September 20-26, 2011- Year Four of 4-H!

Another week has come and gone, and I still have a job, my family is healthy, the roof over my head is strong, my fridge has more than enough food to nourish my body, and I live on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific.  I am blessed! These are tumultuous times, but if we can be thankful for what we do have, life is so much smoother day by day. 

     As September comes to a close, all the activities of the school year are in full swing. This year, I volunteered to be secretary of the PTO (Parent Teacher organization), and a Den Leader for the Cub Scouts in addition to my usual commitments to teach Sunday School, be a weekly reader in my child’s class, and lead the 4-H Ebeye Citizenship Club.  As for 4-H, this will be my fourth year organizing and leading this club, and I am super excited for what is in store this year.  We have a record number of participants this time from both Ebeye and Kwajalein.  At our first organizational meeting and campus cleanup yesterday at Ebeye Public Elementary School, we had over 50 participants, including accompanying parent and teenage volunteers.  It was fabulous!!

     In case you are not familiar with 4-H or think it is only for farmers dealing with pigs and cows, etc…I’d like to take a minute to write about it here. 4-H is an organized group of at least 5 youth from 3 different families who meet regularly with adults and/or staff volunteers for a long-term, progressive series of educational experiences. 4-H is open to all youth ages 5-18.  The purpose of 4-H is to provide positive youth development activities to meet the needs of young people and to give them experiences in belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity.  There are many different types of 4-H clubs, but ours is focused on Citizenship and becoming good citizens, which is defined by the Character Counts! Program as people who stay informed and vote, are good neighbors, obey laws and rules, respect authority, protect the environment, and make their schools and communities better.  The Ebeye Citizenship club strives to encourage all its members to be active citizens and provide them with the opportunity to practice citizenship.  Active citizens who with others to create, change, and improve the world around them, which we did in some small measure today by cleaning up the campus of the public school on Ebeye.  We are looking forward to more projects like this throughout the 2011-2012 school year, such as our planting project where we can fulfill the 4-H pledge by employing our heads to clearer thinking, our hearts to greater loyalty, our hands to larger service, and our health to better living for our club, our community, our countries, and our world! Wish us luck and if you live on Kwaj or Ebeye, come out and join us when you see our group out and about! J

September 12-19, 2011- Giving Back to the Islands…

     Giving back is a part of every culture and country in the world, and there are so many ways to do so.  In the Marshalls, education has become a primary focus of charity organizations and events over the years.  On Kwajalein, there’s a group called the Yokwe Yuk Women’s Club (YYWC), and they give back to education through sales at the Micronesian Handicraft Shop and the Bargain Bazaar, which they staff by club volunteers alone. The money generally goes to buy school supplies for schools throughout the Marshall Islands, including very remote sites and those just a couple of miles away.  There are many others who give of their time during the week or on weekends to volunteer at the schools on Ebeye, teaching math or English, to the 30+ students per class, most of whom do not have a book through which to learn, but instead have to copy down every math problem or English conjugation by hand from the board with their limited supply of paper and pencils.  In addition to the one public school on the island, Ebeye is populated by more than 5 different religious organizations, most of whom have established private schools on the island with over 15,000 people living on 80 acres of coral.  Around 50% of the native population is under the age of 18, so the one public school cannot handle all the children, and the missionary schools help to educate the overflow, as long as you can afford the tuition. Many families cannot afford to attend any school (as the public school charges tuition as well), so there are many children who receive no education at all.  All of this is just a small part of the numerous reasons why education has become such a need in the Marshalls and the focus for most donations and service work coming from outsiders to the atoll. 

     This weekend, the boys and I headed back to Roi (it’s been quite a while since my babies have been to Roi, so we were all very excited to jump on the plane to commute to what has become one of our favorite relaxing “road trip” spots on the atoll) for an ECCF (Enniburr Children’s Christmas Fund) Fundraising Chili Cook-Off Event.  Like Ebeye is to Kwajalein, Enniburr (or Santo as the locals call it) is to Roi-Namur.  This is the island where many friends and co-workers reside, and like Ebeye for Kwajalein residents, it is the closest view for those living on base of real Marshallese life, and so it has become a focus for charity and service as well.  Unlike Ebeye, Enniburr has only one school, the public school, and a much, much smaller population, but similar to Ebeye, there are families who cannot afford the $10 tuition to send their child to school, and so they receive no education.  The ECCF was established, like the YYWC, in order to give back to education, but specifically for Enniburr.  The main focus of its fundraising work each year, including the Chili Cook-Off, is to raise money for the big Christmas Party for the children of the island.  Around the holidays, all the families of Enniburr are invited to Roi-Namur to eat, play, and receive presents (usually backpacks full of school supplies and flip flops) to start off the New Year right.  The Chili Cook-Off has always been the biggest fundraiser towards this effort. Basically, t-shirts, food, and beverages are sold, all proceeds for the ECCF fund, and chili chefs compete for the best chili, charging $10 for each judge who wants to taste test and vote. Oh, and then there’s the pie toss, where employees of the contractors on base put money up in order to throw a pie in the faces of a boss or supervisor or sometimes just a popular friend on the atoll, all for the children’s fund. 

      It turned out to be an awesome day, no matter how much money was made. In fact, the giving began before the event was even finished when ECCF donated $200 to the school to pay for 20 students tuition for the year, so all students on the island could attend! That was the best part in my book because as an educator, I want nothing more than to see all of the children of the Marshalls have a chance at a better life in a way that only education can provide.  

September 6-11, 2011- Kidisms…

     On this day ten years ago, I was pregnant with my first child, and I remember waking up to the tragic acts of terrorism inflicted upon America on September 11, 2001, and in my shock and horror, my mind went directly to my belly and the life growing inside of me.   How could I possibly bring a child into this kind of world?  Now, I realize that children are exactly what the world needed to get us all through because children mean hope, second chances, and new life in a chaotic and imperfect world.  Children bring us humor, joy, and the promise of a better future for everyone as they grow in character and learn from the mistakes of the world and attempt to correct those mistakes when a brand new day dawns. 

      Since I last wrote, my children have shown me their great capacity for humor, joy, and compassion, and on this day, remembering 2001, when Americans experienced one of the scariest and saddest moments in our history, instead of allowing the terrorists to win in 2011, I choose to laugh and find joy in the future of America, in America’s children, particularly my own.  Keeping that in mind, I’d like to share some of the fun and heartwarming “kidisms” of my week, which provide me with hope for their future and the future of the great country we are blessed to call our home. 

     To start, my oldest showed his most sensitive side this week when spending our last weeknight with my fiancé, who has to head back to his home island to work and live after commuting back and forth the last 3 weeks to help me while my cracked radius bone was healing.  Now, that I am almost back to my full range of motion with my “broken wing,” he has to go back to being a Kwajalein “weekend warrior,” at least until we find a more permanent solution to this dilemma. This was tough on all of us, but most surprising of all, my first baby broke down in tears at bedtime while we said prayers that final night with the man who has become such a good friend and guidance counselor to my boys and my best friend and love of my life.  It’s not that we won’t all see him again soon (just have to wait until the weekend), but my son’s compassion and show of pure emotion at our family being “split” between islands again for awhile was heartbreaking, but also made me feel very blessed to have a child with such a sensitivity for others.  With his soon to be stepfather, my child has fully accepted him into his life and heart and truly misses him when we can’t all be together.  I thank God for my boy’s sensitive spirit and compassionate heart.  Maybe it’s because he was born not longer after our nation’s most tragic terrorist attack…born with the capacity to weep and wail for others when they cannot do so for themselves…born to love and accept others just as they are and display empathy for their struggles, even when they are not his own. He’s my hope for a better future, and my youngest, well; he shows me how to find humor in any situation because he does it so naturally for himself. 

     For example, the other day he was looking at a recipe book with my fiancé as they decided what new dishes they could make that day, and when the recipe for “Tuna Cakes” was mentioned, my son replies, “I don’t like tuna, but I love cake, so I would eat the cake part.”  A kid’s perspective is so much different than our own, and we couldn’t help but giggle at his “chef joke.”  On a more serious note, one afternoon, my youngest was being talked to about his occasional accidents when it comes to going to the bathroom. It was suggested to him that he would never have his game, friend time, and treat privileges taken away at all if he would stop having accidents in his drawers versus going on the potty as soon as he needs to.  I have yet to find the age that “potty talk” is not funny to a boy, tooting, burping, and talking about poop seem to have a never ending fascination for the male species.  To that end, as soon as “poop” and “drawers” were mentioned, my son says with a giggle, “Oh, I’m going to poop in my drawer, you know, not my drawers, but my drawer.”  I know, I know, you can’t believe I’m writing this down for all to “hear,” but hey, kids say the darnest things, right?  I’m not proud of his “potty talk,” but I do see the humor in it.  At least kids are never afraid to say exactly what they are thinking or to just be silly for that matter.   And we should never be afraid of anything with God as our anchor and his love, joy, and peace within our reach whenever we need it.  God bless those today who have given their lives for our freedom and provided us with the opportunity to live life to the fullest.   Now go chat with your kids or someone else’s today, so you can have a “kidism” story of your own to share and laugh about with others.  

August 30-September 5, 2011- When I grow up…

     Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want to do when we leave the islands.  With uncertainty abounding both here and in the states, I don’t know where I’ll be, even next year.  For today, I don’t have plans to leave the atoll, but tomorrow, well, who knows what tomorrow will bring.  Every couple of months or so, I look around at possible job opportunities, sometimes in the states, sometimes overseas. It’s just wishful thinking, mostly, and it helps me to identify what types of jobs exist out there where I might fit in with my education and experience.  ESL or college teaching jobs are usually the focus, but other areas pop up every now and then that I never thought about before.  For example, who knew that National Parks often have education directors who write and apply for grants and direct educational opportunities for children and adults alike?  I didn’t until I found a position online a couple of years ago that does just this.  I think I would love this type of job, and I have experience with grant writing and developing educational program materials to boot. Another career possibility I’ve considered is within the church, although I don’t have the seminary education I would probably need for this, I would love to direct children’s and/or youth programming as well as Sunday School and other educational programs within a large church which can actually hire and pay for someone to direct this area of ministry.    I’ve wanted to do a Vacation Bible School here over the summer for a couple of years now, but we simply don’t have enough population on the atoll in summer to pull it off successfully, although my experience with recreational/academic programs for children and adults would serve me well in this area of the church. I have actually done a search before for church jobs, and there are all sorts of job boards out there.  The internet and its far-reaching resources are quite amazing at times and very scary at other times.

     Bottom line, I really don’t know what I want to be when I grow up and leave the atoll I’ve called home for so long now.  I don’t know what God has in store. All I know is that I want to do something that makes a difference for others. I want to serve in a way that is fulfilling for both me and those I work with and for.  I want to live and work with purpose, and I know if that’s what my heart truly desires, God will find a way to fulfill His purposes through me.  For now, I believe much of my purpose is in raising my babies and preparing my heart and mind for whatever my Father has in store next, and there is more than enough meaningful purpose for me in that today.  I told my fiancé this morning that I have no plans to leave here anytime soon, and he giggled knowing that my mind changes sometimes daily on that point, and even though it is sometimes a struggle to not be concerned about the future for our family, I am going to strive to worry only about today, not tomorrow or next week because the future has enough trouble of its own.  As it says in Matthew 6:25-34:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Enough said, right?! J