Exciting News!

Maybe you know that my (Miki's)Dad got married. He and his wife, Betty, just celebrated a new grandson being born, Chase Stamps. He is so cute. Congratulations Justin and Meghan, Betty and Dad! A new little one to spoil with love.

Special Assembly Day

We just had our Special Assembly Day. Man, did we need that. It was super encouraging. Here on Guam, there are around 800+ publishers. So, for assemblies, we are all together. It is a lot of fun. Here are a few pics of friends from our congregation.

Every so often, Jason finds a friend in the kitchen.

Don't worry, it is not poisonous, just big.

Our favorite stop in Palau is Jellyfish Lake.

We wish you could all see this for yourself, because there are no pictures or descriptions that are going to do it any true justice. It is absolutely amazing.

Jellyfish Lake

Palaun laundromat, Palaun spelling and a Palaun beach.

Bible Study, Palau style

During lunch at the District Convention, they had a study under the shade of a tree.

Nathan and company

Here is Nathan, a young brother who we went to Palau with and the group that went to Jellyfish lake together. Next to Miki is Nathan's Mom, Deborah, who made the whole trip possible. Thanks Deborah, you rock!

Not sure what really is going on here.

Well it sounded like a cool idea!

Palau! Palau! Palau!

These next few pictures pretty much speak for them-
selves

Not for the faint of heart.

We took Tom and Sue on a hike that went from the mountains to rivers to waterfalls to ocean to rainbows to torrential downpours. They passed with flying colors. Wow.

Welcome Tom and Sue!

Tom and Sue Herrschaft came for a visit. We greeted them with leis that Miki and a local sister from the outer islands of Yap had hand made the night before.

Yes please!

Not bad after a long day at the office!

Nothing like good friends...

This is Deborah and Nathan Crisostomo. They are very good friends of ours. When we were here the first time, we were in the same congregation, and got along right away. Deborah is a single mom who makes us so proud. She works so hard to put Jehovah first and stay close to her son. And Nathan is really growing up. It is fun to be a part of. She is doing such a fantastic job. We will be heading to Palau with them next month, so you will probably see many more pictures with them. We love them so much.

District Convention

We had such a good time at the district convention this past weekend. All of our studies came as well. They loved the program. We took the family shopping and bought them their first ties. As you can see, the boys had taken theirs off by the end of the day. But they were so proud to dress up. Jason got to teach them how to tie their first ties. It was so much fun watching them meet all sorts of new people. And 20 were baptized.

In the lower picture, you see Jason, John (the Dad in the upper picture) and Ryan. Ryan showed up at the branch one day asking for a study. He is from American Somoa originally, but now lives in Washington and was here for work for a few months. He was studying for some months now and did not want to miss his studies while he was here. It has been such an awesome privilege to be part of his time here. He is gentle and kind. And you could tell he really enjoyed convention. It was fun too, because a lot of people that have moved here to help, moved from Washington, so he got to meet them too. What a small world.

Wedding Time

The whole Bethel family was invited to a wedding this past week. Here are a few photos of our friends that we get to work and play with every week. The top shot is of Phil and Susie Nutter. They were missionaries before being brought into the branch. You can be sure if you hear laughter, you will find them.

In the bottom picture is Jared and Marisa Fruciano from Boston. They are here as international servants. And to our right are Lacey and Travis Brooks. They are also bethelites. We have had so much fun with all these guys. From laughing at everyday crazy things to camping out on the beach.

Friends make the place.

I found Nemo!!!

Deep Blue

This is what was going on under the water the same day as the previous photo.

Can words really describe?

I took this photo after work the other day. When you're in the water, you are so consumed with what's going on under the water that, at times, we forget to look at the beauty above or at least where the two come together.

Hiking on Guam

Here you can be down in a cave swimming in crystal clear water and in just a few minutes hike up over a hill and be standing on the cliff side overlooking the ocean. Really relaxing and really refreshing. The perfect end to a service day. It was crazy too, after we had swam all over the cave, we were out having lunch and we looked down to see the biggest eel we have ever seen. It was right where we were just swimming. And it had babies with it too! Freaky!

Zero Down

This is some of our territory. They call it "Zero Down" because some big shot had an idea to create a community where people buy into it with zero down. Well, of course, the big shot went bankrupt and the "community" was left partially built. Now you have an area full of half built homes with no electricity and no running water. It is really crazy. The road to get there is long and unpaved, full of potholes. But the people that live way out in this forgotten spot are so willing to listen and love the Bible. They are humble. And many of them are from other islands, so living with out electricity and running water is normal for them.
And you are sure to run into your fair share of dogs. Quite an experience.

Our Yapese Kids

These guys showed up at the kingdom hall one day with their Dad. They are from the island of Yap. They are so beautiful. They are 14, 13, 11 and 10 years old. We study with them every Saturday morning and when we show up they are outside waiting with their books. They always have so many questions. They study ahead and look up all the scriptures. And recently they found out that we have a meeting mid-week. So, guess what? They showed up on their own. When their Dad came in from work they were dressed for meeting and asked if he could take them. They study for the meetings too. And sometimes they answer on their own. They had been studied with five years ago. But had not been to a meeting since. It just shows you that if you inculcate the truth in a child's heart, they don't forget it.

Scandalous!

Take someone on a tour here and you are liable to get hit on by the kitchen overseer...that is, if you are his wife.

Goofing around at the going away for Tessa and Aron Pederson

You know we always have to do one of these shots.

Chai Tea with the girls!

Tessa Pederson, the one in the green, and her husband Aron were visiting our family from Paterson. They were here for three months, traveling the islands to set up systems to aid in translation. They leave this week. They will be missed.

So, some people put dogs in the back of their truck...

Here they put chickens. "Tie 'er down, make sure it doesn't "fly" out of there..."

Languages and Publications

Last time we were here we posted a picture similar to this one that showed all of the different languages that this branch oversees translation for. Since our last picture, things have changed. And the Teach book has come out in four of the languages. Huge progress is being made by the hard working translation teams.

Wild Mocha Time!

For any of you that ever visited Sonora with us...or for those of you that live there, you all know my (Miki's) obsession with Wild Mochas from Dayo. Well, we received a care package from our friends in Sonora and guess what was in it? Among other fabulous stuff, mocha mix! The same kind from our favorite place. Everyone has been loving it. Even the branch committee got to enjoy it during one of their meetings. They always hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door during their Wednesday meeting. This Wednesday, it was out with an amendment. They LOVED their treat.

Here is a look at your new cook...

Some good friends of ours, Brooklyn and Jaiden Meyle (coincidentally they are 7 and 5 years old) sent Jason these fantastic chef hats. Jay loves wearing them in the kitchen because they stand out. And he loves putting them on when a tour comes through the branch. It is always a good kodak moment when the hats come out. Thank you Brooklyn and Jaiden! We are sure the food tastes better because of his fancy new hats.

Memorial

We had a wonderful memorial. We have 80 publishers in our new congregation and 215 attended memorial. It was really encouraging. Many of them were young teenagers that came on their own.

The Chuukese Love to Match

This was at our Circuit Assembly. This family is from the island of Chuuk (pronounced Choo-k). The Chuukese friends love to wear matching outfits. It makes it really easy to find your family, doesn't it?