King of the Mountain

We are men.

I currently have chickens, puppies, kittens, and birds going around me as I type this. *edit - all the time.

My sleeping arrangements

Over the past two weeks we have had a number of speakers and visitors come through. We had Mattheus van der Steen, founder of a number of organizations including Touch, Reach, and Impact the Nations which is in Holland. Jason Lee Jones who is an amazing keyboardist and singer from the states. And this last week we had Steve and Marcy Fish who are pastors from Convergence Church located in Ft. Worth, Texas. The amount of wisdom and knowledge released from all of these people has been overwhelming and I feel full to the brim with intimacy, joy, and a desire to see others released into their destiny. 

One of the nights we had everyone form a tunnel and all of the Pohnpeians go through it while we all prayed for them and spoke different words of encouragement to them. While going through it a number of the people were touched and we saw lots of laughter, people were healed physically, touched on the inside, made a decision to know Jesus, and loads more. 

"Intimacy is the key to unlock the doors of eternity." - Jason Lee Jones

The mountain survival this past weekend was more of a thriving session of seeing the beauty the island has to offer and enjoyed a good hike as well. The first night we hiked to a cave to sleep. However, on the way there, one of our group members had to go back as she was sick and couldn't make it. That made things a little interesting as we had no vehicles nor cell phones. While the guide was hiking back to drop off the sick one, a couple of the locals decided to try and find the trail through the jungle and we  only discovered several hours later that they were lost as the guide tracked them and saw they went the wrong way. Note to all - stick together!!!! I'll get off my soapbox. 

The next day we went up the harder path which took us across the mountain ridges. When we reached the top there were clouds covering the entire view out. We prayed for some parting of the clouds and a couple of minutes later it all opened up and it was gorgeous to see all around the island. 

At night, Ullie and I built a shelter that was different than a couple of the ones that the guide had already built previously. As such, none of the Pohnpeians thought it would hold and what do you know, it worked like a charm! Scouts for the win. 

We also ate loads of palm heart which was tasted a lot like cabbage and required an entire cutting down of the palm tree for us to eat, but oh was it worth it.

Most of the hike was gorgeous and just extremely muddy and slippery. I'm definitely learning to embrace the mud and being covered with bugs on top of it. One of the mornings I awoke to bugs crawling in the beard. What a delicious breakfast.

The guide with us before they all got lost

Why not?

Kill the whole tree for a couple bites of food

This is what happens after the heat and no food

These are my clean legs

I may have eaten some good sized pancakes here after the hike.

One of the nights we did an outreach with the locals which included dancing, dramas, songs, and a brief sermon where a number of locals received the gift of Christ and were healed from a number of ailments.

The attitudes of all the group members was superb which kept it enjoyable for the whole time too. 

On our hike back down we ran across some kids playing in the street surrounded by dirt and broken down cars. At least one of the kids was wearing a Mizzou shirt. I'm shocked at the number of people wearing KC and Mizzou shirts. Who woulda thunk?!

"If you don't live by the praises of people, then you won't die by their criticisms either." - Mattheus van der Steen

Additionally, I have been spending a lot of time reading. Who would have thought? The words of CS Lewis continually hit me to the core and unlock things I never would have dreamed about knowing in another way. "Every joy is beyond all others. The fruit we are eating is always the best fruit of all."

Went kayaking for awhile a coupe days ago and went through a mangrove forest and the scenery is something you'd imagine seeing as you go through the amazon. The water was still as glass and I half expected some blow darts or arrows to shoot out at me. 

Anyways, our rice is ready for lunch. Have I mentioned I've eaten lots and lots of rice... can't wait for the change of food in Thailand. Fruits and veggies... mmm... 

Much love to you all.

Life Unplugged

This last week has been more than I could have ever imagined. 

A handful of us went on a scouting mission to scope out some rock climbing routes and get a good hike in. The hike ended up being quite extreme and I had brought about 40 pounds worth of climbing gear on my pack on the chance we'd be able to climb. As it turned out, we had to do a strenuous hike and there was a climb involved as well that we didn't quite have to rope off to. Part of the hike we had to hold on to a rope and use our feet as friction to climb sideways.  The view at the top was stunning. 

My group this weekend explored the island of Pohnpei. We visited some old Japanese bunkers and artillery stations from World Was II. 

We hiked up the other side of the mountain I hiked earlier in the week, Sokehs. 

That night we ate some sea turtle which was kept alive all day so it would be freak to cook... Some of the locals ripped out the heart and took a bite out of it just as it was killed. A bit barbaric for my liking. Doesn't taste half bad though. 

We visited a river that is where the locals worship eels. We placed some chum in the water and a bunch of large eels swam upstream to come feed. 

We had another long hike over multiple river crossings, through the jungles of Jurassic Park, and eventually ended up at a beautiful waterfall where we could do a 35ft cliff jump which of course I had to do a few times. 

Of course I figured out a way to swim against the current of the waterfall and climb up it only to jump again. Glorious! And only banged up one of my knees. Not shabby. 

Here's a picture of the prehistoric jungle. 

Our last stop was Nan Madol which is the site of 1000 year old ruins that was made with rocks not native to this island at all. Legend holds it that wizards flew the giant black boulders across the ocean. The front three stones of one of the temples are all magnetic and the only ones there as well so compasses go berserk when there. All of the walls of the buildings are aligned perfectly with the four cardinal directions. 

And just before writing this I had one of my life long dreams occur. I was blessed enough to scuba dive all day out here on the Great Barrier Reef. We went to Manta Road to dive but sadly saw no mantas. I'm so fortunate to be in a place where I can have multiple dreams that have been birthed come to fruition. 

This next weekend we'll be going up the largest mountain here and doing mountain survival. Can't wait for the next adventure. I can't describe how much I feel as though I'm in my element and with like minded people. 

This week I also bought my plane ticket for Thailand following this school. As of now there will be at least a handful of us for sure going but I feel as though there will be several more. 

Much love from the second rainiest place on earth. 

Relaxing is hard work

Let's go ahead and start off with what I'm sure you're all wondering, my bags arrived! I had pretty much accepted that they wouldn't come and it was just part of the adventure. A little after a week the airline told me they finally came. 

Now for the fun. Last weekend at the water survival training was glorious. We learned how to line fish using plastic water bottles, net fish, and of course spear fish. The spear fish was not the biggest success... We go at night when the fish are asleep so they're not as fast. Sadly, they're still faster than I am. Our guide would dive over 30 feet down on the bottom of the reef, wait, then strike. I would go 10 feet down, flutter, and strike some coral and watch the fish smile by. The way we cleaned the fish was definitely different than I'm used to doing with a filet knife back home. We also ate a number of fish raw. 

I've never seen such colorful fish as here. The locals with us made us baskets for all the fish and then we dug in with our hands which has been common for every meal which is wonderful to do when you have flies all over the place and rats scurrying around. We grabbed a sea cucumber and I wanted to try it even though it looked like the epitome of rancid. It began to puke its guts over us. Beautiful creation...

I shared ultimate frisbee with the group and we played it for awhile which was a blast. 

As the sun was setting, we jumped off the wharf a few times and sang worship songs as the prawns would light up the ocean with fluorescence. Nothing quite like it. 

We went to another island Nahlop to do some more fishing which also was a mass failure. My Pohnpeian brother made us fresh coconut rice which was amazing. 

I tried spearfishing again and the highlight was seeing a reef shark. I tried getting the others with me to come see it and of course they all just peaced out as soon as they could. I also saw a large manta which was another good surprise. 

This week our speaker was the author of God of Light, God of Darkness and he presented life changing missions blueprints on how to meet the people with the God they already have in their culture and how there have been mass strides in areas where this has occurred.  

The past weekend my group travelled to Parem Island where we stayed with the chief. The nas (hut) we stayed in was quite nice compared to what we've been staying in. We hiked around the whole island and had the most succulent star fruit which we grabbed off the trees. It's the only fruit I've had down here and I would love more. We were able to pray for a number of the locals. In total the island only has around 100 people on it and they're mostly high at all times it seems. One of the men lived in Missouri for the last 14 years in Raytown, what a small world. 

At night we had a youth service with some songs and our locals shared their testimony which rocked a few of the kids and we were able to pray for them all. 

When we were getting picked up by boat it was low tide so we had to carry our stuff out a few hundred yards and wade through it all. 

I've been meeting with the others that feel to go to Thailand to pray together and I'm feeling more and more to go there. God gave me Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says The Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. 

Last night a few of us felt called to go into town and just chat with some of the locals and love on the them. We ended up getting kicked out of one place. Too fun! Haven't had that happen before. 

I'm hoping to head out climbing either later today or tomorrow on this rock face. It'll definitely test my limits. One of the guys here is from Switzerland and is an incredibly gifted climber and outdoorsmen so I'm counting on learning a few things. 

Next weekend we'll be exploring this island some more and I plan on learning to speak some more Pohnpeian. 

Island life is not the life for me I've learned. The locals lay around all day doing nothing, fish at night and repeat. I can feel my body and brain decaying. No wonder they turn to drugs so they can feel something. 

Now let's see if I can end this with some deep, life altering thoughts that I'm experiencing. Relaxing and giving up complete control has been harder than any work day I have had since there's no stimulation of radio, computer, television, radio or other distraction. I never expected to find myself in such a need of detox from the life I was accustomed to. The Pohnpeians do nothing but give to each other and in turn do not expect to receive anything. They also are very choice in their words and use them sparingly. Additionally, they don't see their skills as anything special and are such a humble people. Basically, they're the opposite of Americans. 

Don't forget to enjoy the present and enjoy every new morning.