Managaha Island Campout & Eagle Rays

I love camping on the beach! I really look forward to the SDA School's yearly retreat to Managaha Island with the kids. Managaha Island is just a quick 15 minute ferry ride away from Saipan.





Every time we come out here we ALWAYS say we need to come out more often. It's just really peaceful and beautiful out here.
The times that we did camp out here we were the only ones on the island besides the security guards. Where else in the world can you have a whole island to yourselves?!





The kids set up their tents on two sides of the Pavilion. The boys are on one side and the girls are on the other. I felt like I was in junior high again! Amy and I ended up sharing a tent. It rained sporadically throughout the night. We didn't have the right tarp to cover our tent so we ended up a little wet in the morning. We still slept better than we both expected.





Our tents were lined up right along the shoreline close enough to hear the waves crash at night. Like our tree decorations?!







I woke up early on Sabbath morning for a sunrise walk on the beach. Sometimes I think I must be crazy to leave all this beauty and my life here behind. I'm trying to savor the time I have left here. Life is simple and so meaningful out here.

Some of the best memories of my childhood were from my school days. My mom worked really hard as a nurse to put my brother, sister, and I through SDA private school for all twelve years at Loma Linda Academy. At every SDA school we have something called a Week of Prayer. The school schedule is modified to accomadate a special hour in the day that focuses on God. This past week was Saipan SDA's week of prayer.





Jammed together under the Pavilion we would listen to Rikki and Joy jam on their guitars as we sang praise songs to start our worship service.










All week long I heard about a pastor coming out from Florida to preach to the kids. When I arrived I introduced myself to him. We looked at each other and he said " I think we've met before!" I didn't recognize him at first because the last time I had seen him was in junior high. His brother, Greg, was my classmate and Glenn was my younger sister, Gin's, classmate. Small world!

Pastor Glenn talked about how he never thought God would call him to a Pastor. He said, "I wanted to be a dentist, but I never could pass Chemistry!" Funny how you plan your life out but God has something better and greater than you could ever imagine. I really feel that Glenn touched these kids lives. Towards the end of his sermon he invited those who wanted to give their lives to Christ. Many of these kids wanted to give their lives to Christ. Glen currently is a pastor at the SDA Church in Miami, Florida. We hope that he can come visit us again someday.







Amy planned a lot of the team building activities for the kids. She's currently the preschool director and has been a real blessing to us. She's so creative and you can really tell how passionate she is about teaching and being around kids. Here's a picture of Amy and Rikki setting up for a game called Shadow Charades! This was fun. Here's some pictures of some bible stories the kids were trying to act. I just love abstract art!





Creation! God creating the world.
















Jesus hanging on the cross.


The Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf before Moses came down and broke the Ten Commandments.



Some snapshots of the SDA teachers and the kids cooking our lunch.






































Pastor Glenn and me

















The funniest kid, Noah and his mom, Carol Paez.



During down time I walked over to the dock because I heard a rumor that you could spot Eagle Rays from the dock right before sunset and just after sunrise. Its true! I saw these three Eagle Rays around 7 am Saturday morning just hanging out around the dock! I wanted to jump in the water to get a better picture but I didn't have my underwater housing with me=( I'm really excited to see them because there's a good chance I'll see them again at the dive site Eagle Ray City on President's day weekend!






Here's a bird's eye view of the three Eagle Rays!






And to top off the camping trip I went snorkeling! I spotted an eel and tons of fish! Just love how the water is like 82 degrees=) Ahh, what a great weekend!

Snorkeling at Managaha Island

I heart Managaha Island.
Ken and Crystal getting ready to go snorkeling. They saw an eagle ray near the reef!
Majestic Blue water
Lazy Sunday. Thinking about having to pack all of my junk to move to my new apt.
Lorene and Rosana enjoying the 83 degree water.


Just a ferry boat ride away is Managaha Island. I need to come here more often for some R & R. Its nice to just relax, catch up on a book, and enjoy the view. Best of all its a free ride for the locals.

We gave diving a rest this past Sunday and decided to go snorkeling instead for the morning. The Piersons, Lorene, and I took Rosana for the first time to Managaha Island. She loved it and couldn't get enough of the underwater world.

There were alot of Japanese tourists in the water with life jackets on. It was a peaceful morning until some of them were splashing and screaming when they would see the fish underwater. Rosana threw some vienna sausages their way and more fish came! lol I had to swim out farther to get away from all the comotion.

I love Sundays.

More Of Him In My Life

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Matthew 18:20 KJV

The campout at Managaha Island with the Seventh-day Adventist church and school couldn't have come at a better time than this weekend. I guess you could say it has been a long week for me. I get so busy with my schedule and extracurricular activities that my spiritual walk suffers. Sometimes I put off my daily devotionals and than by the time I know it . . . the end of the day has come.




Giving up a couple of years of my life to work for God and the church out here in Saipan has been a real blessing for me. I feel my heart and my life changing as God continues to show and teach me new things. I can't explain enough how far I have come from a year ago. I just look back and see how much my faith and walk has grown in Him. God is really blessing me out here in Saipan.

The SDA elementary school has a yearly campout at Managaha Island and has invited the SDA Church to be a part of the festivities. Ken, Crystal, and I took a ferry ride to Managaha island after work on Friday. We set up camp and helped the kids make our potluck dinner. We made corn on the cob, veggie skewers, chicken bbq, salad . . . the kids were really great about helping out.




After dinner Grant led out in vespers on the beach. All the kids were lined up and he told the kids they had 45 seconds to run and find a stone. The kids took off in a heart beat and came back in 45 seconds to fall in line. Grant than said to the kids to pretend that the stone is a problem, a grudge, a fear, a habit that they are holding onto and to throw that stone into the ocean. So one by one the kids threw their stone into the ocean. Throwing their stones into the ocean represents us giving our burdens and handing them to Jesus. Letting go and letting Jesus take care of my burdens has really made a difference in my life. When there is no way out or when things seem impossible . . . God always provides a way out, another path.

On Sabbath, we had church outdoors! What better way to feel closer to God to be out in His creation. For church we had split up into four different groups and we performed skits about why we think God is powerful. The first group did a skit about the story of little David and the giant Goliath. How God can give man strength to overcome obstacles and problems bigger than himself. The second skit was about How Jesus had the power to heal the sick. How He is a life giver. Our skit was how about how Moses parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to escape the egyptians. How God can provide a way out when things seem impossible.

I just really had a great time this weekend. This weekend reminded me how much more of Him I need in my life.