Weekend in Guam

I love blogging. Blogging is my lazy version of scrapbooking. When I leave Saipan I'll print all these entries up and make a book to remember
all my little adventures.

This past weekend I met up with some good friends in Guam. The picture on the left is of my friend, Gemma, and my cute nephew, Max. Max is showing off his little Noah's Ark tool set that he made during Sabbath School.



I found out that my girlfriend, Nikki, was going to be in Guam while passing through to the Philippines. So I booked a ticket to meet up with her and my other friends. While we were in Guam Mike and Gemma gave us an island tour.





We ended up at Fort Soledad. A lot of rich American history on this little island when the US recaptured Guam from the Japanese in WWII.


On my left is Sydney, Mike's brother. He's graduating Medical School at Loma Linda University this May and is finishing up his last rotation at the SDA Clinic in Guam. He definitely inspired me to go back school. For what? Eeek. I'm still deciding. I just know I don't want to do dental hygiene full time.

This picture is of Magellan landing. There is a tribute by the water that says "Magellan landed some where near here"!

A picture of the Mercado family. From Left to right: Gemma, Max, Mike, and Sydney.
Gemma is a MD at the Guam SDA Clinic and Mike works as an MD on the Naval Base in Guam.

Look out point near Talofofo Falls near the Yokoi Cave. On my next visit to Guam I'd like to see the Yokoi Cave. There is an amazing story behind this cave. Yoki was a Japanese Solider in WWII that retreated in the jungle of Guam and hid from the US forces going unnoticed. He survived in a cave for 28 years before being discovered by local farmers in 1972.


Nikki and I enjoying dinner at the Mermaid Tavern in Guam!I recommend this place because they've got delicious food! I had the seared Ahi with mash potatoes and salad. Not only did we have a great meal there was live Blue Grass music! Nikki is one of my best friends from California and I'm so glad I got to see her again. Last time I saw her was almost a year ago.

Britni

I hate “goodbyes”. I was never really good at them. It is the end of the school year and the student missionaries are leaving Saipan one by one this week to continue on with their education and to pursue other dreams.



Last night we had a farewell party for them at church. We had a potluck dinner, played a couple of games, and watched a slideshow dedicated to the “Dream team”. They put their heart and soul into the school year and towards their kids. Mai and I are the only ones coming back for another year. A new set of missionaries will come out in the fall. This is usually what happens every year at the SDA elementary and junior high school.


I’m sad that they are leaving but I am thankful for the time we had together. They changed me. Our love for Jesus keeps us connected forever and the memories . . . well they’ll last a lifetime.

Britni is the first one that has left Saipan:

Crusin' in the back of Grant's truck, Rusty.

Britni is the youngest and the heart of our group. She’s what I would call a free spirit. She’s fun and energetic. I loved hearing her lead out in praise songs during church service while Grant played the guitar. She was my first dive buddy. We traveled and explored Guam together. We had heart to heart talks about our dreams and where God was leading us. I’ll never forget her laugh that you could hear a mile away. Britni will be moving to California to pursue her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy at Loma Linda University. I love you Brit and will miss you.

Guam Trip March 2007

Go Blue!

I'm proud of our CNMI team! They only had two months to prepare for this match against Guam. The score was 3-2 Guam pulling away in the end. We still have a chance when the CNMI wins in Guam this weekend.

I Heart Guam

I had such a great weekend with Brit in Guam! Two words: retail therapy ;) I think I got it out of my system this weekend. Hey! I haven't really shopped in over 7 months so I think I deserved to go crazy this weekend! I love Guam and the feeling of being in a "city" setting . . . but I love Saipan MORE!! I like the simpler and slower pace of life here on Saipan. Plus there is definitely less distraction here. I'm so happy to be back home.

Brit and i arrived Thursday night and our friends Shoshana and Chad picked us up at the airport. Chad and Sho work at the SDA Dental Clinic in Guam. We stayed at the clinic housing and had access to the clinic car. The clinic car we drove was an old 90 ford sedan. I posted a previous pic of me holding car jumper cables because our battery had died the first day we drove it=( Grrrr, I always have bad luck with cars. We had to ask some strangers to jump our car for us. So embarrassing . . . but after that situation we had no shame! It was so ghetto but we loved crusin' in it! Needless to say we got hooked up this weekend (thanks Chad and Sho).



We visited alot of parks like the War in the Pacific Memorial and South Pacific Memorial Park that had old WWII relics, caves, and pill boxes. I found that the south part of the island of Guam was more beautiful than the north. Brit and I went to alot of mountain top and oceanview lookouts like Sella Bay Overlook/trailhead and Cetti Bay overlook to watch the sunsets.

We had a great time exploring Guam and learning more about the culture. We also visited a couple of museums and Catholic churches as well. Well also ate at Coldstone every day and got our pedicures. There is so much more to see and do in Guam which makes for another excuse to go back and visit.

Brit and I did the tourist thing and went sightseeing all over the island. We even tried to get on the naval and airforce bases but no luck since we didn't have military id's or friends in the military. We hear that they have really nice private beaches on the the bases. On my previous post i put pictures up from Lover's Point that overlooks Guam and the ocean. Ontop were tons of "love" locks on the fences that many tourists had left. On the locks were lovers names , dates, and pledges of their eternal love for each other. It was actually quite sweet.



On Saturday, Chad and Sho took us to Ritidian Point for Sabbath. Its one of their most beautiful beaches on Guam. It actually reminds me of our Wing Beach in Saipan. We had a morning devotional and just shared with each other our weekly blessings and things to pray about. We spent practically the whole day at the beach and got burnt. Chad looked like a lobster at night time! heh!

Overall it was a great weekend and I'm so happy that I have such great friends like Brit to travel with. i'm going to miss her next year. And now . . . back to work.

Hafa Adai From Guam!

What can I say . . . I get restless staying in one place. I'm a wanderer! I'm in Guam with Brit for the weekend. We went shopping, visited Lover's Point, South Pacific Memorial Park, and the Guam Museum. Tomorrow we're going to do more sightseeing. Have a great weekend=)