Only in Palau

(This is the second time I wrote this post. The first time it all got deleted, causing me to write a less interesting and much shorter blog. I apologize in advance, because this isn't what I wanted this to say. I'll try to remember as much as possible) Only in Palau could I have a day like today. It's unfortunate that life is so spectacular sometimes that putting it into words only ruins it. I will absolutely do my best to tell you why today was so incredibly fantastic, but as a side note, it was really indescribable. We started off the day with worship like every other Friday. It was particularly emotional and Betty, who was in charge, started crying while reading the story. First period bible, almost every kid got 100% on their memory verse and everyone got over 60% on their english test which was next. Then during math all the kids worked quietly and helped each other, and the most stubborn troublemaker in my class, Makani, gave me a hug! Recess was fun and I gave them piggy back rides and played tag too. Then after during science we learned about reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals. We were putting different animals into categories and Mairee came up and asked "What category is a bird in?". I laughed so hard because she was serious. When I asked her what she though, she said, "Is a bird a mammal?". How do these kids not assume that a bird is in the BIRD category! Then we cleaned up the classroom and had library for the rest of the day.
After school I had an amazing conversation with Carl about home and people and I was just so happy to have another real conversation besides "Miss Chelsea, can I spit?" and "Miss Chelsea, Shayne is singing, Max hit my eye, or Laurie is looking at my paper". Not that those things aren't fun, but adult conversation is amazing. We went to lunch with Vanessa, the girl visiting from Germany, and got some really good iced coffee. Jeanine had to leave to do make up diving, so Tami and I decided to take the bus to PMA to go spearfishing. We ran up to our apartment as fast as possible, threw on the first thing we saw, and rand to catch the bus. Once we got to PMA, we started on the most ridiculous adventure I could imagine.
First, Victor, Austin, Tami, and I slid down the muddy hill to the chicken farm near PMA. The smell of chicken poop, corn, and blood was especially strong today as we tried not to breathe while looking for the canoe that is down there. The stones on the hill leading us there were so slippery that we had to take off our flip flops in order not to tumble down the hill. Once we found the canoe, before we could even pick it up, Victor spotted two GIANT spiders inside. One was bigger then my hand! I have never seen such a huge spider in my entire life, but I didn't scream as loud as you would imagine. Just a small gasp before sliding away as fast as my legs would carry me. As the boys picked up the canoe, I literally saw one of them jump a foot onto a nearby log. We carried the canoe uphill in calf deep water and mud to where the path led to the river. While we were walking, it started raining which made us feel even more adventurous. Tami and I left our shoes back at the chicken farm because they were too slippery to walk in and kept getting stuck in the mud, but as we started down the path to the river, we realized that it was COVERED in hundreds of thorns. In just two or three steps, there were probably six hundred tiny burrs in my feet, legs, and hands. Luckily, she only took one step and ran back to get our shoes. Once we finally could move again (ignoring the painful thorns embedded in our feet) we tumbled down a muddy bank into the canoe. Trying not to tip it, Tami and I got into the middle and the boys paddled. It was like we were in the Amazon river! There were so many trees and vines hanging down, not to mention the crocodile nests lining the river. We paddled down and finally made it to open water. The, it started raining. Never in my life have I experienced rain that hard. We couldn't see or move the boat, because even paddling fast we were blown back. Victor was in the water looking for a place to spearfish so Austin and I had to paddle through the hurricane. We saw an island in the distance, so Victor got back in and we tried to find our way there. When we finally made it, we tied our boat up to the rock and the boys went spearfishing. We couldn't get out because the whole island is literally just a giant, extremely sharp rock, covered in trees. Sitting down, water was up to our hips, so we started scooping it out with our hands. Once they got back, we all swam around for a while until the rain finally died down. We decided to leave because we didn't want to run the chance of getting stuck out there after dark. It was already 4:30 and we didn't want to have to spend the night on the island. That would just be AWFUL. We started paddling back and the rain started coming down again. When we got back to the channel that led to PMA, we noticed two things. Not only was the water a very muddy brown, but it had risen a lot! This meant that the current was 10x stronger. Every five or six paddles would only bring us another two or three feet up the river. After a while of getting hit by branches and pelted with rain, everyone started getting annoyed. Because the water was so high, the channel was much smaller. The current made us drift from side to side, so as soon as we got hit with the branches on the right, we'd get hit with the branches on the left too. Finally, the boys got so mad that they decided to switch positions in the canoe. Unfortunately, the picked a time when we were almost tipping over and going under low branches at the same time. This caused Austin to fall, which made me get smashed into the side of the canoe. It's going to bruise. When we finally made it back to PMA, everyone was pretty happy to be back. Even though it was crazy, dangerous, and really cold, I had such a good time! It was such and adventure and so much fun! After hiking up the steep, muddy, incline, we finally made it back to the road. On the way we saw a decomposing crocodile skull and some chicken feet-not comforting.
When we got back to PMA, the fun still wasn't over. First, Tami and I decided to play catch with M&M's. She kept throwing them and trying to get them in my mouth. After a few tries, she threw one up in the air and I ran to catch it. It smacked me in the tooth and chipped a piece off! Luckily you can't see it, but on the back of my front right tooth, there is a piece missing! After that we decided to go inside, even though we were still wet. Sadly, we didn't know that Ben had just put clorox all over the floor. We slipped and slid and almost fell tons of times, causing us to laugh. The laughing made us unstable which made us slip, which made us laugh again. It was a vicious cycle. After Tami fell and cut her knee, we decided to stop and just sit on the couch. Tami went to the bathroom to clean her knee, and Austin was in the kitchen making rice. He started to tell me about how one day someone was going to fall and actually get hurt. He walked over, carrying his rice, and just as he was telling me about how dangerous it is, we had a Funniest Home Video moment. Simultaneously, his foot slipped, his face looked terrified, the bowl of rice flew out of his hand, the rice flew out of the bowl, and he landed hard on his back. I wanted to ask him if he was okay, but I couldn't stop laughing. Even 5 hours later, I still giggle at how ridiculous that moment was. I finally could calm down enough to help him, but it was so funny! I felt bad because he got the wind knocked out of him and a few bruises, but he couldn't have had better timing!
After that they took us back to our apartment. We sat down and made dinner and got to talking. Two hours later, we were interrupted by a blood curdling scream. (We had the best talk! I am so thankful that I have such a good roommates and that we get along to well) We thought it was the TV next door, but it was so loud that we went out to investigate. We found out that there was a group of about 15 people across the street, screaming at cars as they pass by through a megaphone. Two ladies approached us, and we found out that they were from the Pentecostal church. They told us all about their services while some of the men shouted their testimonies at the passing cars. This really got me thinking about Adventism and what I'm doing. I mean, I think that yelling at cars through a megaphone is not only annoying, but also pretty useless. No one was stopping, no one cared. But still, they are doing so much more for their church than I am doing for mine. These people are so on fire, so moved by God that they will tell anyone who will listen about what He's done in their lives. They told me that God told them to preach tonight, even though it was pouring rain. You know what? God told me to write this blog tonight, even though I was really frustrated that it all got deleted. After I wrote it the first time, I felt so happy and full of joy because it was full of praises to God. After seeing it was deleted, I just wanted to forget the whole thing and go to bed. Anyway, it made me think about how I should be like them. God calls us to preach the good news to all the world, but do Adventists do that? We sit in our cubicles, on our couches, or in our pews and go on with our lives. Sometimes we say "God bless you" or "I'm praying for you", but are those ever to people who don't know who God is? I feel like we stay in our circle of Christians, when what we're supposed to do is tell the people who don't know. Even here in Palau, we are around church members and board members and people who already know who God is. I want to be able to share God with the people who aren't already aware of how amazing He is. I was talking to a friend this week who is an atheist, and it was really interesting to hear his point of view. He told me what he doesn't like about religion, and I explained that religion is different than God. It honestly made me realize that the whole point of being a Christian is to spread God's love. Without love, we can't be the mirror image of God.
Whether it's back in the States, here in Palau, or anywhere else, sharing God has to be a conscious choice. At first when I got here, I just expected my relationship with God to get stronger. I didn't think I'd have to work on it but I just assumed being here would change me. Even though this isn't the case, asking Him to change things makes a huge difference. There are so many things that God has done here already, and I'm hoping that He'll keep using me to tell people who know nothing about Him who he is. What has God done, you ask? God has turned me into a teacher. God has given me an amazing support group. God has given me strength. God has taught me many lessons thorough my kids. God helped me grow up. God has given me the opportunity to be patient. God blessed me with this amazing experience. God knocked on the door. And what have I done? I opened it.