This week finally has brought out some consistency to our lives here on Saipan! I have been shadowing in the hospital everyday in the OB/L&D/NICU wards until after lunchtime. Some days have been very interesting and insightful, while others have been extremely slow. But I am grateful to be here and be able to learn when opportunities arise.
Tinsley and I have pretty much nailed down our morning routine! She drops me off at 8:00am, and then she goes to the gym, coffee shop, beach, and runs errands, etc, and then she picks me up after lunchtime! And then we have been helping the Jones with their afternoon activities and transporting kids places. Tinsley has been busy lately, taking over some tasks for Joy while she is in the States. She has been organizing the library at church 360 and updating it, helping with the church finances, and tons of other random tasks and organization things.
Last Sunday, we held a kid’s activity day after church, where we stayed and played games and had lunch for a couple hours. Very fun!
Joy has been trying to get word out to the Kagman community that we are offering free tutoring for kids. There was not much of a response, which we were surprised, since many kids are behind in school and in their reading levels. But we started tutoring a couple kids at Kagman Community Church this week on Monday & Wednesday afternoons, which we will continue throughout the summer.
Tinsley and I were also able to take the Jones kids out for a movie on Monday night, which was really good to spend some time with them.
On Tuesday, Rose had her Thespian play showcase for her competition in the States (Joy is the director). This was fun for us to watch and understand more about what they are going to be doing and performing for the next couple of weeks.
Funny moment of the week- we went back to KCC Tuesday night to go to bed, and turned on the lights only to find a rat near our bed…! Needless to say, Tinsley and I were caught in a moment of weakness, trying to catch this rat. Then, a (first of many) power outage occurred throughout Kagman as we were hunting down the rat, so we grabbed our stuff and ran back to the Jones’ house as fast as we could! The power went on and off throughout the whole night and throughout Wednesday and Thursday. Only in Saipan…
Wednesday night, we were able to go to a Bible study at our new friends, the Gentry’s, house! It was super great and refreshing to meet and fellowship with new people, and we are looking forward to going each week this summer.
On Thursday, we sent off Rose and Joy on their way to Salt Lake City. It felt funny- I feel like they were just the ones greeting us at the airport, and now we were dropping them off! They will be there until the end of June, and Esther will be joining them there in a couple days. Billy also has been working all week, so now we are down to just having William with us.
Friday and Saturday were our adventure days. We hiked Bird Island with the Gentry fam, Esther and William, hiked to Old Man by the Sea with our friends Jordyn and Jason, and swam out to the WWII tanks that are stuck off the shore at one of the beaches. Lots of snorkeling and adventuring!
Things you can be praying for:
Busy week next week: tutoring at the church, Tinsley is babysitting a family’s kids on Tueday and Thursday, veggie connections on Monday night at church 360
The Jones girls in states- for safety, relaxation, and fun throughout their time there- a much needed and anticipated trip to get off this island for a little while!
– Gibbs
E3 Global Teams 