What's Going On... In Ebeye

here are some pictures of the work here in ebeye-


here is what the previous hall looked like.


you can see the tremendous amount of work that was involved with tearing down the previous hall and missionary home. the lower concrete pad is where the missionary home was. the concrete pad above it is the old kingdom hall floor.


once the old structures were demolished, we could begin working on the new kingdom hall. you can see in this picture that we had a lot of digging to do. what makes the job challenging is finding a place to put all the dirt. the worksite here in ebeye is pretty small and were putting a pretty big building in the space available.


after about a month of demolition and preparation, finally we put up the first of ten columns. these columns have over 30 vertical pieces of #8 steel and they are sitting on two giant 8x8 steel mats also with #8 steel bars .


here you can see how much work has been done in just the past month. last saturday we poured the base for our 4th and 5th column. do you see where the steel splays out from the columns on the picture to the right? that will be roof height of the kingdom hall. these columns have to go up one more floor because the new missionary home will be above the kingdom hall.

there is a lot of work ahead. everyone here is having a great time and we feel very privileged to be on an island with so many kind and generous people

Where Antennas Never Die and Imagination Is Crystal Clear

i remember the days of childhood where i would spend countless hours staring at a fuzzy picture on our television screen, wishing, praying, that my favorite show would come in clear enough to make my eyes not ache and dry out. i remember stephen slowly turning the antenna dial to rotate the antenna on our rooftop as i willed the tv to become fuzz free with my hopeless eyes firmly focused on the grainy image. these were the days of under roos, legos, and limitless imagination. where anything was possible if you just had the desire to pretend a little bit harder. knight rider and the great american hero were tv shows to die for and a clear picture was worth the sacrifice of a brother.... sorry aaron. this was childhood and these were days passed, or so i thought. it's fitting that on an island of children i find that i'm watching television the same way i did as a child....with an antenna. ebeye's "skyline" is defined by it's sea of antennas( yes i just combined the sky with the sea, anything is possible here in ebeye). this week i installed my very own antenna here in ebeye. the memories of childhood all came rushing back as i gazed at my television screen through the fuzziness hoping, praying, that the reception would suddenly come in clear. and as i yelled out the window to zak debeque as he slowly rotated the antenna on the top of a coconut tree searching for the best possible signal, i think to myself- 1) what really has changed but the location? besides the under roos... of course. 2) imagine how awesome knight rider would have REALLY been if david hasselhof had actually been cool.

Lord Of The Flies

a typical landing on a small island in the pacific ocean aboard a 727 jet could be described as "hair raising". the runways seem to be built out of rocks and coconut husks, with old coke cans as lights for the runway. as the plane gets ever closer to the ocean water, the desire to see land(safely) gets greater and greater, the time lapse between the two feels infinitely longer than what is real. at last! i see land!!! as the tires touch the "tarmac" the planes reverse thrusters are instantly applied. at this point it becomes moot, but i either wet myself from the fear of landing on this little piece of land in the middle of the ocean or from the amount of pressure applied on my bladder from my seatbelt as we attempt to stop on a dime.

like i said this is a typical landing on any small island, but kwajalain is not a typical island. owned by the military, kwajalain is a like an oasis in the middle of a barren desert. as you approach for landing at kwajalain, you look out your window and you see a very broad and spacious airport, and then nestled in between the airport and the ocean is a green nicely manicured links golf course. as you taxi down the runway you notice that there is an elaborate and extensive bike trail around the island. for those who do not wish to put forth any physical exertion, there are solar powered golf carts ready to escort you around the island. as you walk out of baggage claim it feels like you've walked onto a 1978 version of the truman show. perfect little roads with perfect little houses, all the amenities that an american thousands of miles away from home could hope for- fast food( subway, burger king, pizza,etc) movie theater, baseball field, basketball court, tennis court, and a skate park. there is a school for the military children, a hospital, a dentist. life's comforts have been brought to you in the middle of nowhere courtesy of the military. the only problem is... it's not provided for you. unless you are authorized to be there, you are not a partaker in the island of plenty. you can admire but you can not touch. as i was escorted through the island and to the ferry to take me to my final destination, i couldn't help but wonder if any of these amenities would trickle over to the nearby atoll of ebeye. after all the military developed this atoll for all the displaced natives of kwajalain. the answer to that question was only a twenty minute ferry ride away. across the beautiful blue lagoon ebeye awaits you. you realize rather quickly that you are ferrying from the island of plenty to the island of not kwajalain. sensory overload ensues. as you step off the ferry you officially have entered a different world. with reggae blaring as your soundtrack, you are welcomed to ebeye. kids litter the island(literally and figuratively). on roofs, in the streets, in the tree, and all over me. if ebeye was disney world(and it isn't) then i'm mickey mouse, and the doors to the amusement park have just opened. as you walk down the street you are greeted by a chorus of children asking for money or serenading you with the word- ri pellae (foreigner). they want to shake your hand they want to climb on you, they want you to notice them, because THEY have noticed YOU. there are always children on the street. when it rains the streets flood with water, ebeye has just become a water park for the children. they build little boats out of aluminum cans, they splash,they swim, they rejoice in their havoc. somedays the children "play" war. twenty five kids on each side of the street. they start chanting war, war, war.... and all of a sudden they all run at each other. playfully each side battles, the winning side having the fewest tears streaming from there snotty little faces. it's funny but i kind of envy the kids here. how cool would it have been as a child to hang out and play and run wild everyday with you and your buddies. setting your own rules making your own bedtime. nothing would have been more fun! i always thought this kind of life was just a story from some writers wild imagination. an island run by children, it's perfect. at least until piggy gets pushed of the side of a cliff and chaos ensues. it's not fiction. it's just life in ebeye.

Children Of Kosrae

Who Can Know The Maciel?

If I HAD to describe Javier Maciel i'd say that he is an open book. The only problem is... the words in this book are written in a language no human can understand. Javier is a man of few words, but when those words are spoken, controversy is ignited. For the life of me i can't explain how he creates such strong reactions within people, but he does. Regardless the reaction, everyone whether they can explain it or not, loves javier.Why is that? I don't know. You have to meet javier to truly say that you don't know him. He IS confusion. I've spent nearly five months of my life with javy (the majority of this time as his room mate) and i could ramble on and on about him for hours, the only problem is , at the end of those hours neither you nor i would know him any better. I do know this though. Javy is a kind and mild guy.He is a spiritual man. He has taught me what it means to have a passion for studying. He truly loves spiritual things. I have the utmost respect for him in this regard. He is one of the most sincere people i've ever met. He is loyal and he is honest. And when this adventure is over and we've all gone our separate ways i know that he'll be the one i miss the most. I love the guy and there is nothing i wouldn't do for him. Every experience whether happy or sad, i've shared with him. When i crawled into bed early one morning from being locked out of the office, he was the one i shared the story with first. When the mangrove crab tried to rally the troops and escape from his certain death, javier was there in the kitchen, salad tongs in hand, preparing for war. Every moment at the site and every adventure away from the site i've shared with javier. So when i leave this island in november it will be appropriate that javier and i board that plane together. Two more different people than javier and i you may never meet. I have no doubt that our lives will go in different directions once we say our goodbyes in hawaii, and that will be fine, just as long as he knows that no matter where he is i'll always be there for him. Why is that? I don't know, but i'll be there.

Bicycle

There is a very fine line between love and hate. Both words stir up strong emotions and they both trigger hidden feelings when prodded.Some thrive on love. Others love to hate.So with this brief explanation behind us I make this declaration: I LOVE this bike. When i was a young boy i used to dream of the day that i owned my own bike.I wanted a bike that had lightning bolts tattooed on the chassis.I wanted my bike to be so fast that when i was peddling down the street it felt like i was on the verge of flying. I wanted a bike that would make my classmates pause and reflect... then go home and re-write their letter to the north pole. I never owned THAT bike, but i own this one- a girls bike from japan. As far as i know, no passerby has ever been left jaw dropped and wishing that they were in my shoes. Oh people are smiling at me as i peddle by, though i've yet to figure out why. I have a light on my bike but no light(ning) bolts. It's all the things i never wanted in a bicycle, but i've never appreciated a bicycle as much as this one.It's my ride. When the air is cool outsde just before sunset, or early in the morning before the island is awake, i go for a ride and there is peace, refreshment. Every song playing through my headphones is just a little prettier than i had remembered, and all the thoughts in my head become a little clearer than the night before. And while i'm fairly sure that somewhere in japan there is a girl that is "missing" a bike very "similar" to my bike, i can't help but wonder if she would love or hate to know that somewhere on a little island in the pacific there was a boy who when he went on these rides felt transported back in time, to the days when he would peddle as hard as he could and he'd feel the wind against his face as he prepared for takeoff.

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.