Perry's Post

Dear Laura,

How could you leave me in Saipan?  I know you left in such a rush, but you do not understand all that I'm currently going through.  A couple of days ago, the lone undersea fiber-optic cable connecting Saipan (and the rest of the CNMI--Tinian, Rota) to the rest of the world BROKE.

This means I can't make phone calls (from landlines or cell phones).  There is no internet. (You're probably wondering how I am even posting this message.  I borrowed a friend's satellite phone.)  There are no credit cards...bank cards...or ATMS working.  Flights are grounded.    Saipan just went totally off the grid.  And from the typhoon that hit earlier this week, we don't have city water (meaning we are relaying on rain water and bottled drinking water). 

Do you plan to rescue me?  Can you send a boat?  A helicopter?  A space shuttle?  You could be blogging all kinds of lies about me right now and how would I know so I can't check the internet?  Sigh.

Even though you left me, I do still miss you.  I'll miss the band students.  Maybe you'll rescue me before this year's band trip. 

Love,
Perry

Roach Room Make Over!

My friend MaKenzie will be moving to Guam in a few weeks to help with the church for the next year.  She will have the grand honor of living in the Roach Room (as I so affectionately named it).  Perry and I worked really hard to rid it of the roaches...and to update it just a bit.

Before...

The bathroom....the rug was kind of stuck to the floor....

The closet/kitchen?

My fuzzy orange blanket.

Another view.

Baby roaches that were under the dresser.

A view of the ceiling....

And now, check out the newly "updated" Roach Room.  The furniture was rearranged.  The roaches murdered and swept away.  And a few homey touches to help MaKenzie feels like she has a little living space...I hope.  :)

A sitting area...with CARPET! (Carpet is such an island luxury.)

The bed is in its new place with a new bedspread, another carpet, and a matching lamp.

The closet kitchen got a few organizing things and an island-style clothes hamper.  (And if you look closely, there's a gift waiting on MaKenzie.)

New bathmats (one you can't see) and a new medicine cabinet.  The old one needed burned.

The bathroom is so tiny, but I added some shelving to try to add a bit more room.

Here's a front view of the sitting area. (This is where the bed was in the before pics.)

Maybe a ceiling fan will help cool off a very warm room!

And if you know MaK like I do, you'll know she will appreciate the new bars on the windows! 

This still isn't the Hyatt, but hopefully it will make her next 11 months a bit more comfortable and giver her a head start as she makes it her own room.  I just can't believe I didn't do this seven years ago! :)

Saipan Catch the Wave

I have said it many times, but Saipan is the happiest place on earth.  I love the people…the food…the flowers…the lazy river…the ocean views…and…this year’s youth retreat!

Our event included similar sessions as Guam (Catch the Wave of Full Armor, Catch the Wave of Value, and Catch the Wave of Purity).  We had some games, watched a couple inspiration movies, and went to a local waterpark.  We lots of yummy food including Indian Tacos to celebrate my roots and pizza (because can you really have a youth event without pizza?).

 

I’m on a ridiculously slow connection, which is one reason I haven’t posted sooner.  (This event happened almost two weeks ago!)  

The Rest of VBS

Perry and I have gotten lazy reporting on Micronesia Adventures.  I'm sure you have all been on the edge of your seats waiting to hear the rest of the VBS report.  We had 54 kids come to VBS (and probably 30 workers throughout the week).  I LOVE island VBS food....island soups and tuna or egg salad sandwiches every night.  And on the special nights...pancit and lumpia.  You just don't get that kind of food at VBS in OK. 

Here we are waiting on VBS to start.  We have to do multiple van runs to get all the kids there, so we have kids as much as an hour early!

Obviously, you HAVE to have Bible stories at VBS!

Everyone loves crafts!!!

And food!  (We get island donuts this night with our soup & sandwich)

The kinder class is waiting on everyone to arrive for their pictures

Perry wants you to know if you look VERY closely, he is hanging (literally) in the front row. 

Beach Sunset Picnic

Tonight was a fabulous night.  I went with my friend Kathy and her kids (and a few more we picked up on the way) for an evening of swimming, sunset, and food on the beach.

Here we are...ready to EAT.  We had a little bit of fried chicken, red rice, salad, and cookies to go with our ants.  Nothing like a little extra protein.  (Perry said he preferred eating ants.)

Perry and I decided we'd have a little photo shoot while we waited on the sunset.

Island sunsets....always different and never gets old! :)

The drive back from the beach was hilarious.  We decided to greet tourists in their native tongue.  We used all the words we could muster in Japanese, Korean, and Russian (and Spanish, though I'm not exactly sure why).

Overall, it was a fun night and will probably go down as one of the highlights of my summer.  Nothing better than spending time with friends and a platypus on the beach!

Perry Wants an Airport Adventure Too!

I wonder if I could arrange Perry to have an airport adventure?

http://www.news9.com/story/29353740/airport-employee-takes-boys-lost-stuffed-tiger-on-adventure

My beautiful islands

A picture is worth a thousand words, so I will save mine.