A Celebration of Guam's Sunsets

 

I took some time during our 16 hours of flying back to the States to further organize the thousands of pictures I have taken during the last two years living abroad. Through this sorting process, I discovered that we have amassed quite a collection of photos of Guam's incredible sunsets. So as the sun sets over our time on Guam (I mean, it's the perfect segue...), here are some absolutely stunning sunsets I am excited to share.

 

 Sunset over the treeline

 Sun set over the ocean

 Our 1st Guamiversary sunset

 Sunset from Dadi Beach

 Sunset from a mountaintop

Sunset from our driveway

 ... and another

 Sun lowering over Orote Peninsula, taken from Gab Gab

 Sunset behind cloud making shape of island of Guam!

Sunset at Mt LamLam - Best sunset watching spot on the island

 Sunsets casting shadows on the mountainsides below LamLam

Sunset behind LamLam cross

 Back to the driveway

 Around town, sunset views are great from Two Lovers Point

 The beach in Agana

 Asan Beach Overlook

 The backyard of our church in Hagatna

Clouds certainly make things more interesting

Tired of sunsets? Okay, fine... here's a rainbow.

And another one... below us at Asan Beach Overlook

 And another taken from our boat just off the coast of Agat

Sunrises aren't too bad either

Back to the driveway

 This was probably the most memorable of the two years of sunsets... taken in Saipan.

And I think of all of them, this one is my favorite. The sun only settles in this crease at the end of Orote Peninsula a few days a year. We were lucky enough to head to Gab Gab on this exact night at this exact time and snapped this incredible picture.

So many wonderful sunsets... so much to celebrate :)

The Fresh Factor: Going Bananas

This Fresh Factor article about bananas posted last week. And now the timing of the headline couldn't be more perfect. This, friends, is why we are going bananas this week:



Only five weeks until go time...

Exit strategy

The beginning of the end is most certainly upon us. This past week has been focused on the initial steps of our transition. Somehow it is already Friday of yet another week. The weeks are absolutely flying.

Julia (the Kenyan chick) during her first go at Beep Bop

Sad as I am to start the process of bowing out of here, some pieces of the puzzle have come together relatively easily to help the transition flow smoothly. Last week our church council hired someone to fill my position as youth director. I'm really excited for Julia to come on board. She has worked with the families of our church before during one of our programs last fall, so she's not a completely new face around here. It's the right time in her career to take an opportunity like this, and I know she's going to do great things for the program. She was the first person to respond to the position when we posted it on a couple of local Facebook pages. We didn't even have to advertise and we filled the job with our first candidate. Sounds like an answer to prayer to me.

This week I also met up with someone who's interested in taking over the Fresh Factor blog after I leave. I heard about this person through my friend Megan from church. Megan's friend made a comment in passing that she loves the Fresh Factor and would like to write for that blog one day. Megan said, "Funny you should say that. I know the girl who writes it and she's leaving soon." We met at her home over homemade mango banana smoothies to talk details. I couldn't think of a more perfect person to continue the column. This lady even makes her own coconut milk. I actually think she's more qualified to write the blog than I am.

Golf with the new guys

Nick has continued doing turnover with his replacement at work as well. A guy moved here in May who will be taking over his job. Crazy thing is that this same guy lived across the walkway from us in our apartment complex in Coronado while he was going through training. I got a message from him back in January saying he was coming out here after his deployment. And here he is, our old neighbor who we watched become a team guy, stepping into Nick's shoes. Nick has already cleaned his desk and packed up his gear storage in anticipation of the movers coming.

Yes, the movers are coming. I keep looking around at our cozy living room setup and blinking in disbelief that it will all disappear in about 10 days.

Our living room grew a putting green

I know we will set it all up in our new place and it will look lovely there. But it won't have this backdrop of blue skies and palm trees swaying in the breeze through the window. We also have pinned down the day on the calendar during the last week of September when we'll board a plane, writing the last sentences of the final chapter of this very special story. We still have a good six weeks left, but just knowing that day is getting closer makes me cringe a little.

Our new house... Wait... where are the palm trees?!

As easily as our exit has been so far, our entrance to Virginia Beach is strangely already coming together as well. As in, we already found a place to rent through friends, from friends, right down the street from friends. Nick and I have both been in several of the units in this neighborhood before. They are very new and really nice. It won't have a yard (no mowing), but it has enough space for my one requirement... an herb garden. It also has a garage where we will be setting up our crossfit gym. I have been in touch with several friends in the area, and I'm excited to reunite with so many people we already know.

It was exactly a year ago this week that Nick came home with the news that Virginia Beach, not Coronado, may be the best next step for us. I spent the next few weeks, months moping about the change in plans. One year later, I find myself finally getting excited to be moving there. There are a few loose ends to tie up still. I haven't decided what I am going to do with Peyt's Island just yet. And I still have no idea what awaits me in terms of what I will be doing in my new place. But I have learned not to worry about such details. As the exit strategy continues rolling and the weeks keep flying, I'm doing my best not to get ahead of the calendar... to stay present in the present... to hold on to island time and float along in paradise as long as I can.

The Fresh Factor: Thai Papaya Salad

It's hard to believe that my trip to Thailand with Jen was almost a year ago. Thailand was a special trip for me in a number of ways, but here's a biggie. The whole premise of traveling to other places to learn how other people live and work and eat and sleep... the whole premise of traveling abroad is that you might learn something new... and that learning some new thing might somehow change you. Taking a cooking class in Thailand was the catalyst that changed the way I think about food... specifically, the sourcing of food. It's something I had always been aware of before, but it was not something I made an effort to act on prior to going to Thailand.

In taking action, I was able to pair a writing opportunity with this new passion for eating local, creating an opportunity to learn and even teach more about the food and farming available locally on Guam. My aim has been to encourage others to eat fresh, local produce and seafood, not just because it costs less or tastes better (it does!), but because it makes sense... for our families, our island, and our planet.

So this Guam Guide post is no ordinary Thai Papaya Salad recipe. This was a moment in time where everything changed. Who knew a simple green papaya from a small market in Chiang Mai harnessed so much power?

Summer Youth Group

Thought I would take a break from the trip-visitor-local produce cycle I've gotten myself into and share some other stuff I've been up to this summer on Guam. Leading the youth group at our church has been a big part of that. With the kids out of school, we've taken on game nights, movie nights, bowling, Vacation Bible School, and even a slumberparty! Here are a few pictures from our summer gatherings:

 Real-life Angry Birds! 

Bonus points: No windows were broken so there was no angry church council.

 Getting ready to play our favorite game... an LCG original...

 Beep bop! It's kind of like freeze tag in the dark... but 10 million times more awesome.

The kids ninjas around here take it pretty seriously...

Unfortunately, summer also means going away parties. We said goodbye to Cheyenne (bottom right) right after school got out in June. But don't worry, we sent her off properly with a girls group slumberparty. Mr. Nick was in Japan so we had the whole house to ourselves!

Therefore... an epic Footloose dance party ensued

as did a raid of Ms. Peyton's closet and Halloween costume box :) 

Turns out you never outgrow the fun of playing dress up into the wee hours of the morning!

 You do outgrow your ability to stay up until 5a.m. I only made it to THREE. These girls were passed out with the light on... on the tile floor... until 10 when someone's mom showed up. Slumberparty success!


Hard to say goodbye to this girl though. Cheyenne went on both Manila trips with us. Together we have witnessed miracles. After learning to love Guam, she will finish high school in Arkansas.

 Our youth helped out with Vacation Bible School

The kids had fun on their desert journey (though personally I prefer the jungle)...

Another day, another island sunset. No biggie...

 

Four of our youth are in their middle school band, so our youth group went to see them one night, then came back to our house (down the street from the school) for dinner and games in the neighborhood.

Summer in Guam is the perfect time for frozen yogurt outings... and general goofing off.

 This week we had one more big youth group gathering to play our favorite game, Beep Bop. This time several of the youth requested Mr. Nick to come and be one of the boppers. I don't know what they were thinking. He bops really hard.

It was also Coleman's going away party. His family went on the Manila trip with us in April. In fact, Coleman went on every trip I have planned here. He's an awesome leader among the youth and one of those personalities that will be impossible to replace around here. I have loved getting to know all of the Nelsons. They leave on Sunday to move to New Mexico. And like every family that passes through the revolving door of our church, they leave a huge hole.

Thankfully, as our seasoned families leave island for their new orders, new families are showing up. And there won't be any more going away parties for several weeks. In fact, now that we have said our goodbyes to the Nelsons, the next goodbye on the table for our church is actually... us.