Anyone questioning our intention of living on a tiny island in the Pacific and thinking we won’t be gone for long obviously has not seen how many boxes we shipped: seventeen big boxes and four small ones. Everything we will need to set up home is in those boxes. I remember when we moved to Tinian, we only shipped six or eight boxes and they were mostly filled with toys, pillows and towels. We only planned to be there a couple years.

The difference this time around is that we are planning on staying as long as God allows us to. We want to become part of the community and raise our children surrounded by diverse cultures and people. What better place to do this than Saipan?

Not only do we want to open the world to our children, but we also want them to learn about service. Life isn’t about us, it’s about others. The sooner they learn that in life the bigger impact they will have on the world. I don’t want to raise a bunch of average children, I want to raise world changers.

Life is also about enjoying God’s creation. I look forward to family time on the beach, exploring the ocean and jungle. Even though I am a very shy person, I look forward to making new friends and building family relationships with those on island. I lost my parents and my children lost their grandparents, but I trust that we will be part of a family in Saipan.