Chuuk- what are we doing here?

I have been in Chuuk, FSM, with two other PIU members for the past five days doing a little more than just enjoying paradise. We arrived Wednesday, June 9, to prepare Mizpah High School students for the TOEFL test we administered today, Saturday June 12. Due to graduations and other special events, the workshops were not held this past week although we did get to meet with the graduating seniors and have a round table discussion with them about high school and plans after. We were special guests at their graduation, and ate Chuukese bento box-style lunches after in celebration. Mizpah and PIU arranged for me to stay an extra week in Chuuk to teach an intensive English workshop to their juniors and seniors. Sarah B, our new English instructor, lead the workshop today while I graded  TOEFL tests from this mornings' 9 students. We played an "ice breaker" game at first to get the students talking and laughing, and then her grammar lesson took off from that while I sat in the back of the hot classroom cooled by fans and a breeze from an open door. A campus dog, I'm assuming, walked around the classroom while she was teaching and I was grading. I had my iPod on to reduce all of the random noise into familiar sounds of U2, Muse, and other indie bands that, even though on "random," produced a divine playlist for two hours of grading. After the workshop, we were able to chat with the head of the high school and his nieces, who will be attending all next week. I have to say that both Sarah and I have connected with amazing people while out here. Some have been Steve's old friends, some are students' parents we met for the first time. Some, I'm still waiting to see.

Steve and Sarah will be going home this Sunday evening (early Monday morning) and I will stay behind to work with future PIU students, or anyone who is interested, on improving their English. Many people told me that I wouldn't like Chuuk, that I'd be scared of it, or that the litter and mud (or dust) would just gross me out, but I feel so comfortable here. It helps that I am staying at the hotel of one of our Board members, "Truk Stop," and get to eat pretty great meals that include my favorite...salad...but I have to say that even the lesser parts have just reminded me of places I've been to and fallen in love with. From walking down the street to hiking up to a lighthouse, everything I see, even in a less than presentable form, has so much beauty in it. This is what I feel God has called me to, and couldn't be more thankful for the knowledge and understanding I've gained of our students. I will update you on specifics in future blog posts, but I'm hoping that you have an understanding of what exactly we're doing. Thanks for your time and please continue to pray for us as we work out here, for Sarah as she starts her class (and the first week of mine) next week, for Steve as he travels back to Guam, and for me as I work in Chuuk an extra week.


Love, Jen





"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” Psalm 19:1-2