The After-Break Post

Hello there! It’s Sterling and Alex back again with another white-knuckle, edge of your seat, gum drop busting, nail biting, teeth clenching, pickle snatching, chicken shootin’, arm pit hairing, punkin pie makin, explosive trip update!! (two exclamation points means double the excitement)

It’s been quite a while since our last update so we definitely need to apologize for the inconsistency of our blog. I’m sorry. From this point on any writing begun with S: is written by Super Alex and anything starting with A: is written by Awesome Sterling. So remember, S: is for Alex and A: is for Sterling.

A: this is so stupidly confusing…

S: Very fitting, considering its designer.

A: Alex is a jerk.

I think we’ll go back to A: for Alex and S: for Sterling. That makes way more sense.

A: Alright. I think it’s time to get started. Sterling reminds me to remind you who I am. I am Alex, but you can call me Alex.

S: I am Sterling.

A: Stellar statement, stemming from Sterling. Now, we will debrief you over our brief Christmas break.

S: Yeah… Um… I went home. Which was amazing. I was very lucky because in the last few weeks before break, I found out that I could get a ticket home for about $50! Amazing right? Yes. So when I got back I was fortunate enough to spend plenty of quality time with my friends and family. I arrived home at 8 in the morning Christmas day which was very nice. After getting plenty of rest, I was again lucky and was given some help from the LSU missions office to come on down to La Sierra and say hi to everyone. That was amazing. It helped me a lot as I got ready to go back to the island. It was so surprising to go down and see all the support that Alex and I have had from the University. We’re so appreciative.

I arrived at La Sierra about 8 at night and left the next morning at 2:30. I spent the night at my house and left the next morning at 4 AM for the Oakland airport where I began my long flight home. Or here to Yap. Yeah I didn’t write the home part on purpose so I guess that’s pretty cool that this little tiny speck of an island in the middle of the ocean is now my home. I love it. I really do. Its been so tight being back even though it was amazing being back home too. I guess I realized that all those people back home are still there and they still care about us and that really makes me just want to enjoy this adventure here because, not too long from now, I’ll be back with all the people I love at home and this will just be a memory. But the time I’m spending here is far too precious to just count it down and let it go away. I’m enjoying each moment of it.

A: And so at the end of Sterling’s sweet rigmarole begins the slightly different account of dear ol’ Alex. Sterling and I had different flights from Guam, yet both were to Honolulu. This, because his flight was direct and mine was the aptly-nicknamed “mail run,” the 15 + hour flight that stops at five (yes, five) islands before landing—exhausted and panting, no doubt—in Hawaii. In Hawaii, I met up with my siblings and parents for a pleasant, increasingly rare, full-family vacation. There, I enjoyed a nice respite from the stresses of teaching as well as some sweet family time. After that, I boarded (with no small apprehension, due to my previous flight experience) a plane pointed toward Guam, landing there without a hitch. In Guam, the Guam-Micronesia Mission treated us royally, lavishing us and pretty much letting us be a part of their family. All of the SM’s who spent time in Guam are super grateful to GMM for their hospitality and kindness. They don’t even know how helpful they were in “jumpstarting our engines” again.

I echo what Sterling said above. Thank you so much, all ye who support us. Our parents, our high school and university teachers, our church, and all of our friends have been invaluable (wow, I pretty much say the same thing every time) support to us. Really, you all don’t know to what extent your support, um, extends. Again, thanks much.

S: So now that we’re back in Yap we’re working hard to get our kids ready for finals! Already! But work here hasn’t been as stressful because of the arrival of two new teachers!!!!!!!! Alex B is our new 5^th grade teacher and Andrea is the 2^nd grade teacher. Alex lives with us and is super. But super more in terms of how super man is super. Or how the hulk is incredible. Basically the guy is a wall of muscle. He wears this shirt that says 300 lb. bench club or something like that. When he looks at you, you honestly think just his gaze is strong enough to bench you and then toss you across the island. But no, he’s super fun. He was a fireman so Alex and I are having trouble out manning him. But no worries. Our manliness has never met a worthy opponent. Together we’re manlier than a bear watching football and arm wrestling Chuck Norris while skydiving over a mountain of steak.

A: Yes, indeed. Assimilation back into life on Yap was no issue, at least for me. From the get go, my kids were laughing at and pulling my leg hair, hugging me, and giving me a hard time. Due to the introduction of another Alex into Yap SDA, Anna has started calling me “Xander,” my family nickname, which only shows how we fuse into a family here. To counter some rather saddening reports on my state of being, I am quite happy and content, not angry and depressed as I’ve been hearing I am. Again, thank you all for reading this, sending us emails and packages, and just plain caring. Hakuna matata.

S: And don’t forget to check out my class’s parable in our next post! NUFF SAID!