Saipan Community Church

I really love our church, Saipan Community. I feel like Brian and I are part of a family there, and it makes me look forward to going each week.  The pastors at SCS are so genuine, and really care about each person in the congregation.  Also, I love to stand and worship while the ocean breeze is coming in through the sides of the church.  

Yesterday, we sang my very favorite song in church and I wanted to share the words here:

The Name of Jesus

by Chris Tomlin

The name of Jesus is a refuge
A shelter from the storm, a help to those who call
The name of Jesus is a fortress
A saving place to run, a hope unshakeable

When we fall You are the Savior, when we call You are the answer
There is power in Your name, there is power in Your name

In the name of Jesus
There is life and healing
Chains are broken in Your name
Every knee will bow down and our heats will cry out
Songs of freedom in Your name, oh, in Your name

Bring salvation, bring Your Kingdom
Let all that You have made bring glory to Your name
When we fall you are the Savior, when we call You are the answer
There is power in Your name, there is power in Your name

Obyan Beach

Brian and I on our front porch

 Getting ready to leave for church on Easter Sunday

 Below are some pictures of a Saturday afternoon in March spent at Obyan Beach.  Obyan is at the southern end of the island, near the Saipan Airport.  We had a little cookout and went swimming.

 Pathway leading down to beach.  Obyan is one of the easiest beaches to cross over the reef into the open ocean.  Before, we've used a rope that is permanently attached into the reef to lead ourselves out.  Once out in the open water, you are able to see sea creatures that you can't normally see inside the reef, such as sea turtles, eagle rays, and octopus.  This day, however, the water was too rough to try to go outside the reef.

Alison and Matt cooking hotdogs in the fire we made.

Brian climbing a palm tree to get some coconuts.

 Cuter than cute baby Caleb, my friend Kayla's baby.

Kara and I hanging out

Brian and Nate and the fire.

A great picture of the Woods family- Aaron, Kayla, and Caleb

Our friend Jake brought his two dogs to the beach, and Sam swam with them in the ocean.

The end!

yum yum

 Sam's favorite snack lately:  coconut.  Lately she's been gobbling them up during walks.  What??  I've never heard of a coconut-eating dog... but okay, Sam!

Forbidden Island rocks

Forbidden Island is one of our very favorite hiking destinations in Saipan.  A couple of weekends ago, a group of us took a trip out there and spent the morning exploring and swimming.  Our friends Amy and Matt had family visiting and we all wanted to show them the gorgeous island.  

Here's some pics of our trip, although a lot of them were taken by our friends Kara and Grant, who have an awesome blog about life in Saipan here.  Check it out!

 The hiking trail down to Forbidden is pretty steep and can be really slippery if it has rained recently.  Taking it slow is best because then you can see the amazing view as you go down.

We always take lots of pictures on the hike down :)

At some points, ropes are in place to help you get down the tricky parts.

 Once you're down to the beach, there are tons of cool rock formations to climb and cliffs to explore.

 Love this picture of us girls even though i'm cheesing it.

 We found an "I Love You" shoe

2012 Xterra Saipan

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since last years Xterra race.  This year was a special year because Guam and the Philippines are now also hosting Xterra Championship races in back-to-back-to-back weekends.  This lured in a fantastic group of pro's and international athletes to compete in what some say is the toughest and most beautiful Xterra courses.  This was my second time to race Xterra Saipan and I was hoping to improve my time from last year.  I changed some things up with my training and strategy, and ended up improving my performance.  

The race starts on the same beach where WWII Marines launched their attack in 1944.   The waters were a little rough and current was strong.  Nearly 80 competitors begin their swim.

This was my favorite section of the bike course, riding down the backside of Wireless Ridge.

With over 3000ft of climbing on the bike and nearly 1000ft on the trail run the race proved to be tough.

This is me finishing up the last section of the bike course.  In the background you can see me and Rachel's little red and white house.

Although I improved my run time from last year, I was cramping a lot and wasn't really happy with my run. I can definitely learn from this race to improve next time.

Rachel and friends volunteered at the transition area.

Some great people and amazing athletes.

I improved by almost 19 minutes from last year, click above to see a larger print of my results.

Me and Rach

birthday!

My man turned 30 this month!  Here's the whole day in pictures.

Brian's birthday started off at church on Sunday morning, when Bobby Winkfield, the principal of Saipan Community School, had the whole congregation sing happy birthday to Brian during the opening announcements!

Here's the cutest-baby-ever James Van Dam, with my friend Kara on the left and his momma Jackie on the right.

After church, hanging out with Nate, Will, and Jake, who just came back from an early morning spear-fishing trip.

... and onto birthday lunch!  Brian chose Spicy Thai, and we invited a bunch of our friends to come along.  Above is panang curry yum yum yum.

It was such a fun bday lunch- great food and great friends!

Next, I took Brian and Sam to Pau Pau beach for the afternoon.

Sammie's favorite thing in the entire world is her frisbee. Obsessed.

Cracking up from the large amount of sand Sam was shaking from her tongue.

These two love the beach!

Later we went home and I made Brian's favorite dinner: Chicken Parmesan Bundles from Kraft Foods.

I made this meal for him a looong time ago in Oklahoma City when we were engaged and it's been his very favorite ever since.

Sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful Saipan sunset.

I love keeping birthday secrets from Brian and surprising him and spoiling him.  I'm happy to be in Saipan with my love.