Good times with our "kids"

It has been a blessing to teach our kids the good news. They come to all of the meetings and they love to comment. On the way home from the meeting we usually quiz them on what they learned from the meeting. Usually we are surprised when they relate certain details that were discussed during the meeting. I wish I was this well behaved when I was a child. :)  It has been interesting for me and Stefany to try to figure out a seating system. To assist with them finding scriptures and just making sure they stay focused we usually try to sit between the kids. But when you have 4 kids it takes some coordinating. Recently we've started to recruit other sisters in the congregation to sit with us. :)

Stefany is chatting with our kids. Janiya, Hayli and Raylene. The kids have been coming to every meeting since a couple of months ago. They also comment at each meeting.

Having snacks after the meeting

Cathysha, Janiya, Stefany, Hayli, Robynn and Raylene. Robynn sat with us to help us with our kids. Raylene, Janiya and Cathysha can speak Ponapein, Mokalese and English.

Raylene & Janiya

Song book in hand playing Careoke :)

Stefany created a new game called Careoke. The kids love it! After we pick them up, we start to sing kingdom songs from the song book. One day we forgot to do this on the way to the meeting and the girls asked if we could play Careoke. Its a beautiful sound to hear everyone in the car singing the songs. I'll try to upload an audio clip soon.

Stefany helping the kids with their comments for the WT study

To simplify our Sunday we've decided to pickup our kids earlier in the day instead of trying to dry across the island to get them just before the meeting. So now we get the kids a few hours earlier on Sunday. This gives us more time to spend with them as well. We also use this time to help them with their comments for the meeting.

Raylene & Hayli

More Careoke....it sounds so good! 

Stefany is conducting a cooking class...she invited some friends in the congregation & Cathysha one of our kids

 Mish (with the apron), Mhay and Cathysha enjoying Stefany's cooking class

Raylene

First Assembly for our kids.

Cathysha and Raylene

We were excited to take our kids to their first Assembly. They paid attention during the entire program and they were very diligent in trying to look up all of the scriptures that were referenced.

Janiya, Cathysha & Hayli

When Cathysha heard the announcement about cleaning the UOG facility to prepare it for the Assembly she asked if she could help. That is her cleaning the table.

Russel preparing food for the kids

Meeting with Full-time Volunteers (Pioneers), January 26, 2013

A couple of months ago we enjoyed a nice meeting with all of the full-time volunteers or pioneers. After the meeting everyone got together for a party and of course some incredible food.

Some of the children in our congregation wrote notes, drew pictures and made other things to show their appreciation for the full-time volunteers in the congregation.

This is a normal group for our Sunday meeting for sharing the good news. This past Sunday there were 48 who came out. The Pioneer and Volunteer spirit is truly evident in our congregation.

This is a video clip of their performance.

Enjoyable times sharing the good news

There isn't enough space to fully capture and write about the experiences we are having in Micronesia but we'll try our best to a least give a little blurb about each of these images.

Just driving down the street and saw this nice woman waiting on the corner.....she was very happy to get some bible based literature to read

Stefany and Joann are visiting some of the young girls that love to discuss various bible stories. These young girls speak English and Satawalian (a language spoken on the outer islands of Yap).

Nothing like playing hoops in the ministry. Just about EVERYONE likes to play hoops in Guam. Notice the basketball hoop next to the coconut and palm trees with the gravel court. :)
This young kid was pretty good. All he needed was a net to hear his swoosh when he shot the ball.

Joann is showing her skills on the court. This pint sized sister from the Philippines/Guam really enjoys the game of basketball so don't let her size fool you! Her favorite team is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to show these young island boys my imitation of Shaq or maybe Manute Bol. :)  It was fun playing hoops in service. The kids were able to see that we weren't all business.

Dot and Sherwin coming from visiting an interested person

I 

Russel is with a dear sister who is from the island of Yap. She is battling some serious health issues and yet she is so zealous in putting forth an effort to share the good news with others.

Bar-b-cue Chamorro or Island style

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is a grill made out of the wheel of a car. It actually works pretty good and of course its fairly cheap/free. We saw this as we were driving down the road and I just had to stop and talk to the man who was grilling this incredible smelling chicken on a tire wheel! Great conversation, placed a couple of mags and the chicken wasn't ready yet otherwise he would have offered some. Nothing like chicken brought to you by Michelin. :)

Dot and Florentina phone witnessing 

Florentina and Frieda phone witnessing

Robynn and Alice witnessing to a Yapese householder (Jean).  Jean recently attended the meeting.  She has many questions that she is currently getting answered from the Bible.

Bananas growing

Local watermelon

Florintina (on right) found common ground with a householder from her home island, Yap. They speak different  languages & dialects. They cannot speak each others language but they sort of understand each others language and thus they converse to each other in the different languages. It was very interesting to watch this in person. My mind was blown.

Tyrone and Stefany talking to 2 kids.  Each of the kids have their own study of the Bible.

Stefany helping a little girl with a popsicle that is melting faster then she can eat it.

This street has been very very good to us. Jehovah has provided so many blessings on this street alone! Stefany 1st bible study was on this street when we came to visit in April 2012 for 2 weeks. Now we each have 4-5 bible studies on this street. The people living on Takano St. have become fairly familiar with us. They must think we live somewhere on this street.

Tetherball anyone? Who needs a tetherball pole when you have a coconut tree. This girl was giving her younger brother and pretty good whoppin.

She went high on him and he had no chance

Tod with some adorable grandkids of his bible student (they are all from the island of Chuuk)

Give a man from the East Coast a machete and watch out (yummy local bananas)

Stefany with a close friend (Khay) after a day in the ministry. Khay was very instrumental in helping us find all of the goverment offices and getting all of our paperwork handled when we moved to Guam.

Stefany studying with a local woman and her sister in the Jungle. Its definitely simplified living with the bare minimums. Most importantly they have a desire/hunger for spiritual food which will give them all they need including the opportunity for everlasting life in Paradise.

I'm hanging with the other kids while Stef is studying with the mom

Precious

Russel keeping the other kids occupied while Stefany is studying with the mom

This is the strongest, biggest, toughest 3yr old i've ever met!!! I might arm wrestle with him the next time I visit them (btw...on Takano St.). Typically he would run around and pretend to shoot guns, he was prone to violent gestures, sometimes would make vulgar gestures with his hand.....BUT when he saw the Listen, Obey and Be Blessed video (Free download of the video is on jw.org) he just melted! He said he was Caleb in the movie. He wanted us to leave the video with him and he wants to see the video everytime we visit.

Stefany, Robynn, Cathysha and Julyann...Stefany is studying with Cathysha and Julyann joined

Have you ever seen an uprooted coconut tree growing along the ground and still producing coconuts?

Sherwin holding cute little Tiana (Tiana speaks Pohnpeian and a little English) 

She finally warmed up to me....but still no smile

Cathysha and Raylean enjoyed themselves at a gathering with friends

Stefany and the girls leaving the gathering. Cathysha's goal is now to become a Pioneer like Stefany instead of pursuing nursing in the Military.