It’s everywhere. It’s in the air, coming from the ground, inside, outside, day, night; there is no way to get away from the heat. It’s suffocating at times; the air is so humid my skin is still hot to the touch during a cold shower. The second you step out you are sticky with sweat again. Bug bites are everywhere, even on the bottom of my feet. Not just mosquito bites, little bugs you don’t even see bite you. I’ve been sore for the last week from the work we’ve been doing. When we tell people we are on a tropical Island as missionaries and teachers they seem to act like it’s a joke. They say something like “I’m sure that will be ‘rough’” sarcastically. Well, it is; but there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be. It’s not a free vacation, however, and we don’t spend every day swimming at the beach. We are here to work, to help this school and the people here. This is what we keep reminding ourselves this past week. God has placed us her to help, to work. That’s why we were up at 7:30 am Sunday scrubbing classrooms out until 6 pm.
It was a busy day! Everyone on campus was cleaning and doing maintenance, we were able to get a lot done! Even cleaning is a new experience. We don’t have all the supplies that would be used in the States. We hauled out all the rusty desks, trash, and broken supplies. We scrubbed the paint stains off the floor, and the hosed down the entire floor. Walking around barefoot, we took brooms and swept the water, dirt, and bugs out. We did all this barefoot; they really don’t wear their shoes inside anywhereJ. I felt bad for the men, they mowed the entire field with week eaters! For lunch there was a big potluck of Filipino food for all the workers! It was delicious, and they gave us all the leftovers. So we won’t have to cook for a couple days! After our long day of work we walked out to the little deck on campus that looks out over the island. Andrea started a weekly tradition of meeting every Sunday to talk about our weeks and pray over the new one. It was a wonderful way to end a long day and begin a busy week.
I finally found out what classes I will be teaching! I will teach Precalculus, Geometry, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Micronesia History, 12th grade PE, World Geography, MusicJ, and Pathfinders on Friday. I will also be responsible for planning and fundraising graduation. We are also going to work on a yearbook. It will be a busy year! They had a piano keyboard for the campus also; they are letting me put it in our apartment! That made me so happy! I will need to practice because I am supposed to be the pianist at church this Sabbath.
I wish all my family and friends could be here. There are so many things I want to describe. Pictures and words really can’t explain what it’s like though. I wish I could show my dad how I don’t scream when the lizards run across our wall or I kill a cockroach. I wish my mom could see all the cooking we do and how I prepared my classroom. I want to show you all the beauty surrounding me, no picture can fully capture it. I want you to see the coconuts and drink milk straight from it after they bring them down for us. I wish you could see all the sweet kids running around calling out “Miss Rychelle” and witness the beauty and simplicity of their church service. I wish you could feel the warm water from the ocean and see the huge crabs run across the street. I want you to experience the car rides into town and run out in one of the rain storms that will soak you to the bone in less than 10 seconds. Maybe someday! Until then I will keep all of you in my prayers and I hope you will keep me in yours too. We have a lot to prepare for school next week and we are praying the teachers from the Philippines will be able to get their permits so they can fly in before school begins. In my devotions with Pamela and Sabrina this morning we were reading out of a book called Crazy Love. It was talking about worry and stress. To summarize it said, to worry is to tell God that what is on our mind is bigger than He can handle. He is in control, so we will keep working and trust that He will carry us throughJ.
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