Alli!
I am recovering from a cold right now. I had to miss school for the first time on Friday. I started losing my voice on Thursday, so my friend Caitlin had to take over my class after recess and it got worse so she subbed for me on Friday while I stayed home and rested. When she got home from school, she told me that one of my students, Odanges, started crying in class because she thought I went back to America. That broke my heart. It made me think about the day I leave, which is not for another 9 months, but that day is gonna be so hard! Today, during class, she drew a broken heart on the board and said that was her heart when I wasn't there and she said that she couldn't do the monkey bars when I wasn't there because she's only strong when I am there. It was so cute, but so sad. I was so excited to be back with my students today, I missed them. They were really noisy though, so I'm kind of losing my voice again. I'm hoping I'll be okay to teach tomorrow. Last weekend we went on a staff retreat to an island called Ngemelis. Oh man, it was beautiful! On the boat ride there, I saw every shade of blue in the water. It was a very bumpy boat ride, and I felt nauseous at one point, but I was just focused on the beauty of everything around me. When we got to the island, I couldn't believe I was actually there. The sand was white, and course, which kind of hurt my feet, but I didn’t care. Everywhere I looked I saw sand dollars! I collected a lot of them, of course. We slept in hammocks the two nights we were there. I put my hammock between two coconut trees above the sand. At night time the waves came out below my hammock. The sound of the waves were so loud at night, but they put me to sleep. The first night, I woke up in the middle of the night and the moon was so big and bright it lit up the water and it was wonderful. I also woke up when the sun was rising and the sky was a neon orange color that I had never seen before. After breakfast, my friend Alexis and I put a tarp out on the shore and read our bibles for a while. It was so nice. Saturday afternoon we walked to another island through the water when the tide was low. At the top of the island there was an old police station, which we climbed a lot of stairs to get to, but the view was worth it. We left the island on Sunday afternoon. The first stop we made was the big drop off. The waves were very strong and I was scared, so I decided to use a life jacket. I put it on and jumped into the water. I depended on the waves to push me to the drop off. I had tried swimming, but got nowhere. I was hoping to see a shark and a sea turtle, but I didn’t, unfortunately. I saw the most fish I had ever seen and there were so many different kinds! It was awesome! We were only there for a little while because we had somewhere else to go, Jellyfish Lake! I was SO excited! I was so happy when I saw my first jellyfish. The farther I swam out, the more jellyfish there were. I was in awe. They are such beautiful creatures! It felt like a dream. One of them actually stung me above my lip. It didn’t really hurt, but I felt it. It reminded me of the scene in Finding Nemo where Dory says, “I shall call you Squishy and you shall be mine” then she touches the jellyfish and it stings her lol I was so sad when it was time to leave. The next day, Monday, we didn't have school. Labor day is observed here, too! We went to our first birthday party that day. The house it was at has the ocean right behind it. You can jump into the ocean from the balcony, which many of us did. They also had a trampoline in the water, which was really cool! They have a fruit here called rombutan (I have no idea how to spell it), which is red and has spikes around it. You crack it open and there’s something that looks like an eyeball in there, which is what you eat. It looks weird, but it’s really good! I don’t even know how many I ate at the party lol We all had a great time! The next day we had school and I was exhausted from the weekend, but I was excited to be with my students again. On Wednesday it was our principal's birthday. We are so blessed to have such an awesome principle! He's not just our principal, but our friend, too. We didn't do anything big for him that day because we were going to throw a party for him the next night. I had my students make birthday cards for him on Wednesday, they were so cute:) On Wednesday night, we all showed up at his house with cupcakes and just hung out. On Thursday night, we threw a surprise party for him and watched his favorite movie, Nacho Libre lol it was fun! but I ate too much! On Saturday we went to a different church, which I really liked. It was a really small church, unlike the one we usually go to. At this church we take off our shoes and leave them at the entrance. There isn't really any youth at this church; it's mostly older people and some children. They were all so kind and welcoming. At this church they have the sermon first, then Sabbath school after, which was weird, but I liked it. After Sabbath school we had potluck. The food was so good! I loved this church because it was surrounded by trees and you could see the ocean from the window. On Sunday we began our first diving certification class. When I got to Palau I was debating whether I should dive or not because it's pretty expensive and I'm kind of scared, but I knew I would regret it if I didn't do it, so I decided to do it. We were in class from 8 am until about 4 pm! We went over a lot of information! Next Sunday we are going to get in the water and practice some of the stuff we learned. I'm a little nervous, but excited! I can't wait for our first dive! As much as I love it here, I still get homesick. I miss some things I never thought I would! I miss my family, my friends, and Johans SO much! This is harder than I thought, but "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." I hope you are all doing well! Sorry for the super long post, again! Thank you for taking the time to read it<3 -Jessica Alii! That is how you say hello in Palau:) I’ve been here for 15 days now, but it feels like it’s been longer than that! I wish I could’ve written a blog sooner because so much has happened. We arrived in Palau on August 6th at around 8pm. The flight from Hawaii to Guam was pretty long, but from Guam to Palau wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately, it was nighttime when we flew over Palau so we didn’t get to see it:/ That would’ve been an amazing sight. When we got to the airport in Palau, we were greeted by our Palauan family. My Palauan “mom” and her family greeted me with leis and a basket of food:) She is Palauan and her husband is American. They have two adorable children, a son and a daughter. The daughter is actually one of my students; her name is Wenita<3
The next day we had a delicious breakfast made for us in the cafeteria. We had worship, then we took a tour of the campus; we live in an apartment on the high school campus. It is so beautiful. This was the first time we got to see it because when we arrived it was nighttime. We live in a jungle! I love it! The chapel on campus is on a hill so you can see the ocean from outside<3 After a tour of the high school campus, we went to Koror, which is the main commercial center of Palau, and it’s where the elementary school is. We had a tour of the campus there then went grocery shopping. The drive from the high school campus, which is in Airai, to the elementary school, is 20 minutes, but the whole way is beautiful. Everything is green and we cross a bridge over the ocean. The water is different shades of blue; it’s amazing! I can’t get tired of this. The next day we went to church for the first time. Everyone was so welcoming and kind. They presented us in front of the church and prayed for us; it was nice. The service is in English, but there is a translator during the sermon. After church, they had a potluck for us and I loved the food! I tried taro for the first time and I actually liked it. I was told not many people like it, which is why I said “actually.” After the potluck we went to a waterfall, which we hiked a short distance to get to. It was so beautiful. We got into the water, which was really cold, but felt refreshing. It is super hot and humid here! I am still not used to it. The next day we went to the aquarium! My favorite part was the touch tank! There were different kinds of sea cucumbers and sea stars that we could pick up. There were some giant sea cucumbers! I got to meet one of my kindergarten students; her name is Clara and she is so cute! She was with me throughout the whole tour, holding my hand<3 The next day we started cleaning our classrooms. For lunch we went to this little place called Burger House and I got a tofu burger, which I loved! They also have boba there! This place is about a five minute walk from the school, so we go there often. The next day we worked on our classrooms again, and I saw a huge, scary spider in my room! I wanted to cry! I had to call one of the boys to get it out lol I hope I never see one again! On Wednesday night I had dinner at my Palauan family’s house. I was pretty nervous at first, but it went well. Wenita was super shy at first and didn’t want to talk to me, but she slowly started opening up. I read a story to her and by the end she was very comfortable with me, which I was super happy about. The next days were full of meetings, cleaning/decorating our classrooms and lesson planning. On Friday, our principal took us snorkeling! This was my first time ever! It was so fun and I got to see some awesome stuff! I can’t wait to go snorkeling again! There is so much to see! On Saturday, I finally got to Facetime my family! It was so nice to see them! I miss them so much! The Internet here is not very good, so it would freeze a lot, but I’m so glad we got to talk and see each other. At night, we all went to our principal’s house and had a game night. We all had a great time! Our principal and his wife are awesome! We are blessed. Sunday was really stressful because it was the last day before classes started. I was excited and super nervous at the same time, but my nervousness went away when I met my students. They are precious! The first day I had 15 students. At the end of my first day I found out that one of my students was supposed to be in 1st grade lol One of my girls wouldn’t stop crying, so her mom had to come back and stay in the classroom. The next day, the mom stayed, but less than half way through the class she walked out with her daughter and didn’t come back the rest of the week. I guess she decided she wasn’t ready for school yet:/ So as of now, I have 13 students. The whole week we mostly went over rules and procedures and did some activities, and on Friday we had a welcome back party! My kids are pretty noisy and I have one boy who doesn’t listen, but it’s their first time at school, so it’s understandable; I know it will get better:) On Friday, four of my students told me they loved me and my heart melted! I love these children already! I’m excited for this year!:D I’ll try to update my blog as often as I can. I miss you all! I hope you are all doing well! p.s. Sorry for the really long post. -Jessica Aloha! The day I leave to Palau has finally arrived. I have had a great time here in Hawaii for orientation, making friends and learning a little bit more about the missionary life. We also got to visit a few places, which were all amazing! My favorites were Manoa Falls and Pali Lookout; the views were absolutely breathtaking. Though I've had a great time here, I can't wait to be in Palau already. I can't wait to be greeted by the beautiful people of the island! I can't wait to meet my adorable kindergarteners! There are so many things I am excited for! There is a group of 14 of us heading to the island of Palau; we are the largest group going out. I ask that you please pray for the other islands, Chuuk, Majuro, Kosrae, Ebeye, and Yap, who are low on missionaries. I also ask that you please pray for Saipan, which was hit by a typhoon this week. The island will have no electricity for about two months and will not have water for some time. There are three brave missionaries who will be going to Saipan, please pray for them. I have decided that I will disconnect from social media once I arrive in Palau, so that I can immerse myself in the culture and focus solely on my mission. I will be sharing my experiences with you through this blog. I am really excited for what God has in store for each one of us. I am very nervous, but I know God will be with me every step of the way. I miss my friends and family, and Johans SO much, but this is something God has called me to do. Please keep me in your prayers. I will be continually praying for you all! Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you so much for your support.
<3 Jessica |
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