Status Quo… With a Few Surprises

Well, this week has been pretty status quo back at the office, but there were still a few blog-worthy moments.  We returned to Guam early Monday morning—very early Monday morning (5:00 a.m.!)—and somehow managed to make it back to the office by 10:30 to start the week.

A funny moment happened at the airport in Palau while we were waiting in line to show our passports to security. One of the guards motioned that it was our turn, and I suspect she was hoping J.D. would step forward. Instead, I handed her my passport. She looked at it and immediately said, “Oh yes! Rottweiler! I was trying to remember his last name. He’s the one who was trying to help the girls from Kiribati get in a few months ago.” (You might remember the story we shared back in November about having to buy the sister missionaries’ return tickets so they could enter Palau.)

We joke all the time that everyone remembers J.D., and this was just one more example proving the point!

I’ve mentioned before that one of my responsibilities is making sure all the missionaries in the Micronesia Guam Mission have the correct visas and permits to serve in the various countries where they are assigned. This week I had the opportunity to help a missionary from an outer island in the Federated States of Micronesia who has been called to serve in Zimbabwe. While he waits for his visa, he is temporarily serving here in our mission.  Part of the process has been helping him gather and submit documents for visas to both Ghana and Zimbabwe. As you might imagine, this requires quite a stack of paperwork, and many of the documents need to come from his home island. I had started looking into how we would obtain everything when he nonchalantly said he had some paperwork. I was impressed with his diligence in getting them before coming to Guam—something I’m sure was not an easy task on an island where most don't even have electricity.

I eagerly asked him to bring me all the important paperwork so we could move forward with the applications. Imagine my surprise when this is how the "important" documents arrived! 



Needless to say, it gave me a good laugh. Thankfully, I was able to carefully salvage everything, and we should have the applications ready to submit this coming week. What an incredible experience he has ahead of him!

In other exciting news, I found my very favorite Easter treat at the local Kmart. Easter just wouldn’t feel like Easter without some Cadbury Mini Eggs!



Meanwhile, back on the home front, Janelle and Keesa and their families went on a cruise to Mexico this past week. The older boys faced their fears and tried an extreme zip-lining adventure. Kara bravely stood up in front of a large audience and answered questions to win one of the ship’s game shows. They went snorkeling, whale watching, swimming, and—perhaps the highlight for everyone—enjoyed an unlimited supply of ice cream available anytime they wanted!








While we love hearing about their fun adventures, we will be even happier when the day comes that we can share experiences like these with them again.  We love serving the people and the Lord but look forward to the day we can be reunited with our family! 

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