Month: April 2011

Saipan FAQ

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Richard and I will be doing a presentation about our upcoming mission trip to Saipan in church on May 8th. Since I’ve been busy organizing information for that, I decided that I’d also use it to answer some of our most frequently asked questions here. As we haven’t actually been to Saipan yet, all of this is information that I’ve gathered from other websites.

Where is Saipan?

Saipan is the capital as well as the largest and most populated of the 15 tiny islands that make up the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands which stretches 400 miles along the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. It’s 15 degrees north of the equator and is located 120 miles north of Guam and due east of the northernmost island of the Philippines. It’s about a three and a half hour flight from Tokyo.

How big is it?

Saipan is about 12.5 miles long & 5.5 miles wide with a total land area of about 46.5 square miles. I was astonished to discover that it would fit into our county almost 34 times! It is surrounded by approximately 54 miles of coastline with about 14 miles of beach.

What’s the weather like?

Saipan is a tropical island with a warm humid climate. It holds the Guiness World Record for the most consistent temperature with the average difference between day and night being greater than the difference between summer and winter! The average temperature year-round is 27C and the year is basically divided into the wet season from July to November and the dry season from December to June.

What languages are spoken on Saipan?

There are three official languages; English, Chamorro and Carolinian but many other languages are also spoken. Because Saipan is an American territory, English is the language of business, schools and the church.

When Richard and I volunteered for short term missions, we anticipated that language would prevent us from being able to do the kind of ministry that we’ll be doing on Saipan. We expected to end up in a country where we didn’t speak the language and where we’d be asked to do the kinds of tasks that would free up the resident missionaries to minister to the local people. God clearly had a different plan and we’re very excited to be a part of it.

What’s the population?

The most recent census figure that I could find is over ten years old. It gives the population as approximately 62 000 people but that may have changed significantly by now. If so, I suspect that it’s lower as the downturn in the economy has seriously affected Saipan’s tourist trade. In addition to the indigenous population, many other cultures & nationalities are represented on Saipan including Americans, Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese, Thai & Japanese.

What is the main religion of Saipan?

The majority of the island’s population is Roman Catholic but many other faiths are also represented.

Do you have any other questions? If so, I’ll try to answer them now and if I can’t, perhaps they’ll give me ideas to blog about while we’re there!

Will we know one another in heaven?

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My friend, Louis, and I have the greatest conversations. We call them our combine talks because many of them take place during harvest season as we cross the golden fields together. I can talk with him about almost anything but often our deepest discussions centre on our faith. More than once Louis has asked me whether we’ll know one another in heaven. I am absolutely, totally convinced that we will. I don’t know what we’ll look like or how we’ll recognize each other but I have no doubt that we will. Louis is a little less certain.

Once, not simply because I like being right but also because I’d really like Louis to have the same confidence and peace of mind about the subject as I have, I searched the scriptures for evidence that I was right. I have to admit that I couldn’t find as clear an answer as I would have liked. The best I could come up with was 1 Corinthians 13:12, “Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.“ I realize that this probably refers to us knowing and being known by Christ but I hope it also means that we will know one another.

I also discovered that King David shared my thoughts on the matter. 2 Samuel 12:22-23 says, “After the death of his son, David answered “While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” Like me, David clearly expected to know his child when he got to heaven.

I recently read a fascinating new book, “Heaven is for Real” by Todd Burpo. It’s the astounding story of a little boy who emerges from emergency surgery with remarkable stories of a visit to heaven. I’m as skeptical as the next person when I hear stories of near death and out of body experiences but this one is simple, heart warming and surprisingly biblical. Before I finished reading it, I knew that Louis had to read it too. He’s not much of a reader but he finished it in less than two days! Once he got started, he said, he couldn’t put it down.

According to the book, we will indeed know one another. It also answers another question that I’ve long wondered about. What happens to children when they go to heaven? As I see it, there are three possibilities. Either they remain children forever, an option that doesn’t sound very satisfactory to me; they’re instantly full grown when they enter heaven which doesn’t seem fair either; or they enter as a child and continue to grow up just as they would have here. In “Heaven is for Real” Colton Burpo meets his miscarried sister who no one had ever told him about. She isn’t a baby, certainly not a preemie, she’s older than he is. Clearly, she’s growing up in heaven!

Our Janina left us when she was five. I’ve always known that I would see her again. I look forward to the day when I cross over to the other side and a beautiful young woman greets me with “Hi, Mom!”

Janina at age 5

Winter pays another visit

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Just when we dared to think that spring had finally come, winter decided to pay us another visit. Patches of snow were gradually melting away but today our world is white again! A storm blew in this morning bringing a blanket of sloppy wet snow.

The gophers have been out for the past couple of weeks and the geese are back. I’d heard tell of robins too but I didn’t see my first one until today. The poor thing looked completely bewildered! I’ve seen pussy willows on my recent walks and my friend Kim found crocuses blooming in her yard. No wonder we thought it was finally spring!

Fortunately, my walking videos arrived in yesterday’s mail as the forecast is calling for more of the white stuff and I’ll probably be back on the treadmill for the next little while.

Though we’re surrounded by snow again, I seem to be experiencing a thawing of a different sort. I’m still waiting to see a physiotherapist about my frozen shoulders but the stretching that I’ve been doing on my own seems to be paying off. They’re not as sore as they were awhile ago and I’m definitely able to sleep more comfortably. I’m pretty sure that my range of motion has increased a bit too.

Here in Alberta, a storm like today’s isn’t really unusual in mid April. In fact, we’ve seen them as late as early May. The winter’s snow is usually long gone before these spring storms hit though. This year we’re beginning to wonder if we’ll ever see the end of it! I do know that Richard and I won’t be cold forever though. We purchased plane tickets today and will leave for Saipan on the 20th of June! At just 15 degrees north of the equator, it enjoys warm tropical weather all year round. I can hardly wait!

My WordPress 5k walk

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When WordPress invited bloggers around the world to join 80 staffers in 62 cities and take part in a 5k run/walk anytime during the week of April 4 to 10, I decided I was in! It was simple. No getting sponsors and raising funds; just getting out and getting some exercise then blogging about it. The idea obviously caught many people’s fancy as bloggers from across the US, Canada, Europe and Australia began to respond. It truly became a worldwide phenomenon as others from Islamabad, Indonesia and India joined in.

I decided to do my walk this afternoon. I knew that 5 kilometres or 3.1 miles wouldn’t be particularly challenging as I walk at least half that far several times a week. After saying hello to the pigeon that has taken to sunning itself at the edge of our driveway the past couple of days, I headed north and out of town. It was a chilly +4C but the big Alberta sky was blue. With the sun on my shoulders and the wind at my back, the first leg of my walk was marvellous.

I passed by the golf course where the greens have recently been cleared of snow and covered with grow tarps and daydreamed about the upcoming golf season. Some years the course opens as early as mid April but it will clearly be awhile before we swing a club this year!

Hole #3 - Sedgewick Golf Course

The walking trail is still mostly covered by snow so I walked along the edge of the road. As I looked out across the snow-covered fields, I wondered how long it will be before we’re out on the land seeding this year’s crop.

When I first planned today’s route, I intended to walk down to the shore of Sedgewick Lake but when I realized that the road into the park wouldn’t have been cleared, I chose a different route. Turning around at the park entrance, I headed back toward town. Walking into the chilly wind wasn’t as pleasant. I was glad I’d decided to wear a hat but I began to wish that it covered my ears! As I entered town and heard the school bell ring, however, I was reminded how lucky I was to be out in the sunshine, wind or no wind. I enjoyed my days in the classroom but oh, how much more I’m loving retirement!

After walking to the centre of town, I turned left at the second 4-way stop. There are exactly two of them in Sedgewick! I stopped at the post office to pick up the mail and, as people in small towns are prone to do, I stood on the steps for 15 or 20 minutes chatting with a friend I hadn’t seen for quite awhile. From there, it was a short walk back home again. Along the way, I looked for signs of spring and was delighted to find a few.

running water

budding trees

and the season's first pussy willows!

Don’t light my own torch!

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I had hoped to book our tickets to Saipan this week. In fact, I woke up in the wee hours of Monday morning feeling very stressed because this hadn’t already been done. We’re not actually going until sometime in mid June but I like to take care of things like this well in advance. This time, however, our travel plans depend on other people. We thought we had pretty much nailed down the dates that we’d be needed with the missionaries that we’ll be covering for but then news came of a possible youth retreat that they’d like us to be involved in. Not a problem! In fact, that sounds pretty exciting to us but now we have to wait on someone else’s plans as this would involve another person coming from off island to do the retreat.

So what was I doing Monday morning? Fretting. Stressing. Worrying. Wondering if I should simply pick some dates and go ahead and book our tickets.

Then God spoke! No, I didn’t hear a booming voice from heaven but I definitely heard him loud and clear. He could have said, “Be patient you silly, foolish child and let me take care of things or you’ll mess them up for sure!” but he’s kinder than that and perhaps a little more subtle.

I sat down to review the previous week’s homework in preparation for that evening’s Beth Moore Bible study and Isaiah 50:10b-11 jumped out at me:

“Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.”

It’s amazing how that happens; how God seems to know exactly what we need to hear and when we need to hear it! It’s so easy for me to want to take things into my own hands, to light my own torch and try to find the path on my own but God was reminding me to trust in him and to wait on his leading. So now there’s a highlighted note to self in the margin of my Bible study workbook:

Don’t light my own torch!

Instead, I’ll wait (patiently, I hope!) until we’re given a better idea when we need to be on Saipan and then I’ll book our tickets accordingly.