Camping Extravaganza         Monday, 3 February 2003

Hello to everyone back home!

February. How on earth did we reach February already?! Well this last weekend was quite the adventure, so I thought I'd share it with you all, and also tell you how school is going. The youth at the Kolonia church planned a camping trip for this last weekend to the outer island of Joy--it's out near Nan Madol where we got to explore all those neat ruins one time. Well, it started out a little rough but ended up being quite a nice weekend. We packed up all our stuff in the blue truck and two of the boats, split everybody up to either ride in the boats or meet the boats at a pickup point closer to the island (not everyone can ride, it would take forever with these little motors!). I chose to ride in the boats, I love the ride. The one bad thing was the rain. It was lightly raining when we left, so I pulled on my jacket--it's semi-waterproof, and thought I'd be ok. We started out on our ride and hadn't gotten very far when we were just pelted with rain. I turned my back to it and pulled my hood up around my face, trying to keep as much wind and water off me as I could but it was pretty much pointless because we were all soaking wet and cold by the time we finally reached the island about an hour later.
It did finally let up as we got to Nan Madol and we drove through there just to look, then got to Joy and were able to set up camp before the rains came pouring back down. Justin was the one driving our boat and I felt sorry for him as he stood there taking the rain and wind full in the face. There's a lot of sand around Joy, so we saw several sting rays beside our boat as we got closer (and one nearly got run over, silly thing headed straight for us!), so that was really neat. I was glad to be one of the first ones to get there so I could set up my hammock and tarp over top before all the good spots got taken. The only shelters on that island were little cement slabs with tin siding set up to make a small lean to. Not my idea of a good night's sleep--and those who had to sleep there definitely didn't get much from what they told me.

We all ate supper and sat around to chat while the rain started coming down in torrents before finally receding for a bit, giving us enough time to get situated for bed, before starting again. I crawled into my hammock, praying that my little tarp would keep me dry and lo and behold it did! It rained all night long and all I got was one little stream down my back in the middle of the night, but it dried up and I was good aside from that. I had my sheet and towel wrapped around me, and a long sleeve shirt on and I was still cold!! I tell you what, for being on a tropical island that wind sure can give you a chill. I went to bed around 9:30 and woke up a while later feeling like I'd been sleeping a long time and thinking that it was probably about 4am, so I checked my watch... and it was just after midnight. I knew I was in for a long night! Morning finally came and the rain ceased, thank the Lord!
We ate breakfast and then everyone got together for a little worship service on our little beach. We sang and had a small sermon, a good way to start our Sabbath, then a few of us decided to go snorkeling and see if we couldn't find the sting rays that we were told were so abundant in that area. Wow were they right! We got out to a big sandy pool and I couldn't even count all of the sting rays we saw! We followed them around and sent them flying out of their hideouts in the sand. They are so neat to watch. I tried to get a few pictures with my underwater camera. We'll see if they turn out ok. Well after that I decided to just sit in the sun for a while and read a book, we ate lunch--the locals barbequed a bunch of chicken and ate rice. I couldn't refuse as they had spent so much time on it so I grabbed a plate and dug in with my hands--the way everyone eats chicken and rice around here. Hey it's kind of fun. A bit earlier some of the people had left with Mr. B to go back to the school (those who hadn't slept so well and didn't really want to try another night of rain, and a few just for the ride). Little did they know what was in store for them. I guess they left the boat, went to the airport to say goodbye to Mr. B's sister, back to the school for just a bit, and then back to the boat. While they were gone the boat had sunk and the only thing keeping it from the bottom of the ocean was the rope tied to the dock. One of the plugs had come out apparently and it had filled with water. Mr. B's best motor was on the back (luckily they say it'll be ok), so after hours of bailing water, then trying to restart the motor, they got the motor off, changed it out with a smaller one, and finally headed out at about 10:30 at night. More trials to come. The tide was out, they had to push through rocks, sand, Mr. B almost lost his glasses in the water, got out in sandy places where sting rays were everywhwere, and had to use poles to get all the way in to the island. What a crazy experience. The finally got in about 1:30 in the morning. I didn't even find out till the next morning. Glad I didn't go for that boat ride! I'm so glad they got back safe and sound though. God was really watching out for them.

Well going back to Sabbath afternoon, the next excitement of the day was boogy-boarding. Brad, Drew, Justin and I headed out on the other side of the island toward the breakers (kind of a long way, but we figured we'd make it ok). I had my fins on to help me and I'm really glad I did. It took a little while to get out, but it wasn't that hard and from there I caught a couple of really good waves. The boys were just sitting inside of where the waves were breaking so I paddled out to them and asked what was up. They were talking about how the waves were unpredictable and that there seemed to be a current taking us down and away from the island. They were right, so we decided we should probably head in. A good wave came up behind me so I took it and got a nice ride, but when I turned to head back out towards the guys again I got slammed not only by the waves coming in from the reef, but another set coming sideways and pushing me downwind of Joy! It was a little scary--the harder I fought against it it seemd the more I was getting pushed away. They'd curl overtop of me and take me back every step and more of what I'd just fought to gain. I remembered reading how you're supposed to swim parallel to shore to outdo a current or riptide, so I changed tactics and tried kind of a diagonal approach to get past the waves, and then paddled parallel to Joy. It turned into a very long and slow trip back to shore. About then about halfway there I noticed the little blue jellyfish floating all around me!! I guess they're called Blue Bottles. One about got me in the ankle, but I managed to escape without any harm. Brad wasn't so lucky--one got him under his right arm, making it completely numb, another got his stomach, and another wrapped around his left hand. He wasn't allergic though, so aside from some serious pain he was ok. Well we all managed to make it back in, though I couldn't see Brad and Drew at first and thought we should go take the boat to rescue them. They showed up just before our mission left, so I was glad for that.

The rest of the trip was spent reading, listening to music, snoozing in my hammock (after my tiring time in the ocean), sundown worship around a huge palm frond bonfire, a good night's sleep (I always sleep better the second night), and sunshine the next day. We packed up and the boats made several trips to take most everyone and everything to land and the truck that had been driven closer to us for pick up, and then the few of us that remained took the boats back around to the dock in Kolonia. It rained a little bit on the way, but not too bad so we were ok. We ended up waiting for eternity to be picked up--the truck ran out of gas, had to make two trips for both boats, etc. so I didn't end up getting back to the school till almost 6 o'clock sunday night. What a weekend. But the place was beautiful and I stood with my feet in the sand on Sabbath morning, aqua blue water stretching out in front of me thinking of how lucky I was to be in such an amazing place, and wishing you all could see it. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Well as of today I have a new student. Wow. Another boy (to add to the chaos!) from Guam. We'll see how he does. Mr. B told me he isn't getting grades for this quarter (since we're almost halfway through), but to start next quarter. Guess that's fine... Drew's class was in their regular hyperactive mood today--they are such comedians. As I was sitting at the desk there doing grades while they were working on Spelling, Christy let out a belch that rivaled some of the best the guys have managed and of course they were all just in a fit of giggles (myself included). They're something else. Always keep me on my toes...

Well I should go take care of the important things like grading and working on yearbook and such. Seems like the year is getting busier as it gets nearer to the end! And I have b-ball practice tomorrow... I might end up cancelling the team if these girls don't show up to practice again. There's just no sense in doing it if they're not going to come. We'll see how it turns out. Sorry for the book I've just written! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I've heard it's been warming up. Hope you're all thawing out. :O) Take care and God bless!

Love,

Lindsey

[Pictures shown above] - Feb 4, 2003

Just a few pictures from this weekend on Joy, to give you a look at what it was like.

#1 Passing through Nan Madol on our way to the island (after it had finally stopped pouring down rain)
#2 AJ, Megan, and I--relaxing for a few minutes after setting up our "beds"
#3 The beds of those less fortunate, who didn't have tarps--Sabbath morning.

Hope you're all having a good week.

Love,

Lindsey

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