Farnsworth Forum

One of the nice things about home school is the flexibility it allows. Last week we visited Guam's tunnel aquarium, Underwater World, as our first field trip. We spent over two hours walking though "the world's largest tunnel aquarium" watching the sharks, manta rays, eels, jelly fish, sea horses, etc. It was a nice change of pace after five weeks of "regular" home school. Together we learned so much about life "under the sea." The unfun part was realizing as we arrived at our car that I had locked the key inside. Thanks to our fellow missionary Melody for bringing our extra key to the rescue!

On Thursday, after Joel's swimming class, we went to the mall for an ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery for a late celebration of Marisol's birthday. To our delight it happened to be Ice Cream Social Night with free ice cream (choice of Marshmallow or Nutter Butter, two flavors invented by Make-A-Wish kids). Employees asked customers to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and we were pleased to donate to such a worthy cause. Make-A-Wish grants children with various illnesses one of their wishes and makes the day brighter for children all over the world in the process. Check this worthy cause out at http://www.wish.org/ . Incidentally, Cold Stone is one of their biggest donors. The photographer from the Guam's Pacific Daily News happened to be there while we were and snapped the picture above. I "borrowed" it from their website. This morning at 7:30 am we received a phone call from a co-worker, Christel, who told us to run out and buy some newspapers becau...

Today we harvested our first bananas that we've been waiting a few months for. What excitement! I even managed not to cut off my hand with the machete or fall off the ladder when the bananas came down. They are very heavy in bulk. Come and see for yourself!!!!

Thank you for praying for the Palau team's chapel last Friday. Everything went well. We sang several songs that we used during our programs at the churches. Amelia and Joel were the big hits of the "show" whenever they were up front. Hopefully I won't turn into one of those notorious "stage parents." We did a skit about being "FAT." "F" stands for "flexible," "A" stands for "available," and "T" for "teachable." As you can see, we weren't very fast at getting the message during the skit. Learning how to be "FAT" was one of the biggest challenges we faced in Palau. Our faithful team leader Leeman shared one of the testimonies about how God changed us during our time in Palau. Percia and Elilai did actions, along with Leeman and Everly (not pictured) to a song called "Never Be the Same." We sang the "L-O-V-E" song which incorporates letters that you make ...

On Tuesday Joel joined the Tsunami Swim Club, which offers swimming classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Onward Hotel. Since we are home schooling him this year, this class gives him opportunities to socialize as well as learn an important skill. Our friend Carmen's daughters (Roxanne and Rosalynn) also attend these classes. Above Joel is pictured with his instructor and Roxanne. Joel loves swim class and would attend every day if he could. Read more about his swim club at www.guamswim.com . While we go to swim class, Amelia spends quality time with Marisol, making crafts and playing together.

Joel couldn't wait for Awana Club to resume at our church, Bayview Baptist. This year he moved from the Cubbies group to the Sparks. He enjoys Awana very much. Although he misses his teaches at Cubbies, he likes being with his friends Faith and Grayson and his new teacher Mrs. Fatleen.

We decided to go with an Olympic theme for student orientation this year. They were divided into teams and had the task of inventing a team name (or country), designing a flag and coming up with a cheer or national anthem. All of these ideas were the brainchild of our new Director of Student Affairs, Hollie. She is doing a wonderful job and is a delight to work with. Yay, Hollie! Besides, I love acting with her in the skits. Daisy (in orange shirt) led her team in their chant and other activities. We met Daisy in Palau, who was participating in a mission trip with her Southern Baptist Church from Texas. She became interested in PIBC, and now she is here for her first semester with us. How exciting to see how God brings students to PIBC! For the final night of orientation we had an American Idol- like Talent Show that the groups participated in. Hollie and I served as the hosts, and Christel Wood (center) and others played the judges. They were fabulous. I really think that this was t...

Most of you know that we are home schooling Joel for kindergarten this year. Although it takes a lot of planning, we are really enjoying this time that we can spend with Joel. We decided to use "Hooked on Kindergarten" for phonics, writing, and math. We supplement that curriculum with some different materials to round out history, gym, art, Bible, and science. We're all learning together, even Amelia. Marisol teaches on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and Ned teaches on Wednesday and Friday. We're in our fourth week already. So far, so good. Joel has already read his first two little books. Please continue to pray for us as it is a BIG endeavor! Thanks. The other day Amelia helped by pushing the button to repeat the instructions for printing the capital "T." When Joel needed them repeated, Amelia's finger was ready to go. Joel found it wonderful to have his little sister's help.

Joel and Amelia have been spending a lot of time with our neighbor Sisefa, who likes to come over to play. She and her family are from Chuuk. Please pray that we can be a blessing to this family.

Our mission team that went to Palau this summer will be presenting the PIBC chapel program on Friday. Tonight we had a practice, and it proved to be great fun to be back together as a team. May we please ask you to pray for us as we seek to share what God did during our time there? Thank you very much.