3 Day Weekend

We really enjoyed our three day weekend in Saipan.  Ok, get ready for a LOT of pictures...

On Sunday afternoon, we had some friends up to our house for some dessert after lunch.

I was a little worried about everyone fitting into our tiny house, but our front porch was perfect for people to lounge on, and the weather was great.

 Our friends Jake and Jackie brought their two dogs, so Samantha was in heaven playing, running, and wrestling around with them all afternoon.

  We have a lot of land around our house so the guys played some frisbee on our compound.

 Jackie's baby will be here soon!!  She is the cutest pregnant lady ever!

Our house, up on Navy Hill

Taking a walk through the compound.  I love all of the shady greenery, trees, and flowers.  We also have a lot of fruit trees: avacado, papaya, banana, guava, and breadfruit.  The breadfruit are so gross when they fall off of the tree and squash on the ground!

On Monday, we headed out to Managaha and relaxed on the tiny island for 6 hours!  We snorkeled, read, napped, and snacked all day long.  A few people saw a huge barracuda in the water, which they said was about 4 feet long!  We also saw an octopus as we were heading back to the boat- they are so graceful and cool to see in the water, especially if they change colors.

Holidays are the BEST.

Lately, I've been listening to LifeChurch TV podcasts (Craig Groeschel) a lot.  I read his book, Weird, a few months ago and now I'm really into the podcasts- they're so good.

Yesterday I listened to "I Quit Comparing," and this really stood out to me:

"Comparison is the death of contentment."

It's so true and I've been thinking on that idea a lot, as I notice exactly what I compare to what others have, do, etc.  His sermons also focus a lot on knowing who you are in Christ, and I'm excited to listen more and learn more about this.  Just wanted to share!

I love these girls and we love Managaha!!  

We had such a fun three day weekend- more to come soon.

a grateful heart

Very thankful right now. I'm grateful for what God has given Brian and I, and I'm also working on consistently having an attitude of thankfulness instead of focusing on whatever annoyances or problems there may be day to day.

I'm thankful for being in Saipan right now and for the comfort and normalcy that comes from staying in a place longer than a year.  I love this little island and also love knowing what to expect after being here so long.  After traveling for two years and constantly finding ourselves in new situations, it's been so good to start off this school year with our same jobs, church, and some pretty awesome friends.

 

Also, I really love this guy.

I'm so proud of him and glad he's all mine.

One of my favorite pictures of Brian and I from Taiwan... swim caps were required for the public swimming pool!

 A picture from way back when in OKC

Also happy to have the very best puppy in the world!  Sam's got skills- she can do so many tricks now.

Also, CONGRATULATIONS to Brian's brother Eric and his wife, Kristy, on finding out they are having a little baby girl!  So excited to meet her and happy for them!

Gone Fishing.

 

Labor Day!!!  Today I went out to Lau Lau Bay to spearfish with some friends.  This will be my sixth attempt at catching a fish.  After my first five attempts I have been unsuccessful at catching anything.  Early this morning I loaded up the scooter and headed out. 

In order to get to the better fishing spots it's usually best to cross over the reef into deeper water.  I usually always get to see eagle rays, sharks, or turtles so even if I don't catch anything it's still a pretty rad experience. 

Today I hit my first fish!   

Rachel and I are eating Parrot fish tonight!!!

Surfing and the Spa

Five of us girls spent the afternoon at the spa on Saturday and it was FABULOUS.

Saipan's spas (and resorts) are so amazing, and every once in a while, they will offer a deal for locals.  

 This time, we were able to spend the day using the Mariana Resort's many different spa pools (hot tubs, flower pools, swimming pools), AND get an hour long massage for only $35.  The regular price for this would have been way over a hundred dollars....  Saipan treats their locals SO well!

 Dressed up in our robes and ready for our massage

 The ridiculous flip flops we wore than really wouldn't stay on our feet!

Relaxing in the infinity pool.  It had been such a rainy week before we went to the spa (there had been another tropical storm circulating around the area, so it rained HARD every day), but the clouds finally opened up and the sun shone on Saturday.  The next time they offer the local discount at Marianas Resort... we're going again!!

 That night, our friends Kara and Grant hosted a fish fry at their apartment.  Here's some of the guys out on the back porch with their guitars giving us all some background music.

 THIS puppy got to try surfing at Sugar Dock beach on Sunday afternoon.  Brian and his friends Jake and Will tried putting her on Jake's surfboard twice.  Both times, she shakily rode the board for a while until she got too nervous and fell off :)

Note: Saipan usually does not have good surfing waves (I think because of the reef that surrounds it but I'm not sure about this).  However, because of the tropical storm I mentioned before, we've had great waves this past week.  When we went to Sugar dock on Sunday, it was PACKED with surfers taking advantage of the crazy waves.

 Our friend Chris found some WWII bullets up near his house in Marpi, and gave some to Brian.  Here they are next to Brian's id to show just how huge they are.

 I've been taking weekly Chinese lessons from my friend Pearl.  Here's one of the books I'm studying from.

What I'm learning

I've been reading a devotional lately that that been teaching me a lot about the character of Jesus.

It takes a passage of Scripture each day and guides you through reading the passage (usually more than once), journaling about it, meditating on it while you pray, and sometimes even picturing yourself in the story to get a new perspective on it.

Part of yesterday's passage was:

"A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.'

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 'I am willing,' he said. 'Be clean!'"

(Matthew 8:1-3)

Jesus' character is willing to help me when I ask him. Jesus' character is loving and giving.

In my life right now, I am asking God for peace because I feel like there are so many unknowns coming up in the near future. I am asking to be closer to Him. I'm asking Him to be the solid, safe place that I can go to when everything else is up in the air, stressful, or unknown. This passage reminds me that he is willing help me when I ask Him.

Best little pup pup

Flame trees up at Saipan's Suicide Cliff War Memorial