Wednesday
we decided to fast, pray and worship, just to stick with the things we had
talked about the night before and really reconnect as a team through God. Amazing things happened and we really
revisited the vision and purpose for us being here in Palau. After our morning we stopped by the café
before going to the volleyball park (Long Island) and ended up playing ultimate
frisbee for most of the afternoon, meeting quite a few people (Kaser, Mymy,
Nikki, Nita, and a few others I don’t remember their names…). Due to it being a special day (New Years
Day), we went out to dinner at an amazing place called the Rose Garden Café,
before going home and playing card games with our team for the entire rest of
the evening.
Thursday we
traveled up the island to Choll (which is close to Ngarchelong, where we spent
our first week) and visiting the YWAM land there. We walked the land with the other team and
prayed over it. After that we went with
both teams and had a beach day. We spent
that evening again playing card games (uno, spoons, golf, hearts, cribbage)
(I’m waiting to get more decks so I can teach them all Nertz J).
Friday we spent the morning at the capital, walking around the place and praying and trying to meet (and pray) for as many people as we could. In the afternoon we went exploring to find a community where several people we had met playing volleyball lived. The people who live in this community in E-Ang are not exactly excepted by Palauans, they come from islands just outside of what is considered Palau and so they are looked down upon, which was the exact reason we wanted to go there. We found Joey (who was the one we were looking for because he was who we had met) and met his cousin Edison, and a girl named Janet. It was a wonderful time to hang out and talk to them. We found out about them and started making not only connections, but also finding out other people we should contact. We went back home that day and spent another evening/night playing cards.
Friday we spent the morning at the capital, walking around the place and praying and trying to meet (and pray) for as many people as we could. In the afternoon we went exploring to find a community where several people we had met playing volleyball lived. The people who live in this community in E-Ang are not exactly excepted by Palauans, they come from islands just outside of what is considered Palau and so they are looked down upon, which was the exact reason we wanted to go there. We found Joey (who was the one we were looking for because he was who we had met) and met his cousin Edison, and a girl named Janet. It was a wonderful time to hang out and talk to them. We found out about them and started making not only connections, but also finding out other people we should contact. We went back home that day and spent another evening/night playing cards.
Saturday
Alicia and I had an early morning helping the other team and Fuana’s church
host the monthly Women’s Prayer Breakfast. It was an amazing time spent hearing
the hearts of several of the women on the other team, amazing worship (lead by
Alicia), and the chance to pray over some of these amazing Palauan pray warrior
women. After the breakfast we rejoined
the guys and spent the rest of the morning doing another Dean Sherman,
Spiritual Warfare, lecture. The
afternoon Brandon, Colton, and I went to a pier with the neighbor kid AJ and
swam and tossed around a ball. The
evening we all had dinner together and hung out.
Sunday
(yesterday) we were blessed to have AJ ask us to come to church with us, and he
said he liked it and wanted to come back! He also joined us at the park that
afternoon to play volleyball. We did get
to play some volleyball, but with a completely different group than from the
week before. That evening we had been
invited to play basketball with Kaser and so all of us, except Max, went and
hung out there and had lots of fun and got to know several of them more.
So that was
our week this week. I’m finally doing
better with the not missing home as much.
I realized when pondering the New Year that out of 12 months in a year,
I will only be spending 2 of those in Palau and so I should enjoy the short
time I get to spend here. I’ve really
been enjoying the times we get to interact and reconnect with the people we
have already met, and those times this week were my favorite. At the beginning of the week God really did
rejuvenate something in each of our hearts, and especially in my heart. My
passion for this place came back, the passion that I haven’t had since being in
Kona, it was so refreshing and reassuring that this was where I am supposed to
be. I can’t say I don’t miss home at
all, and that I don’t think about you guys, but it’s definitely not as painful
anymore.
This is
random, but a little tid-bit on how to pronounce Palauan words …(most of which
I’m probably spelling wrong ha). The
“ch”s are silent as are the “g”s. So
words like Ngarchelong, are pronounced more like N-ar-elong. And Choll is pronounced O-ll. And yea, I don’t know if that helps at all
or anything, but I felt that I should put that in.
This week
we hope to spend a lot of time helping out at a boys boarding high school. We are to lead devotionals, have worship
times, Brandon is going to be doing some ESL tutoring, and we will be doing
various other things that they need us to do.
Our next “big” adventure will be
our trip to Angar (sp???). The “monkey
island” as I call it in my head, because they have monkeys there obviously! We
will be spending the 10th through the 16th there and… I
don’t know what we will be doing yet. We
are still waiting on God’s timing to on when we will be able to make it to
Kayangle (pronounced Kai-an), the island hit by the typhoon, but we are just
trusting in faith that God is making us wait for His timing. So ya… I think that pretty much brings you
all up to date! I’ll be a little late posting my next blog due to being in
Angar, but I will get it to you guys as soon as I can after we get back.
I love you all and miss you all!
And Happy New Year!!!! J
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