The Livingstons

Anton&Evangeline Livingston have been in kosrae since this island emerged from the pacific ocean. Through those years they've acquired many a story and experienced more than many will experience in a lifetime. They are a constant at the meetings and they always bring refreshing treats to the site on warm sunny days(you can imagine how often this is living on the equator and all). Anton is always quick to grab a shovel and hard hat...for his wife, but soon there after you'll see them working side by side together, through the duration of the day. Always together and always happy to be that way. They've been a positive influence on so many here on the island, but none more than three of their grandchildren, Vanston, Mary, and Mora. Before school started up, Vanston would come and work with us at the site everyday. Quietly, but with always with a smile, Vanston at first would keep to himself. As he continued to come to the site, he became more comfortable with us and his true personality shined through. He is a very hard worker( his nickname is little T. / A later post will explain this nickname) and he is a very funny and kind young man. One day in the not so distant future i can see Vanston traveling from island to island helping with the construction projects here in Micronesia. His sister Mary is shy but eternally kind. She always seems to muster up the courage to participate at the meetings and you will routinely see her working in service by the side of her friend Kathy Miller. And then there's Mora. One of the sweetest children you'll every meet. Mora is the extrovert. Mora will walk up to you, tap you on the leg, then fold her arms(all the while smiling), and wait for attention. She usually gets what she wants. These are the Livingston grandchildren, three kids who really are a breath of fresh air here in kosrae. I don't think they truly appreciate what they mean to everyone here, but maybe that's a good thing. Children aren't aware of these things and if they were they would probably get a big ego, move far away from home, and write a blog just to garner even more attention. And really, who wants to see that happen??? Vanston, Mary, and Mora are just happy kids who happen to make the people around them feel a little better than they do. Their youth and disposition brighten the eyes and the smiles of the older ones, and their presence at the meetings makes the future feel very bright.

Stella

This is my brother Aaron and Angels daughter, Stella. I love Aaron and Angel very much, but i miss Stella. Here are a couple pictures of Stella. I love you Stella!

Certain People I Know

Over the next month and a half I'll start introducing you to the friends I spend time with while here in Kosrae. I wanted to do start introducing everyone on the island much earlier in my stay, but I tend to put things off ( When I was younger I wanted to be a pilot. I'm not a pilot yet, but the dream hasn't died).Since writing about people and pasting their faces on a web page is easier than landing a plane... here are some faces that live in a beautiful place(s).

Sean and Kathy Miller are one of the two missionary couples on the island. Originally from hawaii, they've been living here for about 6 months, before kosrae, they served as missionaries on the neighboring island of pohnpei. Kinder people you will not meet. My first day in kosrae I worked with sean on the construction site, and he made me feel at home instantly. When sean smiles grandmothers around the world, with their cheek pinching desires, turn green with envy at the thought of having him within arms length. He has the ability to make you feel like you've known him forever, when in reality you've just met. He has a trmendous amount of work to do here in kosrae, but everytime you see him, no matter the situation, sean always has a smile on that cheek pinchin face of his. His wife kathy is equally tremendous. The moment that stands out in my mind when i think about kathy is the tuesday that we poured the roof of the kingdom hall. It was 90 something degrees outside and we had a full day of shoveling and mixing conrete ahead of us. While men twice her size were wilting in the sun, small little kathy worked tirelessly. And i think that's what impresses me the most about the millers. They work so hard but they are always so happy, more importantly they make the people around them happy. They are a special couple. If there is any doubt about this, all you have to do is notice where the children flock after the meeting. You find the children and there you'll see kathy encircled by a group of smiling kids, eager to share what's on their mind to someone who they know is listening, and happy to do so.

Pictures Of Kosrae

Some pictures of the island, Saturday the 18th of September, taken at halftime during a highly competetive game of Kickball. I wish some of these scenes could be shared with you in person, as always, i'm afraid the pictures don't do the scenery justice.

The "Hatch"

If this is the LOST island i'm pretty sure desmond doesn't want to be in this hatch any longer.... just sayin.

Jony Be Good

jony medina. first off, i think jony has removed an H and an N from his name for one of two reasons-
1) he is lazy
2) mexican is his first language and the nuances of the english language were to much for his H&N

Whatever his reasons are for omitting letters from his name the world may never know, but i do know this.... jo(h)n(n)y medina is a really solid guy. born and raised in el paso texas, jony has made a career for himself in construction. he's had the opportunity to travel around the world as a construction volunteer( ecuador, bolivia, and kosrae to name a few) as a result there's hardly a project nor problem on the site that jony can't handle. these accolades alone are impressive, but even more impressive is the person that he is. many times we'll come home from work and jony will go into the kitchen and make an authentic mexican dish for everyone in the house. one day jony went fishing and caught a 30 lb wahu, he brought it home, cut it up, and shared it with the entire group. he was also the first out of the construction volunteers to muster up the courage to give a talk in kosraen. what was impressive about this was not the elegance in which he spoke( there was none to be found), but when you looked at the audience and you saw the locals smiling from ear to ear, hanging on every word he said, you knew that he had touched their hearts. the point of this is not to shower mr. medina with praise but it's to point out that his skills as a worker pale to his talents as a human. he is a good man and the crew & kosraens will miss him very much.