Swimming in the Grotto

/ edebock / 5 Comments

We definitely crossed one off our Saipan bucket list today. We went swimming in the Grotto! I’m almost at a loss for words when it comes to describing how fabulous it was.

The Grotto is an amazing natural formation on the northern end of the island. Thousands of years ago it was an underwater cave but at some point part of the roof caved in and it became accessible from above. More than 100 stone steps lead down to the water’s edge. There you wait for a break in the waves before stepping across a narrow opening and climbing up onto a huge flat-topped  boulder. Many swimmers like to jump or dive into the water from there but I chose the easy climb down the side of the rock.

The water is a brilliant blue, very deep and crystal clear. The Grotto is one of the island’s prime scuba diving spots and at times we could see divers deep below us! We could also see light entering the pool in three spots where tunnels extend out to the open ocean. One of these forms a deep narrow cave at the back of the pool. We swam to the very back of it.

The water temperature was perfect; cool enough to be refreshing but warm enough that we could stay in for as long as we wanted without becoming chilled. Being ocean water, of course, it’s salty and we floated easily. It truly was a fantastic experience and one we’ll definitely want to repeat while we’re here.

   

The last shall be first…

/ edebock / 2 Comments

“The last shall be first, and the first last.”  Matthew 20:16

That’s certainly how it was when we went through immigration and customs at the Saipan airport shortly after midnight last night.

Almost 30 hours into the very long day that took us from Edmonton to Seattle to Tokyo to Saipan, Richard and I both fell asleep on the airplane. While we were snoozing, the stewardess handed out the various forms that would be needed upon arrival. Assuming that we were American citizens, she left only one form for us to fill out when we actually needed three. We awoke as the airplane began it’s descent into Saipan and I suddenly realized that we had not done the necessary paperwork yet! Yikes! The steward on board responded to our call but he was hurried and unsure of which documents we needed. We ended up with the correct ones but they were in Japanese rather than English which wasn’t of much help to us! By this time, I was feeling a little panicked and sent a silent prayer upward asking the Lord to smooth our path. His answer was nothing short of miraculous.

As we deplaned, we exchanged the Japanese forms for English ones but that meant that we had to stop to fill them out after we entered the airport putting us at the very back of the long line of people waiting to go through immigration. In our very tired state, we were also unsure if we had filled them out correctly and were definitely feeling a bit intimidated by the whole situation. It was at that point that one of the immigration officials noticed the family with a small baby just ahead of us in line. He took them aside so that they could be processed more quickly and be on their way. As he did so, he asked where we were from and when we told him Canada, he turned the family over to another official and dealt with us himself. He was friendly and courteous and we were through in no time leaving everyone else still standing in line!

As soon as we knew that we were coming to Saipan, I began to research visa requirements. As far as I was able to determine, we would likely be issued a 30 day visa on entry and then, because we’re actually staying longer than that, we would have to have it renewed for another 30 days. We had been advised, however, that we should try asking for a 60 day visa at the airport. I thought it was worth a try. Imagine my surprise when the agent told us that, as Canadians, we are actually eligible for a 6 month visa! Though we don’t plan to do so, our passports now say that we can stay until December!

Passing through customs was just as quick and easy. Within minutes, we were out the door of the terminal where we were met by Helen Ann, her daughter and her son-in-law who welcomed us with beautiful floral leis that smell absolutely heavenly. Our Saipan adventure had begun!

Beautiful feet

/ edebock / 5 Comments

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”   Romans 10:15

This is the verse our pastor used this morning as he commissioned us to carry the gospel to the people of Saipan. He then proceeded to tell us that we have beautiful feet and I know he wasn’t referring to the fact that I was wearing my bright red shoes!

Over the past few days, we’ve been asked many times “Are you excited?” Of course, we are! Once again we’re stepping way outside our comfort zone but we’re doing it with peace and confidence knowing that this is God’s direction for us and that we go with the prayers of many behind us. As our pastor pointed out, each one who gathered around and prayed for us this morning and many others who weren’t able to be present are part of the mission that we’re going on. Ours may be the feet that go but theirs are the hands that hold us up.

We’ll be taking these beautiful feet to bed soon. We’re tucked into our hotel room across the highway from the airport and have a wake up call scheduled for 3:40 a.m. The airport shuttle will pick us up 45 minutes later and some 28 hours after that, our feet will step onto the island of Saipan.

Today was the day!

/ edebock / 3 Comments

Before our first grandchild was born, we decided that I would be called Gram to distinguish me from his other grandmother who was already Grandma to his three cousins. I was delighted when, at 15 months old, Drew first called me Am. As time went by, however, and his speech didn’t improve, we learned that this was actually a symptom of a severe phonological disorder. He dropped the initial sounds from almost every word making his speech virtually unintelligible.

As Drew began speech therapy and he and Melaina worked diligently at home, we began to see a marked improvement in his speech. I was confident that the day would come when he would finally call me Gram and today was that day! My heart nearly burst with joy! The r isn’t quite clear yet but it’s there and the G is as clear as a bell.

Each time we’ve seen Drew over the past few months, we’ve noticed progress. Not only is his pronunciation so much clearer now but he’s also speaking in simple sentences and using lots of descriptive words… “big white garbage truck” “Drew’s sandals on”  “play train games” and “baby ducks swimming” are a few of the phrases that we heard today. Life must be much less frustrating for him now that he’s able to express his feelings, ask for the things he wants and tell Mommy when something hurts. It’s definitely a delight for us to be able to carry on a conversation with him!

Bowness Park

/ edebock / Leave a comment

We spent this morning at Calgary’s Bowness Park. I hadn’t been there since I skated on the lagoon during my university years but Melaina and the children have gone quite often lately and Drew was anxious to show us the baby ducks and geese.

   

I love city parks; natural oases in the midst of the rush and bustle of urban life. I truly appreciate those who had the foresight to set aside these tracts of land so that future generations could enjoy a taste of nature without travelling far from home. As we strolled along the banks of the stream, in addition to the ducks and geese, we stopped to enjoy a squirrel that seemed to be as interested in watching us as we were in watching it.

Of course, we had to stop at one of the playgrounds and play on the slides before leaving the park.

   

Hmm... how does this thing work?

Like this?

Ready!

Amazing connections

/ edebock / 1 Comment

When Richard’s cousin learned that we were going to Saipan, she sent us a note along with an insert from her church bulletin that told of another Alberta couple who are also going to Saipan on a short term missions assignment this summer! Rod and Beth were missionaries with Far East Broadcasting on Saipan from 1995 to 2002 and are returning for the summer to help with the decommissioning of the FEBC station there. The short wave transmitters, which are no longer needed there, will be shipped to the Philippines.

I was somewhat surprised to hear that we wouldn’t be the only Albertan missionaries on Saipan this summer but didn’t give it a lot of thought until a friend from church mentioned that her husband’s second cousin and his wife were also going to Saipan as short term missionaries this summer! Could there actually be three couples from Alberta going to the same tiny island? No. As it turns out, Doris’ husband is related to Rod and Beth!

Doris gave Rod our email address. We’ve been corresponding and have discovered yet another connection. When he and Beth left the island in 2002 they sold their car to the missionary couple that we’ll be filling in for! It’s a tiny island but it has a population of over 60 000 people so what are the chances of that?

What do all these amazing connections mean? Are they simply coincidences or are they part of a bigger picture that only God can see? I don’t know. In fact, I may never know but I do know that my God can orchestrate amazing things. Pondering the possibilities is quite delightful.

Thanks, kids!

/ edebock / Leave a comment

Until I had children, I’d never had to deal with allergies. It’s not unusual for children to inherit certain health conditions from their parents but, in my case, it almost seems as if it’s happened the other way around!

When Richard and I moved to Japan three years ago, we were delighted to find that deliciously fresh pineapple was one of the least expensive fruits in our grocery store. For a time, we enjoyed it with breakfast every morning. After awhile, I began to develop mouth sores. Of course, we were eating a lot of unfamiliar foods at the time so, in spite of the fact that our daughter has been allergic to pineapple for most of her life, it took awhile before I realized that it was the culprit. Since that time, my allergy to pineapple has worsened to the point where an anaphylactic reaction is a very real possibility and I must avoid it at all cost. Very sad, considering how much I used to enjoy it.

Environmental allergies plagued our oldest son, especially in the springtime. Every spring, snow moulds, grasses and pollens would invariably trigger a severe asthma attack. In fact, we used to say that poor Matthew was allergic to spring! I felt so sorry for him. For several years now, Matt seemed to have outgrown those allergies but now I’m beginning to think that he just passed them on to me!

For the past few springs, something on the golf course would leave me sniffling. Something other than my score, that is! The day before yesterday, as we finished our round, it felt as though I had something in my eye. When hadn’t watered out or even moved by later that evening, I realized that something else was going on. It felt like there was a bump on the underside of my eyelid that scraped my eyeball every time I blinked. By last night, my eye was quite badly irritated so, since I was in Camrose on other business this morning, I paid an unscheduled visit to the eye care clinic. Fortunately, a doctor was able to see me right away. He flipped my eyelid inside out, a very strange feeling indeed, and told me that rather than being smooth as it ought to be, the underside looked like cauliflower! A severe allergic reaction was his diagnosis. To what, he couldn’t say but most likely something environmental. Thanks, Matt! Hopefully, the eye drops that he prescribed will take effect quickly.

What else are my kids allergic to? Well, Melaina is allergic to penicillin and Matt didn’t used to be able to eat eggs. Will those be next, I wonder?

Never too old

/ edebock / 3 Comments

My 87 year old aunt lost her husband and lifelong hiking partner six years ago but that didn’t stop her. Hip replacement surgery following a fall in an icy crosswalk three and a half years ago slowed her down for awhile but it didn’t stop her either. She still loves to get out on the trails surrounding her home community of Jasper here in Alberta’s majestic Rocky Mountains.

We spent this afternoon hiking together. She doesn’t move as quickly as she once did but with walking poles in hand, she took the lead and set a steady pace. “Look at this!” she’d say as she named the various wildflowers beside the path and pointed out other interesting features along the way. At one point, we left the main trail to explore the remains of an old log cabin that she knew was hidden in the bush.

Sharing the trail with Auntie Norma and surrounded by mountains, sky, river and forest, it was truly a beautiful afternoon. The sky was overcast and the day was comfortably cool. A few spits of rain toward the end of our hike did nothing to dampen our spirits.

   

The only wildlife we encountered were birds and mosquitoes but there was no doubt that a bear had been that way sometime recently. I’m quite happy that we didn’t meet!

   

We hiked over four kilometres before returning to the car and coming back to town. I thought perhaps that would have worn Auntie Norma out but she’s as chipper as ever this evening. I definitely want to be her when I grow up!

Golf is good for me!

/ edebock / 2 Comments

After battling tendonitis in both my shoulders for more than a year and then being diagnosed with adhesive capsulitis or frozen shoulders a couple of months ago, I worried about whether or not I’d be able to golf this season. As it turns out, golf is actually good for me! Imagine my delight when I first swung a club earlier this month and discovered that the motion was almost the same as one of the exercises that I’d recently been given by the physiotherapist! Shortly after that, I read that playing golf can actually enhance strength and mobility of the shoulders, hips and other joints. It’s actually recommended by the Canadian Arthritis Society as well as the Arthritis Foundation in the US. Though I don’t have arthritis, the recommended exercises are the same. Sweet!

Over the past few weeks, I’ve worked hard on the exercises that the physiotherapist gave me and have been delighted with how quickly I’ve seen positive results. Not only are my shoulders no longer sore but I have regained almost normal range of motion. When I saw my doctor last week, he actually told me that I could start lifting weights again! I’m not planning to do that until fall but I do have a new fitness goal that will help rebuild strength in my arms and shoulders. I want to learn to do push ups! I don’t understand why but even after all my years of lifting weights, I’ve never been able to do a push up, not even a so called ‘ladies push up’. Hopefully, that’s about to change. I found a great little video entitled Push Ups For Beginners on YouTube and started working. So far, I’m only doing the super simple wall push up but eventually I’ll graduate to more difficult versions and hopefully someday I’ll be doing the real thing. Maybe before I’m 60?

With our two month missions trip to Saipan coming up soon, we won’t be golfing as much as usual this summer. Apparently there are five golf courses on the island though and we hope to have the opportunity to try one or two of them. I can do shoulder exercises and work on learning how to do a push up anywhere though and we’ll also continue to keep in shape by doing some hiking and lots of walking. Since setting my 100 mile goal back at the beginning of September, I’ve actually walked just over 300 miles and am still counting! Anyway, the sun is shining and golf is good for me so guess what I’ll be doing this afternoon?

Norman the tree

/ edebock / 6 Comments

When I finished working at the farm yesterday, I came home and planted the flower beds, an exercise in futility perhaps since we won’t be here most of the summer to take care of and enjoy them but I love getting my hands into the soil at this time of year and I want the place to look somewhat cared for while we’re gone.

We love our yard but it will never be the showcase that some people’s are. We don’t stay home long enough, especially in the summer! One of my favourite features of our yard is Norman the tree. Yes, unlike the rest of the trees and plants in the yard, this one has a name! It also has a story.

In the summer of 1994, we were returning from a trip to the Yukon and were somewhere near the BC/Yukon border when a wheel bearing went on the tent trailer that we were pulling. Richard jacked up the trailer, removed the wheel and he and Matthew drove back to Watson Lake, the closest community, to have the necessary repairs done. I waited by the road with Melaina and Nathan.

What does one do to entertain two ten year olds for almost three hours on a hot summer day in the middle of nowhere? Hiking into the bush was out of the question as I didn’t want us to get lost or eaten by bears so we were limited to the road allowance. We went for walks along the highway, endured the bugs, read, played cards, picked wild strawberries and built a fort using trees, sticks and our jackets.

Hundreds of tiny evergreen seedlings grew alongside the road. One of them was a perfect mini Christmas tree shape. Imagine Richard’s lack of enthusiasm when he returned hot and dusty only to discover that, in addition to putting the trailer back together, his wife wanted him to find the folding shovel that was buried beneath everything else in the back of the vehicle so that she could dig up a tree! I know that removing trees from crown land is probably not an entirely legal thing to do but I also know that the ones growing along the road allowance are mowed down from time to time to keep visibility clear for drivers. That perfect little tree wouldn’t survive if I didn’t rescue it! Being the patient husband that he is, Richard indulged this craziness and found the shovel. I dug up my tiny prize and temporarily housed it in the plastic garbage container that we carried in the vehicle. When we camped across the highway from the Liard River Hot Springs that evening, I planted it in an ice cream pail and there it stayed until we got home and it took up permanent residence in our backyard. In the 17 years that have passed, it has grown into a stately and still perfectly shaped tree. I remember waiting patiently for it to get big enough for its first string of Christmas lights and then, in no time, it grew so big that it was too difficult to bother stringing lights on it anymore.

The name was given by the children who were reading a hilarious book entitled The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks by Nancy McArthur that summer. Norman was one of the main characters. I resisted for a long time thinking that my brother, Norman, might be offended. I should have known better! He’s definitely not the kind of brother or uncle who would be upset by something like that. In fact, I think he quite likes the idea. Eventually even I began to call the tree Norman.

Richard isn’t as fond of Norman as I am. With his lower branches so close to the ground, he’s difficult to mow around. Richard has actually threatened to cut them off a time or two. I may not have been completely serious when I told him that that might lead to divorce but he hasn’t taken any chances! He also complains that I planted Norman too close to the house but his trunk is actually a full 12 feet from the back corner of the garage. Perhaps Richard’s lack of love for Norman goes all the way back to their rocky beginning on that frustrating day beside the highway but I think that that’s one of the reasons I’m so fond of Norman. After all, he’s not just a landscaping feature, he’s part of our family history!