Mele Kalikimaka

Ebeye!?!?!

So Keith Rodman, the former director of education for the Guam/Micronesia Mission, which both Palau and Ebeye are a part of, was at Hawaii for the training/orientation session. He was also on Ebeye back in 2008 for a few days and while he was there he observed me in my 4th grade classroom. He even took some photos of me in action. He gave them to me in Hawaii during our meetings a few weeks ago. Have a look…

Don’t worry, our classrooms at the Palauan schools ALL look better than my classroom on Ebeye, even the ones referred to as “the dungeon.” Our friends Jeff and Misty Fender help teach the jr-high kids down in “the dungeon.”

Also, do you think I should regrow my Ebeye chin-beard?

Thanks for the help!

Jesse

Our Sabbath in Hawaii

This gallery contains 23 photos.

All of us that were here in Hawaii for the Guam/Micronesia Mission (GMM)  principals meetings went to the Kailua SDA Church for Sabbath. If you are ever in Oahu I think you should consider attending this church. Wonderful people, beautiful … Continue reading →

Flying for HOURS!

I have to start out by saying, I do not do well with only 4 hours of sleep. By the time I was all ready to leave for Hawaii Tuesday night, it was 10:30pm. That wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t have to get up at 2:30am. It was really quite horrible. I remembered why I didn’t go into nursing. I like my 8+ hours of sleep.

Nashville airport was surprisingly busy at 4:45 in the morning. After many tears and hugs, we went through security. I felt like such a little kid, looking back and seeing Mom and Dad wave at me…..sigh.

The good news is, I have most of the family convinced to come see us in Hawaii at Christmas time, so 5 months isn’t so bad.

The plane from Nashville to Houston was teeny tiny. No matter to me, I was out like a light. I slept through take off and everything. The second plane was so big, it made up for the first one. It was definitely a step up for me, I’m so used to LUXURY Southwest. Yesterday we had TV, blankets, games, and a menu. But, the menu was a total rip off. I had to use my credit card in the air to get crackers. It was super lame.

Jesse pointed Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona out to me from the plane. I couldn’t believe he spotted it from the air…..he always impresses me.

On the ground we waited for our massive bags (each right at 50 pounds, which took loooots of work) right beside a stand that sold the beautiful hawaiian leis. I really wanted one, but for 10 bucks I skipped it. I secretly hoped Jess might surprise me with one, but fail.

When we got our bags, we had to rent one of the cars. I was so embarrassed as Jess hauled them up. I wanted to wear a sign around my neck that screamed, “I’m moving for 2 years, don’t judge.” I felt like everyone was staring at us thinking what terrible, heavy packers we were. Oh well.

All in all, everything was fine. Hooray for beds and showers is all I can say.

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Hailey

Tickets to fly

Distance
Total flown	9157 mi
Around the world	0.37x
To the Moon	0.038x
To Mars	0.0003x

From		To		Initial Heading			Distance
GUM (13°29’02″N 144°47’50″E)		ROR (7°22’02″N 134°32’39″E)		239.9°	(SW)		814 mi
HNL (21°19’07″N 157°55’21″W)		GUM (13°29’02″N 144°47’50″E)		271.9°			3801 mi
IAH (29°59’04″N 95°20’29″W)		HNL (21°19’07″N 157°55’21″W)		277.0°			3904 mi
BNA (36°07’28″N 86°40’41″W)		IAH (29°59’04″N 95°20’29″W)		232.4°	(SW)		657 mi
Total:							9175 mi

Nashville to Houston to Honolulu to Guam to Palau.

So… we got our tickets! Basically we’ll be flying a lot, but it will be worth it. Hailey and I will be leaving for Hawaii on the 27th so I can be there at Hawaiian Mission Academy for the principal’s meetings. Those meetings will only be from 8-noon on Thursday and Friday. So our afternoons will be free. Since the academy is pretty much right downtown we will have easy access to Waikiki and other cool stuff.  After the regular SM meetings finish we will be leaving for Palau on August 3. We will be crossing the international dateline, so it will be the next day when we eventually arrive. Oh, please let us know if you think there is something we should do or see while in Honolulu. Just comment below.

Jesse

(you can thank openflights.org for the map and other flight info)