23 Years

This year is absolutely amazing for me. I have so many blessings to thank God for, and I still wake up in the morning and can't believe I am in Guam. Where are the freeways?? Anyway, as you all know, Christmas is coming up very soon. In fact, it'll be here one day earlier for me than all of you in the states. Aside from all of this weirdness, this year is also my first Christmas without my sister, Esther. Ever since she was born, we spent every Christmas together, going back her 23 years on the planet. When our parents divorced, we traveled coast to coast together. When she moved to California, I'd drive the six hours from Riverside to Monterrey to pick her up, and then drive the three hours to Sacramento area to spend Christmas with our dad. When we were going back east, she would take a short flight down to Riverside county to fly back with me. Recently, Esther moved to Santa Barbara for photography school. This meant that she was only 3 hours away (2.5 if there wasn't traffic and I kept a really, really good speed the whole way). My favorite long weekend or even just a night activity was to drive up to Santa Barbara and spend time with her. We would walk to Trader Joe's, go eat at The Habit, shop at Drishti (my yoga store), and even found a great vegetarian/vegan restaurant right next door. Whenever she needed models for her assignments, I'd go help out. Sometimes, I brought friends like Faisal or some of my girlfriends. Before I left for Guam, I got to meet up with her at Domenico's, a family favorite Italian restaurant. A few weeks before that, we had a "Day in LA" adventure. She took the train into downtown LA, where I picked her up for some cupcakes at Sprinkles and dinner at The Waffle, and went to LACMA (museum). We went to a Mat Kearney show after The Waffle one night, too. Our favorite things are hanging out over good eats and checking out the local culture and museums. Even when we're in New York, we do museums and lunch. I love being able to hang out with my sister in anything we do, though, and at this time of the year, I'm really missing my family, especially my sister. We have spent all of our Christmasses together, and even though I am sharing this one with some sisters, it's going to be very different for me. Last year, we drove to my dad's for Christmas and then up to Bend, OR for New Years. We set out on snowy, icy roads up the 5 and then through Weed and Klammath on our way to Bend. At some point, they stopped grooming the roads. I thought we were going to slide off the road. We somehow, by the grace of God, made it to Bend in all of the ice and snow. When we were driving up our sister's road, we got stuck. We made it 8 hours through all of that to get stuck right in front of the house. I look back on that and it cracks me up. Our drive was much better on the way back, although it was also incredibly interesting.



One year, my boss told me "well, that's part of growing up." But I don't think part of growing up means spending so much time away from your family, especially at the holidays. I miss you, love you, and look forward to spending time with you again hopefully very soon, and of course, with my sister again.

Christmas is almost here...

My friends Leeman and Alepo helped me get my Christmas cards and odds and ends sorted out after church this past Sunday. It was awesome to hang out with them, but also that they donated their time to me. Whether they knew it or not, they donated to my missions by helping me get a few things out of the way. I really love my time with them!

Reef Walking pt. 2

It's almost 6am, and it's hard to imagine that just two hours ago my roommate Laura and I were wading through the reef at negative tide looking for humpback cowry shells and other little treasures that can only be accessed by foot about twice a year. We were fortunate enough to be able to do this last night, without injury (see my post from November) and decided to go back again tonight. Last time we went, the tide wasn't low enough and we were both banged around on the rocks. This time, the ride was so low that we were literally able to walk on the reef. This kind of tide only happens twice a year, and it just so happens that this is right before Christmas (we dubbed it "Christmas shopping").

Over the last two nights, the sand was lit by the full moon while the rock formations casted shadows over the reef. The coral underneath us was a pinkish yellow color with spots of bright blue and green. We avoided the live corals as we went around small trenches and rock holes. Last night, a green and yellow baby octopus was gliding across the reef while we paused to just watch it. Tonight, bright blue parrot fish were sleeping near rocks. They were about the size of our forearms. Coral fish in bright reds, oranges, pinks, and designs wove in and out of the reef and our ankles. Sea urchins hid under rocks, while brightly colored crabs scattered above and below them. There is a type of fish that jumps around on the rocks, and one large fish, about seven inches, jumped out of the water and into a hole in a rock. It was amazing. If only my waterproof camera was working . . ..

Our flashlights helped us see these beautiful animals as we were looking for shiny brown shells. It was as though we were looking for Easter eggs, even though we dubbed them Christmas gifts, as both Laura and I would get excited when we had a find. Some of our shells were as big as the palms of our hands, while others were just under that size. Sometimes they were under rocks and we had to stick our hands in to grab them, and others were just on the reef. We put back the babies, as a fisherman would cast back the fish that weren't quite ready, and in the process found other beautiful shells that were not cowries nor were we looking for them. Whatever happened to catch our eye as we scoped out the reef; a shiny reflection from our flashlight, indicating a spot where not one, but maybe two or three shells would be living.

I guess it's human, and animal, nature to go for shiny, beautiful things. I'm not really into jewelry, but if I were to see a diamond or precious stone hidden amongst some dull rocks, I would want to get it. These shells are like diamonds shining from under and around old, dead coral. It's such a blessing to be able to see and experience the ocean and shore like this. These opportunities don't come up very often, but when they do, I want to really experience God's design. Being able to do that is worship in itself, even if we didn't get any "Christmas gifts/Easter eggs" out of it. The coral, crabs, sleeping fish, jumping fish, fish being fish, the octopus, starfish, and everything else along the way is a beautiful testimony of this great design. I feel blessed spiritually to be able to enjoy it, especially as quality time with my roommate.





Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it Psalm 96:11






(Some of you who are reading this may receive one of these, as we were blessed with many. Merry Christmas :)

Spanish Steps

This is one of the best hikes, aside from Shark's Hole, that I've been able to take on Guam. Ropes and rocks consisted of most of the hike, and then easy walks through the jungle littered with fallen coconuts and mosquitos brought us to one of the places on Guam that I've dreampt of going to since I moved here. Since this is on the Navy base, I had slim hopes of being able to do this hike until I met some awesome military friends who arranged everything. Friends Lynn and Joyce came along with us and also had an amazing time. I can't wait to do it again.

Blessings of all kinds

This Thanksgiving, my friend Delight brought me a package that he forgot he had in his car from the last post office run. I received many c.d.s from my friend Angie and her family who are currently in Texas. A while ago, I put out a call for some good Christian c.d.s and she was the only one who responded. Of these, I received the new Mat Kearney c.d. and the Kutless c.d. and other awesome ones, like Matthew West, Group One Crew, Switchfoot, Toby Mac, and I think one more? My friends were excited about these, too. Now, I have some positive music to listen to when I'm driving. The radio stations here are kinda....eh, and there's no Air 1. Now, I can choose between mainstream and Christian. Sweet!

Thanks Angie!!

STUCO carwash

Our Student Body had a fundraising carwash at the Lutheran Church of Guam (LCG) this past Saturday. I'd have to say that not only was it a blast, but a pretty big success. They had a professional looking operation of people directing cars in, a team washing them, then a tent set up to dry and vacuum.

I got the Jeep washed and vacuumed as it needed it badly. We had spilled peanuts and other snacks on the inside, plus lots of sand and grass, and then the outside was a filthy dusty mess from all of our recent adventures. It looked great after and still does!








It was a lot bigger than I imagined it to be- almost every student from campus, even some commuters, came down to help out. Jayleen and some of the girls cooked us delicious chicken and rice (local favorite), and we got to take some small breaks on the beach out back.

The only thing I did to help was to hang out on the side of the road trying to cheer people into the parking lot. We had signs held up, dancing, jumping, and all kinds of crazy things. Rob wasn't sure whether that was attracting customers or scaring them away. Whatever it did, we had a great time doing it.














After we all cleaned up, some of our friends headed down to one of my favorite beaches to swim while the sun was setting. It was a great way to end a long day of hard work. I'm really proud of our students, and blessed to have some amazing friends here. I can't wait to see what we do next as a community.

Ritidian Point

This past Monday, my friends Alepo, Leeman, and I went to explore a nature preserve on the northernmost part of the island. We wanted to get off campus to hang out, and none of us had been there before, so it was a pretty cool experience for all of us. The drive was a lot longer than we expected, but the views were awesome. I'm pretty excited that we saw a pig cross the road, but that's just 'cuz I'm new out here.

After a hike to the ocean, we finally got to just relax.

Leeman brought his guitar, but it was too windy to play, so we just sat on a slab of cement that probably had to do with the military at some point. They told me the story of how they met, which is always interesting to hear both great sides at the same time. Alepo has an awesome sense of humor and she's pretty animated. She also has a lot of great insight and generally good vibes. Leeman can be wise, silly, and sarcastic all at the same time. Something that's cool about them, and I hope it's not offensive to them that I'm writing this, is that they come from two different islands. Leeman's from Palau, and Alepo is from Chuuk. The different cultures, expectations, and languages don't seem to matter to them nor get in the way of the relationship. I think that's awesome, seeing as half the time I'm worried about whether or not something's appropriate for someone else's culture, or whether or not I'm offending anyone. I think they might have worked out a lot of these kinks, and that's going to be a blessing for me. When I'm with Leeman and Alepo, I get a good Christian perspective without a lot of cultural hangups- or, I get a few ways to look at things. It's hard to explain, but these two are like family to me out here, and it's really cool to be able to have time away with them. I'm totally looking forward to whatever we get to do next :)