The plane has been removed from its half on half off the runway location and flights are operating on their normal schedules once again, thank you Jesus! Tina, Lacy, and Rachel are flying out today.
School is now officially over, no more grading, no more lesson planning, and no more yelling "SIT DOWN!!!!!" The last few days of school were spent taking tests and practicing for the 3rd grade concert that Maribel (the other third grade teacher) and I have been planning. Yesterday was our class party. We played games and I gave out awards for good behavior, good grades, and whatnot. Then we ate lunch and blew up balloons. They ran around and hit each other with them for a while and a few helped me clean up the classroom.
Later in the evening was our concert. It went so well!! I was really nervous about it because I've never been in charge of a program and had to plan everything. We started the program with a slideshow of our students throughout the year set to music, it was really cute. The kids enjoyed laughing at their classmates and themselves. Next we had the whole "choir" (both classes) sing some worship songs that we have taught them during morning worships. Wow those kids can sing!! In the middle was a skit portion and they did a really great job with that as well. At the end Maribel and I sang "Side By Side" for our kids and that was that! It was a great success and although it was stressful and a lot of work, I'm really glad we planned it. A bunch of the parents thanked us, so I think everyone enjoyed it. Anyways, school is over and I'm still running around feeling like there is something important that I need to be doing. Hey, I guess relaxing is important too!














Things I've Learned in Pohnpei:
1.Mr. B is pretty much a superhero
2. I'm going to freeze when I come home!!!

Crash Boom Bang!

Friday a tuna plane didn't stop in time on the runway and is not stuck hanging part way off the runway. All flights in and out have been cancelled until who knows when. I've heard estimates of a few days to a few weeks. I'm hoping it is the former. This means that a few of the SM's may possible miss their flights home and no mail service either. So much for hearing from Loma Linda this week.... Only 1 1/2 days of school left, then the party and 2 more graduations. I can't believe the end is here, I never thought it would come!!! It still doesn't feel real yet. Nothing much else to report.
Things I've learned in Pohnpei:
1. Traveling is wicked expensive!!!

Final Trip to Ant Atoll

This weekend was our last school fair, which was a good time
of course. Part of the fair included a talent show spread throughout.
The lady SMs did a Tahitian dance together which was super fun.
The guys danced to an N'Sync song, which was hilarious.
Overall we probably didn't make a whole lot of money, but everyone had a good time.



After the fair we packed our camping gear and headed out for Ant Atoll! Along the way we did a bit of trolling (fishing with strong line held over the back of the moving boat). I felt a strong tug and after much struggling to pull in the line Mr. B informed me that I had a large shark on my line. We both tried to pull it in, but it stretched the line and eventually snapped it. A-Whoops!!

Eventually we drove to an island and crashed in a hut for the night. The next morning we drove to another island and set up camp the good old fashioned way, with palm branches under you and a tarp above you! After some nice swimming in the beautiful blue water and playing with hermit crabs the rain came. The rest of the day was spent lazily reading and napping whilst waiting for the rain to subside. Island camping is pretty much the best. The next morning we got up fairly early for scuba-rama! We drove out to a wall near an island called Bird Island. Apparently the entire island is swarming with birds. Anyways, the dive was fun. We swam through a sweet tunnel in the reef too.
The drive back to camp was exciting because a storm was a-brewing and the waves were pretty crazy. I can't explain what one of those boat rides are like. It's a mix between a rollercoaster and hitting severe potholes over and over again while driving at breakneck speeds. It's a good time. So the interesting part was that near the end of the ride the engine suddenly died. Hmm, out of gas. The other boat gave us some more gas, still no go. We had to get towed in by the other boat. The problem was that now we had 20+ people on an outer island and only one boat to get them back. Mr B. ended up making several trips and some brave souls stayed an extra night on the island. The ride back through the open ocean was some adrenaline pumping fun. The waves were HUGE!!! I was sitting on the front of the boat hanging onto a rope for dear life bouncing up and down like a kangaroo on steroids. Mr. B is an excellent driver and thus avoided what could have been some dangerous waves, but we still had quite a ride. My bum is a bit sore. It was such a fun weekend and things like camping on Ant make me really sad to be leaving so soon. I will certainly miss that, even the hermit crabs pinching my toes while I try to sleep (it tickles SOOO bad).

Things I've Learned in Pohnpei:
1. I will miss it when I leave
2. Hula dancing is wicked hard!!!
3. Goodbyes are no fun at all

The rains came down and the floods came up!

This week was the closest thing to winter that I’ve experienced all year. It rained and rained and rained all week long. Tuesday we had to put sandbags in front of the office to keep it from flooding. We waded through inches of water on our way to recess in the gym and all my students busted out their jackets. As a result of the rain, the temperature was wonderful, barely any sweating all week!! It was probably 78 or so most of time, which was a wonderful change, I thoroughly enjoyed it. This week was a big one for us, we had the evaluators here checking the school, it was midterm week, and I had to give chapel on Friday. The week was slow, but everything turned out well and now it’s Sabbath!! Yay for weekends! Three weeks of school left and it doesn’t seem real that at the end of this month I’ll be back in Cali to see my family and friends again!!! I’m very excited, although sad to say goodbye to the 19 crazy little kids that I will miss very dearly. The year is wrapping up and it will be incredibly busy up until the very end with graduations, concerts, school fair, camping trips, and parties to plan! The myth that 4^th quarter goes the fastest is definitely false, however, the busyness gives a wonderful façade of time moving quickly.

Last weekend we hiked up “Mr. B’s Mountain”. The mountain doesn’t actually belong to him, but the land at the base belongs to his family, so we still refer to it as his. “Hike” is maybe the wrong word for this excursion. There is no trail, it is more like clambering straight up a muddy slope of 2000 + ft, grasping at any living vegetation to prevent slipping back down the few feet that you just gained. It was a muddy, slipperly, sweaty good time! The view from the top was breathtaking though!! It is the 2^nd highest point on the island, so we had a great view of most of the island. The wind was blowing up in our faces off the edge of the cliff and at one point it rained UP on us. Getting back down the mountain was even more interesting than climbing up. There were many America’s Funniest Home Video moments as everyone present probably spent a good share of the way down on their butts or in that not quite stable position , arms flailing and legs kicking to stay under you. It was the craziest hike I’ve ever been on and I loved it.

We just finished our last SM Sabbath at the Kolonia church. It went really well although it was a long one! We had a nice potluck afterward and are now enjoying relaxing. I’ve got to recharge this weekend to get ready for the coming onslaught of planning and parties that come with the end of the year.

Things I’ve learned in Pohnpei:

1. when the ship doesn’t bring fruit, it’s a sad day
2. 78 degrees can feel cold, temperature is all relative
3. It’s impossible not to overeat at potluck, yum!