Hafa Adai!

Where to begin? Guam is a crazy little island, first of all. It's such a weird mix of the islands and American culture. We live in a building that is-- right now, at least-- basically a shelter for us right now, without much else to work with than beds and a shower. Which is totally normal for outreach. But then we go to the grocery store, and the shelves are filled with things like Betty Crocker cake frosting and Cheetos and Pringles, and that is a bit of a shock sometimes. And then we visit people in really normal, American homes with air conditioning and TVs and everything that seems normal. And that is also a weird feeling. But I think it's really good for the team, actually, to be in a more "normal" setting and try to figure out how to reach people. In the islands, it's really easy to reach out, because all you do is visit a chief or leader and then set up a program, or walk out your door and talk to one of the 50 people who stare at you all day, every day. But here, it's not so easy. So it's cool to have to figure out how to get into the places that we want to get into and what the deeper needs are in the community, and what that means as far as what we do. I think that's a pretty priceless life skill for most of these students.

Opportunities to do stuff seem very plentiful-- we have hooked up with a local church that is working on things like alcohol abuse prevention, and who are very community-focused. This morning we visited the mayor's office and found a ton of immediate needs that we can help out with. We've been hanging out at the local basketball courts and other places where kids are hanging out, just listening and telling our stories, and there are about 5 youth groups that we are involved with, as well as a women's recovery center that we've been spending time at. There's a lot to do that both affects right now and that works with structures that will last once we're gone, which is cool.

So the team is doing pretty well. Things on base were not as I expected to find them-- the base is having a tough time, and that makes it hard to really make firm plans for the DTS, etc., that I am planning on leading in March. I think it's probably good to have the team here, if only just to breath a little bit of life and hope into the place. I can see that there is already a little difference in the staff on base.

Every once in a while I have a moment of total "what the heck am I doing?" going through my head. I really did feel like God was leading me here, and there is an obvious need for me to be here, but part of me wants to crawl into a hole and find something to do that's not going to be so hard. Am I really giving up my house and my bedroom and a place where everyone knows and loves me to come and live on the floor in a place where I am totally different than everyone else, and half of the things I say go unheard? Yes, I am. But then again, I am going to have an adventure, and I am going to learn a lot, and I could possibly have a lot of fun. And God has never really left me hanging yet. And maybe he will even use me to do something amazing. So, the possibilities outweigh the panic... May it always be so.