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.