out of lemons... we went to McDonalds and chatted for a LONG time. then talked even more...... basically it was one of the best evenings of chat yet to be had since I've gotten here.
I don't think there are many better things then brothers and sisters in Christ sitting around and encouraging others, learning from others, and sharing what God has done for you. Yeah, I would call that invigorating.... And thats probably why I am not asleep yet.... because I'm just so excited about what the Lord is doing in me and in my fellow Sibs in Christ! :)
Make a JOYFUL noise to the Lord ALL the earth....
Jm.
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