Happy Thanksgiving in February!

"Fascinating photos!" I mused as I poured over the pictures Charity had posted on Facebook. Charity, a graduate of Pacific Islands University, currently organizes the school's distance education site on the island of Yap. Actually, Charity's parents, who are Chuukese, left their island of Chuuk to go to Yap (an entirely different language and culture) as some of the first Micronesian missionaries. Every time Charity posts photographs, I am mesmerized. She does a fabulous job of visually capturing the essence of an event. This time was no exception; I was captivated by all the images of piles of fresh fruits

and vegetables. And, of course, my inquisitive brain was filled with questions. I began to post on her photos a succession of questions. She patiently answered each one. Ultimately, it hit me, "This would make a great blog! Our readers would love to hear about this!" When I explained my intention to Charity, she kindly obliged me by answering the following questions:



Karyn: What are you celebrating in these pictures?


Charity: We are celebrating Thanksgiving!


Karyn: In February?! How long has this been a tradition and how did it start?


Charity: This idea of Thanksgiving was being introduced by missionaries long time ago. Therefore the Churches then say that since February is when most of the crops are ready for harvest, they decided that Thanksgiving will fall on the month of February. Church leaders come up with the idea that every first Sunday of February is Thanksgiving Day.


Karyn: Does anyone celebrate Thanksgiving in November? And do all Yapese celebrate Thanksgiving in February?


Charity:  Thanksgiving in November is really only celebrated by foreigners. The February Thanksgiving is really only celebrated by those who attend one of the five evangelical churches on Yap.


Karyn: Can you describe how the church celebrates Thanksgiving?


Charity:  Our Thanksgiving celebration is more like Christmas and Easter to the Churches here. All five evangelical churches in Yap come together and share or celebrate Thanksgiving together bringing their crops or anything as

token of their thanksgiving to God. Some Americans, or people who are not from Yap, bring rice, bread or boxes of Ramen from the stores as their token of thanksgiving too. As Chuukese, living in Yap, we sew Chuukese skirts and also put them in front of the Church. The night before Thanksgiving Sunday, everyone comes and puts their crops or items in front, preparing it for the next day.



Taro back left, yams, tapioca, lemons, pumpkins, the big green oval things (front left) are
a white melon that are more like a squash, they have to be cooked in order to be eaten.

Thanksgiving Sunday is packed with people from all the five evangelical churches here in Yap.It's this day that

kids have their own Sunday school while members are enjoying special numbers, and a blessed message from a guest speaker. The service is concluded with a nice Kids program that is well planned by the pastor and all the five Sunday school teachers from all five Churches. They are to learn their program ahead of time, and in the end of the program, the kids program is being shown to the audience.

After the service, the celebration still continues with socializing fellowship as food is prepared for lunch.

When lunch is over, then the youth do the cleaning up and sweeping and then the old ladies again come in and divide the crops. People often choose first what they want from the crop display and then afterwards, the ladies would divide the crops to the old people, some goes to the people in jail, hospital, those who are sick and big amount of the crops goes also to the five churches.

Karyn: Why is that boat sitting on the table?

Charity: This was a gift for the guest speaker. This symbolizes that we are all in the same boat rowing toward our goal and that you see in the picture, what you call it?, Sail of the boat?? This represents the Holy Spirit in direct of each and every one of our lives. The ones who gave this gift must know the real meaning of the boat in relation to our spiritual walk together in Christ.

Eric and I have been to Chuuk and Palau, and we have found that being on the islands from which our students hail, adds a depth to our understanding of our students that is incomparable.  We are hoping to get to Yap over spring break and experience this beautiful culture first-hand!  I am very grateful to Charity who so openly shared her pictures and experience with us!

A Most Dangerous Profession

When Eric was writing his doctoral dissertation, he was intent on writing something immediately applicable to the church. While he regularly reads academic tomes, and finds such research essential to the church's mission in the world, he wanted to write something that didn't have to wait to "trickle down" through the academy to church leaders (a thing that doesn't always happen). So, when it was all said and done, he began to earnestly seek out publishers; although, he admits, his hopes were not very high. To his shock, and absolute delight, Wipf & Stock, out of Portland, accepted his proposal early in 2010. Then the task became editing, and editing, and editing some more. The good news is that A Most Dangerous Profession:  Why the Pastoral Ministry is Hazardous to Your Soul, is now in print!   

    What's it about? From the back cover: "Every Christian is assailed by the gales of temptation, but those in professional ministry face fiercer storms than the rest.  As CH Spurgeon warned, contrary to what is often assumed, 'our dangers are more numerous and more insidious than those of ordinary Christians.' This perspective was shared by the unified voice of the historic church, leading some Patristic church fathers to initially flee the call to ministry . . . .  A Most Dangerous Profession surfaces these gems so often overlooked in historic Christian literature, and ends with their practical advice on how to overcome." 

    It really was a labor of love, and Eric hopes it will have even a little impact on the church and those who serve it. Even if you're not a pastor, or don't consider yourself a church leader, you can help increase the exposure of the book. For one thing, you can buy copies and give it to your pastors and church leaders. FYI, we've been told that ordering it through a local bookstore usually means they'll buy a few copies and put the others on their shelves (it's worth a try). You could also read it and then write a customer review on Amazon. The more positive reviews, the better. In the meantime, it's available from Wipf and Stock Publishers (wipfandstock.com), and Amazon. Thanks for your support and encouragement!

If Only You Could Balutan!!

About four years ago, after we'd made our final decision to leave California and move to Guam, we went public; we began informing family and friends of our decision.  One group I informed were my volleyball buddies--people I had played with both competitively and recreationally for several years.  All responded with shock and, of course, the most common response, "Where's Guam?!"  However, my most die-hard volleyball buddy, Bill Sablan, replied, "I'm from Guam."  I about fell over!!  I had assumed all this time that he was from California.  Upon hearing of our need for housing, he suggested we contact his Guam home church, Agana Heights Baptist (AHBC), to see if they would rent us their empty parsonage.  The long and the short of this is that, although the parsonage was unavailable due to renovations, they asked Eric if he would guest preach for them.  This led to three and a half years of weekly preaching! AHBC desperately needed an interim pastor, and we desperately needed additional financial support in order to sustain our work at Pacific Islands University.  It was a match made in heaven--no pun intended!  Our three and a half years at AHBC will be remembered as some of the best church years of our lives.  The people at AHBC were incredibly kind to each person in our family, and despite our cultural ignorance, they patiently oriented us to their Chamorro culture.  I have written many blogs depicting elements of our Chamorro cultural learning curve (e.g. Chamorro cheek-kissing, pot-"faiths," non-performance-oriented performing, etc.).  So, although we were thrilled for the church when they finally secured a permanent, full-time pastor, it was difficult to say good-bye to the precious parishioners at AHBC.  On our last Sunday, in classic Chamorro style, they gave us an elaborate going-away fiesta.  I think that Chamorro people express their love in the food they bring to a gathering, and let me tell you, the fiesta tables were loaded!  And, that's when I realized that I MUST share with our readers, the wonderful Chamorro custom of balutan!  

Balutan is the practice of packaging food for guests at the end of a fiesta.  Chamorros are extremely serious about balutan.  They will have ziplock bags, plastic wrap, foil and "Chamorro Tupperware" (empty plastic containers, e.g. Cool Whip) ready for guests.  At a designated point, after all the guests have eaten, the host will encourage everyone to balutan.  Please understand, bulutan is not an insignificant activity tacked-on to the event.  It is part of the fiesta itself, something that would appear on the order of events if one were printed.  The reason is that bulutan is a reflection of the heart of Chamorro culture, which is characterized at its deepest level by gracious hospitality, making sure everyone has enough--and they sincerely mean enough.  Yes, that means that when you prepare your contribution to the fiesta, you prepare what locals specifically identify as a "Chamorro-sized" dish.  My experience tells me that this should be enough for at LEAST twenty people.  Again, the reason for preparing such mammoth amounts is not that people at fiestas eat until they explode, but it ensures that there will be enough to send home with others. 


When we first came to Guam, everyone laughed at how little I put on my balutan plate.  It was very difficult/uncomfortable to get past my skimpy stateside perspective of an appropriate take-home plate.  When you balutan properly, you honestly need to make sure you have enough room in your car!!  Actually, I'm still uneasy with the titanic portions that are heaped upon me here.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the delicious edibles, and the idea of having scrumptious left-overs, but I'm terrified of being seen as a big pig--which is exactly how statesiders would view the mounds of food being carted off!  I don't think statesiders can fathom the heaps of food given to each guest in the balutan tradition, so I'll let the following pictures do the talking.   

Finger-Lickin' Good Time!

When we decided to leave California and everything familiar (location, jobs, family and friends), raise our own support, and move to Guam, we were informed that we needed to start a blog.  Pathetically, at that point, we hadn't even heard of blogging!  We were also instructed that we should never let more than two weeks pass between posts.  Apparently, longer breaks between posts result in readers losing interest and no longer checking the blog.  Well, sadly, we have become remiss in keeping up with this two-week standard.  Mind you, this is NOT because we don't have adequate writing material. On the contrary; but with each passing day, we find ourselves investing further in the college, our church, and the community, and our time seems to evaporate like the ubiquitous rain on the sizzling Guam asphalt.  Furthermore, since this blog is public domain, we try to be sensitive about what we post.  This can be quite frustrating when we are dealing with something all-consuming but inappropriate for sharing due to confidentiality.  This has been our situation for the past three weeks.  So, although it would not be appropriate to use this forum to describe that monopolizing matter, you can believe that it was with great joy that our family accepted the offer to spend a half-day kayaking and snorkeling with "Uncle Francis," an amazing outdoor enthusiast and a member of our church.

    



Meeting at "Piti Bomb Holes" with our snorkeling equipment in hand, Uncle Francis already had two kayaks ready to launch into the cerulean Philippine Sea.  We paddled toward the reef near Camel Rock.  Efficiently, Uncle Francis tied the two kayaks together and hooked them to himself with rope, and we all donned our snorkeling equipment and jumped into the tropical water (approximately 82 degrees F).  Immediately, upon hitting the water, the current began pushing us along.  This was definitely what you'd call "drift snorkeling."  We observed the usual incredible underwater sea life as we drifted south.  At one point, it became overcast and we experienced a heavy rain.  I had to chuckle that I now live in a place where, three weeks before Christmas, in the middle of a storm,  

Our daughter in the storm with Fish Eye "Tower" in background

I could be warmly swimming in the ocean!  Eventually, our drift snorkeling brought us to the underwater tower at Fish Eye, a popular place for tourists to catch a glimpse of the exquisite underwater world without getting wet. (Notice Fish Eye tower in the background of storm picture.)  Excitedly, eagle-eyed Uncle Francis motioned us to his location.  As we scanned about 20 feet beneath us, to our delight, we observed a beautiful spotted eagle ray.  This majestic creature was in no hurry to get to another destination.  Instead, it gracefully glided back and forth in the same area for more than 15 minutes.  I marvelled at how much it looked like a flying bat moving in slow motion.  The clarity of the water added to the illusion of flying.  I did a Google search on the spotted eagle ray and I have copied and pasted the following comments from:  http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/seray/seray.html 

‎"Generally a shy species, spotted eagle rays are wary of divers and are difficult to approach. However, it is considered potentially dangerous to humans due to the venomous tail spines that can inflict serious wounds."

Picture from: commons.wikimedia.org

"The spotted eagle ray reaches a maximum length of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) not including the tail, with the total length including an unbroken tail reaching close to 16.4 feet (5 m). The maximum disc width is 9.8 feet (3 m) and maximum published weight is 507 pounds (230 kg)." (I was shocked by how long its tail was!)

Apparently, people rarely eat spotted eagle rays because their flesh is of poor quality; however, the shark, its primary predator, appears not to be so picky!

Reluctantly, we left the spotted eagle ray and drift snorkeled back to shore.  Dragging the kayaks onto the land, we were met with the succulent aroma of barbecuing meat.  Groaning with hunger, I jokingly asked Uncle Francis if he always faced this torture when he washed down his equipment at the spigots located next to the barbecue pit.  Soon, we were loading everything back into our vehicles to head for home.  As we packed the last of our belongings, a couple of the Chamorro men from the barbecue pit approached us with a huge plastic storage tub filled with freshly barbecued chicken.  "Here," they warmly declared, "we want to share with you.  That's the way we do things around here."  Once again, our family was deeply impressed with this beautiful aspect of Chamorro culture.  And, let me tell you, that chicken was finger-lickin' good! :-)

Thanks to God for the wonder of His creation, and to Uncle Francis who gave of himself to provide us with a spectacular and refreshing time.  :-) 

Announcing the PIES Preaching Conference!

Seminary Christmas Shopping

    Some of you moaned when you read the phrase, "Christmas Shopping," because, truth be told, you're nowhere near being ready.  I hate to pop your bubble, but as I write, the big event is only 57 days away.  Wait!  You still have time to read this blog before you rush out the door in a state of complete panic.  In fact, this article will help you.  After you're done with it, you need only follow a few simple directions and you can click things right off your list.  You don't even have to leave the comfort of your chair, much less the comfort of your home.  So nestle down and listen to my Christmas tale.
     Our part-time theology professor, Jim Sawyer, has made some arrangements that will allow you to add Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary (PIES) to your Christmas list.  Through Jim's ministry, Sacred Saga (www.sacredsaga.com), he put on his Santa suit and created an Amazon wish list with scores of books we need to add to the library of Pacific Islands University (PIU), our home institution.  PIES was begun under PIU in 2008 with Eric as its founding dean.  It is now one of the most unique seminaries in the world, and the only one of its kind in the Western Pacific.  Our students come from all over Micronesia, the Pacific Rim, and the US.  We even have a student from Bangledesh and another from mainland China.  It is truly an amazing and diverse community of students pursuing the Master of Arts degree.  However, since we are new and small, and all of our students barely scrape by, we always face a set of challenges.  For instance, we share a library with PIU that was designed to serve undergraduates only.  We really need more master's level books.  So, when Dr. Sawyer came up with the idea, Dr. Sorenson created the wish list, and it's now posted on Amazon (www.amazon.com).  With a few simple clicks of your mouse button, you can send our seminary a gift book (or CD Rom) ranging in price from $14.95 to $500.  It will be shipped directly to our school, and we will add it to the collection with a great big spirit of Christmas joy! 
    It really is simple:  Click on www.amazon.com and find "wish list" in gold letters toward the top at the right side of your screen.  It will take you to another screen with an option called, "find someone's list."  All you need to do is type in Pacific Islands Evangelical Seminary, and our list will pop up before your wondering eyes.  Then, shop till you drop . . . a gift in the mail, that is.  All that's required is your credit card and the Amazon elves happily fire it our direction.  Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated by our students, and add more joy to the season!

Lessons for Coaching in Micronesia

Pacific Islands University has a men's basketball league, but no leagues for women. Observing how much the women at PIU enjoy playing volleyball, I decided to put together and coach a PIU women's volleyball team, and I am currently organizing a league. I have coached several different volleyball teams over the years, but coaching this Micronesian college team has been quite a challenge! Here are some lessons I have learned along the way:


1) Gently substitute the players' cherished island skirts with men's basketball shorts. Be sure the shorts are long enough to cover the players knees so that you don't offend cultural sensibilities.

2) Search high and low for enough athletic shoes for each player to borrow since flip flops are worn for all occasions, including volleyball games (yes, with the skirts).

3) Convince the players to keep their athletic shoes on. Wearing athletic shoes is a requirement in most gyms and certainly in schools, so save yourself the embarrassment of looking out and finding that a quarter of the players have discreetly removed their shoes at some point during the game! Stubbornly resist the repeated request, "Can't we just go bare foot or wear our zorries (flip flops)?"

4) Be prepared for the ensuing shock, horror, and perhaps mutiny, when you announce that actual physical exercise will be required.


5) Maintain absolute control as complete hysteria breaks out amongst players at the spectacle of their fellow teammates actually doing the required conditioning exercises, such as high knee sprints, side shuffles, blocking at the net, etc. From a coach's perspective, because Micronesian women have no prior exercise experience, the execution of the conditioning requirements is rather entertaining.


Note: At all costs, do not even crack a smile when a player asks to turn off the court lights so she can run her laps in the dark without being seen! (actual incident)


6) Convince the players to really take the game seriously and be competitive.


Do not come unglued when during an intense game, an exhausted player queries, "Can't we just play for fun?" (another actual incident)


7 Don't give up just because your players are shouting encouragement to the opposing team's server during the most critical points of the game. (another actual incident). Continue to promote the concept of taking the game seriously and being competitive. (Did I already mention this?)

Despite the challenges of coaching this team, I (Karyn) am excited to use volleyball as an avenue to bring about healthy growth in PIU students. Our team is in desperate need of volleyballs, a ball cart, and some other supplies. If you are interested in helping us meet this need, please contact me. Thank you!