Asia Pacific Regional Conference

I was able to end my summer with a week in the Philippines attending the Asia Pacific Regional Conference for the Church of the Nazarene.  This was five days packed full of Bible teaching and preaching, incredible music, and reunions with friends. 

There was also an incredible amount of food.  Not one...not two...but THREE buffet meals a day.  I guess it was probably a good thing I decided to have my annual island illness at this point in my journey.  I am pretty sure it was a sinus infection, but it could have been strep as by Saturday I wanted to cry every time I swallowed. (I went ahead and started antibiotics so I wouldn't infect everyone, especially if it was strep.)  By being sick, I went back to the room and slept through at least one meal a day.  Saved a few calories that way. Whew. (But I made up for it by eating an enormous amount of pineapple...at every single meal!)

The hotel where the conference was held was connected to a four story mall.  It was a small mall by Philippine standards. (Yes, malls are still thriving in Asia!)

But by being sick, I also didn't feel like shopping.  So calories and dollars (or pesos) saved! 

This was a very strange floating stocking hat in the mall....??? Obviously, I needed a picture.  (Sadly, Perry wasn't with me.)

Our room was on the 16th floor!  The views are terrible because it was always raining (flooding).  My roommate was my Filipino "cousin", Janary.

As I said, always flooding....

Janary took most of the pictures with friends, and I haven't gotten them yet as she is still traveling.  But you have to believe me when I say that I had the best of times reconnecting with friends: Cousin Jana; Brian & Julie (they lived in Guam when I lived in Saipan...then I moved into their place in Guam when they moved to the Philippines...and now they live in Japan); Cameron from Australia and Bakoh from Indonesia that I first met in December 2006 (We have been connecting with each other at conferences since then); plus so many of my Filipino friends.  The Nunez family, that I first meeting in Pohnpei, even drove over to my hotel to see me! 

The church services were so good! I should start my back-to-school with a week of church five times a day every year! :)

And the cultural presentations were incredible. 

I was sad to leave.  This was such an incredible event.  The Holy Spirit indeed made an appearance, and it was awesome.  Maybe next time, I won't feel so crummy.  

And just like that, summer 2025 is complete. 

The Greatest Summer Accomplishment (Don’t Judge)

Growing up I was fortunate enough to have a washer and dryer, so laundry was always done at home. Though I lived in the dorms for a bit, home was 20 minutes away, so I washed clothes at home. My apartments in Stillwater, Guam, and Saipan all had laundry. All that to say, I had never experienced the laundromat.

During my summer travels, I always wash when I am in Saipan or Guam…where I have a washer and dryer available. However, the Guam washer is leaking badly, and they plan to buy a new one after the conference. So I couldn’t really ask them to use their washer. I had been traveling in Chuuk and then headed to the Philippines, so I needed to wash.

I stopped to get my annual spam friend rice and noticed a laundromat next door. I peaked in while I was waiting on my order, and it was so big….so many people….so modern. I decided that was too fancy experience for me. So I looked up the laundromats closest to me and looked for the smallest…and maybe not as nice one. My reasoning: fewer people to embarrass myself around when I didn’t know what I was doing, and they would be the old school version of taking coins that I felt like I could figure out. 

Perry was a little nervous at first (see first picture), but eventually he was willing to venture out of his hiding spot. 

The Many Stages of Paddle Board

If you are on Facebook, you saw this posted.  But I would like to share with you the five stages of paddle board.

Stage 1: I'm in the water...how will I ever get on that thing? (Please note I would not allow the filming of me getting on it. However, it actually went fairly smoothly.)

Stage 2: I'm sitting on the board! I have conquered the world! (We enjoyed a lot of paddling around like this for a couple of hours. We even ate our supper sitting on the paddle board. They handed us food from the dock.)

Stage 3: Uhhhh... maybe getting on my knees is not a great idea.

Stage 4: I'm on my knees! I have conquered the world!

Stage 5: Standing! I am standing? I am standing! I have conquered the world! (I have to admit, I was pretty proud of this!)

It's a Difficult Place

Chuuk is a difficult place. Full of poverty.  Education is not valued. There is no motivation to work. Suicide rate among kids is ridiculous. The amount of alcohol consumed is unreal.  You drive down the roads after dark, it seems everyone is drunk.  Fights. Rock throwing. Theft.   

Here's the front door of the hospital.  Not really where you want to go.  There's a joke among my friends: they prescribe two things, Tylenol and amoxicillin. 

This is the common look for a store.  They are located all over, as most people don't have cars to drive.

The skirts you see hanging above are the local dress. I wore these a lot when I lived on the island.  Every once in a while, I see them in US.  I stalk those people down until I find out where they are from. 😂

Not a great picture, but there is ONE chain store in the state of Chuuk...Ace Hardware. (If you look closely, you can see the Ace sign.)  But imagine all the prices are at least double what you're used to. (Then remember, minimum wage is $1.25/hr.)

Can't forget about the port since there are islands all over, and boats are a big deal.

And here's the airport. One gate. One flight a day.  (And....guess who did not get the memo you don't have to take your shoes off when going through TSA?) 

There is a public school system and many private schools.  (Catholic, SDA, a couple of protestant schools).  This is a picture of one of the Christian schools.  I wasn't able to snag pictures of the other schools. 

 

Here's where the cars go to die. There are so many...just lining the roads. 

And what would a drive be with a pig?

I could show you pictures of the houses...or all the trash.  It's sad.  But you've now seen the nice buildings, so I think you can imagine.  

Pray for the churches in Chuuk.  It is a very difficult place to minister.  Many islands.  Many obstacles.  

Catch the Wave Chuuk

Third youth retreat of the summer. This one was done a little differently because everything had to be done in one day. So sessions were shorter, but it was still a lot of fun!

Perry joined the worship team!

Of course there were games...

And small groups...

I'm glad I finally made it back to the island! 

Christmas in July: Chuuk Edition

The Chuuk ladies retreat is always an evening event as most everyone works six days a week. I don't always love my band schedule, but when I get really tired and exhausted, I am grateful I don't have the typical Filipino work schedule.  (And it's not just Chuuk, it's all the islands.)  

When they greeted me at the airport, I was showered with gifts. I always feel a tad guilty as I'm the one that should be bringing the gifts! (And I do. Pasalubong is always packed.  That's the Tagalog word for welcoming gifts, and is one that is a part of my regular vocabulary.) I was given a mwar mwar  (head flowers...real ones, not the plastic). I was presented with a new Chuukese skirt to wear to the ladies retreat, a couple of pairs of cute earrings, and snacks! Gifts I bring are homemade cards, homemade soap, home canned jelly, pecans, and Bedre chocolate. (I did not bring jelly this year as the suitcases were already both at about 60lbs. And though I can have 70lbs, that is a lot to handle.)

The above paragraph was just so you would know I was wearing my new skirt, mwar mwar, and earrings in the pictures. 

We had amazing Filipino food to kick of the evening...

Then they opened the evening with music! (The keyboard player and drummer didn't make the pic. Sorry)

There were games, but I couldn't take pictures and facilitate at the same time.  (I'm pretty sure the gift exchange was the favorite.)

There was a devotion followed by small groups

We had Christmas themed prayer stations

And with all functions, there was the group picture(s).

And I was given another skirt!!! 

Short Runways

I'm on the island of Weno name. It is the state of Chuuk which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).  Chuuk is made up of many islands and is known for wreck diving. (The wrecks being ships and planes from WWII.)  The FSM is in free associate with the US.  Their citizens can even serve in the US military.  This is a place of poverty.  Minimum wage is still $1.25/hr.  (It has been that since I first came to this island 20 years ago.)  But what has not stayed the same--prices of...well...everything.  

A few islands on the rainy descent...

But I didn't write this post to share of the poor conditions here in this country, but to share the short runways.  The TKK runway used to be the shortest runway Continental Airlines (now United) landed on. Most of these island runways are pretty short--and many date back to WWII built by the Japanese.  (Yes, they have been resurfaced.) Flights run eastbound one day and westbound the next between Guam and Honolulu.   

Here is a picture yesterday as we came in for the landing.  Just inches to spare...

Then you speed right down the coast...

Once you reach the very end, you should have stopped. (Hopefully, if not, you're in the water.  One of these flights did unfortunately land in the water once a few years back. One person died.)  The pilot has to completely turn the plane around and then take you to the middle of the runway where they roll up the stairs.  

Little Debbie

 Meet Little Debbie 

Sorry, it's a creepy night picture with her eyes glowing.  Little Debbie is my friend's dog. Sort of. My friend can't technically have a dog where she lives.  

Last year I met Little Debbie for the first time.  I was with someone she didn't like, so she didn't like me.  I was determined to befriend her this summer.   Our first meeting, she was a little growly. But I explained to her that we were going to be friends, and she had to get over it.  Eventually, she let me pet her that day, and we became besties.  

I parked the church van at her (ahem, my friend's) house).  I would drive the car (that gets good gas mileage) down to the village of Kagman and then switch to the van to take kids back up to the church.  When Little Debbie heard me coming, she would jump off the porch and run around to where I would park and wait for me. Every single time. She always put a grin on my face.

Yesterday, Perry jumped out of my backpack at her feet.  She immediately snatched him up.  I was willing to break our friendship over Perry. But I yelled at her, and she put Perry down. (Perry was not harmed in the exchange.  Now he is also friends with Little Debbie.)

And do you want to know the names of her first litter of pups? Zebra Cakes, Honey Bun, Swiss Roll, Cosmic Brownie....  (Honey Bun is still around the neighborhood.)

Barracks on Saipan...That's Different

I returned from Guam (back to Saipan) on Saturday morning. It was a mostly uneventfully flight.  (WAAAAAAY better than the flight to Guam when we had people screaming from the turbulence.) The only glitch was the 45 minute delay to repair a flight attendance's jump seat. (It probably broke in all the turbulence.)  

My illegally parked vehicle had not been towed (whew). This was a great relief to me.  I only worry about it a little, since I always park there. But I still worry.  There was one strange thing...or four...on the runway. Two military planes (large) and two helicopters.   But that isn't necessarily out of the ordinary, so I took my car and headed the mile long trip home.

I drove home, passing the grassy knoll.  (It's the grassy area in front of the airport where they play soccer and have bunkers.)

That's one of the bunkers. Less than a mile from my house. I am perfectly safe in an invasion.  It's been standing through WWII and the last 80+ years. 

I digress. 

I drove home past the grassy knoll and all was normal.  NORMAL.

That night, I met a friend in Garapan (the big "city") for supper.  I noticed a lot of military walking around.  Our restaurant was packed.  Since it was a Saturday night she figured they had come from Tinian for the weekend.  I wondered if I had missed a ship or a sub.

Well, 24 hours later I drove past the grassy knoll and it had been transformed.....into military barracks!

There were rows of "tiny homes" that they just put up over night.  Incredible.  There was porta-pottie row.  And then a couple of trailer/building/thingys that I believe are the shower houses.  

I'm probably going to have CIA at my door since I took those pictures.  When I drove back by later Sunday night, they had wooden posts laying all around it, so I am guessing a fence has now gone up.  I will try to go back (if I am not locked up) and get another picture before I leave island.