Yokwe aelop Kom ri-majol! Etain Adam Schaefers... I ar jokwe ilo Majuro im Jaluit summer ko 2007 im 2008. Ej lukuun emman RMI! Kiio inaj blog kajin ilo pale... Komool tata, Jeramon, im Anij ippam!
Hi everybody, it's great to be back home from the Marshall Islands, but
I really do miss the islands and already have plans to go back after I finish college.
I want to share some stories of my summer in the Marshall Islands. But first you should know that I finished Revolution Hawaii over a year ago in 2007, and then returned home after that. While I was home, I was going to school and working at K-mart.
While I was in K-mart, straightening the food shelves, I believed I heard God calling me to return to the Marshall Islands. But I didn't want to go because it's hard to live out there and I was afraid, but I believed I heard God say in the "still small voice" that He would be with me every step of the way.
So the next thing I knew, this summer I flew from Portland, Oregon, to L.A., to Hawaii, to the Marshall Islands of Majuro-- And from there, the inter island flights were down, so I was crammed onto a small boat and took a 22 hour boat ride from Majuro to the island called Jaluit. Jaluit was where I stayed last time, so the plan was to go back and stay with the same host family and continue the ministry where I left off from the summer before.
The Marshall Islands are actually called Atolls, which basically are ring shaped islands with a lagoon in the middle, and ocean surrounding the outside of the ring. Scientists think the mainland of the island sunk into the ocean, leaving only the coral reefs to be inhabitable.
While I stayed in the Marshall Islands, the living conditions were hard for me to get used to. It is hot and extremely humid. Doing anything at all would make me get sweaty. I lived with a Marshallese host family, the same family that I stayed with a year before.
The Marshallese culture is great. They are people with a lot of honor and they will do anything to make you happy. The food, when there is enough of it, is top notch-- usually you can eat lots of fish, crab, lobster, breadfruit, pandanus fruit, coconuts, and banana. Daily life can be pretty boring, but it helps to try and keep busy, helping out wherever I could.
The Marshall Islands are far from perfect. There are lots of problems as well. I found a good accurate description in the book called Operation World. It says, "The traumatic history of occupation, exploitation, war and the impact of US nuclear bomb testing has had a devastating effect on the Marshallese. Traditional society and culture has broken down, with attendant problems of sexual promiscuity, drugs, drunkenness, suicides and a very high birth rate. The people are confused, uprooted and insecure and many suffer the effects of nuclear radiation with genetic disorders and high rates of cancer. Pray for wise, visionary leadership for the nation that will break the spirit of dependency, and make the country economically viable."
When I arrived to my host family in Jaluit, they were all smiles and very happy that I was finally there! Also a good friend from last time was there. They immediately cooked up a bunch of rice and tuna fish. We sat down and ate and got caught up to speed on the latest happenings.
It turns out they were basically out of food! They had no rice or flour and had eaten all the breadfruit and bananas. All they had left is coconut and whatever they can catch in the ocean. You should have seen the smiles on the kids faces and the "thank you's" from the adults-- they were so happy to have a solid meal.
While I stayed there, I also aimed to be incarnational in my ministry, which basically means to live like they do and "become a Marshallese". So I studied the Marshallese Language everyday with my friends and my textbooks, I also made a bag of copra which is worth about $20-$40 and is really hard work, and I learned how to make jokaroot coconut drink, and to go fishing. We also did a lot of vacation Bible schools with the kids while we were there, and there are a lot of kids in the Marshall Islands!
Right before I left Jaluit, my host family and church threw a going away party for me. It was great! The food was awesome, they sang lots of songs to me, then they gave speeches, and when my host mom was giving her speech, she was almost crying. They said they were going to miss me and asked me to remember them in my prayers. Then after they gave their speeches, I stood up and gave a speech, and I was able to thank them for all of their hospitality and told them how I would miss them (and I already do!) and I told them about how it is because of Jesus that I was able to come to the Marshall Islands and that Jesus is the only One worth living for.
I learned a lot in the Marshall Islands. Like last time, they taught me more than I taught them. They taught me how to take care of people, how to love each other even if you don't feel like it, and that you don't need to have a lot of stuff to be happy. There are people in the Marshall Islands who know God a whole lot more than I do, and all I can do is follow their example and try to know God more every day.
I hope to return to the Marshall Islands in a few years. But first I want to finish school and hopefully I will have something to be able to contribute to alleviate the suffering of the Marshallese people. Maybe I will learn to be an English teacher, electrician, plumber, or mechanic-- these types of things are always needed in developing nations.
Last-- I just have to say, I am ordinary. I'm and ordinary guy out of K-mart. If God can take me and change me and use me to bless other people and countries-- He can use ANYBODY. So, let's all be praying and seeking God daily, because you and I have no idea what cool plans God has next.
Adam Schaefers.
Hi everybody, it's great to be back home from the Marshall Islands, but
I really do miss the islands and already have plans to go back after I finish college.
I want to share some stories of my summer in the Marshall Islands. But first you should know that I finished Revolution Hawaii over a year ago in 2007, and then returned home after that. While I was home, I was going to school and working at K-mart.
While I was in K-mart, straightening the food shelves, I believed I heard God calling me to return to the Marshall Islands. But I didn't want to go because it's hard to live out there and I was afraid, but I believed I heard God say in the "still small voice" that He would be with me every step of the way.
So the next thing I knew, this summer I flew from Portland, Oregon, to L.A., to Hawaii, to the Marshall Islands of Majuro-- And from there, the inter island flights were down, so I was crammed onto a small boat and took a 22 hour boat ride from Majuro to the island called Jaluit. Jaluit was where I stayed last time, so the plan was to go back and stay with the same host family and continue the ministry where I left off from the summer before.
The Marshall Islands are actually called Atolls, which basically are ring shaped islands with a lagoon in the middle, and ocean surrounding the outside of the ring. Scientists think the mainland of the island sunk into the ocean, leaving only the coral reefs to be inhabitable.
While I stayed in the Marshall Islands, the living conditions were hard for me to get used to. It is hot and extremely humid. Doing anything at all would make me get sweaty. I lived with a Marshallese host family, the same family that I stayed with a year before.
The Marshallese culture is great. They are people with a lot of honor and they will do anything to make you happy. The food, when there is enough of it, is top notch-- usually you can eat lots of fish, crab, lobster, breadfruit, pandanus fruit, coconuts, and banana. Daily life can be pretty boring, but it helps to try and keep busy, helping out wherever I could.
The Marshall Islands are far from perfect. There are lots of problems as well. I found a good accurate description in the book called Operation World. It says, "The traumatic history of occupation, exploitation, war and the impact of US nuclear bomb testing has had a devastating effect on the Marshallese. Traditional society and culture has broken down, with attendant problems of sexual promiscuity, drugs, drunkenness, suicides and a very high birth rate. The people are confused, uprooted and insecure and many suffer the effects of nuclear radiation with genetic disorders and high rates of cancer. Pray for wise, visionary leadership for the nation that will break the spirit of dependency, and make the country economically viable."
When I arrived to my host family in Jaluit, they were all smiles and very happy that I was finally there! Also a good friend from last time was there. They immediately cooked up a bunch of rice and tuna fish. We sat down and ate and got caught up to speed on the latest happenings.
It turns out they were basically out of food! They had no rice or flour and had eaten all the breadfruit and bananas. All they had left is coconut and whatever they can catch in the ocean. You should have seen the smiles on the kids faces and the "thank you's" from the adults-- they were so happy to have a solid meal.
While I stayed there, I also aimed to be incarnational in my ministry, which basically means to live like they do and "become a Marshallese". So I studied the Marshallese Language everyday with my friends and my textbooks, I also made a bag of copra which is worth about $20-$40 and is really hard work, and I learned how to make jokaroot coconut drink, and to go fishing. We also did a lot of vacation Bible schools with the kids while we were there, and there are a lot of kids in the Marshall Islands!
Right before I left Jaluit, my host family and church threw a going away party for me. It was great! The food was awesome, they sang lots of songs to me, then they gave speeches, and when my host mom was giving her speech, she was almost crying. They said they were going to miss me and asked me to remember them in my prayers. Then after they gave their speeches, I stood up and gave a speech, and I was able to thank them for all of their hospitality and told them how I would miss them (and I already do!) and I told them about how it is because of Jesus that I was able to come to the Marshall Islands and that Jesus is the only One worth living for.
I learned a lot in the Marshall Islands. Like last time, they taught me more than I taught them. They taught me how to take care of people, how to love each other even if you don't feel like it, and that you don't need to have a lot of stuff to be happy. There are people in the Marshall Islands who know God a whole lot more than I do, and all I can do is follow their example and try to know God more every day.
I hope to return to the Marshall Islands in a few years. But first I want to finish school and hopefully I will have something to be able to contribute to alleviate the suffering of the Marshallese people. Maybe I will learn to be an English teacher, electrician, plumber, or mechanic-- these types of things are always needed in developing nations.
Last-- I just have to say, I am ordinary. I'm and ordinary guy out of K-mart. If God can take me and change me and use me to bless other people and countries-- He can use ANYBODY. So, let's all be praying and seeking God daily, because you and I have no idea what cool plans God has next.
Adam Schaefers.
