This letter has been divided into sections for your convenience... (actually, for your sanity).  But hey, people have been complaining about my really short, non-existant emails, so this is to tide them over for a bit.


Welcome (to life on the other side of the world)

Alii everyone,

Yes, I know... it's been like, 2 months since I last wrote.  You are probably wondering if I got eaten by a shark or attacked by rabid children.  Though sometimes it feels like that has happened, I'm afraid that the only thing that ate me was exhaustion and all that attacked me was busyness.  Though those are foul monsters themselves.   

Evangelistic Meetings (Where is the Energizer bunny when Ang needs him?)

I mentioned in my last letter about the evangelistic series that were going on up on Babeldoab.  Now, when you think of evangelistic meetings, your brain probably starts calculating a large amount of people.  On average at Ngiwald and Naarard, we had maybe 10-15 people.  And most of those were church members from Koror who were there to support the meetings. Ngiwald had about 5 Filippinos coming and sometimes 8-10 Bangladash (which was a weird situation, because they acted like they understood, but we soon figured out that they were only there to learn English and to check out Adelina and I.  Kinda ackward)  Because, you see, most of the villagers are Catholic or Evangelical, so they would go around to those who were interested and tell them not to come (or even hold "Bible studies" in their houses during the meeting time).  So yes, the bad guy was hard at work.  Sometimes the volunteers in the groups wouldn't get along either.  If anything, I've learned that communication is vital.

 It was a really neat experience to be able to speak to people about the truth without feeling that you have to know it all.  If anything, all you have to do is trust God to speak and He will, even if you get lost or mispronounce something.  Though, let me tell you, evangelism is a full time job.  And teaching is a double time job.  And those of you who know me understand that I need lots of rest and sleep.  So that equals zombie Ang running on the last of that caffiene that she had in July (er... I forgot that chocolate has caffiene... oops :P) Ask my mom, she witnessed it. But all the lack of sleep and low energy levels were so worth it.  There is nothing better than knowing that you let God work through you to introduce someone to Jesus.  Naarard had 3 baptized (a Palauan guy and a lady and her daughter for Chuuk), and Ngiwald had 2 Filippinos (2 others who wanted to be were sent off to a different area to work by their bosses).  And the awesome thing is, as Pastor Norton says, "We had a 99% conversion rate." (meaning that 99% of the non-Adventists who showed up regularly got baptised)  Praise God!

Spring Break part 1 (Space Trek)

So, after surviving a month of teaching all day and then going to the meetings for half the night, I died.  Actually, I would have if my mom hadn't shown up to cook me food :D  Thanks Mom!  Oh yeah, and the meetings ended just as spring break began.  Ahhhhhhhhhh.  I needed that more than Christmas break.  So, that Sunday, (oh yes, and before I continue, I must add that Stacey Beardsley's parents came to visit too, for those of you who know them), most of the SM's and others went to Peliliu to explore the WWII artifacts and jump into the bottomless pit (the watering hole). Then we braved space aliens (also known as the non-stinging jellyfish in Jellyfish lake) and explored the far reaches of the Milky Way (it's actually this really neat area that is a combo of limestone, salt water and other stuff that makes this crazy white mud.  Good for your skin :)  Twas a busy day, so I had to sleep the whole next day to recuperate.

Spring Break part 2 (Raiders of the Lost Yap Money)

Tuesday, my mom led the way to walk (er... kayak) in the footsteps of Indiana Jones (that is what Fish n' Fins calls the tour).  We went out to these caves where the Japanese hid their sea planes.  You could actually see a complete sunken plane just outside the entrance.  (once again, before I go further, I must also inform you that 4 SMs from Yap were spending spring break in Palau at this time).  So Matt White of Yap (for you Southern people), had joined us for this exploration along with Don Julie (who, it should be noted, does not swim, though after the boat sank... ha ha, the truth is, we got her to try snorkeling, and she actually enjoyed it), and Mrs. Higgins. We 5 had the rare privelege of visiting the original rock quarry where the world famous Yap stone money was made.  Matt and I discussed what could have been the reason behind the madness of shipping tons of stone with holes in the middle of them on tiny little canoes across the ocean.
Our solution: boredom.  (and bettlenut?)

Spring Break part 3 (Sharks, Turtles, and animals that rhyme with Bats, Oh My!)

Once again, slept Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday, my mother and I did some delightful diving with Fish n' Fins to get our Advanced Open Water.  Thursday, we went to Turtle Cove (which is a small blue hole with absolutely no turtles in it) and a part of Peliliu corner (where I got within 5 feet of a sea turtle!  Awesome dude!).  Friday, we went to Shark City (twas shark mating season, so you supposedly see tons of sharks.  We saw the outlines of 5... I've seen more sharks at Blue Corner).  We ate at Ulong Island, which is where (back a few hundred years ago) a wrecked British ship's crew survived for several months before building new transportation to get home.   Thanks to that crew, Ulong is now home to the Palauan kangaroo.  Tis a small specimen, about 6 inches long, with a long tail.  If you look back at some of my old letters about my stay at Ngemelis, you might figure out the common name for this creature.  ;)  We also went to Ulong Channel and Helmet Wreck  (so called because they really aren't sure of it's real name. And because it used to have lots of helmets, before evil scuba divers [who should have their licenses revoked] took them).  Our instructor tried to teach me to blow rings underwater.  Twas the nastiest tasting experience of my life.  Never ever expose your tongue for long periods of time underwater in the ocean.  Eckk.

Hazards of Scuba Diving (Can you hear me now?.... Nope)

The point of that really really long story of scuba diving during spring break is to let you know that I am now deaf in my left ear.  (So when I come back to the states, please only talk to my right ear.)  This is due to not equalizing correctly while diving, having an ear infection while diving, etc. while diving... ask a specialist.  So the channel connecting my sinuses to my ear is blocked.  I went to the hospital and got some meds.  But that didn't help, so on Tuesday, after my mom left :(  I went to the clinic where I had gotten that same stupid ear taken care of back in October.  The doctor had me breathe through my nose with this strange oxygen tube.  Now I know what it sounds like to have a vacuum in your head  (maybe I should start seeing a shrink).  Long story short, all that did was... not really sure, though I did get some antibiotics and sudefed.  So now my nose is all dried up, my eyes are raisens, my mouth is suffering from dry rot, and my ear is MIA.  Oh well, now all I have to do is put one finger in my ear to get my class to be quiet (quiet for me, not for you, that is.  They are still hollering like the little monkeys they are). 

Mi estómago es muy feliz (Yo no necessito Baco Tell)

So, with that bad news out of the way... it is now time for the good news (though it isn't good news for my bank account).  PALAU NOW HAS A MEXICAN RESTURANT!!! :D  Happy happy, oh happy day!  And they serve chips and salsa, like every good mex resturant should do.  :)  Ahhhhhhhh.... taste bud nirvana. :D   I crave it every day.  Tacos, burritos, salsa, chips, guacamole, enchiladas, did I mention the home-made salsa?  It's expensive, but oh so good (though, mind you, this is coming from a person who hasn't had real mexican food since July, so it might not be on par with the resturants back home).  I didn't think I missed all those fast food places, but now I realize how much more spicer life is when there is cilantro within walking distance. 

So long (and thanks for all the fish)

Well, that is a semi-short biop of my life these past few months.  It's been a hectic time for everyone, what with everyone back home getting engaged and all.  But here I sit, finally able to breathe, having survived Week of Prayer (don't ask how that went, cause I pushed that info out of my short term memory into the new storage space near the left part of my brain, formally known as my ear), and am currently trying to decide if I should take Nutrition at 8 am Tuesday/Thursday (my brain doesn't even recognize the word breakfast at that time), or just get it done from 6-8pm Tuesday night (doesn't nutrition include getting proper rest?  cause these classes just aren't doing it for me).  So yes, there you have it, a lovely book from Ang to go with your Chocolate Covered Yap Money Cereal  (all part of a balanced breakfast, if you can pick up the 2 ton box off the shelf).
I look foward to hearing all your tales of woe, food fables, and how he proposed stories. May you all have a wonderful April. Be sure to thank your utilities company for providing water 24/7 and don't eat sea cucumbers.  They are animals, not vegetables. 

God bless,
Your half deaf, almost recharged SM, Ang

p.s. no pictures :(  My digital camera had a revelation while in the kids' ball pen (you know, like what they have in Mc Donalds with all those colored balls that you can hide in), that it wanted a vacation too.  (Either that or it needs a chiropractor specialist)  Anyways, the Beardsleys were kind enough to smuggle it back to Tennessee with them, with a 5 day stop in Hawaii.  I asked it to bring me back some Baco Tell, but I don't think it will, cause it was being really moody and wouldn't turn on.  Oh well.  I have now found something much better than Baco Tell, so I will survive.  I just hope that my camera doesn't bail on SM life once it gets to the US.  So, if you see Canon Digital Shot SD500, tell it that it needs to be back really really soon, else I'll use it's arch enemy, Canon Rebel G film eater.  (and you really should tell it that, cause it will be bad for us all if I have to resort to an old school camera  =a ton less pics and more expensive to develop)

Check out the new pics.  I am starting a picture tour of the places that I've been to in Palau. There are a few new pictures in Palau Randomness! too, including some from this past Sabbath's baptism. 

 

I just went diving again and took a lot of pictures, so I'll try to get those developed and downloaded soon.

 

Enjoy.

 

~Ang

Howdy,

 

I haven't updated my pictures yet, but I did put up some links on the right side of this page, so you can check some of the other sm's blogs.  Jorge, of course, is teaching 4A.  Isacc is the youth pastor.  And David teaches 8th grade.  I'll put up some more photos soon.

 

The second week went by without too much trouble. Just alot of rain the past two days (considering its the dry season).  Whatever. 

 

Feel free to add comments.  And if there is a certain picture that you would like to see (like, say the post office, my dirty classroom, etc) just let me know.  Thanks.

 

~Ang