That time we climbed Octopus Mountain

My alarm went off at 6:00 am on a Sunday morning, but I wasn't the least put out. Because today, we were finally going to get our shoes dirty and reach new heights. We were going hiking.

I wandered around the compound for a bit, taking pictures of the sunrise and stretching my toes, and then we packed up our little bags with snacks, first-aid kits, water, and cameras and then piled into the van. It was Jules, Mecha, Karson, Hanna, Khafson, Stephanie and I who had scored places on this adventure. We started down the potholed road towards the other side of town; it was different to see the town so empty at 8:00 in the morning. The streets are usually filled with men carrying yellow bags of rice or sitting around chewing betel nut, and women picking their way carefully around lake-like puddles of murky rainwater wearing their colorful, shapeless muumuus.

It had rained the day before (surprise!) but the air hadn't retained the fresh coolness that the rain had blessed us with, and so we knew that it would be a hot one.

Soon, our final destination was in sight, Octopus Mountain – the second highest point in Weno. It looked short. From sea level we could see grass and vines around the top, and we scoffed at the estimated time we were told it would take us to summit. Four hours was definitely overshooting it… or so we thought.

fresh coconut!

We parked, and started heading up this road that was covered with slick rocks and slippery breadfruit leaves. Apparently Karson and Khafson had lived up that road years ago, and if you followed it a ways it led to a place where the U.S. CAT-team used to stay at. But now the officers are gone so the road had gradually been taken over by nature. Grass fanned over the rocks, and flowers, trash, and old cars lined the road. I was intrigued to see some of the plants that we used to sell at Mac’s Garden Center growing naturally there. We waited a bit for a couple Chuukese locals from the Ifa’s clan to guide us, and were soon met with 5-7 guys armed with machetes and kitchen knives.

Hiking in the jungles on the equator is definitely something else. It rains almost every day here, so trails are always going to be slick, and you’re always going to be dodging geckos. The first bit we hiked through was pretty open, but we soon got to where the going was a little bit more difficult. Our guides were the best though, at one point they climbed a coconut tree and then cut and sharpened a stick to open them up. They wore flip flops – known here as slippers – and were constantly offering their hands when there was a difficult section. On the “trail” we walked through ferns, winced at thorny sensitive plants, and grappled through tall grass as we neared the top.

My reaction to coming
out from the jungle covering
into the sun... 

Have you ever tried hiking in a skirt? It’s hard. Being an active football-playing and shorts-loving lady in a place where pants are seen as being mostly worn by “loose” girls is a struggle at times, and hiking is no exception. In places where I would typically just slide down the rocks on my rear, I couldn't, because skirts don’t stay down.  My shins were subjected to such abuse by the thorns lining the trail. I definitely missed pants that day…

When we got closer to the top we entered a sea of grass. It seemed like not a soul had tried to summit Octopus Mountain in years, it was so thick! The grass reached over my head and the hikers who were still committed to reaching the peak fought to get through it. Even the guys with their machetes were struggling to conquer this strange beast, but we forced our way through! It was awesome.

I slipped too many times to count, received a glorious amount of grass cuts, but finally made it to the top – just to be met with more grass… and, so much heat!

Thankfully, there were some old triangular metal towers that we could climb on to catch the breeze, and we followed the locals’ lead and tried to hide from the sun in the grass…

Going down was just as exciting as coming up. Now I had tender and cut legs that really didn't appreciate all the grass and ferns and thorns that they were being forced through… I slipped and yelped my way down the mountain (and to those who know what I’m talking about, there wasn't another “Shut up!” moment, but it was close). Jules’ personal favorite fall of mine was when one of my legs fell down this hole right by a person-high drop-off. I guess it was a little entertaining.  We made it successfully down, met the others, inspected our injuries, and then headed back to the school. So, in all it ended up taking a good four hours, and was a fantastic way to spend an otherwise unproductive Sunday morning.

My only complaint was the complete lack of octopuses on that mountain.

The view from up high

Richly blessed

Deep and Wide!!

A few weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon I lay on my bed, not wanting to move. The pictures that my parents had sent were hanging from pins on a rope around my bed like shirts on a clothesline, my friends' faces smiling at me. Rain had just started to fall outside and only a little bit of light filtered its way through our filthy window onto the book that I was reading.

I didn't feel like doing anything, or going anywhere. It had been a long week, and I felt sick and gross. I’d just been hit with a bout of ‘you are getting absolutely nowhere with these kids’ and felt like the world was just draining me of my energy.

Jobeth knocked on the door, “Are you coming?”

No.

We do this program every Saturday afternoon – Branch Sabbath School – where we go in groups to a local’s house and put on a program for a bunch of kids. We sing, tell a story, do an activity, and then try to get the kids in a straight line so we can give them a snack – which is the best part. I had only gone a couple times before, but that day I just wasn't feeling it.

On Saturdays we go hard all day. There’s Sabbath School and church in the morning, then the branch program, then we have staff sundown meditation, and by that time the sun is setting and we can’t do anything outside. So at the end of the day I've done just a lot of sitting. And you know how sometimes when you've been sitting all day long and you know you should get up and do something beneficial for your health? Yeah, on that day that feeling just passed me by.

But anyways, that day I just felt like yuck and wanted to just read and then scroll through the statuses and pictures of Walla Walla University students being stoked to be back at college. But apparently I was the song leader this week so I dragged myself out of my self-pitying position, put my slippers on, and headed out to where my group was waiting in the rain.

We walked to our spot, a house that sits right by the ocean. Inside, it’s a big open space with windows covered with tattered and messily-patched netting, a wooden chest, a broken mirror, some metal sheets, and a kitchen corner that is composed of a rice cooker and a skillet for cooking up chicken.

The instant we got there the room started filling with children, and my attitude quick changed. These kids have rotting teeth, uncombed hair, dirty faces, and some of the neediest hearts. It was easy for me to get into the action of our program, sing the songs, and try to make these kids smile. It was like God flipped a switch in my heart and reminded me why I am on the other side of the world – which is to be his hands, feet, and mouth and show his love by just being my imperfect self.

So as I walked around the room holding a little boy wearing nothing but a dirty t-shirt and watched the kids and adults coloring pictures with looks of happiness in their eyes, I realized that at that moment there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

This trip has been hard. I asked God before coming to Micronesia to show me where I was going wrong in my life and to shape me into the woman He wants me to be – and He is painfully doing just that. There’s a lot going on in my mind right now, and I feel like He’s in the process of ripping every part of me out and putting me back together how he wants me to be. It reminds me of a part of the book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader when Aslan uses his claws to rip the scales off of dragon-Eustace to unveil the tender but trusting human under the dragon scales – the better-Eustace.

This island is teaching me so much about life and living. 

This is an accurate example
of what many of the houses
look like around Chuuk

One beautiful thing about these people is how they are alright with having less.

If you’re reading this, you are probably decently rich. You have a laptop or computer access. You may be at a university, taking a break from the studying for costly classes that will help you reach the goals that you have set for yourself – goals that you know are obtainable. You may be sitting on a couch, a cup of coffee or tea in hand, surrounded by comfort, appliances, and luxury. Or you may be on a sidewalk, scrolling through this post while hurrying to get to your job or to some consumerist trap.

We are all so rich and grossly blessed.

Sitting on a bunk in an air-conditioned room, I am starting to be disgusted by how many things in my American life I have become accustomed to and that I have come to take for granted. A great family, friends, a good education, air conditioning, and store nearby filled with vegetables and fruit that I can afford. I have been so blessed by the life that God put me in and I’m grossed out by how blind I've been to it. And it is gross that I know that it is going to be difficult for me to change my mindset.

View from afar

There are a few local boys that if I couldn't already recognize them by their faces, I could recognize them by their clothing because they are always wearing the same thing. The boys who walk along the street who wave shyly or will do spontaneous handstands are clothed with rags. They have tattered shorts and shirts that are three shades darker from dirt and grime and have more holes than your average Swiss cheese slice. Their favorite toy is an empty rice bag that they fold and then pull it through the air with a giant pop! These bags will entertain kids here for hours. Literally. I sit in my room and hear the little pops from these rice bags for hours after school each day. It’s only fun if you are the one making the noise…

Get a little closer, and
this is the beach

But they are alright with what they have; and there’s a lot that can be learned from that.

It’s so easy for me to be selfish; to think that I deserve all the blessings that God has given me. But really, who am I to deserve anything? It’s by God’s grace that I’m even alive. And it’s by God’s grace that He gave us sinful and lost creatures a second chance at life. And it is gross that still sometimes I have the audacity to get angry at God and question His methods – when he doesn't give me something I want because He has something better in mind, or when He takes something out of my life that would only harm or hurt me in the long run. I’m unbelievable lucky to be here, even when it is hard.

So, peace and love from Chuuk.