Life is good here. Teaching is going well; I am getting down to one or less catastrophic mistakes a day. We are getting into some interesting studies in Bible. We are doing a unit called "An Acceptable Sacrifice." We have studied out sin, a bit of Adam and Eve, and the story of Noah. As good as those studies are, there have been a few awkward moments that I will do my best to avoid next year. Sixth graders are not mature enough to appreciate the perfect world in Eden contrasted with a marred world in which God must make clothing for them. Yeah, the whole perfect world idea really grossed them out. They reacted pretty strongly against the idea of the first people having to marry their siblings. There was worse, but I will leave it at that.

I been able to have a couple of meetings with the Micronesian girls at my apartment for Bible study. They are so needy. This ministry with these girls has been the hardest part about being here. Susanne Choi, who heads up this minstry, took me around to several of their homes to show me the neighborhoods and see where these girls are coming from. This is sich an incredible opportunity, but parts of it are so hard. The hardest part is emotionally as I continue to find out more of where this girls are coming from.

The Micronesian culture is matriarchal; the women are the responsible ones who care for the children and make the important decisions. The men are steorotypically lazy, drunk and lusty. All of us girls have to get used to the men openly staring at you and looking you over. They don't even try to hide it. We have been told to not talk to them as a general rule, as that is seen as forward and encourages their attentions. This reversal of roles makes for tough women (abrasive, fighting, angry, the opposite of gentle), pleasure-driven men, poor families, and much abuse in the homes. The is no such thing as a marriage ceremony between a man and a woman. From my understanding, the man just informs the girl's father that they will be living together. Cheating and abuse (especially of the young girls in the family) is okay as long as you don't get caught. Most of the girls have been molested by fathers, brothers, uncles and cousins. Honestly, I have a really hard time digesting all of that. I don't understand how something so replusive to me can be so normal. The girs don't talk about it easily, and it is not polite to pry, so I guess it is up to prayer.

It would not be a surprising side effect of this behavior to have a lot of children. Children are a financial drain, so the "logical" thing to do would be to give the kid to a relative who has more resources. Most of the Bible Institute students who come to Guam from the Islands were not raised by their biological parents. Because the adults are pleasure-driven, they are often doing their own thing while the kids are running around in the streets. It is not uncommon to see kids running outside at 10-12pm with no adults around. I do see affection between the adults (especially the older women) and the children, so I guess it is not all bad. I have to really pray about how to teach and explain such concepts as love, marriage, God our Father and femininity to these girls. In many ways, their culture shares faults with the American culture. The same sin has creative ways of manifesting itself in different ways across the cultures. What a pleasure to be a servant of the God who is the God of all people and nations.

I have enjoyed a day off from school, thanks to Christopher Columbus. I have been taking it pretty easy since I caught a violent head cold from my roommate. Oh well, that's part of being a teacher. Even though I am sick, I feel rested and ready to go back to school. I miss those kids; they make me laugh. God was good to give me them.