Beautiful.....just beautiful

Last Sunday a few girls and I were invited to a place called ABC. At ABC they have jet skis, paddle boats, a nice beach for swimming, dolphin tours, parasailing, and many more fun water activities. The reason we were invited was because there is a new girl who is working at the SDA Clinic until Christmas. They wanted her to be able to make friends while she is here and have fun, so they called us female teachers up. "They" being the owner of ABC. He told us we could do anything we wanted while we were there and they would provide lunch for us. We estimated that from the things we did we each saved about $100 each.



This is the first boat we got on which took us on a dolphin tour, snorkeling, and fishing.

Here are some of the beautiful fish we swam with. There were others that swam about five inches from the surface called needle fish. I tried to keep my distance from those because from the looks of them it would be very painful to accidentally bump into one of them.

This is the best shot I got of the dolphins. This is as far out of the water as they would come. It was really cool watching them swim around the boat though.

This is a banana boat that the three other girls went on. I rode one later in the day on a different boat.

Kalah is holding a sea cucumber. They certainly don't appeal to the eye and are gross to hold.

The four of us went on a paddle boat and this is the view of ABC from where we were in the ocean.

We didn't go on this, but it definately looked like it would be interesting to try out.

This is the bus we took to the boat where we went parasailing.

This is the boat we went on for parasailing. Also, this is the boat where I went on the banana boat. Sorry I don't have a picture of me parasailing. Another girl has it on her camera.

This past Sabbath I went hiking with a few people from the Church I am beginning to attend. We all had to duck to go under this part. Actually I scraped my shoulder a little on one part. It wasn't bad though.

Part of a hideout or something from WWII. I forgot what they said it was used for.

After climing a very steep hill which I almost slid down more than once, this is part of the view from the top. We weren't very high up, but it was cool to look down on everything. At the end of the bridge you see is what we call Fish Eye. No idea why it is called that, but it is where quite a few people go snorkel. Muscle man Zach is standing on the base where a gun was located during WWII.

This is the place the base for the gun is located. It's bigger than this but I couldn't get a decent shot.

These are a few of the people I went hiking with. The dad of the kids is taking the picture.

And that concludes my little adventures for the past couple of weeks. Hope you all enjoyed the show :)

The beauty of Guam at night

These are some pictures I took at the beach last night. The first two pictures are of the eclipse...it was so gorgeous. This was about 6:30-6:45pm but the moon didn't get really red until around 8pm. By then I was back at my house (mosquitoes were biting). This beach is only a few miles from my apartment and it's wonderful to walk on. If any of you are jealous then feel free to buy a ticket to Guam :)

Mrs. Luke!

GAA (Guam Adventist Academy) has decided to visit all of the churches on Guam and be a part of the service to show we support all of the churches. We are also trying to get more students so we are asking for their support as well. Anyway, two weeks ago we went to the church across the street from my apartment. I wasn't to do anything for this service, however, all of the teachers were introduced to the church. When our name was called we stood up and gave a little wave. Well, there was someone in the congregation who recognized me. No, it wasn't the woman in the picture...it was her daughter. Immediately when this girl saw me she turned to her mother and said, "Mom, isn't that the teacher you worked with?" Her mother then looked at me and said, "Oh, yes it is!" So the end of the service comes and I look around at the people walking out of church when I spot the lady who I worked with in Chuuk! She was my translator in the classroom. I walked over to her and she gave me a big hug. We talked a little bit and come to find out she had been in Guam for the past 4 months, but unfortunately was leaving the next day. I honestly never thought I would see her again so it was really exciting that we just happened to be at the same church (there are seven in Guam). God gives us many blessings everyday, and for me seeing Mrs. Luke was the blessing given to me that day.


The principal and his wife took a couple of us around half of the island last Sabbath and these are some pictures from that little adventure :)

This is actually part of some beautiful scenery that I see everyday on the way to and from work. Rain or shine it never fails to make me smile!

This is a Carabou

From WWII

1 day down, 181 to go

(Ignore the messy desk) ;)

Today was the first day of school. I thought I was only having 9 students but ended up with 14, although one of my students is only staying for two weeks. Three of my students didn't show up today and one slept through the last two hours of the school day. Other than that everything seems to be going well. Enrollment is still down but the students are slowly coming in.

I really thank God for the way He has blessed me. I was listening to the radio today and they had My Story Hour on and the story was about two people becoming missionaries. At first they weren't sure that they were being called but decided to follow the path anyway. Later on they knew that it was the way God wanted them to go. I feel the same way. At first, I wasn't sure that this was the path God was leading me to...now I am sure of it. I just had to take that "little" leap of faith first.

Guam Adventist Academy!

Well folks, this is the place in which I am going to be spending many, many, many, many, many hours. I'll show pictures of the lobby and hallways later. The reason I want to show you them is because I have not seen another school with structure like this one. Maybe some of you have and you can share some experiences...but that is for another time. :)

So far everyone has been really nice and helpful. The principal's wife is the pre-k/kinder teacher and her classroom is right next to mine. She is really the only person I talk to right now although yesterday I visited another teacher who lives next to me. She was feeling sick so I thought I would ask if there was anything she needed and we ended up talking for awhile which was very nice. I had never been in her apartment before so I was shocked when I saw that it is probably more than 3 times bigger than mine, and she is living alone as well! I am actually glad that I don't have that big place because that means more cleaning :)

Today one of the staff members, Jesse sent a high school student to my classroom to help me set up. Then after that person left Jesse told me he had someone else lined up for tomorrow to come and help!! I am truly thankful becuase I have a lot to do! I know that God is looking out for me and He is putting people in my way to help with those "little things".

Home Sweet Home...for now

Well, this is the outside of my apartment in Agana Heights, Guam. The door and two lower windows are mine. I arrived from Hawaii on Thursday (Wednesday for you--just remember that I am 15 hours ahead of you).

Everything has gone well so far. The principal of Guam Adventist Academy, where I will be teaching 1st and 2nd grade, took myself and another missionary out to get a few things we needed for our apartments. I have this apartment by myself which I really don't mind. Until school starts I am going to be a bit lonely (like right now) but I know as soon as school starts I am going to be too busy to think about it. The island hasn't been very hot over the past few days. I think it has been in the 80s so far but I know better than to think that is how it will always be. I have AC in my place but I don't run it very often because I have to pay part of the electric bill and I want to get more used to the heat so I will be able to stand it more. I know what you are thinking, "Kim, you are crazy." My answer to that is simple, "Did you expect anything less??"

I know that people are praying for me and I am truly thankful for that. If it weren't for God I most certainly wouldn't be out here, so I know He will never abandon me. Right now I do feel a bit lonely...you all know I am a social butterfly....but I think that God is trying to tell me that it is ok to be "alone" right now. This is my time to connect more to Him.